February 17-20, 2012 St. Lawrence Valley & Adirondacks (St. Lawrence, Hamilton, Franklin, and Essex Counties)
The record warm winter this year is truly alarming. Some of the unusual results in northern NY: a lot of open water; lack of snow; intermittent rain nearly every week, springtails (snow fleas) have been observed since January (usually it is late March); Black Bear tracks in the snow; huge Amer. Crow flocks returned in January and they have been battling Common Ravens (normally this behavior begins in March); most of my feeder species are birds that normally leave the mountains in Oct.; Brown Creepers have been singing each day since 2/11; Anthony Collerton and I observed a Golden Eagle soaring over Big Brook in Long Lake on 2/16; and in the past two days, Brenda Inskeep and I observed 2 Red-tailed Hawks in the mountains (Lake Clear area, and Blue Mountain Lake). It doesn't feel like "February" at all in the Adirondacks. Finches: The Pine Siskin irruption is HUGE and I think there is a siskin (maybe several) in every bush of the Adirondacks! There is a good irruption of White-winged Crossbills and they have been actively singing for several weeks now. Red Crossbills are also singing (first singing heard on 2/8), but are not as widespread as White-winged Crossbills. The Red Crossbills can be found along the Route 28-Route 28N corridor including Inlet/Raquette Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, Long Lake, and Minerva. They nested last summer and now appear to be doing a winter nesting in the same areas. Several days ago, I observed a male Red Crossbill gritting on Route 28 between Blue Mountain Lake and Raquette Lake along with 2 juvenile Red Crossbills. Evening Grosbeaks showed up in Long Lake on February 4 and have been observed every day since (not sure where they were before 2/4!). Purple Finches and Amer. Goldfinches never left the mountains this year and Purple Finches are vocalizing as if it was already spring. 2/17/12 St. Lawrence Co. I had an early morning appointment in Potsdam, so I spent a few hours birding in the area. I traveled the "magic rectangle" (the St. Lawrence Valley's equivalent of the "magic triangle" in the Lake Champlain Valley!) - Regan Rd. to May Rd. to Pleasant Valley Rd. to Stockholm Rd. to Route 11 back to Regan Rd. (where I go to see Bohemian Waxwings, Northern Shrikes, and Rough-legged Hawks). Bohemian Waxwings are very reliable in this location every winter because of the vast invasive buckthorn vegetation. This year, the waxwings have competitors with record numbers of Amer. Robins staying north. Some of the species found: Rough-legged Hawk - dark morph (Route 11 Potsdam) Northern Shrike - Robinson Bay Rd. in Massena Bohemian Waxwing - 135; (110 on May Rd. and 25 on Pleasant Valley Rd. in Potsdam) I only counted the birds perched high - there were many more down in the buckthorn vegetation out of sight. 2/18/12 Hamilton & Essex Counties Sean O'Brien, Ted Mack, and I spent several hours birding in Long Lake, Ferd's Bog, and the Newcomb-Minerva area. Some of the species found: Gray Jay - 2 at Ferd's Bog Purple Finch Red Crossbill - by Long Lake White-winged Crossbill - many singing at Ferd's Bog and along Route 28N in Newcomb Pine Siskin - countless Evening Grosbeak - ~ 50 in Long Lake 2/19/12 & 2/20/12 Hamilton, St. Lawrence, Franklin, and Essex Counties Brenda Inskeep and I birded in Hannawa Falls/Potsdam/Stockholm in St. Lawrence Co., and then traveled to the Paul Smith's/Bloomingdale area in Franklin Co. on Sunday. This morning, we birded in Long Lake and Raquette Lake (Ferd's Bog) in Hamilton Co. Some of the 34 species found: Ruffed Grouse - 5 flushed on Bigelow Rd. Bald Eagle - soaring over May Rd. in Potsdam Rough-legged Hawk - 3; (2 in Hannawa Falls and 1 in Potsdam) Northern Flicker - 1 (early? Or did it ever leave?!) on Regan Rd. in Potsdam Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike - 3 (1 at the Sweeney - Back Hannawa Rd. intersection; 1 on Regan Rd. which we watched stab a mole/shrew, then pick it up in its bill and transfer to toes as it flew into the bushes; 1 at the Pleasant Valley Rd. - Stockholm Rd. intersection) Gray Jay - 1 in Bloomingdale and 2 at Ferd's Bog Boreal Chickadee - 5 at Bigelow Rd. (2 flocks) Brown Creeper - singing Golden-crowned Kinglet Bohemian Waxwing - 81 (30 in Hannawa Falls (Route 56), 40 on May Rd. in Potsdam, and 11 on Fletcher Farm Rd. in Bloomingdale) Purple Finch Red Crossbill - singing in Long Lake White-winged Crossbill - many singing in Bloomingdale, Ferd's Bog, and Route 28N in Newcomb Pine Siskin Evening Grosbeak - ~50 in Long Lake and at least one on the Keese Mills Rd. in Paul Smith's We observed a perplexing behavior - a battle between a male Evening Grosbeak and a male Red Crossbill in Long Lake (near where the Red Crossbills are singing/nesting). The grosbeak aggressively chased the crossbill back and forth for several minutes. I suspect the crossbill started the battle since the grosbeaks were just hanging out near a feeder area. I find Red Crossbills to be one of the most intriguing species in northern New York. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES 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://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
