White-crowned Sparrow on Haven Road at the Bashakill WMA, 10/12/14.
I got out a fair amount this weekend, and sparrows seemed to be everywhere. The hottest spot for me was definitely Winding Waters Trail at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, which I visited three times and where I totaled 8 different sparrows:
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
I am, of course, still struggling with my sparrow identifications; at times I felt confident and capable and at other times I felt clueless. Here are my photos from the weekend – I am confident with all my IDs with a couple of exceptions which I have noted in the captions. Also noteworthy, I had my first Dark-eyed Juncos of the season on Saturday morning at Cascade Lake (which was also loaded with Ruby-crowned Kinglets – 15+).
Savannah Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail at the Wallkill River NWR, 10/11/14.This bird has me a little stumped – I am thinking it is a hatch year Swamp Sparrow. Any thoughts on this bird would be appreciated. This was taken Winding Waters Trail at the Wallkill River NWR, 10/10/14.It was great to see several Field Sparrows at Winding Waters Trail at the Wallkill River NWR, 10/10/14.This photo is not very representative of how it looked when I saw this bird. This was taken on Friday night and it was nearly dark out. I had my ISO cranked up to 3200 and somehow the photo is not too noisy. White-throated Sparrow,Winding Waters Trail at the Wallkill River NWR, 10/10/14.THIS, I believe is a Lincoln’s Sparrow. I did not ID it as such in the field, but looking at the photos I am thinking Lincoln’s. Again, any thoughts on this bird please comment! Taken at Winding Waters Trail at the Wallkill River NWR, 10/10/14.
One of four Northern Shovelers takes a lap around the Citgo Trail pond at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/6/14.
I had an appointment cancelled, so I got to do some unexpected birding after work this afternoon. I had forgotten my binoculars at home, so I stopped by to pick them up and headed to the closest spot – 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary. I was thinking about sparrows as I took the Citgo Trail, but the wind had picked up pretty good and sparrows were scarce. I had a few pleasant surprises when I got to the pond – a nice sized collection of shorebirds: 22 Lesser Yellowlegs, 3 Greater Yellowlegs, and 1 Solitary Sandpiper. The highlight, however, was seeing my first Northern Shovelers (4) and Blue-winged Teal (3) of the fall. A Northern Harrier cruised through at one point and picked up many of the waterfowl and shorebirds. I think it was about 3 years ago that I would get a harrier at this location regularly, but this is the first one I have seen there in a while. It was a gorgeous night and I had some decent birds, which made me happy. Here’s some more photos and my list for the night:
Eastern Bluebird, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/6/14.A Lesser Yellowlegs takes flight when a Northern Harrier flew over. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/6/14.I had nearly 20 Tree Swallows tonight. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/6/14.
Canada Goose 65
Mute Swan 4
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 16
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Shoveler 4
Green-winged Teal 25
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 8
Northern Harrier 1
Killdeer 9
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 22
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 8
Tree Swallow 18
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 4
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 85
Common Yellowthroat 1
Palm Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 12
Song Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 12
Common Grackle 20
House Sparrow 25
With the changing of the seasons and the cooler temperatures, I don’t think I’m alone in starting to think about Snowy Owls. I feel so spoiled after last year’s historic irruption; I want more Snowies! So, what will this winter bring? Well for what it’s worth, I have found a couple of items that encourage me to thinking we may see a least a snowy or two in our area. The first is an email from Project Snowstorm, where Scott Weidensaul reported:
“…a record number of owl nests on Bylot this summer. Whether that will translate into another irruption is far from certain — much depends on weather, and Bylot is almost 900 miles (1,400 km) farther north of the region of Quebec where the breeding boom took place last summer.”
The second item is from Michael Britt’s Blog. I don’t really know much about Michael Britt, he is a New Jersey birder that also spends some time in Orange County. I mostly know his name from seeing it on eBird reports. I like what he says about Snowies, mostly because it encourages me to fantasize about another winter filled with these beautiful birds. Michael writes:
“Snowy Owls are known to regionally irrupt, every 3-5 years. Winter 2000-01 was my first taste of a Snowy Owl invasion. Thereafter, I accurately predicted invasions prior to Winter 2004-05 and Winter 2008-09. A four-year cycle was the norm, for the first eight years of the millennium. Then, in Winter 2011-12, Snowy Owls staged a large continental invasion, seemingly everywhere BUT New Jersey. We all had to crowd over (not me…I refused to go see that bird), the Merrill Creek bird. I was not optimistic for winter 2012-13, thinking we probably got shafted, the previous winter. With that said, Winter 2013-14, took us all by surprise! I CONSERVATIVELY saw 19 different birds.
While Snowy Owl invasions average out to every four years (3-5), what has been a relative constant, is what I call, a “residual flight.” I’m sure there is a more technical term for this and if so, please enlighten me. In general, I have found Snowy Owl flights to be “two years on, two years off,” much like Short-eared Owls, whose flights do not always occur in tandem. While the residual flight is always smaller, last year’s flight was of such magnitude (certainly the largest in the last 90 years) that Winter 2014-15, will likely outshine all recent incursions, barring last winter of course…”
Well, time will tell. Keep your eyes open, starting right around Thanksgiving week.
Snowy Owl on Dune Road, Long Island onDecember 27, 2013.
I only had time for a quick stop by 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary on this Sunday evening. The place was loaded with birds, mostly American Robins, Blue Jays, European Starlings, and, to a lesser degree, Northern Flickers. It would be hard to put a number on the robins, starlings, and jays, but definitely close to 100 for the robins and starlings and over 50 for the jays. I had a much more modest number of flickers, but to me, 6 is still a decent number for Northern Flickers. All the birds were quite active, moving around a lot, feeding and a large group of starlings were bathing just off the trail. The flickers were jumpy at first, but then seemed to get used to my presence and I got a few shots.
A female Northern Flicker takes a brief break from feeding. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/28/14.A male Northern Flicker feeds in the grasses along the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/28/14.
Other noteworthy observations: The only shorebirds present were several Killdeer and what looked like one Least Sandpiper. Great Egrets are still present in numbers, with approximately 15 present tonight.
Self portrait with all my gear – taken with my iPhone. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/28/14.
Two Lesser Yellowlegs sandwich a Greater Yellowlegs. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/26/14.
I had a nice collection of shorebirds at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary tonight. The birds have seemingly totally abandoned the pond at the end of the Citgo Trail and can now be seen easily in the mud flats of the marsh from the Heritage Trail. Here’s my list:
Two Pectoral Sandpipers with what I believe is a Semipalmated Sandpiper. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/26/14.Pectoral Sandpiper at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/26/14.
**One year ago this week at www.orangbirding.com: On September 29, 2013, I also had a Pectoral Sandpiper – this time at Morningside Park in Sullivan County. See that post here. **
**Two years ago this week at www.orangebirding.com: I had American Kestrels and Sparrows at Wallkill River NWR. Check it out here. **
This Yellow-billed Cuckoo made my morning. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/21/14.
I had some things to take care of at the house this morning before getting out, so I got a little bit of a late start. Because of this, I decided to go to 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary again, since it is only a few minutes from the house. I was not disappointed. The highlight was getting great looks at a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, one of my favorites to see and photograph. Other good birds for me included this Blue-headed Vireo, a bird that I have not had much luck photographing:
Blue-headed Vireo on the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/21/14.
I also got what I think is sort of an unusual life bird for me at this point in my birding (#314). While walking the Heritage Trail, I had a pair of PURPLE FINCHES. This is a bird that for some reason, I have never gotten a good enough look at over the past few years to report with confidence. I got a great look today and I also managed a couple of photos:
I was happy to get this bird in pretty good focus through all the branches. Female Purple Finch, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/21/14.A little more distant look at the male Purple Finch at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/21/14.
Other notable observations include an apparently growing number of Green-winged Teals in the small pond at the end of the Citgo Trail. Shorebirds have abandoned the small pond and today I located several Killdeer and a likely, but too distant to be sure, Least Sandpiper on the far side of the large marsh (looking from the Heritage Trail). I will keep my eye on this area for sure. I ended the morning with 37 species which is not too bad. You can see my list at the bottom of this post. Here’s one more shot of the cuckoo:
YBCU at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/21/14.
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
American Black Duck
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Cooper’s Hawk
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Marsh Wren
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Red-winged Blackbird
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/18/14.
I stopped by 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary after work today. It started out slowly, particularly because I was hoping for shorebirds and found NONE. But, in the end, it was a relatively productive day with 25 species being identified. Here’s my list for the day and some more photos:
Six and a Half Station Rd. Sanctuary, Orange, US-NY
I finally got a shot (not a good one yet!) of one of my photo-nemisis birds – Pileated Woodpecker at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/18/14.
Canada Goose 35
Mute Swan 4
Wood Duck 10
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 8
Green-winged Teal 15
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 13
Turkey Vulture 1
Common Nighthawk 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 3
American Robin 3
Gray Catbird 2
European Starling 12
Common Yellowthroat 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Scarlet Tanager 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Bobolink X Heard
American Goldfinch 5
Black-throated Green Warbler at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 9/18/14.
And now to catch up a bit. On Sunday evening I got this shot of a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron at Wallkill River NWR:
I was happy to see these guys are still around. BCNH at Wallkill River NWR, 9/14/14.
Then, on Monday of this week, I stopped by Mount Peter Hawk Watch and got some decent birds including an adult Bald Eagle and a juvenile Northern Harrier. On my way out, Linda Scrima alerted me to the fact that there were some shorebirds at the Wallkill River NWR:
One of these things is not like the others…. 6 Lesser and one Greater Yellow legs at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 9/15/14. Totals were 8 Lessers and 2 Greaters. Lesser Yellowlegs – Wallkill River NWR, 9/15/14.
On Tuesday I stopped by Mount Peter again and got very lucky. Tom Millard and I had a total of 278 Broad-winged Hawks and 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks from 4:00 to 5:00. Then on Wednesday I had some business in Wappingers Falls NY, so I stopped by Denning’s Point on my way back. It was not very birdy, but I did get a shot of this young buck:
It’s not much of a photo, but here are five of the 336 migrating Broad-winged Hawks at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 9/13/14.
I did my first shift of the year as counter at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch last Saturday. I didn’t do a blog post because it was uneventful – I counted only 5 migrating hawks in 6 hours of observation. Today was quite a different story. Despite the cloudy and drizzly weather, I surpassed last week’s total in the first 10 minutes of the watch. The highlight was the third hour of the watch, when I had 301 Broad-winged Hawks pass through. To make it even better, the birds were flying relatively low and could be seen easily with the naked eye. I had two large kettles – one with 126 BWHAs and the other with 105. I was so involved with trying to get a good count that I neglected to take any photos. I had one more sizable kettle of 49 birds where I remembered to get the above photo. My total for the day was 337 migrating raptors. All were Broad-winged Hawks with the exception of a single Osprey. Here’s my report, as submitted to HMANA at hawkcount.org:
Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 13, 2014
——————————————————————-
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 13:30:00
Total observation time: 5.5 hours
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Observers: Carol Linguanti
Visitors:
Visitors included: Karen Miller, Carol Linguanti, Carol Pastushok, and
Grace Woleslagle.
Weather:
Cool and cloudy with a light drizzle beginning in the third hour of the
watch and developing into rain on and off during the last hour and a half
of the watch. Winds were from the East at 10 km/hr and temperatures ranged
from 12 to 15 degrees Celsius.
Raptor Observations:
During the third hour of the watch, 301 Broad-winged Hawks were observed.
Kettles formed to the northeast of the platform and most birds flew
directly over the viewing platform – low for Broad-winged Hawks, all could
be seen easily with the naked eye.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other bird species observed: Northern Cardinal (2), Black-capped Chickadee
(5), Tufted Titmouse (2), Downy Woodpecker (2), American Crow (4), Canada
Goose (3), American Goldfinch (3), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Blue Jay (4),
Chimney Swift (5), Gray Catbird (1), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2),
Black-and-white Warbler (1)
So, after talking to some of the other counters at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch and getting some feedback from John Haas, the consensus was that the two Lesser Yellowlegs in the previous post were just two young birds playing in such a way that it will prepare them for adulthood.
Today, out at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, I came across two more young birds interacting – first a curious young Northern Harrier that flew in close to me. He was joined shortly after by a young Cooper’s Hawk and the two tangled for a bit. More playing/training?
This evening I stopped by the small pond at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary and was treated to a pair of Lesser Yellowlegs doing who knows what for nearly five minutes. It involved a lot of hopping around and chasing one another. I really enjoyed seeing this; the photos are distant and heavily cropped, but I really like them. Any thoughts on this behavior are certainly welcome…
