4/17/16 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.)
On this hot day in April, I found Coltsfoot in bloom (the first wildflower of the season). I bushwhacked off the Round Lake Trail to a beautiful unnamed pond that was literally covered with vocalizing Wood Frogs - the sound was deafening! They were all just floating on the pond's surface and for a moment, I thought how nice it must be to be a frog! Here are some of the birds found: Bufflehead - pair on Little Tupper Lake Ruffed Grouse - 2 observed and many heard drumming Common Loon - pair on Little Tupper Lake *Osprey - eating a fish (that was still alive) in a dead snag on Minnow Pond in Long Lake Belted Kingfisher - several, including a pair Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - many Black-backed Woodpecker - 2 at Sabattis Bog calling back and forth Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe - several Gray Jay - 4 (2 along Route 30 and 2 at the Round Lake Trailhead - they followed me as I hiked out the trail to my car) Boreal Chickadee - 1 at Sabattis Bog Red-breasted Nuthatch - many excavating nest holes Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Palm Warbler - several singing at Sabattis Bog *Yellow-rumped Warbler - several singing along the Round Lake Trail 4/16/16 Massawepie Mire (St. Lawrence Co.) and Tupper Lake (Franklin Co.) On a half-day tour with 5 people (2 from Tupper Lake, 1 from Vermont, and 2 from Kansas) we hiked over 5 miles round trip at Massawepie and then found the Sandhill Cranes in Tupper Lake. Palm Warblers were numerous! Here are some of the species found: Ruffed Grouse Wild Turkey Common Loon - observed early in the morning and vocalizing! Bald Eagle - adult Sandhill Crane - pair in the marshes along the Raquette River in Tupper Lake Belted Kingfisher - pair Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - several drumming and calling Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker - several Merlin - pair showing courtship behavior by their nest site! Gray Jay - 2 Common Raven Tree Swallow Boreal Chickadee - 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper - many singing Winter Wren - several singing Golden-crowned Kinglet - many singing *Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 (first-of-the-season) Hermit Thrush - 1 calling *Palm Warbler - many (first-of-the-season) *Pine Warbler - 1 singing (first-of-the-season) Fox Sparrow - 1 migrant singing Purple Finch - many singing Pine Siskin - everywhere! We also heard Wood Frogs and observed Moose tracks in several locations at Massawepie. One small, orange butterfly was very briefly observed. We heard Northern Leopard Frogs near the marshes along the Raquette River in Tupper Lake. On my drive back to Long Lake, I found a pair of Red Crossbills drinking water in a wetland along Route 30. I also heard Spring Peepers at Shaw Pond. 4/15/16 Long Lake and Tupper Lake I drove to Spring Pond Bog. The road is extremely muddy, so I didn't go far. I stopped to turn around in a particularly muddy section and found a female Black-backed Woodpecker foraging right outside my car! I observed a Mourning Cloak on the long drive in. Here are some of the species found: Ruffed Grouse Common Loon - Little Tupper Lake and Simon Pond Sandhill Crane - pair in Tupper Lake Black-backed Woodpecker - female in the Spring Pond Bog complex Eastern Phoebe Gray Jay - 5 (all in Long Lake - 2 at the Round Lake Trailhead, groups of 2 and 1 along Route 30) *Tree Swallow - Tupper Lake I added many new photos to my Facebook page below. 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/ --
