I watched approximately 75 Horned Larks taking a dust bath on Indiana Road on Sunday morning, 12/1/13.
On Sunday morning I was birding out at Indiana Road. I had pulled to the side of the road to get a look a several Horned Larks on the dirt road. Before I knew it, I had larks in front of me and behind me, probably close to 100 birds in all. The larks were taking a dust bath, a behavior that I find fascinating.
Horned Larks dust bathing right on Indiana Road, 12/1/13.
DUST BATHING
Birds take dust baths to maintain their plumage. They will scratch out a small depression with their feet and then get very low to the ground while wriggling their bodies and flapping their wings. This raises up the dust which falls between feathers and to the bird’s skin. Afterwards the bird will typically shake vigorously and then preen.
The dust bath helps the birds to maintain a proper amount of oil on their feathers. The dust absorbs unwanted oil on the feathers and also helps get rid of dry skin and debris. It may also help keep bird lice, feather mites and other parasites in check. Regular dust baths will keep the bird’s plumage both clean and flexible.
According to Wikipedia, dust bathing is a social behavior for some birds. I like this idea, and seeing all the Horned Larks dust bathing together makes me want to believe that there is a social element to this behavior in addition to the obvious hygienic element.
Done and dusted! Horned Lark at Indiana Road 12/1/13.
It’s Cyber Monday, so it’s a good time to head over to The Basha Kill Area Association’s website to order John Haas’ book for the birder or nature lover on your list. All proceeds go to the association, and the book is really amazing – perfect for birders in the area as well as those that might be planning to visit Sullivan County to do some birding.
The Snow Owl invasion continues. It was just before 3:00 pm and I had just gotten home. I thought my birding for the day was done when I received a phone call from John Haas: He was looking at a Snowy Owl in Bethel, NY. Tricia and I jumped into the car in hopes of getting a look at the bird. When we arrived, the bird was still present, and what a beauty! The markings on this bird were darker than the two I had seen in Orange County and the effect was striking. Many birders were present or on their way to see the bird. I was particularly happy for all the Sullivan County birders to finally get a Snowy Owl for the county. Thanks once again to John Haas for the call. You can go to The Bashakill Birder to see John’s account of the events.
This bird was actively hunting while we were there, and seemed to have success at one point. SNOW in Bethel NY, 12/1/13.
Northern Shrike Update
I also did some birding in Orange County in the morning and I wanted to add that the Northern Shrike on Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, NY continues. I located the bird working the old fence line between Upper and Lower Wisner between 10:00 and 11:00 am. I’m still working on a good photo…
An immature Bald Eagle enjoys a meal at Montezuma NWR, 11/28/13.
I woke up very early Thanksgiving morning to drive up to Syracuse to join Tricia at her Mom’s place to celebrate the holiday. I left early enough so that I could make a quick stop beforehand at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. It was a cold an snowy morning with strong wind gusts. I was at the refuge for just over an hour and in that time I identified 14 species. Here’s my list:
Canada Goose 125
Tundra Swan 80
Mallard 45
Ring-necked Duck 100
Common Merganser 25
Northern Harrier 2
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 7
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Ring-billed Gull X
Rock Pigeon 30
Mourning Dove 12
American Crow X
American Tree Sparrow 1
At first glance I thought this bird was a Rough-legged Hawk because of the way it was hunting – hovering and flapping. Red-tailed Hawk at Montezuma NWR 11/28/13.
I saw plenty of Tundra Swans, but unfortunately no Trumpeters. These birds were completely unconcerned with the adult Bald Eagle hanging out nearby. Montezuma NWR, 11/28/13.
Tundra Swans in flight at Montezuma NWR, 11/28/13.I had ample opportunity to get a good shot of this young Bald Eagle, but I was disappointed, with nearly every photo being underexposed. This was my best effort.
The second Snowy Owl in as many days. Black Dirt Region, Orange County NY 11/27/13.
I got home early from work today, and as I was walking in the door I got a call from Rob Stone: A second SNOWY OWL had been located by Ken McDermott! In case you are thinking this is perhaps the same owl, Rob was out looking at the first Snowy Owl when Ken called him to say he had a second one! Incredible birding days in Orange County! I zipped right over to check out the bird and snap some photos. Thanks again to Rob and of course, Ken who located the bird.
I also went to check on the first owl (which I did not locate), but thanks to fellow birder Maria (sorry I did not catch her last name), I was able to finally get some decent Snow Bunting photos:
Snow Bunting in the Black Dirt Region, Orange County NY, 11/27/13.Snow Bunting in the rain. Black Dirt Region 11/27/13.
Last night I received an email posting through the Mearns Bird Club. Elizabeth McKnight had located a SNOWY OWL in the Black Dirt Region, not 15 minutes from our house! I was losing my mind last night thinking about this bird. I got up early to look for the bird before work. While I was out, it started to snow pretty good, making the task a bit more difficult. I looked for just over an hour, but I was unsuccessful in relocating the bird. Off to work I went. Just before noon I received a call from Bruce Nott. The bird had been relocated! I believe it was Curt McDermott and Scott Baldinger that found the bird. I jumped on the phone with my boss, and he was kind enough to let me go run for this bird. On my way there I called Tricia and Karen Miller to give them the heads up. I joined Bruce, Curt, John Haas, and Ajit Antony who were viewing the bird. Ken McDermott, Tricia, and Karen Miller joined us not long after that. Rob Stone, his son Anthony, and Jeff Goulding were the last to arrive. We were not disappointed as we all got really great looks at the bird. The folks who know more than I do generally agreed that it was likely a first year female. Thanks to everyone involved, this was a life bird for me and a really special one at that.
SNOWY OWL in flight. Black Dirt Region, Orange County NY 11/26/13.The bird seemed to be doing some hunting, taking short flights before returning to its perch.
It’s tough to get close enough to most waterfowl to get photos. One of 24 Ring-necked Ducks at Orange-Rockland Lake, 11/23/13.
I covered a lot of ground today in search of waterfowl in Orange County. I started early and headed north and worked my way south as the morning progressed.
**I received a phone call from Bruce Nott in the afternoon – 4 Common Goldeneye continue at Chadwick Lake Park (I failed to locate them while I was there).**
In the evening I decided to try for the Short-eared Owls again. It was sunny and beautiful when I left the house. By the time the owls got up, which was early at 3:30, it was very gray and dark out. Here’s my best effort:
A very grainy shot of a SEOW. My ISO was at 3200 for this shot! Shawangunk Grasslands, 11/23/13.
I went out to the Shawangunk Grasslands NWR this afternoon in hopes of getting some photos of Northern Harriers. I had seen reports that the Short-eared Owls were back, but only one report where they up up before dark. I walked out to the north blind without seeing much bird activity, just a couple of harriers in distance. I was not in the blind long when I had a Northern Harrier fly in close:
Not much later, at 3:55 pm, I was pleasantly surprised to see a single Short-eared Owl come up from the grasses. I started to click away and more owls came up. The owls put on quite a show, flying all around the blind, tangling with each other and with the harriers too. The light was beautiful, and I clicked away trying not to miss any good opportunities.
I spoke to Scott Baldinger in the parking lot on my way back to my car and he gave a count for the night: He had 8 Short-eared Owls and 6 Northern Harriers in a single sweep, not too bad! What a great night of birding and bird photography!
SATURDAY MORNING
With all the exitement of getting the Short-eared Owl photos on Saturday evening, I never got around to posting about the birding I did on Saturday morning. I made several quick stops just to see what was going on.
What a joy to see this Red-shouldered Hawk. Lower Wisner Road, 11/16/13.
Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Rock Pigeon 20
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 2
Northern Shrike 1
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 35
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 50
Field Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Common Grackle 12
The Red-shouldered Hawk was eventually chase out of the area by what I am assuming was a local Red-tailed Hawk. Lower Wisner Road, 11/16/13.One of my main goals for the morning was to try for a good photo of the Northern shrike on Lower Wisner Road. I did not succeed, but the bird continues.
Warwick Town Hall Pond:
Canada Goose 10 Gadwall 9 Northern Pintail 2
I just happened upon the little pond across from Warwick Town Hall. I was very happy with this photo!
Skinner Lane:
Canada Goose 55
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Killdeer 1
American Crow 250
Horned Lark 40
American Goldfinch 1
It was really great to see (and hear!) the all the Brant at Sandy Hook, 11/10/13.
Sunday morning I joined Judy Cinquina, Tom Millard, Denise Farrell, B.A. McGrath, and Gene Tappan on a birding trip to Sandy Hook NJ, which is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. All the folks I went with are experienced birders, and most are also official counters out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch. It was really great to be able to spend the day birding with this group; the company was excellent and I also saw it as a good opportunity for me to learn. I tried to observe and listen to the other birders in the group as much as the birds in a effort to see how others go about their birding.
Hermit Thrush at Sandy Hook, 11/10/13.
The wind was blowing pretty good when we arrived and it got stronger as the day passed. This seemed to keep a lot of the birds down, so it was not as active as we had hoped. I counted a total of 37 species for the day, but I may have missed a few. We did well with raptors, seeing plenty of Turkey Vultures, eight Black Vultures, many Sharp-shinned Hawks, maybe a half dozen Red-tailed Hawks, and at least a couple Cooper’s Hawks.
Sharpies were zipping around all day. I managed to get a shot of this one as it passed right over the group.
The highlight of the trip for me was looking for birds out in the ocean, with the New York City skyline off in the distance to our left. As Sanderlings shot back and forth at the water’s edge, we had many birds in the distance: Black Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Surf Scoters, Common Loons, Red-throated Loons, Royal Terns, and Northern Gannets. I particularly love watching the few gannets that came in a bit closer, they are a fantastic bird to watch in flight.
Sandy Hook is a bit of a trip from Goshen NY (over 2 hours), but well worth it. I certainly plan on getting back there again, hopefully on a day with better conditions.
The view of NYC from Sandy Hook. Not a bad way to do some birding!11//10/13 – Birding at Sandy Hook with (from left to right): B.A. McGrath, Tom Millard, Denise Farrell, Gene Tappan, and Judy Cinquina.Eastern Phoebe at Sandy Hook, 11/10/13.
Northern Shrike in the distance. Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, 11/11/13.
I was happy I ran into Judy Cinquina this evening. It’s always good to see Judy, she is one of my favorite people, but tonight it was especially nice because she relocated the Northern Shrike while we were out on Lower Wisner Road in Warwick NY. What a great bird, I was so happy to get a better look and to be able to at least take some documentary photographs of the bird. I’ve said it before, but, I REALLY hope this bird sticks around!
The bird was located in the two taller trees a 150-200 yards south of the parking pull over area on Lower Wisner Road.
