Sounds like a great day for everybody! I counted a couple things--last night 2 Night Hawks were flying around and over the the old train trestle on the Rondout in Rosendale--in past years they've nested somewhere near the parking lot behind the theater, feeding on the insects hovering around the lot's lights all night long. In large numbers their calls are amazing. The other thing may be a record. I saw a female Mallard with 19 chicks (give or take one)! Initially she was right behind my house then circled to go back down stream.....I grabbed my glasses and ran along the berm counting and recounting. I checked in "The Birder's Handbook......The Essential "companion to Your ID Guide" which listed 7-10 to be the most common clutch size and 6-15 to be the more extreme values recorded in the literature. I'm curious now and will probably be running up and down the berm either side of Rt 32 to get another look....just in case she was baby sitting.
