The winter of 2016-2017 continues to be fairly quiet in northern NY with poor cone crops and low numbers of small mammal prey. We do have Birch seeds for redpolls and fruit for Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks. Our last major redpoll irruption was 2 years ago, and they are expected to irrupt this winter, but there was another irruption just to our north last winter, so time will tell what will happen this winter. (Their typical every-other-winter irruptive schedule does shift every decade or so.) Bohemian Waxwings, as predicted by Ron Pittaway, appear to be mostly staying in western CA/US this year. But we do have some flocks in northern NY. Pine Grosbeaks are also around in small numbers so far. We continue to have Amer. Goldfinches at our Long Lake feeders - unusual in January in the central Adirondacks. There is one(!) Pine Siskin that I've been observing at a feeder in Newcomb all season (with a flock of Amer. Goldfinches). The small numbers of Pine Siskins we had at our Long Lake feeders in late fall have left. The large numbers of Evening Grosbeaks that visited Newcomb feeders last winter left by December this year (many observed in Nov.). I received a Long Lake report of ~20 "crossbills" gritting in Kickerville Road last week, but I have not observed them. Numbers of Black-capped Chickadees, Brown Creepers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Golden-crowned Kinglets are way down. Our Saranac Lake CBC party tallied our lowest number of Black-capped Chickadees in nearly 2 decades on 1/1/17. It will be yet another difficult winter for Barred Owls, and many will likely starve (or be hit by cars by hunting along roadways). The winters with low numbers of small mammal prey used to be infrequent, but that seems to be changing, and lately, it seems to be the norm.
At our feeders: 21 Wild Turkeys (cracked corn on the ground), Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers, Blue Jays (unusual), Black-capped Chickadees, Red & White-breasted Nuthatches, 1 Dark-eyed Junco, and a small flock of Amer. Goldfinches (unusual). OK, I need to report this, but I didn't want to put it in the subject of the email since it is a 7-week-old report! Due to a "comedy of errors" that I won't go into, I received a report on Friday (1/6/17) of a Great Gray Owl observed and photographed in Tupper Lake (Franklin Co.) in mid-Nov.! I will submit this record with the photo to eBird as soon as I get the name of the observer/photographer and the exact date in Nov. With low numbers of small prey, it is doubtful that this owl is still around, but a number of people are on the lookout just in case! It is interesting that the last Great Gray Owl in the Adirondacks was also found in Tupper Lake (on 3/30/13 - spotted by a NJ woman I was with that day) and also the last time Pine Grosbeaks irrupted! Someone asked me if it could be the same bird - a good question with no answer! Other recent sightings: 1/8/17 Long Lake Bald Eagle - a sub-adult bird that flew in to a perch about 20 feet from me at Sabattis Bog as I fed Gray Jays and other birds! I suspect this eagle saw lots of birds and was checking to see if there was roadkill. It looked as startled as I was and flew off quickly! Gray Jay - 13 (I feed as many as 15 lately at 4 locations in Long Lake) - 2 along Rt. 30, 3 near the Little Tupper Lake inlet area, 3 at the Round Lake Trailhead, and 5 at Sabattis Bog A kind person(s) left mixed seed at the Sabattis Bog feeding area and it was a very active place when I arrived today! I leave a suet feeder at this spot and have to bring a new suet cake every couple of days. Hairy Woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees and Gray Jays feed on the suet. I've been putting out a suet feeder for a few years at this location and this is the first year I've observed the Gray Jays feed at it. The chickadees fill the tree when I arrive and seem desperate for seed. It is a tough winter on wildlife. 1/7/17 St. Lawrence Co. loop (& Tupper Lake in Franklin Co.) David Buckley and I drove a loop through St. Lawrence Co. yesterday (Potsdam - Canton - Heuvelton - Ogdensburg - Lisbon - Madrid - Waddington - Massena - Winthrop). The St. Lawrence River was still mostly open water with a huge cloud bank directly over the river in bitter cold temps. Here are a few of the species found: Gadwall - 2 at Hawkins Point Common Goldeneye Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Bald Eagle - 5 (1 along the Oswegatchie River, 2 along the St. Lawrence River in Waddington, and 2 perched together at the St. Lawrence River in Massena) Red-tailed Hawk - only 2 Rough-legged Hawk - 1 light morph in Lisbon Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull Peregrine Falcon - perched on the Barnhart Island Bridge Northern Shrike - 1 observed actively hunting at sunset in Tupper Lake across from OWD. It plunged into the snow multiple times but was unsuccessful in capturing prey. Common Raven American Robin - 3 at corner of Barnhart Island and Robinson Bay Roads. (Down from the thousands we encountered on our last trip on 12/16/16!) Amer. Tree Sparrow - one large flock Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal - 2 1/3/17 Long Lake A Black-backed Woodpecker flew in as I fed birds at Sabattis Bog. It was calling and rattling, but I had to ignore it since the chickadees were desperate for the food I was getting out - and by the time I finished, the woodpecker had flown away! 1/2/17 Newcomb, Minerva (Essex Co.), Long Lake (Hamilton Co.), and Tupper Lake (Franklin Co.) On a tour with 2 people from Texas, we spent the day in boreal habitat areas - mostly in Newcomb, Minerva, and Long Lake. Here are some of the species found: Black-backed Woodpecker - 3 (1 in Newcomb, and a pair in Minerva) Pileated Woodpecker Gray Jay - 17 (2 in Minerva and 15 in Long Lake at 4 different locations) Common Raven Boreal Chickadee - 8 (3 in Minerva and 2 different flocks of 3 and 2 in Newcomb) - I posted a photo on Facebook taken along Tahawus Road Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Golden-crowned Kinglet Pine Siskin - 1 at a Newcomb feeder! A couple driving by stopped as we were observing Boreal Chickadees along Tahawus Road to tell us they had just observed a Great Blue Heron at the Hudson River - rare in the High Peaks area in January! 12/31/16 Newcomb, Minerva, and Long Lake On a tour with 2 people from NJ, we spent the day in boreal habitat areas of Newcomb, Minerva, and Long Lake. Our goal was finding Black-backed Woodpecker and Gray Jay. Here are some of the species found: Black-backed Woodpecker - 2 in Minerva Pileated Woodpecker Gray Jay - 13 (2 in Minerva and 11 in Long Lake) Common Raven Red-breasted Nuthatch Golden-crowned Kinglet Pine Grosbeak - 2! A male and female Pine Grosbeak flew into the trees when we were feeding Gray Jays in Minerva. I snapped a few bad photos (that were back-lit) before the Gray Jays chased them off by making accipiter calls! 12/27/16 Long Lake I found a dead Snowshoe Hare in the road in the afternoon along Route 30 where I feed Gray Jays. I took it out of the road and left it in the snow. The next morning, there was nothing left but fur/blood and no mammal tracks to the hare's body, so I assume ravens or eagles consumed it. 12/24/16 Long Lake & Saranac Lake (Essex Co.) I went out in the dark to fill feeders and experienced the rare (& terrifying) Barred Owl long scream call! (The one that Sean O'Brien has been trying to get a recording of for years.) The last time I heard the scream call was 2 years ago when a Barred Owl hunted outside our house (under the feeders) for a couple months (before it starved to death and fell from a tree in our front lawn). We keep a baby monitor going to bring in the outdoor sounds and the only time I've heard the scream call is when, it appears, that I am interrupting a Barred Owl's hunting by making noise filling feeders in the dark. If Sean could get a good recording of that sound, it would make a fantastic sound effect for a scary movie! By the way, my husband was off taking a walk - we have a long mountain driveway and he was down the driveway and down the road - and he heard the owl's scream! If the purpose of the vocalization is to frighten off potential competitors for prey (like me), it works! Bohemian Waxwing - 6 mixed with 11 Cedar Waxwings in the fruit trees in front of Pizza Hut in Saranac Lake 12/23/16 Newcomb & Long Lake Gray Jay - 10 (2 Minerva and 8 in Long Lake) Boreal Chickadee - 2 in Minerva 12/22/16 Long Lake I spotted an Ermine hunting outside our home and photographed it through the window. The Ermine was rocketing up trees after Red Squirrels, but did not capture any during the time I observed it. The Ermine could climb a huge tree in what felt like a split second. When it was on the ground (in snow), it was nearly impossible to follow it since it blended in so well. (Photos on my Facebook page) It also ran around our porch and up on our windowsill! 12/21/16 Long Lake Gray Jay - 8 Boreal Chickadee - 2 along Route 30 12/19/16 Newcomb, Minerva, and Long Lake Barred Owl - hunting outside our house at 4:15 p.m. - not a good sign Gray Jay - 10 (4 locations in Long Lake) Boreal Chickadee - 6 (flocks of 4 & 2 in Minerva along Route 28N) Pine Siskin - 1 at a Newcomb feeder 12/16/16 St. Lawrence Co. loop David Buckley and I drove a loop through St. Lawrence Co. Here are some of the species found: Common Goldeneye Common Merganser Wild Turkey Common Loon Red-tailed Hawk - 4 Rough-legged Hawk - 1 light morph in Potsdam (Route 11 & Regan Road intersection area) Great Black-backed Gull Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike - 1 in Winthrop along Route 420 (at the marsh that used to be the later summer Great Egret roost) Horned Lark - 1 large flock Amer. Robin - thousands! Every stop we made had huge numbers of robins. Cedar Waxwing Snow Bunting - 4 large flocks 12/10/16 Newcomb, Minerva, & Long Lake Canada Goose - huge movement (south) that week Wild Turkey - 25 Bald Eagle - 2 on a deer carcass at Shaw Pond in Long Lake Black-backed Woodpecker - 3 (pair in Minerva and 1 that flew over Sabattis Bog) Common Raven - many on the deer carcass at Shaw Pond Gray Jay - 8 (3 in Minerva - they tried to fly in my car through the open window! and 5 in Long Lake) Brown Creeper Golden-crowned Kinglet Pine Siskin - Newcomb feeder I've posted a number of photos to my Facebook page below (including mammals - Ermine, Beaver, and Muskrats!). 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.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
