~A Northern Harrier shot through the grasses out at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 1/31/15.~
I spent an enjoyable morning birding in the black dirt; I spent just over three hours hitting many of the usual spots. Notable observations included fewer Canada Geese than I have had in recent days, I’m not sure where all the geese were hiding out. Also, on Missionland Road, where there were hundreds of Horned Larks earlier this week, I did not have one lark. I did manage to relocate 4 Lapland Longspurs in small flock of mixed sparrows. And, on Onion Avenue in New Hampton I had my first American Robins of the year:
~One of a group of 8 American Robins on Onion Avenue, 2/1/15.~
It was a good morning with a total of 32 species identified:
~American Goldfinch on Missionland Road, 1/31/15.~
Canada Goose
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Short-eared Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Merlin
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Lapland Longspur
American Tree Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
~An American Tree Sparrow leaves its perch, Missionland Road, 1/31/15.~~I had 8! Eastern Bluebirds in my yard as I left in the morning – not a bird I see in our yard very often. Goshen NY, 2/1/15.~
~Gray Ghost at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 2/1/15.~~I had heard about the Merlin that was hanging around Liberty Marsh at Wallkill River NWR, I finally saw it today, 2/1/15. You had to see this bird fly, absolutely incredible, so fast!
~A Lapland Longspur on Missionland Road, 1/31/15.~
I tried over the past couple of days to get some better shots of the Lapland Longspurs on Missionland Road. Yesterday the light was perfect and the birds were on the road but I had no luck with photos. . This afternoon the light was good, and although the birds did not come in as close as I would like, I did manage to get some better shots. I had 4 LALOs in a small flock of Horned Larks. Also present today was a nice flock of American Goldfinches, many Savannah Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows, and a single Song Sparrow. The Horned Lark photos were taken on Tuesday when I first saw the LALOs.
~A Horned Lark forages on the side of Missionland Road, 1/27/15.~~Two of the four Lapland Longspurs I saw today on Missionland Road, 1/31/15.~~A Horned Lark leaps to presumably grab and pull down some seeds to eat. I noticed this week that while the larks use this technique, the Lapland Longspurs will actually perch to feed….…like this bird is doing here. Lapland Longspur on Missionland Road, 1/31/15.~
~Four of the six Lapland Longspurs on Missionland Road today, 1/27/15.~
QUICK POST: This afternoon, just after 3:00, I had 6 LAPLAND LONGSPURS on Missionland Road. I had just finished looking through hundreds of Horned Larks hoping for longspurs or buntings but without success. I have photos which contain all six birds, but unfortunately none came out very well, so here is a decent shot with four of the six. Nice birds to see, that’s for sure.
~Cooper’s Hawk at the Newburgh Waterfront, 1/24/15.~
I got out a little late on this Saturday morning because I was waiting for the roads to clear from the fresh snow which had fallen overnight and continued to fall into the morning. I spent a little time in the New Hampton area of the black dirt. From Celery Avenue I could see many Canada Geese over the river in the fields that run along Onion Avenue. I stopped to scan them and from there I could see that there were approximately 20 SNOW GEESE among them. The Snow Geese were difficult to make out – there was plenty on the ground and it was still falling. I hustled around to Onion Avenue and spent some time scanning a large group of geese; I estimate over 1200 Canada Geese and maybe 100 Snow Geese. I did not find any other types of geese in with them. I birded my way up to Turtle Bay Road before turning back (I wanted to get to the Newburgh Waterfront for late afternoon to try for gulls again). Along the way I came across what is likely the same Merlin I have had before, as it was perched in the same spot on a wire along the road. I saw a couple of distant flocks of Horned Larks and then a small group landed briefly on the road. Among them was a single LAPLAND LONGSPUR, which was awesome to see.
I tried for gulls from the old Torches parking lot on the Newburgh Waterfront. There were many present, mostly riding the ice floes up the Hudson River. Herring Gulls seemed most numerous, followed by Ring-billed Gulls and then Great Black-backed Gulls (which I had nearly 30 of). I had one distant first winter Iceland Gull, but no sign of the bird I had yesterday and believed was a Lesser Black-backed Gull. I guess a better, confirmed look at that bird will have to wait until another day. When I have seen a bird that I am not very sure of, I really like to have a photo, because as time passes, doubts start to creep into my mind. I had a couple of raptor highlights while I was there as well. Out on the ice I had 8 Bald Eagles. In the parking lot, a woman stopped her car to tell me there was a hawk perched on a post. It ended up being a Cooper’s Hawk that posed nicely for me. For a day where I wasn’t sure if I would even get out, it was a really good day.
~A Red-tailed Hawk leaves a snowy perch on a snowy morning in New Hampton, NY 1/24/15. ~This certainly seems to be a favorite perch for this Merlin. I have seen it there before, and if you look to the left of the bird there appears to be some remains of prey stuck to the wire. I waited for ages for this bird to fly but after 20 minutes I had to move on. I passed the same spot on my way back, nearly 45 minutes later and the bird was still there! Merlin in New Hampton, NY 1/14./15.~~Snow Geese in the snow. Onion Avenue, 1/24/15.
QUICK POST: I went to the Newburgh Waterfront this evening after work to look for gulls. I parked in the old Torches parking lot and just as I got out of the car an adult Bald Eagle flew over. I scanned a large number of gulls floating in the river with my scope because most birds were rather distant. I walked a couple hundred yards south where most of the gulls were located and saw a bird that I believe was a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Bruce Nott had arrived with his friend Rob, I walked back to get them to have a look at the bird. Meanwhile, they were looking at a first winter Iceland Gull, which I got a good look at through Bruce’s scope. We made our way back to my scope and relocated my bird. We kept walking south to keep up with the floating gulls. The bird had a slate gray back, gray smudging on the head and was slightly smaller than the Herring Gulls nearby. At one point I had the bird in the same scope view as a Great Black-backed Gull and the size difference was considerable. I am confident that it was a Lesser Black-backed Gull, but I would certainly like to go back for a better look and of course get some photos.
~Snow Geese coming in for a landing, New Hampton NY, 1/20/15.~
Tonight I spent some time at Pierce Circle in New Hampton, NY going through approximately 2,500 Canada Geese. I scanned the geese a bunch of times but was unable to find anything other than Canadas. I was just starting to pack it in when I saw another group of geese coming in – it was SNOW GEESE! Approximately 150 birds circled over the fields a couple of times and then settled in among the Canada Geese. It was awesome to see them, and to think I came so close to missing them!
~Snow Geese above the fields on Pierce Circle, 1/20/15.~~Snow Geese in New Hampton, NY 1/20/15.
~A male Ring-necked Pheasant at Pierce Circle, 1/18/15.~
Karen Miller and I attempted to participate in the Mearns Bird Club Waterfowl Count yesterday, but we were thwarted by the weather. We started out alright, covering a small part of the Black Dirt Region and counting nearly 3,000 Canada Geese, over two dozen Mallards, and 6 Common Mergansers. Then the rain began in earnest, and the roads quickly became very icy and downright treacherous. At the first sign of icy conditions, we called it and headed home, and I’m glad we did. We both made it home safely, thank goodness. The highlight of the day was seeing a male Ring-necked Pheasant on Pierce Circle and getting some photos.
~A Northern Harrier cruises by my blind, Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, 1/17/15.~
The big news this week was the eBird report of a Snowy Owl at the Liberty Marsh in Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday 1/14/15. I, of course, spent Thursday and Friday evenings after work going for the bird, but with no luck. I left the house this morning with the Snowy Owl being the most important bird on my mind. I did some running around in the Black Dirt and even followed a lead that took me to Chester, NY but had no luck with the Snowy. The Chester bird was likely a leucistic Red-tailed Hawk; I saw photos from the couple that had given me the lead, and I got a very distant look at the bird through my scope. I would like to get back there to get a better look one of these days.
In the afternoon I decide to just try for some photos, so I headed to the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR. The north blind that is furthest out was free, so I spent the afternoon shooting raptors. I love spending time in the blinds out there; you can get such great looks at the birds.
~This one made me happy. Rough-legged Hawk in the Black Dirt, 1/17/15.~~Adult Bald Eagle in the Black Dirt, 1/17/15.~~I was sitting in the blind thinking that it would be nice if a Red-tailed Hawk would fly towards me rather than away. Moments later this bird flew in. Red-tailed Hawk at Shawankgunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~~The harriers were pretty active today at the grasslands. Northern Harrier at the Shawangunk Grasslands, 1/17/15~~Northern Harrier at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~~I was happy with how this photo turned out. Northern Harrier just before sunset at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~~The Short-eared Owls got up pretty early today, just after 4:00 pm. None came close enough to my blind for photos while the light was still good. I took this one just as I was preparing to head back to the car. Short-eared Owl at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/17/15.~~A deer checks things out at the Shawangunk Grasslands, 1/17/15.~
QUICK POST: I made the rounds in southern Orange County this afternoon but I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary to report. It was a cold and gray one, but I still did my best to get some photos; here are a couple of shots from the day.
A Northern Harrier takes a turn in the early morning sunlight. Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, 1/10/15.
I started my day off this morning heading out to the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge. I was meeting Wayne Hall out there, he wanted to talk to me about a column he is putting together about myself, birding, and bird photography. It was a very cold morning, but Wayne and I walked the trails a bit and talked. We took refuge from the wind in the south blind for a little while, continued our conversation and had a couple of nearby Northern Harriers. Back in the parking lot, I spotted, in the distance, our first Rough-legged Hawk of the day. Shortly after I first noticed the RLHA, it swooped down and flushed 10 Short-eared Owls. The owls did not stay up for long, but it was good to see them. Wayne and I sat in my car for a while and, as we talked, I had an adult Bald Eagle fly over in the distance. It was a pleasure to meet Wayne, and I will be curious to see how his column comes out. It was also nice that we did so well for birds while we were there. I should also mention that on my way out to the grasslands I made a quick stop by Lippincott where I was happy to find what I was looking for: Eleven Common Goldeneyes.
This Rough-legged Hawk stirred up 10 Short-eared Owls before coming in close enough for photos. RLHA at the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/10/15.I shot this Northern Harrier from the south blind at the Shawwangunk Grasslands NWR, 1/10/15.
In the afternoon, I did a quick driving tour of parts of the Black Dirt Region. My main goal was to hopefully located a large group of geese to sort through, which I did on Onion Avenue in New Hampton, NY. Unfortunately, just as I started to look through them, in a large and loud wave, every last Canada Goose picked up. I estimate that there were approximately 2000 birds present. Most of the geese seemed to relocate to the Wallkill River, right along Celery Avenue; I did not follow them over there, I will try my luck with them again tomorrow.
I really like these types of photos – Canada Geese taking flight at Onion Ave, 1/10/15.
I ended up with 23 species in the black dirt, all expected species, and I took photos along the way. I was particularly happy to run into this young Cooper’s Hawk:
-Cooper’s Hawk on Breeze Hill Road, 1/10/15. -MODO on Lynch Avenue, 1/10/15.
My final stop of the night was the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I met up with Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris by the Liberty Loop platform where we enjoyed the White-crowned Sparrows that have been hanging out there. Maria headed home, Linda and I walked out on Liberty Lane. We had a super surprise when we came upon a large flock of American Tree Sparrows; I estimate that there were close to 60 birds present. They would perch on the trees and bushes along Liberty Lane, then fly off into the refuge and disappear into the grasses. Then they would all return and perch briefly before heading back out to the refuge. They did this at least a half a dozen times before we headed back to the parking lot.
A sunset shot of an American Tree Sparrow at Wallkill River NWR, 1/10/15.
It was 4:40 and the light was getting low when the Short-eared Owls got up. There was just enough light to get some grainy photos; it was a great way to end a super day of birding from one National Wildlife Refuge to another.
A super grainy Short-eared Owl shot, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 1/10/15.
