May 5th –
11th
A rain abbreviated week will
insure that this week’s blog will be a bit shorter than normal. We found ourselves taking short trips
out to local sites whenever the clouds parted for a few hours. Still, in spite of (or more probably because of) the unsettled weather, the
migrants we have been eagerly anticipating have finally started to drift
in.
On Sunday, Sharon and I drove out to Mine Road to
check the “hot spots” and see if our warblers were finally arriving. It’s been a relatively slow spring,
with the usual May visitors coming to the party fashionably late. But arrive they did and we had several
nice sightings of the front guard.
Our first were a group of warblers at the gate to a site along the road
known as “Area U”. We used to be
able to hike well back into the forest here and it was always productive. Since homeland security as become such
a big issure over the past decade, much of the property has become posted and
as such is off limits to us birders.
It’s the price we have to pay, I suppose, but it is West Point property
and if they say stay out, we’ll abide by that. From the roadside, however, we did pick up our first nice
warblers of the season. A
beautiful Blue-wing let its presence known with its “brrr-buzzzz” song and we
quickly caught a look through the bins. A bit frustrating in that it kept its
distance and was not caught on camera, but it was recorded in the mind’s eye if
nothing else.
A bird flitting high up in the canopy was likewise out of
camera range, but we could see that it was a fine Blackpoll warbler. Hooded warblers, yellows, and Common
yellowthroats were joining in the chorus and it was beautiful music to be sure.
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| Blackpoll taken in 2011 |
Further along at a site
we call the old sand piles, we had even better views of the Blue-wings. Again, restricted to the roadside, we
still managed to get closer views as one of their number scooted from one side
of the road to the other (see photo below). Later in
the week, with a group from the Mearns club, we found the blues again, but this
time accompanied with a lone Golden-wing….what a gorgeous bird!
 |
| Blue-winged warbler |
All in all, between the two
days along Mine Road, we recorded around 35 species, many of which were first
of the year birds.
One migrant which appears to
have gotten lost, waylaid, or just happy to hang out was a Red-throated loon
which had been reported lingering at the Croton Point Park beach on the Hudson. The bird should probably be on its
breeding territory up in Northern Canada or the Arctic. But for whatever reason, here it was,
swimming along diving, and seeming to have a good old time here in the Hudson
Valley. We’ll watch to see
if it sticks around for much longer.
Finally, again between storms,
we took a ride out to Ironwood Road in Sterling Forest State Park. The area has long been known as a reliable
spot for Golden-wings and other warblers in May, so we were hopeful at getting
another look at this beauty.
Rather slow again, but at least with some trekking up the power line
right-of-way I was able finally to see the bird clearly. Again, quiet and as deliberate as I could be,
I could not approach anywhere near enough to get a decent shot, so I’ve
included one of my shots from last year to display why birders work so hard to
get a look at the Golden.
 |
| Golden-winged warbler (archival shot) |
While down at the power line
we did get some other nice looks by sitting in the car down at the end of the
road and simply waiting to see what birds sand or flew into view. In such manner, we had Common
yellowthroats, Yellow warblers, a Blue-wing, and a number of Redstarts. One of the redstarts perched above the
RAV and allowed me to get my first photo of the year of this handsome
bird.
Eventually, the bird decided we were not all that interesting and took flight, making for an interesting photo of the bird in motion.
Well, now that the birds are
here and the weather my begin to clear, we will try to get out for more of the
warblers and have some good birds to report on next week. Until then……
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