Birding Glynwood Farm (Putnam Co.) w/ NYSYBC
Read this blog as I bird at Glynwood Farm located in Putnam County, NY on Saturday, October 5, famous especially during fall migration.
*All the birds listed in this blog post are only of birds that I photographed (look at the eBird checklist for the whole summary). I always try to photograph every single bird I see*
Met up with all the young birders at around 7:00am, ready to explore Glynwood Farm.
The trip leaders were Sean Camillieri and Kyle Bardwell.
Started by seeing a Sharp-shinned Hawk circling above us.
Followed by some Common Ravens which were croaking as they flew past us.
Without that much activity passerine-wise, we continued up a hill.
Near the top of the hill, we saw two Field Sparrows.
The hill we were on overlooked a large field where a lifer (and near-nemesis bird for me) Red-shouldered Hawk flew in and perched on a distant perch.
Sean stated that the Red-shouldered Hawks seem to favor that particular field, which was interesting.
About 45 minutes later, we started to notice many Ruby-crowned Kinglets that started to appear and sing.
In that same general area, some Eastern Bluebirds perched up high on some trees.
As we continued to make our way through Glynwood Farm, a juvenile Bald Eagle soared high in the sky.
Soon, we arrived at a fenced field, which there were a diversity of sparrows.
I was able to get a photo of a Song Sparrow next to a Swamp Sparrow, which was nice.
In the many sparrows present, there were also 1-2 Lincoln’s Sparrows, which I spent forever to photograph as this was a great lifer for me!
As the Lincoln’s Sparrows distracted me, another juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (like the one towards the beginning of the walk) flew in super close to us, and perched on a tree next to where the sparrows were in the field.
Everyone was amazed by its closeness, as was I. It gave for some phenomenal photo opps due to this.
After finishing viewing the Red-shouldered Hawk and Lincoln’s Sparrows, it was time to start picking up our pace and heading back.
From 9:10am to around 10:10am (about one hour), there was little to no activity with birds other than raptors.
However, when we came across the same field (next to the hill) as the beginning but just at a different angle now, someone pointed out a fairly distant American Kestrel that was perched on a telephone pole.
Soon, the kestrel took off, and was in flight alongside a Cooper’s Hawk, letting us see the size and shape difference between the two birds.
Finally after reaching the parking lot where all our cars were, another juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk circled above us as an end to this wonderful walk.
eBird checklist - Glynwood Farm - 5 Oct 2024
Throughout today’s walk, Sean, Kyle, and the other young birders/adult advisors tremendously helped me get on my target birds. Without the company of these people, I know I wouldn’t have been able to get such great views of these birds. Something that I noticed throughout the walk was that birds of prey (or raptors) were most common throughout the three hours, and we actually were able to get 10 species of raptors according to the eBird checklist! Today’s obvious highlights for me were, of course, the Red-shouldered Hawk and the Lincoln’s Sparrows. Thanks to all and Happy Fall Migration Birding!