April 2014 – Orange Birding

Saturday 4/26/14

Long-tailed Duck at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 4/26/14.

I was hoping that the birding would be good this morning because of the rain that had come through last night. I got out to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge just before eight, and as I got out of the car, I saw one of the best birds of the day – a LONG TAILED DUCK. It took me a moment to figure it out because I was not expecting it. I took some pictures and put the word out. Linda Scrima came out for the bird and Karen Miller was already on her way to the refuge. The bird was located in the pool right in front of the viewing platform and was close enough for decent photos. Maria Loukeris also made it out for the bird and then joined up with the three of us as we walked the Liberty Loop.

It was a great morning of birding with many good birds. We did alright with waterfowl, with some migrants still hanging in: Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal (many!), and a handful of Ring-necked Ducks. As far as shorebirds go, we had a Spotted Sandpiper (my First Of Season) and 2 Greater Yellowlegs. About half way down the west side of the loop, we had a very cooperative group of Yellow-rumped Warblers .

Yellow-rumped Warbler at Wallkill River NWR, 4/26/14.

In that same spot we also had three types of swallows: Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Karen Miller spotted this beautiful NRWS perched on a tree just off the trail – it was awesome!

Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Wallkill River NWR, 4/26/14.

Shortly after that, when we were at the southern end of the trail (the furthest point from the parking area!), the lowlight of the day occurred. I don’t usually include the low points in my posts because really there aren’t too many – if I’m out birding its usually all good. Well, this

was not good, I stepped into hole in the trail and sprained my ankle. I went down hard; everything crashing to the ground, scope, camera, camera hood flying off. I knew I had injured my ankle, but what I didn’t know at the time was that I had also damaged my camera lens. I didn’t find out until I got home because the camera seemed to operating properly. When I looked at all my photos taken after the fall, every one of them is slightly blurry. I will be taking the lens in on Monday, hopefully they can fix it and it’s not too expensive.

We finished the loop, seeing an Osprey fishing and a female Northern Harrier patrolling the swamp. The Long-tailed Duck was still present and while we took more photos, I received a call from Rob Stone – he had three BONAPARTE’S GULLS as well as another Long-tailed Duck, Bank Swallows, and a Horned Grebe over at Owens Station Road. We hustled over and got the BOGU, HOGR, and LTDU for sure. I was pretty sure that I got a look at one Bank Swallow, but it was a brief look and no one else got a good enough look at the bird.

Three Bonaparte's Gulls at Owen Station Road, 4/26/14. Photo by Linda Scrima. — One of my highlights of the day – three distant Bonaparte’s Gulls at Owen Station Road, 4/26/14. Photo by Linda Scrima.

The camera/ankle disaster aside, it really was one of the better mornings of birding this spring!

Greater Yellowlegs – Wallkill River NWR, 4/25/14

Quick Post: I had my first significant shorebird sighting of the year: 9 Greater Yellowlegs tonight at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. Thanks to Linda Scrima and Maria Constantelos Loukeris, who originally located the birds and gave me the heads up. When I saw the birds, they were located on the north side of Oil City Road, in the pool that is furthest to the west (towards Winding Waters Trail).

The birds were too distant for good photos - one of 9 Greater Yellowlegs at Wallkill River NWR, 4/25/14. — The birds were too distant for good photos – one of 9 Greater Yellowlegs at Wallkill River NWR, 4/25/14.

Bashakill WMA, 4/24/14

I went out to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area today after work. There has not been much bird movement, so I figured I would head out there in hopes of relocating the Little Blue Heron that was seen there yesterday. I figured my chances were pretty slim of finding that bird – John Haas had scoured the Bash the day before and today as well without any luck. On Haven Road, I ran into John along with Lance Vanderame and we shot the breeze for a little while. There was not much going on there, though I did watch a young Bald Eagle fly in and perch on a muskrat hill. After that I went over to the boat launch off of Route 209 where I was pleasantly surprised by a lingering pair of Blue-winged Teals. I also was able to get some photos of a couple of Wood Ducks:

A pair of Wood Ducks at the Bashakill WMA, 4/24/14.

I, of course, struck out with the Little Blue Heron, but it was still a nice evening at the Bash.

Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge 4/19/14

Six of the 25 Caspian Terns we had at Montezuma NWR, 4/19/14. — Five of the 25 Caspian Terns we had at Montezuma NWR, 4/19/14.

If you get the chance to go to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, by all means go. I have never been disappointed at this refuge. This past Saturday morning, Bill Martocci and I left Baldwinsville (where Tricia’s mom lives), and arrived at Montezuma just before noon. The timing could not have been more perfect for me because most of the waterfowl had recently moved out of Orange County, and to be honest, I just hadn’t gotten enough of them. At Montezuma, there was still a super showing of waterfowl, and if you include all swimming water birds, we totaled 17 species, including nearly a dozen CANVASBACK, which was a life bird for me:

I always seem to be shooting Blue-winged Teal through the grasses. Montezuma NWR, 4/19/14.

Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
CANVASBACK (life bird)
Redhead (FOS)
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American Coot

I like this shot of an American Coot, which is not a very photogenic bird in my experience. Montezuma NWR, 4/19/14.

Northern Shoveler at Montezuma NWR, 4/19/14.

It also seems to be the year of the Caspian Tern – we had 25 at the refuge, 22 of which were located perched just outside the visitor center. For the weekend, I would guess that I had close to 35 Caspian Terns in the area!

A Caspian Tern (with blown highlights) in flight. Baldwinsville, NY 4/20/14.

The highlight of the day for me, however, was locating an AMERICAN BITTERN. At the visitor center, we talked to a local birder who made us aware that he had had a bittern earlier that day. That helped, because I was certainly on the lookout. We had stopped to look at a large flock of Tree Swallows when I located the bird of the day. I really struggled taking photos; I think the camera has a difficult time focusing on this bird because of how well it is camouflaged. While looking at and shooting this bird, each time I looked down I would lose track of where the bird was.

AMERICAN BITTERN at Montezuma NWR, 4/19/14.

I love this pose. AMBI at Montezuma NWR, 4/19/14.

Highlights for Bill included seeing a handful of Bald Eagles, a Belted Kingfisher, and a very brief glimpse of a female American Kestrel. We missed out on at least a couple of birds I was hoping for, including Sandhill Crane, Trumpeter Swan (both of which were reported at the refuge that day!), and Tundra Swan which have likely moved through at this point. It was a great day of birding where we totaled over 40 species.

I had to throw this photo into this post. This was taken at a small pond in Tricia's mom's neighborhood, typically a pond that has few birds. 4/20/14. — I had to throw this photo into this post. This was taken at a small pond in Tricia’s mom’s neighborhood, typically a pond that has few birds. 4/20/14.

Montezuma NWR, 4/20/14 – Preview

American Bittern, my FOS at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, 4/20/14.

Tricia I spent the holiday weekend up in Syracuse visiting her family, so my future brother-in-law Bill and I got out to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday afternoon. I’m in late on Sunday, so I don’t have time to complete the post, but suffice to say it was one of the better birding days I’ve had recently with plenty of photo opportunities – complete post to follow tomorrow.

Saturday Birding Bonanza 4/12/14

Glenmere Lake, 8:00 am

I was hoping that some additional waterfowl might have been grounded by the overnight rain. This proved not to be the case, but there was still a decent showing of waterfowl, including: Canada Goose (15), Lesser Scaup (9), Bufflehead (6), Wood Duck (4), Common Loon (1), Double-crested Cormorant (1), and the highlight of the stop, (6) Horned Grebes, two of which swam right up to me while I was looking through my scope. I was shocked because while Glenmere Lake is a great spot for birds, it is typically not very good for photos. I was pleased to have those grebes so close.

Other birds of note at the lake included a couple of Pine Warblers, my first of the year Palm Warbler, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker works the shady side of a tree. Glenmere Lake, 4/12/14. — A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker works the shady side of a tree. I never did get a shot of the bird in the sun. Glenmere Lake, 4/12/14.

Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge – Liberty Loop, 9:45am

I found a half dozen Turkey Vultures enjoying some roadkill on Pumpkin Swamp road, on my way to Wallkill River NWR, 4/12/14.

I walked the Liberty Loop next, with my main goal to see if the Eurasian Wigeon was still present. I was unable to locate the bird, or any wigeon at all, so I am thinking that maybe these birds have moved on. The wigeon may have moved on, but there were still many waterfowl present:

Canada Goose

Snow Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard

Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck

Mute Swan

American Coot

Peregrine Falcon at Wallkill River NWR, 4/12/14.

Two Snow Geese were a pleasant surprise, as was my first Peregrine Falcon of the year. I finally located a Peregrine (it had been ages!) and the bird was not only severely backlit, but it had the fullest crop I’ve ever seen!

Bashakill Wildlife Management Area, 3:30 pm

I spent the afternoon at Haven Road in the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area. I ran into a birder from New York City, Lee, and we enjoy some really good birds. Many raptors were seen, some local and others that seemed to be moving through. We had: Turkey Vulture (12), Bald Eagle (1), Osprey (1), Red-tailed Hawk (4), Red-shouldered Hawk (1), Peregrine Falcon (1), and flying very high overhead, I believe that I had a pair of Broad-winged Hawks.

Waterfowl numbers were way down from last week when I was there. Most migrants seemed to have moved on with the exception of small flock of Ring-necked Ducks. A Pied-billed Grebe was seen on the north side of Haven Road:

Pied-billed Grebe seen from Haven Road at the Bashakill, 4/12/14.

Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, 6:00 pm

I had a single Short-eared Owl at the grasslands tonight, 4/12/14.

My final stop of the day was the Shawangunk Grasslands. I recently looked back at my posts from last April and I did pretty well with a pair of American Kestrels during the first week of April last year. I didn’t have any good photo ops, but I did have 4 kestrels out there. It looks like two pairs using the nesting boxes at the refuge. I also had 3 Northern Harriers, one Short-eared Owl, and my first of the year Eastern Meadowlarks.

Orange County Midweek Update

My FOS Greater Yellowlegs at the small pond near Glenmere Lake, 4/10/14.

On my way out of work today, I received a text from my fellow hawk counter Carol Linguanti, telling me she had located an active Red-tailed Hawk nest in Warwick. I stopped by to check it out and it was really cool to see it:

Huge thanks to Carol for the heads up. Red-tailed Hawk on the nest, Warwick NY, 4/10/14.

Next I headed over to Glenmere Lake to see what was going on. The water was extremely choppy and there were not nearly as many waterfowl present. Of note I had a single Common Loon, 9 Lesser Scaup, a single Bufflehead, and 6 Mute Swans. There is a small pond not too far from the lake and I went there to check for waterfowl. There was small number of Green-winged Teal present, a pair of Mallards and a pair of Mute Swans. The highlight of the stop (and maybe the day) was a Greater Yellowlegs, my first of the year.

My last stop for tonight was at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. My best birds there were a pair of Blue-winged Teal that did not seem to know I was present. I shot many photos through the grasses:

One of my favorite ducks, a pair of Blue-winged Teals at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/10/14.

Other notable waterfowl present included: Ring-necked Ducks (21), Green-winged Teal (18), and Pied-billed Grebe (2).

WEDNESDAY 4/9/14

Yesterday I made it back out to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge to walk the Liberty Loop. I mostly wanted to check on the Eurasian Wigeon, which continued on the west side of the loop, well into Sussex County. I was finally able to get a shot that is somewhat identifiable:

Eurasian Wigeon at Wallkill River NWR, 4/10/14.

Not long after taking this shot, all the waterfowl lifted up. I looked for an eagle or perhaps a Peregrine Falcon but never found the source. I lost the EUWI in the process, but did manage an interesting shot of Green-winged Teals in flight.

Waterfowl in flight! Wallkill River NWR, 4/9/14.

I should note that there was still a good number of waterfowl present at the refuge, including: Ring-necked Duck, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Northern Shovelers, Mallard, Canada Goose, Pied-billed Grebe, and Blue-winged Teal.

Black-capped Chickadee at Wallkill River NWR, 4/9/14.

Caspian Tern Double Encore

One of two Caspian Terns at Glenmere Lake this afternoon, 4/8/14.

A few notable sightings from today:

I stopped by Glenmere Lake after work today and located TWO CASPIAN TERNS. Bruce Nott, Ken McDermott and Curt McDermott also got to see the birds. Also present was a group of approximately 20 Lesser Scaup and 4 Horned Grebes.

I left Glenmere Lake and went over to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge and walked out the west side of the loop where I was able to relocate the EURASIAN WIGEON. I tried for that bird yesterday without success but did get my first of the year Wilson’s Snipe and Pine Warbler.

Finally, I spoke to John Haas, who had four BONAPARTE’S GULLS at the main boat launch at the Bashakill. I did not have time to make it out there tonight, but I might try for them tomorrow.

The two Caspian Terns together - shot with the iPhone through my scope. Glenmere Lake, 4/8/14. — The two Caspian Terns together – shot with the iPhone through my scope. Glenmere Lake, 4/8/14.

Sunday Shots 4/6/14

The big news of the day was that Tom Burke had located a EURASIAN WIGEON at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I was birding at the Bashakill with Karen Miller when I received a call from John Haas, letting me know about it. Tricia and I finally made it out to the refuge in the early afternoon and walked the west side of the Liberty Loop and joined several other birders that were looking at the bird in scopes. We got great looks in the scope, but photos were really tough. On our way out, more birders were on their way in to get a look at the bird. Here is a pretty awful photo of the bird:

Eurasian Wigeon in the top third of the photo a little to the right. Click here to see what the bird actually looks like.

Before the wigeon excitement, I had a nice morning of birding out at the Bashakill with Karen. We started at Haven Road, where my best bird was a Pied-billed Grebe seen in the distance on the north side of the bridge. There was a good number of Tree Swallows present, so I spent some time trying to photograph them in flight. They are not only a small bird, but so quick and unpredictable. Here’s a couple shots:

Tree Swallow in flight at the Bashakill, 4/6/14.

Our next stop was the Main Boat Launch, where I got to see Ed Morse for the first time of the season; it was great to see him back at it, keeping a close eye on the Bashakill Eagles. We checked on the eagle’s nest, saw 12 Horned Grebes in the distance, and then walked the Birch Trail. On the way we ran into Scotty Balding who informed us that he had seen an additional 16 Horned Grebes from the lookout, and a raft of 172 Ring-necked Ducks just a bit further down the trail. I spoke to Scotty again later in the day and his total count for Horned Grebes was 33! Pretty amazing that the Bash has had so many HOGRs for so long. Karen and I enjoyed the walk and had some relatively close encounters with some of the Bashakill’s more familiar residents:

A pair of Wood Ducks flying by the Birch Trail at the Bashakill, 4//6/14.

It's such a thrill when you get a Bald Eagle hunting so close to the trail. Bashakill, 4/6/14. — It’s such a thrill when you get a Bald Eagle hunting so close to the trail. Bashakill, 4/6/14.

This last photo is from earlier in the week but I didn’t have a chance to post it (it was on Thursday, the same day as the Caspian Tern sighting). Rob Stone had called to let me know there was a good photo opportunity for Common Goldeneyes at Greenwood Lake. I never got a Common Goldeneye close enough for good shots, plus the lighting was not great, but I do like this shot of a Bufflehead taking off:

Saturday 4/5/14

At Orange & Rockland lake there were three Ring-necked Ducks that were very accommodating, 4/5/14.

I made it out to three locations this morning. My first stop was a quick ride around the Orange & Rockland Lake. There was not too much going on there really, but I was able to get some photos of three Ring-necked Ducks that for some reason did not mind my presence. My best bird was a Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew over as I was pulling away. Here’s my list:

Canada Goose 6
Green-winged Teal 2
Ring-necked Duck 3
Bufflehead 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 1
Tree Swallow 8

My second stop was at Glenmere Lake, in hopes that the Long-tailed Ducks that had been seen there were somehow still around. I had tried for them unsuccessfully the night before. Well, I struck out again with the LTDUs, but it was still a worthwhile stop. Photos were really not an option between the grey rainy weather and most birds being quite distant.

Canada Goose 20
Mute Swan 2
Wood Duck 6
American Black Duck 5
Mallard 3
Ring-necked Duck 45
Greater Scaup 4
Lesser Scaup 8
Bufflehead 12
Common Merganser 1
Common Loon 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Ring-billed Gull 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
American Robin 10

Downy Woodpecker at Wallkill River NWR, 4/5/14. — Downy Woodpecker shot through the branches, Wallkill River NWR, 4/5/14.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I headed over to my third stop of the day – the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I wanted to walk the Liberty Loop to see if there were any new waterfowl present. I had walked about halfway up the west end of the loop and was scanning the waterfowl when Linda Scrima and two other folks caught up with me. Linda introduced me to her friends and fellow birders, Jean and Ray, and the four of us continued down the trail for a while. We all got our first RUDDY DUCKS (2) of the season before Ray and Jean headed back. Linda and I continued walking the loop where we eventually ran into another birder named Mike, who was having trouble identifying a bird that he had seen in the back pond along the trail to Owens Station Road. He was sure it was a grebe, but it was diving at all. We eventually relocated the bird, which ended up being my first PIED-BILLED GREBE of the year. Mike continued back to the parking lot and Linda and I ended up walking that trail all the way to Owens Station Road and birding the pond over there as well. The sun had come out and it warmed up a bit as we headed down the east side of the loop back to our cars. It was a nice walk and in the end I totaled 32 species for the refuge and Owen Station Road combined:

This Red-tailed Hawk was harassing the ducks for a short time, making many of them pick up. Wallkill River NWR, 4/514.

Canada Goose 85
Wood Duck 8
American Wigeon 12
American Black Duck 10
Mallard 25

Blue-winged Teal 1

Northern Shoveler 3

Northern Pintail 90
Green-winged Teal 85
Ring-necked Duck 100
Bufflehead 1
Common Merganser 15
Ruddy Duck 2
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 2

Black Vulture 2

Turkey Vulture 12
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 2
Ring-billed Gull 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow 14
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Eastern Bluebird 3
American Robin 15
European Starling 20
Song Sparrow 10
Red-winged Blackbird 60

Common Grackle 8

Belted Kingfisher 1