February 2024 – Orange Birding

Sunday Shots, 02/25/24

This morning I arrived at Black Rock Forest just after sunrise. It was a cold morning; my car told me it was 16 degrees Fahrenheit when I arrived. I enjoyed a 6.25 mile walk on a gorgeous, crisp morning. The birding was as you would expect, with plenty of the usuals. Birds of note included a calling Barred Owl, and a singing Winter Wren. Both birds were my first for 2024. Photos didn’t happen, so you will have to settle for a selfie I took in front of Upper Reservoir. I really was a beautiful morning to be out and about.

~Wilson’s Warbler at Newburgh Waterfront Park, 02/25/24.~

Afterwards, I went to Newburgh Waterfront Park to try one more time for the Wilson’s Warbler. Well, I guess 5 (6?) times is a charm, because not only did I get the bird, it posed for photos. Otherwise, it was the usuals, including the Ruby-crowned Kinglet which as been at that spot for a while now. I did a quick scan of the gulls present and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but by then I was ready to head home for the day.

~American Goldfinch in the Reservoir 3 area, 02/24/24.~

~One more shot of the WIWA, Newburgh Waterfront Trail 02/25/24.~

~It was a super cold but positively gorgeous morning at Black Rock Forest, 02/25/24.~

~A winter weekend in OC wouldn’t be complete without a Horned Lark photo. This one was showing its horns pretty well, which I enjoyed. Black Dirt Region, 02/24/24.~

OC Red Crossbill, 02/24/24

Well, it took many miles and several trips out to the Port Jervis area, but I was finally able to get more than just a flyover look at a RED CROSSBILL. I was just northwest of Huguenot, driving on Franke Road, when I luckily spotted a bird on the road and slowed to a stop before flushing it. I picked my bins up, and sure enough, it was a male RED CROSSBILL, gritting on the road. It was a brief, but very exciting encounter – after about 3o seconds the bird flew. I tried to stay on it, but it went quite a distance and I lost it in the tree line. I’m not sure if this totally satisfies this crossbill itch I have, but it certainly beats a flyover.

~Male Red Crossbill gritting on the road in Huguenot NY, 02/24/24.~

Sunday Shots, 02/18/24

Well, it was a quiet weekend of birding. I made the rounds, but mostly came up with the usual suspects or less. Saturday morning I tried Reservoir 3 and the surrounding area, hoping to get some looks at Red Crossbills. I only had one flyover. Afterwards, I went to the Bashakill WMA to try for the released Northern Bobwhites that Scotty Baldinger found earlier in the week. John Haas was there as well, and he helped me find the birds quite quickly (thanks John). I’d never seen a Bobwhite before, so it was pretty cool – I was shocked at how small they are (just 8-11 inches, according to the Audubon App). Later, in the afternoon I went to the Newburgh Waterfront for gulls, but found only the 3 expected species (Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed).

~Northern Bobwhite at the Bashakill, 02/17/24.~

Sunday morning I birded the black dirt without much excitement. I had a very large flock of blackbirds on Celery Avenue; I sorted through them for a long while but didn’t find anything out-of-the-ordinary. The flock was nearly all Common Grackles (approximately 95%), and nearly all the other birds were Red-winged Blackbirds (I did find one E. Starling and one Brown-headed Cowbird). Anyways, here are some shots from the weekend, I hope you enjoy them.

~Female Northern Bobwhite at the Bash, 02/17/24.~

~White-tailed Deer in the fresh snowfall at Reservoir 3 on Saturday morning, 02/17/24.~

~White-crowned Sparrow in the black dirt, 02/18/24.~

~I don’t know why it is, but I never tire of these Horned Larks. This was shot in the Black Dirt Region, just after sunrise this morning, 02/18/24.~

And one last shot of the male Northern Bobwhite, Bashakill, 02/17/24.~

12 Hour Pelagic, 02/10/24

This past Saturday, I left my house just before 3 am to board American Princess Cruise’s Special 12 Hour Pelagic Bird and Wildlife Trip at 5:30 am. It was a long and tiring day, but I felt like it was very successful. We did very well with our target Alcid species, Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Dovekie, and Common Murre, getting good numbers of each. I’ve included an Excel sheet below, reflective of all the species we had as recorded in (16) eBird reports compiled by the trip leaders. I think it is pretty cool, because it tells the story of the day numerically, showing the birds observed closer to shore as we left in the morning, then the species found further out, and finally the birds closer to shore again, as we returned in the evening.

As for gulls, we did pretty well, with (6) species observed, but noticeably absent was Black-legged Kittiwake, which unfortunately was probably the expected species I most wanted to see.

~This was an absolutely beautiful bird. ICELAND GULL during the American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

Two of the more exciting gull species, Iceland and Lesser Black-backed really put on a show an provided many photo ops. The Iceland was a beautiful first cycle bird, and it followed the boat for quite some time. We had (3) Lesser Black-backed Gulls – one 1st cycle, one 2nd cycle, and one non-adult that was more advanced than the 2nd cycle.

~Lesser Blackbacked Gull APC 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~It’s a BIG ocean. Bonaparte’s Gull, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~This sharp looking Herring Gull wasn’t going to be outdone by the more rare gulls. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

As I’ve seen on other pelagic trips, we got fantastic looks and plenty of photo ops of Northern Gannets.

~Northern Gannet coming right at me. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Subadult Northern Gannet, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Northern Gannet, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

The Alcids are super exciting to see, but they are far less photogenic. It’s hard to believe how small a Dovekie actually is; the Audubon app lists the bird at 8″, but seeing them out in the ocean they barely seem that big – they are tiny! Ironically, in regards to photos, I did best with them of all the alcids.

It was an excellent, if exhausting trip. They do a great job at American Princes Cruises and I am looking forward to the next one.

~Dovekie cuteness, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Common Murre catching a wave, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~It’s always good to see an Atlantic Puffin. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Cool guys. Razorbills were numerous, but I didn’t do very well with photos, mostly due to the timing – too early, too late, so not much light. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~ICGU closeup, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Lesser Black-backed Gull, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Iceland Gull out in front of a couple of Herring Gulls, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~LBBG, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~I believe these are mostly Black Scoters. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~ICGU, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~NOGA, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~The only mammals we saw all day – one of two Gray Seals, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~Calling NOGA, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~It’s not very often you get to see an ICELAND GULL this closely. American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

~I know, it’s ICGU overkill, but when will I get an opportunity like this again? Iceland Gull, American Princess Cruise 12-HR Pelagic, 02/10/24.~

Pelagic Teaser & Sunday Snow Geese, 02/11/24

The big news is that on Saturday I went on a 12 hour pelagic birding trip out of Brooklyn with American Princess Cruises. It was a really good trip, and I will publish a full post in a few days, once I’ve had time to get through the loads of pics I took – it’s incredible how many photos you can take on a trip like that. Meanwhile, here is a teaser – a beautiful Northern Gannet in flight alongside the boat.

~Northern Gannet during American Princess Cruises’ 12-hour Pelagic Birding Trip, 02/10/24.~

As for Sunday, although I was exhausted, I got out for a while in the morning. First thing, I got lucky/unlucky. I joined Kyle Knapp in Warwick to see the ROSS’S GOOSE that he relocated first thing. I was lucky in that the bird stuck around in time for my arrival. I was unlucky because, just moments after my arrival, the Ross’s and all the Canada Geese it has been associating with picked up and flew, so I only got a very brief look at the bird.

~Snow Geese in the black dirt, 02/11/24.~

Later in the morning, I located a large flock of Snow Geese on Pierce Circle in the black dirt. At first I estimated approximately 2,000 birds, but the longer I stayed, I realized it was probably north of 4,000 individuals. I scanned the birds, looking for Ross’s, but I came up empty. It was tough because the birds kept lifting up. In the early afternoon, Ken McDermott, Linda Scrima, and Jeanne Cimorelli did in fact located a Ross’s, nice job by them.

~It’s really cool how many shapes the flock can take in flight – flocking birds, and flocking
Snow Geese in particular, are so fun to photograph and the images are usually pretty interesting. SNGOs in the black dirt, 02/11/24.~

~Snow Geese cruising by. Pierce Circle, 02/11/24.~

Sunday Shots, 02/04/24

I love winter birding. For some reason, I just really enjoy the assortment of birds that are in the range of possiblity. This weekend I enjoyed catching up with the following excellent species:

Iceland Gull (Newburgh Waterfront)
Red Crossbills (Reservoir 3, Port Jervis area)
Pine Siskins (Near Reservoir 3)
Red-Breasted Mergansers (1 Liberty Marsh, 2 Newburgh Waterfront)
Lapland Longspurs (Black Dirt Region)
Snow Geese (several flocks over BDR)
Common Goldeneyes (Greenwood Lake)

Of course, I missed some good birds too. Bruce Nott had an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull earlier in the week that I did not catch up with. I dipped on the Wilson’s Warbler at the Newburgh Waterfront Trail for the fourth time! I also missed the Canvasbacks at Greenwood Lake on Saturday, only to find out from Kyle Knapp that there were 2 there on Sunday. Kyle also had a large flock of Snow Buntings in the black dirt that I never located. But, as you know, this is part of the fun and challenge of birding. You never know what you are going to get on any particular day – some days you hit it out of the park, while on others you may strike out.