Day 343: December 9th – Blog entry #500!

Overcast, damp, mid-40s

       We were out early this morning in search of newly arriving winter ducks on some of the ponds out in Westchester County.  We began the outing with 4 other members of the Mearns Club.  As they are all excellent birders, I had my hopes up for getting some new wintering ducks here in the Hudson Valley.  Our first site was Mohansic Lake at F.D. Roosevelt Park in Yorktown Heights.  The ducks were of course distant, but we did have a nice collection of Lesser scaup, Ring-necked ducks, Hooded mergansers, Pied-billed grebes, and Ruddy ducks all visible in the same field of the spotting scopes.

      We checked the backside of the pond with similar results.  From here, we traveled over to a small pond the group leader Bob knew could hold Hooded mergs at close range.  The mergansers were in fact there, but not so close.  A Belted kingfisher was a bit closer, however, and gave us nice looks. 

        From here, it was off to Croton Point where Sharon and I had visited earlier this week.  The same Buffleheads were all we could drum up, but one of our group, Greg, did find a pair of magnificent Bald eagles perched side-by-side on the opposite side of the bay.  It’s a little early in the season for the eagles to be arriving in any numbers given the mild temperatures we’ve experienced thus far this season.  In fact, these could be a pair of the resident eagles we’ve had here in the valley for the past couple of years.  But, regardless, it was great to see two mature birds at this time of year.

       Our final push for woodland birds brought us up to the camp area of Croton Point Park.  We always check beneath the tall pines for signs of owl activity…either scat (called white-wash) or pellets.  We did find some signs of the fecal material, but there were no pellets to indicate the presence of owls.  A Red-breasted nuthatch was working its way down the trunk of one of the pines as we looked for the owls, so it was not a complete bust. 

       We moved down to the lower road along the river and found the area quiet with a Winter wren chipping but remaining out of sight.  After Sharon and I left the group, I was told they found two Common loons and a Red-throated loon on the river off the end of the point.  I guess we should have stretched our stay out just a few minutes longer, but that’s the way it goes.  Still, it was an enjoyable morning during which Sharon and I were introduced to several new sites to bird in the future. 

Looking south from Croton Point Park 

       This marks the 500^th installment of Naturally Digital with a total of 49,693 page views.  The daily blog will continue through the month of December and then we will return to weekly postings.  Certainly hope everyone has enjoyed our blog and will continue to do so in the future.  Thanks for following us!