Saturday, 19 June 2010 Esopus Bend Nature Preserve 8:00 AM - 12:15 PM Today's Esopus Creek Conservancy "Birds and Butterflies" walk at Esopus Bend Nature Preserve in Saugerties experienced nice weather for a change with clear sunny skies, calm winds, and warm temperatures topping out at ~85 degrees (F). Nine participants encountered 38 species of birds and 14 species of butterflies during our four-hour walk in the meadow and along the Wetlands Trail.
Some highlights include a nice look at a soaring Osprey and a side-by-side comparison of Black and Turkey Vultures gliding overhead against a clear blue sky, several nice looks at male American Redstarts including one briefly hovering while gleaning insects from the outer leaves of a tree branch, a male Red-winged Blackbird showing off his colors in defense of his territory, vocalizing Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and a hen Wood Duck with five ducklings. One drake Wood Duck in eclipse plumage flushed from the beaver impoundment, where we also observed numerous dragonflies, including Common Whitetails, Widow Skimmers, Twelve-Spotted Skimmers, Spangled Skimmers, Black Saddlebags, and Eastern Pondhawks, in addition to a number that went unidentified. One Snapping Turtle surfaced very briefly in the impoundment. Numerous "witches" (small dark skipper butterflies of three very similar looking species) were actively bouncing their way through low dense vegetation, rarely settling for a definitive look, but occasionally providing us a confirming view of at least one or two individuals of all three species (Northern Broken-Dash, Little Glassywing, and Dun Skipper). A fast circle and fly-by butterfly may have been one of the Emperors, but we never obtained enough details to eliminate Anglewings as a second possibility. Nice looks at a fresh Northern Pearly-eye and several Appalachian Browns in various stages of wear is an Esopus Bend specialty we have come to expect at this time of the year. Common Milkweed is just starting to flower and the very popular Buttonbush is still a couple of weeks from bloom. The small vernal pool along the Wetlands Trail was totally devoid of water and amphibian life, providing an opportunity to talk about intermittent woodland pool ecology and life cycles. Today we noted the stark difference to the flooded breeding pools teaming with activity we witnessed just a few weeks earlier in the season. As with a number of the bird species we observed today with fledged young, the annual breeding cycle for some of the species inhabiting the Preserve is already coming to an end as we near the summer solstice. Copied below is our complete list of bird and butterfly species seen or heard on today's walk. Thanks to co-leader Henry Halama and all of the participants for an enjoyable morning in the field. Steve M. Chorvas Saugerties, NY 19 June 2010 EBNP Bird List: Mute Swan-1 Wood Duck-8 (including hen w/5 young) Mallard-2 Black Vulture-1 Turkey Vulture-1 Osprey-1 Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo-1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird-2 Red-bellied Woodpecker-2 Downy Woodpecker-6+ (including young of the year) Pileated Woodpecker-1 Eastern Wood-Pewee-1 Eastern Phoebe-1 Great Crested Flycatcher-1 Yellow-throated Vireo Warbling Vireo American Crow Tree Swallow No. Rough-winged Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren- Eastern Bluebird-1 American Robin Gray Catbird Cedar Waxwing-2 Yellow Warbler American Redstart-5+ (all singing males on territory) Louisiana Waterthrush-2 Common Yellowthroat Scarlet Tanager-1 Song Sparrow-1 Northern Cardinal- several, including young of the year Indigo Bunting-2 males singing on territory Red-winged Blackbird- several (male and female) Common Grackle American Goldfinch 19 June 2010 EBNP Butterfly List: "Black" Swallowtail sp.- 1 probable Spicebush Cabbage White- several Great Spangled Fritillary - 12+ Anglewing sp.- 1 probable Eastern Comma Northern Pearly-eye - 2 Appalachian Brown - ~8 Little Wood-Satyr - 2 Silver-spotted Skipper - 2 Least Skipper - several European Skipper - 3 Northern Broken-Dash Little Glassywing Hobomok Skipper - 1 faded Dun Skipper [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
