March 2020 – Orange Birding

Orange County LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, 03/31/20

Just a few months ago, I was gulling with Ken McDermott and I mentioned to him that an immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was one bird I would really like to see in Orange County. Well, thanks to Bruce Nott, I got my opportunity today. Bruce posted to the Mearns Bird Club app that he had one at the Newburgh Waterfront. At the end of the workday, I ran for the bird. When I arrived, there were plenty of gulls loafing on the docks just north of Billy Joe’s Ribworks, right where Bruce reported the bird.

~This is a really good bird for the county – immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at the Newburgh Waterfront, 03/31/20.~

Part of the reason I wanted to see this bird, is that I wanted to know if I would be able to identify it. The answer is yes and no. When I first went through the birds, I didn’t have any luck. I gave Bruce a call and we talked through the field marks, mostly things I knew from the books, but hearing from Bruce, on the spot, while I was looking, was extremely helpful. After hanging up with him, I located the bird in less than five minutes. The dark mantle and the size (smaller than Herring and larger than Ring-billed) were the initial giveaways. I also could see well in my scope that the bill and the bulge at the tip wasn’t as heavy as the neighboring Herring Gulls, and it also had that punched in the eye look (although if I’m honest, I feel like I can see that in some Herring Gulls too). This was an exciting bird for me, and I enjoyed viewing and photographing it. I have to wonder if I would have identified this bird on my own. It’s hard to say, but now having seen this one, it will help my chances in the future. Huge thanks to Bruce.

Sunday Shots, 03/29/20

I’m trying to decide if there really isn’t much going on right now in the birding world, or if I’m just becoming a little jaded (which I certainly hope isn’t the case). While I enjoyed getting out this weekend, I just didn’t find much to get excited about. The rainy, gray weather didn’t help, I suppose. It wasn’t until late Sunday morning that I found some excitement, and it wasn’t bird related: I watched a pair of RIVER OTTERS feeding for approximately 20 minutes. They were distant, but in my scope I enjoyed some fantastic looks; they appeared to be dining on crawfish. Now that’s something to get excited about. Moving forward, I’m hoping that the birding picks up a little bit, or I can get out of this birding funk, whichever comes first.

~It’s funny because we have loads of deer in our backyard constantly, but out on the trail it seems different. White-tailed Deer at Goosepond Mountain State Park, 03/27/20.~

~The siting of the weekend – RIVER OTTER in New York State.~

~White-breasted Nuthatch at Goosepond Mountain State Park, 03/27/20.~

~There is a small pond in my neighborhood. Tricia and I were taking a walk and this dude was hanging out at the pond. Great Blue Heron in Goshen, NY 03/26/20.~

Strange Days

Lucky for us, birding is one of the few things that will not immediately be affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. I hope if at all possible, everyone is getting out, enjoying and appreciating doing what we love to do so much. For me, it’s actually been a bit of a mixed bag. I was hoping that birding would be a welcome escape from the realities of our new world. And it has been, but only to an extent. It’s been good to get out, but, I can’t escape this feeling of agita in the pit of my stomach.

~Mourning Dove in the early morning light at Wickham Lake, 03/22/20.~

Of course my primary concern is the health of everyone and particularly everyone in my world. I’m just hoping we can all get through this as unscathed as possible. And then, the economic impact is also weighing on me. The big picture, the impact nationwide and worldwide is terrifying. And again, for myself and those close to me, knowing there will be struggles, I’m just hoping for the best for everyone. It’s going to be tough. And, maybe the worst thing about it is not knowing how bad it will get and how long it will go on. It’s hard to wrap my head around it. I know folks didn’t visit the blog to read more about Coronavirus, and I won’t go on and on about it, but it’s what is dominating my thoughts these days, so I felt compelled to at least write little bit. That said, I’ll get to some birds.

~This European Starling spent time messing around with the cavity just below him. Then, he perched on top and began calling and chattering/clicking his bill. It was pretty cool to witness. Wickham Lake, 03/22/20.~

It was a weekend of waterfowl. I couldn’t even keep up with the eBird reports and the Mearns Bird Club app reports (mostly from Bruce Nott – thanks Bruce!). I birded the lakes of southern Orange County (among other spots) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Highlights included:

(1) CANVASBACK, (2) Long-tailed Ducks, (3) Greater Scaup, and (2) Horned Grebe at Wickham Lake, 03/20/20.
(2) Lesser Scaup and (9) Horned Grebe, Wickham Lake, 03/21/20.
(2) Blue-winged Teal at Beaver Pond, 03/21/20.
(3) Ruddy Duck at Wickham Lake, 03/22/20.

Other good birds included an Eastern Meadowlark at Lower Wisner Road, Rusty Blackbirds at Wickham Lake on Friday and Sunday, and (10) Wilson’s Snipe at Wisner Road Wetlands. The meadowlark was my first in OC in over a year, so that was a good one for me. Photo ops were few and far between, so I took advantage of seeing some more common birds in good light at Wickham Lake on Sunday morning.

As I mentioned in beginning of this post, I hope everyone is able to get out and enjoying some birding if they can. Keep the faith.

~Common Grackle performing what I believe is courtship behavior; there was a second bird just to the left of this bird, out of frame. Wickham Lake, 03/22/20.~

A Good Couple of Days/Eurasian Wigeon at the Bash!

I rocketed out of work last night and took the long way home, winding slowly through Harriman State Park and eventually entering the area of Sterling Forest State Park. I made a quick stop Indian Kill Reservoir where I didn’t have anything out of the ordinary, but there was a young Bald Eagle trying to terrorize a small raft of Common Mergansers, but they seemed unfazed. From there, I headed to Wickham Lake to follow up on a tip that there were Lesser and Greater Scaup, as well as American Woodcock.

~ A pair of Hooded Mergansers in the marsh across from Fireman’s Park in White Sulphur Springs, NY, 03/14/20.~

BREAKING NEWS: As I was typing this post, I received a call from John Haas; he let me know that Gail Benson and Tom Burke had located a EURASIAN WIGEON at the Bashakill main boat launch. I ran for the bird and it was still present. Distant, but still present (I tried for documentary photos without great success, see the bottom of this post). Many birders ran for the bird; it was strange to see a line of birders with scopes with approximately 6′ between them, practicing social distancing during this uncertain time of the Corona Virus.

Back to Friday evening. At Wickham Lake there was a decent sized raft of birds, consisting of mostly Ring-necked Ducks and approximately 20 scaup. I thought I had maybe 6 Greater and the rest Lesser, but I just couldn’t be sure so I reported them all as Lesser/Greater. The highlight of the night, however, was when the American Woodcocks started peenting and displaying. It was quite dark at this point, so photos were not an option, but I had several woodcocks land as close as 35 feet away, which was a fabulous look in my binoculars.

~Great Blue Heron in flight at Fireman’s Park, 03/14/20.~

On Saturday morning, I headed to Sullivan County to try for the very early PECTORAL SANDPIPER at Fireman’s Park on Shore Road in White Sulphur Springs that was found by Renee Davis a few days earlier. I didn’t have any luck with the Pec, even with Renee stopping by and giving me the lay of the land. But, the morning was a good one. The marsh was active with plenty of birds and I was able to get some decent photos. The highlight for me was a nice looking Red-shouldered Hawk that made its way over the marsh. I also went to Swan Lake, where I had mostly the usuals plus 2 Lesser Scaup.

~Red-shouldered Hawk at Fireman’s Park, 03/14/20.~

My final stop (before heading out again for the EURASIAN WIGEON), was at the duck blind at the Bashakill. John Haas texted me to let me know there was Pied-billed Grebe and Blue-winged Teal present. I immediately found one, and then two Pied-billed Grebes. John joined me, and eventually, after searching for a little while, we located first the drake, and then both the male and female when a Bald Eagle flushed all the ducks. Huge thanks to John for all the intel today, it makes a difference in a day of birding.

~One more shot of the Great Blue Heron, perched way high up at Fireman’s Park, 03/14/20.~

~I have NEVER cropped a photo this much before. Can you see the Eurasian Wigeon? Bashakill, 03/14/20.~

A Little Catch-up

Ahh, I finally got out and did some Orange County birding after work tonight – thank goodness for Daylight Saving Time. It was just a brief stop at Glenmere Lake, with the usuals, but it’s a sign of the start of spring for me. I wasn’t able to fit in as much birding as I normally do for the past couple of weekends due to traveling to visit family. Last weekend I went to the Poconos to visit my sister Aileen and her husband Bill. We had a nice breakfast and I headed out before noon. That left the rest of the weekend to try for birds, but it was just one of those weekends and I didn’t have any luck at all.

~This is the most dense Snow Goose shot I think I’ve ever taken. Knox Marsellus Marsh at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, 03/08/20.~

Then, this past weekend Tricia and I headed up to Syracuse to meet up with her brother John, her sister Carolyn and Carolyn’s husband Bill. It was a work weekend, so I didn’t get out at all on Saturday, but I was able to get out for a few hours on Sunday. I headed to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. On the way, I called my ex-wife Stephanie Bane, who lives in the area and volunteers at the refuge, to see if she was free to meet me there. It had been several years since we’d seen each other, so birds or no, it would be good to catch up. We met at the visitor’s center, where we had several species of waterfowl (Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Canada Goose, and Mallard). Unfortunately Wildlife Drive was closed, so we headed over to East Road (Knox Marsellus Marsh; some folks call it the Mucklands too, I think). It was a good choice, we arrived to find what I estimate was 8,000 to 10,000 Snow Geese. It was certainly the most Snow Geese I’d ever seen at once. There were also plenty of Bald Eagles around; they kept flushing the geese which provided some good photo ops. I felt for the geese though – they didn’t barely get a moment of peace. At one point, two young Bald Eagles were just flying through a sea of Snow Geese, I swear they were just doing it because it was fun. I didn’t have much time to bird Montezuma, but we certainly made the best of it.