Greetings,

Getting out of work late this afternoon, my girlfriend and I decided to do a little birding at the local state park (Lake Taghkanic), and we were not disappointed. The clear highlight was a single flyover BLACK VULTURE. It was observed in good light and showed all the definitive marks of the species including a short, squarish tail, and silvery patches on the primaries that flashed in the late evening sun. This was Betsi’s life Black Vulture, and the first one I have observed in NY this far north. Truly a great find!

Other hightlights were around, but were restricted to just a few notable species. These included:

-Warbling Vireo (1)
-Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (~10)
-Eastern Kingbird (1)
-Yellow Warbler (3)
-Yellow-rumped Warbler (4)
-American Redstart (2)
-Ovenbird (1)
-Baltimore Oriole (4)

Birding was also decent at Geoffroy’s Pond on Miller Road in Churchtown. We had several Yellow Warblers, a single Greater Yellowlegs, and a super skulky Gray Catbird that would not reveal itself despite trying for ten minutes. We will be back! All in all it was a fun evening, with great birds, and a great birding partner. These are the times birders dream of…

Great birding,
~Chad