12/26/14 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.)
A Mink ran across the road in front of my car on Sabattis Circle Road! Two Gray Jays were at Sabattis Bog. This is the second day we've had a Pine Siskin (just one!) at our feeders. It arrived in the high wind/rain storm. We hit a high of over 50 Amer. Goldfinches at our feeders yesterday (less today). This is a very unusual species to have at this time of year at our location, although with the climate so greatly changed, I'm not sure what "usual" is anymore. Ruffed Grouse are regularly observed along Sabattis Circle Road - often feeding on buds high in deciduous trees. A few Snow Buntings are still in our area. I hear the Flying Squirrel almost every night on our baby monitor (used to bring in the outside sounds) - I can hear it smack into the feeders! Sometimes I am awake enough to go observe it. It reminds me of a gremlin! 12/23/14 Chaumont, Point Peninsula, and Cape Vincent (Jefferson Co.) I drove by Sabattis Bog on my way to Jefferson Co. on Tuesday and found the pair of Gray Jays. I arrived in the Chaumont area in the early afternoon. I was hoping to see a Snowy Owl, and I was thrilled to find NINE! It appears to be another remarkable irruptive year for this species in our area. I photographed 8 of the 9 owls (it was too dark by the time I found the 9th to take photos) with my scope and iPhone attachment, and Canon SX50. I posted 16 photos to my Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian . Eight of the nine Snowy Owls were active and one was snoozing. I was enthralled watching their behavior - preening, listening, hunting, and I watched one regurgitate a pellet (photo number 11). I took over 700 photos Tuesday afternoon! Since I was using two different cameras, my photos ended up in different areas on the computer - what I found interesting is that I could match the owls by their distinctive patterns of markings. Four of the nine were very lightly marked, with one that was particularly white. The very white owl reminded me of Casper the Ghost! Four were darkly marked, and I didn't have a good view of the ninth since it was getting very dark. In one area, there was a Snowy Owl on a pole, and 10 poles away, there was another. I was watching the second owl when it appeared to become agitated. A third Snowy Owl was flying through its territory. The second Snowy Owl took off after the third owl and chased it to what must have been an acceptable distance away and then it flew right back to the same telephone pole! I was somewhat surprised to find completely open water off Point Peninsula. There was a lot of waterfowl. Point Peninsula is such a beautiful spot and the lighting is always what captivates me - it was ethereal. Here are some of the species found from Chaumont to Point Peninsula to Cape Vincent: Tundra Swan - 5; 4 adults and one juvenile Gadwall Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Wild Turkey Red-tailed Hawk - 7 Rough-legged Hawk - 7; 1 dark morph Snowy Owl - 9 Short-eared Owl - heard in a location where we observed them last year American Kestrel - 3 Snow Bunting - large flock flying 12/22/14 Sabattis Circle Road (Hamilton Co.) An adult Northern Shrike was perched along Sabattis Circle Road. At Sabattis Bog, I found a male Black-backed Woodpecker and two Gray Jays. The woodpecker was very close and I took many photos (posted to Facebook). 12/19/14 Sabattis Circle Road I found two different Ruffed Grouse, 3 Gray Jays (1 along the road and 2 at the bog), and 3 Snow Buntings flew around the bog. 12/16/14 Route 30 and Sabattis Circle Road 4 Gray Jays: Two Gray Jays were perched together at the top of a conifer along Route 30 in Long Lake. Another pair was found at Sabattis Bog. 12/9/14 Long Lake A Merlin was flying around the Long Lake beach area, then flew across the lake into tall pines (where they nest each year). 12/7/14 Long Lake and Tupper Lake (Hamilton and Franklin Counties) I found two Gray Jays at Sabattis Bog. An adult Bald Eagle was perched along the causeway in Tupper Lake. After an Audubon meeting at the Wild Center, Pat and John Thaxton and I went to Spring Pond Bog. We found a Gray Jay at the gate location - the caretaker feeds them. We found two more Gray Jays on a side road in boreal forest. John started to whistle a few (human!) songs and one of the Gray Jays seemed to become enchanted and followed him around! We also heard two Boreal Chickadees. On a 12/5/14 tour with two birders, one from NYC and one from Westchester Co., we visited boreal habitat in Long Lake, Newcomb, and Minerva. Here are some of the species found: Ruffed Grouse - high up in a deciduous tree near Sabattis Bog Black-backed Woodpecker - 1 male at Sabattis Bog Pileated Woodpecker - a few heard, and one observed flying Gray Jay - 2 at Sabattis Bog Common Raven - several Boreal Chickadee - 2 along the Roosevelt Truck Trail, with one observed Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper - several heard, and one observed Golden-crowned Kinglet - many Dark-eyed Junco White-winged Crossbill - flyover flock of 9 on the Roosevelt Truck Trail, and more heard along Route 28N Common Redpoll - flyover flock at Sabattis Bog Joan Collins 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/ --
