I left the house early this morning with a plan. I was free to bird for most of the day, and after spending my evenings this week birding the Liberty Loop exclusively, I wanted to cover some additional territory in Orange County, mostly hoping for some new passerines for the year.
Laurel Grove Cemetery: This was probably my best stop of the day, the cemetery was extremely birdy. Yellow-rumped Warblers were numerous (25+), as were Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers. I four Orange County first of year (FOY) birds: Cooper’s Hawk, Pine Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and Blue-headed Vireo. It’s hard for me to believe it has taken me this long to get a Coop.
Reservoir #1: My first bird was my best – a pair of Northern Rough-winged Swallows were busy feeding on the water right in front of the parking area. They were my FOY, as were the several Eastern Towhees I heard while walking the trail. Afterwards, I went to the sand bar in Port Jervis to try for shorebirds or gulls, but unfortunately the water levels were way too high.
Camel Farm: I had very distant looks at both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Several Killdeer were flying around and calling.
Black Dirt: I stopped at one spot quickly to try for a couple things: I wanted to see if the large Horned Lark flock had moved on (it appears to have), and I was also hoping the recent rains might produce some good shorebird conditions (conditions looked good to me, but no shorebirds).
Wickham Lake: On my way to the lake, I started to think that I was accumulating a decent number of species for the day. How many would I get if I stuck to my plan and hit my additional 3 spots? The lake was relatively uneventful – there were many boats out, so I was not surprised to see very little in the way of waterfowl – Common Mergansers (2), Bufflehead (2), Mute Swan (3), Canada Geese (8), and Double-crested Cormorant (2). I did manage to pick up an additional FOY bird: Yellow Warbler.
Glenmere Pond: Waterfowl numbers were down here. Noteworthy birds included a single Northern Rough-winged Swallow and two Ring-necked Ducks which are holding on. It was nice to see an Osprey fly over just before I left.
Glenmere Lake: This stop was pretty much a bust. I think it was just a little too late in the day and there just wasn’t much going on.
I finished the day with 63 species after 7 locations in 8 hours. I’m not sure how that rates but it was a birdy enough day to keep it interesting.
Whew! A lot of driving and walking for you today, but you got some great birds. It was great to see you this morning, Matt. Hopefully this front will drop in some more birds.
It was really great to see you Kathy. And, it’s thanks to you that I learned the Blue-head Vireo call while at Laurel Grove today. I had BHVI cooperate and I should have gotten photos, but I blew it. Looking forward to see what birds are ahead for us. Matt
You’re an iron man!! Good day!
Ha ha, Bill! I tell you what, I must be getting old because by the end of it I was feeling pretty darn tired. But, like you said, good day. Matt
Great shots as usual. had a good day also-A Ruff and wilson’s phalarope at Heislerville as well as an assortment of south jersey warblers including Protho., Worm eating, Yellow Throated etc.
Thanks Bruce. That IS a good day – the Prothonotary and the Yellow-throated would be lifers for me. Matt