January 30 & 31, 2016 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.), Newcomb and Minerva (Essex Co.)
Twenty-one people traveled to the central Adirondacks for the NYS Ornithological Association's winter weekend. We held field trips both Saturday and Sunday mornings, a presentation Saturday afternoon at the Newcomb Adirondack Interpretive Center, and held a group dinner Saturday night at the Adirondack Hotel. Our 6-car caravan birded along roads with several stops in boreal habitat. Here are the 23 species found: Red-tailed Hawk Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Black-backed Woodpecker - at least 2 heard (1 called along the Tahawus Road, and 1 called at Sabattis Bog) Pileated Woodpecker Gray Jay - 8 (5 on Sat. and 8 on Sun. all at Sabattis Bog) Blue Jay - many Amer. Crow Common Raven Black-capped chickadee Boreal Chickadee - 3 at the Boreas River (nice views of 2) Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Golden-crowned Kinglet Cedar Waxwing - flock of 15 to 20 (quite a surprise in the central Adirondacks in winter! They were in the same fruit tree in Newcomb that I photographed a similar size Bohemian Waxwing flock in Nov.!) Amer. Tree Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Purple Finch - many Red Crossbill - 27 (14 on Sat. - a pair and a flyover flock of 12 in Newcomb; 14 on Sun. flocks of 1, 6, 4, & 3 in Newcomb, Minerva, and Long Lake - one on Sunday was in the same location as Sat., so I didn't include it in the total) Pine Siskin - many Amer. Goldfinch Evening Grosbeak ~50 on Sat. and at least 35 on Sun. in Newcomb The biggest surprise was the Cedar Waxwing flock in the central Adirondacks in January. This winter is so unusual that I guess nothing should seem like a surprise! Most humorous moment: We parked the cars and took a walk on the Tahawus Road on Sunday. There was a hunter walking just ahead of us (it is rabbit season). He was heading in the direction of his truck and you could hear his beagle far away in the forest. He hung out by his truck as we listened for birds. As we got closer to him, he decided to drive down the road a bit. Suddenly, Mary Beth Warburton's face showed that she saw something behind me - we all turned to see a beautiful Snowshoe Hare (in its winter white color) hop across the road from where the truck had been parked! We all cheered and clapped as the hare disappeared into the forest! It was a very smart hare! Mary Beth exclaimed that it was just like Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd!!! I looked down the road at the oblivious rabbit hunter and he looked bored waiting for his beagle to find a Snowshoe Hare! We walked past him on our way back to the cars, but no one told him what he had missed! Mammals observed: Some participants observed a Red Fox on the ice on Long Lake. The Snowshoe Hare that was observed on Tahawus Road. Our car spotted a River Otter sitting on the edge of the ice along a brook on Route 30 in Long Lake. Thanks to Mary Beth Warburton, NYSOA Field Trip Chair, for organizing the fun weekend! Quite a few people took photographs of birds (& people!) during the weekend - photos will be posted soon on the NYSOA Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/nybirds ). Ron Bate took some beautiful flight photos of Red Crossbills! Joan Collins President, NYS Ornithological Association Editor, New York Birders 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/ --
