I had a pair of Dowitchers out at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary this evening, between 5:00 and 6:00. I do not know whether they were Long-billed or Short-billed. I did hear them call, and my immediate thought was Long-billed, but I am not familiar enough with the calls to make a positive ID. Please comment if you get these birds or if you have any thoughts on the ID. Thanks!
10/5/13 – Here a several more shots of the birds from various angles. 
Well, this post is a couple days late, but certainly worth posting. Sunday evening, Tricia and I went to the Bashakill Vineyards where we met up with Karen Miller to attend the Basha Kill Area Association annual Benefit. This year’s event was really great – well attended, and the brick oven pizza, wine, and hors d’oeuvres provided by members of the BKAA were all delicious.
Bill Streeter from the Delaware Raptor Center did his live raptor talk which included a Peregrine Falcon, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Northern Saw-whet Owl, a Snowy Owl, and a magnificent Golden Eagle. The talk was very entertaining and informative.
For me, the highlight of the event was John Haas having his book signing for the release of his book “A Birding Guide to Sullivan County New York”. The book was for sale and John was, of course, signing copies. If you are a birder in this area or if you are just interested in great spots to hike, kayak, or just see nature you have to get this book. It is available at the Bashakill Vineyards and also at the Basha Kill Area Association website. This book will make you a better birder I guarantee it, AND all proceeds from the book are being donated to the Basha Kill Area Association. You can’t lose!
I believe I had a Stilt Sandpiper out at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge between 5 and 6 o’clock this evening. I am feeling pretty good about this ID, but having only ever seen the bird once before, I am not totally convinced . If you have any thoughts on the identification of this bird please weigh in; you can make a comment here or email me at [email protected]. Here are a few more photos: 
Every once in a while I just need to go do some birding in a location that is likely to provide plenty of photo opportunities. Morningside Park is perfect for this, as long as you are birding by kayak. I arrived at the park right after sunrise to take advantage of the beautiful early morning light; for me, you cannot beat early morning light for beautiful photos. There was a misty fog on the surface of the lake that I also find appealing but difficult to translate into photos. I was pleased with the results, there were plenty of birds to shoot and the fall colors were reflecting off the water wonderfully.
Well, I had another slow day for migrating raptors at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch today. Overall I think the numbers of migrating hawks at the watch have been good this season, but I only had 21 today. Visit Hawkcount.org to see all the data for the year. Here is my report from today:
Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 28, 2013
——————————————————————-
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 2 2
Osprey 1 101 101
Bald Eagle 1 71 71
Northern Harrier 2 26 26
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 362 362
Cooper’s Hawk 0 21 21
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 20 20
Broad-winged Hawk 8 7591 7591
Red-tailed Hawk 0 6 6
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 0 86 86
Merlin 0 5 5
Peregrine Falcon 0 6 6
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 3 3
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 16 16
Total: 21 8317 8317
———————————————————————-
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Observers: Tom Millard
Visitors:
Steven Liss and family, several families eating their ice cream.
Weather:
A heavy fog rolled in from the valley shortly after my arrival to the
watch, but cleared up by the end of the first hour. It was a warm sunny day
with some clouds and a gentle NW breeze that shifted to NE during the fifth
hour of the watch. Temperatures ranged from 10 to 25 degrees Celsius.
Raptor Observations:
Migrating raptors included (1) Immature Bald Eagle, (2) unknown Northern
Harriers, and an immature Red-shouldered Hawk.
Non-migrating raptors: Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures were flying for
most of the day as was one local Red-tailed Hawk. Just before noon Eastern
Standard Time an immature Bald Eagle circled west of the viewing platform
but then headed north.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor species: Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay (49), Black-throated Green
Warbler (2), Cedar Waxwing (18), Eastern Phoebe, Canada Goose (33), Chimney
Swift (5), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Palm Warbler.
I stopped by Missionland road tonight around 6:15 and the three Buff-breasted Sandpipers continue. Here’s one more noisy shot (both shots were taken at ISO 3200):
This evening at around 5:50 pm I had three Buff-breasted Sandpipers on the west side of Missionland Road, right across from Gurda Street. This is a life bird for me, huge thanks go out once again to Rob Stone for locating and posting – it is appreciated!
Here’s a quick post from my outing on Sunday morning. I arrived at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge just after sunrise; the sunlight was beautiful and the birds were plentiful. Here’s my list for the day:
Canada Goose 45
Mallard 30
Northern Shoveler 5
Green-winged Teal 10
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 10
Green Heron 5
Turkey Vulture 2
Northern Harrier 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 1
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Killdeer 6
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 12
Pectoral Sandpiper 3
Wilson’s Snipe 2
Mourning Dove 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
American Kestrel 1
Eastern Phoebe 3
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 40
Common Yellowthroat 4
Northern Parula 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Song Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal 1
Bobolink X
American Goldfinch 2
Wow, today was a slow day at the hawk watch. Just one day after having over 2,700 migrating raptors, I had only 23 today. The good news is that the birds were flying a little lower so I was able to snap a few photos. Here is my report for the day:
Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2013
——————————————————————-
Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 81 81
Bald Eagle 0 46 46
Northern Harrier 0 11 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk 16 208 208
Cooper’s Hawk 0 15 15
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 18 18
Broad-winged Hawk 4 7109 7109
Red-tailed Hawk 0 5 5
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 2 49 49
Merlin 0 4 4
Peregrine Falcon 0 3 3
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 3 3
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 13 13
Total: 23 7566 7566
———————————————————————-
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Observers: Bill Connolly, Bill O’Keefe, Rob Stone
Visitors:
Lee Geiger, several families.
Weather:
It was a little cool and very cloudy in the morning but warm and partly
sunny in the afternoon. Temperatures ranged from 15 to 24 degrees Celsius.
Raptor Observations:
For migrating raptors we had one adult Red-shouldered Hawk, one male
American Kestrel, and one unknown American Kestrel. Non-migrating raptors
included Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks (2) and a low
flying Coopers Hawk that passed 50 yards to the west of the platform, below
eye level, and darted into the trees.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non Raptor Species: American Goldfinch (1), Cedar Waxwing (15), Blue Jay
(20+), Canada Goose (1), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1), and Chimney Swift
(13). Non-raptor highlight was a Common Loon to the west of the platform,
heading north.
Both yesterday and today I left work and spent an hour or so at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch. Yesterday I caught the tail end of a great day – over 1400 migrating raptors passed over. While I was there we had a large kettle of fly over, comprised of over 160 Broad-winged Hawks and one immature Bald Eagle. It was really so cool to see. Today, although over 500 raptors were counted migrating over the watch, I did not fair too well. By the time I got there, things had pretty much dried up. I got a decent look at an immature Bald Eagle that did not migrate, but headed north instead. I also took a shot of one of the local Turkey Vultures, which seem to be the only birds flying low this year:
On both days, after the watch, I headed over to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. I mostly birded from the viewing platform both days, though I did walk west on the trail yesterday for a stretch. There were a good number of shorebirds present, including Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers, and a Solitary Sandpiper. Other favorites included Great Egrets, a Great Blue Heron, many Green Herons, a Northern Shoveler and a couple of Northern Harriers. But, the highlight for me was getting some good photo ops with this Belted Kingfisher:
