Orange Birding

GREEN HERON! First of the season.

I went to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/northeast/wallkillriver/index.htm) today after work and found a Green Heron in a tree. I walked the Liberty Loop trail which is about 2 miles long. I was almost back to my car when I saw the heron fly in and land in a tree nearby. I was able to get the above photo, which I don’t love but it was the best I could do. It was a really nice walk with many birds – I was able to identify 24 species. Highlights for me:

(1) Green Heron
(3) Double Crested Cormorant
(1) Osprey – Hovering and fishing
(4) Lesser Yellowlegs
(2) Common Yellowthroat
(6) Yellow Warblers – Flying very close to me as if I was not there

Here’s a couple more photos from the day:

Looking For Green Herons

I have been running around lately trying to see a Green Heron. There are certain birds that just get in my head and I have to try and find them, right now it’s the Green Heron. At this time last year, I had already seen several, but I’ve had no luck so far this year. I saw on eBird that a Green Heron had been sighted recently at The Celery Farm, which is a 107 acre freshwater wetland in Allendale, New Jersey. I made it out there yesterday – it is just ten minutes from my work. Many species of bird can be found there, I saw and identified seventeen, but I did not get my Green Heron:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Wood Duck
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Mourning Dove
American Crow
Tree Swallows
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Yellow Warbler
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch

I did hear what I thought was a Red-shouldered Hawk when I first arrived, but I never saw the bird and I am not positive about the call. I spent just over an hour there and I saw my first Gray Catbirds and Yellow Warblers of the season. Here’s a Yellow Warbler singing:

Orange Birding?

What the heck is Orange Birding? It’s my new blog dedicated to my birding adventures in Orange County, New York and the surrounding areas. I am a novice birder- I have been into birds for years, but it is only in the last year or so that I have started to consider myself a birder. Now, in addition to enjoying finding and looking at birds, I am really trying to learn all I can about birds. It has been truly fascinating and I know that I am just scratching the surface.

I have also been trying to learn a little bit about digital bird photography. I feel like I have had some good results and I have some photos that I am really happy with, but boy is there a lot to figure out. First you have to get out there and try to find the species of bird you want to shoot, then you want to try and get close enough (without bothering or stressing the bird!), and ultimately you have to be able to use the camera properly to get a quality photo. What a challenge!

Matt Zeitler