Stewart State Forest, 06/15/24

Stewart State Forest is a spot in Orange County that, for no real reason, I don’t bird very often. After the enjoyable morning I had today, I think it will be a little bit more on my radar. I walked a 6 mile loop; the terrain was very flat, which made for easy walking and birding. Several of the trails were overgrown and very wet – which conversely made for some uncomfortable hiking and birding, as my hikers and pants were absolutely soaked through. One of my goals was to walk through the Great Swamp Boardwalk and Trail; it was nice out there because it opens up a bit and the gentle breeze kept the insects at bay for at least a little while.

I had a few noteworthy sightings – the first was running into a family of Barred Owls on the trail. I inadvertently flushed the birds, but one young bird was kind enough to stick around for a couple of minutes so I could get a photo. Another birding highlight was my first Alder Flycatcher of the year – this was very unexpected to me; this is a species that I don’t get every year. I first heard it calling and then located the bird up in the treetops and snapped a documentary shot.

Non-avian highlights include an Eastern Box Turtle, and a first for me – a crayfish walking across the trail! It was interesting, because it was quite aware of my presence and as I approached it immediately and quickly backed up off the trail. It was pretty cool. I did some Googling and watched a YouTube video, and I learned just enough to know I can’t identify the exact species. If anyone knows crayfish, please post in the comments of you know the species.

I’ll mention one last observation from the morning: I SAW more birds today than I do on most hikes through the woods. As always, most birds were heard and not seen, but today I definitely got looks at way more birds than I would expect on a hike like this. I finished the day with a respectable 46 bird species.