A few reports from the past week:
Unusual: hoards of Amer. Goldfinches continue at my feeders. I estimate 250 to 300 (my husband commented that they look like swarms of bees). I've got 15 feeders up and it is not enough, so I'm putting seed on our front and back porch floors - as I've done in the past when we've had over a hundred Evening Grosbeaks visiting! Before I stopped feeding birds in summer (too many bears), I would have Amer. Goldfinches visit our feeders, but never in these numbers. It is also extremely unusual to have Amer. Goldfinches at this time of year. Purple Finches showed up on 11/23 - under 10 birds with at least 3 males. Bill Labes, of Long Lake, is also overrun with Amer. Goldfinches at his feeders, and we are lamenting how much seed we are going through! There is still no sign of Evening Grosbeaks - extremely unusual. 11/30/13 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) Two different Great Blue Herons were observed flying south. A Gray Jay was caching food near John Dillon Park on Route 30. A Brown Creeper was observed in a mixed flock along Route 30. A Ruffed Grouse was foraging along the edge of Sabattis Circle Rd. Golden-crowned Kinglets are everywhere in both the Adirondacks and St. Lawrence Valley. 11/29/13 Afternoon drive from Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) to the St. Lawrence Valley and back. Some of the species found: Waterfowl: Canada Goose (thousands flying south), Mallard, Bufflehead (Hopson's Bay where I find them every fall), Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, and Common Merganser Cooper's Hawk - adult in Tupper Lake (photograph on my Facebook page below) Red-tailed Hawk - 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet - as I mentioned above, they seem to be everywhere Cedar Waxwing - 13 in Massena (no Bohemians in the flock!) Amer. Tree Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Snow Bunting - over 200 in a huge flock on Route 27 in Lisbon - beautiful! Common Grackle - one at a feeder at the intersection of County Routes 44 and 14 in Waddington-Madrid - getting late for this species. On my drive home at sunset, I called my husband and we talked for about 15 minutes (legal with Bluetooth!). Near the end of the conversation, I told him I hoped that I would be fortunate enough to find a Barred Owl again along the road (see 11/26). He said, "Oh, by the way, we have an owl under our porch on the wood pile"! I said, "What"? He reiterated his statement. Barred Owls often come in to hunt the mice attracted to the seed that falls off our porch in winter, so I asked if the owl had dark eyes. He said, "It is a cute little thing about 4 inches tall with cat-like eyes"! To which I replied, "WHAT"??? I said, "We have a Northern Saw-whet Owl under our porch, and you didn't call me???" The owl was on our wood pile for 2 to 3 hours actively hunting and of course, it was gone when I got home! My husband took a photo from a distance so he wouldn't scare the owl, and I was able to zoom in enough on the computer to confirm it was a saw-whet. All I could think of was my older son's expression for when he is annoyed - "seriously?"!!! I would have been ecstatic if I'd been home to watch a Northern Saw-whet Owl, and my non-birder husband nearly forgot to even mention it!!! Hopefully, the owl was successful hunting and will return! 11/26/13 Afternoon birding in the St. Lawrence Valley - some of the species: Barred Owl - hunting from the electric wires along Route 3 in Childwold around sunset (photograph on my Facebook page below) Northern Flicker - Irish Settlement Rd. in Canton - getting late for this species Pileated Woodpecker Amer. Robin - flock eating in a small berry bush along Irish Settlement Rd. in Canton Amer. Tree Sparrow Song Sparrow - one along Irish Settlement Rd. in Canton 11/22/13 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) Hooded Merganser - several on the small section of open water on Long Lake Black-backed Woodpecker - a female along Sabattis Circle Rd. in boreal habitat Gray Jay - at least 2; one in the same location as the woodpecker and another heard at Sabattis Bog 11/19/13 Potsdam (St. Lawrence Co.) After an appointment in Potsdam, I found 25 to 30 Cedar Waxwings in a fruit tree in Stockholm (no Bohemians in the flock!) Joan Collins 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/[email protected]/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/ --
