Goose trio

Three geese, two Tundra Bean geese and a Greater white-fronted goose, have been reported from the Baldeggersee in Canton Luzern in the past few days. The lake is only half an hour from my house, so naturally I decided to try my luck. I visited the location twice in a row because the first time I forgot to charge my camera, leaving me with blurry shots taken with my phone through my binoculars. These species are rare but more than annual in Switzerland, but I had never seen a Bean goose before.

The first time I went, the two Bean geese were alone in a field and I didn't see the white-fronted but the second time both species were mixed in with a large flock of Greylag geese.

Greater White-fronted Goose - 08/01/2017

Greater White-fronted Goose - 08/01/2017

Bean Goose - 08/01/2017

Bean Geese - 08/01/2017

Red-headed Woodpecker

Today I visited Hendrickson Park in Valley Stream, Nassau County to twitch the long-staying Pink-footed Goose. Although I dipped the goose, I did see the continuing Red-headed Woodpecker, which, according to eBird reports, had not strayed from the area around a yellow house in the park.

The woodpecker, my first lifer of 2017, was in subadult plumage so its head was not fully red, but still an impressive bird. This individual was slightly aggressive, chasing off many other birds in the area, including a Downy Woodpecker, House Sparrows and even Blue Jays. It was very active, generally flying between three trees in a triangle, often drumming and calling.

Red-headed Woodpecker - 02/01/2016

Red-headed Woodpecker - 02/01/2016

Red-headed Woodpecker - 02/01/2016

Of Ross's Geese, King Eiders and Birding in Circles

Happy New Year!

This past week I saw three lifers at two locations. On Wednesday I visited Robert Moses State Park to twitch the long-staying pair of Ross's Geese in a traffic circle. They were two small, pure-white geese in a flock of Canada Geese, so I picked them out immediately. The short bill with a blue base, rounded head, no 'grin patch', and small size made it clear that these were not Snow Geese. They showed little fear of me or cars and were not nervous around me, feeding on grass without looking up at me once. They did look up however when two deer, common at Robert Moses, ran into the circle. Click the photos to see them full size.

Ross's Geese - 28/12/2016

Ross's Geese - 28/12/2016

I then continued on to Field 5, where a Lapland Longspur has been reported in another traffic circle. In this grassy circle, there was a flock of Horned Larks and House Sparrows, and I quickly discovered the odd one out, another lifer. This one however was shy, and I scared it away a number of times while trying to get close for a photo.

Lapland Longspur - 28/12/2016

My next birding trip was not strictly speaking a twitch, although the species I saw have been reported in the past. I visited Orient Point County Park and as soon as I started looking around with my binoculars, I spotted three Harlequin Ducks, two females and an immature male. They swam out to open water from the rocks and then suddenly took off, with one trailing far behind the other two.

Harlequin Ducks - 31/12/2016

I walked toward the rocks and saw four Purple Sandpipers feeding together. They let me approach closely, and I got some great pictures.

Purple Sandpipers - 31/12/2016

After that, I decided to walk to the point, passing a flock of Red-breasted Mergansers and a Long-tailed Duck on the way. As I was approaching the point, I could make out a flock of Common Eiders. Oddly, there was also a large flock of American Wigeons that flew in from the west and joined some that were already there. After scrutinizing the eider flock carefully, I noticed one individual with a black bill and a different head shape than the other eiders. I had found a female King Eider! This was another lifer for me, and although my fingers were nearly frozen and the wind was whipping at my face, I was extremely happy.

King Eider - 31/12/2016

                         

SNOWY OWL!!!

Today, Christmas Day, I visited Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays to try and find an owl. I have been visiting this site for years in hope of finding one, but these trips were never successful. After walking along the beach for only a short time I located my lifer Snowy Owl in the dunes, an individual with intermediate barring, so either an immature male or an adult female. Despite the many surfers and people walking dogs on the beach, the owl seemed calm and unbothered.

It was also an opportunity for me to test my new 400mm Canon lens, which took some pretty good pictures of the owl.

Snowy Owl - 25/12/2016

Snowy Owl - 25/12/2016

Snowy Owl - 25/12/2016

Birding Central Park

Central Park is most famous for warblers in Spring, but Winter is good for birds as well. I spent two days in Manhattan, and visited the park on both days.

Day 1:
On my first visit to Central Park, I started in the south of the park and headed to the Reservoir. On the way I saw a Hermit Thrush on a fence post. I was amazed at the tameness of the birds in the park, including the thrush, which let met approach it closely.

Hermit Thrush - 21/12/2016

I then continued on to the Reservoir, where I saw Northern Shovelers, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, American Coots and American Black Ducks.

Ruddy Duck - 21/12/2016

Bufflehead - 21/12/2016

In the Ramble, my main objective was to find a Fox Sparrow. After looking through the flock of White-throated Sparrows for a long time, I finally managed to locate a Fox Sparrow, with beautiful reddish coloration.

Fox Sparrow - 21/12/2016

Day 2:

On my second trip, my main goal was to see the Green-winged Teal and Wood Duck that had been reported in the days prior. I headed to the Pond where I quickly located the teal and got great views, while the Wood Duck was largely concealed by vegetation.

Wood Duck - 22/12/2016

Green-winged Teal - 22/12/2016

      

New York Skyline - 22/12/2016

                         

                           

Birding Shinnecock Inlet

I arrived in New York last week with Harlequin Duck, Snowy Owl and Snow Goose on my target list for the trip. Earlier this week I headed down to Shinnecock Inlet in Hampton Bays to search for winter birds. It was around -5 degrees Celsius at the Inlet, and very windy. I walked to the jetty and scanned the flock of Black Scoters and to my surprise, I saw a pair of Harlequin Ducks.

Harlequin Duck - 19/12/2016

Harlequin Duck - 19/12/2016

The female was far out but the male came quite close to shore. The male's white markings and chestnut coloration was truly beautiful, but I continued down the beach to a massive flock of gulls. After doing a lot of walking and searching, I was rewarded with an Iceland Gull. My camera was out of battery, so I took a picture with my phone through my binoculars.

Iceland Gull - 19/12/2016

Iceland Gull - 19/12/2016

             

Birding Lake Constance

Lake Constance, shared between Germany, Switzerland and Austria, is a great place to go birding in winter. Many birds that are rare in the rest of Switzerland can be found here.

My birding trip started on the Untersee, a small water body connected to Lake Constance by the Rhine river. The Ermatinger Becken in the East of the Untersee is a well-known location for Bewick's (Tundra) Swans in winter. After scanning the lake we found two female Red-breasted Mergansers, a Spotted Redshank, and one Tundra Swan. The swan was a great distance away, on the other side of the lake in Germany, and was difficult to identify because its bill was hidden most of the time. At the train station we saw two Stock Doves, a lifer for me, in a group of Collared Doves.

Stock Dove - 11/12/2016

We continued on to the town of Altnau, a reliable place to see Arctic Loons and other open-water species. As soon as we arrived at the lake, a flock of 8 Velvet Scoters flew by, quite far out on the lake. This was another lifer, and an uncommon species in Switzerland. We then saw two Arctic Loons close to shore.

Velvet Scoters - 11/12/2016

Arctic Loon - 11/12/2016

Arctic Loons - 11/12/2017

After that we went to Arbon where we saw a Caspian Gull, and after scanning the Eared Grebe flock, we discovered two Horned Grebes. I only managed to get a few dreadful shots as they were far out.

Horned Grebe - 11/12/2016

Caspian Gull - 11/12/2017