Out birding on February, 22, 2018, the windless weather felt like such a gift (for an ear birder anyway!). We visited boreal habitat areas of Long Lake, Piercefield, Newcomb, Minerva, and North Hudson, and owled in Long Lake after dinner (Rt. 30, Sabattis Circle Road all the way to Sabattis Station, and Lake Eaton) - (Hamilton, St. Lawrence, and Essex Counties). The calm, cloudy day, turned into a calm, clear night for owling. The stars and moon were spectacular. The lakes made other-worldly sounds as the ice shifted and cracked from so many temperature extremes during the past few days. A Snowshoe Hare bounced across Sabattis Road like a brilliant orb in our headlights. Snowmelt in February creates new dangers for a winter-white animal. During the day, two Eastern Chipmunks were actively running around - I don't recall ever seeing this hibernating mammal active in February and I wondered what they will do if we return to "winter". Here is our species list:
Ruffed Grouse - displaying bird at the side of Sabattis Circle Road! Wild Turkey Barred Owl - 3 calling at Lake Eaton in Long Lake Northern Saw-whet Owl - 1 tooting along Sabattis Circle Road! Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Black-backed Woodpecker - female drumming and viewed along Route 30 (just north of John Dillon Park) Pileated Woodpecker - some drumming along Sabattis Circle Road and one flyover near Horseshoe Lake Gray Jay - 8; (pair at Round Lake Trailhead, 3 at Sabattis Bog, 2 at Santanoni Dr. in Newcomb, and 1 heard one calling near Sand Pond Marsh in North Hudson) Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Boreal Chickadee - 7 (flocks of at least 4 and 3 in the vicinity of Sand Pond Marsh along the Blueridge Road) Nice views! Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch - 2 (rare to see this winter!) Golden-crowned Kinglet Purple Finch - lots of singing! Red Crossbill - many! Rt. 30, Sabattis Rd. (4 gritting with WWCRs), Horseshoe Lake Rd. (Rt. 421) - 2 locations (2 gritting with PISIs, and 4 gritting with WWCRs), and several locations along the Blueridge Road (in the Sand Pond Marsh vicinity, we observed 4 Red Crossbills feeding on Tamarack cone seeds). White-winged Crossbill - many! Rt. 30 - several (views past John Dillon Park and a pair with a female picking nesting material where we fed Gray Jays), Sabattis Rd. - 6, Horseshoe Lake Rd. (Rt. 421) - 2, and flock of at least 6 flying over us as we looked at the Boreal Chickadees in the Sand Pond Marsh vicinity Pine Siskin - many American Goldfinch American Tree Sparrow - several at a feeder in Newcomb Dark-eyed Junco I went out today (February 23, 2018) for a quick trip just before the rain/ice began (in Long Lake). A Pileated Woodpecker loudly foraged along Sabattis Circle Road. Gray Jays are in nesting mode and I only saw one pair at Sabattis Bog. I spotted 2 male Red Crossbills perched along Route 28N at the edge of Shaw Pond. One male was singing from the top of a Balsam Fir. A White-winged Crossbill was calling as it flew around Sabattis Bog. I found 2 male White-winged Crossbills gritting in Sabattis Circle Road near a marsh area, and then one flew up to the top of a spruce and began to sing. It's nice to have nesting birds in winter! Joan Collins 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.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
