Trip Report, Rockland Audubon Society

Trip: Valentine’s Day at Rockland Lake

Date: February 14, 2010

Leader:  Della and Alan Wells

Participants: Dan Albantides, Zenon Bachir, Drew Ciganek, Peter Johnson, Frank Kemmer, Veronika Krause, Caroline McDonald, Pat Murray, Jim Previdi, Tom Rowe, Julia Warger.

Weather: Overcast and cold.

Highlights: Two Brown Creepers were a rare treat as were the two male Pileated Woodpeckers. Because there were so few birds at Rockland Lake, we decided to take a run to Sparkill Creek in Tappan to see the drake Mandarin Duck. It didn’t disappoint. Although an obvious escapee, the breeding plumage male was absolutely spectacular. The similarity to the closely related Wood Duck was readily apparent, especially when listening to its faint whistle.

Lowlight: Rockland Lake was almost entirely frozen over. The limited area of open water was packed with Canada Geese and not much else.

Common Name	Comments
Dark-eyed Junco	Common
American Crow
Pileated Woodpecker	2 males seen at Nature Center near Fishing Station
White-breasted Nuthatch	Several
Tufted Titmouse	Several
Brown Creeper	2 seen
Canada Goose	Abundant
Bufflehead
Herring Gull	1 on ice
Common Merganser	1 sitting on ice
Hooded Merganser	2 males
Common Raven	Heard only
Ring-billed Gull
Song Sparrow	Several
Mute Swan	2 in open water
Black-capped Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Mockingbird	1 seen
Blue Jay	Several heard near Fishing Station
Mallard	3 at stream
Northern Cardinal	1 at bridge over stream near Nature Center entrance
White-throated Sparrow	At Fishing Station
Red-bellied Woodpecker	1 at Fishing Station
American Coot	Seen by Pat at inflow stream
Mandarin Duck	At Tappan Memorial Park
American Robin	At Tappan Memorial Park

Figure 1. RAS braving the elements and the dearth of birds at Rockland Lake. Taken February 14, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 2. Upside down Brown Creeper searching for tidbits. Taken at Rockland Lake on February 14, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 3. Downy Woodpecker methodically tearing apart a small limb. Taken at Rockland Lake on February 14, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 4. Northern Mockingbird along the footpath. Taken at Rockland Lake on February 14, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 5. RAS watching two Pileated Woodpeckers. Taken at Rockland Lake on February 14, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 6. One of two ♂ Pileated Woodpeckers at the Rockland Lake Nature Center. Taken at Rockland Lake on February 14, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 7. Tappan Memorial Park, home of the Mandarin Duck. Tappan, NY on February 14, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 8. RAS at Tappan Memorial Park watching the Mandarin Duck. Taken at Tappan, NY on February 14, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 9. Mandarin Duck at Tappan Memorial Park, Tappan, NY February 12, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.

Figure 10. Mandarin Duck at Tappan Memorial Park, Tappan, NY February 12, 2010. Photo by Alan Wells.