Things are starting to happen. We have open water throughout the county. On Wednesday, Karen VanDyk found a Red-necked Grebe at Lockenhurst Pond; I ran for the bird on Thursday evening after work, and fortunately it was still present – I’ve included a photo of the bird at the bottom of this post. I enjoyed distant but nice looks at the bird, as well as the male Red-breasted Merganser that Karen had reported there as well.
On Saturday I took a 7 mile hike out at Black Rock Forest. It was a pleasant walk; birdy enough to keep me interested, and the weather was pleasant. I added a few birds to my Orange County year list – I finally got a couple of Fox Sparrows, and I had my first Eastern Phoebes and Wood Ducks of the year. I stopped by the Newburgh Waterfront afterwards and got lucky with a Great Cormorant – thanks to Bruce Nott for that.
Then on Sunday, I birded several of the local lakes; I had plenty of waterfowl at many of the lakes, but the only new bird for the year was a Pied-billed Grebe. I also had a close but all too brief encounter with a River Otter – so brief I didn’t get any photos, but still it’s always exciting to see an otter.
Great Phoebe shot! I also saw an otter today!
https://substack.com/@silaswareham/note/c-231593587
Your photos are always great and I love reading about what you find out there …I had to comment about that photo with the single rooftop vulture -it has such a moody and cool “feel” to it … I just love it. You are an artist !