Birdathon 2023 Results

On May 20th Putnam Highlands Audubon Society held its annual Birdathon. Four teams captained by Putnam Highlands Audubon board members set out to see and identify as many bird species as possible in a 24-hour time frame to fundraise for the Audubon chapter. 24 hours of birding always comes with good sightings and better stories.

Birdathon is always good for a classic fishing tale from time to time. Teams were allowed to venture anywhere in NYS over the 24-hour period starting at 12AM on Saturday May 20th. Some teams took advantage of the limitless boundary of NYS, traveling from Sullivan County and the northern reaches of Dutchess County all the way down to Long Island.

Other teams tried a different strategy of making many short stops in smaller footprint. Collectively the teams totaled a whopping 176 species for the day and covered a great portion of the Southern part of NYS. A detailed list of the collective species seen can be found at the link below:

https://ebird.org/tripreport/136930

 Here is a breakdown of each of the teams’ tallies and some highlights of their excursions.

Diabolical Nightjars (152 Species)-Julien Amsellem, Kyle Bardwell, Sean Camillieri, Steve Rappaport

The Diabolical Nightjars wasted no time in the Birdathon event clocking in their first bird at 12:02 AM and ticking their last bird, an eastern screech owl, close to 10:30 PM the following evening. As a member of the nightjars, it was truly exciting doing the amount of nocturnal birding we accomplished before sunrise. It was the first time I had ever walked the wildlife loop at Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge in complete darkness! We succeeded in scoring many hard-to-get species in the nocturnal hours including Sora Rail, Virginia rail, American Woodcock, and both Cuckoo species!

The team descended upon Bashakill Wildlife Refuge as the sun started to rise slowly. The intensity picked up and the species started getting checked off the list with some great birds such as the Common Nighthawk and American Bittern. The team moved fast and efficiently through the wildlife refuge picking up many breeding species while also pulling out some very tough-to-get migrants such as Mourning and Bay-Breasted Warblers. 

After getting most of the sought-after species with only a few misses, the team hit some nearby roads before heading to Orange County. The team took a shot at Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge again, but this time in daylight. This was a great move when the known attempting-to-breed Sandhill Crane made an appearance. While the team worried the effort to make it to Sterling Forest would not pay off, this changed when Sean immediately picked out an Olive-Sided Flycatcher on a dead snag on the side of Ironwood Drive. We were forced to end the birding when the rains started coming down heavily.

The team used the poor weather to start the trek south through Westchester and onto Long Island.  Once on the coast, the team started checking off the diverse species that are unique to the coastal habitat. The strong winds and rain pushed many species of shorebirds onto the lawns around Jones Beach. Impressive numbers of Black-Bellied Plovers, Semi-Palmated Plovers, and other common shorebirds dotted the wet grassy areas. The team did not let the rain slow them down. Pushing through some of the classic Island birding hotspots such as Nickerson Beach, Jones Beach Coast Guard Station, and Captree Island the team was able to keep adding species to the list such as Seaside Sparrow and Piping Plover. The team settled into a seawatch which paid off when Julien spotted a Sooty Shearwater off Robert Moses. The team left the island near sundown after a fantastic day of birding.

Saw Whuts (151 Species) David Chernack, Sean Carroll, Anthony Macchiarola.

Three veteran Dutchess County birders used their knowledge of Dutchess County to pick up many of the needed species in just Dutchess County. The Saw Whuts started before sunrise at the Northeast Corner of Dutchess County to pick up hard-to-get marsh birds such as Sora and Virginia Rail.

They traveled South stopping at many well-known Dutchess birding hotspots picking up migrant and breeding species to add to their days tally. Stops in Pawling produced Cerulean Warbler while another stop at Anthonys underground hotspot, West Clove Mountain Road, produced many migrant birds. After getting most of the grassland and woodland species that could be found in Dutchess County the Saw Whuts had a similar strategy as the nightjars, head to the coast.

The team was the only team to make a stop at Jamaica Bay which was crucial for the team and got many species on their tally. At Jamaica Bay the team scored one of the rarer migrant shorebirds one can see in the region in May, a red-necked Phalarope. Other species seen by the Saw Whuts at Jamaica Bay that were not tallied by other teams include Brant, green-winged teal, and ruddy duck.

Following the insanity at Jamaica Bay the team traveled further east stopping at many of the same hotspots the Nightjars stopped at in hopes of the same coastal species. Traveling even further east than the Nightjars, the Saw Whuts were rewarded with a secretive well sought-after bird species, King Rail. The team ended with an impressive 151 species over the course of the day.

Garrison Gumshoes (97 Species)- Ryan Bass, Marc Breslav, Ian Kingsley, Lew Kingsley

The team named after their knowledge and presence in Putnam County, took their talents to Dutchess County to explore the rich habitat of the north country. Stopping at several of the hotspots Northern Dutchess has to offer such as Buttercup Farm, Thompson Pond, Strever Farm, and Cary Institute the team tried to incorporate as many habitats to diversify their species list. Without reaching the Coast of Long Island, the team assembled an impressive number of species. 

The team did mix in a couple other inland counties to add species to their tally such as a nocturnal stop at Fahnestock State Park in Dutchess County to tick Whippoorwill as well as a late afternoon stop at Doodletown in Rockland County to add Cerulean warbler. The team was successful in scoring a variety of birds throughout the day however one of their biggest highlights was before the sun rose when Marc heard a call of a Northern saw-whet owl.

 The Beginners (48 Species)- Scott Silver, Perry Pitt

While the weather seemed to scare away some of the club members from joining the beginners team this year, Scott and Perry still did what they do best. Every year Scott and Perry assemble at Hubbard Lodge in Fahnestock State Park. This location is referred to as the unofficial headquarters of the Putnam Highlands Audubon Chapter and is home to some great birding.

The team racked up some great local breeders such as red-eyed and warbling vireos and wood thrush. Leaving Hubbard The Beginners changed habitat with a stop at a local grassland, Glynwood Farm. At the farm the team pulled some bird species unique to the grassland habitat and surrounding thickets including species such as blue-winged warbler and field sparrow. The team put together a nice diversity in their 48-species day around Fahnestock State Park before the heavy rains forced the team to stop.