After last night’s rain storms, today was quite a day for birding in the area. There was a tremendous fallout of waterfowl; I received reports of large numbers of Horned Grebes, White-winged Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, and Red-necked Grebes at various lakes and on the Hudson River. The most remarkable siting, however was up to 700 Bonaparte’s Gulls on the Hudson River near Newburgh. I have never heard of any report of near that many BOGUs in Orange County before; it must have been quite the event to witness.
~This is nothing I’ve ever seen before – 6 Horned Grebes in flight over Wickham Lake, 04/19/22.~
I was unsure where to head when I got out of work; at first I thought I might go to Wickham Lake and then to the river. At the lake, there were still loads of good birds: White-winged Scoter (13), Long-tailed Duck (2), Horned Grebe (21), Ruddy Duck (15), and a distant scaup, which looked to me to be good for a Lesser. It was cold and windy, but also the sun was peeking out, making for a gorgeous night. At one point there was even a rainbow. Rather than spend the time driving, I decided to stay at Wickham and just enjoy being out with the birds.
~Two Long-tailed Ducks in flight at Wickham Lake, 04/19/22.~
Yard Birds 2022: (36) I’ve added 2 species since my last post – Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Chipping Sparrow.
I covered a lot of ground in Orange County this weekend; I went to the Newburgh Waterfront three times, I birded the Hudson River south of Newburgh, drove through Harriman State Park checking the lakes for waterfowl, and did the same at Sterling Forest SP. I hit my “local” lakes both days (Wickham, Greenwood, Walton, and Round). And first thing this morning I spent some time in the black dirt, wishing the heavy puddling would lead me to an interesting bird; it did not.
~Male Hooded Merganser at Silver Mine Lake, 04/09/22.~
The results were mixed. I had a lot of strike outs, but also some decent birds. I’ve decided to rank my top birds of the weekend:
Iceland Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 04/10/22. I guess I never get tired of this bird; it was a pleasant surprise to find one loafing on the floating docks this morning.
Bonaparte’s Gull at Round Lake, 04/09/22. I watched this bird as it intermittently floated and fed in a steady rain on Saturday afternoon.
Long-tailed Ducks, Plum Point 04/09/22. I was happy to see these two birds; unfortunately they were quite distant, so the looks weren’t great, and no pics.
Common Loons, 2 at Greenwood Lake and 3 at Round Lake on Saturday, and 1 at Wickham and Round Lakes on Sunday.
Scaup, Lesser and Greater. I had the Lessers at Plum point on 04/09/22 and the Greaters at Round Lake on 4/10/22,
Notable Mention: A female Red-breasted Merganser at Greenwood Lake, 04/10/22.
~Iceland Gull loafing on the floating docks at the Newburgh Waterfront, 04/10/22.~
Yard Birds 2022: (34) – On Friday evening I added 2 birds flying over, American Kestrel and Tree Swallow. The kestrel was the first falcon I can remember seeing from my yard.
~Eastern Meadowlark giving me the usual distant look in the black dirt, 04/10/22.~ ~Female Hooded Merganser at Silver Mine Lake, 04/09/22.~~Fish Crow at the Newburgh Waterfront, 04/10/22.~
I went out this morning in search of waterfowl. I checked several lakes and ponds in southern Orange County, and finished up at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Marsh. In all, I totaled 17 species of waterfowl. My best bird was Common Loon, of which I found four individuals at three different locations. The hottest spot was definitely Liberty Marsh, which I walked in the rain. Below I’ve included a complete list of species seen, with locations.
~Common Loon at Wickham Lake, taken on Thursday 03/31/22.~
Canada Goose (Glenmere Lake, Beaver Pond, Wickham Lake, & Greenwood Lake)
Mute Swan (Wickham Lake, Liberty Marsh)
Wood Duck (Glenmere, Wickham, Walton, & Liberty Marsh)
~Three Blue-winged Teal at Liberty Marsh, 04/03/22.~
Yesterday morning, Linda Scrima joined me, as I headed back to Black Rock Forest. I was hoping for a better look and photos of the Red Crossbills, and Linda was hoping to get them for the first time in Orange County. We had success on one count, as we saw and heard the birds several times and Linda was able to get some documentary shots of the birds, but the birds never really cooperated for better looks/photos. The area by Tamarack Pond is really a fun spot to bird and many good birds continued (Red-breasted Nuthatch, Fox Sparrow, many Golden-crowned Kinglets, Purple Finches, and Brown Creepers).
On our way out, we ran into Ken McDermott who was trying for the birds. He reported later that afternoon that he’d been successful, pushing his total birds in Orange Count to an absolutely astounding 305 species. Congrats Ken!
~Roadside Pileated Woodpecker in Sugarloaf NY, 04/03/22.~ ~Shorebirds are on the move, I’m happy to say. Greater Yellowlegs in the black dirt 04/03/22.~~Killdeer at Wickham Lake, 03/31/22.~~One of my favorite birds from the weekend – Rusty Blackbird at Wickham Lake, 04/03/22.~ ~Common Loon at Wickham Lake, 03/31/22.~
Well, my good luck continued for another day. This morning I headed to Black Rock Forest to try for the Red Crossbills that have been reported there recently. I enjoyed the 3 mile hike to Tamarack Pond, in spite of the relatively cold and windy conditions. I didn’t have many birds until I got to the area of the pond, where there were plenty of birds, some of them really good, including a couple of Fox Sparrows, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, and a Brown Creeper.
~One of the many Dark-eyed Juncos at Black Rock Forest, near Tamarack Pond, 03/27/22.~
But, it took over two hours of looking and listening and wandering the area before finding my target birds. I heard a call that I did not immediately recognize, as I made my way towards the call, two birds popped up out of an evergreen and landed on a leafless tree. I was able to snap some shots before the birds took off; I got enough to at least document:
~Red Crossbill at Black Rock Forest, 03/27/22.~
The hike back to the car was nearly bird-free, but I was feeling pretty good about things and didn’t mind at all. I made a quick stop at the Newburgh Waterfront afterwards, but it seemed quiet there and I had only the 3 expected species of gull present (Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed).
Yard Birds 2022: (33) – no new birds since my last post.
~This was a nice surprise, one of 2 Fox Sparrows at Black Rock Forest, 03/27/22.~
I’ve been on a little bit of a roll, getting some pretty good birds the last few days. Thursday evening after work I went to Wickham Lake, where I found four distant Red-necked Grebes. I put the word out and a friend responded by saying they had an Eastern Screech-Owl in their yard and I should come over. I don’t mind if I do! It was a beautiful bird and I got some decent photos in spite of the low light conditions. It’s been a while since I’ve had either of those birds, so that was quite a night.
~Eastern Screech-Owl in Orange County, 03/24/22.~
On Friday I went into the office for work and decided to stop by the Newburgh Waterfront on my way home. I had a hunch about Bonaparte’s Gull – the timing is just about right – and I wasn’t disappointed. On a night where I had mostly Ring-billed and Herring Gulls and just a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls, the BOGU was a welcome find. The bird spent most of the time feeding on the water; I was enjoying the elegant manner in which it picked things off the surface of the water.
~Bonaparte’s Gull in flight at the Newburgh Waterfront, 03/25/22.~
This morning I headed to Cooley Bog in Sullivan County, to try for the Red Crossbills located there by John Haas last week. While I didn’t enjoy the great looks that folks had earlier in the week, I did get to hear one bird singing and I witnessed a couple calling flyovers. There were plenty of good birds around, but unfortunately not being very accommodating. Highlights included loads of Pine Siskins, several Red-breasted Nuthatches, a singing Winter Wren, a Red-shouldered Hawk, and a couple of Brown Creepers.
~On my way to the Beechwoods, I passed this Osprey in the snow at Swan Lake. It’s my first Osprey of the year. ~~Red-necked Grebes at Wickham Lake, 03/24/22.~~One more shot of the Bonaparte’s Gull, Newburgh Waterfront 03/25/22.~
From there I went to the area known as the Beechwoods Area. It’s located in the area between Jeffersonville and Hortonville New York, and it’s a good spot for some car birding, which was just what I was looking for since it was snowing and raining on and off. In his book A Birding Guide to Sullivan County NY, John Haas provides directions for a nice birding loop you can drive. My target bird was Eastern Meadowlark, which I found almost as soon as I arrived, on Reum Road. Otherwise it was an enjoyable drive with plenty of the usuals.
I added 3 Sullivan County life birds (Red Crossbill, Brown Creeper, and Eastern Meadowlark) for the day, moving me a little bit closer to my goal of breaking 200 birds in SC this year. My total is now at 197.
Yard Birds 2022: Holding steady at 33 – I didn’t add any new birds this week.
Yesterday afternoon I located 4 TUNDRA SWANS in a field on Celery Avenue in New Hampton. They were far and away the highlight of the weekend. I spotted the birds as I was driving, and I was immediately excited, as I was sure they had to be either Tundra or Trumpeter Swans. When I got the birds in the scope, I could see a yellow spot at the base of the bill on both birds, indicative of Tundra. The birds appeared to be a family unit, with 2 adults and 2 younger birds. While I was looking at the swans, I heard a distant, familiar call. I looked straight up and 3 Sandhill Cranes were flying high overhead; they flew northeast until they were out of sight.
This afternoon the birds were still in the area, but had moved to the fields on Onion Avenue. I’m assuming it was the same group of birds; they were quite distant, so I wasn’t really able to make out the field marks as well as I would have liked, but with 2 adults and 2 young birds about a 1/4 mile away from where I had them the day before, I think this is a safe assumption.
~Two Tundra Swans getting down and dirty on Celery Avenue, 03/19/22.~~The same two adults, pre-mud so you can see the yellow spot at the base of the bills.~
The rest of my birding weekend was relatively unremarkable. I hit many of my usual spots – the black dirt, Wickham Lake, Greenwood Lake (totally fogged in), the Liberty Loop, Reservoir 3 in Port Jervis, and some places here and there in between. I was curious as to which birds and how many I’d observed over the weekend – I had a total of 65 species, and I’ve included a complete list at the bottom of this post.
~Young Tundra Swan on Celery Avenue, 03/19/22.~ ~Red-shouldered Hawk near Reservoir 3 in Port Jervis, 03/20/22.~
Yard Birds 2022: (33) Species. This week I added Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, and Great Blue Heron.
~These birds were way up there – this was taken with my 500mm lens and 1.4x extender. Then cropped. Sandhill Cranes on the move over Celery Avenue, 03/19/22.~ ~Killdeer are plentiful right now. Black dirt 03/20/22.~~I coincidentally took a Mute Swan shot this weekend, at the Liberty Loop 03/19/22.~
I guess winter isn’t over yet. After yesterday’s messy snow, we woke up to temperatures in the high teens this morning. I’m of two minds about it – one part of me is enjoying these last days of winter birding and the other is ready for some warm weather and new birds. Truth be told, many of my favorites are only here in the winter, so I’ve really enjoyed and tried to relish this winter, even when it was super cold.
~American Pipit high-stepping through the black dirt, 03/13/22.~
Last night I went back to the Hudson River, hoping to get a look at the adult Glaucous Gull which had been reported on Friday. No luck with that bird; my best bird was a distant 1st winter Iceland Gull.
~I was pleasantly surprised by this one single Snow Bunting today in the black dirt, 03/13/22.~
This morning I headed back out to the black dirt. A Ross’s and a Greater White-fronted Goose were reported yesterday evening; both of those birds were on my mind, but no luck there. I did catch up with several Lapland Longspurs – a couple had some great looking plumage, but never came close enough for photos. An American Pipit landed close to me several times, giving me some excellent photo ops. I’d put on my 1.4x extender since the longspurs were keeping their distance; it’s been ages since I’ve used it and I was pretty happy with the results.
Before we know it, spring will finally have sprung, so I’m happy to enjoy winter’s last hurrah.
~Yard bird alert! Red-shouldered Hawk making a racket in the backyard while I was working on 03/07/22.~~It was great to see some Lapland Longspurs in some nice plumage this weekend. LALO in the black dirt 03/13/22.~ ~A pair of Wood Ducks in the Wallkill River, 03/13/22.~~One more shot of the American Pipit in the black dirt, 03/13/22.~~Savannah Sparrow in the snow, 03/13/22.~
I got out really early this morning in an effort to get as much birding in before the snow got too bad. I played a hunch and arrived at the Beacon Waterfront not too long after sunrise. I was rewarded with a beautiful first winter Iceland Gull perched on a tent on one of the docks. Not the prettiest perch, but I was still thrilled. I photographed the bird and hoped it would change perches, but alas it eventually took off and flew northeast without even a look back.
~Iceland Gull at the Beacon Waterfront, 03/12/22.~
I checked the Newburgh Waterfront afterwards; there wasn’t much going on, so I headed out to the black dirt just as it started snowing. Once in the black dirt, one of my first birds was a beautiful Rough-legged Hawk. It was snowing quite a bit, but the birds were active. I found many Horned Larks and spent most of the morning looking through them, searching for my main target of the morning: Lapland Longspur. I eventually did locate one; its plumage was pretty nice, but this far into March I was hoping for better. A small flock of Snow Geese flew overhead, and I was eventually able to relocate them. They blended in very well in a distant snowy field.
~Lapland Longspur taking off in the black dirt, 03/12/22.~ ~Camouflaged Snow Geese in the black dirt, 03/12/22.~
The snow was starting to accumulate pretty good, so I headed home. I passed through Lynch Avenue, where in a flooded field I had 4 Northern Pintails with a group of Mallards and Canada Geese. I missed the Wilson’s Snipe which had been reported there, mostly because a large plow was coming through and I needed to get out of the way and get my butt safely home.
Yard Birds 2022: (30) – I added Red-shouldered Hawk and Ring-billed Gull since my last post. I will also mention that yesterday evening I had a white-winged gull fly over the house. It happened too quickly to get a photo; my impression was that the bird was likely an Iceland Gull, but I can’t be sure.
~LALO in the black dirt, 03/12/22.~ ~One of many Horned Larks in the black dirt this morning, 03/12/22.~
I got my best birds of the weekend right after work on Friday evening. I met Karen Miller at the main boat launch at Bashakill WMA; we walked the Birch Trail to find the TUNDRA SWANS which were located earlier in the week by John Haas. It was a gorgeous evening, and we enjoyed our walk in spite of having to be careful because of the icy conditions on the trail. The birds were still present; we were able to locate 12 of the 15 reported birds. Unfortunately they were quite distant and partly obscured by vegetation. Scope views were beautiful, but photos were tough. I’ve included a documentary shot at the bottom of this post.
~Wednesday evening, 03/02/22, was gorgeous, so after work I took a drive around the black dirt just before sunset and was rewarded with this Short-eared Owl.~
Saturday morning I tried for the Northern Shrike at Wickham Woodlands Park, but was unsuccessful. From there I headed over to the black dirt, where I sorted through Canada Geese and flocks of mixed blackbirds looking for rarities; I came up empty. Then, on Onion Avenue, I was pleasantly surprised to find a large flock of Snow Geese. I’d seen reports of Snow Geese during the week, but I was under the impression that the birds had moved on. My estimate was approximately 4-5 thousand birds present. It wasn’t long after I found a nice pull off and grabbed my scope, that a model airplane flushed all the birds. It was quite a spectacle, of course, but I was disappointed to not have the opportunity to try and locate a Ross’s Goose among the flock.
~Snow Goose spectacle in the black dirt, 03/05/22.~ ~Snow Geese in flight, 03/05/22.~
I tried for gulls at the Newburgh Waterfront on Saturday evening, but unfortunately it was a dud and I only was able to locate the 3 expected species of gull.
On Sunday morning I went out to the black dirt to try and relocate the Snow Geese. I was only able to find a couple of smaller groups, but one of them was close enough for some decent photos. I received a report in the early afternoon of approximately 2,500 SNGOs, so it’s good to know at least some of the birds have stuck around.
~It was nice to have some closer birds on Sunday morning. I’m digging these two messy dudes on the right. Lynch Avenue 03/06/22.~
Early Sunday afternoon Tricia and I went to Wickham Lake. There is now plenty of open water. It was an enjoyable visit, with plenty of birds to keep it interesting: Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, 2-300 Common Mergansers, an adult Bald Eagle, and a very noisy mixed flock of blackbirds which you could hear clear across the lake.
Yard Birds 2022: (28) Species. I added Fish Crow this week.
~SNGOs flying over the black dirt, 03/05/22.~ ~SNGOs, black dirt, 03/05/22.~~Snow Geese flying directly overhead, Onion Avenue 03/05/22.~~SNGO fun in the black dirt, 03/05/22.~ ~TUNDRA SWANS at the Bashakill, 03/04/22.~
After yesterday’s gull excitement, today was pretty much a dud. I birded locally; cruising the black dirt early, tried and failed with the Northern Shrike at Wickham Woodlands Park, and then went and to the riverfront. I was hoping the Golden Eagle might be present at Storm King, but no such luck. I think that’s maybe the 6th time I’ve dipped on that bird. Interesting birds today included large numbers of mixed blackbird flocks throughout the black dirt. I had my first Wood Ducks of the year, both on Celery Ave and at Wickham Lake.
Yard Birds 2022: (25) species. I added Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Hairy Woodpecker this week.
~MODO in the black dirt, 02/27/22.~ ~I swear this photo doesn’t do this bird justice. It was the brightest House Finch I’ve ever seen. My yard, 02/24/22.~~Turkey Vulture over the backyard, 02/23/22.~ ~Ring-billed Gull, Suffolk County NY 02/26/22.~~My dad feeding the Ring-billed Gulls on the south shore of Long Island, 02/26/22.~
