So, there really doesn’t seem to be much going on in our area right now. I spent most of the week and weekend trying for shorebirds in Orange County, but have only come up with the birds that we have already seen this season: Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, and Solitary Sandpipers. As a comparison, by this time last year, I’d already seen in the county: a WHIMBREL, several Baird’s Sandpipers, a White-rumped Sandpiper, a Short-billed Dowitcher, several Black-bellied Plover, an American Golden-plover, and several Upland Sandpipers. Last year was a great August, but still, by now I would have hoped to have seen some additional shorebirds.
When it comes to raptors, however, I’ve done much better. Just this weekend, if I include our trip to Croton Point Park, I’ve seen every expected raptor for this time of year in our area, with the exception of Red-shouldered Hawk:
- Black Vulture
- Turkey Vultures
- Osprey
- Bald Eagle
- Northern Harrier
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Peregrine Falcon
- American Kestrel
- Merlin
We made our very first trip to Jamaica Bay today with the hopes of getting the barn owl. Struck out! Did get my first northern Waterthrush for the year. Good to scope out an area for the future
Too bad about the Barn Owl. It’s been years since I’ve had one – what a bird. Maybe this winter, we’ll see. Thanks for checking in. Matt