Jones Beach – Unplanned Birding 11-18-12

 

I’m, of course, still struggling with shorebird identification, but I am pretty sure that these are Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin.

On Sunday afternoon, Tricia and I made an impromptu visit to Jones Beach. We were heading back to Goshen after celebrating my little sister’s 40th birthday at the Irish Times Pub in Holbrook, Long Island the night before. A skein of Brant flying over changed our plans in a hurry – I was really itching to do some birding. Tricia was on the phone with her sister at the time and she told us how to get to Jones Beach.

We had a really good afternoon of birding. We saw many species and were able to identify the following:

  • Canada Goose
  • Brant
  • Mallard
  • Greater Scaup
  • Red-breasted Merganser
  • Red-throated Loon
  • Common Loon
  • Norther Harrier
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • American Kestrel
  • Merlin
  • Black-bellied Plover
  • Oystercatcher
  • Dunlin
  • Ring-billed Gull
  • Herring Gull
  • Great Black-backed Gull
  • Mourning Dove
  • Norther Flicker
  • American Crow
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • American Robin
  • Northern Mocking Bird
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler
  • Savannah Sparrow
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Red Crossbills
  • White-winged Crossbills
  • American Goldfinch

I had a pretty good day with the camera – I managed to get pretty good exposures on almost all my photographs. I have thought about it and I think there are a couple of reasons. The first is that the light was pretty steady, there were no clouds moving through or anything else to change the light significantly. The second is that I think I am getting better at making the proper adjustments. I was also making adjustments as I photographed certain birds, getting several shots that were lighter as well as some darker ones.

It really was a very exciting day of birding, I am having trouble deciding on my highlight.  It was a lot of fun to bird in a different location because we got to see so many birds that we don’t normally get to see. I am pretty sure that it is not anything special to see loons at Jones Beach, but it was a thrill for me. Same for the Brant. The Crossbills were very exciting too – life birds for me, but I think getting such a close look at the Merlin was probably my favorite part of the afternoon. Because we don’t get to see them very often,  Tricia’s highlight was seeing all the shorebirds as we walked along the beach.

I’m not much better with gulls…I think this is a juvenile Herring Gull. Please comment if you know!
We saw several Common Loons. This one was hunting very close to the shore, definitely as close as I’ve ever been to a loon.
A Common Loon in flight. Jones Beach 11-18-12
I really enjoyed seeing the Brant.
A puffed up Red-breasted Nuthatch.
It was so exciting seeing this Merlin – what a beautiful bird!
Red Crossbills at Jones Beach. There are a lot of birders and photographers around – when the crossbills landed in a good, close spot, an obnoxious photographer barreled over with his humungous lens and tripod and scared them off…
…fortunately, when we got back to the car the tree next to the car was filled with Red and White-winged Crossbills. This is a male White-winged Crossbill.
Female Red Crossbill at Jones Beach, 11-18-12.
Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin in flight. Jones Beach 11-18-12.

A Week of Waterfowl

I have spent most of my birding time this week looking for waterfowl and swimming waterbirds. I made three visits out to 61/2 Station Road Sanctuary here in Goshen early in the week and did pretty well:

  • Canada Goose
  • Gadwall
  • Mallard
  • Northern Shoveler
  • Green-winged Teal
  • Bufflehead
  • Ruddy Duck
  • Pied-billed Grebe
  • American Coot

Most of these birds were located in the small pond located south of the Heritage Trail. It is pretty difficult to get any good looks on this pond – there are many branches and brush blocking the view, plus the birds are pretty far away. I used my scope to get some good looks, but taking photos is tough.

This Double-crested Cormorant was extremely accommodating. Celery Farm 11-18-12.

I also made it out to the Celery Farm a couple days after work. I did pretty well there, seeing more Canada Geese and Mallards, my first Hooded Mergansers of the fall, a Ruddy duck and Northern Shoveler. I also scored with a Double-crested Cormorant that posed nicely for me.

Also located near my work in Bergen County NJ,  The Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve seemed like a good place to search for waterbirds moving through. I made it out there two afternoons after work and I was not disappointed:

 

  • Canada Goose
  • Gadwall
  • Mallard
  • American Wigeon
  • Hooded Merganser
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • American Coot

 

 

I had a little bonus while I was out there – a GREEN HERON! It is definitely unusual to see a Green Heron in Bergen county at this time of the year, and eBird considers it a rare bird right now. It certainly caught me by surprise but I was able to snap a photo as it flew off:

An unusual sighting – a GREEN HERON in mid November. Franklin Lakes Nature Reserve.

Finally, on Saturday I went out to Swan Lake in Sullivan County NY with my birding buddy Karen Miller. I want to thank John Haas for giving us the lay of the land – it really helped out and we had a great morning of birding. Highlights for me were several Lesser Scaup which is a life bird for me (thanks John for help with the ID!) and also seeing over 100 Common Mergansers (my first of the fall). I was finally able to get some waterfowl photos:

This is the closest I’ve ever been to a Ruddy Duck. Swan Lake 11-17-18
We watched this Bufflehead fly in and I was able to snap a few photos.
A Ruddy Duck and a Lesser Scaup at Swan Lake 11-17-12
Two of many Common Mergansers out at Swan Lake.
Lesser Scaup. Swan Lake 11-17-12.

Fall Birding Photos

 

Red-tailed Hawk at Wallkill River NWR 11-4-12.
A close-up of the same hawk – this bird was perched on a wire and was extremely accommodating.
My first Dark-eyed Junco of the season. Shawangunk Grasslands 10-27-12.
I played a hunch and stopped at the parking lot of a cafe on route 207 north of Goshen. It payed off with this adult Bald Eagle in the field across the street.
This might be my favorite photo of the year. Ruddy Duck at Kiamesha Lake 10-27-12.
This Golden-crowned Kinglet was very cooperative on my first visit to the Wood Duck Trail at the Wallkill River NWR 11-4-12.

Eurasian Wigeon – Darlington Park

Female Eurasian Wigeon at Darlington Park 10-26-12

After work today I went to Darlington Park in Bergen County NJ looking for a female Eurasian Wigeon that had been reported on eBird. Reports said that the bird was among 15 American Wigeon. I was happy to see that the birds were still present. It took me a little while to figure out which one was the Eurasian Wigeon, but once I did it was pretty obvious. I wonder if I had happened upon this group of birds without any prior knowledge if I would have picked out the Eurasian Wigeon among the American Wigeons? I’m not so sure I would have, or if I did I probably would not have had a clue what it was.  Here are some photos from the day –  I was disappointed because it was yet another very gray day that I was out birding in…

The female Eurasian Wigeon and this male American Wigeon were inseparable. They followed each other all around the lake.
Female Eurasian Wigeon and Female American Wigeon.
All of these birds seemed to have some vegetation hanging off their bills at one time or another.
A couple pairs of American Wigeons.

There was also a couple of Pied-billed Grebes present. One was larger and light colored while the other was darker and smaller – noticeably shorter at all times.  I really enjoy these birds, I had fun just watching them interact with one another.

6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary

I am pretty sure but not positive that this is a Red-tailed Hawk. I never saw this bird from the front and I find identifying perched hawks to be a challenge. Please leave a comment if you can ID this bird -thanks!

It was a rainy and foggy afternoon so I decided to go to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary to see if any new ducks were present. I did pretty well with waterfowl, I saw many Canada Geese, several Mallards, around 20 Green-winged Teals,  5 Mute Swans, and  3 Ruddy Ducks. Unfortunately, the 2 Pied-billed Grebes that I have been see out there recently were not to be found.

Three Ruddy Ducks way out there in the fog and mist.
A puffed up Field Sparrow. 6 1/2 Station Road 10-24-12.

The sanctuary had a lot of bird activity, here’s my species list:

  • Canada Goose
  • Mute Swan
  • Mallard
  • Green-winged Teal
  • Ruddy Duck
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Red-tail Hawk ?
  • Ring-billed Gull
  • Eastern Phoebe
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Carolina Wren
  • American Robin
  • European Starling
  • Field Sparrow
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Common Grackle

The highlight of the day was not even bird related. I saw a BOBCAT slink alongside the creek and then into the brush! It was very exciting and my heart was racing for quite a while after that.

Hawk Watching

 

An immature Bald Eagle flies right over the Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10-14-12
Osprey at Mt. Peter 9-23-12

I have been spending much of my birding time this fall hawk watching. I volunteer at  Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, which is located on Kain Road in Warwick NY (just across the street from Bellvale Farms Creamery), so I have been out there on many days. I have been thinking about why I enjoy hawk watching so much and I came up with a few good reasons. It is really amazing how many birds you can see if you sit in one spot for a while. On September 20th, Mt. Peter had its highest count of the year – 1,281 migrating raptors! Over a thousand of them were Broad-winged Hawks! And this is not even considered a “big day” for Broad-winged Hawks. You don’t just see hawks either, I have seen Brant, a Great Blue Heron, Gulls, Common Ravens, Common Loons, and even Glossy Ibis fly over hawk watches! There is also plenty of time to look for songbirds when there is a lull in the hawk activity.

I also find hawk watching to be extremely challenging. It is certainly a different way of birding for me. Some days it is difficult just to to find any migrating hawks in the sky, depending on wind and weather conditions, how high the birds are flying, and what the cloud cover is like (among other things). An all blue sky is the most difficult sky to find hawks in. Sunny with some clouds seems to make the hawks most visible for me. Some days it can be tough to just locate the birds, but identifying the raptors is by far the most challenging and rewarding aspect of Hawk Watching. It is so much fun trying to figure out what species of bird you are looking at – sometimes at a great distance, often in silhouette, usually with no size comparisons to be made.

Finally, there is an aspect of hawk watching that would never have guessed would become so enjoyable to me – the camaraderie. I always enjoyed birding alone – sort of an escape, but I am finding more and more that I am enjoying birding with other people. Mt. Peter is extraordinary, the people there are amazing – so friendly, knowledgeable, generous. I highly recommend a visit.

If you are interested in seeing the data collected by the Mt. Peter volunteers, please visit: http://www.hawkcount.org/.

A busy day out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch 9-23-12
One of the local Red-tail Hawks at Mt. Peter 9-23-12

Tricia and I also made it out to Hawk Mountain for the first weekend of October. The highlight for me was 9 Peregrine Falcons on Saturday.

Me at Hawk Mountain. Photo by Tricia.
An Osprey flies on the West side of the North Lookout at Hawk Mountain.
At Hawk Mountain, many of the looks are from above. I have this as a Cooper’s Hawk 10-6-12.
One more Osprey. They counted 55 Osprey migrating over Hawk Mountain on 10-6-12

Wallkill River NWR – Sparrows and Sparrow Hawks

At times referred to as the American Sparrow Hawk, this male was one of five American Kestrels at Wallkill River NWR.

I went out to the Wallkill River NWR on Saturday morning, planning on walking the Liberty Loop. It was a gray rainy morning, but I was still  hoping to get some flight photos of the Northern Harriers that have been cruising the loop lately and I also had 3 Pied-billed Grebes out there on Thursday evening and I wanted to see if they were still at the refuge. When I arrived I took a quick look around from the viewing platform and noticed a Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree north of Oil City Road. I decided to walk up Liberty Lane and check it out and leave the Liberty Loop for another day. I was not disappointed, especially in the raptor department:

  • 5 (!) American Kestrels
  • 2 Northern Harriers
  • 1 Red-tail Hawk
  • 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk

A perched female American Kestrel at the Wallkill River NWR 9-29-12

There was a complete absence of shore birds, but there were 6 Great Egrets and 2 Great Blue Herons in the pond to the left of Liberty Lane. There was a good showing of songbirds – I got a nice look at a Red-bellied Woodpecker, there were many American Goldfinches, and I had a couple of Palm Warblers too. I saw many sparrows which I struggled to identify as usual. I really have to put more time into it, but I haven’t made it happen yet. I had several Song Sparrows and I believe I also had a number of Savannah Sparrows, which I identified with my photos once I got home:

A Savannah Sparrow thinks things over.
I love this Savannah Sparrow photo- check out the details on the bird’s head.
A Song Sparrow strikes a pose as usual. Wallkill River NWR 9-29-12

Basha Kill 9/15/12

I put my kayak into the water at the Basha Kill right at sunrise this morning. It was a chilly paddle at first, but as the sun made it over the mountain it warmed up quickly. There were many Wood Ducks flying over and I came across at least a half a dozen Great Blue Herons as I paddled the channel. I spotted a couple of falcons that darted behind the trees before I could get a good ID on them. Ironically the highlight of my paddle this morning came when I stopped at Haven Road and got out of my kayak to chat with fellow birder/blogger John Haas (The Bashakill Birder). We watched as a Merlin flew across Haven Road and then chased a Mourning Dove over the kill and around the corner. The Merlin was overhead again shortly after that and then perched on a tree right on Haven road, giving me a good opportunity to get a photo:

Merlin on Haven Road at the Basha Kill
Two of the many Wood Ducks that flew over as I paddled the channel.

After my paddle, I headed over to the Deli Fields to have a look around:

Eastern Phoebe at the Basha Kill Deli Fields
A sad looking American Goldfinch at the Deli Fields
Song Sparrow posing at the Deli Fields

Upstate NY – 8/26/12

I had an amazing Sunday morning of bird photography!

Red-headed Woodpecker in Upstate NY.
Juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker in Upstate NY
Early on I was taking some really long distance photos of this Sharp-shinned Hawk. While I was taking other photos, the hawk flew closer and landed on this perch right in front of me! UPDATE 3/19/14: Thanks to Ryan J Bass who commented and pointed out that this is likely a Red-shouldered Hawk, not a Sharpie. I think he is right – any other opinions? 
I really wanted to get a shot of this hawk in flight, but he flew away from me and I got this photo just as he was landing on another dead tree.
There was a pair of Green Herons about 25 in front of me. I didn’t take any photos of them because they were all in shadows…until they started hunting.
A happy, full Green Heron in upstate NY.
A Northern Flicker landed right above my head.
American Goldfinch in upstate NY.
Here’s a brighter male American Goldfinch.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird in upstate NY..
This pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers seemed to be striking a pose for me.
One last one of a Red-headed Woodpecker. What a treat to see these birds.

Wallkill River NWR – A decidedly different feel

A rather elegant looking Lesser Yellowlegs at Wallkill River NWR.

I walked the Liberty Loop at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge on Thursday evening. I have been doing some reading and working on shorebird identification lately, so my primary goal was to see if my work would pay off. The Liberty Loop trail had a different feel on this day for sure. As soon as I got out of the car I heard birds overhead. To me they sounded like they were saying “me…me………me…me”. Karen Miller and I had heard the same call the day before out at the Shawangunk Grasslands. I managed to get some good looks and some photos and when I got home I figured out it was a flock of Bobolinks – at least 40 birds. From the viewing platform several shorebirds could be seen as well as a couple dozen Canada Geese, a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret. A Northern Harrier cruised the marsh looking for prey. There was a conspicuous lack of Red-winged Blackbirds. Fall migration sure seemed to be underway.

One of the Bobolinks that were flocking at the Liberty Loop.

I walked quickly to the southern end of the loop to look for shorebirds. There were a good many present and as usual I struggled to identify them. I took some time with it and determined that there were no out of the ordinary shorebirds present. Here’s my count:

  • (4) Killdeer
  • (2) Solitary Sandpiper
  • (3) Lesser Yellowlegs
  • (24) Least Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs at the Wallkill River NWR

I was pleasantly surprised to find several types of ducks in the back pond:

  • Mallard
  • Wood Duck
  • American Black Duck
  • Blue-winged Teals
  • Green-winged Teals

It was nice to see a variety of ducks again!

I think this is a mix of Green-winged Teals and Blue-winged Teals found in the back pond at Wallkill River NWR. For some reason I didn’t manage to get any good shots of ducks.

On my way out, I found this juvenile Black-Crowned Night-heron:

This summer I was looking for a BCNH for so long with no luck and now it seems like I see one every time I go out!

As you can see from the above photo, this heron was well aware of my presence, but did not seem to be bothered by me in the least. I walked slowly down the trail until I was in a good position for a photo and then snapped away. When I moved on, this young heron was still sitting in the same spot.

I was happy with my work with the camera – it was nearly dark, but I still managed to get some good photos. I am getting better with both my settings and with keeping the camera stead with a slow shutter speed (1/50th of a second!). Here’s one more of the BCNH:

Black-Crowned Night-heron at Wallkill River NWR.