I was up at Mount Peter at my usual time on Saturday morning, but I left early. It’s too bad too, because the birds were flying and I feel like the afternoon had some potential. I had 14 migrating raptors during the 2 1/2 hours I counted. I cut the count short for a good reason, however. Tricia and I were heading up north to SUNY Oneonta to see Orange County’s own Kyle Dudgeon give a talk and then show his latest short film To See The Sky. To say that the film is moving is an understatement. Between ornithologist Lorenzo Sympson’s remarkable life story and Kyle’s incredible images, I was really quite moved and feeling borderline weepy by the end. I’m not sure at this point when and where it can be seen next, but when I hear something I will post a follow up.
On Sunday, I did some local birding in the afternoon, after our drive back from Oneonta. I checked a couple of local lakes and found nothing noteworthy, so I decided to go to Liberty Marsh to see if I could find the American Bittern that’s been reported there recently. I spent some time at the viewing platform, and eventually I was rewarded with some very nice looks at the bittern. On my way back I checked 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary to check for shorebirds. I had no luck with shorebirds, but there was a young Snow Goose present, up close and in some nice late afternoon light.
