QUICK POST: It’s late so I have to make this quick. I had some great birds and some darn good photo ops while birding the black dirt this evening. Highlights included: 2 BUFF BREASTED SANDPIPERS, 9 American Golden-Plovers, a Northern Harrier close encounter, and a late evening Common Nighthawk flyover. Here’s some of my shots from the day.
I spent nearly all my birding time this weekend looking for shorebirds in Orange County. Saturday was a bit of a bust, in spite of favorable overnight winds. Today was another story. I got out to the black dirt early while it was still on the cool side. At my first stop I had a small shorebird flyover with a small flock of Killdeer. I watched the bird in my binoculars until it was out of sight, never to be identified. At my second stop, I had a similar experience, but this time the bird put down about three fields over. I got on it with my scope and it looked like a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER! I followed the bird, walking on the road as the bird worked the field. I would stop every so often when the bird would come to an area unobstructed by grasses and put down my scope for a look or to take some photos, becoming more and more convinced that it was a BBSA. I eventually lost the bird, so I walked the road to the other side of the field to try and relocate it. At first I could not find it, but I did see in the middle of the field, a single AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER! Very exciting! Of course, at the time I wasn’t sure exactly which plover it was (American Golden or Black-bellied), I figured that out later. I eventually relocated the Buff-breasted Sandpiper and it was with a second Buffie. Then I heard a call I was unfamiliar with – I looked away from the scope to see 3 more American Golden-Plovers coming in! I took photos as the birds came in to land on the field – showing clear wing pits (not black as would be seen in Black-bellied). I had put the word out earlier, but unfortunately, before anyone arrived to see the birds, a low flying plane flushed first the plovers, followed shortly afterwards by the Buffies. Kathy, Scotty, Bruce, and I combed the area but came up empty. Sorry for the poor photos of these birds, but they were extremely distant and the heat shimmer was terrible.
I did check 6 1/2 Station Road’s Citgo Pond in the early afternoon, but I did not locate any new birds – I found basically the same birds as were present on Thursday, minus the Baird’s Sandiper and the Greater Yellowlegs.
I ran into Karen Miller and Diane Bliss this afternoon – we were all heading in to check out 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary’s Citgo Pond. We arrived at the pond and set up our scopes, and as luck would have it, the first bird in my scope was a beautiful BAIRD’S SANDPIPER! We were all super excited and enjoyed great looks in our scopes as we put the word out. John Haas, Bruce Nott, and Kathy Ashman all ran for the bird, which ended up being very confiding, allowing for great looks and some decent photos too. Shorebirds were numerous at the pond, here is our count:
Killdeer (6)
Greater Yellowlegs (1)
Lesser Yellowlegs (5)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (3)
Least Sandpiper (34)
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER (1)
Pectoral Sandpiper (1)
Wilson’s Snipe (1)
What an excellent afternoon/evening of birding! I love this time of year!
Okay, so I guess I can keep calling the blog Orange Birding. This evening I just wanted to make a quick stop at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary’s Citgo Pond to check the water levels, because when I was there on Friday the levels were too high and there were no shorebirds present. Well, the water levels were still high and there were still no shorebirds, but I found a welcome surprise: a BLACK TERN! When I arrived the bird was perched on the ground, but it took flight not long after I got on the bird and never set down again. The bird flew around the pond, hunting continuously and splashing into the water from time to time. I put the word out and John Haas, Karen Miller, and Diane Bliss were all able to run for the bird. Bad weather was moving in quickly, so we ended up having to hustle out of there to beat storms. It was a nice looking bird and we got good, if slightly distant views – all my pics are cropped within an inch of their lives. This is my 193rd species for Orange County this year.
Just a week and a day after getting decent photos of an adult Black-crowned Night-Heron at DeKorte Park, I was pleasantly surprised by this juvenile that I saw this morning at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I inadvertently flushed the bird when I paused on the trail to watch an American Kestrel hunting. I watched as the heron briefly flew, then landed and stashed itself in the heavy vegetation. The bird does not look very hidden in this photo, but I can tell you that it took me a long while searching with my binoculars to relocate the bird, and that was after having seen where it had flown in. BCNHs are one of my favorites and it’s always a thrill to see one, especially in Orange County.
After running for a trio of Little Blue Herons that were reported at Riverfront Park in Montgomery and coming up empty, I spent a good portion of the day searching for shorebirds in southern Orange County. I stopped at Turtle Bay Road on my way to Wallkill River NWR and, although conditions looked good with muddy puddles present, I only had Killdeer there. At Wallkill River NWR, the pool in front of the viewing platform at the Liberty Loop had water levels that seemed to high for shorebirds and I did not locate any. I walked out Liberty Lane and in spite of the high water levels there, I had one Killdeer, (3) Solitary Sandpipers, and (2) Lesser Yellowlegs. On my way back, I had a single Least Sandpiper foraging on the puddles on Liberty Lane, which allowed for a good photo op. A walk to the west side of the loop did not result in much – I had another Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper, a couple of Great Blue Herons, and only a single Great Egret.
I made my way back to Goshen, checking some areas of the black dirt, where conditions were good with plenty of puddles. I had many Killdeer on Skinner Lane. The Old Warren Sod Farm was the most productive spot; aside from many Killdeer, I also had one Solitary Sandpiper, one Semipalmated Sandpiper, and my most exciting bird of the day, a Semipalmated Plover. Unfortunately all of these birds were too far out for photos.
The rain started to fall pretty heavily, so I headed home and took a break. I waited for the rain to subside (it never really did!) before heading back out to the Citgo Pond in the evening. I was curious to see how the water levels would be there, normally they would be very high with all the recent rain, but a during quick check on Friday afternoon I saw that the water level was lower than I’ve ever seen it (by the way I had several LEYE and KILL, many LESA, and two likely SESA on Friday). Well, when I got out there, not only was the water level high at the pond, the trail itself was flooded as well. Needless to say, I had no additional shorebirds there. With all the rain that is falling, the black dirt looks to be the best spot in OC for shorebirds for the next few days at least.
This morning I hiked a section of the Long Path Trail off of Mountain Road, just north of Greenville, NY. According to the New York New Jersey Trail Conference website, the Long Path extends 358 miles from the 175th Street Subway Station in New York City to John Boyd Thacher State Park near Albany in New York, connecting many of New York’s parks, preserves, and state forest lands. I looked at the overview map of the trail and saw that the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road is part of the Long Path as well. I’ve really been enjoying combining birding with hiking this spring and summer, and it’s pretty cool to know that you can walk trails from NYC all the way to the Adirondacks.
As far as the birding went, my hike was relatively unremarkable. I had 28 species for the walk and all were expected birds. Eastern Towhees were probably the most numerous, followed by Red-eyed Vireos and then Eastern Wood-Pewees. I did have some interesting experiences, including a black bear that I saw about 5o yards off the trail; the bear high-tailed it once it became aware of my presence.
I also had a Wood Duck at one of the ponds, and I witnessed a behavior I’ve never seen from a Wood Duck before. The bird was perched on a rock in the middle of the pond. I walked down the trail and took some photos from the shore and then made my way back up the trail, satisfied that I had not disturbed the bird. About twenty paces up the trail I looked over my shoulder and the duck was getting into the water – instead of floating/swimming like normal, the bird nearly completely submerged itself, leaving just its head and a little bit of its butt showing and swam that way into the grasses along the shore where it stayed hidden.
My final bird of the day, after walking for over three hours, was a Prairie Warbler right near where my car was parked (it’s amazing how often that happens!).
Notes: Linda Scrima had a Little Blue Heron in front of the viewing platform at the Liberty Marsh on Friday afternoon (7/15/16). Unfortunately, the bird flew before I arrived later that afternoon. I have been on the lookout for shorebirds, mostly checking Liberty Marsh and the Citgo Pond. Both locations have Least Sandpipers and Killdeer, and earlier in the week I also had a single Lesser Yellowlegs at the Citgo Pond.
At the conclusion of a fun but relatively unremarkable morning of birding, I was lucky enough to spot this little beauty in a field on the side of the road. The fox was looking for a good place to take a nap. As I watched from a distance, the fox settled in, and when I left all that could be seen was the tips of its ears through the long grasses.
I met Linda Scrima out at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s viewing platform; we were going to try for the Short-billed Dowitcher that Ken McDermott had located yesterday and Karen Miller had relocated earlier today. Shortly after arriving, Linda located a single bird straight out from the platform but just emerging from the grasses. Sure enough it was a Short-billed Dowitcher! The bird was distant, but we had decent looks in the scope. I went back to my car for a bottle of water when Linda located a second bird – we got on it with the scope and it was a second SBDO. We put the word out, but by the time Maria Loukeris joined us, the birds had disappeared behind the grasses. John Haas and Mark Spina came shortly after and still there was no sign of the birds. We changed our vantage point by walking 5o or so yards down the Liberty Loop Trail heading east, and that did the trick – the birds were back in view and were joined by a third SBDO. Everyone got good scope views and did their best to get photos. Since the birds were so distant, I ended up mostly shooting video with my phone through the scope, but took some photos too. Good birds and good birding!
This morning, I joined forces with John Haas and we birded the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area by kayak. We had a very enjoyable paddle with a decent number of birds (32 species), but we had no luck finding our target bird, the Least Bittern. I’m not sure at what point a bird becomes a nemesis bird, but I am certainly starting to think Least Bittern is officially a nemesis bird for me.
In spite of dipping on the LEBI, it was a fun morning of birding. It is awesome to bird with John, he is really great company and an absolute wealth of birding knowledge; every time I bird with him, I learn so much. Plus we did alright with some of the more expected birds: Eastern Kingbirds were numerous and seemed to be at every bend in the channel, we heard at least 10 Common Gallinules, saw 2 Belted Kingfishers, and we got really great looks at one adult and two young Bald Eagles.
In the afternoon, I received a call from Ken McDermott; he had a SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER at the viewing platform at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I jumped into the car and made my way out there, but unfortunately the bird had flown north shortly before my arrival. Ken also had a Lesser Yellowlegs a little earlier, which had also moved on. So, I joined Ken and Maria Loukeris (who had also run for and missed the SBDO) for a while and we had an interesting afternoon/evening of birding. Shorebird highlights included Spotted Sandpiper (2), Solitary Sandpiper (2), Least Sandpiper (4), and many Killdeer, including 4 chicks. Other than shorebirds, we had many Great Blue Herons, several Green Herons, Cedar Waxwings, and one of the last birds of the day was an adult Bald Eagle that flew directly over the platform. The 2 Great Egrets that I had there earlier in the week were nowhere to be seen. All in all, a good day of birding, with the promise that shorebird migration is already underway! Huge thanks to Ken for the call.
