Sunday Shots, 12/19/21

I enjoyed good birding on both days of the weekend, but the highlight undoubtedly came early Saturday morning when I relocated the FRANKLIN’S GULL which was reported at the Newburgh Waterfront on Thursday and Friday. I feared that with the drop in temperature and the rainy weather the bird might have moved on, but fortunately that was not the case. FRGU is a really good bird anywhere in New York State, and now I’ve seen two right here in Orange County. To say I got a better look at this bird than the one in July of 2020 would be a huge understatement. This bird was very cooperative and I enjoyed fantastic looks.

~Franklin’s Gull in flight, Newburgh Waterfront 12/18/21.~

Sunday was a different kind of day. The weather turned out to be very nice – crisp and cool with a mix of sun and clouds. I headed out to the black dirt, and early on it seemed to be quite birdy, so I decided to count my total species for the morning of birding. Which, surprisingly, is not something I do very often. I cruised the black dirt, spend a few minutes at the viewing platform at Liberty Marsh, went to Wickham Lake, and finished up at Greenwood Lake. I had a total of 43 species for the morning, which doesn’t seem too bad for this time of the year. I had a some nice surprises – a Brown Creeper at Celery Ave, (8) Northern Shovelers at Liberty Marsh, my first Merlin in ages on Onion Ave, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Wickham Lake. I’ve included my complete list below.

~Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Wickham Lake, 12/19/21~
~American Goldfinch at Celery Ave, 12/19/21.~
~Not a great shot, but it’s been too long since I’ve seen/photographed a Merlin. Onion Ave, 12/19/21.~
~Brown Creeper trying to hide from me. Celery Ave, 12/19/21.~
~One more shot of the Franklin’s Gull in Newburgh NY, 12/18/21.~
  1. Canada Goose
  2. Mute Swan
  3. Northern Shoveler
  4. Gadwall
  5. American Wigeon
  6. Mallard
  7. Ring-necked Duck
  8. Greater Scaup
  9. Bufflehead
  10. Hooded Merganser
  11. Common Merganser
  12. Rock Pigeon
  13. Mourning Dove
  14. Ring-billed Gull
  15. Black Vulture
  16. Turkey Vulture
  17. Northern Harrier
  18. Cooper’s Hawk
  19. Bald Eagle
  20. Red-tailed Hawk
  21. Red-bellied Woodpecker
  22. Downy Woodpecker
  23. Northern Flicker
  24. Merlin
  25. Blue Jay
  26. American Crow
  27. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  28. White-breasted Nuthatch
  29. Brown Creeper
  30. Carolina Wren
  31. European Starling
  32. Northern Mockingbird
  33. Eastern Bluebird
  34. American Robin
  35. House Sparrow
  36. House Finch
  37. American Goldfinch
  38. American Tree Sparrow
  39. Dark-eyed Junco
  40. White-crowned Sparrow
  41. White-throated Sparrow
  42. Song Sparrow
  43. Northern Cardinal

8 thoughts on “Sunday Shots, 12/19/21”

  1. Love the first Franklin’s photo … stunning, really! And the Merlin shot, too. He’s a bit of a mess, maybe he’s wet. Interesting look at him! You are such a great photographer!!

  2. Hi! I’m Rob’s Monica’s mom Katie. I love being an Oregonian, armchair ornithologist! Thank you so much for your gorgeous pictures! Every week is a gift! Blessings, Katie

    1. It’s really great to hear from you Katie – I’m so glad to hear you’ve been enjoying the blog. Oh, and thanks for the kind words. Matt

  3. That Brown Creeper image is special, Matt!!! (Fingers crossed the Franklin is still around for me tomorrow). Thanks for sharing, I need some Black Dirt too!

    1. Thanks Deb. That’s good to hear because I wasn’t convinced on it. Good luck with the FRGU today! Matt

    1. It’s always good to hear from you Norma, I’m glad to hear you are still enjoying the blog. Matt

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