It was not a very exciting weekend of birding, but it was still quite enjoyable. The warm temperatures we’ve been experiencing melted nearly all the snow, which allowed me to walk some trails. On Saturday I went to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. I failed to find my target bird of the day – Northern Shrike – which has been reported there in recent days. But it was a nice, birdy walk and I added (3) species to my 2026 Orange County list: Northern Flicker, Swamp Sparrow, and Pine Siskin.
~The bird of the day on Saturday 01/10/26 – I had plenty of American Trees Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail.
On Sunday, I hit the trails again, this time at Kenridge Farm in Cornwall (apparently now known as Outdoor Discovery Center. Again, it wasn’t exciting as much as it was pleasant and birdy enough to keep me interested. I added just a single new species to my OC year list – Purple Finch. Afterwards, I went to the Newburgh Waterfront; it was a little too early in the day for any good gull action, but I did find one Red-breasted Merganser among the many Common Mergansers currently on the river.
~Rough-legged Hawk in the black dirt on 01/10/26. I wonder if I’ll ever get another good photo op with one these birds – it’s been ages. ~American Tree Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail, 01/10/26.
I’ve had a pleasant and productive start to 2026. I was off work from Christmas through today, so it has been a nice break with a lot of birding.
New Year’s Day: I started the year off by taking care of some good birds in the black dirt. Birds of note included a couple of lingering Greater White-fronted Geese, Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, and a Lapland Longspur. A pleasant surprise was a young Peregrine Falcon. In the afternoon I went to Newburgh for gulls, but all the gulls were loafing across the river at the Beacon Waterfront. It was brutally cold over there, with the wind whipping in my face, but I was able to get the Glaucous Gull and 3 Iceland Gulls.
~Love, love, love this bird. Glaucous Gull on the ice at the Beacon Waterfront on 01/01/26.~
January 2nd: I went to Reservoir #3 first thing in the morning. My target bird was Red Crossbill, but I had no luck there. I did pick up a few good birds, however, including Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, and Golden-crowned Kinglet. On the way back I stopped by the Liberty Loop and added Rough-legged Hawk, American Tree Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrows. On my way home I found 3 Snow Geese in a flock of Canada Geese.
~Young Peregrine Falcon cruises through in the black dirt, 01/01/26.~
January 3rd: I participated in another Christmas Bird Count, this time with Maria Loukeris. Our area included Port Jervis, so I was back in that area again. New birds for me that day included: Bald Eagle, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, and a nice look at a Barred Owl.
~This was a nice surprise. Barred Owl in the area of Reservoir 3 in Port Jervis, 01/03/26.~
January 4th: I had an excellent morning at the Newburgh Waterfront. I caught up with the Glaucous and an Iceland Gull – this time in Orange County. I also got lucky with the continuing rare warblers at the Waterfront Trail – I saw both the Northern Yellow and the Orange-crowned on my first try – if you know my track record with warblers, you know this is a record.
~I got my first decent Lapland Longspur photos of the season. Black Dirt Region on 12/31/25.~~Love these guys. LALO in the BDR on 12/31/25.~~American Crow coming in for a landing in the Black Dirt Region, 01/01/26.~~Horned Lark in the black dirt on 01/01/26.~Cooper’s Hawk giving me the stare down. Kendridge Farm, 01/04/26.~~One more shot of the Coop at Kendridge Farm, 01/04/26.~~Red-winged Blackbirds in the black dirt on 12/31/25.~~Gulls overhead. The many Bald Eagles at the river kept flushing the gulls. Beacon Waterfront, 01/01/26.~
