Last weekend was a tough one – very few birds and almost no photo ops. This weekend was a different story. The PINK-FOOTED GOOSE on Saturday was by far the highlight, but in addition to that, it was a birdy weekend and I took a lot of photos. Heat shimmer gave me fits for photos as well as scanning, but that can’t be helped. I was at Wickham Lake both mornings at sunrise; the lake is loaded with birds right now and made for some enjoyable birding. There are many Common Mergansers (hard to say, but probably 300-400?). Gulls were plentiful as well; it was probably the most gulls I’ve ever seen on that lake, with approximately 100+ Ring-billed Gulls and 20+ American Herring Gulls.
~American Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls at Wickham Lake, 03/09/25.~
I can’t even tell you how many geese I looked through in the past two days – many thousands for sure. I had 11 Snow Geese (8 were blue morphs!), and I also had one bird that I think is a very good candidate for a Cackling Goose; see photo at the bottom of this post. Two Sandhill Cranes were reported at the Liberty Loop on Saturday afternoon – I ended up seeing them on Sunday morning through dumb luck (they flew in and landed in front of a flock of geese I was sorting through).
~Sandhill Crane coming in for a landing, Liberty Marsh 03/09/25.~~I’m loving the fluffed up feathers in this shot. Sandhill Crane at Liberty Marsh, 03/09/25.~~Blue morph Snow Goose in the black dirt, 03/09/25.~~Ring-billed Gulls raising an early morning racket. Wickham Lake, 03/09/25.~~Female Common Merganser at Wickham Lake, 03/08/25.~~And a drake Common Merganser, Wickham Lake 03/08/25.~~White-crowned Sparrow at the Liberty Loop, 03/09/25.~~I’m calling the bird on the far left a Cackler. Black Dirt Region, 03/09/25.~
I went out to the black dirt region this morning, and made up for my failure to relocate the PINK-FOOTED GOOSE last weekend by finding it three times today! It was pretty exciting; I put the word out, and a lot of other birders got to see the bird as well.
When I relocated the bird the third time, I was wondering if it could be a second individual. I had left it in a field off of Turtle Bay Road only 10 or 15 minutes earlier. I contacted several other birders, and they informed me that the bird had, in fact, flown from Turtle Bay, but went north. Well, my location was to the south, just across from Scenic Farms Golf Course!?! Ultimately, though it was fun to entertain the possibility, it seems to me that it almost certainly had to be the same bird. Although the exact timing was unclear, there was probably plenty of time for the bird to relocate to the golf course site before I got there, even with a slight northward detour. Plus, the likelihood of having two PFGOs in the same area is super duper slim.
~PINK-FOOTED GOOSE in the black dirt region, 03/08/25.~~PFGO in the BDR, 03/08/25.~~One more shot of the Pink-footed Goose in the black dirt today, 03/08/25.
There is finally enough light in the evening to do a little bit of birding after work again, which contributed to my having a heck of a week with local raptors. I added three species to my 2025 Orange County list (Sharp-shinned Hawk, Short-eared Owl, and Merlin). On Saturday morning I birded the black dirt and the raptor numbers were impressive, with 9 species and over 40 individuals. My highlight was seeing 3 Rough-legged Hawks; far and away my high count for this winter.
Black Vulture (2)
Turkey Vulture (4)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1)
Northern Harrier (8)
Bald Eagle (3)
Red-shouldered Hawk (2)
Red-tailed Hawk (18)
Rough-legged Hawk (3)
American Kestrel (2)
~American Kestrel on Missionland Road, 02/22/25.~~Low light conditions here; Northern Harrier hunting just before sunset on 02/21/25.~
On Sunday I had some things to do around the house, so I didn’t get out until the afternoon, when I spend a couple of hours at the Hudson River. All the gulls were on the Beacon side, so I birded from there. It was a beautiful afternoon, but unfortunately I was only able to come up with the 3 expected species of gull (Ring-billed, Am. Herring, and Great Black-backed).
~A good looking American Herring Gull makes a pass at the Beacon Waterfront, 02/23/24.~~Ring-billed Gulls scrambling for some bread scraps that someone was throwing to them. Beacon Waterfront, 02/23/24.~~Canada Geese in the black dirt just after sunset, 02/21/25
I had the type of work week where just getting out and away from my desk and seeing any birds at all was the exact medicine I needed. I spent some time in the black dirt on Saturday morning, and it was extremely quiet. From there, I headed to the Hudson River. I started on the Beacon side and then went to Newburgh, where I joined Bruce Nott and our mutual friend Ben in hopes of getting Ben and his son an Iceland Gull. It took a little while, but eventually we were able to find a very distant Iceland Gull and both Ben and his son got scope views (they would later in the day get better looks at the bird from the Beacon side). Bruce also found a pair of Long-tailed Ducks; they were my first of the year in Orange County.
~Ring-billed Gulls at the Beacon Waterfront, 02/15/25.~
On my way home, I decided to bird Purgatory Road; I hadn’t birded it in a while and it’s sometimes good for raptors. On this day, however, I saw a songbird land in a field and it caught my attention – I was pretty sure it was an Eastern Meadowlark. I stopped the car and scanned. Sure enough, I found not one, but two Eastern Meadowlarks out in a field. It was my second new OC species of the weekend, my 70th of 2025.
~Eastern Meadowlark on a snowy afternoon in a field off of Purgatory Road, 02/15/25.~~Eastern Meadowlarks on Purgatory Road, 02/15/25.~
We had some messy weather on Sunday morning; I waited for the snow to turn to rain and the temperatures to rise above freezing before heading out. I went to the Hudson River again; my timing wasn’t great as I was definitely there ahead of prime gulling time. Of note was five Ring-necked Ducks by the Newburgh Boat Launch; I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that species there before. I also had a decent look at an adult Bald Eagle.
~Bald Eagle taking off from the ice floes on the Hudson River at the Newburgh Waterfront, 02/16/25.~
I had an enjoyable but mostly unremarkable weekend of birding; I hit the black dirt both mornings and the Newburgh Waterfront on Saturday afternoon. I added three new species to my Orange County year list: Brown Creeper, Hairy Woodpecker, and Red-breasted Merganser. Photos were tough to come by in general, but I did score with a trio of Common Goldeneyes at the Newburgh Waterfront. It was probably comical to watch, but I waited for all three birds to dive at the same time, and then I ran and jumped into some brush on the shoreline.
It was a quiet birding weekend for me. Quiet and cold. The black dirt was pretty dead on Saturday morning and just a smidge bit better on Sunday morning when I was able to at least get distant looks at both a large flock of Snow Buntings and a light morph Rough-legged Hawk. I birded the Newburgh Waterfront with Bruce Nott on Saturday afternoon; it was my most productive birding from the weekend – we were able to locate (2) Iceland Gulls among five or six hundred of the usuals. And on a final note, first this morning I tried to change it up a little bit by birding the Port Jervis area, but unfortunately it was just super cold and very quiet on the birding front, with no real highlights to mention.
~At the Newburgh Waterfront, while scanning for gulls, this Red-tailed Hawk flew in with a dead Ring-billed Gull in its talons. It appeared to have scavenged the meal, rather than it being fresh kill.~~Red-tailed Hawk with prey, Newburgh Waterfront 02/01/25.~~One of a couple of Snow Geese that have been around the black dirt recently, associating with a large flock of Canada Geese. SNGO in the black dirt, 02/01/25.~~Eastern Bluebird in the black dirt, 02/02/25.~~Red-winged Blackbird in the black dirt on 02/01/25.~~Unfortunately, this has become the norm for this species for me. This is only the second Rough-legged Hawk I’ve seen in 2025, and as usual it was just miles away. RLHA in the BDR on 02/02/25.~
On Saturday, I spent the day birding at the Jersey Shore with birding buds Maria Loukeris and Linda Scrima. I was serendipitous that Maria suggested a road trip, I was feeling like I was definitely ready for a break from local birding, and the beach was already on my mind. We spent most of the morning at Manasquan Inlet. All three of us were able to achieve scope views of our two target birds: Razorbill and DOVEKIE. I was hoping to get an alcid close enough for photos, but it wasn’t in the cards. As expected, the location was very birdy and also very, very cold. Other highlights included photo ops of Snow Buntings and Long-tailed Ducks, a couple of seals, and a nice-sized flock of Purple Sandpipers (with a trio of Sanderlings mixed in).
~It’s a little different seeing Snow Buntings at the beach! I’m so used to seeing them in the typically drab black dirt habitat. SNBU at Manasquan Inlet, 01/25/25.~
Afterwards, we went to Shark River Inlet, where we had a close encounter with a Cooper’s Hawk, got some better looks and photos of Purple Sandpipers, enjoyed our first Surf Scoters of the day, and watched as hundreds of Black Scoters streamed by. A delicious late lunch at The Greek Spot was a nice way to wrap up a good day of Jersey Shore birding.
~The puppy dog of ducks, a Long-tailed Duck at Manasquan Inlet, 01/25/25.~~Purple Sandpiper at Shark River Inlet, 01/25/25.~~I always enjoy it when I get to see some Brant. This one was at Manasquan Inlet, 01/25/25.~~Cooper’s Hawk at Shark River Inlet, 01/25/25.~~Locally, I would have spent much time with any Common Loon. On the Jersey Shore, they are numerous and easy to take for granted. COLO at Manasquan Inlet, 01/25/25.~~Snow Bunting on a rope, Manasquan Inlet, 01/25/25.~~Seal at Manasquan Inlet, 01/25/25.~~One more Long-tailed Duck from Manasquan Inlet, 01/25/25.~
On Sunday morning I birded the Black Dirt Region and things were on the quiet side, with just the usuals observed. In the afternoon I went to the Newburgh Waterfront to try for gulls. I was lucky with a cooperative Iceland Gull, however that was the only out-of-the-ordinary gull I was able to locate.
~Gray Ghost in the black dirt, o1/26/25.~~Iceland Gull with the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge in the background. Newburgh Waterfront, 01/26/25.~~Iceland Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 01/26/25.~~A sharp looking Horned Lark in the black dirt, 01/26/25.~
On Saturday, Linda Scrima and I took part in the Mearns Bird Club’s Orange County Winter Waterfowl Count. For the seventh straight year, we covered the Black Dirt Region for the survey. Much of the water in the area was frozen over, but in spite of that, I think we managed to tally some decent numbers:
Canada Goose: 4,716
Cackling Goose: 1
Snow Goose: 3
Mallard: 22
American Black Duck: 4
Green-winged Teal: 1
Ring-necked Duck
Hooded Merganser: 2
Common Merganser: 16
~American Kestrel in the Black Dirt Region, 01/19/25.~
I did some additional birding this weekend, mostly trying to catch up with the GLAUCOUS GULL that Bruce Nott found last weekend. I tried for that bird both days, but unfortunately came up empty. I also birded the black dirt first thing this morning; I was rewarded by an extremely confiding American Kestrel.
~One more shot of the Am. Kestrel in the black dirt this morning, 01/19/25.~
This morning, Karen VanDyk located a Northern Shrike at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail. I went over to try for the bird, and Kyle Knapp was already present and on the bird. It was a little distant at first and I took some initial documentary shots. Then things got interesting; first the shrike got into a brief tangled with a Northern Mockingbird. The bird then relocated to the backside of a nearby bush; we could just barely through the branches. A Merlin then shot through; it made a pass at the shrike and then perched in tree along the river. Meanwhile, the shrike had somehow procured some sort of prey and we watched as it ate, through mostly obscured views in the depths of the bush. Once finished, the bird started calling, calling, calling. Finally the bird got quiet, and we lost the bird sometime soon after that. What a cool experience to spend some time with such an excellent bird. Huge thanks to Karen for the alert.
~Nothern Shrike at Winding Waters trail, 01/12/25.~~Red-tailed Hawk perched on some farm equipment. Black dirt region, 01/12/25.~~I was up early with Coyotes on my mind. I was not disappointed; this photo is pretty terrible, but I enjoyed watching this Coyote running full speed across a field. Black Dirt Region 01/12/25.~
It’s been a nice start to the new year of birding. I started with a nice 5-gull afternoon at the Newburgh Waterfront (Ring-billed, Am. Herring, Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, and Iceland). Then, yesterday, it was exciting to see the Eurasian Wigeon. And I had some more excitement today, chasing a Clay-colored Sparrow that Bruce Nott found in the Black Dirt Region. Unfortunately I was unable to relocate that bird (I don’t think anyone has), but it was exciting to try for a good bird like that. I did get my first Lapland Longspur and Snow Buntings of the year, so that was nice. Anyways, here’s a handful of shots from the past week or so.
~Male Northern Harrier in the black dirt on 01/05/25.~~Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull at the Newburgh Waterfront, 01/01/25.~~Adult Bald Eagle at Wickham Lake, 12/30/24.~~American Tree Sparrow in the Black Dirt Region, 01/05/25.~~One more shot of the “Gray Ghost”, a male Northern Harrier in the Black Dirt Region 01/05/25.~
