Orange Birding

Weekend Wrap-up, 10/13/19

Well, it was an interesting weekend of birding for me. I counted at Mount Peter Hawkwatch on Saturday, and it was a bit of mixed bag. In 7 hours of counting, I had only 22 migrating raptors. But! I had a remarkable 14 sitings of Bald Eagles, 6 of which were countable, migrating birds. I also had my first migrating Northern Harriers of the season. And, I somehow managed to add 4 birds to my 2019 Orange County list: Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Swainson’s Thrush, Hermit Thrush, and very exciting – a skein of 27 BRANT! I haven’t really been going for numbers this year, but as the fall has rolled in I started looking at it with the hopes of at least reaching 200 birds in the county this year. These four birds brought my total to 199.

~Eastern Phoebe at Citgo Pond Trail, 10/13/19.~

I also had some really great visitors on Saturday, which helped the time pass when things were slow. Some folks even brought me snacks. You can see the list of visitors in my HMANA report at the bottom of this post. On my way home I stopped at Glenmere Lake and joined Karen Miller, Kathy Ashman, and Diane Bliss for the last little while of the Mearns Bird Club’s Big Sit. We had a nice flurry of songbirds come through (mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers) just as we were getting ready to leave.

~One of the many Yellow-rumped Warblers at Citgo Pond, 10/13/19. I had loads of birds out there, but unfortunately not so many photo ops.~

On Sunday I didn’t have the opportunity to get out until the early afternoon. My first stop was Citgo Pond, hoping for shorebirds. There were only 2 shorebirds present (a Greater Yellowlegs and a late Solitary Sandpiper), but the trail had plenty of birds. They were mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers, but also some more interesting birds: Blue-headed Vireo, Palm Warbler, and my 200th bird of the year in the county, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

~This pair of Great Blue Herons didn’t see me until the last second. Wallkill River NWR 10/13/19.~

I also made a brief stop at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I walked Liberty Lane briefly and in sheer numbers, I had as many sparrows as I can remember ever having out there. That being said, I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, but I did have a total of 6 sparrow species: Song, Swamp, Field, Savannah (easily the most numerous), White-crowned, and Chipping. I wanted to do some kayaking at Glenmere Lake in the evening, but to be honest I just ran out of juice and stayed in.

~This was actually taken last Sunday; I sort of like this shot so I wanted to include it. Double-crested Cormorant in flight at Glenmere Lake, 10/06/19.~

More Good Shorebirds at Glenmere Lake, 10/05/19

I got a slightly later start than I wanted this morning. I struggled sleeping last night; I eventually got back to sleep around 5 am, but that made it tough to wake up early. My plan was to get to Citgo Pond before the sun was over the trees (once it’s over the trees, the birds are severely backlit and tough to ID). Anyways, I had to forego that plan and I headed directly to my next planned stop: Glenmere Lake. It ended up being a good decision as I had some really good birds in perfect light.

~Always a favorite (look at the header image I’ve use for ages), Pectoral Sandpiper up close and personal at Glenmere Lake, 10/05/19.~

I kayaked the lake, just as I did last weekend. As I paddled out, I could see some good shorebird activity in the distance at the south end of the lake. I heard a shorebird call; I couldn’t put my finger on it and I also couldn’t locate the bird – it seemed to be moving over great distance. I eventually caught up with that bird, it was an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, undoubtedly the bird of the day. Prior to locating the plover, I’d come across nearly a dozen Pectoral Sandpipers (always a favorite), and 5 Lesser Yellowlegs. Of course there were many Killdeer around as well. Photo ops were mostly good as the light was good and the birds were cooperative. One other bird of note was a single American Pipit flyover, calling as it went. Again, I can’t express how great it is to be able to see these fabulous birds up close and personal – kayaking for shorebirds rules. I’ll be out again in the morning, fingers crossed for some good birds.

~By the time I’d located this bird, heat shimmer was an issue for photos. Plus I kept my distance – I’m not sure how these birds are with the kayak. The bird of the day, an American Golden-Plover at Glenmere Lake, 10/05/19.~

~Pectoral Sandpiper with a Lesser Yellowlegs in the background. Glenmere Lake, 10/05/19.~

~I know not everyone is as shorebird-obsessed as I am, but come on – this is a gorgeous bird. PESA at Glenmere Lake, 10/05/19.~

~Unbeknownst to me, Kathy Ashman was birding the lake the same time I was there. She took some excellent shots of me birding in my kayak – thanks for sharing Kathy!

~There were several Double-crested Cormorants at the lake this morning, 10/05/19.~

~I went to Wallkill River NWR briefly after Glenmere Lake and had 5 species of sparrow – Song, Savannah, Lincoln’s, White-crowned, and a good number of Swamp Sparrows like this one.~

~More heat shimmer, grrrrrr, but what can you do? White-crowned Sparrow at Wallkill River NWR, 10/05/19.~

What a Weekend!

I had an excellent weekend of birding, which frankly is not something I’ve been able to say too much recently. I’ll start with today, Sunday, because it was most exciting. While I was at Citgo Pond searching for shorebirds first thing this morning, Kathy Ashman put out an alert on the Mearns Bird Club app – she was at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary and had located a LARK SPARROW! I did my best to make sure I wasn’t missing anything good at Citgo and headed directly over to 6 1/2, where the bird was not only still present, it was also very accommodating, allowing for some decent photos in spite of the low light conditions.

~Wow! LARK SPARROW at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 09/29/19.~

The LARK SPARROW was a life bird for me – #420. It was, of course also a county (#258) and state (#305) bird for me. Huge thanks and congratulations to Kathy on an awesome find.

~I loved this bird! What a fabulous looking sparrow. It spent most of the time I was there down in the grasses but would intermittently return to the tree line. LARK SPARROW, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 09/29/19.~

From there, I finally did some kayaking at Glenmere lake. I’m shorebird obsessed as most of you know, and I’ve had some shorebirds there recently, but it’s so tough to see from the shore with all the foliage in the way, so I wanted to get out on the water and see what I could find. While I didn’t come up with any new birds, I did have a good collection of shorebirds (Killedeer, Least Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Wilson’s Snipe). I got a much better look at the habitat at the south end of the lake – it’s good for shorebirds and it’s also vast! And then there is the magic of being in a kayak with shorebirds. If you move slowly and smoothly, they just don’t seem to know you exist and pay absolutely zero attention to you (except for the Killdeer!). It’s really amazing and allows for some incredible looks excellent photo ops. I was particularly happy to get the snipe up so close – I don’t think I’ve ever had them like that before.

~Wilson’s Snipe up close and personal. Glenmere Lake, 09/29/19.~

~It’s interesting to me, as I looked through my photos (I took a lot!), the quality of the light changed with the passing of the clouds. I love the overall color palette of this shot and, although the bird is pretty sharp, there is an soft almost pretty quality to the photo that I enjoy. Lesser Yellowlegs at Glenmere Lake, 09/29/19.~

~Lesser Yellowlegs at Glenmere Lake, 09/29/19.~

~Wilson’s Snipe at Glenmere Lake, 09/19/19. Another thing about getting so close to these shorebirds is that they are all very small. In Orange County we are nearly always looking at shorebirds in a spotting scope, but when you have one right next to you, they are tiny.~

SATURDAY 09/28/19 – HAWKWATCH AT MOUNT PETER

~A low flying Broad-winged Hawk flies over the platform at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/28/19.~

I had low expectations for hawkwatch on Saturday. The winds were not good (SE and SW), and plenty of birds had moved through during the week. I didn’t imagine there would be all that many moving for me on Saturday. But, I ended up having a pretty darn good day. With the help of fellow counters Ken Witkowski and Jeanne Cimorelli, I tallied 139 birds for the day. Highlights included 12 Ospreys, a massive and gorgeous Peregrine Falcon, and 3 Bald Eagles. My HMANA report is included below.

~Common Yellowthroat from last weekend at Glenmere Lake, 09/22/19.~

Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 09/21/19

I was pleasantly surprised with a decent flight today at Mount Peter Hawkwatch. This week nearly 5,400 Broad-winged Hawks were counted at the watch, and I just sort of had the feeling that there wouldn’t be many birds passing through today on a very light (1 mph) northwest wind. While it wasn’t a huge number, I was happy to count 215 BWHAs in what was a tough sky – nearly all blue with almost no cloud cover. Huge thanks to fellow counters that helped – Judy Cinquina, Tom Millard, and BA McGrath. I’ve included my report for HMANA (Hawk Migration Association of North America) at the bottom of this post.

~Ahh, the obligatory Turkey Vulture shot. This young bird seems to have been checking me out as it flew over. I used my 1.4x extender today; I have to say that nearly all the shots I took with it came out soft. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/21/19.~

~This Northern Cardinal was hanging around the platform most of the day. I’m not sure what’s going on with the feathers on this bird’s head, but I’ve seen this before. As a matter of fact, we have a Blue Jay in our yard this fall that is nearly bald. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/21/19.~

~This is the first year I can remember having squirrels at the watch.~

Sunday Shots, 09/15/19

On Saturday, I had my first day as official counter at Mt. Peter for the season. I’m cutting back a little this year and not doing every Saturday, so when the schedule came out in August and I saw I had the 14th of September, I was excited – primetime for Broad-winged Hawks! Little did I know then that conditions and weather would conspire against me to deliver my least productive day of counting at Mt. Pete ever. I had a paltry 2 (!) migrating raptors all day. It rained periodically. Even the local Red-tailed Hawks and vultures took the day off for the most part. On the positive side, I did have a Broad-winged Hawk perched in the parking lot when I arrived, as well as a nice mixed flock of warblers that worked the area all day (Yellow-rumped, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, and American Redstart).

~It’s amazing to me how small these birds are when you see them up close like this. Broad-winged Hawk in the Mt. Peter parking area, 09/14/19.~

~Black-throated Green Warbler at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 09/14/19.~

On Sunday I went to the Winding Waters trail at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge to try for warblers. I did alright, in spite of a late start, with 9 species of warbler:

Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler

~American Redstart at Wallkill River NWR, 09/15/19.~

~Not a bird I photograph very often – Blue Jay at Wallkill River NWR, 09/15/19.~

~There were plenty of Common Yellowthroats on the trail this morning, Wallkill River NWR 09/15/19.~

~Pretty little bird: Black-and-White Warbler at Wallkill River NWR, 09/15/19.~

I also spend some time at Mt. Peter, where the birds were actually flying on Sunday. It wasn’t an amazing flight, but there were enough birds to keep it interesting. And I was able to get a Broad-winged Hawk in flight. All in all, not a bad weekend for birding in the OC.

~Broad-winged Hawk in flight, Mt. Peter Hawkwatch 09/15/19.~

A Good Day in the OC, 09/07/19

I spent the morning running for birds that most local birders got to see yesterday. Actually, my first stop was at the Volkswagen dealership to get my car serviced. Do you know they gave me a 6:20 am appointment and I was out birding by 7:15? I thought that was pretty incredible. Anyways, my first stop was at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge to run for the BAIRD’S SANDPIPER that was reported there yesterday. I got lucky, the bird was present, first distant but then it came in closer and I was able to get some shots before it was flushed by one of the two Merlins patrolling the refuge this morning.

~Sweet little shorebird and always good to see – BAIRD’S SANDPIPER at Wallkill River NWR, 09/07/19.~

I made my way over to Winding Waters Trail, where Kathy Ashman had reported an Olive-sided Flycatcher. Unfortunately the bird was no longer present. Then I cruised the black dirt for a good while hoping for more good shorebirds. I was hoping for the pair of BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS which had been reported yesterday, but I didn’t have any luck. From there I went over to Beaver Pond and Glenmere Lake. At Beaver Pond, shorebird numbers were down and I only had a Lesser Yellowlegs, and a handful each of Killdeer and Least Sandpipers. At Glenmere Lake, conditions at the south end of the lake are improving for shorebirds. I walked the trail to better survey that area, but only found a single Killdeer (as far as shorebirds go).

~A Greater Yellowlegs comes in for a landing after taking a spin to avoid one of the two Merlins present at Wallkill River NWR, 09/07/19.~

I was thinking about packing it in for the day when Jim Schlickenrieder put out an alert that he had relocated the BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS. I ran and joined Jim and Bruce Nott in viewing one of my favorite birds. They were a little bit distant, so photos are documentary, but the views in my scope were incredible. Excellent bird, thanks Jim for reporting.

~A favorite – two BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS in the black dirt this afternoon, 09/07/19.~

~Merlin at Wallkill River NWR, 09/07/19.~

~A few Great Egrets are still hanging around the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 09/07/19.~

Labor Day 2019

It was really great to have the day off, and I thought that the conditions and the timing would be pretty darn good for some interesting shorebirds in the black dirt today (Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Baird’s Sandpiper, American Golden-plovers were among my targets). Alas, in spite of searching while the storms were passing through our area, and afterwards as well, I came up empty. I even struck out with the STILT SANDPIPER at Beaver Pond (I’m thinking that bird has likely moved on as I know of a couple folks that went for it without success).

~A slightly bedraggled Gray Ghost in the black dirt this afternoon, 09/02/19. This is the first male Northern Harrier I’ve seen in a while. ~

Fortunately there were enough raptors around to provide a couple decent photo ops. And I was entertained by a young Green Heron trying to swallow an absolutely massive frog. It swallowed the entire frog, except for its two back feet, only to regurgitate the entire thing and then have success on the 2nd try. It’s back to work for me tomorrow morning – that ought to bring some shorebirds in.

~A young Cooper’s Hawk in the black dirt, 09/02/19.~

~Green Heron with a ‘snack’. Beaver Pond in Chester, 09/02/19.~

Sunday Shots, 09/01/19

Wow, September already. The only real birding excitement today was a revisit to the STILT SANDPIPER from yesterday. Bruce Nott relocated the bird first thing this morning and reported it on the Mearns app. He was still there when I arrived; we were joined shortly by Linda Scrima and then John Haas. The bird cooperated and came in pretty close, but unfortunately I didn’t really improve on my photos from yesterday because the bird was backlit. Anyways, not too much else going today, so here’s some shots from the past few days.

~I always enjoy seeing this bird. Horned Lark in the black dirt, 09/01/19.~

~Least Sandpipers in flight at Wallkill River NWR, 08/29/19.~

~Great Egret at Glenmere (Beaver) Pond on Pine Hill Road, Chester 08/30/19.~

~Red-tailed Hawk overhead at Glenmere Pond, 08/31/19.~

~This bird did not seem to be all that far out, but this shot is taken with my 1.4x extender and then cropped pretty heavily. STILT SANDPIPER at Glenmere Pond, 09/01/19.~

OC STILT SANDPIPER, 08/31/19

I’d just gotten home after birding this afternoon when I saw that I missed a call from Karen Miller. I called her back and she told me that the Mearns Bird Club outing had a bird this morning that was later identified (through photos) as a STILT SANDPIPER. The location was at what I refer to as the Glenmere Pond (because it’s just right up the road from Glenmere Lake), but I think most birders call it Beaver Pond. It’s on Pine Hill Road in Chester just south of Glenmere Road. Anyways, I ran for the bird and joined Kathy Ashman, who had seen the bird but it was currently not visible. We shifted position and relocated the bird quickly – it was feeding in its sewing machine style, next to a Lesser Yellowlegs.

~STILT SANDPIPER feeding alongside 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, Glenmere Pond 08/31/19.~

Tom Burke and Gail Benson joined us shortly after, as did Karen Miller and Diane Bliss. We mostly enjoyed scope-distance views of the bird, but then all the shorebirds picked up and the Stilt relocated in a much closer position; allowing for much better looks and some halfway decent documentary photos. I was thrilled to finally get a good shorebird in our area – it was the bird that saved August 2019.

~STILT SANDPIPER in the foreground, Lesser Yellowlegs behind. Glenmere Pond, 08/31/19.~

Sunday Shots, 08/25/19

So, there really doesn’t seem to be much going on in our area right now. I spent most of the week and weekend trying for shorebirds in Orange County, but have only come up with the birds that we have already seen this season: Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, and Solitary Sandpipers. As a comparison, by this time last year, I’d already seen in the county: a WHIMBREL, several Baird’s Sandpipers, a White-rumped Sandpiper, a Short-billed Dowitcher, several Black-bellied Plover, an American Golden-plover, and several Upland Sandpipers. Last year was a great August, but still, by now I would have hoped to have seen some additional shorebirds.

~A young Black-crowned Night-Heron in flight at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 08/25/19.~

When it comes to raptors, however, I’ve done much better. Just this weekend, if I include our trip to Croton Point Park, I’ve seen every expected raptor for this time of year in our area, with the exception of Red-shouldered Hawk:

Black Vulture
Turkey Vultures
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
American Kestrel
Merlin