Orange County Waterfowl, 03/04/17

~A male Common Merganser in flight at Wickham Lake, 03/04/17.~

I decided to do my own Orange County waterfowl survey of sorts this afternoon. I visited nine different locations not too far from my home here in Goshen. First thing I will say is that it was COLD out there today. The temperatures weren’t so bad, in the mid-twenties, but wind made it very cold, bringing tears to my eyes all day. I think if it was a little bit more comfortable out I would have been a little bit more thorough; I felt like I certainly could have spent some more time at some of the locations. That being said, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon and I ended up with 14 species of waterfowl and over 950 individuals. I had a Northern Shoveler and a Pied-billed Grebe at Brown’s Pond and both birds were my first of the year in Orange County. Scroll down to see my results by location.

~Male Bufflehead at Wickham Lake, 03/04/17.~ 

TOMAHAWK LAKE

Wood Duck 5
Common Merganser 122

BROWN’S POND

Canada Goose 43
Mute Swan 9
American Black Duck 4
Mallard 54
Northern Shoveler 1
Green-winged Teal 12
Ring-necked Duck 23
Hooded Merganser 2
Pied-billed Grebe 1

ORANGE & ROCKLAND LAKE

Canada Goose 9
Mallard 3

ROUND LAKE

Canada Goose 5
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 7
Greater Scaup 1
Ring-necked Duck 8
Bufflehead 14
Common Merganser 165

~Northern Shoveler at Brown’s Pond, 03/04/17.~ 

WALTON LAKE

Bufflehead 1
Common Merganser 7

WICKHAM LAKE

Canada Goose 17
Wood Duck 5
American Black Duck 28
Mallard 3
Bufflehead 7
Common Merganser 275

WARWICK TOWN HALL

Canada Goose 2
Gadwall 33
Mallard 6
Ring-necked Duck 23
Hooded Merganser 2

~A pair of Common Mergansers in flight, Wickham Lake 03/04/17.~ 

GLENMERE POND

Canada Goose 10
Mute Swan 2
Mallard 10
Ring-necked Duck 6
Hooded Merganser 2

GLENMERE LAKE

Canada Goose 5
Ring-necked Duck 47
Bufflehead 14

7 thoughts on “Orange County Waterfowl, 03/04/17”

  2. Sounds like you had a great, but frigid day just as we did on the Mearns trip. May I recommend the beaver pond just a short distance from Glenmere Lake. It’s on Pine Hill Road and is usually quite fruitful for waterfowl at this time of year. I had American Wigeon, Hoodies, Common Mergs, American Black Ducks, Green-winged Teal and Ring-necked Ducks in addition to the usual Mute Swans, Mallards, and Canada Geese there early this morning. It’s a great spot and the waterfowl can be easily viewed.
    Love the photo of the Common Merganser, Matt.

    1. Good to hear the Mearns trip went well. I did go to the beaver pond you reference – I just call it Glenmere Pond since I don’t know if there is a name for it. I’ve gotten some good birds there over the years. Yesterday afternoon I didn’t do as well as you did, but I did have: CANG (10), MUSW (2), MALL (10), RNDU (6), and HOME (2). Matt

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