I received a text from Karen Miller while I was at work today; she and Bruce Nott had relocated two RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS (one adult and one juvenile) at Fancher Davidge Park in Middletown, New York. The birds were originally located by Gef Chumard, who birds the park on a regular basis. I talked to Karen on my way home and she provided details, which helped me find the park and the spot pretty easily. I parked and headed down the Nature Observation Trail, which leads to a rather large and beautiful swamp. I was there for about twenty minutes, I hadn’t had any luck, when Gef showed up. He showed me a tree where he had seen one of the birds on a couple of occasions, and while we were talking I located the juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker on a distant dead tree. Gef had someplace to be, so he left me to it. I eventually located the adult as well, and managed to get some ID photos of both birds. It was great fun to bird in a new spot, and the place was loaded with birds (I had 29 species for the afternoon).
Huge thanks to Karen for the heads up, and congratulations to Gef on a great find!
Matt
This is so great about the red heads. So much for the professionals that write that they no longer breed in New York State!!! My newest version of the National Geographic birds states they don’t breed here!!. Now I know of at least 4 places.
Wilma
It’s very exciting to me that we’re getting them on a more regular basis here in OC these days. Matt
Another exciting day in the world of birding! So glad you were able to find the birds, Matt. I’m still hoping that the Port Jervis Red-headed Woodpeckers come back, too.
I’m holding out hope for the PJ birds too, we shall see. Thanks again for the intel. Matt