Spring Bird Walk at Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary
An overview and photos of the Spring 2024 WVLT Bird Walk through Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary
This past weekend we attended a Spring Bird Walk and Talk at Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary. This was a free event offered by Wallkill Valley Land Trust (WVLT). The sanctuary is several different ecosystems allowing to see (or hope to see) a variety of Ulster County's birds.
Putnam Gardner led the walk. He also did a pre-visit to make sure that the trails wouldn't be too muddy for the walk. Putnam did a great job of calling out distinguishing features of the various birds we saw. Another bird expert, Vic, also was very helpful in identifying birds by sound.
This tour was a really great time, if you have the opportunity to go to events put on by WVLT, I'd strongly recommend you do. WVLT own a few preserves, but are stewards of many others throughout the Wallkill Valley. The folks attending the walk from WVLT were passionate about the work they do. Everyone on the tour was very friendly as we helped one another to spot and identify birds.
My full list of the birds we saw and/or heard is available on ebird. Unfortunately there were some elusive birds who I saw but didn't get photos of. And as always there were the photos that were just a blur.
Putnam and Vic mentioned that over the next two weeks many more warblers will be migrating so there'd likely be more birds at the sanctuary then. I'm planning to go back next weekend to see who we can see. Additionally, Putnam mentioned that going with a smaller group might yield more luck in finding shier birds like Wood Ducks.
We saw many several birds as we walked along the Wallkill river over toward the sanctuary.
A Robin starts on the grass and then flies to a branch over looking the river.
A Downy Woodpecker hops up a tree feasting as it goes
A Ruby Crowned Kinglet starts upside down, then does a big stretch.
Along the way to the sanctuary we passed by the New Paltz Gardens for Nutrition, a community garden in New Paltz. We also stopped by here to take in the birds that were around the garden and flying overhead.
A Song Sparrow sings its heart out from a post in the gardens
Tree Swallows flew overhead. Sadly I was unable to capture any low enough in the sky to see the beautiful blue of the male. I hope to try again eventually. Swallows are so fast that I'm happy to have any shots that weren't just a big blur.
After a few stops and for bird admiration, we made it to the start of the sanctuary.
This bird was very high up in the tree and backlit. It was difficult for all of us to identify at the moment. I'm pretty sure its a female Brown-Headed Cowbird after reviewing the photos though.
This Sparrow was amongst the reeds before flying off. I think it's a Song Sparrow.
We spooked a Great Blue Heron and got to watch it fly away.
Another Downy Woodpecker in the sanctuary. This photo better captures the way that the woodpecker's tail is very structural as it uses it to hold steady on the tree.
A Grackle yells from a branch, like they do.
Another goldfinch in a tree.
We didn't just see birds at the sanctuary! There were turtles too. Speaking of turtles, WVLT has a Turtle Day event coming up on May 18. I'm excited to learn more about the turtles in the area and hopefully get more photos.
This could be a White-Throated Sparrow, I think there's possibly some yellow near the eye. But I'm not entirely sure. If you can identify this bird, please leave a comment.
A Song Sparrow sits on a branch before flying off.
We also saw a ton of Red-Winged Blackbirds, but I didn't get any photos of them that I loved. I'm looking forward to visiting the sanctuary often now that I know about it, so I'm sure I'll have more posts from there as I capture the different species that are there throughout the year.