Orange County – Page 79 – Orange Birding

Wallkill River NWR 7/14/13

This morning I met Karen Miller out at Wallkill River NWR, where we walked the Liberty Loop. It was a relatively birdy morning and we had many species that I had not expected to see, including my personal highlight of the outing, a pair of adult Black-crowned Night Herons seen from the viewing platform:

One of two Black-crowned Night Herons at Wallkill River NWR, 7/14/13. This one was in a small pool just to the left of the viewing platform.

This BCNH flew in just as Karen Miller arrived. These birds were FOS for me.

Another highlight was a nice collection of shorebirds located at the south end of the Liberty Loop. I’ll add my usual disclaimer that I am STILL struggling with shorebird identification, but I feel fairly confident that we had Spotted Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, and a Solitary Sandpiper.

A Killdeer along with a Spotted Sandpiper out at Wallkill River NWR 7/14/13.

I have this as a Pectoral Sandpiper. Please leave a comment if you know otherwise! Thanks.

There were plenty of Great Blue Herons about, we even had 5 fly over at once. GBHE at Wallkill River NWR 7/14/13.

It was a really nice morning of birding (if you ignore the mosquitos that plagued the west side of the loop!), where we had over 40 species of bird:

This might be the same bird as seen on the hay bale at the top of this post. I took this shot on my way home and it was just across the road from where I took the hay bale shot.

Canada Goose 55
Mallard 10
Great Blue Heron 15
Green Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture 3
Northern Harrier 1
Killdeer 6
Spotted Sandpiper 4
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 4
Pectoral Sandpiper 7
Mourning Dove 1
American Kestrel 2
Willow Flycatcher 3
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 3
Barn Swallow 1
Tufted Titmouse 1
House Wren 1
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 3
Cedar Waxwing 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 5
Swamp Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Red-winged Blackbird 65
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Baltimore Oriole 2
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 1

Late edit: I forgot to include Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 to our species list.

Saturday 6/15/13

Right before the rain on Friday evening, a Cedar Waxwing posed nicely. Appalachian Trail near Route 94, Vernon NJ.

After a long week of rainy weather and being sick, I woke up early this morning raring to go. My main objective was to get a good photo of a Grasshopper Sparrow.I did not achieve this objective because I never saw any! I went back to the Appalachian Trail near Route 94 in Vernon, NJ where we had a least four last weekend, but I had no luck. I heard one Grasshopper Sparrow, but I never did locate it. I had also tried yesterday evening – I heard and saw at least two Grasshopper Sparrows but the light was not very good with the rain coming in. This morning, the light was much better for photos, so I went to work on my second objective which was to bring home some decent photos. I feel like I haven’t done well lately with the camera, so I wanted to work on it. While I was at it, I ended up with 22 species of bird:

A singing Field Sparrow out at the AT, 6/15/13.

Mallard 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Mourning Dove 6
Northern Flicker 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
American Crow 4
Common Raven 2
Barn Swallow 6
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 5
Yellow Warbler 1
Field Sparrow 4
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Red-winged Blackbird 8
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 1

A Great Crested Flycatcher as I was leaving the Appalachian Trail near Route 94, 6/15/13.

After about an hour, I headed over to Wallkill River NWR to walk the Liberty Loop. It was quite birdy as I walked the loop and I ended up with 36 species and I took a LOT of photos. The results were mixed, but here is my species list as well as some of my better shots.

Red-winged Blackbird at Wallkill River NWR 6/15/13.

Canada Goose 15
Mallard 14
Great Blue Heron 8
Turkey Vulture 4
Rock Pigeon 1
Chimney Swift 1
Willow Flycatcher 3
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Eastern Kingbird 4
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 1
American Crow 4
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Eastern Bluebird 3
Wood Thrush 2
American Robin 12
Gray Catbird 6
Brown Thrasher 3
Cedar Waxwing 6
Common Yellowthroat 2
Yellow Warbler 6
Song Sparrow 16
Swamp Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Bobolink 3
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle 8
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 2
American Goldfinch 3

Easily the highlight of my morning, one of three Brown Thrashers out at Wallkill River NWR 6/15/13.

My favorite photo of the day - Willow Flycatcher at Wallkill River NWR 6/15/13. — My favorite photo of the day – Willow Flycatcher at Wallkill River NWR 6/15/13.

This Rose-breasted Grosbeak was really enjoying some mulberries. Wallkill River NWR 6/15/13.

Indigo Bunting at Wallkill River NWR 6/15/13.

I was at first glance confused by this young Eastern Bluebird. Wallkill River NWR 6/15/13.

Tomorrow morning I will head out to the Shawangunk Grasslands. I am following a hot tip from Scotty Baldinger who reported to the Mearns Bird Club that he had FIVE Grasshopper Sparrows out there this morning…

Early Saturday Morning Birding

House Wren out at Denning’s Point State Park, 6/1/13.

I got up early to try to beat the heat this morning and headed out to Denning’s Point State Park. I had not been out there since last year, so I was hoping to have some luck with Green Herons and Black-crowned Night Herons. As it turned out, the park was not extremely birdy on this day and I did not see any herons at all. All told I had 22 species, many of which were only heard. On my way back to the car I enjoyed the highlight of the visit, an amazing Red-tail Hawk with beautiful markings.

I love the markings on this bird, particularly the very light head and the very dark area at the base of the bill – I’m not sure if that would be considered the Mustachial stripe or the Malar (or both?). Red-tailed Hawk on a light post at Denning’s Point State Park, 6/1/13.

I sat on a rock and watched this bird for a good while. Periodically a Red-winged Blackbird would dive-bomb the hawk... — I sat on a rock and watched this bird for a good while. Periodically a Red-winged Blackbird would dive-bomb the hawk…

...eventually the hawk had had enough and took off, giving me a great look at its gorgeous red tail. — …eventually the hawk had had enough and took off, giving me a great look at its gorgeous red tail.

I left Denning’s Point and then headed to Kenridge Farm. I walked the extensive trails there for close to two hours and although I did not see or hear anything our of the ordinary, I did pretty well, identifying 28 species of birds. My “best birds” where: Brown Thrasher, four Killdeer (two of which I believe were immatures), a female Mallard with ducklings, and a pair of Green Herons.

I finally got a good enough look at a Green Heron for a photo. Kenridge Farm 6/1/13.

Three of four Killdeer out at Kenridge Farm, 6/1/13.

The heat was getting pretty unbearable and the harsh sun was making for difficult photography when I wrapped it up at 11:30 am. It was a morning of enjoyable, but not amazing, birding.

Shorebirds at Wallkill River NWR – 5/22/13

Stilt Sandpiper (left) and a Dunlin (right) at Wallkill River NWR 5/22/13.

Thanks to John Haas informing me earlier this week and also an alert from Rob Stone today, I was able to see a really nice collection of shorebirds at Wallkill River NWR after work this evening. I particularly wanted to see the Stilt Sandpiper, a bird that I have seen before but it has been a couple of years and I feel like I saw the bird today with different eyes. I also want to thank Tom Burke (I hope I spelled that correctly) who I met for the first time today. He gave me a crash course in shorebird identification and help me compile a really nice list today:

Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper

Karen Miller met me out there a little later and we walked the Liberty Loop on our way to seeing 41 species. The highlight for me was my first of season Indigo Buntings. Here’s a Downy we had on the east side of the loop:

Downy Woodpecker at Wallkill River NWR 5/22/13.

Bobolink

I went to Wallkill River NWR and walked the Liberty Loop this morning. I went out primarily looking for warblers, but I only managed to find several Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats. I was pleasantly surprised to find my first Bobolinks of the season, and to make it even better they were within decent photo distance. These photos are a bit noisy; I had the ISO very high because the morning was very gray.

Two of two. Bobolink at Wallkill River NWR 5/11/13. — Here’s another shot of the same bird with a closer crop.

_MG_0041 — Two of two. Bobolink out at Wallkill River NWR, 5/11/13.

An extremely buttery Goldfinch at Wallkill River NWR 5/11/13.

It has been fun and challenging getting back to shooting song birds. Song Sparrow at Wallkill River NWR, 5/11/13.

Green Heron – First of Season

On my way to the bank this afternoon I spotted my first Green Heron of the season at the small pond right around the corner from our house. I know I say this about a lot of birds, but Green Herons really are one of my favorite birds; I look forward to a summer of having them at that pond.

First Green Heron of the season for me, Goshen NY 4/27/13.

Sandhill Crane At Wallkill River NWR

On Monday evening, Herb Stein posted that he had seen two Sandhill Cranes and a Glossy Ibis out at Wallkill River NWR. I always enjoy walking the Liberty Loop, so today I went to see what I could find. It was a nice warm evening, a little bit windy, but very pleasant. It made for a nice afternoon of birding. I had 23 species during my walk, with two highlights. The best bird of the night was definitely a single SANDHILL CRANE. What a fabulous bird, I feel so lucky to have seen this bird and to have managed a couple of distant photos, which I have cropped:

The second highlight for me was a DUNLIN in adult breeding plumage. This bird confounded me until I got home and looked it up. This bird was pretty far out, so here again is a distant photo that has been cropped:

A Dunlin alongside a Greater Yellowlegs out at Wallkill River NWR 4-24-13.

What a great night of birding! Many thanks to Herb Stein for posting. Here’s my list for the evening:

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 4
Wood Duck 1
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler 1
Green-winged Teal 8
Great Blue Heron 5
Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Sandhill Crane 1 First reported by H Stein
Killdeer 8
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Dunlin 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow X
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin X
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird X

Monday, Monday 4-15-13

I had a really nice afternoon of birding after work on Monday. The weather was nice, cool and sunny. My first stop was at Glenmere Lake to see if anything interesting had come in. There was still a pretty good collection of waterfowl present, including Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, many Bufflehead, and the highlight was definitely a a single TUNDRA SWAN floating with a group of Mute Swans.

Here is an shot of the Tundra Swan on its own, though it spent most of the time with a group of Mute Swans. Glenmere Lake 4/15/13.

Afterwards, I headed over to my favorite spot, Wallkill River NWR, to walk the Liberty Loop. There was plenty of activity there; I spent most of my time looking at waterfowl and shorebirds. I struggled with the shorebirds as usual, but it was a lot of fun getting my first good dose of shorebirds for the year. I ended up with 28 species, and it was really nice to just walk the loop and enjoy being outside.

A couple of Blue-winged Teals come in for a landing. Wallkill River NWR 4-15-13.

Mute Swan X
Wood Duck 2
Mallard 4
Blue-winged Teal 8
Northern Shoveler 10
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal X
Bufflehead 1
Great Blue Heron 7
Turkey Vulture 5
Northern Harrier 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 5
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Pectoral Sandpiper 8
Wilson’s Snipe 22
Mourning Dove 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
American Kestrel 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Crow X
Black-capped Chickadee 1
American Robin X
Song Sparrow X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X

This is one of the better shots I've gotten of a Green-winged Teal. There is much less water out at the reserve right now so I think the birds were more likely to stay put as I approached. — This is one of the better shots I’ve gotten of a Green-winged Teal. There is much less water out at the reserve right now so I think the birds were more likely to stay put as I approached.

Greater Yellowlegs at Wallkill River NWR, 4-15-13.

Red-necked Grebe…

… is another life bird for me! I went out to Glenmere Lake this afternoon to try for the Long-tailed Duck again and to see if the second round of storms brought in any new birds. I was very happy to find this Red-necked Grebe:

This is another distant shot that I have cropped pretty heavily. It has been a little frustrating that these birds are too far away for decent photos, but that is easily outweighed by the excitement of seeing a new species for the first time. There were fewer birds present today, but it was still a productive stop:

Mute Swan 4
Canada Goose 8
Wood Duck 10
Mallard 6
Lesser Scaup 4
Bufflehead 12
Common Merganser 9 (fly over)
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Red-necked Grebe 1
DC Cormorant 9
Turkey Vulture 4
A. Crow 2
Tree Swallow 75

Thanks again to Rob Stone for turning me on to Glenmere Lake, it has been awesome for me this week!

The Long-tailed Duck…

…is a life bird for me. Thanks to Rob Stone alerting me, I was able to get to Glenmere Lake in Florida NY today after work to see some really good birds, including a beautiful Long-tailed Duck. Here is a very distant photo, heavily cropped:

A Long-tailed Duck, two Horned Grebes, and three Lesser Scaups in the distance out at Glenmere Lake 4/10/13.

When I got home I read John Haas’ post at Bashakill Birder and learned that due to the thunderstorms that passed through last night, there was a major fallout of birds. John wrote specifically about Sullivan County, but I imagine that I saw these birds in Orange County for the same reason. I had never birded at Glenmere Lake before, but it is now on my radar for birding spots. Here is my species list for the day:

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 2
Wood Duck 4
Mallard 5
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 8
Long-tailed Duck 1
Bufflehead 10
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Horned Grebe 3
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Tree Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee 1
American Robin X
Red-wing Blackbird X

Here’s one more photo that includes five different types of water birds floating together:

Click on the photos to enlarge.

In this photo: 1 Bufflehead, 1 Long-tailed Duck, 1 Pied-billed Grebe, 2 Horned Grebe, 1 Greater Scaup, and 10 Lesser Scaup at Glenmere Lake 4/10/13. I struggled with the Lesser Scaups vs Greater Scaups while I was in the field. I was fairly confident that I had one Greater Scaup while I was out there, though I don’t know if I would have picked up on it if I didn’t know that Rob Stone had both scaups there earlier in the day. In this photo, I think the 2nd bird to the right of the Pied-billed Grebe might be the Greater Scaup, but it is really tough to tell.