photos – Page 16 – Orange Birding

Sunday Shots, 06/27/21

I did most of my birding this weekend in my NYS Breeding Bird Atlas priority block, Warwick_CE. I was able to confirm several species, but unfortunately only one new species for the block: Yellow Warbler. Yesterday was pretty much a dud of a morning, but today was much better. I made a quick stop by 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary to try for the Least Bitterns which have been reported there (I still need them for OC this year). I had no luck with the bitterns, but I did find a cooperative Swamp Sparrow, which was a nice treat.

~A singing Marsh Wren at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 06/27/21.~

Afterwards, I birded a new spot in my priority block. I walked along the train tracks in Sugarloaf, heading north. The block continues for nearly a mile along the tracks; the birding was pretty much non-stop and I had a total of 37 species in a one mile span, which I didn’t think was too bad at all. It was at this location that I confirmed Yellow Warbler, and I feel like it will be a good spot to confirm other species in the future.

~A young Yellow Warbler at the Sugarloaf RR Tracks, 06/27/21.~

~I had a pair of Killdeer at Knapp’s View on Saturday morning. I thought they might have young nearby but no such luck. I’ll be going back to keep an eye on these birds.~

~Garter Snake along the Sugarloaf RR Tracks, 06/27/21.~

~Wood Duck duckling at Wallkill River NWR, on Tuesday 06/22/21.~

~Today on my way home I spotted this Green Heron in the pond around the corner from my house~

Sunday Shots, 06/20/21

Early Saturday morning I went to Black Rock Forest and hiked up to Jupiter’s Boulder. I was trying for Ruffed Grouse, but unfortunately I had no luck. I did pick up my first Acadian Flycatchers of the year; it’s always nice to see and hear that bird. Afterwards, I went to Newburgh to follow up on an eBird report of a pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves, but again I had no luck. On my way home a played a hunch and went to the OC Airport to see if the Killdeer there had a second brood. They did, there was one young bird with two adults; the bird was so small it kept tipping over, lol.

*~A young Killdeer seemingly mimicking its parent, OC Airport 06/19/21.~*

This morning I went to the south end of the Liberty Loop. I’ve been meaning to get out there to try for Least Bitterns, so I finally did today and they did not disappoint. Once again, the southernmost compound at the loop is loaded with good birds during the summer. Least Bitterns were the big draw, but I also enjoyed seeing a young Pied-billed Grebe, many Common Gallinules, Killdeer, and loads of Wood Ducks.

~Least Bittern at the Liberty Loop, 06/20/21.~

~What a cutie. Killdeer chick at OC Airport, 06/19/21.~

~Least Bittern in flight at the Liberty Loop, 06/20/21.~

~A nice look at a female Red-winged Blackbird. Liberty Loop 06/20/21.~

~One of many Common Gallinules at the back pond of the Liberty Loop, 06/20/21.

~Wing flap from a young Pied-billed Grebe, 06/20/21.

~And one final Least Bittern shot, Liberty Loop 06/20/21.~

Sunday Shots, 06/13/21

It’s the time of year when birds are heard more often than seen. It’s also the time of year, especially now that things are opening up on the tail end of the pandemic, when there are things going on that are not birding. I know, it’s true sometimes I do things other than work and bird, lol. Anyways, last weekend was a bust in spite of a full morning of birding the Port Jervis area on Saturday, hence no post. This weekend was only slightly better in terms of photos. I spent Saturday morning birding my NYSBBS priority block Warwick CE; I was able to confirm Cedar Waxwing and Common Grackle. The block now has 29 confirmed species; I have to thank Jarvis Shirky who has been birding the block often and has confirmed 10 species. Photo ops were few, thank goodness for the Bobolinks at Knapp’s View, otherwise this weekend would have been another photo bust.

~Male Bobolink at Knapp’s View in Chester, 06/11/21.~

~A female Bobolink with a mouthful. Knapp’s View 06/11/21.~

~Female BOBO going for it. Knapp’s View, 06/11/21.~

~Mute Swan Cygnet learning the ropes. Beaver Pond, 06/12/21.~

~The Great Blue Heron Rookery in Central Valley NY, just east of the Woodbury Commons, is active again this year. You can see the rookery from the Route 6 rest area lookout. I counted at least a dozen herons in the above photo, taken this afternoon, 06/13/21.~

Sunday Shots, 05/16/21

I’m going to keep it short this evening. I’m absolutely exhausted after a seriously hectic work week and a busy but excellent weekend. I stayed local all weekend, birding primarily in south/southwest Orange County with a couple trips to the Sussex County side of the Liberty Loop for shorebirds. Birds were certainly plentiful, it’s that time of year, and I added 15 species to my OC year list. It was a weekend of near misses for me – I seemed to be slightly off my game and missed some really nice opportunities for photos. Fortunately the birds were abundant and so were the photo ops. Enjoy the pics.

~A pair of Spotted Sandpipers at Wickham Lake earlier this week, 05/12/21.~

~Great Crested Flycatcher at Elks Brox, 05/15/21.~

~Baltimore Oriole at the Liberty Loop, 05/15/21.~

~Prairie Warbler at Elks Brox, 05/15/21.~

*~Orchard Oriole at Winding Waters Trail, 05/16/21.~*

~This Broad-winged Hawk was being relentlessly bothered by a flock of American Robins. Laurel Grove Cemetery, 05/15/21.~

~Female Scarlet Tanager at Elks Brox, 05/15/21.~

~Typical Ovenbird shot under the green lights of the nearby leaves. Pochuck Mountain, 05/15/21.~

Sunday Shots, Port Jervis Edition, 05/09/21

I woke up early this morning and headed to Port Jervis. I stopped at the Camel Farm on my way, to check for shorebirds. I got lucky and along with several Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, and a Killdeer, I found a single DUNLIN. Definitely worth the stop.

In Port Jervis, my first and most productive stop was at Laurel Grove Cemetery. I enjoyed 9 species of warbler, several of which, including a single Cape May, were accommodating for photos. The cemetery was birdy, and I had 38 types of birds, mostly expected species.

~A single singing Cape May Warbler at Laurel Grove Cemetery, 05/09/21.~

From there I headed over to Elks Brox Memorial Park, which was less birdy, but I did get some fantastic looks at one of my favorite warblers – BLACKBURNIAN. The bird actually seemed very aware of my presence, and never really allowed for any close photos. I also watched a Black-capped Chickadee with presumed nesting material (see below), and a Pine Warbler with nesting material, so that was helpful for the NYS Breeding Bird Atlas.

~Yellow-rumped Warbler at LGC, 05/09/21.~

~Black-and-white Warbler at LGC, 05/09/21.~

~Blackburnian Warbler at Elks Brox Park, 05/09/21.~

~Black-capped Chickadee with a mouthful, Elks Brox 05/09/21.~

~Chestnut-sided Warbler at LGC, 05/09/21.~

~Peregrine Falcon in flight, Port Jervis NY 05/09/21.~

Another Good Weekend, 05/02/21

I’ve been wanting to see a Porcupine for ages, but for some reason or other, I never crossed paths with one since I’ve been in the area (11+ years now!). Well, this weekend I saw three, lol. The first one was on a seasonably cold and windy hike at High Point State Park with my brother-in-law Bill on Saturday morning. We hiked for just over 9 miles; the views from High Point were impressive, the number of birds, not so much with just 18 species tallied. The Porcupine was far and away the highlight.

~Blue-winged Warbler at the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area, 05/02/21.~

On Sunday morning I headed out to the Bashakill to try my luck there. It’s been ages since I’d been there and it did not disappoint. I immediately ran into John Haas and Scotty Baldinger with a couple other birders when I parked at the front of the Stop Sign Trail. I figured the smart money was on sticking with them – they attract warblers and birds in general like nobody’s business. I wasn’t wrong, the place was hopping with birds, but the first thing that got my attention was not one, but two Porcupines sleeping up in trees! What a weird coincidence! As for the birds, I covered some good territory and counted just under 60 species for the morning, eleven of which were warblers. There were also many birders out and about – too many to mention by name. It was good to catch up with some folks I haven’t seen in a while. Birding highlights for me included excellent looks at Blue-winged and Black-throated Blue Warblers at the Stop Sign Trail, decent looks at a high, singing Cerulean Warbler and a Yellow-throated Vireo at the Horseshoe Trail, and a calling Virginia Rail at the Deli Fields.

~Porcupine at High Point State Park, 05/01/21.~

~Black-throated Blue Warbler at the Bashakill, 05/02/21.~

~Ruby-crowned Kinglet at the Bashakill, 05/02/21.~

~Orange County Sandhill Crane from earlier in the week.~

~Not a great shot, but I wanted to include one more shot from High Point State Park. Black-and-white Warbler 05/01/02.~

A Good Yard Bird, 04/29/21

As most of you probably know already, spring migration hit our area in a serious way this week, particularly on Wednesday. I was out of commission all day and evening, so unfortunately I missed out on all the fun. You can click John Hass’ post here to read how the Bashakill had 15 species of warbler that morning. Not to be completely left out, I noticed an interesting bird in the backyard while working at my desk this morning. I got my bins on it, and it was an Ovenbird! It was my first of the season as well as a new yard bird for me.

~Ovenbird in my backyard this morning, 04/29/21.~

OC Lesser Black-backed Gull & Sunday Shots, 04/25/21

~Sharp looking gull, a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL flies over the Hudson River at the Newburgh Waterfront, 04/25/21.~

I have to thank larophile Bruce Nott once again. This morning I chased a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL which he reported at the Newburgh Waterfront. Soon after my arrival, I located a distant black-backed gull. There haven’t been many (any?) black-backed gulls around recently, so I was feeling confident that this was the bird. My problem was that the bird was on the water (hiding leg color) and all alone (eliminating being able to judge by size). I needed to confirm that the bird was not the much more likely Great Black-backed Gull, so I waited it out. The bird slowly drifted north, nearly to the bridge. Then it flew south and put down again, south of the waterfront. Again I watched as it drifted north. It took a short flight at one point, and I was pretty sure, but not positive that I saw yellow legs. I watched as it drifted all the way north once again. I saw it next to a Ring-billed Gull, and the size looked good (larger, but not overwhelmingly so). The bird flew south once again and put down on the docks. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the docks, the bird had flown again. Luckily, this time it put down with a pair of Herring Gulls, and now the size looked perfect. I looked at my flight shots, and sure enough, yellow legs! That’s a good bird for the county, and it was really cool to see it in adult breeding plumage – we don’t usually see that in Orange County.

I finally got a decent look at a Rusty Blackbird. Owens Station Road, Wallkill River NWR, Sussex County NJ 04/24/21.~

~A Tree Swallow uses a feather to lure in a mate. I wonder what kind of feather that is? Wisner Road, 04/24/21.~

~Double-crested Cormorant in flight at Wickham Lake, 04/23/21.~

~Red-winged Blackbird at the Liberty Loop, 04/24/21.~

~Great Blue Heron with a snack, Liberty Loop 04/24/21.~

Shooting Swallows

After work on Monday evening, I went to Wickham Lake hoping for new waterfowl or maybe even some gulls. Unfortunately I didn’t have any luck on either count. There was, however, a good number of swallows present, including my first Northern Rough-winged Swallows of the year. Along with the NRW Swallows were a handful of Barn Swallows and more than 100 Tree Swallows. Without much else going on, and with the light pretty good from time to time, I decided to try much luck photographing swallows in flight. It was my first time doing this with my new 500mm lens, and it made it challenging. I shot freehand on this day, but I think next time I’ll see how I do with the monopod. It was a nice way to spend a Monday evening.

~Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Wickham Lake, 04/19/21.~

~Tree Swallow at Wickham Lake, 04/19/21.~

A Pretty Good Weekend, 04/18/21

Well, in spite of still waiting for spring migration to really kick in, I had a satisfying weekend of birding. I spent Saturday morning at the Hudson River, but aside from the continuing Iceland Gull, it was uneventful. That gull frustrated me because it was on the floating docks at the Newburgh Waterfront, not too far out, but the bird kept its back to me and it was backlit to boot. I successfully chased a Long-tailed Duck at Orange Lake (thanks Bruce), and picked up a Red-breasted Merganser as a bonus. On my way out, I stopped at Gardenertown Road and patience paid off as I was able to locate 2 Wilson’s Snipe after some extensive searching.

*~Pine Warble at Sterling Forest State Park, 04/18/21.~*

Saturday afternoon I walked the Liberty Loop for the first time in ages. IT was a pleasant, if uneventful walk. Highlights included: American Coot, Common Gallinule, and my first Lesser Yellowlegs of the year. All three highlight birds were located on the Sussex County side of the loop.

Sunday morning I checked a number of lakes in southern Orange County, looking for new waterfowl or Bonaparte’s Gulls. For the most part I came up empty, but did manage to find a distant Horned Grebe in beautiful plumage at Round Lake. I stopped to use the restroom at Sterling Forest, and on my way out I had one of my best birds of the day, a Pine Warbler. I had to run to the car for my camera, but fortunately the bird lingered for me. A quick cruise through the black dirt yielded nothing of note, so I called it a day.