1/8/14 Long Lake
A Sharp-shinned Hawk continues to hunt at our feeders. During this terrible cold snap, my feeder seed consumption has strangely declined. A couple people in town have called to say their goldfinch numbers have skyrocketed and they are spending a lot on seed. I suspect that the hundreds of goldfinches at our feeders have decided to go elsewhere due to the hawk - which is saving us a lot on seed! 1/7/14 Westport and Essex in Essex Co. and Waterbury, VT Mario Davalos and I birded in the Westport area yesterday morning between 7:15 and 8:15 a.m. I was scanning all the waterfowl and gulls when I spotted a large mammal swimming in the lake - on one of the coldest days of the year with strong winds! I immediately thought it must be a Moose, but my scope revealed a Deer! This Deer appeared to be on a mission to swim to Vermont - a 3.25 to 4.25 mile swim depending on where it lands. It made me cold just to watch it. We continued to bird in this area - Amer. Black Duck, Mallard, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Horned Grebe, Bald Eagle, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Iceland Gull, and Great Black-backed Gull. After the Deer nearly made it halfway across the lake, it decided to swim back! I observed it leave the water on weak legs. It finally shook off like a wet dog. Its face was completely frosted! Later that day, Mario spotted the Deer in the same location. Hopefully, the Deer will make it. It was one of the oddest things I've observed in winter. (Deer will cross the ice in winter, but I've never observed them swimming in winter.) We took the Essex - Charlotte Ferry across the lake at 8:30 a.m. and the Ferry Captain said he has never observed a Deer swimming across the lake in winter - just summer. Taking the Essex- Charlotte Ferry is always a really wonderful experience. Four Brothers Islands appeared to be floating in the wild, distant view. We stopped at the famous "Old Brick Store" in Charlotte, VT, and had wonderful coffee/food. Here is their website for anyone planning to use this Ferry: <http://www.oldbrickstore.com/> http://www.oldbrickstore.com/ . We found the Waterbury, VT Northern Hawk Owl and observed and photographed it for nearly 2 hours in frigid weather with high winds. (Photo on my Facebook page below.) There was blood on its beak, so it appears to have had a meal before we arrived. Back on the NY side, we found the Magic Triangle Snowy Owl - again in frigid weather with high winds. (Photo on my Facebook page below.) Its talons and feet feathers were stained with blood. We also found a couple Eastern Bluebird flocks in the Essex area, and a Great Horned Owl as we drove home. 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/ --
