Orange Birding

Saturday 4/5/14

At Orange & Rockland lake there were three Ring-necked Ducks that were very accommodating, 4/5/14.

I made it out to three locations this morning. My first stop was a quick ride around the Orange & Rockland Lake. There was not too much going on there really, but I was able to get some photos of three Ring-necked Ducks that for some reason did not mind my presence. My best bird was a Sharp-shinned Hawk that flew over as I was pulling away. Here’s my list:

Canada Goose 6
Green-winged Teal 2
Ring-necked Duck 3
Bufflehead 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 1
Tree Swallow 8

My second stop was at Glenmere Lake, in hopes that the Long-tailed Ducks that had been seen there were somehow still around. I had tried for them unsuccessfully the night before. Well, I struck out again with the LTDUs, but it was still a worthwhile stop. Photos were really not an option between the grey rainy weather and most birds being quite distant.

Canada Goose 20
Mute Swan 2
Wood Duck 6
American Black Duck 5
Mallard 3
Ring-necked Duck 45
Greater Scaup 4
Lesser Scaup 8
Bufflehead 12
Common Merganser 1
Common Loon 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Ring-billed Gull 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
American Robin 10

Downy Woodpecker at Wallkill River NWR, 4/5/14. — Downy Woodpecker shot through the branches, Wallkill River NWR, 4/5/14.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I headed over to my third stop of the day – the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I wanted to walk the Liberty Loop to see if there were any new waterfowl present. I had walked about halfway up the west end of the loop and was scanning the waterfowl when Linda Scrima and two other folks caught up with me. Linda introduced me to her friends and fellow birders, Jean and Ray, and the four of us continued down the trail for a while. We all got our first RUDDY DUCKS (2) of the season before Ray and Jean headed back. Linda and I continued walking the loop where we eventually ran into another birder named Mike, who was having trouble identifying a bird that he had seen in the back pond along the trail to Owens Station Road. He was sure it was a grebe, but it was diving at all. We eventually relocated the bird, which ended up being my first PIED-BILLED GREBE of the year. Mike continued back to the parking lot and Linda and I ended up walking that trail all the way to Owens Station Road and birding the pond over there as well. The sun had come out and it warmed up a bit as we headed down the east side of the loop back to our cars. It was a nice walk and in the end I totaled 32 species for the refuge and Owen Station Road combined:

This Red-tailed Hawk was harassing the ducks for a short time, making many of them pick up. Wallkill River NWR, 4/514.

Canada Goose 85
Wood Duck 8
American Wigeon 12
American Black Duck 10
Mallard 25

Blue-winged Teal 1

Northern Shoveler 3

Northern Pintail 90
Green-winged Teal 85
Ring-necked Duck 100
Bufflehead 1
Common Merganser 15
Ruddy Duck 2
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 2

Black Vulture 2

Turkey Vulture 12
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 2
Ring-billed Gull 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow 14
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Eastern Bluebird 3
American Robin 15
European Starling 20
Song Sparrow 10
Red-winged Blackbird 60

Common Grackle 8

Belted Kingfisher 1

Orange County Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern in flight over Glenmere Lake, 4/3/14.

I went out to Glenmere Lake this evening to go for the two Common Loons that had been seen out there and to see if anything else had moved in. I was pleasantly surprised to find a tern perched on the far shore of the lake, among a group of approximately 15 Ring-billed Gulls. I made a quick call to Rob Stone to help with the ID and he and Anthony later joined me to confirm that it was a Caspian Tern. John Haas and Karen Miller joined us shortly after that and we all got good looks at the bird in our scopes. The bird was distant for the most part, but flew close enough to get some halfway decent shots (after some heavy cropping).

The two Common Loons were present and when I first arrived they were calling, which I just love.

A distant and dark shot of one of two Common Loons present at Glenmere Lake tonight, 4/3/14.

Waterfowl Wednesday

One of 43 (!!!) Horned Grebes at the Bashakill WMA today, 4/2/14.

It started with a phone call from Karen Miller today while I was at work today. She had taken the day off and was birding with John Haas and Scott Baldinger. She called to rub in the fact that they had seen 43 (!!!) HORNED GREBES at the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area. I headed towards the Bashakill after work and when I arrived at Haven Road, I immediately located group of 8 Horned Grebes in the distance. I was able to get some decent shots of a couple of the birds, but then I moved on, heading back to Orange County. For more details on birding at the Bashakill today, go to the Bashakill Birder to read John Haas’ post.

After the Bash, I hustled over to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge to see if we had had any similar luck in Orange County. I was going to meet Karen at the refuge, and when I arrived, Karen was already there and Joyce DePew was there as well. From the viewing platform we got a good look at a trio of American Coots – my first of the year.

My FOY American Coot, one of three at the Wallkill River NWR, 4/2/14.

We also had a Killdeer fly over in good light:

We walked the loop, and the marsh was loaded with waterfowl:

Canada Goose 80
Mute Swan 4
Wood Duck 2
American Wigeon 35
Mallard 30
Blue-winged Teal 5
Northern Shoveler 2
Northern Pintail 75
Green-winged Teal 85
Ring-necked Duck 100
Bufflehead 4

I was very conservative with these numbers because for me, it becomes difficult to keep track of all the bird numbers when you are also having conversations. I had a great time – good company, perfect weather, and plenty of birds – very hard to beat it.

The Northern Pintails were making a sound in flight that I don't remember hearing before. It was new to Joyce and Karen as well. NOPI at Wallkill River NWR, 4/2/14. — The Northern Pintails were making a sound in flight that I don’t remember hearing before. It was new to Joyce and Karen as well. NOPI at Wallkill River NWR, 4/2/14.

3/31/14 – Catch Up

Song Sparrow at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 3/31/14.

Okay, so it’s time to play a little catch up. I’ve been getting out a bit in the last week but haven’t been organized enough or had the time to do posts. I’ll start with tonight after work – I stopped by 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary right here in Goshen. I am happy to say that all the ice has melted and the sanctuary was relatively birdy. It was nice to be on foot once again as well. Here’s my list for the night:

Canada Goose 85
Wood Duck 2
American Black Duck 3
Mallard 15
Green-winged Teal 3
Ring-necked Duck 12
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 5
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 35
American Tree Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 12
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 6

So, that was tonight. Now for the catch up over the last week. No great photos to speak of, but I guess that’s just the way it goes sometimes.

Monday 3/24/14

Monday I was out in the Black Dirt Region sorting through Canada Geese with no luck. I was happy to see that 4 Short-eared Owls were still around though.

Tuesday 3/25/14

Tuesday I was out looking for geese in Pine Island and came across a small flock of Snow Geese – approximately 400 birds. This group continues and was seen at the Camel Farm by a couple of people today (3/31/14).

Wednesday 3/26/14

Wednesday was so cold and windy that I did not stay out very long at all. Really, just long enough to get some shots of this mixed flock of blackbirds. This pic looks like all Red-winged Blackbirds, but when I was looking at the birds on the ground there were definitely some Brown-headed Cowbirds in the flock.

Thursday 3/27/14

I actually got it together and did a post on Thursday from my visit to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge but did not include this Turkey Vulture shot. See Thursday’s post here

Saturday 3/29/14

I had Nature Watch Training at the Basha Kill in the morning and I got out for a little while in the afternoon. Notable observations included 3 Snowy Owls in the Black Dirt and the continuing flock of 400 to 500 Snow Geese as well.

Sunday 3/30/14

On Sunday, I only had a brief window to bird early in the morning. I headed over to the Hudson River to look for waterfowl. On my way over I stopped by the Heron Rookery across from Stewart Airport and noticed that several Great Blue Herons had taken up residence there. There was not many waterfowl to be seen from the Hudson, but I did have 15 or so Tree Swallows hunting over the river, seen from Plum Point. On my way back I stopped at Brown’s Pond, and although it was still mostly ice, there were some waterfowl to be found, including: Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Merganser, American Wigeon, Bufflehead and Mute Swan.

Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge 3/27/14

Ring-necked Ducks in flight at Wallkill River NWR, 3/27/14.

Tonight after work, I walked the Liberty Loop at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in ages. It proved to be quite birdy, and a good showing of waterfowl was certainly the highlight:

Canada Goose (1500)
Wood Duck (35)

American Wigeon (4)
American Black Duck (30)
Mallard (60)

Northern Pintail (75)

Green-winged Teal (50)
Ring-necked Duck (120)

Hooded Merganser (6)

Other highlights included 14 Turkey Vultures that appeared as if they might have been moving through, and I also had an attractive looking Skunk that I was able to get a couple of mediocre shots of. It felt really good to be on foot, taking a hike, and out of the car for a change. It has been a long cold winter of car-birding.

Thanks to the gentleman on the trail that gave me the heads-up about this skunk. Wallkill River NWR, 3/27/14.

More RNDUs in flight at the Wallkill River NWR, 3/27/14.

Sunday Shots 3/23/14

Some of my shots from the past week:

This Hooded Merganser took a back seat to the Red-necked Grebe at Algonquin Park, 3/22/14. — This handsome Hooded Merganser took a back seat to the Red-necked Grebe at Algonquin Park, 3/22/14.

Saturday afternoon I walked some of the trails at the Basha Kill and found this Eastern Bluebird.

These Snow Geese are from Thursday evening, 3/20/14. Today, 3/23/14, I had a small flock of 200 fly over when I was at the Camel Farm.

At least one Snowy Owl continued in the Black Dirt as of Friday night, 2/21/14.

One last shot of the sleepy Red-necked Grebe at Algonquin Park, 3/22/14.

Notable Observations

The biggest news of the weekend was John Haas locating TWO CACKLING GEESE at Haven Road at the Basha Kill. Visit his blog to get the full scoop – it is actually an amazing story.

For myself, the best bird of the weekend was definitely the Red-necked Grebe. Additionally I had a few first of season birds this weekend: Tree Swallows (Basha Kill 3/23), Sharp-shinned Hawk (Celery Ave 3/22) and Eastern Phoebe (Algonquin Park 3/22).

Red-necked Grebe

I’m a day late and a dollar short with this bird – this is probably the most photographed bird on Facebook right now. Still, it is a beautiful bird to see and the pond in Algonquin park where the bird is located, is rather small, allowing for very good looks at this bird. Huge thanks to Bruce Nott for locating the bird and having someone post about it, even though he was still out in the field.

The bird spent most of the time I was there this morning tucked in... — The bird spent most of the time I was there this morning tucked in…

Every once in a while it would stretch out a bit... — Every once in a while it would stretch out a bit…

Black Dirt Geese – 3/21/14

Cackling Goose in the Black Dirt Region, 3/21/14. I like this photo because it you can see the difference between the Canada and the Cackling Goose.

I took a quick but productive tour of the Black Dirt Region after work today. I was unable to relocate any large flocks of Snow Geese, but did find some larger groups of Canada Geese, and among them some gems:

Cackling Goose (1)
Grester White-fronted Goose (2)
Snow Goose (60)

Maybe there are still some large groups of Snow Geese around – there are certainly areas I did not get to tonight. Maybe this weekend will produce a Barnacle Goose or even a Pink-footed Goose? A Ross’s Goose? Who knows?

Orange County Snow Geese Continue

Four Snow Geese in flight, New Hampton NY, 3/20/14.

While I was at work on Thursday, I spoke to Rob Stone and John Haas; the Snow Geese in the Black Dirt Region continued in large numbers. They also continued to be restless, changing locations often. After work, I joined John Haas and Karen Miller as they scanned and photographed a group of 1,800 Snow Geese that included a single Tundra Swan as well. The birds picked up and we relocated them easily enough. The field that they had landed in made it easier to see the birds and after scanning them for a while we were confident that there was not a Ross’s Goose among them.

I love watching these Snow Geese put on a show. New Hampton NY, 3/20/14.

It is very enjoyable to photograph the Snow Geese, though sometimes it's hard to know what to shoot! — Snow Geese – Black Dirt Region, 3/20/14.

At some point, while shooting the geese, I noticed this Red-tailed Hawk over my shoulder and got a few shots. New Hampton NY, 3/20/14.

3/19/14 – Snow Geese Land in Orange County

Just before noon today, Rob Stone called to let me know he had approximately 2000 Snow Geese at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, just across the road from the Liberty Loop. By the time I got out of work after 3:00, the birds had moved on. I got in touch with Curt McDermott and John Haas who were hot on the trail of the birds. They had relocated the flock (which had grown to 8,000 birds), but the birds lifted up once again. The flock had split into two groups and I followed Curt and John in my car as we (they!) relocated the larger of the two groups out in the Black Dirt Region. The three of us agreed that there were perhaps 5,000 Snow Geese in the group. We spent probably over two hours looking for a Ross’s Goose among them without success. With any luck the birds will stick around long enough and someone will find a Ross’s.