Recent Sightings
-
in reverse chronological order  5/3/09
Lawrence's Warbler, photo by Doug Koch 4/30/09 from Gary Lovett:
I saw a Lawrence's Warbler (hybrid
Blue-winged X Golden-winged) yesterday at the Cary Institute. It
is rare enough that some others may want to see it. Directions: From
the State Trooper Barracks at the junction of Routes 44 and 82,
go east on Rte 44 for about half a mile to Fowler Road, near the
Cottonwood Inn. Take a left on Fowler Road and go north
through the Cary Institute property. The second paved road
on the right, about 1.5 or 2 miles up Fowler Road, is gated. Just
before that gated road, there is a small parking pullout on the
right. The bird is right in the vicinity of that parking
area. (last reported seen 5/2/09)
Gallery
of photos by 3 RTWBC members 
Red-headed Woodpecker
Stony Kill EEC, 1/9/09
Photo by Steve Golladay
1/9/09 from Barbara Butler:
Jim Clinton saw a flock of White-winged Crossbills flying
across Rt199 near the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge Thursday morning.
So they are still around northern Dutchess, but not so easy to
find as the Red-headed Woodpecker.
1/9/09 from Ed Solan:
Rodney Johnson and I went to Stonykill today to look for the Red-headed
Woodpecker during our lunch break. We found it near
the Manor House. What a great find. This was a life bird
for me.
 Gallery
of photos by 3 RTWBC members
4
new photos added 1/16/09
1/8/09 from Barbara Butler:
Bill Case just called while viewing an adult Red-headed
Woodpecker at StonyKill. It was on a feeder with suet, at the Manor
House. (This was about 2:30pm on Thursday, the 8th)
12/21/08 from Rodney Johnson:
I went out this morning around Rhinebeck as usual. Crossbills
were high on the priority list as we all know it is a good year
for these visitors. I went to a stretch of conifers just south
of Rhinecliff on Morton Rd(County Rd. 85). It seemed dead at first
so I threw out a Screech Owl call or two and after a few moments---way
up high in a treetop ,a single bird landed that appeared to be
a Juv. White-winged Crossbill. I pished a few times and all
of a sudden a flock of 35 White-winged Crossbills landed
and wasted no time and began feeding. After a while, another
22 landed nearby and fed. As I walked(happily and quickly) back
to the car yet another flock landed but this time it was Red
Crossbills! 28
of them!
I had another decent flock of White-winged at Wilderstien in the
conifers by the parking lot....with that group I had total of 71
White-winged for the day in 3 flocks.
It was quite a sight since it is such a winter wonderland going
on outside. If you have any stands of conifers nearby and need
incentive to get out---go look for these guys today!
12/19/08 from Barbara Butler:
I just got in from a walk around our place (near Verbank). I started
off feeling discouraged by the 150 cowbirds at my feeder (Arrgh).
At the top of a spruce, I noticed a bright house finch with white
spots. Not a house finch. A White-winged Crossbill!.
I saw maybe 6 altogether, at least 2 bright red males and the
rest yellow-ish females. So we at least have them as "count
week" for
the Christmas Bird Count. I hope we'll see them tomorrow.
If you have bird song tapes, review their song. Then tomorrow,
check out spruce trees, especially those with lots of cones. And
check out any bird perched atop a spruce.
Crossbills like to come down onto the roads for grit. Years ago
I found several that had been hit by cars in the road along a row
of spruces.
Pine Siskins are also around. I had a flock of maybe
50 go through the yard a few days ago, but they didn't stay.
Calling
a Hotline Number For
information on interesting bird sightings, you may want to call one
of the many hotlines that make up the NARBA (North American Rare Bird
Alert) network. Listed below are the numbers that cover southeastern
New York. For a comprehensive list, visit the Peterson
Online site.
Hudson-Mohawk
(Albany) Region
(Kingbird Region 8)
phone: 518-439-8080 compilers: John Saville, Jeff Marx,
Jackie Bogardus, Rich Guthrie, Lou Esch
Lower Hudson Valley Region
(Kingbird Region 9)
phone: 914-666-6614 compiler: New compiler is needed, so
this RBA is not currently active.
New York City and Long Island Region
(Kingbird Region 10)
phone: 212-979-3070 compiler: Tom Burke
Connecticut
Please
note, there is no telephone hotline anymore. Check out CTBIRD
which you can subsctibe to for automatic alerts to your mailbox.
Viewing
Hotline Recording Transcripts Online
You
can view hotline transcripts online at The
Virtual Birder. When you get there, just click on the state
that interests you.
American
Birding Association "Sightings" Column  1/9/09
"Sightings" appears
monthly, alternating between Winging It and Birding,
with the latest news, reports, and rumors from the ABA Area.
Sightings are compiled from online discussion groups and RBAs,
with valuable contributions from a growing network of informants
continent-wide. Check it out!
Mailing
Lists
MidHudsonBirds
provides a forum for the discussion, communication, and reporting
of wild bird observations in the Ulster, Dutchess, Greene, and
Columbia County areas of New York State, including the Catskill
and Shawangunk Mountains. Related natural history observations
within this geographical area, and relevant posts from outside
of this area are also welcome. To join, or to learn more, visit
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidHudsonBirds/
NYSBIRDS-L UPDATED
5/23/09
NYSBirds-L is an email list focused on birds
and birding in New York State. It is not for the discussion
of pet birds or falconry, except as far as these topics directly
relate to wild birds. The primary purpose of the list is to
disseminate information about bird sightings in New York State
in a timely manner. Questions and limited discussions on topics
such as bird behavior, identification, conservation, and distribution,
especially as these subjects relate to birds in New York State,
are welcomed and encouraged. The List is not for the discussion
of pet birds.
To join the list, send
an email to NYSbirds-L-Request@cornell.edu,
leave subject line blank, and the body of the message should
read:
JOIN “firstname
lastname”
Where “firstname
lastname” is
to be replaced by your own first name and your last name.
INCLUDE THE QUOTATION MARKS AROUND YOUR NAME.
The listprocessor is
an automated system and will extract your email address from
the header of your message. Since
a computer, not a person, will read your message, additional
words to make the message more polite are unnecessary and will
interfere with the computer's ability to find the information
it's looking for.
You will receive a confirmation message after you send your
email.
For more details, see http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
Regional
digests called BIRDEAST,
BIRDCNTR, and BIRDWEST
are created and distributed free via e-mail to subscribers. These
contain transcripts (or highlights of transcripts) of hotline
recordings. Searchable archives of these notes are available
on the web:
BIRDEAST
archive
BIRDCNTR
archive
BIRDWEST
archive
If you'd like to get the RBA transcripts automatically in your
e-mail box, you can join
the BIRDEAST mailing list by filling out a form online.
RTWBC Historical Archive
Index |
