Croton Point Park and Shawangunk Grasslands N.W.R. with Julien Amsellem, 1/13/2024
Registrar: Nick Dawson
Participants: 17
Weather: (Croton) Overcast clouds Temperature: 50 – 58°F; Wind: Mostly calm – strong breeze; Wind Direction: SW – S; Cloud Cover: 90 – 100%; Humidity: 68 – 90% (Shawangunk) Broken clouds Temperature: 40 – 43°F Wind: Moderate breeze – gale Wind Direction: W Cloud Cover: 75% Humidity: 53 – 58%
Bird Species: 40
Some birding trips are miraculous simply because they happen at all, and that was the case with Julien Amsellem’s walk at Croton Point Park and Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge. For a start, it’s a walk that for the past three years Julien had been prevented from leading by a number of unfortunate circumstances. And in the lead-up to the trip this year, the weather forecast made it look like this trip might be washed out altogether.
Fortunately, though, the walk did indeed take place, although strong winds throughout the day made birding something a challenging proposition. At Croton Point Park, the warm weather of the past few days had meant the departure of Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and a solitary Lapland Longspur, and though a number of sparrow species were evident, a lot of the smaller passerines were hunkered down, to avoid being buffeted by the vigorous winds. Raptors were, however, present and active: both Turkey and Black Vultures, nesting Red-tailed Hawks, multiple Bald Eagles, an American Kestrel, a Northern Harrier and a small Cooper’s Hawk that did its best to make us think it was a large Sharp-shinned. One of the definite highlights was getting great looks at the continuing Red-headed Woodpeckers, who were holding strong by the model airplane field.
For this first portion of the walk, the participants’ ages ranged from 17 to 94, a sign — if one were needed — that birding is an activity that brings all people together, bridges generational divides in a truly special way.
After lunch at Croton (and a brief, unsuccessful attempt to find a Great Horned Owl and the Pine Warbler which is overwintering by the RV campground), the group drove northwest to Shawangunk, where during the winter Short-Eared Owls are all but a certainty at dawn and dusk. Unfortunately, the winds were a major deterrent for the owls, who appeared only briefly and distantly. The consolation prize was, however, more than a dozen more Northern Harriers, hunting low over the grasslands the whole time we were there. Despite the winds and cold and the group not getting the looks we were hoping for of the Shorties, spirits remained high and we wrapped up the trip grateful for a fun and invigorating day of birding.
Birds
Canada Goose
Mallard
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Short-eared Owl
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Golden-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
European Starling
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Field Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
