[nysbirds-l] Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks of NY
I posted this to our Mountain Birdwatch list serve, but thought it might be of interest to NYS Birds and Northern NY Birds also. 6/23/12 Whiteface Mountain, 4,865', clear, calm winds, temp 52 to 58 degrees. After the past decade climbing mountains in the dark, and/or carrying a camping pack up peaks, it is a joy to have a drive-up mountain! Four of the six survey points are along the Whiteface Memorial Highway, so I can actually drive between points also! (Points 5 and 6 are down the trail, so I actually have to walk a little!) I abandoned a survey on Wednesday, June 20th due to 40 mph winds and blowing fog (Judith told me she abandoned Big Slide the same morning!). Sean O'Brien had accompanied me to record Bicknell's Thrush and the Fox Sparrow (more on this bird below) for the Cornell Lab. We spent a sleepless night in my car buffeted by high winds that never abated. Saturday morning's conditions were perfect. Here are the results (given that we actually do 4 surveys at each of 6 points now, I took the highest count of a species for each point): Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 7 (1,1,1,1,2,1) Black-capped Chickadee - 0 Boreal Chickadee - 0 Winter Wren - 11 (2,2,2,2,1,2) Bicknell's Thrush - 9 (3,1,2,2,1,0) Swainson's Thrush - 18 (5,3,3,3,2,2) Hermit Thrush - 0 Blackpoll Warbler - 8 (3,1,1,1,1,1) White-throated Sparrow - 17 (3,3,5,3,2,1) Fox Sparrow - 2 (0,0,1,1,0,0) An outlier way out of range! Red Squirrel - 0 Additional non-surveyed species found on Whiteface's summit: Red-breasted Nuthatch Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin - they have been up there for several years now! Nashville Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler (heard at point 6) Dark-eyed Junco White-winged Crossbill Pine Siskin I am frequently on Whiteface Mountain with clients and I found the singing Fox Sparrow on June 14th. The bird is holding a territory at a location between 4200 and 4300 feet. It was still there as of yesterday, June 24th. Fox Sparrows do not breed in NY, although maybe that will change now?! Sean O'Brien accompanied me again for the Saturday survey and he recorded both Bicknell's Thrush and the Fox Sparrow (beautiful recordings and I wish I had his wonderful recording equipment). I suspect I heard the same Fox Sparrow at points 3 and 4, so there is probably only one. When the Fox Sparrow began to sing at my 3rd point, I could still see Sean down the road. He looked up my way and although I couldn't see his expression, I know he was smiling! Sean and I have both been alarmed by the changes on Whiteface this year. It appears that Swainson's Thrush is now the most abundant thrush species on the summit. Sean had an earlier trip up Whiteface and was unable to find a singing Bicknell's Thrush to record among all the singing Swainson's Thrushes. Last year, I would estimate that it had become 50-50 at the summit, but it is clearly apparent this year that Swainson's Thrushes have rapidly overtaken Bicknell's Thrushes in numbers. (Yesterday, several Swainson's Thrushes were observed carrying food for young near the summit.) I surveyed Blue Mountain (3750') for many years, and I could usually count ~15 singing birds on my hike to the summit for the 4:30 a.m. survey (this peak is no longer surveyed). This year, I led a nocturnal climb up the peak during the Adirondack Birding Festival on June 9th in perfect conditions (clear with calm winds) and we only heard 3 calling birds and no singing. The summit was filled with singing Swainson's Thrushes. It was truly alarming. The movement of Swainson's Thrushes into higher elevations has been extremely rapid. (A change that Dan Lambert predicted would occur as our springs warm due to climate change - the cold springs kept Swainson's Thrushes in lower elevations.) To end on a lighter note, we found 2 snowshoe hares on Wednesday night near the summit, and one Saturday morning! The high winds and blowing fog on Tuesday-Wednesday made for a surreal experience on Whiteface. Sean and I drove up to the parking lot during the night and the tunnel into the mountain was lit up with fluorescent lights! Also, the ticket takers' radio was playing. It was like an eerie scene from "The Shining"! The light coming out of the tunnel looked odd amid the blowing fog and the radio playing with no one there was just creepy. For those unfamiliar with Whiteface, Franklin D. Roosevelt had the road, tunnel, and elevator built in the 1930s. The tunnel is very long and leads to an elevator that goes up 300 feet to the actual summit rocks. Every time I get in that tunnel, the "what ifs" start in my head - "what if there is an earthquake", etc. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1)
[nysbirds-l] Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks of NY
I posted this to our Mountain Birdwatch list serve, but thought it might be of interest to NYS Birds and Northern NY Birds also. 6/23/12 Whiteface Mountain, 4,865', clear, calm winds, temp 52 to 58 degrees. After the past decade climbing mountains in the dark, and/or carrying a camping pack up peaks, it is a joy to have a drive-up mountain! Four of the six survey points are along the Whiteface Memorial Highway, so I can actually drive between points also! (Points 5 and 6 are down the trail, so I actually have to walk a little!) I abandoned a survey on Wednesday, June 20th due to 40 mph winds and blowing fog (Judith told me she abandoned Big Slide the same morning!). Sean O'Brien had accompanied me to record Bicknell's Thrush and the Fox Sparrow (more on this bird below) for the Cornell Lab. We spent a sleepless night in my car buffeted by high winds that never abated. Saturday morning's conditions were perfect. Here are the results (given that we actually do 4 surveys at each of 6 points now, I took the highest count of a species for each point): Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 7 (1,1,1,1,2,1) Black-capped Chickadee - 0 Boreal Chickadee - 0 Winter Wren - 11 (2,2,2,2,1,2) Bicknell's Thrush - 9 (3,1,2,2,1,0) Swainson's Thrush - 18 (5,3,3,3,2,2) Hermit Thrush - 0 Blackpoll Warbler - 8 (3,1,1,1,1,1) White-throated Sparrow - 17 (3,3,5,3,2,1) Fox Sparrow - 2 (0,0,1,1,0,0) An outlier way out of range! Red Squirrel - 0 Additional non-surveyed species found on Whiteface's summit: Red-breasted Nuthatch Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin - they have been up there for several years now! Nashville Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler (heard at point 6) Dark-eyed Junco White-winged Crossbill Pine Siskin I am frequently on Whiteface Mountain with clients and I found the singing Fox Sparrow on June 14th. The bird is holding a territory at a location between 4200 and 4300 feet. It was still there as of yesterday, June 24th. Fox Sparrows do not breed in NY, although maybe that will change now?! Sean O'Brien accompanied me again for the Saturday survey and he recorded both Bicknell's Thrush and the Fox Sparrow (beautiful recordings and I wish I had his wonderful recording equipment). I suspect I heard the same Fox Sparrow at points 3 and 4, so there is probably only one. When the Fox Sparrow began to sing at my 3rd point, I could still see Sean down the road. He looked up my way and although I couldn't see his expression, I know he was smiling! Sean and I have both been alarmed by the changes on Whiteface this year. It appears that Swainson's Thrush is now the most abundant thrush species on the summit. Sean had an earlier trip up Whiteface and was unable to find a singing Bicknell's Thrush to record among all the singing Swainson's Thrushes. Last year, I would estimate that it had become 50-50 at the summit, but it is clearly apparent this year that Swainson's Thrushes have rapidly overtaken Bicknell's Thrushes in numbers. (Yesterday, several Swainson's Thrushes were observed carrying food for young near the summit.) I surveyed Blue Mountain (3750') for many years, and I could usually count ~15 singing birds on my hike to the summit for the 4:30 a.m. survey (this peak is no longer surveyed). This year, I led a nocturnal climb up the peak during the Adirondack Birding Festival on June 9th in perfect conditions (clear with calm winds) and we only heard 3 calling birds and no singing. The summit was filled with singing Swainson's Thrushes. It was truly alarming. The movement of Swainson's Thrushes into higher elevations has been extremely rapid. (A change that Dan Lambert predicted would occur as our springs warm due to climate change - the cold springs kept Swainson's Thrushes in lower elevations.) To end on a lighter note, we found 2 snowshoe hares on Wednesday night near the summit, and one Saturday morning! The high winds and blowing fog on Tuesday-Wednesday made for a surreal experience on Whiteface. Sean and I drove up to the parking lot during the night and the tunnel into the mountain was lit up with fluorescent lights! Also, the ticket takers' radio was playing. It was like an eerie scene from The Shining! The light coming out of the tunnel looked odd amid the blowing fog and the radio playing with no one there was just creepy. For those unfamiliar with Whiteface, Franklin D. Roosevelt had the road, tunnel, and elevator built in the 1930s. The tunnel is very long and leads to an elevator that goes up 300 feet to the actual summit rocks. Every time I get in that tunnel, the what ifs start in my head - what if there is an earthquake, etc. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1)
