The Nightjar

The First Chase of Big Year 2013

hoaryredpoll — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 01:11:56 +0000

A few days ago a local birder on his way home from work, noticed 2 odd shapes next to a little patch of water along the north shore of the Mohawk River in Crescent, Saratoga County. The birds were just within the lights of a local Tavern and in this dim light, he could make out that they were 2 Sandhill Cranes!

Sandhill Crane is a bit of a enigma in Region 8, it occurs in the area annually, but its totally random as to where they might show up. In e-bird (where I am the local reviewer), there had been 2 Sandhill Cranes present in western Saratoga County on and off for much of the latter part of 2012. Perhaps the same birds?

The next morning a few birders still found the Cranes at first light and they hung around for about an hour after sunrise before taking off west over I-87 and Twin Bridges. Another birder stopped back at the area around 5pm that night and again found the Cranes in the spot they had been reported next to the tavern.

The next day more birders showed up, but the Cranes took off right after sunrise (and just as I was leaving the house!), but once again the came back late in the afternoon to the same spot.

This morning, I made another attempt after getting the kids on the bus. At 7:30 am I got an e-mail saying the birds were still present, so both Danika and I were hopeful. We finally got to the spot around 8:30 am and found quite a few birders there (The Thursday Morning Group) and sure enough, there were the 2 Cranes in the little patch of water next to the tavern. We enjoyed the Cranes for about 30 minutes, even getting a cruddy, but at least recognizable picture.

Sandhill Cranes, Saratoga County NY – January 2013 – By Danika Raup

After seeing the Cranes, we hopped on the Northway and headed up to Queensbury, Warren County where Pine Grosbeak has spent much of the winter. The original areas I had seen them with Corey Finger back in December were all eaten and it took us sometime of wandering through various housing developments looking for Crab apples Finally, we had a flock of about a dozen birds fly over us in one development (year bird # 2 for the day), not the best looks (especially for Danika who has not seen them in a couple of years), but clearly countable and identifiable.

Pine Grosbeak – Queensbury, Warren County NY – December 2012 by Will Raup

After getting the Grosbeaks, we headed over to Ft. Edward, Washington County, but it was very quiet. There were a few good looking Rough-Legged Hawks and many, many Red-tailed Hawks, a small flock of about 25 Snow Buntings and a lone American Kestrel (year bird # 3 of the day).

Our last stop was at Wrights Loop in Saratoga County, where I hoped to pick up an Eastern Screech Owl that tends to roost in a Wood Duck box there, but no luck, though although we did find a Northern Flicker, the 4th new year bird of the day.

So the first chase of 2013 was a success, 4 new year birds bringing me up to a nice 58 through the 1st 10 days of January! And getting Sandhill Crane was nice, it was on my “possible” list, so always nice to be able to cross one of those off!

Albany County CBC Highlights

hoaryredpoll — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 22:00:24 +0000

December 16, 2012

Barred Owl – New Baltimore, New York – December 2012 – By Danika Raup

Red-Shouldered Hawk – New Baltimore, New York – December 2012 – by Will Raup

American Tree Sparrow

hoaryredpoll — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 02:08:22 +0000

Albany, New York – December 2012 – By Will Raup

A (late) Red Phased Eastern Screech Owl

hoaryredpoll — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 23:35:14 +0000

Eastern Screech Owls are fairly common here in Eastern New York, they can be found in most lower elevation areas, especially away from the deeper forests (and Great Horned Owls!). They are particularly at home in suburban yards and even venture into the City of Albany at times. More often that not I find these birds in winter in empty Wood Duck boxes, which also double as nice roost box for an owl. Whenever I see a Wood Duck box, I check them out to see if there is a “fluff” ball looking back at me.

Danika has been working part time at a farm/butcher shop in Alcove, southern Albany County. This morning on her way home, see noticed a reddish pile of feathers in the road and pulled over to check it out. She was sadden to find it to have been a red phased Eastern Screech Owl. Most of the bird was largely intact and undamaged but it appeared the bird had flown head on into a car, as its face was smashed beyond recognition. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to check out these little guys close up, she took a few photos and then picked up the owl and placed it to rest in the woods, where it won’t get repeatedly run over by cars.

Late Summer at the Holt Preserve

hoaryredpoll — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 01:55:09 +0000

This is from a walk I took a couple of weeks ago, birding was very slow, but this is one of my favorite places to bird, not always because it has great birds (its a known Hooded and Worm-eating Warbler location), but that its just a neat spot.

A view towards Albany from the Upper Holt Preserve, Coeymans, New York. September 2012 – by William Raup.

The Pond at the Holt Preserve, September 2012, Coeymans, Albany County, NY by William Raup

A wooded scene at the Holt Preserve. Hooded Warbler territory! by William Raup

A Connecticut Warbler in My Court…

hoaryredpoll — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 00:37:08 +0000

So far the last few nights, I’ve spent my evenings in the backyard looking for Common Nighthawks. Usually in late August I’ll see dozens of these graceful Nightjars flying over my house as they make their way south for the winter. This year I appear not to be on the flight path as I have seen none. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Thankfully some other birders have set up shop the last few nights near the Albany Pine Bush and have reported at least healthy numbers each night. So they are out there, just not over my house.

Right at dusk last night, I was scanning the western sky for Nighthawks, when a fairly large Warbler practically dropped out of the sky into the weedy and brush margins of my yard. Thinking I had my first Common Yellowthroat of the fall, I was very surprised to see a much larger warbler, with evidence of a hood, along with a strong white eye ring. The bird was also a skulker, keeping very low in the vegitation or directly on the ground (and out of sight). Given its size and coloration, I reported it as a Mourning Warbler, even though that eye ring would be very unsuaul (but not unheard of). It was too big for most other warblers, and the bold eye ring ruled out the rest. However it was dark and I just went with what I saw. During the night my ID bugged me. By morning I had turned the bird into a pale Canada Warbler. But it still didn’t sit well.

The next day, I took my dog out into the yard for some morning exercise. As she walked along the edge of the yard, she flushed something from underneath the hosta plants. Whatever it was skittered further into the weeds and briefly popped up when I walked over and spished. Again I could clearly see this bold white eye-ring even without optics. I dashed inside, grabbed my camera and binoculars and rushed back out. The bird was still in a tangle of wild grape and with some coaxing, I got it sorta come out and snapped a few pictures. Sadly in my rush, I used auto focus… and of course the camera choose to make the grape leaves nice and crisp, while leaving my bird fuzzy (argh!)

But I got at least 2 shots:

A “Mystery” Warbler. August 23, 2012 – Albany, NY – Will Raup.

“Mystery” Warbler – August 23, 2012 – Albany, NY – Will Raup

Clearly my ID of a Mourning Warbler was off. Even Canada Warbler was being a stretch. Only 2 birds really fit this description, one the rather common Nashville Warbler and the decidedly uncommon Connecticut Warbler. Now I have seen many Nashville Warblers, especially in my backyard… and this warbler was too big. Also the bill and tail were very long for a Nashville Warbler. But a Connecticut Warbler is almost unheard of in this part of New York, even more so in August. So I needed a fresh set of eyes. I set Danika up with the photos and field guides and she kept coming back to Connecticut Warbler as well. As this would be a life, and one heck of a yard bird… it gnawed on me. So I posted the pictures on facebook, in particular the American Birding Association page. I then had to mow the lawn.

While I mowed the lawn (figuring if the bird was still around this would get rid of it), I went over all the field marks in my head. Everything was pointing to Connecticut Warbler, but since I had zero experience with this species, I was being cautious. Later in the afternoon, I started to get some feedback. Some still called it a Nashville, a few a Canada and soon there was a number of people supporting Connecticut Warbler. When Ken Kaufman posted his thoughts that it was a Connecticut, things really started falling into place. So I was feeling pretty good, as I headed out for another Nighthawk vigil this evening. Again, no Nighthawks… but right at dark, against all odds, the bird reappeared. This time I was able to (quickly!) see the long bill and tail and large size, clearly ruling out Nashville. The white eye-ring looked like a flashlight in the dark, dense Golden Rod. The bird only made a couple of brief hops up to about 3 feet off the ground, but spent much of its time right on the ground, decidedly not Nashville behavior. Mystery Solved a new life and yard bird!

The Nightjar Returns

hoaryredpoll — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:08:59 +0000

August 1, 2012

Common Loon (Gavias immer)

hoaryredpoll — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00:26 +0000

Common Loon - New Baltimore, Greene Co., NY - Photo by Will Raup

Typically Common Loons are long gone from the Hudson-Mohawk area by the time Christmas Counts roll around. This year however, with the mild conditions, water remained open on many of the lakes and reservoirs, keeping the Loons happy much later than normal. In early January we had several cold days, with temperatures at night in the City of Albany at or below 0 F, many of the outlying areas between -5 and -20 F, meant a rapid freeze up of water. I stopped by Cornell Park in New Baltimore (Greene Co. NY) and was surprised to see a Common Loon on the Hudson River. Loons typically don’t like moving water (like rivers), but given the rapid freeze up of the Lakes, this bird was no doubt forced to the River. Making the situation even more interesting was the fact that huge ice sheets were moving down river. There was a real danager of this Loon getting trapped by Ice, but it also pushed the bird very close to shore where I was standing, allowing me some of the most personal views and photographs of this species I normally only see at a distance through a scope.

I returned later in the day, to find that entire area choked with Ice, no open water at all. But I didn’t see the Loon either, so hopefully he made it further south towards the coast.

Common Loon with Fish. New Baltimore, Greene Co., NY - Photo by Will Raup

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

hoaryredpoll — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:07:29 +0000

The Hermit Thrush is one of the hardiest Thrushes in its family, prefering to winter in the U.S. as far North as New England, eeking out a survival among the native and ornamental berries. They are typcially found in larger flocks of other birds such as American Robin or White-throated Sparrows. Recently at Vosburgh’s Marsh in Greene County, NY, I “spished” at a group of sparrows in the underbrush and the first bird to pop out was a Hermit Thrush. Given how mild and snowless the winter has been thus far, I was not surprised to see one at this location (a spot nortorius for half-hardies). I was more surprised however to see it sit still long enough for me to photograph him/her. With the rest of the world a dead brown and gray color, the rufous on the tail looked like it was blazing when I saw the bird in real life. Sometimes, no matter how good a photo is, nothing beats seeing a bird with your own eyes.

Hermit Thrush, Vosburgh's Marsh, Greene Co, New York - Photo by Will Raup

Something Fishy is Going On…

hoaryredpoll — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:54:46 +0000

Its been a mild and snowless winter to say the least, thus far. As a result of mother nature and the anti-American Crow roost efforts by the City of Albany, I don’t have the thousands upon thousands of American Crows in my back yard. Sure hundreds, if not thousands still fly over the house at dusk, likely to a roost site along the Hudson River near Troy. But the lack of these big bullies, have given their smaller cousin a chance to shine.

Each day about 8-12 Fish Crows take up residence in my backyard. They visit my poor excuse of a feeder, torment my dog and keep me informed of any local Red-tailed Hawks. The American Crows arrive shortly after dawn and set up camp a couple of yards down in my neighbors fen. There they bathe, drink and frolic as only Crows can do. Then there is this invisible line, a buffer zone, before my yard and my nasaled Fish friends. But it is an uneasy peace.

At times the bigger, bolder American Crows will cross the border, sending the Fish Crows into noisily into full retreat, there they wait until whatever had forced the American Crows into the yard to go away and slowly the Fish Crows return.

Fish Crow was a relative new bird to Albany when I moved into the City, over 10 years ago. Fish Crows have nested in my neighborhood (ironically away from water) nearly every year I have lived here, but only in the last few have they become part of the winter bird scene. However, my yard is not the epicenter. For that you must head over to Westgate Plaza in West Albany, where in the parking lots of the supermarkets you may find 20 or more Fish Crows, equally fighting for garbage among the Starlings, House Sparrows, Ring-billed Gulls and American Crows.

Watching the behaviors of any corvids is fascinating, but I find myself simply amazed by the actions of Fish Crows, as they have learned to co-exist with their cousins and as their population has grown, they have slowly, but steadily carved a niche for themselves amongst the city birds.

Perhaps I should write to the American Birding Association and suggest the Fish Crow as the bird of the Year?

As the Fish Crows would say…

“Ah-huh!”