I arrived at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail this morning just after sunrise. It was a gray misty morning, but I’m happy to report that no substantial rain fell while I was on the trail. I walked the full loop and enjoyed logging nearly 40 species observed. I was happy to add a couple of birds to my Orange County 2024 list (Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Lincoln’s Sparrow). I was hoping for maybe a Connecticut Warbler or a Mourning Warbler, but that wasn’t in the cards for me today. I was using the Merlin app to identify bird sounds; at one point it indicated that it had heard a Connecticut, but in spite of my efforts, I never heard the bird, nor did I see it. The trail is absolutely loaded with birds right now, so it made for a very pleasant and birdy walk.
~One of my targets for the morning – Lincoln’s Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail, 09/29/24.~~Northern Flickers must be on the move right now – my yard has been full of them all week, and then I saw several on my walk this morning. NOFL at Wallkill River NWR, Winding Waters Trail 09/29/24.~~You hear them before you see them. Four of five Sandhill Cranes that flew through while I was on the trail. The fifth bird was trailing and didn’t fit into my field of view . SACRs at Winding Waters, 09/29/24.~
I spent most of the day up at Mount Peter counting migrating raptors. It was a modest flight of only 21 migrating hawks counted, but I enjoyed my time up on the mountain. There are certain raptors that I really enjoy seeing migrate, Northern Harrier and Osprey among them, and I enjoyed seeing two of each fly over the viewing platform today. There was also a very large flock of Cedar Waxwings hanging around; it was fun to see them and to get some photos. It was drizzling intermittently for most of the watch, and finally, during the 6th hour, the drizzle became pretty steady and visibility was an issue, so I called it. I’ve included my report at the bottom of this post.
~One of many Cedar Waxwings at Mount Peter today, 09/28/24.~
Before going up to the mountain, I toured the black dirt, starting just after sunrise. It was mostly uneventful, but at my last stop -the fields just north of Scenic Farms Golf Course, I was lucky enough to located (3) American Golden-plovers. It’s been an absolutely dismal shorebird season in the black dirt, so I was happy to see these birds.
~American Golden-plover in the black dirt, 09/28/24.~~Cedar Waxwing getting tricky with a snack. Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/28/24.~~Yellow-rumped Warbler at Mt. Peter 09/28/24.~~American Golden-plover in the black dirt 09/28/24.~~One more Cedar Waxwing shot. Mount Peter 09/28/24.~
We finally got some Broad-winged Hawks at Mount Peter Hawkwatch! I tallied a total of 961 BWHAs today, which is more than twice as many as we’ve had all season to this point. Linda Scrima and Marty Hayes were there for the first 10 birds, but unfortunately they each had to leave, so I was mostly on my own trying to get a good count as high numbers of Broad-wings streamed by (nearly no kettling, just streaming, streaming, streaming!). I also had some variety, with seven additional species counted: Bald Eagle, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, and American Kestrel.
~Interesting bird at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch today, 09/21/24. I’m trying to find out if this might be a Peale’s Peregrine Falcon, which originates in the Pacific Northwest.~
The Peregrine Falcon was my first bird of the day, and it is an interesting looking bird. Looking at the Crossley Raptor Guide, to me it looks very much like a Peale’s PEFA, which originates in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve put some feelers out to see if I can get it confirmed (or confuted).
~A young Bald Eagle circles over the platform at Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 09/21/24.~
Outside of my day at Mount Peter Hawkwatch yesterday, I didn’t do all that much birding this weekend. I cruised the black dirt both mornings, hoping for shorebirds. I didn’t have any luck with my targets, but I was able to get some nice Savannah Sparrow and Palm Warbler shots in the early morning light.
I looked back at the last few years, and typically we would still have some shorebirds in the black dirt (American Golden and Black-bellied Plovers and Buff Breasted Sandpipers), but the only shorebirds I was able to locate this weekend were Killdeer, a single Greater Yellowlegs, a single Spotted Sandpiper, and a single Wilson’s Snipe.
Hawkwatch at Mount Peter actually started last weekend for me, but I only spent 3 hours on the mountain and had just a single migrating American Kestrel. So today was my first full day. It used to be that mid September was peak time for Broad-winged Hawk migration, but to me, it seems like in recent years it’s moved to closer to the third week of September. If that holds true, we should be looking for a big day or days at the end of the coming week.
It was hot, like a summer day at Mt. Pete today. In spite of that, there were still some raptors moving through on the light breeze which started from the WNW and eventually shifted to the NE. I had a total of (60) migrating raptors ; most were Broad-winged Hawks, but I did have some variety with an additional five species counted. The highlight for me was picking up young Northern Harrier way out and watching as it steadily migrated over, just west of the viewing platform. As usual, you can find my Hawkcount.org report at the bottom of this post.
~Ever present at Mount Peter – a Common Raven shoots over the viewing platform, 09/14/24.~~And the obligatory local Turkey Vulture pic. Mt. Peter 09/14/24.~
At 6:00 am, on Monday of this past week, I joined Rob Stone and we set sail on the Brookline Birding Club’s overnight pelagic birding trip. We boarded the Hellen H, a 100 foot deep sea fishing boat in Hyannis, Massachusetts, and headed out to the Hydrographer Canyon area (east and south of Cape Cod).
As always, I started the trip with my usual anxieties – what would the ship be like? Where would I store my stuff? Where would I sleep? What would the restrooms be like? Would we get any good birds? Some these anxieties were well founded – as we boarded, it was difficult to determine what areas were up for grabs and which had been taken already. I ended up stashing my gear under some occupied benches in the cabin; less than ideal, but at least my gear was out of my hands and I could wander the boat and start doing some birding. I eventually found an area on the deck which looked good for sleeping (and it was, to a point – more on that later). The layout of the lower deck was nice and lended itself to good birding. The upper deck, where I had spend most of my time birding on previous pelagics, was not as accommodating as it was filled with benches and sleeping areas which would allow for easy movement from one side of the boat to the other. And the men’s room. It was a tremendous upgrade to the restrooms I’ve experienced on every previous pelagic. It had both a urinal and a toilet, with plenty of room and handrails.
~The bird of the trip for me – one of two South Polar Skuas. BBC Overnight Pelagic 08/26/24.~
As for the birds, they certainly did not disappoint. We located all of my target birds on the first day, and I enjoyed adding a remarkable 5 species to my life list. Here’s a list of highlighted species, with my life birds indicated:
Red Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Long-tailed Jaeger (life bird)
Pomarine Jaeger (life bird)
South Polar Skua (life bird)
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
White-face Storm-Petrel (life bird)
Leach’s Storm-Petrel
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
Black-capped Petrel
Cory’s Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater (reported but I did not see)
Manx Shearwater
Audubon’s Shearwater (life bird)
~Thankfully they call out all the bird species as they find them, because it took me some time to (hopefully) correctly identify all the jaegers in my photos. I believe this is a Pomarine Jaeger; what a sharp looking bird this is. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/27/24.~
And, sleeping. I ultimately did not get very much sleep. I went to sleep on Monday night somewhere between 9:30 and 10:00, as I was exhausted. I slept for a couple of hours and then woke up and started to toss and turn trying get comfortable on the hard deck. Then, around 2:15am, I was dozing when a crew member woke me up to let me know that there was a storm coming through and I’d have to get off the deck or get soaked. A couple waves of some serious thunderstorms rolled through; we enjoyed some of it from the deck (the lightning was fantastic!) until it started coming down sideways and we took refuge in the cabin. I did not get much sleep (other than dozing off from time to time while sitting up on a bench) after that, and I got gradually more and more seasick with the boat being anchored and just rocking away. It wasn’t until first light, when I could see the horizon again, that I started to feel a little bit better.
~Long-tailed Jaeger, BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~
Tuesday’s birding was as productive as Monday. The first good bird of the day was our second White-faced Storm-Petrel of the trip. We got good looks at both of them, but I’ll tell you that that’s a tough bird to photograph. That didn’t stop me from trying; see my less than stellar result below. On Tuesday we added one really good bird – Black-capped Petrel. The bird was on the move and although I saw it, it was not good looks and I didn’t get any photos. A second South Polar Skua capped off the trip, which was pretty remarkable. In the early afternoon, a thick fog rolled in, and from then on we just were on a steady course heading back to Hyannis. It was an excellent and exhuasting trip.
~Excellent bird, not so excellent photo. Very cool to see this bird and add it to my life list. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~As I’ve grown to expect, we got great looks at plenty of Great Shearwaters, both on the water, and …~~…in flight. Great Shearwater during the BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~Another Pomarine Jaeger zips by. BBC Overnight Pelagic 08/26/24.~ ~Manx Shearwater on the water. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~Manx Shearwater taking flight, BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~I got my best looks at Cory’s Shearwaters during this trip. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~~Pomarine Jaeger, BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~One more shot of Monday’s South Polar Skua. What a bird! BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~Wilson’s Storm-Petrel on Tuesday morning, not long after sunrise. BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/27/24.~~I kind of dig this photo. Long-tailed Jaeger banking during the BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/26/24.~~Pomarine Jaeger, BBC Overnight Pelagic, 08/27/24.~
Sunday Shots: Overnight pelagic teaser edition. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I enjoyed some really excellent birding on Brookline Bird Club’s overnight pelagic out of Hyannis, Massachusetts. We found all of my target birds for the trip, and I added an incredible five birds to my life list. I have loads of photos to get through still, but I will be publishing a full post with details and tons of photos, as soon as I can.
Meanwhile, back in Orange County, the excitement for me this weekend was finding a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER in the black dirt on Saturday morning. BBSA is definitely one of the coolest birds that we can expect in our area each fall, so it was great to catch up with one.
~Corey’s Shearwater, BBC Overnight Pelagic 08/26/24.~~Not a great shot, but it’s always great to see a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Black Dirt Region 08/31/24.~
