Monday, 08 March 2010
Hudson River, Ulster County
After spending two hours in New Paltz watching a Mockingbird and a few Mourning
Doves :-( I decided to head back along the Hudson in hopes of finding some
waterfowl. At Esopus Point I was happy to see about 26 Canvasbacks out by the
Esopus Lighthouse. I miss the days when we used to see hundreds along River
Road, so it was nice to see even a small flock. Also present were several
Bufflehead, Common Mergansers, and some Scaup species, too far out for me to be
reliably identified. The river was especially calm and beautiful today with the
snow capped Catskills in the background to the north. Last year the Tufted
Duck showed up in mid-March so I'm hoping it will make another appearance this
year.
Crossing the Esopus Creek in Saugerties I noticed two large humongous Mutant
Swans that a previous reporter missed seeing two days ago.
I then took a brief jaunt out to the Saugerties Lighthouse.
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet was still there, as well as two Golden-crowned
Kinglets and a Carolina Wren. There was a Great Cormorant perched on the
channel marker (No.96) to the north of the lighthouse. Also a Turkey Vulture
in town.
I didn't see any eagles today but two days ago there were two adults flying
over the Rondout Creek in downtown Kingston, and two first-year immatures
fighting for food at the Kingston Point Beach. They are also apparently
nesting near Saugerties though I haven't seen the nest yet.
As a side note, there is a Harp Seal being seen in Kingston. I haven't seen it
yet but it was reported there on Sunday and still present as of today.
Frank Murphy
Copake Lake, NY
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