Orange County – Page 81 – Orange Birding

Rough-legged Hawk At Skinner Lane

I made a quick stop by Skinner Lane today and got lucky with this beautiful Rough-legged Hawk.

What a surprise to find this beautiful very dark Rough-legged Hawk today at Skinner Lane.

Here’s a good look at the under wing pattern. RLHA at Skinner Lane 2-3-13.

From my car I watched this bird hunt over a small field for nearly 45 minutes and it did not seem bothered by my presence, but as you can see from this photo, the hawk definitely knew I was there. When I left the bird was in the same tree looking away from me and scanning the field below.

Here’s a couple more:

Snows on Ice in Goshen!

I made a quick stop today at 6 1/2 Station Road in Goshen after work and found three Snow Geese among approximately 170 Canada Geese out on the ice. Very Exciting! Here’s a couple quick photos…

Here’s one more that I like:

Sunday afternoon I had to resist the urge to go back to the Shawangunk Grasslands and sit in the blind. I decided instead check a few spots in Orange County and see what I could find. My first stop was in Warwick to look for a leucistic Red-tailed Hawk that my friend and fellow hawk counter Carol Linguanti had recently told me about. I was thrilled just to find the bird and see it, but what was really exciting was to be able to get some photos of this incredible bird. It was amazing to see this bird in flight; what a beauty. Huge thanks to Carol for helping me out with this one.

It really was something to see this hawk in flight.

There was one Northern Harrier that was flying low and hunting and so many Red-tailed Hawks that this one had to find a perch on the top of a house:

A Red-tailed Hawk perched on the roof of a McMansion in Warwick, NY.

My next stop was Missionland Road. I drove the length of the road and tallied 7 Red-tailed Hawks, 8 Black Vultures, many crows and one American Kestrel (which, of course, was on a wire).

I also got some photos of this bird in flight, but they were all silhouettes. Male American Kestrel at Missionland Rd. — I also got some photos of this bird in flight, but they were all silhouettes. Male American Kestrel at Missionland Road 1-27-13.

I really enjoyed seeing these Black Vultures at Missionland Rd.

For my final stop I figured I would hit my favorite – Wallkill River NWR. I had an enjoyable walk around the Liberty Loop; I did not see anything out of the ordinary but I did get a good showing of “regulars” and took the opportunity to take some photos:

One more Junco. They were kind enough to sit for some photos.

I’m still in search of a good one of these – Downy Woodpecker at Wallkill River NWR 1-27-13.

These guys are never too shy. Song Sparrow at Wallkill River NWR 1-27-13.

Saturday 1-19-13

Northern Harrier at Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge 1-19-13.

I feel like it has been forever since I got out for a full day of birding with any success. Karen Miller and I met out at Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge right around sunrise this morning. It was really cold out, 25 degrees Fahrenheit with a substantial wind chill. We sat in the car for a while and then on the platform for a bit until it got too cold. There were many raptors to be seen – Red-tail Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, a juvenile Bald Eagle, and several Northern Harriers. We decided to follow up on a post seen on the Mearns Bird Club site; we went to Greenwood Lake.

Neither one of us had ever been birding at Greenwood Lake, so it was a bit of an adventure for us as we drove around and explored the lake. We ended up having a great visit with many birds. The highlight for me was a large raft of Common Mergansers that we estimated at approximately 500 individuals:

There was no good spot to get a clear photo of these Common Mergansers. It was really a thrill to see all these birds at once. Greenwood Lake 1-19-13.

We stumbled upon Browns Point Park, in West Milford NJ. I totally missed the sign, but Karen saw it and had me turn around. Thank goodness too, because the park provided the best look at ducks that we had all day. We got very good close looks at: Buffleheads, Ring-necked Ducks and Mallards.

Ring-necked Duck at Browns Point Park 1-19-13.

A female Bufflehead makes her way down the canal at Browns Point Park, 1-19-13.

After Greenwood Lake, Karen and I headed back to Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge. We decided to walk the Liberty Loop trail; it had warmed up considerably but it was still really windy. Walking through the wind and snow was tough but we were rewarded by seeing many sparrows, Northern Harriers, and a surprise showing of a Short-eared Owl at 12:45 pm. What a great day of birding! Pretty good for January nineteenth.

Evidence of the high winds out at Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge, a wind blown song sparrow on the Liberty Loop.

I am still trying to get a good photo of a "gray ghost". This is the best I could do today... — I am still trying to get a good photo of a “gray ghost”. This is the best I could do today…

One more Northern Harrier out at Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge, 1-19-13.

Fall Birding Photos

_MG_8470-001 — Red-tailed Hawk at Wallkill River NWR 11-4-12.

_MG_8469 — A close-up of the same hawk – this bird was perched on a wire and was extremely accommodating.

_MG_8157 — My first Dark-eyed Junco of the season. Shawangunk Grasslands 10-27-12.

_MG_8194-001 — I played a hunch and stopped at the parking lot of a cafe on route 207 north of Goshen. It payed off with this adult Bald Eagle in the field across the street.

_MG_8239-002.aJPG — This might be my favorite photo of the year. Ruddy Duck at Kiamesha Lake 10-27-12.

_MG_8495 — This Golden-crowned Kinglet was very cooperative on my first visit to the Wood Duck Trail at the Wallkill River NWR 11-4-12.

Hawk Watching

_MG_7159 — An immature Bald Eagle flies right over the Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10-14-12

I have been spending much of my birding time this fall hawk watching. I volunteer at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, which is located on Kain Road in Warwick NY (just across the street from Bellvale Farms Creamery), so I have been out there on many days. I have been thinking about why I enjoy hawk watching so much and I came up with a few good reasons. It is really amazing how many birds you can see if you sit in one spot for a while. On September 20th, Mt. Peter had its highest count of the year – 1,281 migrating raptors! Over a thousand of them were Broad-winged Hawks! And this is not even considered a “big day” for Broad-winged Hawks. You don’t just see hawks either, I have seen Brant, a Great Blue Heron, Gulls, Common Ravens, Common Loons, and even Glossy Ibis fly over hawk watches! There is also plenty of time to look for songbirds when there is a lull in the hawk activity.

I also find hawk watching to be extremely challenging. It is certainly a different way of birding for me. Some days it is difficult just to to find any migrating hawks in the sky, depending on wind and weather conditions, how high the birds are flying, and what the cloud cover is like (among other things). An all blue sky is the most difficult sky to find hawks in. Sunny with some clouds seems to make the hawks most visible for me. Some days it can be tough to just locate the birds, but identifying the raptors is by far the most challenging and rewarding aspect of Hawk Watching. It is so much fun trying to figure out what species of bird you are looking at – sometimes at a great distance, often in silhouette, usually with no size comparisons to be made.

Finally, there is an aspect of hawk watching that would never have guessed would become so enjoyable to me – the camaraderie. I always enjoyed birding alone – sort of an escape, but I am finding more and more that I am enjoying birding with other people. Mt. Peter is extraordinary, the people there are amazing – so friendly, knowledgeable, generous. I highly recommend a visit.

If you are interested in seeing the data collected by the Mt. Peter volunteers, please visit: http://www.hawkcount.org/.

2012-09-23 10.43.42 — A busy day out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch 9-23-12

_MG_6130 — One of the local Red-tail Hawks at Mt. Peter 9-23-12

Tricia and I also made it out to Hawk Mountain for the first weekend of October. The highlight for me was 9 Peregrine Falcons on Saturday.

hawkmt2-001 — Me at Hawk Mountain. Photo by Tricia.

_MG_6545 — An Osprey flies on the West side of the North Lookout at Hawk Mountain.

_MG_6597 — At Hawk Mountain, many of the looks are from above. I have this as a Cooper’s Hawk 10-6-12.

_MG_6790 — One more Osprey. They counted 55 Osprey migrating over Hawk Mountain on 10-6-12

Wallkill River NWR – Looking For Black-crowned Night-Herons

_MG_3719 — Black-crowned Night-Heron at Walllkill River WR

I made it out to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge before sunrise THREE times this week in hopes of finally getting some Black-crowned Night-Heron photos. I identified 37 species of birds (and one really cute mammal) in those three days. Here’s a short list of favorites:

Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Herons(many!)
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Bald Eagle
Cooper’s Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Pectoral Sandpiper
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink

I finally got a pretty good look at both an adult and a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron this morning, and it is thanks to John – a fellow birder I met out at the refuge this morning. He told me when he first arrived that he had never had any luck finding BCNH at this site. Moments later one flew right over our heads! He later found three BCNH in a couple of trees just off of the east side of the trail and he made sure I knew exactly where to find them. Thanks John!

_MG_3727 — I cropped this pretty heavily because I am amazed at the color of this bird’s eyes.

_MG_3743 — This is the best shot I could manage of this young Black-crowned Night-Heron. I love the markings on this bird!

_MG_3632 — I thought this was a beautiful Red-winged Blackbird.

_MG_3693 — I am pretty sure this is a female Bobolink, though when I took the photo I thought it was a Red-winged Blackbird in the yellow early morning sun.

_MG_3673 — This Double-crested Cormorant landed in the water in front of the viewing platform for just long enough to get a couple photos before he was on his way…

_MG_3657 — I thought the light was really nice on this Canada Goose in flight.

_MG_3583 — Karen Miller found this little critter when we were out on Saturday morning. We found out later that it is an Ermine. In the winter it will have a white coat with a black nose! (Thanks for the info Gail).

_MG_3637 — A Green Heron on a wire. A first for me, though I saw it two times this week.

_MG_3712 — One more of the adult Black-crowned Night-Heron.

Green Herons in Goshen – Shapeshifters?

Monday afternoon I sat hidden in the bushes by the pond near my house in Goshen, NY for over two hours. I know, strange behavior. Well actually, I was watching and photographing two Green Herons that were spending their afternoon there. The herons spent their time grooming, hunting, and just sitting. It was fascinating to see how these birds can take on a variety of shapes and sizes depending on their behavior.

*Click on photos to enlarge*

Mississippi Kites In Orange County!

I made it out to Sterling Forest State Park in Tuxedo New York this evening to try to see the Mississippi Kites that had been seen there over the last several days. I would like to thank all the folks from the Edgar A. Mearns Bird Club who posted about the kites. I was not disappointed in the least! I was there for an hour and a half and both birds where present almost the entire time. I watched as they ate dragonflies and also got to see them mate on two separate occasions! What a great day of birding! Here’s some photos: