12/31/15 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.)
We received about 4 or 5 inches of snow from winter storm Goliath on Tuesday. It brought in an influx of Snow Buntings, Amer. Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. We continue to have large numbers of Pine Siskins and Amer. Goldfinches at our feeders along with occasional Purple Finches. Large lakes are still wide open - certainly a new record. Some other sightings: Northern Shrike - First winter (brown) bird that attempted to catch a Snow Bunting at the Little Tupper Lake inlet (photo on Facebook) - it missed! Gray Jay - 6 at Sabattis Bog Snow Bunting - 13 (6 along Route 30, and groups of 1 and 6 along Sabattis Circle Road) Amer. Tree Sparrow - several small flocks along Sabattis Circle Road Dark-eyed Junco - 3 (1 at our home and 2 along Sabattis Circle Road) Pine Siskin A Mink ran from Little Tupper Lake into the marsh near the inlet - beautiful creature! 12/30/15 Long Lake I haven't slept much in the past week from a bad cough/cold and I had just fallen deeply asleep when I flew up in bed from the piercing scream of a Barred Owl at 5:15 a.m.! The baby monitor was on low and the owl must have been just a few feet from the receiver. I first heard this terrifying vocalization nearly a year ago (in Jan.) at just about the same time of day. Sean O'Brien and I spent over an hour on the phone discussing this vocalization again! It is one of his life goals to record that sound. They give it so rarely, that you would need to have a recording device set up non-stop to capture it. Sean commented that my hearing this vocalization twice in one year is a lot. I was thinking you could sell that sound to Hollywood for horror movies! My husband was taking a walk in the dark (my coughing woke him), far from home on the road we live on, and he heard it too. It is a bad sign to have Barred Owls hunting feeder areas for small mammals so early in the season. We've had no mice coming in our house. These winters with low numbers of small mammals and starving Barred Owls seem to be the norm now. It is worrisome. Other sightings: Black-backed Woodpecker - Sabattis Bog Pileated Woodpecker - Sabattis Bog Gray Jay - 6 at Sabattis Bog Snow Bunting - 7 at the inlet of Little Tupper Lake Dark-eyed Junco - 2 Pine Siskin 12/29/15 Long Lake I watched a River Otter fishing in Little Tupper Lake. 12/26/15 Long Lake A male Ruffed Grouse was in full display in Sabattis Circle Road with two other Ruffed Grouse feeding nearby. It did feel a bit like March-April! (Photo on Facebook) 12/23/15 Long Lake, Newcomb, and Minerva (Essex Co.) I was heading to Glens Falls for a shopping trip and told myself that I wouldn't do any birding, but you know how that goes. A few sightings: Gray Jay - 7 (4 at Sabattis Bog and 3 at the marsh near the Newcomb-Minerva town line on Route 28N) Boreal Chickadee - at least 5; same marsh as above and along Route 28N just east of the Linsay Marsh Trailhead Red Crossbill - 10 (2 at the Little Tupper Lake inlet, 4 at the marsh above, and 4 east of the Linsay Marsh Trailhead I watched a River Otter fishing in Little Tupper Lake. After it ate several fish, it climbed up on the bank, preened, and appeared to fall asleep! (Photo on Facebook) 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/[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/ --
