This past Sunday the 16th I headed up to Paul Smiths for my annual X-country ski trip. On Monday while skiing the east snowmobile trail at Bloomingdale Bog I came upon a flock of 10 Black-capped Chickadees and two Boreal Chickadees about 1.5 miles down the trail. The Boreal Chickadees were calling and perched on the nearby evergreen trees for a good view. The next morning I decided to ski the west side trail at Bloomingdale Bog and observed five Gray Jays at the stump/feeder where people deposit seed. Continuing west I met three local birders who had good view of a Black-backed Woodpecker on the south side of the trail earlier that morning. Skiing on another mile or so a Boreal Chickadee was mixed in with a group of twelve or so Black-capped Chickadees. Finishing my ski at Bloomingdale I decided to try Bigelow Road off of Oregon Plains Road thinking I might come upon a Black-backed Woodpecker. Unsuccessful, I returned to the west trail of Bloomingdale and did a quick ski in as it was late afternoon. After about 1.5 miles in I heard drumming on the south side of the trail. Within a few seconds a Black-backed Woodpecker flew over my head to the north side and looked to be heading east.
Heading back home on Thursday morning at 8:00 AM I noticed two birds gritting in the middle of White Pine Road which turned out to be a pair of Red Crossbills. These are probably the same birds that are being seen at the Paul Smith's VIC. According to the VIC staff the pair can be seen and heard in the morning around 8:30 AM near the new sugar house by the employee parking area. Other birds seen while driving in the area included Pileated Woodpecker and Cedar Waxwings (13). Sue Feustel -- 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/ --
