QUICK POST: I got out this morning into the early afternoon. I started at sunrise in a blind at the Shawangunk Grasslands, ran for the GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE in Wallkill, and then ended up in the black dirt. It was cold but for the most part the light was great for photos and the birds were pretty cooperative, which made for a nice day.
Well, it was an interesting year for sure. I’d changed jobs at the end of 2017, so 2018 was my first full year of birding on a more restricted schedule where most of my birding had to be done on the weekends or in the evenings (and, I only had enough time in the evenings during Daylight Savings Time). I also got a promotion late in the summer, which also took some of my focus away from the birds. I felt like I was not as in touch with the birding world in our area as I had been in previous years; this was alleviated by my birding buds keeping me in the loop, as well as the Mearns Bird Club phone app, which kept the alerts rolling in, even while I was at work (a nice respite!). In spite of the time restrictions, 2018 proved to be my most productive ever in regards to Orange County birds. A lot of things just seemed to fall into place and I had a very lucky birding year and I finished with 228 species on my OC year list.
Looking back, I had some pretty fantastic birding experiences in 2018. Probably the most notable was getting the ROSEATE SPOONBILL in New York/Orange County on an early morning in late July. Other exciting experiences include seeing 7(!) Black Terns during a rain storm at Skinner’s Lane on August 13th, a remarkable 25 Red-throated Loons at Wickham Lake in early April, getting my first ever RUFFED GROUSE in Orange County in June, a remarkable 5 American Bitterns at the Liberty Loop at the end of April, and my first ever OC WHIMBREL in early August.
My most enjoyable experiences included watching and photographing a pair of dancing SANDHILL CRANES, photographing LAPLAND LONGSPURS in near breeding plumage, and getting my first NORTHERN SHRIKE in Orange County in several years.
I had some amazing luck when it came to mammals this year. I was fortunate enough to see and photograph BOBCATS on two occasions, one adult and one kitten. I also went through a time when I felt like I couldn’t walk out the front door without running into a bear. That got a little unnerving after a while. Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, and I had a wonderful experience seeing the seals in Sandy Hook back in March, during a pelagic trip in November, humpback whales, fin whales, and common dolphins put on quite a show, and late in November I played a hunch and took my camera to work; I found a red fox in the snow that morning.
Every year it’s tough for me to pick out my favorite photos. This year proved to be no different. Looking back over a year of posts, here are the ten photos that speak to me the most:
As always, I’d like to thank some folks at the end of the year. Thanks so much to everyone that reads the blog, and especially those of you that make comments – you have no idea how much they mean to me. And, huge thanks go to the contributors to the blog – Karen Miller, Bill Fiero, and Kent Warner; I hope they will all continue to contribute in 2019. I’d also like to thank all my birding friends out there, with special thanks going to Rob Stone, Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, Kyle Dudgeon, John Haas, Karen Miller, Ken McDermott, Kathy Ashman, and Judy Cinquina. Happy New Year everyone, here’s to an exciting and bird-filled 2019!
This morning I finally caught up with my latest nemesis bird, that confounded Winter Wren. Kathy Ashman contacted me yesterday to let me know that she’d seen yet another WIWR on the trail at Glenmere Lake (she has been reporting them there and at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary all fall and winter). I’ve tried for this bird many times, but come up empty each time. This morning, as I walked in the freshly fallen snow, I played a hunch. There is a little off-shoot from the main trail, not far from the pavilion. I’d only walked it one other time but I remembered there was much brushy habitat, the sort that Winter Wrens like. As I walked the trail, I could here some bird activity. I pished and several Black-capped Chickadees and a bunch of Dark-eyed Juncos made their presence known. I continued to pish from time to time and eventually I saw a smaller, darker bird disappear into the brush. I tried to keep track of the bird, but I lost it. Eventually it revealed itself, and sure enough it was a wren. But my looks were brief and I wasn’t sure which wren it was. I waited it out; I was begging that bird (in my mind) to come out into the open, and sure enough it finally did! Winter Wren with pics! It’s my 228th species in Orange County this year, so I was thrilled.
I spent the rest of the day trying for any possible last minute OC birds for the year. I was unsuccessful, but the birding was pretty darn good. At Wickham Lake, I located two LONG-TAILED DUCKS. It was busy on the lake, as 12 (yes at least 12, maybe more!) Bald Eagles were keeping all the birds on their feet. I’ve never seen that many eagles at Wickham Lake before, and I don’t have any explanation for them being there today.
From there, I headed to the Hudson River. Again, I did not pick up any new birds, but I stopped at the Storm King pull off on Route 9W, and the GOLDEN EAGLE was there, on its usual perch. In Newburgh, I sorted through a decent number of gulls, but only came up with the expected species (Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed). The best bird there was a single male Red-breasted Merganser, swimming with a number of Common Mergansers. What a great way to end my birding for 2018! Huge thanks to Kathy for helping me with the Winter Wren.
Judy Cinquina runs the Mount Peter Hawkwatch. She is a fabulous leader and she does an excellent write up at the end of each season. It’s an interesting read for sure and I’ve included a few recent raptor photos which I haven’t had a opportunity to post yet. Thanks so much to Judy for everything she does at the watch and for sharing her report.
MOUNT PETER 2018 by Judith Cinquina
Twenty four days of bad weather shortened the 2018 Mount Peter Hawk Watch to 418 hours between September 1 and November 15, but produced a healthy 8,529 raptors, averaging 20.4 per hour. Highlights of the 74-day count included record Red-shouldered and Cooper’s Hawks, daily records for the Turkey Vulture and Red-shoulder and an encouraging increase in the once common American Kestrel. Results for the N. Harrier, however, remained depressing. Although the Rough-legged Hawk failed to show up for the eighth consecutive season, Golden Eagles and Goshawks sprinkled a bit of glitter on our 61st season.
September seemed a never-ending series of fog, drizzle, rain, heat and weak winds from the wrong direction, yet our 11 volunteer leaders persisted and ticked off 5,071 Broad-winged Hawks, most of them pepper specks at the edge of invisibility. Matt Zeitler drew the best day and counted 1,257 on the 22nd with a light NW wind. October, however, was kinder and graced us with a few record scores and rarities. The 213 Red-shouldered Hawks beat out our old record of 165 from 2012 (90 adult, 21 immature and 102 unknown). Most moved through between October 19 and November 4 on strong NW winds. Just to be contrary, light S winds generated a new daily record of 28 Shoulders on October 26 for Denise Farrell. That wiped out the record 27 scored November 4, 2017 by Matt. This species has gone through low and high seasons for decades, but since 2012 has been on an upward swing. The 508 Red-tailed Hawks was an improvement over last season but a far cry from the record 905 scored in 2003. Nick Bolgiano wrote in the 2012 season’s Hawk Migration Studies –Vol. 38, No. 2 that Red-tails in the Kittatinny Ridge corridor are “short-stopping” or not migrating as far south as their ancestors or not migrating at all. In that same area Christmas Bird Counts have seen an increase in Red-tails. According to Bolgiano, the same thing holds for the no-show Rough-legged Hawks.
The 1,469 Sharp-shinned Hawks was better than the 841 that graced the 2017 season, but remains part of a downward trend in the Northeast. Our only three-digit count was on October 12 with 173 on strong northwest winds. Their cousin the Cooper’s Hawks has been increasing, evidenced by our new record of 176 that squelched the 165 tallied in 2012. This species hit triple digit tallies beginning in 1990 and has been increasing ever since all over the Northeast. The much rarer Goshawk made two appearances this season. Both Ajit Anthony and Will Test bagged immature Goshawks, Ajit on October 17 and Will on November 14, on brisk west and northwest winds. Both Gos provided close views, and Will, who endured below freezing temperatures and howling 20 m/h winds, stated that the sighting warmed him up a bit.
After three seasons of two-digit counts, the American Kestrel bounced back to a three-digit 159 ( 35 male, 27 female, 97 unknown). That’s good news for this little falcon, although it can’t approach the 592 totaled in 1981. Most moved through between October 12 and 24, a very late peak for this species. Denise garnered the best day with 41 on strong NW winds on the 12th, a day that produced many Kestrels all over the Northeast including 5,406 at Cape May. Mount Peter is not a falcon lookout, so the 15 Merlin, although a bit below average, were a treat, especially the three Tom Millard tallied October 30. Peregrines brought in our second best score ever, with 23 noted. The record 26 was made just last season, so this species is on the up-swing after practically disappearing in the 1960’s. Ajit Antony and Bill O’Keefe each scored three Peregrines on September 19 and 30 respectively.
After five mediocre seasons, the Osprey produced a bit of a bounce with 134 noted but the tally remains under our 10-year average. Bill O’Keefe nabbed the best count of 19, September 20 on weak NE winds. The elegant N. Harrier barely made it over our lookout with a mere 35 spotted this fall (3 male, 9 female, 8 immature and 15 unknown). Bald Eagles came in at an above-average 112 (58 adult, 51 immature and 3 unknown). We also had 58 Bald Eagle visitors who weren’t counted and headed north. Sometimes a pair would entertain us, interacting and flirting and distracting us from counting real migrants. Others accompanied true migrants past the platform then headed back north. Matt Zeitler observed 10 on September 29 that weren’t counted, five of them adults flying north together. Six Golden Eagles were shared by leaders this season: 2 adult, 4 immature. Rick Hansen reported a young Golden appeared over the lookout at 8:45 a.m. November 10, sat on the updraft along the west side and stooped into the valley and disappeared. The next day, a young Golden almost slipped by to the east, where trees block our view but was spotted at the last second by Jeanne Cimorelli and Tomorrow Millard.
Turkey Vultures produced their 2nd best tally ever, with 504 counted. Denise Farrell netted the record day with 88 on strong NW winds, October 12. Black Vultures muddled along with 79 tallied. Up to five local Ravens were with us almost daily, and Rick Hansen counted seven migrating past the lookout November 10. A moderate 307 Monarch Butterflies were recorded, along with a mere 13 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Once again, Denise had the big Canada Goose day of 1,884 on October 5. Only 5,081 were counted for the season. Matt had the only Brant with 250 on October 13, and he also scored the most Blue Jays on September 22 with 600 noted. The season produced 1,628. Between September 1 and October 24, we tallied 458 Double-crested Cormorants, including Ken Witkowski’s 417 on September 24. Nine C. Loons were spotted this season heading towards Greenwood Lake. Other birds of interest included:
We can’t thank our friends and visitors enough for their support, especially on high, blue days when even eagles were invisible to the naked eye or overcast days when the wind howled and every migrant shot like an arrow past the watch. A special shout out goes to Bill Connolly, John and Liz Sherry and Rob Stone for their many hours of spotting and company, and a big welcome to new leader Jeanne Cimorelli. Our 61st count was enriched by all of you. We our indebted to our clean-up crew Denise Farrell, Rick Hansen, Tom Millard and Gabriele Schmitt and to the Fyke Nature Association of Bergen County, NJ who supplied our insurance. Here’s hoping that the NYDEC Region 3 Foresters can do something about the trees that block our view of low migrants to the SE of the platform before next season and that the pot-holed dirt track to our lot can be improved. We our indebted to Fyke for sponsoring our count and to all who supported our site on Hawkcount.org. We continue as the oldest, continually run, all-volunteer fall watch in the country.
This morning Jody Brodsky reported an immature NORTHERN SHRIKE at Kendridge Farm in Cornwall. I was already out birding, but I dropped all my plans and headed straight over. When I arrived, I wandered around a while and then reached out to Jody for more details. Karen Miller, who was doing the Christmas Bird Count with Jody, called me and gave me the low down. I was unable to locate the bird where they had it earlier, but I was waiting it out when Jim Schlickenrieder reported on the Mearns app that he had the bird on the red trail. I hustled over there but missed the bird; it had flown and we were unable to relocate. Jim and his crew left and again I waited in the area where they had last seen it. Finally, I gave up and decided to call it a day. On my way out, in the general area where Jody and Karen had it earlier, I heard a call I did not know. I stopped the car and eventually located the shrike. As soon as I got on the bird, it took flight, chasing a songbird. After a short flight, the shrike perched on the top of another tree and stayed put for a good while. I took photos, which were difficult in today’s light, and I enjoyed fantastic looks in my scope. At one point, while I was watching in the scope, the bird expelled a pellet! It was so awesome! It was a great ending to a day where I thought luck was not on my side. The NORTHERN SHRIKE is OC bird #224 for 2018, that’s 2 county year birds in 2 days – not bad for mid-December! Huge thanks to Jody and her team for locating and reporting the bird.
On Thursday, Bruce Nott found a CANVASBACK at the Newburgh Waterfront. Fortunately the bird stuck around and I saw reports of it while at work on Friday. And even more fortunately, Friday was my work’s Christmas Party, so we got out early. I ran for the bird and it was still present – woohoo! Orange County life bird #254 and OC year bird #223! The bird spent most of it’s time tucked in, but finally, just as it was getting dark, a bunch of gulls made a raucous and the bird finally looked up and I was able to get some grain pics. It made me think – it was this time last year I was trying hard for Canvasback in OC because we had so many just downriver in Rockland County near my work. The bird appeared to be settling in for the night as I left – hopefully it will stick around for a little while so more folks get to see it.
QUICK POST: I spent most of my morning running around southern Orange County checking the lakes for waterfowl. The day was mostly a bust, but it was made when I located two WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS at Wickham Lake. Rob Stone and John Haas were both able to join me; it was rainy and foggy and the birds were distant, but we enjoyed what looks we could get of them in our scopes. I was excited because, for one thing I just love scoters, and for another, it was my 221st species in Orange County for the year, making it my most productive year yet. And it was good bird for John too – it was his 270th Orange County life bird – congrats John!
I ran around southern Orange County this morning and into the early afternoon. It felt really good to be out in the field after a long week of all work and no birding; this time of year is rough for me. The highlight of my travels was locating one of my favorites: a single GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at the Camel Farm. Linda Scrima and her husband Artie met me out there and got on the bird as well. The bird was not exactly cooperative; it was quite distant and seemed to prefer spending time down in a ditch. Still, it was a great bird to see and I’ve included a documentary shot below. Other good birds for the day included 4 Blue Morph Snow Geese ( also in the black dirt – one adult with 3 juveniles), a young Red-shouldered Hawk at Wisner Avenue, and a nice sized flock of mixed blackbirds on Lynch Avenue (probably 200 birds – Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and European Starlings).
I had a nice weekend of local birding; after two weeks with almost no birding, it was just good to be out and about. For the most part, the birding was uneventful – I finally managed to locate a Fox Sparrow in Orange County which was noteworthy on a personal note as it was my 220th bird in the county this year.
The real excitement, however, happened late Sunday afternoon. I picked up my car from the shop and just wanted to do some last ditch effort birding (I didn’t want the weekend to end!). So, I headed to Skinner Lane, since I was nearby. It was mostly quiet until I heard the familiar sound of SNOW GEESE calling over my head. I didn’t even have my camera unpacked, so I grabbed it quickly and snapped some shots. Three more large skeins flew over, and then I noticed in the far distance, well south of my location, a large group of Snow Geese putting down. I’d put the word out, and I eventually met up with Ken McDermott and Linda Scrima. Ken had seen them putting down too – he thought maybe at Pine Island Turf Nursery, but we had no luck there. It wasn’t until we were leaving that Linda noticed a large group of SNGOs in flight just off of Route 1, west of the turf nursery. They were hidden once they put down, but we were able to get some grainy shots (darkness was coming quickly) of the birds in flight over the fields. What an excellent way to end the weekend!
QUICK POST: Family obligations pretty much kept me out of commission this weekend birding-wise, so I have nothing to post from the weekend. However, I’ve been wanting to post this bathing Dunlin since I photographed it a couple of weeks ago out at Glenmere Lake. I’ve always liked bird images with water, particularly with splashing, spraying, or flowing water. I’ve tried to photograph bathing birds before, but usually the results are just not that great. I found these shots interesting and I hope you enjoy this glimpse of Dunlin behavior.
