A local Turkey Vulture buzzes by the tower. Summitville Hawk Watch, 9/15/13.
This is a couple of days late, but on Sunday I filled in for John Haas at the Summitville Hawk Watch. It was a slow day which I will attribute to a SSW wind for most of the day. Ideal winds would come from the NW. Here’s my report for the day as it appears at hawkcount.org:
I love this shot – the reflections are nice and I like having three different species in the shot. Front to back, Baird’s Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper. Morningside Park, 8/17/13.
I took my kayak out to have a paddle out at Morningside Park this morning. John Haas reported a Baird’s Sandpiper there yesterday in his blog, and I was hoping it would still be around. It was a really great morning of birding for a few reasons. First of all, I got to see some really great shorebirds:
Semipalmated Plover 2
Killdeer 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 16
BAIRD’S SANDPIPER 1 *Life bird for me*
The second reason it was such a terrific morning of birding is how close you can get to the birds there. By moving slowly and smoothly in the kayak, you can get REALLY close to these birds. In fact, it kind of messed with me at first – I never get this close so my sense of size and scale was out of sync. I got fantastic looks at all the above species, and this also was a big help with getting some photos.
The third reason is that after I was there for about 40 minutes, John showed up in his kayak. It is always enjoyable to bird with John and I learned a great deal by both talking with him and by watching him as he systematically went through all the islands to make sure he did not miss a bird. His thoroughness and his dedication are inspiring to me.
All these shots are from Morningside Park on 8/17/13.
I love the pose this Red-winged Blackbird was taking – wings stretched out. Basha Kill WMA 7/4/13.
I woke up early and took my kayak out to the Basha Kill for a paddle. Due to the heavy rains from earlier this week, the water level was really high, causing Haven Road to become flooded. The high water made an impact on my birding in a few ways. The first is that it made for a very easy paddle with no vegetation to slow me down in the channels. It also allowed me to explore the Bash outside the channels, where vegetation was present but it was still a relatively effortless paddle. Another effect of the high water level was also helpful. One of my target birds for the day was the Common Gallinule, which has been, for me, one of the tougher birds to get a good look at. Today I got several good looks and actually managed to get some decent photos. I believe that with the water up, there was less vegetation to hide these birds. Conversely, the final effect was not helpful at all. Great Blue Herons were out in numbers today, I saw probably 15 or so, but I never got close enough for a photo! Not one! I think that the GBHs were more easily aware of my presence without the vegetation to hide my approach.
I heard this bird long before I saw it. I am thrilled to finally get a decent shot of a Common Gallinule. Basha Kill 7/4/13. Adult Bald Eagle at Basha Kill WMA, 7/4/13. I had a close encounter with one of the adults bringing in food to the two fledges but I did not manage to get any photos as they flew right over me in my kayak.One more shot of the many Red-winged Blackbirds out at the Basha Kill, 74/13.I’m trying to branch out a bit, taking photos of things other than birds. Basha Kill, 7/4/13.
It’s still nice to get a good shot of one of our more common birds. Red-winged Blackbird at Basha Kill WMA 6/23/13.
I was feeling a bit uninspired when trying to figure out where to bird this morning. With migration long over and the summer kicking in, I was looking to do something a little bit different. It was right about this time last year that I started birding by kayak out at the Basha Kill, so I figured I would give it a shot. I put my kayak in the water at the route 209 boat launch just before 7 am. I paddled to Haven Road without seeing very much at all – a huge difference from last year when I had Wood Ducks and duckling at just about every turn, Pied-billed Grebes, and no shortage of Great Blue Herons. I was hearing plenty of birds on the perimeter of the kill, and I also was enjoying watching the Tree Swallows hunt and then perform an apparent mid-air food exchange. I tried to get a photo of this behavior, but I was unsuccessful.
At Haven Road I could see an adult Bald Eagle perched on the other side of the bridge. The water level is still very high, so I had to walk my kayak over Haven Road to continue. I moved very slowly and eventually got in good position to take some photos. This was clearly the highlight of my outing, I snapped away until the Red-winged Blackbirds and Eastern Kingbirds became too bothersome for the eagle and it flew.
Bald Eagle perched near Haven Road, as seen from my kayak 6/23/13.
Here the eagle is starting to get bothered by the small birds buzzing around…I believe that is a female Red-winged Black bird right behind the eagle as it took off. An here, it appears that an Eastern Kingbird is hitching a ride! It always amazes me that these small birds are willing to tangle with an adult Bald Eagle.
I took a quick cruise over to the Nature Trail when I finished my paddle, and picked up my best bird of the day by far: a pair of NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES. This was a life bird for me, giving me two life birds this weekend – not too bad! They were splashing around in a puddle in the parking lot when I arrived, pumping their tails repeatedly. I tried to move closer for a photo and flushed them; I never did see them again. I had a nice photo opportunity at the end of the trail, where I stumbled upon about 10 Wood Duck ducklings. I think they are so sweet.
Pure sweetness – a Wood Duck duckling at Basha Kill WMA 6/23/13.Here’s a couple more…
It ended up being a great morning for birding and for bird photography. Here’s my species list for the day:
Canada Goose 10
Wood Duck 25
Mallard 6
Great Blue Heron 5
Turkey Vulture 1
Bald Eagle 1
Virginia Rail 1
Common Gallinule 2
Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
Eastern Kingbird 10
Yellow-throated Vireo 4
Warbling Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 25
Barn Swallow 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Veery 2
Wood Thrush 3
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
Ovenbird 2
Northern Waterthrush 2
Common Yellowthroat 2
American Redstart 6
Yellow Warbler 10
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle 8
I ran into John Haas and Scotty Baldinger out at the Basha Kill this morning. I joined them in search of a suspected King Rail. We were joined shortly after by fellow Mearns Bird Club members Joyce D and Mary B. The King Rail turned out to be this very accommodating Virginia Rail. I’m sure John and Scotty were disappointed but I sure wasn’t – it was a life bird for both myself and Joyce D.Here’s one more of the Virginia Rail, Basha Kill 6/22/13.
This post includes three birds that I enjoyed watching an photographing this week. They are also birds that I would not have been nearly as likely to find without the generosity of my fellow birders. I have wanted to write a post about this for a while now, when I think back on all the posts I have made over the last year or so, how often am I thanking another birder? Very often! I am continually impressed by how kind and giving birders are; my experiences with other birders here in Orange County and the surrounding areas have been overwhelmingly positive. I have yet to come across a birder that is secretive or keeping any sort of “birding hotspot” to themselves. Rather, it is much more common to run into other birders out in the field, where they will give me the most detailed directions to get a good look or photograph of the latest bird that I am seeking.
Additionally, birders will take the time and energy to share their observations by texting, emailing or posting online. Again, this usually includes accurate and very detailed descriptions of where and when the bird had been seen.
The birding community is an extremely nice group of people, one that I feel I have slowly become a part of over the past couple of years. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the generous birders out there – I hope I can repay you all at one time or another.
Karen Miller and I ran into Curt McDermott out at Stewart Forest on Wednesday evening. On Thursday evening I was taking photos of Bank Swallows in Wallkill thanks to a hot tip and perfect directions from Curt. Btw, this is a difficult bird to photograph. I realize this is not a great photo but it was the best I could do! I plan give it another go sometime soon…Earlier this week, I received an email from Ken McDermott and Ajit Antony posted on the Mearns Bird Club that there were Purple Martins out at the Shawangunk Grasslands. I got out there this morning and managed to get some flight photos.
This is the bird I wanted to see more than any on this day – Yellow-billed Cuckoo at the Nature Trail, Basha Kill WMA 5/26/13.
Karen Miller and I went out to the Basha Kill WMA this morning and spent five and a half hours enjoying some fabulous birding. We started at Haven Road where we heard but did not see the American Bittern. We could hear a lot of bird activity at the Stop Sign Trail, so we headed there next. Right off the bat we got a good look at a Great Crested Flycatcher, which we had been hearing from the bridge on Haven Road. After that we got a good look at a Yellow-throated Vireo, a bird that I hear all the time but almost never get a look at. Moments later we had a Chestnut-sided Warbler, a beautiful little bird and a life bird for Karen. We walked all the way out to Moosehead Cove where we saw an Osprey cruising for prey. We heard and saw many birds along the way, with the highlight being this cooperative Veery:
Veery at the Stop Sign Trail, Basha Kill WMA 5/26/13. Conditions were really low light for this photo, so it is a bit noisy and soft but I still felt it was worth posting.
Our next stop was the Main Boat Launch to see how the Nature Watch folks were doing. It was really windy there, but we enjoyed some good conversation with Maura and Bob Muller who were volunteering for the morning shift and saw one adult Bald Eagle and we watched the young Bald Eagles on the nest jumping and flapping their wings like mad, getting in as much practice as possible for that first flight that should happen in about a month or so.
Our final destination of the day was the Nature Trail, where we saw plenty of Warbling Vireos, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, American Redstarts, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and Baltimore Orioles.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the Nature Trail, 5/27/13.
We also got very good looks at a Cerulean Warbler and a mediocre photo too:
A singing Cerulean Warbler at the Nature Trail, 5/26/13.
The highlight of the day for me, though, was certainly the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. This was the bird I went out looking for today, and to actually see it AND be able to get a photo was amazing.
At the end of the day we had identified 40 species. What an awesome day of birding, honestly, it brings me great joy!
Chestnut-sided Warbler at the Stop Sign Trail at the Basha Kill, 5/18/13.
In a brave move, I went out to the Basha Kill solo this morning. As you probably know, I do plenty of birding alone, but in this case I say it is brave because it is warbler season, and this being only my second year of looking for warblers, it still does not come very easily to me. I find both aspects of looking for warblers a challenge: 1. birding by ear, and 2. finding these littlest of birds in the vastness of the rapidly growing foliage. I felt pretty good about it when I was out, I was really enjoying myself. But by the end of the morning, I had only totaled 6 species of warblers, which is not exactly spectacular. Even though I did not get many warblers, I was seeing, hearing and identifying many birds. I ended the morning with 41 species, which a very nice total for me. Here’s my list for the day:
This was one of the highlights of the morning for me, one of two White-crowned Sparrows at the Deli Fields, 5/18/13.
Canada Goose X
Wood Duck 4
Mallard 5
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 10
Green Heron 1
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 2
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 7
Black-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Eastern Phoebe 3
Eastern Kingbird 4
Yellow-throated Vireo 2
Warbling Vireo X
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 1
These little Yellow Warblers are everywhere right now, and I think they take nice photos. This one was at the Nature Trail, 5/18/13.
Barn Swallow 8
Veery 1
Wood Thrush 4
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
Brown Thrasher 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat X
American Redstart 6
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler X
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Baltimore Oriole X
American Goldfinch 6
This was my first opportunity to photograph a Wood Thrush. This is a bit noisy and also a little soft because of the low light. Nature Trail, Basha Kill 5/18/13.I had my first of season AMERICAN BITTERN shortly after arriving at Haven Road this morning. For a change, the bird was pretty easy to pick out in the sea of green.Always photogenic, Eastern Phoebe at Haven Road, 5/18/13.
John Haas with the group at his Wonderful Waterfowl Bird Walk, Basha Kill 3/23/13. Photo by Karen Miller.
In spite of the cold and windy weather, yesterday morning I attended John Haas’ waterfowl walk along with 18 other hardy souls. We were not disappointed, as there were many bird species present, waterfowl and otherwise. Visit John’s blog, The Basha Kill Birder to see his post which contains his account and a list of all species. Normally for me the highlight of any birding outing has to do with seeing and identifying a particular species, or maybe seeing some sort of new behavior. In this case it was being able to spend a few hours with John, who has a wealth of bird knowledge that is incredible. He is a fantastic teacher; he touched on basics for the beginners in the group, but also got more in depth for some of the more experienced birders in the group. On top of all this, John is a “bird magnet”. We were not on Haven Road for very long when he spotted an accipiter flying overhead…could it be? Yes! A NORTHERN GOSHAWK!
A NORTHER GOSHAWK flies over Haven Road at the Basha Kill, 3/23/13.
We got good looks at most of the waterfowl, but only because John and several other people brought scopes. Most of what we saw was quite distant, making it tough for photos. Here are a couple of Common Goldeneyes, a life bird for me on a visit to the Basha Kill earlier in the week:
The Canada Geese on the muskrat hill in the background sort of steal the show, but there are two Common Goldeneyes in the foreground. Basha Kill 3/23/13.
Huge thanks to John for a very enjoyable and rewarding outing, and also thanks to my birding buddy Karen Miller for the group shots. Here’s a shot of me and the rest of group:
I’m looking for a pair of Blue-winged Teals that had been reported by Scott Baldinger…I had no luck. Photo by Karen Miller.
Later in the day I spent some time out at the Shawangunk Grasslands in the south blind. It was my first time in that blind and it paid off as I got many good looks at the “Gray Ghost”:
Red-tailed Hawk at Wallkill River NWR 11-4-12.A close-up of the same hawk – this bird was perched on a wire and was extremely accommodating.My first Dark-eyed Junco of the season. Shawangunk Grasslands 10-27-12.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.This might be my favorite photo of the year. Ruddy Duck at Kiamesha Lake 10-27-12.This Golden-crowned Kinglet was very cooperative on my first visit to the Wood Duck Trail at the Wallkill River NWR 11-4-12.