Back to Black Dirt
As promised in the last post, I revisited the Black Dirt Region of Orange County with a small contingent of our local birding club the Mearns Club. For two of today’s team, the Horned Lark would be a life-bird, so it was with high hopes that we headed over to Skinners Lane and the Sunflower Farm.
Horned Lark
After locating a number of sparrows (Song, Savannah White-throated) and a Killdeer or two, we finally came across a flock of Horned Larks. Although at first distant, the flock took flight, circled around the vast tract of farmland, and eventually came to light a bit closer. From this vantage point, we were able to catch a better look at these handsome birds as an individual or two would pop up from the bottom of the furrows in the black soil. Mission accomplished….a lifer for Alex and Don!
As we moved on along the Wallkill river bank, we spotted a number of more common birds such as Blue Jay, Carolina wren, Northern cardinal, and Northern flicker. In the hopes of something more “exotic”, we moved across the river to the area known as the “Sunflower Farm” where I assured the group we would find my favorite bird as I has done earlier in the week, the Northern harrier. The bird did not disappoint us as she showed up in almost the exact same area as I has found earlier on Friday. She cruised up and down one of the drainage channels in search of prey doing what Harriers do….soaring, kiting, banking, dropping down like a rock and then popping up back into her cruising pattern. What a marvelous aerialist!
Northern harrier - Sunflower Farm - 11-9-25 Nikon Z8 with Z 180-600 mm lens at 600mm 1/1600 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1400
As we circumnavigated the fields of the Sunflower Farms, we made a brief stop to scan over a corn field which had been mowed. The stubble was just low enough for us to spot several more flocks of Horned larks which afforded us even better views. This life bird was beginning to be “old hat”, but we known that’s not true!
As we continued around the fields, we came to an area where many of the excess rotting onions of the farm are dumped. In addition to the sod grown here in the Black Dirt Region, onions are among the most dominant crops and the smell of these sweet onions is prevalent throughout the drive. Surprisingly, onions are potentially toxic to many types of wildlife including crows. So why were so many American crows (we’re talking hundreds!) being attracted to this field? Crows do feed heavily on invertibrates and perhaps it was the insects attracted to the spoiling onions that drew in the crows.
Crows in the Black Dirt 11/9/25
To be honest, it was not just this field that had attracted crows. The trees surrounding this part of the fields were literally dripping with the corvids. Crows often come together in huge groups known as “murders” during the fall and winter months. Scientists have proposed that the crows being quite social join together as a means of protection, joining forces to keep a wary eye out for potential threats like owls and hawks (a Cooper’s hawk was indeed spotted in this field today). It is also possible that they are conveying to one another where sources of food have been found.
As the day wore on, we found more and more murders of crows. One flock that was flying on the horizon while we checked the fields at Pine Island Turf Farms we estimated to be over 500 strong. Of note is the fact that at the same time we were observing very large numbers of crows in the Pine Island Area, other members of the club were out and reporting huge numbers of other black birds over Stewart State Forest and over 1000 possible grackles and Red-winged blackbirds flying over Benedict Farm in Montgomery. Coincidence? Or did we happen to witness some sort of phenomenon triggered by incoming foul weather or some other natural cause? One of those questions that only the birds know the answer to! Mother Nature always keeps us guessing.
Tech Tip - Many of today’s cameras have a setting known as 3D which keeps a bird in focus once you acquire original focus on the flying bird. As long as you keep the bird in a certain area on the viewing screen, the camera will adjust focus to account for the irregular movement of the bird-in- flight. Using a setting like 3D and making sure your camera is set to “continuous” rather than single-shot focus will help in capturing images of erratically moving birds like the Northern harrier in today’s post.
