2022 Notable Sightings September through November

by Anthony Macchiarola

Putnam County has had a nice variety of notable sightings this fall! Glynwood Farm produced a number of really good birds, such as Connecticut and Orange-crowned Warblers. Perhaps the most notable bird at Glynwood this season was a Cattle Egret that made a single day appearance. Another incredibly rare bird for the county was a Nelson’s Sparrow found at West Point Foundry Preserve. Again, this bird only stayed for a single day, but was very cooperative and allowed a number of birders to have excellent views while it fed along the path. A seemingly higher number of Golden Eagles were seen migrating through the county. Topping the list of excellent county birds was a Rufous Hummingbird visiting a private residence. While the numbers of Rufous Hummingbirds straying into the east has been increasing, it is still an incredibly rare visitor to Putnam County!

This fall and winter is shaping up to be a good year for winter finches to irrupt into our area. Evening Grosbeaks were reported a number of times at Glynwood, and Pine Siskins and Purple Finches have been noted in the region in decent numbers. Although Putnam County has not had any crossbills reported yet this fall, both Red and White-winged Crossbills have been reported from neighboring Counties so keep your eyes and ears open around any conifer stands! As we progress into winter, redpolls will hopefully move down into our region this year as well.

Putnam County:

9/2 Short-billed Dowitcher - Glynwood Farm, Cold Spring

9/5 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - West Point Foundry Preserve, Cold Spring

9/24 Olive-sided Flycatcher – Glynwood Farm, Cold Spring

9/27 White-eyed Vireo, Mahopac

10/2 Pectoral Sandpiper Barrett Pond, Philipstown

10/2 Wilson’s Snipe, Barrett Pond, Philipstown

10/2 Semipalmated Sandpiper, Barrett Pond, Philipstown

10/3 Nelson’s Sparrow, West Point Foundry Preserve

10/6 Dickcissel – Community Garden, Brewster

10/7 Red-headed Woodpecker - Dockside Park, Cold Spring

10/10 Gray-cheeked Thrush - Glynwood Farm, Cold Spring

10/21 Orange-crowned Warbler – Glynwood Farm, Cold Spring

10/22 Evening Grosbeak - Glynwood and Private Feeders (beginning on this date)

10/22 Connecticut Warbler - Glynwood, Cold Spring

10/28 Eastern Meadowlark -Glynwood, Cold Spring

10/29 Pine Siskin - Glynwood, Cold Spring (more reports after this date)

10/30 Golden Eagle - Putnam Valley

11/2 Red-breasted Merganser - Dockside Park, Cold Spring

11/8 Golden Eagle – Dockside Park, Cold Spring

11/9 Golden Eagle - Glynwood, Cold Spring

11/9 Cattle Egret - Glynwood, Cold Spring

11/14 Golden Eagle - Great Swamp WMA, Patterson

11/18 Northern Saw-whet Owl, Private Residence

11/18 Virginia Rail, Manitou Point Preserve, Cold Spring

11/26 Red-breasted Merganser, Lake Carmel, Carmel

11/30 Northern Pintail (4), Barrett Pond, Philipstown

11/30 Rufous Hummingbird, Private Residence

Dutchess County:

8/26 - Stilt Sandpiper -Hillside Lake, East Fishkill

9/6 Am Golden Plover, Equestrian Center, Pine Plains

9/11 Little Blue Heron, Hillside Lake, East Fishkill

9/17 Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Grieg Farm, Redhook

11/11 White-winged Crossbills, Private Residence, Lagrangeville

11/15 Red Crossbill, Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park

Westchester County:

8/26 - Bairds Sandpipers (2) - Ossining Waterfront

8/29 - White Ibis - The Landing, Dobbs Ferry

9/7 Northern Wheateater Hillview Reservoir

9/19 Am Golden Plover (2) CPP

9/20 YB Chat CPP

9/24 Parasitic Jaeger Dobbs Ferry

11/2 Tundra Swan (4) -Reservoir in Yonkers

11/23 Eared Grebe – Hudson River

Rockland County:

10/27, 10/28, 11/2 Northern Goshawks - Hook Mountain Hawk Watch

Continuing “Great White” Great Blue Heron at Piermont Pier

Ulster:

11/7 - White-crowned Sparrow - Gambrel’s subspecies Kingston Point

11/8 - Red Crossbills - Kingston Point

Orange:

11/18 - Yellow-throated Warbler - Courtyard Marriott, Middletown

All of the notable sightings listed here were compiled using eBird.org. eBird is a fantastic website that allows to you to find birds and places to go birding (both locally and while travelling somewhere new), as well as a way to keep track of your bird lists and photos. All of the data you input into eBird contributes to science and to the conservation of birds and their habitat. We encourage everyone to join eBird (it is free, you just need to create an account) and record all of your bird sightings there. And remember, eBird is not just for notable sightings! Please visit ebird.org/about to learn more and to sign up. And visit https://ebird.org/region/US-NY-079?yr=all to see Putnam County’s eBird page.

If you are not registered on eBird yet and you have a notable or interesting bird sighting in Putnam County, we would love to hear about it! Please let us know about your notable sightings, and include any documentation (such as photos, which are strongly encouraged to confirm a rare bird sighting) by emailing us at: PHASbirds@gmail.com

Photos by Anthony Macchiarola

Rufous Hummingbird