When Karen Miller invited me to be on her team for this year’s Sullivan County Feathered Frenzy, I jumped at the opportunity to break out of the winter birding routine. The Feathered Frenzy is a friendly contest where teams try to locate as many species as they can in a single day in Sullivan County. Karen and I had a really great time; it was great to catch up, do some good birding, and enjoy the sunny beautiful day (in spite of the cold temperatures and a wickedly cold wind). Scotty Baldinger emailed an excellent write-up on the event, and was kind enough to allow me to use it for this post:
Sullivan County Feathered Frenzy, by Scotty Baldinger
Five teams competed in this year’s Feathered Frenzy racing around the county to find as many birds as possible in one day for Sullivan County. Weather conditions were pretty decent for February. Mostly sunny with temps starting out in the upper 20s ranging into mid to upper 30s during the day. It was very windy especially during the morning portion of today’s event with some gusts as high as 25 miles an hour. With open water on the Bashakill and the Rondout Reservoir, we had an excellent mix of waterfowl.
It was a fun filled and exciting day with a total of 63 species found in Sullivan County! Congrats to the team of John Haas, Bruce Nott, and Scott Graber on their outstanding total of 53 species for the day. They found the only American Kestrel, Pine Siskin, Brown Creepers, Belted Kingfisher, and Cooper’s Hawk in the county. The team of Scott Baldinger, Steve Altman with an assist from Paula Baldinger in the early morning logged 48 species for the day. They found the only Great-horned Owl, Green-winged Teals, and Turkey Vulture in the county. The team of Karen Miller and Matt Zeitler rolled in with 40 species, finding the only Northern Harrier, Merlin, and Northern Flicker in the county. The team of Renee Davis and Marge Gorton also rolled in with 40 species, finding the only Golden Eagle and Brown-headed Cowbird in the county. The team of Patrick and Riley Dechon came in with 30 species on the day, finding the only Black Vultures in the county. Congratulations to all who participated in this great event. See full species list at the bottom of this post.
On Sunday morning I finally was able to run for the good waterfowl that Kyle Knapp had located at Greenwood Lake earlier in the week. Noteworthy birds included: 9 Redheads, 1 American Coot, 2 Greater Scaup, and a single Canvasback. I also went to the Greenwood Lake Fire Department – where Kyle found 5 Lesser Scaup earlier in the morning. Then, at Round Lake, I found another 2 Greater Scaup. That’s some pretty good birds for Orange County in February!
Feathered Frenzy species list:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Merlin
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great-horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
House Sparrow
Team Davis: 8.5 hours Total 162 miles
Team Miller: 9.75 hours Total 95 miles
Team Dechon: 6 hours Total 108 miles
Team Haas: 10.5 hours Total 142 miles
Team Baldinger: 10.25 hours Total 173 miles
Again, thanks to all who participated in this year’s Feathered Frenzy!