4/28/15 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.)
We continue to have 4 finch species visiting our feeders - Purple Finch (numbers growing), Common Redpoll (only a couple now), Pine Siskin (a few), and Amer. Goldfinch (about the same). There are still huge numbers of Dark-eyed Juncos and a few White-throated Sparrows mixed in. The cracked corn pile attracts many species: Deer, Raccoons, Amer. Crows, Wild Turkeys, Dark-eyed Juncos, and White-throated Sparrows. In redpoll irruptive years, I do usually have some that stay into May. Raccoons and a Flying Squirrel eat the bird seed at night! Today, I saw the Gray Jay pair at Sabattis Bog after not seeing them for weeks (they are in nesting mode). They ate bread and raisins that I brought. They followed me when I took a walk up the road - like dogs! They "chat" to me - wish I understood it! I hope they have fledged young, or nearly fledged young in a nest. I asked them! It was great to see them again. I spent a lot of time over the winter getting to know these fascinating birds. Also at the Sabattis Bog: Black-backed Woodpecker calling, Ruffed Grouse wandering around the road, a Winter Wren singing, and several Palm Warblers singing around the bog. There were two Common Loons by the inlet of Little Tupper Lake. Migration is stalled - there should be many species back that are not here yet. 4/27/15 Blue Mountain Lake - Utowana Lake Area (Hamilton Co.) I had to travel very early to Utica on Monday, and I found a young Moose (~10 months old) in the road just outside of Blue Mountain Lake at 4:50 a.m. It was in Route 28 about 1 mile east of the Utowana Lake sign. I stopped the car and turned off the fan, which makes the Prius engine stop and go on battery - so it was silent. I photographed the Moose in my headlights. The camera was calling to raise the flash, but I feared it would startle the Moose, so the photos are dark. Females give birth in May-June and wean their young at 6 months, but continue to stay with them until they are 9 to 10 months old, before giving birth again in May-June. So this Moose is likely newly on its own - off into the cold, cruel wilderness! It is always thrilling to find this mammal in the Adirondacks! I posted photos to my Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian . 4/26/15 Massawepie Mire (St. Lawrence Co.) David Buckley and I drove into Massawepie Mire Sunday afternoon at about 1:30 p.m. The road had been closed the week before and I was surprised to find it drivable - the road was in pretty good shape. We hiked round trip to Silver Brook (6 miles) and finished the hike around 4 p.m. It wasn't ideal birding hours, but we still found birds and it was great fun to be at the mire! Here are some of the species found: Ruffed Grouse - drumming Common Loon - pair on Deer Pond Broad-winged Hawk - vocalizing and flying around Barred Owl - vocalizing around 4 p.m. as David and I listened to Wood Frogs "croaking" in vernal pools not far from the trailhead Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Common Raven Boreal Chickadee - 4 (1 giving really interesting vocalizations, and a group of 3 (also giving neat vocalizations) in a huge mixed flock of birds near the South Branch of the Grass River) Boreal Chickadee vocalizations become really interesting as they approach their breeding season each year. One of these days I'm going to invest in good recording equipment! Brown Creeper Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Palm Warbler - many! Purple Finch Wood Frogs were vocalizing in the vernal pools! 4/24/15 & 4/25/15 Montezuma (Seneca Co.) I was at Montezuma Wildlife Refuge on Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning. We also birded in the Savannah area Saturday afternoon. Here are some of the species found: Trumpeter Swan American Wigeon Gadwall Amer. Black Duck Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Scaup sp. Bufflehead Ruddy Duck Wild Turkey Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle - many Red-tailed Hawk Common Gallinule American Coot Sandhill Crane Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Caspian Tern Purple Martin Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Rusty Blackbird I posted 11 photos of Montezuma waterfowl to my Facebook page below (taken from inside the car!). Joan Collins Editor, New York Birders Long Lake, NY (315) 244-7127 cell (518) 624-5528 home http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/ http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
