Orange Birding

Break 100

~Life Bird! Gray-cheeked Thrush at Pochuck Mountain SF, 5/14/16. I wish I’d done better with photos today, but I have a hard time focusing on camera settings etc… in situations like this. No pun intended.~

QUICK POST: I’m totally exhausted tonight, but if I don’t post this now, I’m not sure when I will get to it. This Friday and Saturday, I participated in my first Edgar A. Mearns Club Orange County Break 100, a friendly competition where teams of birders spend 24 hours trying to see or hear 100 species of bird. I was finally persuaded to do the ‘Break’ because John Haas could not make it this year, and Jeff Goulding, Lisa O’Gorman and Karen Miller were looking for a fourth member of their team. The break starts at 4:00 pm on Friday and goes until 4:00pm Saturday. In that time we visited many birding spots in Orange County, nearly 20 by my count. We finally broke 100 at Knapp’s View in Chester New York, where we got our 100th bird (Bobolink) and 101st bird (Eastern Meadowlark) at around 1:35 on Saturday afternoon. We didn’t do much good after that (it wasn’t from a lack of trying!), only adding an additional 4 birds to finish with 105 species on the day, but I think everyone on the team was happy with the total (though the winning team finished with 124 species). We had way too many laughs and saw some really great birds, including hearing my first Whip-poor-will and getting my lifer GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH. Huge thanks to everyone on my team, I think we all did a pretty great job to “Break 100”.

~Swainson’s Thrush at Pochuck Mountain SF. Notice the ‘spectacled’ look of this bird. ~

~Wow, Brown Thrasher! This bird flew right in front of Jeff’s car and we stopped to ID it and get some photos. Terrible pic, but this is not a bird I see very often. Lower Road in Pine Island, 5/14/16.~

~Purple Martins in Warwick NY, 5/14/16.~

~One more shot of the Gray-cheeked Thrush, Pochuck Mountain SF, 5/14/16.~

Orange County Warblers, 5/8/16

~Chestnut-sided Warbler at Laurel Grove Cemetery, 5/8/16.~

With south winds in the forecast for the first time in many days, it was looking like migration might be on. I was hoping that my good birding luck would continue today. I got out pretty early and it did not seem like a lucky day; it rained steadily for my entire trip out to Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Jervis, NY. I donned my rain gear and left the camera in the car. The good news is that the cemetery was very birdy. The bad news is that I was, of course struggling with wet binoculars and finding tiny birds in the shadows. Then the good luck kicked in. The rain stopped. I went back for my camera. The birds continued, now in ever improving light. And then I turned around and saw Curt McDermott, bins to his eyes, looking up at a large evergreen. I birded the remainder of my time at the cemetery with Curt and he found me many birds, most notably, a BAY-BREASTED WARBLER which gave us great looks for over a half hour. This was my 3rd life bird of the weekend, now that’s something I never expected to happen! It was a great morning of birding and likely my best warbler outing ever. I left the cemetery with 15 species of warbler:

Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat (FOY – Orange County)
American Redstart
Northern Parula (FOY)
Magnolia Warbler (FOY)
BAY-BREASTED WARBLER (LIFER!)
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler (FOY)
Blackpoll Warbler (FOY)
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler (FOY)

I also had two additional first of year birds while at the cemetery – Least Flycatcher and Great-crested Flycatcher. Huge thanks to Curt for all his help this morning, I don’t even want to think about how many birds I would have missed without him.

~Pretty shot of an Ovenbird at Pochuck Mountain State Forest, 5//8/16.~

Later in the morning, Tricia and I went to Pochuck Mountain State Forest and although it was a little bit late and not overwhelmingly birdy, we still got some good birds. I added my 16th warbler of the day with Ovenbird, and we got decent looks at two male Scarlet Tanagers. I added two more year birds too – Yellow-throated Vireo and Rose-breasted Grosbeak (of which we saw many). What a great weekend of birding for me, it was very satisfying for sure.

~A female Pine Warbler collects nesting material on the ground, Laurel Grove Cemetery 5/8/16.~

~The bird of the day, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER at Laurel Grove Cemetery, 5/8/16.~

~Magnolia Warbler at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Jervis, NY, 5/8/16.~

~Black-throated Blue Warbler at Laurel Grove Cemetery, 5/8/16.~

~Black-throated Green Warbler at Laurel Grove Cemetery, 5/8/16.~

WOW! FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER, 5/7/16

~Wow, what a bird! Fork-tailed Flycatcher in flight at Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, 5/7/16.~

Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, and I decided last minute to forego birding locally for migrating warblers to run for the FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER which had been reported at Assunpink Wildlife Management Area in Trenton, NJ. What a great decision it was! Some days are luckier than others, and today was a lucky day. After a long drive, we found Assunpink WMA easily enough, and then took the trail to the dam where the bird had been reported. At the dam, we saw approximately 20 birders, and we knew the bird was present. We watched and photographed the bird as it fed just below the dam, giving us great looks. I was blown away by this bird, what an incredible creature, whose normal range is from Mexico to South America. I am thinking that this bird is likely a juvenile or a female bird because the adult male has a tail that is much longer. I am leaning towards juvenile because its yellow crown stripe seems to be undeveloped. This has to rank as the easiest/best bird I’ve ever run any distance for, what a super bird! The FTFL was a life bird for all three of us, and it brought my life list total to 360. That number would increase again momentarily as we explored Assunpink WMA…

~Love the posture on the bird in this photo. Fork-tailed Flycatcher at Assunpink WMA, 5/7/16.~

… and heard an unfamiliar call. It took a little while, but we eventually tracked down the bird, it was a WHITE-EYED VIREO! And my 361st life bird! What a day, but it wasn’t over yet…

~A bonus life bird! White-eyed Vireo at Assunpink WMA, 5/7/16.~

…we had one more pleasant surprise when we stopped by The Great Swamp on our way home and had a SANDHILL CRANE fly over! Great day of birding!

~We heard this bird well before we saw it; I could not put my finger on the call but of course knew the bird easily once it came into view. Sandhill Crane at the Great Swamp, 5/7/16.~

Rainy Sunday Birding, 5/1/16

~Black-and-white Warbler on a rainy day, Sterling Forest SP, 5/1/30. This is a bird that I wasn’t able to get any photos of for years, but for some reason this year I’m getting a little bit lucky with them.~

I got a fairly early start this morning; I was headed out to hike the Sterling Valley Loop Trail at Sterling Forest State Park. It was raining when I arrived, and it pretty much rained for the entire 7.7 mile hike. While it never came down very hard, it was just enough to make birding a little bit difficult. I wore good rain gear, so I stayed dry and so did my camera (by the way my gear included wearing a day glow vest since turkey hunting season started this morning). And I had a cover for the eyepiece of my binoculars, so I was doing my best to keep the rain off of the ocular lenses. But, I didn’t take into account a couple of things: First, I spent much of my birding time looking straight up into the tops of trees, so the objective lenses of my bins were getting soaked. Second, whenever I brought my binoculars to my eyes, the ocular lenses would fog over. Next time around, I will be sure to bring a soft absorbent towel for drying the objective lenses and clearing the condensation off the ocular lenses. I was also holding my bins away from my eyes so they wouldn’t fog over, at that worked to a certain extent.

As far as the birding went, the trail was only moderately birdy. I spent 5 hours hiking and had a modest (for this time of year) 39 species. I added 2 species to my Orange County year list: American Redstart (of which I had several), and Eastern Kingbird. I thought I was going to have to do a post with no photos (which I am always reluctant to do), but luckily when the rain let up a little bit, I had a decent opportunity with a Black-and-white Warbler. I also had a chance to photograph an Eastern Kingbird, but I was shooting through the brush and never got a clean focus on the bird.

When I had gotten home and stripped off all my wet gear, I received a call from Rob Stone. He was on a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER at Wickham Lake. Back on with the gear! I ran for the bird and it was still present when I arrived. I walked the trail on the southeast of the lake to get a little closer to the bird. I got better scope views from there and a post-able photo. WWSC is definitely what I consider a good bird for the county. Thanks once again to Rob, who never ceases to amaze.

~Yes! White-winged Scoter at Wickham Lake, 5/1/16.~

And then there was this…

~Earlier this week, on Tuesday, I walked a small part of the Sterling Loop and had hardly and birds and zero warblers. When I got back to my car, which was parked in the Visitor’s Center lot, this Pine Warbler flew out of the tree line and right at me. It did several laps around my car, very tight to the car and then landed on the windshield wiper. I tried to move to take a photo and the bird flew, taking several more laps around my car, hugging the corners, before landing on my rearview mirror which was literally only a couple feet from me. I stepped back to be able to take a photo (how often can I say that about shooting a warbler?). Then the bird took more laps and landed on the back of my car where I got this shot. It was very strange behavior and I’m not really sure what to make of it. PIWA at Sterling Forest State Park, 4/26/16.~

4/30/16 – Pochuck Mountain and 6 1/2 Station Road

~Ovenbird at Pochuck Mountain SF, 4/30/16.~

It’s that time of year when new birds are not very hard to come by. Migration is getting into full swing, and many new birds are moving into and through the area. I spent the morning and into the early afternoon birding at the above locations, and added 14 new species to my Orange County year list.

First thing this morning, I met Linda Scrima and Maria Loukeris at Pochuck Mountain State Forest, which was quite birdy. We had a nice long walk with 33 species and I added 8 personal first of year (FOY) birds:

Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Ovenbird
Blue-winged Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Baltimore Oriole

Ovenbird was the bird of the day for sure; we heard them calling all along the trail as we walked. It was a nice outing, although at the end we had to cut it short and hustle back to our cars as both Linda and Maria had other obligations.

~This was one very accommodating Field Sparrow, on the Heritage Trail at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/30/16.~

Afterwards, I headed over to 6 1/2 Station Road with the main goal of trying for some shorebirds. I started at the Citgo Pond, and although it was not a great success, I did see a several Killdeer, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs (FOY in Orange County), and 2 Spotted Sandpipers (FOY). The habitat looks good there right now for shorebirds, so I will be checking in for sure. I also walked a portion of the Heritage Trail, and ultimately I had 32 species. Other new year birds for me included: Green Heron, several Chimney Swifts, 2 Warbling Vireos, and a House Wren. I was bummed out about the Warbling Vireos because they were down low and in good light, but for some reason I was never able to get a good focus while I was trying to photograph them.

While I wouldn’t categorize it as amazing, it was certainly a good and enjoyable day of birding.

~An acrobatic looking House Wren at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/30/16. ~

~With all the Brown-headed Cowbirds I’ve seen in recent days, I finally got a decent photo of one. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 4/30/16.~

~Blue-winged Warbler at Pochuck Mountain SF, 4/30/16.~

My FOY Green Heron, which is always exciting to me. Love this bird. 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 5/30/16.~

Sunday Shots, 4/24/16

~Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on the Indian Hill Loop at Sterling Forest State Park, 4/24/16. You can see the first hole the bird made above its head, and the second one is behind its bill with sap dripping out of it.~

QUICK POST: I got an early start this morning and hiked Indian Hill Loop at Sterling Forest State Park. It was a nice hike with some scenic overlooks and it was just birdy enough to keep it interesting. I had Blue-gray Gnatcatchers throughout the walk, heard two Louisiana Waterthrushes, and I was happy to find Black-and-White Warblers at two different high points in the walk. However, the definite highlight of the day was when a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker came in and landed in a tree less than 20 feet from me. I froze as the bird went about its business; I watched as the bird carefully created a hole and then fed on the sap. The bird did this two times while I stood only yards away, and I just relaxed and enjoyed every minute of it, not knowing when I would ever get another opportunity like this.

~One of three Black-and-White Warblers I saw on the trail today, Indian Hill Loop at Sterling Forest, 4/24/16.~

~I included this photo because I was impressed with the feet on this bird, which seem large to me, but also seem to barely be holding on to the tree. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Sterling Forest, 4/24/16.~

~I took this shot earlier this week – Yellow-rumped Warbler at Reservoir #3 in Port Jervis NY, 4/19/16.~

Pochuck Mountain State Forest, 4/23/16

I met Linda Scrima out at Pochuck Mountain State Forest early on this cloudy morning. In the beginning of the trail, it was not very birdy, but we continued further up the mountain until we got to a small pond and that’s where things got interesting. Our first good bird was my FOY BLUE-HEADED VIREO. Shortly afterwards, we located another personal FOY, a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. As we worked our way around the pond, I heard a call that sort of sounded familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Linda, however knew it immediately – it was a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH. We followed the call, located the bird, and got fabulous looks and pretty decent photos, especially considering the poor lighting. We ended up having a good morning at Pochuck; we hiked probably about 4 miles and had 28 species.

Afterwards, we walked the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Loop. Highlights included our second Louisiana Waterthrush of the day, which was located by Linda on the west side of the loop, just off the trail. We also did pretty well with shorebirds with several Killdeer, 2 Greater Yellowlegs (FOY), 1 Lesser Yellowlegs (FOY), and a pair of Wilson’s Snipe. All in all, a good day with some good year birds for both of us.

~This was exciting to me… Black-and-white Warbler at Pochuck Mountain SF, 4/23/16.~

~My personal FOY Blue-headed Vireo, Pochuck Mountain SF, 4/23/16.~

~Another shot of the Louisiana Waterthrush, Pochuck Mountain SF, 4/23/16.~

~This was Linda’s first good look at an Eastern Towhee this year, Pochuck Mountain SF, 4/23/16.~

Orange County Weekend

~I love this pose! A super cute Pied-billed Grebe at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, 4/15/16.~

I birded in Orange County all weekend, starting at the Winding Waters Trail at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge on Friday afternoon. I met Linda Scrima out there, we were following up on a tip from Rob Stone; he’d had Vesper Sparrows there earlier in the day. VESP is a nemesis bird for Linda. Or should I say WAS a nemesis bird for her. We relocated at least two, with a possible third Vesper Sparrow present and got great looks at the birds. Congratulations to Linda on the lifer, and what a super looking bird.

~Vesper Sparrow at Winding Waters Trail, Wallkill River NWR, 4/15/16.~

Saturday morning I walked out at Goosepond Mountain State Park. I had never walked the entire trail before, so that’s what I did. I started at Laroe Road and walked to route 17M and then back. It was a nice walk which was very birdy. I had 35 species on the day, which included 6 personal first of the year birds: Field Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, HERMIT THRUSH, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Broad-winged Hawk, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Sunday morning I decided to try something a little bit different and go on a hike that would not necessarily be loaded with birds. I walked the loop at Storm King State Park. It was probably not a difficult or strenuous hike by most people’s standards, but I quickly learned how out of shape I am these days! I started at the trailhead on route 9W north, and I huffed and puffed my way up to the summit of Storm King. The views were pretty great and there were some raptors flying as well (Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vultures, Sharp-shinned Hawk). I had more birds than I would have expected, tallying 17 species, the most interesting to me being a Hermit Thrush I saw about 100 yards into the trail. Thankfully, the back end of the loop was a little bit easier going. Afterwards, I made a quick stop by Kenridge Farm where I saw many of the usuals and also picked up my FOY Barn Swallow.

~At the top of Storm King, I ran into a small group of birds: Mourning Doves, a Northern Flicker, a couple of Chipping Sparrows, and a couple of Black-capped Chickadees.~

~My FOY Hermit Thrush at Goosepond Mountain SP, 4/16/16.~

~A Chipping Sparrow singing in the spotlight at Storm King State Park, 4/17/16.~

~A nice look at an American Coot, Wallkill River NWR, 4/15/16.~

The view from the highest point of Butter Hill at Storm King State Park, 4/17/16.~ — The view of the Hudson River from the highest point of Butter Hill at Storm King State Park, 4/17/16.~

4/14/16 – Orange County Caspian Tern!

~Wow! Caspian Tern at Washington Lake this afternoon, 4/14/16.~

I figured it might be some good birding news when I saw that John Haas was calling me this afternoon on the way home. I was right, Ken McDermott had located a CASPIAN TERN at Washington Lake! A quick change of plans and I was on my way. When I arrived the bird was along the shore with 28 Ring-billed Gulls (which were pestering the tern from time to time). I got good looks at the bird in Ken and Bruce Nott’s scopes, and then took some photos. At one point, all the birds took flight for a short spin as a Bald Eagle flew over, but then they settled down again. It wasn’t until a fisherman walked right by the birds that they flushed and did not return to the shore. We kept our eye on the bird for a good while as it flew around the lake; the gulls kept it on the run, and then right before 6 0’clock, the bird headed northeast and did not return that we saw. I think the bird was at the lake for just under 3 hours, but many birders ran for it and were able to get a good look. Other notable birds present included: Bonaparte’s Gull, Red-breasted Merganser, and a Broad-winged Hawk that Scott Baldinger had but that I never picked up because I was trying to stay on the tern.

~Caspian Tern in flight, Washington Lake 4/14/16.~

~A young Ring-billed Gull nips at the wing of the Caspian Tern, Washington Lake 4/14/16.~

~Later on, in the black dirt, a Northern Harrier caught my eye.~

Orange County Red-necked Grebes, 4/12/16

~Two RED-NECKED GREBES and a Tree Swallow doing a flyby at Wickham Lake, 4/12/16.~

QUICK POST: I was pretty excited today at work, when I received word from Rob Stone that he had located two RED-NECKED GREBES at Wickham Lake. A little later on, Karen Miller reported that there was a Horned Grebe and a Common Loon also present. I went for the birds after work, meeting up with Maria Loukeris and Linda Scrima. They had already located the 3 grebes but the loon was nowhere to be seen. We got excellent scope views of the Red-necked Grebes and took distant photos. The Horned Grebe was a bit further out and I didn’t even try for photos. The RNGRs were just beautiful to see and they made my day for sure.

~On our way out, we ran into this Gray Ghost and I managed one halfway decent shot. Northern Harrier at Wickham Woodlands Town Park, 4/12/16.~