After many early arrival records were set in early spring, migration slowed (nearly to a halt) in late April and early May. Arrivals in the Adirondacks since late April have been the latest Ive ever observed.
After very few Black Bear observations during the spring-summer-fall of 2015, 2016 is making up for it! Weve had the largest Black Bear weve ever had visiting our home. It discovered the cracked corn put out for Wild Turkeys (& many other birds). There have been Black Bear sightings all over Long Lake and I also observed one in Newcomb. Along the Round Lake Trail where I bushwhack to feed Gray Jays, it appears a Black Bear has been sleeping 6 scats and round circles of grass crushed down. Bruno continues to visit our house every few days looking for more corn. I stopped feeding birds later than usual since I still had over 100 Pine Siskins looking for food. For the last few days of feeding, I took the feeders in at night after Bruno arrived. The last feeder was out with just a few seeds in the bottom (it was basically empty) Monday night and the feeder was gone on Tuesday morning. It was my heaviest feeder and it is mind boggling that Bruno could carry off such a heavy feeder in his mouth. My husband has scoured the woods and there is no sign of it. (Photos of Bruno are on my Facebook page below.) I never considered Wild Turkeys to be intelligent creatures, but Ive changed my mind! We have a male turkey that we call the stalker. It climbs our back porch steps and stares at us through a glass door sometimes for ½ hour! It does this even when the screen is in front of the door so it isnt looking at a reflection. It also discovered that it could stand on a rock wall in our backyard and gobble non-stop while staring at the back door which results in me putting cracked corn out to shut it up! It watches me bring out the corn and doesnt run away. It has been a bizarre experience! The numbers of Wild Turkeys appear to be way up everyone I go in the Adirondacks. Three Common Ravens fledged from a nest (in a White Pine) in Long Lake on Monday-Tuesday this week (nest found by Eric Damour). It was comical to see 3 fully grown raven young standing in a nest waiting to be fed! I continue to feed 3 different pairs of Gray Jays, and they havent shown their young yet should be any day! I observed another Common Raven nest on 5/19 on private property in the Raquette Lake area (town of Long Lake) it too had 3 young in the nest. Betsy Folwell (Blue Mountain Lake) reported Wood Duck chicks running around her deck on 4/29/16! The earlier ice-out each year is making it possible for waterfowl to nest much earlier. On May 7, a Red Squirrel killed a Pine Siskin in front of me and consumed it on our wood pile (I put one photo on Facebook). Yesterday (5/24), I found a headless Pine Siskin body in our backyard. It will be a difficult nesting year for many species with so many Red Squirrels around. Snowshoe Hare numbers are also up and I am finding multiple hares everywhere! May sightings and arrival dates (* first of the season): My first Dawn Tour up Whiteface Mountain (Essex Co.) was on Monday, May 23, 2016 with a wonderful young birder (22 years old) and his father from Arkansas. The young man had terrific eyes and ears, and he is heading into an ornithology graduate program in the fall it was great to be out with him! As with many talented young birders, his father was extremely supportive and patient with us all day! We found 60 species by visiting Whiteface Mountain, roadside birding, and a trip on Blue Mountain Road (in Santa Clara in the Madawaska area Franklin Co.). They birded the area for 3 days prior to our trip, so our tour was more targeted (BITH, BBWO, BOCH, CAWA & some others). Here are some of the species found: American Black Duck family group with 11 young Ruffed Grouse several including one dust-bathing Wild Turkey Sharp-shinned Hawk Broad-winged Hawk *Chimney Swift (first of the season for me) Ruby-throated Hummingbird Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Black-backed Woodpecker 2 in different locations (foraging & calling female; and male at its nest site on eggs) Northern Flicker Merlin Yellow-bellied Flycatcher several on Whiteface Least Flycatcher Common Raven Tree Swallow Boreal Chickadee nice views of 2 different birds on Whiteface! Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet many on Whiteface Eastern Bluebird Bicknells Thrush the young man was a dedicated eBird reporter and counted 29 in 4 hours! We had nice views of 2. There was some singing early in the morning and lots of calling on this beautiful day. Swainsons Thrush Wood Thrush Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler as the young man was photographing a Canada Warbler, a female Black-backed Woodpecker showed up to forage on a blown down tree a few feet from us! Savannah Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Scarlet Tanager Purple Finch Pine Siskin We also observed Snowshoe Hares and lots of Moose tracks in Santa Clara. I observed the first Eastern Tiger Swallowtail of the season. On a half-day tour on May 22, 2016 with 3 birders (2 from Ogdensburg and 1 from Canton), we found 52 species visiting Massawepie Mire (St. Lawrence Co.). Here are some of the species found: American Bittern Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Gray Jay 2 Common Raven Tree Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Veery Hermit Thrush Wood Thrush 2 Ovenbird Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler Mourning Warbler beautiful views! Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler Savannah Sparrow they nest in one section of the mire each year Lincolns Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Scarlet Tanager Rose-breasted Grosbeak Purple Finch We also observed Snowshoe Hares and lots of Moose tracks at the mire. On my drive home, I checked a location for Philadelphia Vireos in Tupper Lake and found 3 singing! (Ill add a photo to my Facebook page today.) Eleven people took part in the Northern NY Audubon field trip to Massawepie Mire on Saturday, May 21, 2016. Here are some of the 55 species found: Broad-winged Hawk 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Black-backed Woodpecker 2 heard calling Pileated Woodpecker Merlin *Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 2 *Alder Flycatcher 2 Least Flycatcher Gray Jay 2 Common Raven Tree Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet *Veery 2 Swainsons Thrush 1 Hermit Thrush Wood Thrush 1 Ovenbird Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler *Mourning Warbler many Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Canada Warbler Savannah Sparrow Lincolns Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Scarlet Tanager Rose-breasted Grosbeak Purple Finch Pine Siskin Later that day, I found an American Bittern and Great Blue Heron on Shaw Pond in Long Lake. May 20, 2016 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) Barred Owls 4 vocalizing outside our home just before darkness fell. I hooted and one flew in by our porch we called back and forth for about 15 minutes! Black-backed Woodpecker a bird calling non-stop along the Round Lake Trail where I feed Gray Jays *Eastern Kingbird Sabattis Circle Road near the Little Tupper Lake inlet *Warbling Vireo same as above *Red-eyed Vireo Sabattis Circle Road Gray Jay 6 (3 pairs in Long Lake) *Gray Catbird Little Tupper Lake inlet May 19, 2016 Private Property in the Raquette Lake area (town of Long Lake) New arrivals: *Spotted Sandpiper *Great Crested Flycatcher *Swainsons Thrush *Canada Warbler *Scarlet Tanager May 17, 2016 Black Bear observed in Newcomb (Essex Co.) May 14, 2016 Long Lake & Newcomb & Minerva *Ruby-throated Hummingbird at our home (very late arrival date) Black-backed Woodpecker 3 in Minerva *Northern Waterthrush Newcomb Rusty Blackbird bird singing and appearing to be at a nest in Long Lake area May 13, 2016 Long Lake Black Bear showed up at our home (after spending several days at another Long Lake home in the area). Snowshoe Hares and a Porcupine were observed along Sabattis Circle Road. May 12, 2016 Bloomingdale (Franklin Co.) & Long Lake Gray Jay 10! (6 at Bloomingdale and 4 in Long Lake) On a half-day tour on May 11, 2016 with 2 birders from Queensbury, we visited Massawepie Mire. Here are some of the 54 species found: Ruffed Grouse several drumming Broad-winged Hawk Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Merlin heard on our drive in Least Flycatcher many! Gray Jay 4 Common Raven Tree Swallow Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush - several *Wood Thrush 1 singing! Ovenbird Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow Warbler *Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler *Lincolns Sparrow many with nice views of several! Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow - migrants Dark-eyed Junco Rose-breasted Grosbeak several Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Purple Finch Pine Siskin On a May 10, 2016 tour with 2 birders (one from North River and one from Holland Patent), we visited Newcomb, Minerva, Long Lake, and Tupper Lake (Essex, Hamilton, and Franklin Counties) Here are some of the 62 species found: Canada Goose with adorable young along the Raquette River in Tupper Lake! Ring-necked Duck 8 Common Merganser Ruffed Grouse Wild Turkey Common Loon 2 on Simon Pond in Tupper Lake *American Bittern 4 (1 vocalizing at the marsh in Newcomb and 3 standing near each other at the Tupper Lake Marsh) *Green Heron flying over the wetland along the railroad bed in Minerva Osprey 3 (1 flyover in Newcomb and 2 at their nest at Minnow Pond in Long Lake along Route 30) Bald Eagle 1 adult in Tupper Lake Northern Harrier female in Tupper Lake Broad-winged Hawk several including mate feeding along Sabattis Circle Road in Long Lake! Sandhill Crane brief view of one in the marsh between Raquette River and Simon Pond in Tupper Lake Belted Kingfisher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Black-backed Woodpecker 5 (1 in Newcomb and 4 in Minerva) *Least Flycatcher 4 Eastern Phoebe several Blue-headed Vireo Gray Jay 6 in Long Lake Common Raven Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Boreal Chickadee 2 in Long Lake Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler *Common Yellowthroat *American Redstart *Magnolia Warbler *Blackburnian Warbler Yellow Warbler *Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Purple Finch Pine Siskin Evening Grosbeak at least 2 in Newcomb with nice views of a female! May 9, 2016 Long Lake Four Northern Shovelers were observed on the inlet of Little Tupper Lake! (This was a new species for Hamilton Co. when I found a pair on April 7, 2016 on Long Lake!) May 7, 2016 Long Lake *Northern Parula *Yellow Warbler May 6, 2016 Spring Pond Bog complex (Franklin Co.) *Black-and-white Warbler *Nashville Warbler May 4, 2016 Long Lake *Ovenbird April 30, 2016 Long Lake Tupper Lake Bloomingdale Ruffed Grouse 17! *Greater Yellowlegs 1 in Tupper Lake Black-backed Woodpecker 6 including a nest site with a hole only 3 feet above the ground! This is the lowest Ive ever found a nest cavity I hope it works out for the woodpeckers. April 29, 2016 Long Lake *Black Flies hatched! (Early) Ill be adding more photos to my Facebook page today. 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/ --
