Good Birding in Orange County, 2/21/16

~
~I enjoyed seeing this Red-tailed Hawk; I pulled over to listen for songbirds and then saw it sitting low in the woods. Port Jervis, NY 2/21/16.~

After a disappointing Saturday of birding, I did much better on Sunday. I started the day in Port Jervis, hitting several spots. I added four birds to my Orange County year list, including two birds that I feel are pretty good birds for the county: GREATER SCAUP and COMMON GOLDENEYE. The other two birds were  a Peregrine Falcon and a small flock of Cedar Waxwings. The highlight of the morning, however, was first hearing and then seeing a skein of approximately 75 SNOW GEESE fly overhead as I walked down a trail. This got me thinking about the possibility of finding some Snow Geese in the black dirt, which would be my next stop.

~
~One of my first birds of the day – Greater Scaup at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Jervis, NY 2/21/16.~
~
~An adult Bald Eagle flies over the Delaware River, Port Jervis NY, 2/21/16.~
~
~Nice bird to see, a single Common Goldeneye, Laurel Grove Cemetery 2/21/16.~
~
~SNOW GEESE! Nice flyover of a skein of SNGOs in Port Jervis, NY 2/21/16.~
~
~Peregrine Falcon perched high over the Delaware River, Port Jervis NY, 2/21/16.~

I made my way out to the Black Dirt Region, where I met up with Bruce Nott and Linda Scrima. We sifted through a nice sized group of Canada Geese and found some gems: 6 Snow Geese, 1 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, and I was finally able catch up with a CACKLING GOOSE (there have been many reports in the region). Afterwards, Bruce and I continued to the Pine Island Turf Nursery, in search of pipits. We didn’t have any luck with the pipits, but we had a good sized flock of Horned Larks and a good collection of songbirds that provided some photo ops. It was a really good day of birding for me, something that I certainly needed.

~
~Cackling Goose in the black dirt 2/21/16. I like this for a Cackling because of the smaller size, small bill, shorter neck, and blocky head. 
~
~Terrible photo here, but I included it because I think it shows the size of this bird better than the photo above. Cackling Goose, 2/21/16.~
~
~A Red-bellied Woodpecker shows off its namesake (and it’s tongue!). Pine Island Turf Nursery, 2/21/16.~
~
~That’s a blue Eastern Bluebird! Pine Island Turf Nursery, 2/21/16.~

8 thoughts on “Good Birding in Orange County, 2/21/16”

  1. Nice shots, Matt

    I had a disappointing day on Saturday also, but I did see eagles sitting on 3 nests and the one in Grahamsville the pair switched sitting, so I believe they on on eggs. YAY!!!

    Wilma

Comments are closed.