[nysbirds-l] Finch update/Massawepie Mire/Roosevelt Truck Trail
Hamilton & St. Lawrence Counties I returned to Long Lake on April 2nd after being away for nearly 3 weeks. There was 2 feet of snow when I left on March 14th. Currently, there are just a few isolated patches of snow left in sheltered areas of the woods and virtually no mud at all. My husband reported that seaplanes and boats went into Long Lake in March - certainly a new early record. Red and White-winged Crossbills are still around and the huge Pine Siskin irruption continues. I drove into Massawepie Mire yesterday, April 8 - an early record for me in spring - and there was no mud on the road! My prior early record was April 12, 2010 when David Buckley and I found the mire already full of singing Palm Warblers. Yesterday, I did not find any Palm Warblers, so I am slowly honing in on an actual arrival date for this species. (Yesterday, I did not find any Pine Warblers either.) I began the hike at 6:40 a.m. (very cold) and I hiked 6 miles round-trip (just short of the Grass River Flow). Highlights included a non-stop singing Northern Shrike - I was in ear-birding heaven! The first year bird went through a whole barrage of different vocalizations. Another highlight was the impressive numbers of White-winged Crossbills (including young) foraging on black spruce cones (mostly calling, but there was still some singing too). I was alarmed by the dry conditions at the mire. Given the lack of snow and warm temps, the vernal pools, which are normally abundant at the mire, were non-existent. There is also a lot of tree damage from the constant high-wind storms. On another negative note, there was a great deal of logging (again) over the winter, and many areas along the drive looked like a lunar landscape. (I'll post my eBird report below.) I also hiked the Mountaineer Trail around Massawepie Lake yesterday - similar species were found and there was a Common Loon on the lake. (Also a Common Loon on Catamount Pond by the entrance to Massawepie.) The first Common Loon on Long Lake was observed on April 5th. I hiked the Roosevelt Truck Trail on April 7th (eBird report below).White-winged Crossbills were found on all hikes over the past week (Northville-Placid Trail (S) in Long Lake on 4/4, Sabattis Bog on 4/6, Roosevelt Truck Trail on 4/7, and Massawepie Mire on 4/8). I also found a dead (road-killed) female White-winged Crossbill near a marsh along Route 28N in Newcomb. I observed 3 male White-winged Crossbills gritting near the Route 28N - Blue Ridge Road intersection on 4/7. A road-killed Pine Siskin was found on Route 28N near the Lindsay Marsh Trailhead. There was a group of about 10 siskins gritting and when they flew up, there was one bird left behind - the dead bird. As I sat in my car watching, a Pine Siskin kept flying down to the dead bird and hopping around it - very sad. eBird reports: Massawepie Mire, St. Lawrence, US-NY Apr 8, 2012 6:40 AM - 11:40 AM Protocol: Traveling 6.0 mile(s) 20 species Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) 2 Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) 1 Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 1 Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) 1 1st year bird vocalizing! Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) 2 Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 60 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2 Common Raven (Corvus corax) 2 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 30 Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 12 Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 16 Many singing birds along the 3-mile hike in. Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 8 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 20 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 8 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 60 Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) 2 Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) 18 White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) 68 Throughout the mire and juveniles observed. Birds were flying around the mire and feeding on black spruce cones. Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) 120 Huge irruption continues... This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) Roosevelt Truck Trail--Southern Trailhead, Essex, US-NY Apr 7, 2012 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Protocol: Traveling 5.0 mile(s) 15 species Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) 2 Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 1 Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) 1 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 25 Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) 3 Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 9 Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 16 Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 15 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 40 Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) 2 Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) 3 White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) 2 Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) 60 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) Also yesterday (on Easter), I found
[nysbirds-l] Finch update/Massawepie Mire/Roosevelt Truck Trail
Hamilton St. Lawrence Counties I returned to Long Lake on April 2nd after being away for nearly 3 weeks. There was 2 feet of snow when I left on March 14th. Currently, there are just a few isolated patches of snow left in sheltered areas of the woods and virtually no mud at all. My husband reported that seaplanes and boats went into Long Lake in March - certainly a new early record. Red and White-winged Crossbills are still around and the huge Pine Siskin irruption continues. I drove into Massawepie Mire yesterday, April 8 - an early record for me in spring - and there was no mud on the road! My prior early record was April 12, 2010 when David Buckley and I found the mire already full of singing Palm Warblers. Yesterday, I did not find any Palm Warblers, so I am slowly honing in on an actual arrival date for this species. (Yesterday, I did not find any Pine Warblers either.) I began the hike at 6:40 a.m. (very cold) and I hiked 6 miles round-trip (just short of the Grass River Flow). Highlights included a non-stop singing Northern Shrike - I was in ear-birding heaven! The first year bird went through a whole barrage of different vocalizations. Another highlight was the impressive numbers of White-winged Crossbills (including young) foraging on black spruce cones (mostly calling, but there was still some singing too). I was alarmed by the dry conditions at the mire. Given the lack of snow and warm temps, the vernal pools, which are normally abundant at the mire, were non-existent. There is also a lot of tree damage from the constant high-wind storms. On another negative note, there was a great deal of logging (again) over the winter, and many areas along the drive looked like a lunar landscape. (I'll post my eBird report below.) I also hiked the Mountaineer Trail around Massawepie Lake yesterday - similar species were found and there was a Common Loon on the lake. (Also a Common Loon on Catamount Pond by the entrance to Massawepie.) The first Common Loon on Long Lake was observed on April 5th. I hiked the Roosevelt Truck Trail on April 7th (eBird report below).White-winged Crossbills were found on all hikes over the past week (Northville-Placid Trail (S) in Long Lake on 4/4, Sabattis Bog on 4/6, Roosevelt Truck Trail on 4/7, and Massawepie Mire on 4/8). I also found a dead (road-killed) female White-winged Crossbill near a marsh along Route 28N in Newcomb. I observed 3 male White-winged Crossbills gritting near the Route 28N - Blue Ridge Road intersection on 4/7. A road-killed Pine Siskin was found on Route 28N near the Lindsay Marsh Trailhead. There was a group of about 10 siskins gritting and when they flew up, there was one bird left behind - the dead bird. As I sat in my car watching, a Pine Siskin kept flying down to the dead bird and hopping around it - very sad. eBird reports: Massawepie Mire, St. Lawrence, US-NY Apr 8, 2012 6:40 AM - 11:40 AM Protocol: Traveling 6.0 mile(s) 20 species Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) 2 Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) 1 Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 1 Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) 1 1st year bird vocalizing! Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) 2 Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 60 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2 Common Raven (Corvus corax) 2 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 30 Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 12 Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 16 Many singing birds along the 3-mile hike in. Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 8 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 20 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 8 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 60 Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) 2 Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) 18 White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) 68 Throughout the mire and juveniles observed. Birds were flying around the mire and feeding on black spruce cones. Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) 120 Huge irruption continues... This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) Roosevelt Truck Trail--Southern Trailhead, Essex, US-NY Apr 7, 2012 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Protocol: Traveling 5.0 mile(s) 15 species Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) 2 Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 1 Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) 1 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 25 Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) 3 Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 9 Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 16 Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 15 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 40 Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) 2 Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) 3 White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) 2 Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) 60 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) Also yesterday (on Easter), I found a
