Registrar: Nick Dawson
Participants: 20
Weather: (Croton) 27–32°F, modest NNW winds, cloudy; (Shawangunk) 32–29°F, light NNW winds, cloudy to snowy to partly sunny.
Bird species: 46
The Croton Point Park-Shawangunk walk led by Julien Amsellem is always an exciting one for Linnaean members, and this was arguably the most rewarding in recent years. As it was snowy early on, there was hope for some of the rarer grassland species at Croton, like Eastern Meadowlark, American Pipit, Horned Lark, Snow Bunting, and Lapland Longspur.
Unfortunately, however, our extended stay on the landfill did not result in the group seeing any of these species. We did, however, get a nice selection for January of New World sparrows (Song, Swamp, Savannah, Fox, American Tree, and Dark-eyed Junco), plus an assortment of raptors, including Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, a Turkey Vulture, a small Cooper’s Hawk trying to masquerade as a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and a couple of handsome Red-shouldered Hawks.
After a break for lunch, we drove onward to Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Reserve for what was a truly memorable visit. When we arrived, well before dusk, Short- eared Owls were already active and abundant, putting on a real show. We counted 12 individuals hunting over the grassland, alongside an even greater number of Northern Harriers. The sheer volume of raptors coursing low over the fields, often coming very close, was remarkable, and the photographers in the group got great photos of both species. Also present were a handful of Red-tailed Hawks (including one Abieticola) and a light morph Rough-legged Hawk perched in a tree at the edge of the reserve, distant but well seen by all and a lifer for many in the group. All in all, it was an excellent day of birding.
Species List
American Black Duck
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Tree Sparrow
Bald Eagle
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Brown Creeper
Canada Goose
Carolina Wren
Common Merganser
Common Raven
Cooper’s Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco
Downy Woodpecker
European Starling
Fox Sparrow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Blue Heron
Hermit Thrush
Hooded Merganser
House Finch
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Harrier
Northern Mockingbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Rough-legged Hawk
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Savannah Sparrow
Short-eared Owl
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-throated Sparrow
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
