I saw several eastern chipmunks around Ausable Club road this morning while looking for Pine Grosbeaks and was surprised to see them out this early that far north. I found several red crossbills (type 3) there, as well as roughly 56 Pine Siskins, several purple finches and red-breasted nuthatches, and two Pine Grosbeaks perched in a tree near the Trailhead on Lake Road.
On Fri, Feb 23, 2018 at 6:02 PM Joan Collins <joan.coll...@frontier.com> wrote: > Out birding on February, 22, 2018, the windless weather felt like such a > gift (for an ear birder anyway!). We visited boreal habitat areas of Long > Lake, Piercefield, Newcomb, Minerva, and North Hudson, and owled in Long > Lake after dinner (Rt. 30, Sabattis Circle Road all the way to Sabattis > Station, and Lake Eaton) – (Hamilton, St. Lawrence, and Essex Counties). > The calm, cloudy day, turned into a calm, clear night for owling. The > stars and moon were spectacular. The lakes made other-worldly sounds as > the ice shifted and cracked from so many temperature extremes during the > past few days. A Snowshoe Hare bounced across Sabattis Road like a > brilliant orb in our headlights. Snowmelt in February creates new dangers > for a winter-white animal. During the day, two Eastern Chipmunks were > actively running around – I don’t recall ever seeing this hibernating > mammal active in February and I wondered what they will do if we return to > “winter”. Here is our species list: > > > > Ruffed Grouse – displaying bird at the side of Sabattis Circle Road! > > Wild Turkey > > Barred Owl – 3 calling at Lake Eaton in Long Lake > > Northern Saw-whet Owl – 1 tooting along Sabattis Circle Road! > > Downy Woodpecker > > Hairy Woodpecker > > Black-backed Woodpecker – female drumming and viewed along Route 30 (just > north of John Dillon Park) > > Pileated Woodpecker – some drumming along Sabattis Circle Road and one > flyover near Horseshoe Lake > > Gray Jay – 8; (pair at Round Lake Trailhead, 3 at Sabattis Bog, 2 at > Santanoni Dr. in Newcomb, and 1 heard one calling near Sand Pond Marsh in > North Hudson) > > Blue Jay > > American Crow > > Common Raven > > Black-capped Chickadee > > Boreal Chickadee – 7 (flocks of at least 4 and 3 in the vicinity of Sand > Pond Marsh along the Blueridge Road) Nice views! > > Red-breasted Nuthatch > > White-breasted Nuthatch – 2 (rare to see this winter!) > > Golden-crowned Kinglet > > Purple Finch – lots of singing! > > Red Crossbill – many! Rt. 30, Sabattis Rd. (4 gritting with WWCRs), > Horseshoe Lake Rd. (Rt. 421) > <https://maps.google.com/?q=Rt.+421)+%E2%80%93+2&entry=gmail&source=g>– 2 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=Rt.+421)+%E2%80%93+2&entry=gmail&source=g> > locations (2 gritting with PISIs, and 4 gritting with WWCRs), and several > locations along the Blueridge Road (in the Sand Pond Marsh vicinity, we > observed 4 Red Crossbills feeding on Tamarack cone seeds). > > White-winged Crossbill – many! Rt. 30 – several (views past John Dillon > Park and a pair with a female picking nesting material where we fed Gray > Jays), Sabattis Rd. - 6, Horseshoe Lake Rd. (Rt. 421) - 2 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=Rt.+421)+-+2&entry=gmail&source=g>, and flock > of at least 6 flying over us as we looked at the Boreal Chickadees in the > Sand Pond Marsh vicinity > > Pine Siskin – many > > American Goldfinch > > American Tree Sparrow – several at a feeder in Newcomb > > Dark-eyed Junco > > > > I went out today (February 23, 2018) for a quick trip just before the > rain/ice began (in Long Lake). A Pileated Woodpecker loudly foraged along > Sabattis Circle Road. Gray Jays are in nesting mode and I only saw one > pair at Sabattis Bog. I spotted 2 male Red Crossbills perched along Route > 28N at the edge of Shaw Pond. One male was singing from the top of a > Balsam Fir. A White-winged Crossbill was calling as it flew around > Sabattis Bog. I found 2 male White-winged Crossbills gritting in Sabattis > Circle Road near a marsh area, and then one flew up to the top of a spruce > and began to sing. It’s nice to have nesting birds in winter! > > > > Joan Collins > > 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:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > ABA <http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> > *Please submit your observations to **eBird* > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>*!* > -- > -- Zach Schwartz-Weinstein 203 500 7774 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
