12/8/10 Colton-Potsdam-Madrid-Waddington-Louisville-Massena (St. Lawrence Co.)
I had to travel from Long Lake to Potsdam today, and Mary Beth Warburton and I met to go birding in the morning. On my way to Potsdam, a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk flew over me in Colton. Also in Colton, at the bridge over the Raquette River, an adult Bald Eagle was spotted on the ice about 15 feet from a Canada Goose that was in obvious distress. The feathers were sticking up on the goose (indicating it had been attacked) and it appeared to be stuck in the ice. After I turned around again, and passed this location, the goose was walking (but appeared unable to fly with its feathers sticking straight up) and the eagle was perched in a dead snag looking down at the goose. I suspect I know what the outcome was for the goose. Also at this location in Colton, a large flock of ~600 Snow Geese flew over. Mary Beth and I drove the Regan Rd.-Route 11- Pleasant Valley Rd.-May Rd. loop in Potsdam and found over 40 Bohemian Waxwings along May Road. (This is an area that has Bohemian Waxwings every winter - as I've posted in the past, as many as 700 observed at one time.) In Madrid, on Rutherford Road, we found a Northern Shrike. The beautiful conifer forest along this road was completely clear-cut over the past year (very disturbing). On Planty Road, we found a male Hooded Merganser. In Waddington, on County Route 44, we found another Northern Shrike and a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk. At Wilson Hill, we found an adult Bald Eagle, a solo Ring-necked Duck, 3 Mute Swans, and 2 Snow Buntings. At Robert Moses State Park, we found many Common Mergansers, a Red-tailed Hawk, 7 Snow Buntings, 10 Cedar Waxwings and a Herring Gull that appeared intent on trying to drown Common Mergansers (I can find no reference to this behavior in the BNA account for Herring Gull). At Hawkins Point, we found Common Goldeneye, Great Black-backed Gulls, Amer. Black Ducks (& many Mallards) and a scaup sp. pair. Common Ravens, Amer. Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos were also observed. Throughout the day, thousands of Canada Geese were observed heading south. The ice-over of many large lakes in the Adirondacks came on very quickly in the past few days. 12/7/10 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) A large flock of Evening Grosbeaks (~40) continue to visit our feeders each day and stay throughout the a.m. At 11:30 a.m. I heard a bird hit our screen. I was on the phone and didn't race to the window since it didn't sound too bad. After I made my way to the window, I found a Northern Shrike perched on a branch outside the window! 12/5/10 Mountaineer Trail along Massawepie Lake (St. Lawrence Co.) On Sunday, I hiked 2.6 miles round-trip on the Mountaineer Trail in a world of white. I found it remarkable that I could drive to this trailhead on December 5th (the road is not plowed). I counted 210 Snow Geese, but those were just the birds I could see from within the forest - I heard flocks throughout the hike that I could not see. A Common Loon was observed on the lake that was quickly icing over. During my hike, the loon vocalized, and I realized it was probably the last time I would hear that sound until April. It was too windy to hear Black-backed Woodpeckers, but I did find a Hairy Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, and Golden-crowned Kinglets (no Red-breasted Nuthatches, which seem to have vacated the forests of the North Country this fall - I haven't heard one in weeks). On the drive home, an adult Bald Eagle was observed along the causeway in Tupper Lake - perched between Simon Pond and the Raquette River. At the south end of Tupper Lake, 5 female Hooded Mergansers were observed. (I had to travel to Tupper Lake on 12/6, and the area that held the Hooded Mergansers was completely iced over.) Joan Collins Long Lake (Hamilton County) -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
