I had a lovely holiday weekend of birding - out with a couple from northern NJ on Saturday and Sunday, and with a group of 4 birders from NYC/Long Island on Monday.
Monday, 2/17/14 Boreal habitat areas in western Essex Co., northern Hamilton Co., and southern Franklin Co. (Bitter cold: it was -11 when we began, but it was a gorgeous blue-sky winter day with not a cloud!) Some of the species found on Monday: Wild Turkey Bald Eagle Black-backed Woodpecker - male along Sabattis Circle Road in Long Lake Pileated Woodpecker Gray Jay - at least 6 in Bloomingdale Boreal Chickadee - 4; 3 in Minerva and 1 in Bloomingdale (photos on my Facebook page below of a Boreal Chickadee foraging on Tamarack cone seeds) Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Golden-crowned Kinglet Amer. Tree Sparrow Purple Finch Red Crossbill - 12 in 3 different Minerva locations (8, 2, and 2) There was a close call for a Red Crossbill gritting when a snowplow came through. (BTW, Matt Young "typed" the recording I sent him on 2/13/14 - here is part of his reply: "This is of Type 10, the most common type in the northeast from ADKS northward through southern Maritimes." Thanks Matt!) Sunday, 2/16/14 Boreal habitat in Minerva, Lake Champlain Valley, Essex-Charlotte Ferry, and areas in VT Birders in Vermont have been posting the remarkable waterfowl along the Essex-Charlotte Ferry route across Lake Champlain. The ferry is keeping a channel of open water across the lake, so hundreds (thousands?) of birds are congregated at this location with 15 species reported on 2/15/14, including a male Tufted Duck. We arrived on the Essex side with only a few minutes before driving onto the ferry - we should have allowed more time because there were hundreds of birds on the NY side and no time to scan them all. The ferry runs every hour (top of the hour on the NY side and half hour on the VT side) and flushes the birds - they return once the ferry heads back out. As our ferry approached the dock in Charlotte, a female Common Goldeneye was sound asleep on the ice in the ferry's path. The attendant said, "I don't think that one is going to make it" - it was so upsetting, but the bird awoke and missed being crushed by only a couple inches. We spent about 30 to 45 minutes on the VT side and it was remarkable to be so close to so many ducks! We didn't spot the Tufted Duck and no other birders at the location had observed it that morning - so I had to wonder if it was over on the NY side! Just before we left Charlotte, it occurred to me to take a photo of the male Barrow's Goldeneye we had been observing (bad scope/iPhone photo on my Facebook page). I could have stayed at this location all day! Another note of interest from VT: On Ellie George's suggestion (Ellie is on the NY side of Lake Champlain), Ian Worley organized a Snowy Owl count in Addison Co. This area has been a remarkable magnet for Snowy Owls this winter, and I've been wondering how many are actually in this region. In just a few days, Ian organized over 40 volunteers to count the owls on Sunday! For results, and other interesting information about this area of VT, see Ian's post at: http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=628423 <http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=628423&MLID=VT&MLNM=Vermont> &MLID=VT&MLNM=Vermont . Some of the species found on Sunday: Amer. Black Duck Northern Pintail (NY side of the Lake Champlain) Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Barrow's Goldeneye (on the VT side of Lake Champlain - photo on my Facebook page) Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk - both light and dark morph birds Snowy Owl - 2 as we drove through Addison, VT (photo on my Facebook page) Peregrine Falcon Northern Shrike - juvenile (along a back road in Moriah) Eastern Bluebird (both NY & VT) Amer. Robin - many in VT Cedar Waxwing Snow Bunting - a huge flock (hundreds) at the Magic Triangle along Whallon's Bay Road in Essex, and a smaller flock in Addison Amer. Tree Sparrow Red Crossbill - 3 in Minerva (1 solo male, and a pair) Evening Grosbeak - 4 flyover birds in Minerva! I have now found Evening Grosbeaks on only 3 occasions this winter - all in Minerva (none at feeders - very unusual) Saturday, 2/15/14 Boreal habitat in Bloomingdale, Long Lake, and Minerva Some of the species found on Saturday: Ruffed Grouse Bald Eagle Black-backed Woodpecker - 2; 1 female observed and another bird nearby giving the "rattle" call - they were disturbed by a Gray Jay and later, by a Hairy Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike - adult in the boreal habitat at Bloomingdale! Gray Jay - at least 6 in Bloomingdale Common Raven - we saw many, but we had a lovely view of a pair touching bills near the Long Lake road-kill deer drop Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Golden-crowned Kinglet Amer. Tree Sparrow Purple Finch Red Crossbill - several in Minerva Joan Collins 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/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/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/ --
