The second Snowy Owl in as many days. Black Dirt Region, Orange County NY 11/27/13.
I got home early from work today, and as I was walking in the door I got a call from Rob Stone: A second SNOWY OWL had been located by Ken McDermott! In case you are thinking this is perhaps the same owl, Rob was out looking at the first Snowy Owl when Ken called him to say he had a second one! Incredible birding days in Orange County! I zipped right over to check out the bird and snap some photos. Thanks again to Rob and of course, Ken who located the bird.
I also went to check on the first owl (which I did not locate), but thanks to fellow birder Maria (sorry I did not catch her last name), I was able to finally get some decent Snow Bunting photos:
Snow Bunting in the Black Dirt Region, Orange County NY, 11/27/13.Snow Bunting in the rain. Black Dirt Region 11/27/13.
Last night I received an email posting through the Mearns Bird Club. Elizabeth McKnight had located a SNOWY OWL in the Black Dirt Region, not 15 minutes from our house! I was losing my mind last night thinking about this bird. I got up early to look for the bird before work. While I was out, it started to snow pretty good, making the task a bit more difficult. I looked for just over an hour, but I was unsuccessful in relocating the bird. Off to work I went. Just before noon I received a call from Bruce Nott. The bird had been relocated! I believe it was Curt McDermott and Scott Baldinger that found the bird. I jumped on the phone with my boss, and he was kind enough to let me go run for this bird. On my way there I called Tricia and Karen Miller to give them the heads up. I joined Bruce, Curt, John Haas, and Ajit Antony who were viewing the bird. Ken McDermott, Tricia, and Karen Miller joined us not long after that. Rob Stone, his son Anthony, and Jeff Goulding were the last to arrive. We were not disappointed as we all got really great looks at the bird. The folks who know more than I do generally agreed that it was likely a first year female. Thanks to everyone involved, this was a life bird for me and a really special one at that.
SNOWY OWL in flight. Black Dirt Region, Orange County NY 11/26/13.The bird seemed to be doing some hunting, taking short flights before returning to its perch.
It’s tough to get close enough to most waterfowl to get photos. One of 24 Ring-necked Ducks at Orange-Rockland Lake, 11/23/13.
I covered a lot of ground today in search of waterfowl in Orange County. I started early and headed north and worked my way south as the morning progressed.
**I received a phone call from Bruce Nott in the afternoon – 4 Common Goldeneye continue at Chadwick Lake Park (I failed to locate them while I was there).**
In the evening I decided to try for the Short-eared Owls again. It was sunny and beautiful when I left the house. By the time the owls got up, which was early at 3:30, it was very gray and dark out. Here’s my best effort:
A very grainy shot of a SEOW. My ISO was at 3200 for this shot! Shawangunk Grasslands, 11/23/13.
Northern Shrike in the distance. Lower Wisner Road in Warwick, 11/11/13.
I was happy I ran into Judy Cinquina this evening. It’s always good to see Judy, she is one of my favorite people, but tonight it was especially nice because she relocated the Northern Shrike while we were out on Lower Wisner Road in Warwick NY. What a great bird, I was so happy to get a better look and to be able to at least take some documentary photographs of the bird. I’ve said it before, but, I REALLY hope this bird sticks around!
The bird was located in the two taller trees a 150-200 yards south of the parking pull over area on Lower Wisner Road.
A Red-tailed Hawk passes over the viewing platform at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/9/13.
So it was my last day of the season as official counter out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch. On my way to Mt. Peter, I stopped at Lower Wisner Road to look for the NORTHERN SHRIKE that Rob Stone reported yesterday. I relocated the bird in the distance right after my arrival. The bird flew and I didn’t track it very well – I think I was expecting it to return to its perch. Well, it never did, and I only got a brief and distant look at the bird. So, I tried for it again after the watch and I apparently missed it by 15 minutes. Several folks got to see the bird today, so that is good. Hopefully the bird will stick around and I will get a better look and possibly a photo.
At Mt. Peter, I had another slow day, but I had some decent photo ops of the birds I did see. Here is my report:
Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 09, 2013
——————————————————————-
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 6.5 hours
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Observers: Rob Stone
Weather:
Cold and cloudy with temperatures from 1 degree Celsius to 9 degrees
Celsius. Light winds all day; from the west in the morning and shifting to
southwest in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
Bald Eagle: 1 Adult, 1 Immature
Red-shouldered Hawk: 2 Unknown
Northern Harrier: 1 Male
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Species: American Robin (66), Cedar Waxwing (20), Dark-eyed
Junco (5), Ring-billed Gull (1), Common Raven (4), American Crow (13),
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1)
A “Gray Ghost” was my last bird of the day. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/9/13.Just when I thought I wasn’t going to get any birds for the day, this immature Bald Eagle passed over nice and low, Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/9/13.I got a really good look at this adult Bald Eagle, Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 11/9/13.
A Ring-necked Pheasant in the headlights, Skinner Lane 11/6/13.
There were a couple of notable sightings in Orange County on Wednesday 11/6/13. I received a call from Bruce Nott just after 9 am. He had located an American Bittern at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge – Winding Waters Trail. The way I understand it, if you take a right at the fork in the trail, the bird was located in the first ditch that the trail crosses, on the right hand side out maybe a couple hundred yards. Congrats to Bruce on a great find. I also received a text from Rob Stone. Out at Skinner Lane, among the Horned Larks, he had relocated the two Lapland Longspurs and also had 20+ Snow Buntings.
While I was at work, I was trying to decide which of these two sightings to go check out at the end of the day. Ultimately, my decision was made for me; I got out of work a little bit late and that made going for the bittern a bit of a time crunch. My desire for Snow Bunting photos made this an easy decision to accept. Once out at Skinner, I did see two Snow Buntings in flight with about 25 larks, but they never did get close enough for photos. The longspurs were not relocated. Fellow Mearns Bird Club members Bruce, Curt, Lee, and Debbie were also out at Skinner. It was nice to shoot the breeze with them for a while; actually it was the highlight of the evening.
On our way out we had a Ring-necked Pheasant in the road. It is always difficult for me when I see these birds. They are so beautiful and wonderful to see, but knowing that the bird was likely released to be hunted saddens me. Lee and I clicked away, my best effort is at the top of this post.
I made a brief stop at Skinner Lane today after work to look for Snow Buntings. The Horned Larks had increased in number to somewhere between 75 and 100 birds. I did not have any luck with the buntings, but as I scanned the larks with my scope, I did manage to locate two LAPLAND LONGSPURS. Two things seemed to stand out about the longspurs. The first was was the obvious markings that form a dark frame on the cheek of the birds. The second is that they seemed to be moving differently than the surrounding larks, a little closer to the ground and more quickly too. I watched the birds for nearly a half hour in the scope, until they lifted up and I was unable to relocate them, mostly because it was getting pretty dark. This is a life bird for me, so I was of course very excited. The birds were too far out for photos, but I will certainly try for photos in the upcoming days if the birds stick around.
Huge thanks once again to Rob Stone, if it wasn’t for him talking to me about it, I would not have even been out there looking for these birds.
There is a bird in this photo! You can click on this distant, blurry, grainy shot to get a better look at one of the two Snow Buntings at Skinner Lane, 10/31/13.
Tonight out at Skinner Lane I had 2 SNOW BUNTINGS in a flock of 25 Horned Larks. It was raining and nearly dark which was no good for photographs, but I certainly plan on getting back out there to try for some better photos. Another highlight was a female Northern Harrier chasing what I believe was a Wilson’s Snipe right over my car – it was pretty exciting!
I also made a couple of quick stops looking for waterfowl:
A local Red-tailed Hawk flies over the platform. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 10/26/13.
I had a nice day out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch today. I had nearly 40 migrating raptors which is not too bad considering that we had a Southwest wind all day. I had a nice variety of birds, with the highlight being 5 Bald Eagles – 3 adults and 2 immatures. Many birds flew over pretty low, which gave me the opportunity to take some photos. I was generally disappointed with my efforts, but I did manage a few decent shots.
A low flying Sharp-shinned Hawk, flying right over my head. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 10/26/13.
Here’s my report for the day:
Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2013
——————————————————————-
Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:15:00
Total observation time: 7.25 hours
Official Counter: Matt Zeitler
Observers: Rob Stone
Visitors:
Girl Scout Troop 670
Weather:
Cool, sunny with a SW wind. Temperatures ranged from 4 degrees Celsius to
12 degrees Celsius.
Raptor Observations:
Three adult Bald Eagles and 2 immature Bald Eagles migrated. Three
Red-shouldered Hawks included 1 unknown, 1 adult, and 1 immature. One
unknown Northern Harrier and 1 male Northern Harrier came through, and the
first bird of the day was a female American Kestrel.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor species: Bluejay (22), American Crow (42), Downy Woodpecker (2),
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Tufted Titmouse (3), Black-capped Chickadee
(2), Mourning Dove (1), Common Raven (1), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1),
American Pipit (5), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
And, here is my weekly Turkey Vulture photo. I have started to enjoy the challenge of getting a decent shot of this bird each week. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 10/26/13.
