[nysbirds-l] White-winged Crossbills irrupting into the Adirondacks
Midday on October 27, 2021, I heard a flock of White-winged Crossbills flying over our house in Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) as I was getting in my car. At Sabattis Bog, I heard more White-winged Crossbills as I got out of the car and counted 14 birds fly over me. A few minutes later, a large flock of over 40 birds came from the same direction! (I had an appointment in Plattsburgh and had to quickly leave the bog - frustrating!) On October 29, I was heading to Willsboro and slowed down on the Blue Ridge Road where White-winged Crossbills (WWCRs) nest when they irrupt and I immediately saw a large flock flying across the road - I put the windows down and heard WWCRs calling! Late this afternoon around 4 p.m. (Oct. 30), Betsy Miner, Mar Bodine, and I briefly visited Sabattis Bog and we tallied 62 White-winged Crossbills in 3 different flocks (12, 20 - exact counts, and a conservative estimate of 30 on another large flock). It certainly appears that there is a large movement into the area going on! Matt Young and I always pine for another "2000-2001"-type remarkable crossbill winter, and this may finally be the year!!! (At least I can hope!) Both Red and White-winged Crossbills nested in the Adirondacks this past summer - arriving in June. This seems to be the typical pattern in irruptive years, with good numbers of Red Crossbills and smaller numbers of White-winged Crossbills irrupting in the summer - and then larger numbers of WWCRs irrupting for the winter. There is a nice stretch of weather (no precipitation and calm winds) beginning on Wednesday and I plan to spend some time visiting other typical WWCR nesting locations. Betsy and Mar said they'd visit locations in Bloomingdale to check. I have also been hearing Pine Siskins moving into the area over the past month. With excellent food crops in the Adirondacks, it should be an exciting winter! Here is the link to the annual Winter Finch Forecast from Tyler Hoar: https://finchnetwork.org/winter-finch-forecast-2021-2022-by-tyler-hoar Other recent observations: On Oct. 29 at 1 p.m., there was a Northern Shrike perched at the top of a tree along Jersey St. in Essex just west of the intersection with Sanders Road. Late that same day, a solo Rusty Blackbird flew over Shaw Pond in Long Lake and dropped into a muddy section. (On 9/28/21, we observed 16 Rusty Blackbirds foraging in the mud at Shaw Pond - we could see 16 at once, there were likely more. Sadly, this is the largest group of migrants I've observed in many years - a good sign, but nothing like flocks of over 100 common many years ago.) Waterfowl numbers are still high at Shaw Pond and I also noted at least 10 Beavers foraging in the lily pads! Robert Buckert and his friend Jules (both from Rochester) were up birding in the Adirondacks and I joined them one of the days (Oct. 18) - we had a terrific birding day, but the highlight was a male Moose that Robert spotted when we hiked the rail bed in Minerva! (We were looking for Red Crossbills.) It was a young male foraging in Vanderwhacker Brook. We observed it through my scope for a long time - and then we walked away without disturbing it at all! I've never walked away from a Moose sighting before! On the climate change subject: We just experienced our first September without a frost in the Adirondacks, and the first October without snow. At this point, October is now like September used to be. (First frost was on Oct. 24, 2021 - over a month later than was typical years ago.) On a positive note, my 18-month old grandson is a birder! (I didn't know this was possible!) I've noticed it since he was a baby in his stroller and he would attend to every bird that vocalized. I told my son and daughter-in-law then and they just laughed - well, they aren't laughing anymore! My grandson knows more birds than they do now! (He knows Red Crossbill and I can't wait to show him gritting birds in the road this winter!) He has his father's pianist ears and his mother's keen eyes, and he points out flying birds to me! I was talking with his mother yesterday, and he interrupted us by giving a Common Raven call (I taught him that and it is really funny to see him do it!) alerting me to a nearby raven that I hadn't noticed! He has the same interest in trees, plants, flowers, mushrooms, mammals, insects, etc. He wants me to name everything! I wish I could see him every day (I do see him several times a week). His mother sends me videos of him on my phone and it is so frustrating because I see him reacting to bird song and no one names the bird for him like I'd do! (In one video a Brown Creeper was singing and he turned and pointed to it, but no one named it for him!) Keep an eye on young people in your life with an interest in birds - it's never too early! Joan Collins Adirondack Avian Expeditions & Workshops LLC Editor, New York Birders Long Lake, NY (315) 244-7127 cell (518) 624-5528 home
[nysbirds-l] White-winged Crossbills irrupting into the Adirondacks
Midday on October 27, 2021, I heard a flock of White-winged Crossbills flying over our house in Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) as I was getting in my car. At Sabattis Bog, I heard more White-winged Crossbills as I got out of the car and counted 14 birds fly over me. A few minutes later, a large flock of over 40 birds came from the same direction! (I had an appointment in Plattsburgh and had to quickly leave the bog - frustrating!) On October 29, I was heading to Willsboro and slowed down on the Blue Ridge Road where White-winged Crossbills (WWCRs) nest when they irrupt and I immediately saw a large flock flying across the road - I put the windows down and heard WWCRs calling! Late this afternoon around 4 p.m. (Oct. 30), Betsy Miner, Mar Bodine, and I briefly visited Sabattis Bog and we tallied 62 White-winged Crossbills in 3 different flocks (12, 20 - exact counts, and a conservative estimate of 30 on another large flock). It certainly appears that there is a large movement into the area going on! Matt Young and I always pine for another "2000-2001"-type remarkable crossbill winter, and this may finally be the year!!! (At least I can hope!) Both Red and White-winged Crossbills nested in the Adirondacks this past summer - arriving in June. This seems to be the typical pattern in irruptive years, with good numbers of Red Crossbills and smaller numbers of White-winged Crossbills irrupting in the summer - and then larger numbers of WWCRs irrupting for the winter. There is a nice stretch of weather (no precipitation and calm winds) beginning on Wednesday and I plan to spend some time visiting other typical WWCR nesting locations. Betsy and Mar said they'd visit locations in Bloomingdale to check. I have also been hearing Pine Siskins moving into the area over the past month. With excellent food crops in the Adirondacks, it should be an exciting winter! Here is the link to the annual Winter Finch Forecast from Tyler Hoar: https://finchnetwork.org/winter-finch-forecast-2021-2022-by-tyler-hoar Other recent observations: On Oct. 29 at 1 p.m., there was a Northern Shrike perched at the top of a tree along Jersey St. in Essex just west of the intersection with Sanders Road. Late that same day, a solo Rusty Blackbird flew over Shaw Pond in Long Lake and dropped into a muddy section. (On 9/28/21, we observed 16 Rusty Blackbirds foraging in the mud at Shaw Pond - we could see 16 at once, there were likely more. Sadly, this is the largest group of migrants I've observed in many years - a good sign, but nothing like flocks of over 100 common many years ago.) Waterfowl numbers are still high at Shaw Pond and I also noted at least 10 Beavers foraging in the lily pads! Robert Buckert and his friend Jules (both from Rochester) were up birding in the Adirondacks and I joined them one of the days (Oct. 18) - we had a terrific birding day, but the highlight was a male Moose that Robert spotted when we hiked the rail bed in Minerva! (We were looking for Red Crossbills.) It was a young male foraging in Vanderwhacker Brook. We observed it through my scope for a long time - and then we walked away without disturbing it at all! I've never walked away from a Moose sighting before! On the climate change subject: We just experienced our first September without a frost in the Adirondacks, and the first October without snow. At this point, October is now like September used to be. (First frost was on Oct. 24, 2021 - over a month later than was typical years ago.) On a positive note, my 18-month old grandson is a birder! (I didn't know this was possible!) I've noticed it since he was a baby in his stroller and he would attend to every bird that vocalized. I told my son and daughter-in-law then and they just laughed - well, they aren't laughing anymore! My grandson knows more birds than they do now! (He knows Red Crossbill and I can't wait to show him gritting birds in the road this winter!) He has his father's pianist ears and his mother's keen eyes, and he points out flying birds to me! I was talking with his mother yesterday, and he interrupted us by giving a Common Raven call (I taught him that and it is really funny to see him do it!) alerting me to a nearby raven that I hadn't noticed! He has the same interest in trees, plants, flowers, mushrooms, mammals, insects, etc. He wants me to name everything! I wish I could see him every day (I do see him several times a week). His mother sends me videos of him on my phone and it is so frustrating because I see him reacting to bird song and no one names the bird for him like I'd do! (In one video a Brown Creeper was singing and he turned and pointed to it, but no one named it for him!) Keep an eye on young people in your life with an interest in birds - it's never too early! Joan Collins Adirondack Avian Expeditions & Workshops LLC Editor, New York Birders Long Lake, NY (315) 244-7127 cell (518) 624-5528 home
