Orange Birding

Wow! Orange County LITTLE GULL!

I was on the golf course this morning when Jeanne Cimorelli reported that she briefly had a LITTLE GULL at Washington Lake. Fortunately, larophile extraordinaire Bruce Nott relocated the bird a little later at Plum Point. After golf, I ran for the bird, convinced that I had only a very slim chance of getting it. Fortunately the bird stuck around, associating with a large flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls on the Hudson River just north of Plum Point. I was thrilled to get on the bird on the water – at first it was a challenge to find it among the 70 or so Bonies, but then it got a little easier. Then the flock took flight, and that’s when finding the bird was easy, its dark underwings showing up very well. I believe this is the first county record of Little Gull; the bird was a life bird for me.

~It was really exciting to see this bird – LITTLE GULL at Plum Point 04/20/24. I would have loved to get closer looks and pics, but this could very well end up being a once in a lifetime occurrence, so I’m just thrilled to have gotten the bird.~

LITTLE GULL in flight amongst 70 or so Bonaparte’s Gulls, Plum Point, 04/20/24.~

OC Red-necked Grebe, 04/18/24

Question: Is it pathetic or is it awesome that a single bird can make my week? Regardless of your answer to that question, that’s what happened tonight. I’d been having a rotten week; heavy with work stress and deficient in joy. But that changed tonight when I rolled up to Greenwood Lake and found a gorgeous RED-NECKED GREBE on the water. The bird was a little bit distant at first, but it was slowly making its way towards the shore. I put the word out, and Kyle Knapp joined on the beach. We enjoyed some good looks, but the bird remained tucked in most of the time.

~Beautiful bird! Red-necked Grebe at Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~

The bird was drifting further out, so we decided to leave. Just before we got in our cars, Kyle took one more look – at first he didn’t see the bird, but then we found it, it was very close to shore. We slowly made our way closer; the bird stayed put and we enjoyed fantastic looks and photos ops of this beautiful bird. What a night, what a way to melt the stress away. What a great hobby.

~One more shot of the Red-necked Grebe at Greenwood Lake, 04/18/24.~

A Good Weekend, 04/14/24

I didn’t do a post last weekend because I did not have any noteworthy sightings nor any photos that I felt justified a post. This weekend it’s a different story. I enjoyed two mornings of really good birding where I added several new birds to my Orange County year list. I also finally caught up with a couple of birds which had been eluding me – on Saturday morning, I finally got a Great Cormorant for the county (I’d seen one across the river in Dutchess County earlier in the year). Then on Sunday morning, thanks to birding bud Bruce Nott, I finally saw the Eurasian Green-winged Teal which has been in the area for some time. It was in the big pond at the Camel Farm, which made finding it much easier than scanning through hundreds of Green-winged Teals at Winding Waters Trail, as I did a couple of weeks ago.

~I kind of like this photo because it’s cool to see the size comparison of the Great versus the much smaller Double-crested Cormorant. Newburgh Waterfront, 04/13/24.~

And things are starting to happen. Including the couple of evenings I got out earlier this week, I added 12 species to my OC year list:

Gadwall (Wickham Lake 4/9/24)
Osprey (Wickham Lake 4/9/24)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Wickham Lake 4/9/24)
Barn Swallow (Wickham Lake 4/9/24)
Chipping Sparrow (Goshen, 4/10/24)
RED-THROATED LOON (Wickham Lake 4/11/24)
GREAT CORMORANT (Newburgh Waterfront 4/13/24)
Greater Yellowlegs (Camel Farm 4/13/24)
Lesser Yellowlegs (Camel Farm 4/13/24)
DUNLIN (Winding Waters Trail, 4/14/24)
Broad-winged Hawk (Winding Waters Trail 4/14/24)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Winding Waters Trail, 4/14/24)

~An unlikely pair, a Blue-winged Teal and one of two DUNLIN at Winding Waters Trail, 04/14/24.~

~A sharp looking male Horned Lark in the black dirt, 04/13/24.~

~And by contrast, a slightly drabber but still beautiful female HOLA, black dirt 04/13/24.~

~There were loads of Savannah Sparrows in the black dirt on Sunday morning, 04/14/24.~

~On Saturday morning I did not find any Red-throated Loons, but I did have several Common Loons (3 at Orange Lake, 1 at the Newburgh Waterfront, 1 at Greenwood Lake, 2 at Wickham Lake, and 1 at Glenmere Lake). This photo was taken at Greenwood Lake in the rain, 04/13/24.~

~I’ve been seeing at least one good-looking Lapland Longspur in the black dirt. I took this photo last Saturday, 04/06/24. I found what I believe is the same individual this weekend and although I wasn’t able to get a photo, it’s looking better still.~

~A Belted Kingfisher darts under the overpass at Winding Waters Trail, 04/14/24.~

Loony Evening, 04/11/24

The old adage ‘bad weather = good birds’ held true once again this evening. I’d like to add to that and say bad weather = good birds = terrible photos. But it also makes for a very happy birder. I headed out directly after work today, and I spent a rainy evening checking out a couple of local lakes. At my first stop, Wickham Lake, I was pleased to find 9 (!) Common Loons on the water. Eight of the birds were in a tight group, with one bird that was only loosely associating with them:

~Exciting stuff – nine Common Loons at Wickham Lake, 04/11/24.~

My next stop was Glenmere Lake. At first I thought it was a bust, but then I saw 2 distant birds in my binoculars. I got the scope on them, and sure enough, it was a pair of RED-THROATED LOONS! Always a favorite and seemingly more difficult to get in the county in recent years, this sighting made my night.

~Good bird for the county – A pair of RED-THROATED LOONS on Glenmere Lake, 04/11/24.~

Easter 2024

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates. It was a busy weekend for me, as we hosted family for the the holiday, but I did manage to get out a for a little bit on both days of the weekend. I walked Winding Waters Trail at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge on both days; it’s been absolutely loaded with waterfowl, and I was really interested in tracking down the Eurasian Green-winged Teal that Bruce Nott found earlier in the week. There are hundreds of Green-winged Teal there right now; I sorted through them a good while on Saturday and for a little while on Sunday, but I did not have any luck with my target bird. So I finished the weekend having seen just the usual suspects for this time of year, but as usual, I enjoyed trying to get some interesting photographs.

~I kind of dig this photo. Mostly Green-winged Teal, but I’m also seeing a few Mallards and four Northern Pintails. Winding Waters Trail, 03/30/24.~

~A fierce looking Bald Eagle at Brown’s Pond, 03/30/24.~

~I cannot believe the number of Song Sparrows I’m seeing this Spring. This one was at Winding Waters, 03/30/24.~

~American Kestrel in flight in the Black Dirt Region, 03/31/24.~

~Beaver just after sunrise at Winding Waters Trail, 03/30/24.~

A Good Morning, 03/24/24

After a bleak and rainy Saturday that broke my “bad weather = good birding” rule in convincing fashion, I enjoyed a lovely, crisp, cold, and sunny Sunday morning of productive birding. I ran into Kyle Knapp at Lower Wisner Road, where we easily found my first Rusty Blackbirds of 2024; they were feeding with a small flock of American Robins out in a field. The Brown Thrasher that Kyle found skulking in some nearby hedges was an excellent bonus bird. Brown Thrasher is not a bird I see very often, so it was good to get one so early in the year.

~Brown Thrasher, Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, 03/24/24.~

~One of four Eastern Bluebirds on Lower Wisner Road, 03/24/24. I don’t know if it was the light, or what, but these birds were just spectacularly blue; just gorgeous.

Afterwards, I headed out to the black dirt to see what I could find. I was finally able to track down some Wilson’s Snipe – they were in an odd location to me – out in a field on Skinners Lane, loosely associating with nearly a dozen Killdeer. Later, at The Camel Farm, I was able to find my first American Pipits of the year; a trio of birds working around some of distant puddles out in the field.

~Three of four Wilson’s Snipe in the black dirt this morning, 03/24/24. The birds were a little bit distant, but still really good to see them.~

~Here’s a bird that I don’t see all that often, and I haven’t photographed in ages. American Tree Sparrow in the black dirt, 03/24/24.~

~One moe Eastern Bluebird shot, Lower Winsner Road 03/24/24.~

Ring-necked Duck, 03/17/24

Looking at field guides, and from my own personal experience, Ring-necked Ducks do not show off their namesake very often. Even today, when I photographed this drake, I didn’t take notice of it. But, when I reviewed my photos, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I’ve never seen a maroon/brown neck-ring this distinctive. I’m not sure if this is the effect of particular lighting condition, or if this is this individual’s current plumage. Regardless, I didn’t much luck otherwise with photos today, but I definitely wanted to share a couple shots of this good-looking bird, which I photographed at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary this morning.

~Male Ring-necked Duck at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 03/17/24.~

~One more shot of the drake Ring-necked Duck at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 03/17/24.~

Birding Around the County, 03/16/24

I was up super early this morning, so I was able to enjoy one of my favorite things – the Black Dirt Region at sunrise. I was hoping I might catch a glimpse of a Coyote at that hour, but it wasn’t to be. I was, however, rewarded by finding and photographing three Lapland Longspurs just after sunrise. It’s been several weeks since I’ve found any LALOs, so it was good to catch up with those birds. Unfortunately, not long after seeing the longspurs, I found a recently deceased Short-eared Owl. The field where I found the bird had been recently cleared; sadly it appeared to me that the bird had been killed by a run-in with some farm machinery.

~Red-tailed Hawk perched on a limp wind sock at sunrise in the black dirt, 03/16/24.~

~One of three Lapland Longspurs in the black dirt on 03/16/24.~

Later in the morning, I checked some of the lakes in southern Orange County. I didn’t find much, but I was happy to find a Common Loon at Wickham Lake in beautiful plumage:

~Common Loon at Wickham Lake, 03/16/24.~

My final destination on this Saturday was the Hudson River near Newburgh. The big excitement for me was finding a single Lesser Black-backed Gull on the sandbar in Cornwall Bay. Also of note was a trio of Red-breasted Mergansers. Unfortunately there was no sign of the Great Cormorants which have been in the area recently.

~Lesser Black-backed Gull waaaaay out there. It’s the bird on the far right. I kind of like having the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge in the background for this shot. Cornwall Bay, 03/16/24.~

Sunday Shots, 03/10/24

It was a little bit of an uninspired weekend of birding for me. I never really put a good plan together for either day, so I just kind of wandered around the county and it was ultimately not very productive. I think a lot of it has to do with the time of year – it’s sort of in between right now – some winter birds are holding on, but many are on the move, yet migration isn’t in full swing just yet. Highlights for me included adding Hermit Thrush to my 2024 OC list at D&H Canal Park Saturday morning, and catching up with a Great Cormorant on the Hudson River first thing this morning. As usual, regardless of how productive it was, I like to share some of the images from the weekend on a Sunday evening; fortunately I didn’t strike out on that count.

~Always a favorite among the ducks for me – Ruddy Duck at Beaver Dam Lake, 03/10/24.~

~It’s been nice to see an increase in the number Killdeer around. This one was in the black dirt on Friday evening, 03/08/24.~

~Pileated Woodpecker near Reservoir 3 on 03/09/10.

~Ruddy Duck at Beaver Dam Lake, 03/10/24.~

~Rare bird alert! Lol, just kidding. It just feels that way this winter when it comes to Rough-legged Hawks, which have not been very numerous in the county. Black Dirt Region, 03/10/24.~

Sunday Shots, 03/03/24

Today was good day of birding – I stuck to the black dirt region, and although I had mostly the usuals, there were plenty of birds around and I enjoyed some good photo ops. I also walked Wallkill River NWR’s Winding Waters Trail. It was a pleasant and very birdy walk. I had distant looks at the recently returned Sandhill Cranes, which was pretty cool. There were thousands of blackbirds on the trail; they never sat still for very long.

In the afternoon, I got word from Linda Scrima that she had a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at the Camel Farm, of all places. I ran for the bird, and when I arrived, I found that it had been joined by a second LBBG, out in a field, among over 300 Ring-billed and a handful of Herring Gulls. It was a terrible look at the birds (distant and starkly backlit), but I was happy to add this species to my Orange County list for the year. Huge thanks to Linda for the heads up on an excellent find.