Sunday Shots/Weekend Wrap-up, 08/01/21

I felt the summer doldrums lifting a little bit this weekend, which was nice. On Saturday morning I met Rob Stone out at Wisner Road in Warwick with the goal of trying to get an accurate count of the Sedge Wrens. We spent over an hour listening and walking the road and in the end we felt that there are a minimum of 7 birds, with possibly as many as 10. Which is pretty amazing. Afterwards, I birded 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, which was birdy but with usuals and no real photo ops. In the evening I went to the Camel Farm to check for shorebirds. I was pleasantly surprised to find good shorebird conditions and approximately a dozen shorebirds (Least Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, and Killdeer). I’m optimistic that we’ll see some good birds out there sometime soon.

~Common Yellowthroat near our vacation house in Prattsville, New York in the Catskills, 07/20/21.~

Today I checked the Camel Farm again; there seemed to be more birds and the same species with the addition of a Spotted Sandpiper. I also went out to Skinners Lane where there was a good number of swallows present (mostly Trees, with also a good number of Barns, and at least one Bank). I also got a nice scope view of a beautiful, dark Red-tailed Hawk which I believe was the subspecies Abieticola, with a dark chin with dribble marks and an extremely dark belly band. It was too distant for photos, but hopefully they will be in the cards in future visits.

~Barn Swallow at Skinners Lane, 08/01/21.~
~Song Sparrow in Prattsville, NY 07/20/21.~
~A recently fledged Common Yellowthroat in Prattsville, NY 07/20/21.~
~A messy muscat at 6 1/2 Station Road, 07/31/21.~
~Bald Eagle at Mine Kill State Park in the Catskills, 07/21/21.~
~It hasn’t been easy for me to confirm breeding for this species – American Goldfinch with nesting material at Winding Waters Trail, 07/31/21.~

8 thoughts on “Sunday Shots/Weekend Wrap-up, 08/01/21”

  1. Matt,
    Nice shots! American Goldfinch is the worst! I still don’t have it confirmed in any block yet. They have got to show some behavior sometime, but all I see is pair after pair doing the same old stuff. Kudo’s to you for confirming them. John

  2. I was able to make it up to Wizner road on Sat. afternoon. Heard one wren at a distance but later it moved in closer Just had a brief look as it was concealed most of the time. Ran into Ken Mc Dermott while there. Had no photo opportunities . You had a great find with the numbers you had mentioned
    Bruce

    1. At least you got the bird, so congrats on that. You may have to make another trip for photos/better looks. Matt

  3. Super nice to finally meet you in person Matt! Saw Rob the next day as well on Wisner, but the Wrens weren’t nearly as vocal as the day before. Cheers!

    1. Really great to meet you Kyle. Saturday was something out there – the wrens were vocal and the one was cooperative for viewing, AND the road in general was just super birdy. Good spot. Matt

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