8/25/09 Potsdam (St. Lawrence Co.) (Various times between midnight and 2 a.m.)
I don't get much sleep this time of year with migration under way. Last night, (clear), I counted 10 to 11 calls per minute (more thrush calls mixed in last night). Also, bats were swooping around me - great to see them. Coyote packs howled on and off. Migration seems consistent, but no big flight-nights encountered. yet. 8/24/09 Winthrop (northern St. Lawrence Co.) (7:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) Last night, Mary Beth Warburton and I made another trip to the Great Egret roost in Winthrop. As we were watching these magnificent birds whirl into the roost, a passing car stopped. The woman in the car told us, "Those big white birds are becoming a problem." We politely asked her what she meant, and she replied, "They are eating up all the frogs and fish and it has become a huge problem!" We attempted to reason with her, but it was useless. It is certainly a scary world out there. Other than that incident, we had yet another spectacular night at this wonderful birding location. Here are some of the species found (nice scope views of many): Wood Duck - many Least Bittern - 1 Great Blue Heron - several; as we headed back to the car in the dark, we spotted a Great Blue Heron a short distance from us as it nabbed a good-sized fish (good thing the car lady missed that one!). The bird took off and we watched the silhouette of the bird with the large fish in its bill fly across the wetland - beautiful. Great Egret - 145! We had a count of 144, and as we began to head back to the car, one lone bird arrived at the roost very late! Green Heron - 3 Black-crowned Night-Heron - at least 8; We were able to see 8 birds at once, but there was another group of 6 out of sight that were probably additional birds. Virginia Rail - vocalizing in the same location where we've heard it before (in the wet area where Rt. 420 and Dullea Rd. intersect) As we reached the car, three bats were swooping over us as they foraged - such a rare sighting the past couple of years. There were silhouettes of swallows high in the sky over the wetland - not as many as we've seen on prior visits, but still a good number. Potsdam: I counted about 5 migrants per minute going overhead (midnight to 1 a.m.). Coyotes howled and I saw several meteors. On a short morning walk with our dogs, I found the following species: Eastern Wood-Pewee Alder Flycatcher Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Warblers: Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, and Common Yellowthroat Scarlet Tanager Baltimore Oriole 8/23/09 Potsdam I counted as many as 13 migrant calls per minute (12:30 to 1:30 a.m.). A Great-crested Flycatcher vocalizing outside the window woke me in the morning. In addition, an Eastern Wood-Pewee, Bobolink, and Baltimore Oriole vocalized. 8/22/09 Potsdam I counted between 5 and 9 migrant calls per minute between 12:30 and 1:30 a.m. A Barred Owl called out, and I called back - we went back and forth for a long time! 8/19/09 Potsdam On a morning walk with the dogs, I found many species including a calling Golden-winged Warbler (I really enjoy this wild vocalization) and a male Baltimore Oriole. Joan Collins Potsdam & Long Lake -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Temporary archive: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
