Well, it was quite a bird-filled weekend. It’s that time of year where just being out and about you will see many new birds for the year. If I include Thursday, I personally added nearly 30 birds to my Orange County year list. I’ve included a list of all my new birds at the bottom of this post.
While most of the birds were nothing out-of-the-ordinary, there were some highlights. On Saturday morning, the Camel Farm was well stocked with shorebirds. While most of the birds were Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, I did add several new species, including a single DUNLIN in beautiful plumage. It was funny, because Linda Scrima joined me there; she was trying to get on the Dunlin and she casually asked me if it was near the GLOSSY IBIS… I was like what GLOSSY IBIS??? The ibis must have flown in while I had my head down in my scope, so that was a funny, pleasant surprise.

On Sunday morning, for my final stop, I took a walk out at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail, where two excellent things happened. First, I ran into and caught up with my friends Jeff and Liz; It had been ages since I’ve seen them, and I was coincidentally just thinking about them the day before. And second, a little while after that, I ran into a relatively cooperative YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. It’s been absolutely ages since I’ve had a good cuckoo experience, so I really enjoyed it.





- 130. Barred Owl – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
- 131. Black-billed Cuckoo – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
- 132. Solitary Sandpiper – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
- 133. Northern Rough-winged Swallow – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
- 134. Northern House Wren – Beaver Pond – 05/01/25
- 135. Bank Swallow – Wickham Lake – 05/03/25
- 136. Eastern Kingbird – Wickham Lake – 05/03/25
- 137. Northern Waterthrush – Wickham Lake – 05/03/25
- 138. American Redstart – Wickham Lake – 05/03/25
- 139. Dunlin – Camel Farm – 05/03/25
- 140. Least Sandpiper – Camel Farm – 05/03/25
- 141. Pectoral Sandpiper – Camel Farm – 05/03/25
- 142. Glossy Ibis – Camel Farm – 05/03/25
- 143. Red-eyed Vireo – Pochuck Mountain – 05/03/25
- 144. Ovenbird – Pochuck Mountain – 05/03/25
- 145. Scarlet Tanager – Pochuck Mountain – 05/03/25
- 146. Yellow-throated Vireo – Elks Brox – 05/03/25
- 147. Worm-eating Warbler – Elks Brox – 05/03/25
- 148. Wood Thrush – Reservoir #1 – 05/03/25
- 149. Rose-breasted Grosbeak – Reservoir #1 – 05/03/25
- 150. Indigo Bunting – Reservoir #1 – 05/03/25
- 151. Green Heron – Sugar Loaf – 05/03/25
- 152. Eastern Whip-poor-will – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
- 153. American Woodcock – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
- 154. Blue-winged Warbler – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
- 155. Cerulean Warbler – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
- 156. Chestnut-sided Warbler – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
- 157. Prairie Warbler – Sterling Forest – 05/03/25
- 158. Yellow-billed Cuckoo – Winding Waters – 05/04/25
Nice cuckoo photo Matt. It was an excellent birding week!
Thanks Silas! It really was a great week – I can only imagine how many birds full-time birders accumulated! Thanks for checking in. Matt
So great seeing you this weekend Matt. Although we might not see each other as often, we never miss reading your blog, as your amazing photos and insights continue to inspire and educate us! Hope to see you more often.
Thanks so much for the kind words Jeff. It was really great to see you and Liz; see you out on the trail sometime soon. I look forward to hearing what decision you came to regarding your camera setup. Matt