My feeders quieted down after the recent couple days over 32 degrees. With the current bitter cold weather, numbers of feeder birds went back up a bit, but not back to the huge numbers I had before. I have 17 seed feeders and 3 suet feeders up and I was also putting seed on our porch floors since there were hundreds of birds here for weeks (Purple Finches, Pine Siskins, and Amer. Goldfinches).
Some January sightings: Jan. 19, 2016 at Sabattis Bog (Hamilton Co.): 4 Gray Jays (2 below zero with strong winds) Jan. 18, 2016 Sabattis Circle Road A Northern Goshawk was observed briefly zooming around the road in front of my car before disappearing into the woods. I had a fascinating encounter with two Gray Jays at Sabattis Bog. It was 10 degrees, snowing, and windy. I brought food for the jays and two Gray Jays perched above me as I put the food down. When I stepped back, instead of immediately diving for the food as usual, the two birds remained perched near me for over 30 minutes - they stared at me and "chatted" with me. They never moved perches. They didn't even look at the food. So, we chatted! One of the birds gave a quiet vocalization I had never heard - it sounded as if the bird was making 3 different sounds at once. I wish I had a recording of it - it was beautiful. They looked like they were waiting for me to do something, so I sang and danced - Gray Jays "enjoy" singing! (They will follow you if you sing.) These rare moments when you can feel some "connection" to another species are highlights of my life. After 30 minutes of chatting, I told the Gray Jays I was freezing and had to leave. They watched me go to my car. After I started the car, I turned and they were gone! (I posted photos of the darker Gray Jay on my Facebook page below.) January 16-17, 2016 (Newcomb, Minerva, and Long Lake on Sat.; Long Lake, Newcomb, and Bloomingdale on Sun.) On a two-day tour with two birders from Connecticut over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, we spent our time in the boreal habitat of Long Lake, Newcomb, Minerva, and Bloomingdale (the lake effect snow warning changed our plan to bird in Jefferson Co. on Sunday!). Here are some of the birds found: Barred Owl - 2 (one hooting and another answering with calls at 3 p.m.) Black-backed Woodpecker - 4 (nice views of a foraging female) Pileated Woodpecker - 5 Northern Shrike - 1 Gray Jay - 13 Common Raven Boreal Chickadee - 5 (nice views of two) Golden-crowned Kinglet Bohemian Waxwing - flock of 29 in Long Lake both days Northern Cardinal Purple Finch - many Red Crossbill - 14 (nice views) (I recorded a calling male) Pine Siskin - many Evening Grosbeak - over 50 on Saturday, and 30 on Sunday I posted 10 photos from this tour on my Facebook page. January 15, 2016 Long Lake & Tupper Lake At Sabattis Bog: 4 Gray Jays, 1 male Black-backed Woodpecker (photos on Facebook), and 1 Red Crossbill. I found a male Red-winged Blackbird at a feeder location in Tupper Lake. January 13, 2016 Long Lake and Newcomb This is the latest date that the metal gates were opened for the snowmobile trails. Two Common Ravens were feeding on a dead Canada Goose along Route 30 outside Long Lake! Four Grays Jays were at Sabattis Bog. I drove to Newcomb and tried to count the Pine Siskins - after I went over 1,000, I gave up. They were everywhere and there were many flocks in the road gritting (and several dead birds). There were 36 Evening Grosbeaks tallied in Newcomb at 3 different feeders. A pair of Red Crossbills gritted right outside my car window - I posted some of the photos to my Facebook page. January 12, 2016: A White-throated Sparrow was observed at a feeder location in Long Lake. At our house, we have a male Deer that lost one of its antlers and the other one has no points, so I call him the unicorn Deer! January 10, 2016 - this is the day it poured rain in the Adirondacks. We drove to Lake Placid and saw two rainbows. This was a huge topic in Placid since no one could ever remember seeing a rainbow in January. January 9, 2016: I found a flock of 8 Red Crossbills at the inlet of Little Tupper Lake along Sabattis Circle Road. Last winter, a Deer with a broken ankle would limp in to eat the corn we put out for Wild Turkeys outside our home. It was heartbreaking to watch it. Well, it showed up again this winter and she also had a baby - remarkable! She is surviving a difficult situation. January 7, 2016: I found a female Black-backed Woodpecker and 6 Gray Jays at Sabattis Bog. There were 2 Snow Buntings along Sabattis Circle Road. It was nice to run into Brenda Inskeep (CT birder) along the road! January 6, 2016: I found 2 adult Bald Eagles along Route 30 in Long Lake. I photographed a Ruffed Grouse eating buds in a deciduous tree hanging over Sabattis Circle Road. At Sabattis Bog, it was nice to run into Bruce Dudek from the Albany area. We observed a female Black-backed Woodpecker and 6 Gray Jays. Peter O'Shea also drove by and stopped to chat - he was headed to the Round Lake Road trail to look for animal tracks. Bruce and I drove to the Little Tupper Lake inlet and found a pair of Red Crossbills gritting. Continuing along the road, we found 4 more Red Crossbills gritting. January 5, 2016: I recorded the most beautiful Red Crossbill song that I've ever heard by the Little Tupper Lake inlet along Sabattis Circle Road. I suspect the birds (a pair) were Type 10s. I watched them for a really long time - they took turns gritting in the road. When the male was perched, he sang - it was a gorgeous song. January 3, 2016: John, Terese, and Sarah Hart, and I covered Oregon Plains Road, Bigelow Road, and the beginning of the Bloomingdale Bog trail for the Saranac Lake CBC. Some of the birds we found: 1 male Black-backed Woodpecker, 3 Gray Jays, 8 Boreal Chickadees, 48 Purple Finches, 1 Red Crossbill, and 720 Pine Siskins! (The count set a new high record for Pine Siskins.) 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/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/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/ --
