Sunday Shots, 02/20/22

One of my goals for 2022 is to break 200 species in Sullivan County (I’m currently at 194). I’ve come up with a short list of possible species to try and catch up with, and Northern Shrike is on it. So, on Saturday morning I headed to the Bashakill to try for the shrike which was there earlier this week. I dipped on my target bird, but it didn’t prevent me from having a nice morning birding the Deli Fields. I ran into and caught up with John Haas (Bashakill Birder). John mentioned that it was a slow morning there, but I had 23 species, which didn’t seem too bad to me. My best bird was a Hermit Thrush that popped up briefly before disappearing into the underbrush.

~Northern Shrike at Wickham Woodlands Park, 02/20/22.~

I was back in Orange County for the afternoon and evening, spending most of my time at the Newburgh Riverfront. I enjoyed birding the river and there was enough going on to keep me entertained. The highlight was (3) first winter Iceland Gulls, which I can’t get enough of, but I won’t torture you with yet another pic.

~Common Merganser at the Newburgh Waterfront, 02/19/22.~

On Sunday morning I tried for the Northern Shrike at Wickham Woodlands Park. With this shrike, I had better luck. The bird was vocalizing frequently and perched close enough at one point to get a decent shot. I was pretty excited, it was fun to actually spend some time with a shrike rather than just a few moments.

~Two Canvasbacks relaxing in the Hudson River at Piermont Pier, 02/20/22.~

Afterwards, I headed to Piermont Pier. Earlier this week a Little Gull was reported there, and while I know the chances of seeing that bird were astronomical, I figured I would go and just enjoy birding the pier. It was good to see some different ducks – Canvasbacks, Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, and a single Common Goldeneye. Gulls were scarce and I only recorded the (3) expected species.

Yard Birds 2022: (25) – No new species since my last post.

~This is a bird I don’t get to photograph very often. Pileated Woodpecker at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 02/19/22.~
~The Deli Fields had loads of Eastern Bluebirds on Saturday morning, 02/19/22.~
~Orange County Barred Owl, my first of the year, 02/19/22.~
~One more shot of the Northern Shrike at Wickham Woodlands Park, 02/20/22.~

7 thoughts on “Sunday Shots, 02/20/22”

  1. Nice Matt. That looks like a great weekend in my mind! And glad you finally got a decent pic of the Shrike!!

    1. Finally! And yeah, it was a pretty good weekend, it’s so good to get out and do some relaxing birding. Thanks for the kind words. Matt

    2. Finally! And yeah, it was a pretty good weekend, it’s so good to get out and do some relaxing birding.Thanks for the kind words. Matt

  2. Great shots to connect me with the North Country from down here in Florida. While the birding has bee quite nice and productive here, I do miss the winter birds of New York. Thanks to you, Matt, I can get a periodic fix through your beautiful shots. Keep up the good work. It is deeply appreciated.

    1. Thanks so much Dave, I’m glad to be able to help. I would miss OC winter birding if I was in Florida, but with all the good birding down there, I imagine it would be pretty easy to get over it. Matt

  3. Great Shrike shots. I had not birded for 2 weeks due to funerals I was glad to get down to Pt. Pleasant for the Black Headed Gull . Yesterday afternoon Jose And I spent some quality time out at the alpha Grasslands. No Shorties but fairly close views of the Harriers

    1. Thanks Bruce, and sorry for your losses; I hope things are as good as they can be under the circumstances. I’m dying for a Black-headed Gull. I’ll probably have to run for one, one of these days. Thanks for checking in. Matt

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