Orange County – Page 66 – Orange Birding

A Good, Long Day of Birding in Orange County

*Click on photos to enlarge.*

~A Male Northern Harrier, the Gray Ghost, in flight at Missionland Road, 3/21/15.~

I spent a long day on Saturday birding in the Black Dirt Region. I started the day by getting my first Killdeer photo of the year when I came upon 5 Killdeer on the side of the road on Onion Avenue…

~One of five Killdeer in the freshly fallen snow on the side of Onion Avenue in New Hampton, NY 3/21/15.~

…And the day ended with nearly 1500 Snow Geese at Skinner Lane.

~I can’t get enough of these birds. Snow Geese in flight over Skinner Lane, 3/21/15.~

But I did a lot of birding in between, hitting most of the regular spots and some of them twice. Missionland Road was a good stop; I ran into Kyle Dudgeon and another birder named Jason that I had met once before. We had good photo opportunities with a pair of Gray Ghosts, and I found what I believe was Cackling Goose in a flock of maybe 2,000 Canada Geese. The bird was distant and never seemed to have its head up, making it tough for photos. Here is my best effort:

~A likely Cackling Goose (at center with head pointed down and to the left) among many Canada Geese at Missionland Road, 3/21/15.~

I'm not sure what's going on here with the grasses in this bird's grasp. Prey within? Male Northern Harrier in flight at Missionland Road, 3/21/15.~ — ~I’m not sure what’s going on here with the grasses in this bird’s grasp. Prey within? Male Northern Harrier in flight at Missionland Road, 3/21/15.~

~Not a great photo, but I included it because the bird not only has prey but is tagged. Northern Harrier on Missionland Road, 3/21/15.~

I made a stop at Scenic Farms Golf Course, sifted through a couple thousand Canada Geese (and came up empty-handed), and then saw a distant Coyote hunting in the field across the street from the golf course.

~Coyote across the street from Scenic Farm Golf Course in Pine Island, NY 3/21/15.~

Another productive stop was the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, where I walked the Liberty Loop Trail with Kyle. It took us ages to make our way around the loop, mostly because the birding was so good. Waterfowl is what I was hoping for, and we did well. Most of these birds were seen in the Sussex County portion of the loop:

Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan (2)
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
American Coot

~I was pretty psyched to see a pair of Tundra Swans fly in and land in the refuge. Walkill River NWR, 3/21/15.~

We also did well with raptors, with the highlight (for me) being a very active Peregrine Falcon that spent the entire time we were there terrorizing the waterfowl. I’m not sure, but I think the highlight for Kyle was the three (possibly 4) Bald Eagles that we had. In all, we had seven species of raptors: Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red Tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, and Peregrine Falcon.

~An adult Bald Eagle flies over the eastern leg of the Liberty Loop, 3/21/15.~

~I wish I had gotten a better shot of this bird, she was gorgeous. Northern Harrier at Wallkill River NWR, 3/21/15.~ — ~I wish I had gotten a better shot of this bird, what a gorgeous creature. Northern Harrier at Wallkill River NWR, 3/21/15.~

~An explosion of ducks - Green-winged Teals and Ring-necked ducks mostly, with a few American Wigeon thrown in for good measure. Wallkill River NWR, 3/21/15.~ — ~An explosion of ducks – Green-winged Teals and Ring-necked ducks mostly, with a few American Wigeon thrown in for good measure. Wallkill River NWR, 3/21/15.~

~Bald Eagle at Wallkill River NWR, 3/21/15.~

~There were plenty of Northern Pintails at the refuge, Liberty Loop 3/21/15.~

~It's a lousy photo, but I had to include it because I was so excited to see this Peregrine Falcon doing its thing at the Wallkill River NWR, 3/21/15.~ — ~It’s a lousy photo, but I had to include it because I was so excited to see this Peregrine Falcon doing its thing at the Wallkill River NWR, 3/21/15.~

Wow, what a day, filled with exciting birds.

Super Birding In Orange County!

~I love these blue morph Snow Geese! Coming in for a landing on Onion Avenue in New Hampton, NY 3/18/15.~

Wow, what a day of birding in Orange County today. I, of course, was at work and missed most of it! The action started early when I received a text from Karen Miller 7:30 this morning saying that while she did not relocate the Snow Geese from last night, she did have (8) likely TUNDRA SWANS at the Camel Farm. An hour later Linda Scrima texted that the Snow Geese had just come in and landed in the fields off of Onion Avenue. She also sent over a photo confirming the Tundra Swans. A couple of hours later, John Haas and Rob Stone were on the scene and located not one, but 2 ROSS’ GEESE! And one of them was a blue morph! Check out John’s blog for his account. And not too long after that, I checked my email to see that Rob Stone had located a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at Scenic Farms Golf Course! Are you kidding me??? I was losing my mind at work and when I finally got out my first stop was at the golf course to go for the GWFG. I met Bruce Nott and Dave Baker over there, and thanks to them I was able to see the bird pretty quickly. Unfortunately it was miles out, so no photos. My next stop was the Camel Farm, where Dave and I had no luck with the swans. Next was Onion Avenue, where I spent most of the rest of the evening trying for the 2 Ross’ Geese with some great company like Ken McDermott, Marianne Ofenloch, and Scotty Baldinger. Unfortunately, we never located either bird.

My last ditch effort was to join Bruce to check the Camel Farm one more time… and I got lucky and the 8 Tundra Swans were there! Karen Miller joined us for a better look than she had gotten in the morning. I took some distant photos and enjoyed seeing them through my scope. What a day – incredible really!

~SNGO in flight, New Hampton NY 3/18/15.~

~I like this shot, a nice mix of white and blue morph Snow Geese in New Hampton, NY 3/18/15.~

~On a slow day, the number of flocks of mixed blackbirds would have been the top story. It’s hard to estimate how many birds where out there, maybe 5,000+. Onion Avenue in New Hampton, NY 3/18/15.~

~A great way to end the evening – 7 of the 8 Tundra Swans at the Camel Farm, 3/18/15.~

SNOW GEESE!

Last night I was at the Liberty Loop viewing platform just before sunset. There was much bird movement, particularly waterfowl. Many Canada Geese were flying over, from south to north. Mallards were circling around the reserve and Northern Pintails were doing the same. The highlight, however was a single skein of maybe 150 Snow Geese that flew over very high and pretty well east of the viewing platform. So today after work, I was on a goose chase. I found fewer Canada Geese than I would have expected, but numbers were certainly up with Canadas being seen at Scenic Farms Golf Course, the Camel Farm, Turtle Bay Road, Pierce Circle and Onion Avenue.

Also in the fields between Pierce Circle and Onion Avenue, there was approximately 150 Snow Geese! I was very excited and took some distant photos from Pierce Circle. I moved to Onion Avenue for a closer and better look. And more Snow Geese started to arrive from the south. They were putting on quite a show, picking up, circling and then landing over and over. I had put the word out and Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris both joined me as the number of SNGOs continued to grow. By the time we left at 7:15, I approximate there were 1500 Snow Geese present. They seemed to be settling down a bit too, so hopefully they will stick around for a little while.

~Lift off! Snow Geese in New Hampton NY, 3/17/15.~

~I like this shot because of the calling second Snow Goose. Onion Avenue, 3/17/15.~

Also of note, I stopped by Glenmere Lake earlier in the afternoon and had 2 Common Goldeneye (as well as 12 Ring-neck Ducks and 8 Common Mergansers). Here’s a distant shot of the two COGOs:

~I thought these two would be the highlight of the day until I found the Snow Geese. Common Goldeneye at Glenmere Lake, 3/17/15.~

Orange County Waterfowl

~Male Hooded Merganser at Schervier Pavilion in Warwick NY, 3/11/15.~

It’s been a good week of birding so far, the warm weather has been so nice to be out in, and it has thawed some of the open water in the county. As a result, I’ve done pretty well with waterfowl in Orange County over the past couple of days-

Glenmere Lake 3/11/15: Ring-necked Duck (3), Common Merganser (2), and Mute Swan (2).

Warwick Town Hall 3/11/15: Canada Goose (35), Mallard (8), Gadwall (5), Ring-necked Duck (25), Hooded Merganser (2), Common Merganser (2), and American Coot (1, FOY).

Schervier Pavilion 3/11/15: Hooded Merganser (2).

Newburgh Waterfront 3/12/15: Canada Goose (4), Mallard (25), Common Merganser (3), Red-breasted Merganser (1), Pied-billed Grebe (1, FOY), Great Cormorant (1).

~This Red-breasted Merganser in the Hudson River, seen from the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry parking lot, 3/12/15.~

~This is my first photo that shows the maroon ‘ring neck’ on a male Ring-necked Duck. It was quite a coincidence as I was just talking about this with Maria Loukeris earlier that afternoon. RNDU at Warwick Town Hall, 3/11/15.~

~Ring-necked Ducks in flight, Warwick NY 3/11/15.~

~My first American Coot of the year, at Warwick Town Hall, 3/11/15.~

Orange County Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3/10/15

~Lesser Black-backed Gull, Newburgh Waterfront, 3/10/15.~

As my work day was coming to an end, I received two separate reports for Red-breasted Mergansers on the Hudson near Newburgh, NY. One was a text from Rob Stone, the second a call from Bruce Nott. I headed in that direction in hopes of getting a RBME for Orange County for the year. From Plum Point Park I had some distant waterfowl where the water was open, but the heat waves were distorting the image in my scope way too much to confidently ID the birds. From what I could tell, they were likely Common Mergansers.

When I got back in my car, I had a missed call on my phone (which I had forgotten there). It was from Bruce; I called him back and he had what he believed to be a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL – seen from the old Torches parking lot. I hustled over, but I was too late. The bird had ridden the ice floes up river and out of scope range. I was really bummed! Then, some folks started to feed the ducks and gulls from the parking lot and a good number of the gulls were up in the air. Many relocated on the ice floes right in front of us, and fortunately, one of them was the Lesser Black-backed Gull. I relocated the bird and had Bruce take a look – we both liked it for a LBBG. The bird was close enough for some decent photos, so I sent it out – thank you to John Haas, Rob Stone, and Curt McDermott who all responded that they agreed with LBBG. Huge thanks to Bruce Nott – this is life bird #318 for me, very exciting! Oh, and I never did get a Red-breasted Merganser tonight…

~One more look at the LBBG, seen from Torches at the Newburgh Waterfront, 3/10/15.~

Signs of Life in Orange County

~A couple of Ring-necked Ducks made my day today. Glenmere Lake, 3/9/15.~

QUICK POST: It’s not much, but it’s a start. I stopped by Glenmere Lake after work today and I was pleased to find two Ring-necked Ducks (first of the year for me) and one Common Merganser in one of the thawed areas in the lake. Afterwards, I made my way over to the Liberty Loop viewing platform. Kyle Dudgeon was there already, Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris showed up not too long after I arrived. It was nice to be out in the warmer temperatures, and we enjoyed watching a male American Kestrel hunting. The bird went two for two, successfully catching (and then eating) what I assume were voles on his first two attempts. Also of note, we heard my first Orange County Killdeer of the year.

~American Kestrel with prey at the Wallkill River NWR Liberty Loop viewing platform, 3/9/15.~

~Common Merganser at Glenmere Lake, 3/9/15.~

Sunday Shots – 2/22/15

~A nice look at a Short-eared Owl on a perch on the side of the road. I was starting to think all the SEOWs in the black dirt had perhaps moved on with the extended cold snap and repeated snow events we’ve been having. SEOW in the Black Dirt Region, 2/22/14.~

I don’t have much to say tonight – I ran around the black dirt today, just trying to get some photos. The weather was much more accommodating, with temperatures creeping up into the low 40’s; a huge change from what we’ve been having lately. Birds were still on the scarce side, but I got lucky with some Snow Buntings and of course finding a Short-eared Owl on the side of the road never hurts.

~A Snow Bunting takes a bath, Black Dirt Region, 2/22/15.~

~Snow Bunting stealing the show in the black dirt, 2/22/15.~

~Snow Bunting, Black Dirt Region, 2/22/15.~

~Snow Bunting and Horned Lark in the black dirt, 2/22/15.~

~Adult Cooper’s Hawk in Goshen, NY 2/22/15.~

Longspurs, Larks, and Buntings

~Snow Bunting in the uh well, snow. Black Dirt Region, 2/8/15.~

This past Sunday, I finally got my first Snow Buntings of the year. I know that folks have been seeing them throughout the black dirt region, but I somehow kept coming up empty. After Karen Miller and I tried unsuccessfully for the Ulster County Gyrfalcon in the morning, we decided to head back to the black dirt region to try for Snow Buntings. We did well, finding 6 in a flock of approximately 75 Horned Larks.

Then, today after work I received a text from Linda Scrima who had a couple of Lapland Longspurs in the black dirt. I met her out there and took some photos before heading over to the Wallkill River NWR Liberty Loop viewing platform, where it was relatively quiet. For the first time in a long while I did not see any Northern Harriers. We did get good looks at a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk, one distant Turkey Vulture and several Red-tailed Hawks. It was getting pretty dark when the Short-eared Owls got up; I counted four of them.

~I’m not sure what was going on while taking these photos, all of them are soft. Snow Bunting in the Black Dirt, 2/8/15.~

~Snow Bunting with a Horned Lark, Black Dirt, 2/8/15.~

~I love these guys. Lapland Longspur with a Horned Lark in the Black Dirt, 2/11/15.~

~A nice look at the feet of the Lapland Longspur. Black Dirt, 2/11/15.~

~Larks and Longspurs in the snow piles. Black Dirt, 2/11/15.~

Gray Ghost on a Cold Night

I made out to the viewing platform at Wallkill River NWR Liberty Marsh this evening and it was COLD night! There were not many birds flying close, but I got lucky with the one bird that came close enough for photos – a male Northern Harrier or “Gray Ghost”. This was the only bird I took photos of tonight, but there were several hunting Northern Harriers, two distant Rough-legged Hawks, and at least one Red-tailed Hawk while I was there. It was not quite dark when I left, honestly I just was getting too cold to stay out, and the Short-eared Owls were not yet up.

~Male NOHA at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 2/5/15.~

~Northern Harrier in flight. Wallkill River NWR, 2/5/15.~

A Cute Couple

~Short-eared Owl love at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 2/3/15. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner…~

Yesterday evening I was on Missionland Road, searching for the nearly two dozen Lapland Longspurs seen there earlier in the day by both Rob Stone and Ken McDermott (21 and 19 respectively), when I received a call from Ken. There were two Short-eared Owls perched together north of Oil City Road at Liberty Marsh. I headed over and the birds were still on their perch. It was a distant look and this photo is heavily cropped, but still pretty darn cute. Thanks to Ken for the call and hopefully I will get back out to try for the LALOs on another evening this week.

I went to the Newburgh Waterfront this evening to try for gulls; I had a report from Curt McDermott on Sunday of a Glaucous Gull. Gulls were plentiful, but I unfortunately was unable to locate anything other than Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Great Black-backed Gulls. I did have three Bald Eagles on the ice floes – two adults and one immature.