Month: January 2025

Sunday Shots, 01/05/25

It’s been a nice start to the new year of birding. I started with a nice 5-gull afternoon at the Newburgh Waterfront (Ring-billed, Am. Herring, Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, and Iceland). Then, yesterday, it was exciting to see the Eurasian Wigeon. And I had some more excitement today, chasing a Clay-colored Sparrow that Bruce Nott found in the Black Dirt Region. Unfortunately I was unable to relocate that bird (I don’t think anyone has), but it was exciting to try for a good bird like that. I did get my first Lapland Longspur and Snow Buntings of the year, so that was nice. Anyways, here’s a handful of shots from the past week or so.

~Male Northern Harrier in the black dirt on 01/05/25.~
~Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 01/01/25.~
~Adult Bald Eagle at Wickham Lake, 12/30/24.~
~American Tree Sparrow in the Black Dirt Region, 01/05/25.~
~One more shot of the “Gray Ghost”, a male Northern Harrier in the Black Dirt Region 01/05/25.~

Orange County Eurasian Wigeon, 01/04/25

On New Year’s Day, Diane Bliss found a EURASIAN WIGEON in the small ponds across from Warwick Town Hall. The bird was not relocated on the 2nd, but then it resurfaced on the 3rd. I couldn’t run for it because I was working, so I was hoping it would hang in there for me until today. Which it did. Huge thanks to Kyle Knapp, who was on the scene before sunrise, and not only did he let me know the bird was there, he stuck around to make sure I got it. The bird is a beautiful drake and was an Orange County lifer for me, nudging my total number of birds in the county to 278.

~Wow! EURASIAN WIGEON in Warwick, NY 01/04/25.~
~I finally ran into the Warwick leucistic Red-tailed Hawk after not seeing the bird for a good while (maybe a year or so?).~