Monday, May 24, 2021

BBC May 23rd Walkill NWR trip

Led by Adelia Harrison

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Adelia Honeywood <honeywood5@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, May 24, 2021, 3:40 PM
Subject: Re: Walkille trip
To: Peter Dorosh <prosbird@gmail.com>


Hey Peter,
List attached.

Yes, it was great fun! And some very good birds! 

Chris was not able to make it so I led solo. We left Brooklyn at 5:30 am and returned home around 7 pm.
I had 8 people.4 others wrote to register but then passed when I told them the early start time.

We started at Liberty Marsh at 7 am. Much of the marsh has been drained for a restoration project and tall grasses have set in. About 10 minutes in Dan Smith spotted the head of a Sandhill Crane sticking out of the grasses and then a second. They had been reported the day before by a NYC Audubon trip as having babies although we did not manage to spot the babies. A few minutes later, two American Bitterns flew overhead. We also heard the Least Bittern and the Sora. And the Common Gallinules were common. Birds with young included the Sandhill Cranes, Wood Ducks, Canada Geese, and Pied-billed Grebes (per reports- we did not see the Grebe babies)

We were also checking out the marsh snakes (I don't know the species) that swim through the water and then coil themselves around the tops of the high marsh grasses to sunbathe. A Red-winged Blackbird was having none of it and Charles Tang got some photos of the Blackbird pushing the snake off the grass into the water.

We then went to Winding Waters Trail which runs along the Wallkill River and moves into a priority Breeding Bird Atlas Block. Just outside the priority block were two active Baltimore Oriole nests. Orchard Orioles were also numerous and were engaging in fighting and courtship in both blocks.

At our lunch stop we found a Common Grackle on its nest. See my photo attached. We visited the Wallkill NWR headquarters to see the Purple Martin nests.

On the way to our final stop I was driving with Dan and read aloud a sign saying "Homemade Pies" causing Dan to immediately swerve off course in the direction of the pies.

Our final stop was Knapp's View in Chester, NY, a lovely local preserve of hillside grassland that is just swarming with breeding Bobolink. We saw around 100 and that's an undercount. We did also catch eight Meadowlark furtively flying low over the grass. One was carrying nesting material for a confirmatory atlas breeding code.

We capped the day with a delicious, gooey, berry crumble pie.

Thanks to Tom Preston for providing the intel on all the stops we made after Liberty Marsh

Please add some of Charles's great photos to your post and see some of mine attached

Cheers
Adelia


On Monday, May 24, 2021, 12:24:41 PM EDT, Peter Dorosh <prosbird@gmail.com> wrote:


Hi Adelia

I read from Charles post you had a great trip. Terrific to hear of it.

Can you send me your checklist and if u wish details as well.

You had good number if members?

Peter
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