Hi all, For anyone more interested in the details about the Finch Research Network crossbill survey Ryan Mandelbaum and I did 10 days ago, see here for more: https://finchnetwork.org/field-report-new-yorks-adirondack-park-is-having-its-best-crossbill-year-of-the-century-so-far
We also had a Golden Eagle and a calling Northern Goshawk. The Goshawk started calling as we were photographing and recording singing crossbills of both species along Tahawus Road. best, Matt On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 1:18 PM Joan Collins < joancoll...@adirondackavianexpeditions.com> wrote: > Thanks Greg! I was just thinking that we could probably confirm Red and > White-winged Crossbills for the Atlas in every block in the central > Adirondacks this year! Juveniles should be showing up in late March and > April. > > > > There was something else I forgot to mention in my post. Most birders are > aware of the problem with crossbills being killed in the roads while > gritting because they fly up last minute (so usually they are not run over, > but smacked hard enough to die). One of the things I’ve learned to do > living in the Adirondacks is to immediately hit my car horn when I see a > deer – this is really effective since they run away from the sound (rather > than running toward your headlights like they do at night when blinded). I > have tried hitting my horn with crossbill flocks several times this winter > and it works! They immediately fly up when they hear the horn! It isn’t > always possible to react that fast – I came around the corner on Route 28N > in Long Lake the other day to crossbills all over the road – I swerved my > way through them and was fortunate not to hit any. There was no time to > hit the horn. But when you do have time, it does work. I hope this advice > saves a few crossbills because it is an awful problem. > > > > Joan Collins > > Adirondack Avian Expeditions & Workshops LLC > > Editor, *New York Birders* > > Long Lake, NY > > (315) 244-7127 cell > > (518) 624-5528 home > > http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/ > > http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian > > > > *From:* nnybi...@groups.io <nnybi...@groups.io> *On Behalf Of *Greg > Lawrence via groups.io > *Sent:* Tuesday, February 8, 2022 10:49 AM > *To:* nnybi...@groups.io; nnybi...@groups.io > *Subject:* Re: [NNYBirds] Winter Birding Weekends in the central > Adirondacks (Hamilton and Essex Counties) > > > > In addition to the locations Joan mentioned from this weekend (which were > all incredible!), for anyone coming up to (or just looking for a closer > crossbill location) the ADKs from the western or central parts of the > state, a great place to check is around the towns of Forestport and Ohio in > Oneida/Herkimer Counties. Robert Buckert and I had Red Crossbills along > North Lake Rd. heading ENE from Forestport starting from the old > communications tower grounds just over the Herkimer County line all the way > to Atwell on North Lake, where we had a couple large, very active Red > Crossbill flocks along with a White-winged Crossbill. Crossbills were > gritting in a few spots along this stretch, with another good spot at the > intersection of N Lake Rd. and Farr Rd. at Otter Brook. We had a lot of > Purple Finches and American Goldfinches along this stretch as well. > > > > Please note any breeding activity such as singing, courtship, or even > gathering of nest material (Robert and I had a pair of White-wingeds > gathering nest material at the Raquette Lake outlet bridge on Saturday), > and put any eBird lists w/ crossbill breeding activity in the NY Breeding > Bird Atlas portal (ebird.org/atlasny)-this is a great way to contribute > unique and meaningful data on this extraordinary event to the atlas even > during the winter! > > > > Good birding! > > Greg Lawrence > > > > On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, 10:18:29 AM EST, Dana Rohleder via groups.io > <dcrohleder=yahoo....@groups.io> wrote: > > > > > > Thanks for the post Joan! > > I can tell you where the Crossbills AREN'T. A week ago I took a long drive > making a loop from PK to Silver Lake Bog, Union Falls, Franklin Falls, and > Plank/Forestdale Rd. in calm, overcast, zero weather. On the entire > woodland route I only saw two birds - both Blue Jays! No Juncos, > Chickadees, Crows - nuthin'. I also saw very few cones that would at least > partially explain this. So if anyone is thinking about checking out the > Catamount/Falls vicinity for Crossbills, I would suggest finding another > area. > > -- > > Dana Rohleder > > Port Kent, NY > > On 2/8/2022 9:06 AM, Adirondack Avian Expeditions wrote: > > Hi Everyone, > > > > Two different Winter Birding Weekends were held in the central Adirondacks > the past two weekends – January 29-30, 2022 was cosponsored by the Town of > Long Lake Parks and Recreation Dept. and Northern New York Audubon, and > February 5-6, 2022 was sponsored by the NYS Ornithological Association. > Both weekends featured extremely cold weather with some difficult wind > chills! (Hand and foot warmers were used by all of us!) We had some > participants cancel as a result, but still had quite a few intrepid birders > brave the weather and the birds were terrific! Normally, both events would > feature a speaker and social dinner, but due to the pandemic, we decided to > just hold field trips. Hopefully, we’ll be able to have some indoor events > once again next year. > > > > The Red and White-winged Crossbill irruption is quite remarkable in the > central Adirondacks. It is the second largest White-winged Crossbill > irruption I’ve observed in over two decades and the largest Red Crossbill > irruption. Both species are abundant in the central Adirondacks. The > southern Adirondacks has a large Red Crossbill irruption with some > White-winged Crossbills also. I birded with Matt Young and Ryan Mandelbaum > on the Friday afternoon (1/28/22) before the first weekend event (they were > up to observe, record, and photograph crossbills). Matt remarked that this > is an overall record year for crossbills since both species are in such > large numbers at the same time. If you enjoy watching crossbills, this is > a fantastic winter in the central Adirondacks! > > > > We tallied 19 species the first weekend and 25 the second weekend by > staying within boreal habitat. All of our birding was in the Long Lake – > Newcomb – Minerva – N. Hudson region. Here are a few highlights from each > day: > > > > January 29, 2022 (all Long Lake locations in Hamilton Co.) > > > > Ruffed Grouse – 2 (1 in Sabattis Road and 1 feeding in a deciduous tree on > the drive to Sabattis Station) > > Black-backed Woodpecker – 2 (1 drumming north of John Dillon Park on Rt. > 30 and a female we hiked through snow to observe foraging along North Point > Road) > > Canada Jay – 6 (groups of 2 and 4 along Sabattis Road) > > Boreal Chickadee – 2 near a marsh along Route 30 > > Brown Creeper – 1 > > Purple Finch > > Red Crossbill – many > > White-winged Crossbill – many > > Pine Siskin – many > > American Goldfinch – many > > > > January 30, 2022 (Newcomb – Minerva – N. Hudson locations in Essex Co.) > > > > Ruffed Grouse – 2 (1 on Tahawus Road and 1 feeding in a tree at the Wolf > Pond Trailhead on the Blue Ridge Road) > > Sharp-shinned Hawk – hunting Red Crossbills in the village of Newcomb > > Black-backed Woodpecker – 2 (1 foraging bird at Hyslop Marsh and 1 female > observed along Tahawus Road – we had several White-winged Crossbills > singing around us as we observed the BBWO and I can’t believe I was > ignoring the WWCRs!) > > Pileated Woodpecker – heard on Tahawus Road > > Boreal Chickadee – 6 on both sides of the road by the Boreas River on the > Blue Ridge Road > > Purple Finch > > Red Crossbill – many > > White-winged Crossbill – many > > Pine Siskin > > American Goldfinch > > > > February 5, 2022 (all Long Lake locations in Hamilton Co.) > > > > Common Merganser – 2 females on a small patch of open water at the outlet > bridge of Raquette Lake (quite a surprise!) > > Bald Eagle – 2 adults (1 perched in the sun along Route 30 and 1 at the > outlet bridge of Raquette Lake) > > Black-backed Woodpecker – male observed north of John Dillon Park along > Rt. 30 > > Canada Jay – 10 (4 along Rt. 30, 2 at the Round Lake Trailhead, and 4 at > Sabattis Bog) > > Brown Creeper – 2 together along the North Point Road > > Purple Finch > > Red Crossbill – many > > White-winged Crossbill – many > > Pine Siskin > > American Goldfinch > > > > February 6, 2022 (Newcomb – Minerva – North Hudson locations in Essex Co.) > > > > Ruffed Grouse – 2 feeding together in a deciduous tree along Tahawus Road > > Black-backed Woodpecker – we had brief views of a foraging and > rattle-calling bird at Hyslop Marsh > > Canada Jay – 3 (2 at Hyslop Marsh that wanted to be fed – fortunately, > several participants had nuts to share! And 1 at Sand Pond Marsh along the > Blue Ridge Road) > > Boreal Chickadee – 3 east of the Boreas River bridge on the Blue Ridge > Road – fantastic views! It is a dangerous place to stop (narrow and twisty > with no shoulder) and I only stopped because I know the logging trucks > don’t run on Sundays. I used to regularly bird this entire road until > major logging operations started many years ago making it dangerous to pull > over. > > Golden-crowned Kinglet – 4 with the BOCHs (very low numbers this year for > this species, which makes two winters in a row with low numbers) > > Cedar Waxwing – 2 in Newcomb > > Purple Finch - many > > Red Crossbill – many > > White-winged Crossbill – many > > Pine Siskin - many > > American Goldfinch - many > > American Tree Sparrow – 4 at a feeder in Newcomb > > Northern Cardinal – vocalizing in Newcomb! > > > > It was really cold the morning of 2/6/22 and we celebrated seeing our car > temp indicators hit zero! When it hit 10 degrees, we took a walk on the > Tahawus Road and all the finches were in remarkable numbers. The highlight > of both weekends came for me on that walk when we stood listening to a male > White-winged Crossbill singing away at the top of a conifer along the road > with a male Red Crossbill a couple trees over also singing away (lots of > beautiful variation in the Red Crossbill’s song) – my ears were in heaven > with both songs going at the same time! It was interesting watching the > Red and White-winged Crossbills interacting and gritting together. > > > > Just an update on snow conditions – it is thigh deep for me when I venture > into it! So bushwhacking without snowshoes or skis would be tricky! > > > > Joan Collins > > Adirondack Avian Expeditions & Workshops LLC > > Editor, *New York Birders* > > Long Lake, NY > > (315) 244-7127 cell > > (518) 624-5528 home > > http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/ > <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/__;!!KEc8uF_xo8-al5zF!GfHT2hIZWqp2Gk9-sTfBm2wUrji0-E-TjyV-DrpAQ-fEqYj9N_f1IND3PxelUH0u1w$> > > > http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian > <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian__;!!KEc8uF_xo8-al5zF!GfHT2hIZWqp2Gk9-sTfBm2wUrji0-E-TjyV-DrpAQ-fEqYj9N_f1IND3PxdMdmQUBg$> > > _._,_._,_ > ------------------------------ > > Groups.io Links: > > You receive all messages sent to this group. > > View/Reply Online (#18320) <https://groups.io/g/NNYBirds/message/18320> | > Reply > To Group > <nnybi...@groups.io?subject=Re:%20Re%3A%20%5BNNYBirds%5D%20Winter%20Birding%20Weekends%20in%20the%20central%20Adirondacks%20%28Hamilton%20and%20Essex%20Counties%29> > | Reply To Sender > <glawrenc...@yahoo.com?subject=Private:%20Re:%20Re%3A%20%5BNNYBirds%5D%20Winter%20Birding%20Weekends%20in%20the%20central%20Adirondacks%20%28Hamilton%20and%20Essex%20Counties%29> > | Mute This Topic <https://groups.io/mt/88996677/3755154> | New Topic > <https://groups.io/g/NNYBirds/post> > Your Subscription <https://groups.io/g/NNYBirds/editsub/3755154> | Contact > Group Owner <nnybirds+ow...@groups.io> | Unsubscribe > <https://groups.io/g/NNYBirds/leave/6906990/3755154/1971223904/xyzzy> [ > joancoll...@adirondackavianexpeditions.com] > > _._,_._,_ > -- > *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/>*!* > -- > -- 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/ --
