I was up and out very early this morning; I was rewarded with an enjoyable and productive morning of shorebirding in the black dirt region. I covered a good amount of territory and there were several other birders out looking for shorebirds as well. For the morning I had a total of 9 species of shorebirds, with one clear highlight: Bruce Nott found a RUDDY TURNSTONE way out in a puddle, in a field at the intersection of Pierce Circle and Lynch Avenue. It was another great find by Bruce and I believe it was only my second Ruddy Turnstone ever in Orange County. Less rare but still very impressive was the 45 or so Dunlin at the Camel Farm; they were originally located by Jeanne Cimorelli yesterday.
Killdeer: 25+
Semipalmated Plover: 5
Short-billed Dowitcher: 2
Spotted Sandpiper: 4
Lesser Yellowlegs: 3
Greater Yellowlegs: 4
Dunlin: 45
Least Sandpiper: 8
RUDDY TURNSTONE: 1
~I was pretty pumped to get a nice close look at this pair of Short-billed Dowitchers. Black dirt region, 05/24/25.~~Killdeer in the black dirt, 05/24/25.~~Short-billed Dowitcher in the black dirt, 05/24/25.~~And one more SBDO shot. Black Dirt Region 05/24/25.~~Large flock of Dunlin at the Camel Farm, 05/24/25.~
Tricia and I went away for the weekend, but I was able to get out and do some local birding on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. I hit the black dirt on Sunday, hoping for the White-rumped Sandpiper that had been reported earlier in the week. I dipped on my target, but I was able to add Semipalmated Plover to my year list and get a handful of shots of a Grasshopper Sparrow. This morning I birded Ironwood Drive at Sterling Forest State Park. It was birdy as can be, and I had several new year birds. Most notable for me, was Alder Flycatcher, as that’s not a species I get every year. I had some frustrating likely misses, as the Merlin app was hearing birds that I wasn’t able to hear nor locate. The trees are full of leaves now, and that made it challenging as well. Here’s some shots from the last couple of days.
~These guys are generally pretty accommodating. Male Bobolink in the black dirt, 05/18/25.~~I rarely take backlit photos – I’ve seen others have some great images with backlighting, but usually I don’t see it. This case was an exception – backlit Prairie Warbler singing at Sterling Forest State Park, 05/19/25.~ ~For a bird that I see and hear daily, I rarely get any photos of Baltimore Orioles. This one was at Sterling Forest, 05/19/25.~~I was pleased to find this GRASSHOPPER SPARROW perched near the road as I made my way home from the black dirt on Sunday afternoon, 05/18/25.
After a couple of days of focusing on shorebirds, I figured I better get out and try for some songbirds this morning before they all pass me by. I spent some time early at Elks Brox Memorial Park, and it was fairly productive. I added several species to my OC 2025 list: Blue-headed Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler. Afterwards, I went to Port Orange Road and enjoyed trying for photos of a couple of Cerulean Warblers that were present.
~Cerulean Warbler at Port Orange Road, 05/11/25.~~Cerulean Warbler at Port Orange Road, 05/11/25.~~Magnolia Warbler hiding in the shadows at Elks Brox Memorial Park, 05/11/25.~~Prairie Warbler at Elks Brox, 05/11/25.~~Eastern Phoebe at Port Orange Road, 05/11/25.~
Yesterday evening, and then again first thing this morning, I was out in the Black Dirt Region, looking for shorebirds in the all the puddling from the recent heavy rains. Between the two days, at a couple different locations, I had a total of 8 shorebird species:
Wilson’s Snipe (1)
Spotted Sandpiper (4)
Solitary Sandpiper (9)
Lesser Yellowlegs (14)
Greater Yellowlegs (3)
DUNLIN (3)
Least Sandpiper (84)
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER (3)
~Lesser Yellowlegs in the black dirt, 05/10/25.~~Close up of a Spotted Sandpiper in the Black Dirt Region, 05/10/25.~~I kind of like this photo. Solitary Sandpiper, in the rain, on a pile of onions, in the black dirt region, 05/09/25.~~Least Sandpipers in flight, 05/10/25.~
Well, it was quite a bird-filled weekend. It’s that time of year where just being out and about you will see many new birds for the year. If I include Thursday, I personally added nearly 30 birds to my Orange County year list. I’ve included a list of all my new birds at the bottom of this post.
While most of the birds were nothing out-of-the-ordinary, there were some highlights. On Saturday morning, the Camel Farm was well stocked with shorebirds. While most of the birds were Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, I did add several new species, including a single DUNLIN in beautiful plumage. It was funny, because Linda Scrima joined me there; she was trying to get on the Dunlin and she casually asked me if it was near the GLOSSY IBIS… I was like what GLOSSY IBIS??? The ibis must have flown in while I had my head down in my scope, so that was a funny, pleasant surprise.
~This photo made my weekend. It’s been absolutely years since I’ve gotten a decent cuckoo photo, so I was thrilled to spend a little time at Winding Waters Trail with this Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 05/04/25.~
On Sunday morning, for my final stop, I took a walk out at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Winding Waters Trail, where two excellent things happened. First, I ran into and caught up with my friends Jeff and Liz; It had been ages since I’ve seen them, and I was coincidentally just thinking about them the day before. And second, a little while after that, I ran into a relatively cooperative YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. It’s been absolutely ages since I’ve had a good cuckoo experience, so I really enjoyed it.
~Greater Yellowlegs at the Camel Farm, 05/04/25.~~My warbler game is right on par, lol. Here’s snazzy shot of a distant Blue-winged Wabler on an electrical tower in Sterling Forest, 05/03/25.~~There were loads of Yellow Warblers at most locations I went to over the weekend. This one was taken at Winding Waters Trail, 05/04/25.~~One more Yellow-billed Cuckoo shot. Winding Waters Trail, 05/04/25.~~Cuteness. Canada Goose goslings at Wickham Lake, 05/03/25.~
Songbird migration is really kicking into gear, so just being out and about this weekend I added a dozen species to my year list. While none were out of the ordinary, it was just enjoyable to be out with so many birds around. As far as warblers go, I added 6 species: Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Pine Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula, and Black-and-white Warbler. While I came up short regarding warbler photos, I did manage to get some shots over the weekend:
~Bald Eagle in flight in the Black Dirt Region, 04/27/25.~
~Bald Eagle in the black dirt, 04/27/25.~ ~One of my first Gray Catbirds of the yeaar. Wickham Lake, 04/26/25.~~Tree Swallow at Wickham Lake, 04/27/25.~~Horned Lark on the move in the rain on Saturday morning. Black Dirt Region 04/26/25.~
We hosted for Easter, so it was mostly a birding-free weekend for me. I did manage to get out for a couple of hours late this morning into the early afternoon, and it was productive for not being out very long. At Wickham Lake I picked up my first Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the year. Then in the black dirt, I saw my first Broad-winged Hawk of the year. And, I also found a trio of VESPER SPARROWS. It had been 2 years since I last saw a Vesper Sparrow in Orange County, so I was pretty happy about it. The birds did not stick around very long, and heat shimmer wreaked havoc on my photos, but it was still great to see them.
~Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Wickham Lake, 04/20/25.~~One of three Vesper Sparrow in the black dirt today, 04/20/25.~~One more shot of the BGGN at Wickham Lake, 04/20/25.~
I enjoyed a decent Sunday morning of birding, hitting several of my usual spots – Wickham Lake, Wallkill River NWR’s Liberty Loop and Winding Waters, and of course, the black dirt. It was mostly the usuals, but I enjoyed being out and a I was fortunate enough to get a few decent photo ops. My highlight was having a single Bonaparte’s Gull at Wickham Lake fly in and land not too far out from where I was standing on shore.
~Beautiful bird – Bonaparte’s Gull at Wickham Lake, 04/13/25.~~Singing Palm Warbler at Wickham Lake, 04/13/25.~~Greater Yellowlegs in the black dirt, 04/13/25.~~One more shot of the beautiful Bonie at Wickham Lake, 04/13/25.~
As anticipated, along with the weather came some good birds. Wickham Lake continues to deliver; I made an early stop there this morning while it was still snowing quite heavily, and had 8 Horned Grebes and a Bonaparte’s Gull on the lake. I also had my first Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Palm Warblers of the year. I checked a few other nearby lakes – I didn’t have any out-of-the ordinary birds at Glenmere, Round, and Greenwood Lakes. Walton Lake, however, had 4 Long-tailed Ducks. In the black dirt afterwards, I got the year’s first good looks at American Pipits, having had only flyovers previously.
~American Pipit marching through a field in the black dirt, 04/12/25.~~Long-tailed Ducks at Walton Lake, 04/12/25.~~Double-crested Cormorant in the snow at Round Lake, 04/12/25.~~Red-winged Blackbird flock in the black dirt, 04/12/25.~
My first stop this morning was Glenmere Lake, where I found 2 Common Loons. Karen Miller went there a little later in the morning and she had a total of 4 Common Loons. Next I went to Wickham Lake, where it was busy. Highlights included 5 Bonaparte’s Gulls and a female Red-breasted Merganser. I also had my first Great Egret and Spotted Sandpiper of 2025. I then tried a few more southern Orange County lakes, but came up empty, so I headed to the Newburgh Waterfront. It was a successful morning on the river; I was able to catch up with the 5 Great Cormorants and the Black-crowned Night Heron which have been reported this week. l also added another 11 Bonaparte’s Gulls to the day’s tally. And, finally, there was also decent sized flock of scaup (40 birds) on the river; they were distant and difficult to identify, but I was able to discern several each of both Lessers and Greaters.
~Bonaparte’s Gull at Wickham Lake, 04/06/25.~~Not exactly a primo photo op, but always a good bird to see. Black-crowned Night Heron on Quassaic Creek, 04/06/25.~~Sleeping Mourning Dove in the black dirt, 04/05/25.~~Wilson’s Snipe on Lynch Avenue in the black dirt region, 04/05/35.