Registrar: Debbie Mullins
Participants: 13
Weather: Sunny progressing to overcast, calm winds, high 20’s
Bird Species: 27
After a two-week postponement due to snow and ice on the original date, we finally had a clear, but very brisk day, for our trip to Ulster County. We started the day with a trail walk through the grass where we saw several Red-tailed Hawks and an American Kestrel, as well as an owl pellet. The feeders and the surrounding area held a nice collection of woodpeckers and passerines, including an American Tree Sparrow. Red-tailed Hawks, a Common Raven and Black Vultures were seen at Gale Park, and a Common Merganser, American Black Ducks and Canada Geese were seen from the Birch Road bridge over the Wallkill River. We returned to Shawangunk late in the afternoon for our target bird, the Short-eared Owl. We were not disappointed! Three owls put on a beautiful show, soaring around the grasslands to the delight of a large group of birders and photographers. Overall, we saw twenty-eight bird species, and all participants had life birds or year birds.
Species Lists
Birds
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Common Merganser
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Double-crested Cormorant
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier (including gray male)
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Short-eared Owl
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
European Starling
American Goldfinch
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal
Mammals
White-tailed Deer
