Bashakill State Wildlife Management Area

“The Bash” as it is fondly referred to is one of the premier birding locations in this part of New York State. Wetlands are surrounded by mixed forests of hardwoods and conifers making for a remarkable area of diverse habitats. Today we are back with our local birding group the Mearns Bird Club of Orange County. We are a team of 8 today, beginning our venture at the “blind trail” at 8:00 AM. Walking out the edge of the marsh, we quickly note a good number of Tree, Barn, and Rough-winged swallows skimming above the marsh waters. Trying to photograph these birds is like nailing jello to a tree. They are so fast and erratic that if they remain at a distance, it is virtually impossible to capture a sharp image. Very near to the shore, seated on a rock in the marsh, are two Solitary sandpipers with crisp plumage and that tell-tale strong white eye-ring.

Solitary sandpipers - Bashakill - 5-2-26

Along the same trail leading down to the blind, we heard the strong drumming of a woodpecker. The beat noticeably became slower towards the end of its series which indicated that we might be hearing a Yellow-bellied sapsucker. The drumming was nearby and without too much effort on our parts, the bird was located. We had to wait periodically for the bird to move around to a side of the tree where we had clear views, but the wait was worth it as the sapsucker came around and afforded us all good looks and good photo opportunities.

Yellow-bellied sapsucker - Bashakill - 5/2/26

We finished the Blind Trail loop and walked down Havens Road where we had distant looks a more of the swallows, Wood ducks, a Great blue heron off in the distance, and eventually a Savannah sparrow. This is a great time of year to be birding as many of the birds are singing their songs and most are adorned in their best plumage colors….all in an attempt to locate and secure prime nesting territory and finding that “special someone” with whom to begin a new family. This sparrow had the classic yellow eye-brows of the Savannah as seen below.

Savannah Sparrow - Bashakill - 5/2/26

A walk down the “Stop Sign” trail afforded us quick looks at the Rose-breasted grosbeak which “always” shows up in this part of the state on Kentucky Derby Weekend. Haven’t had him show up at our feeders at home yet, so it was nice to finally get this bird here. From this trail, we’ll he’d down to the “Horseshoe” pull-off where we are hoping to spot a Little blue heron which has been spotted here in the refuge. This is a really good bird for this region, so we’ll all be on the lookout. We’re also hoping to find and SEE some of the Common gallinules we’ve been hearing. As we neared the end of the trail, several of us were fortunate enough to spot the Little blue. I missed that bird, so obviously no photos to share here. What we did get, however, was a great look at a Virginia rail. We had heard what we thought were a pair, and suddenly, one of the two wandered across the trail and then remained in the water very close to the walkway. Great opportunity for some good pix.

Virginia rail - Bashakill - 5/2/26

As we continued down the trail, the warbler activity began picking up. An American redstart came in over our heads and conntinued to work the canopy before eventually coming down to almost eye level and making itself quite visible.

American redstart - Bashakill - 5/2/26

More warbler song was detected by our Merlin Apps, but we could not get decent looks at the Bay-breasted, Magnolia, and Yellow-rump warblers. Moving on to the Deli-Fields, we quickly heard the sound of the “dropped ping pong ball” of the Field sparrow. Again, heard but not seen. What was seen were the abundant Yellow warblers which were not so shy.

Yellow warbler - Deli Fields at the Baskakill - 5/2/26

And do, this proved to be a great precursor to what we hope will be another banner year of great times with our fellow birders and great sightings and photo-ops for us photographers. Florida was wonderful, but it’s always great to return to the mountains and Hudson Valley during the month of May. Thanks again for following along as we continue our journey through the natural year.