Female Red Crossbills have been observed over the past couple weeks, but no fledglings have yet been observed - it should be any day! Yesterday, Ellie George and I viewed a White-winged Crossbill pair in North Hudson - the first female I've observed at this location. So the young of both the Red and White-winged Crossbills must be old enough to be left alone in nests at this point.
The Tupper Lake Sandhill Crane family (now 3 instead of 4) has been foraging in the fields along Dugal Road. One of the 2 juveniles disappeared at the end of July - beginning of August. People in Tupper Lake suspect it was taken by a coyote. Ellie and I saw the family yesterday at the edge of Dugal Road and she took fantastic photos! We stayed in the car with the engine off and the cranes appeared comfortable with that arrangement. One of the adult cranes was digging with its bill and feeding worms to the juvenile! We also saw a solo adult Sandhill Crane in the field along Stetson Road (where the family also feeds). This is likely the solo bird that was often seen in the marsh by the bowling alley throughout the breeding season. We wondered if it was one of the juveniles from the prior year. Mice are beginning to come in our house which I was expecting with the remarkable food crop on the trees. It should be a good winter for the Barred Owls. August 28, 2017 North Hudson, Minerva, Newcomb (Essex Co.), Long Lake (Hamilton Co.), and Tupper Lake (Franklin Co.) with Ellie George and Maple (her adorable yellow lab!) The marsh in North Hudson was really active early in the morning and I think we were there for a couple hours watching all the non-stop activity around us! 49 species found: Canada Goose Wood Duck Mallard Pied-billed Grebe - 4 at Shaw Pond in Long Lake Ruby-throated Hummingbird Sandhill Crane - 4 (family of 3 along Dugal Road, and a solo adult along Stetson Road in Tupper Lake) Common Loon Double-crested Cormorant - on Little Tupper Lake Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle - 2 (adult and juv. in Tupper Lake) Broad-winged Hawk Belted Kingfisher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Alder Flycatcher - several singing along the Hudson River off Tahawus Road Least Flycatcher - 1 Eastern Phoebe - 2 Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Gray Jay - 6 (3 at the Round Lake Trailhead, and 3 at Sabattis Bog in Long Lake) Blue Jay Amer. Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Boreal Chickadee - 2 near the Boreas River Bridge on the Blueridge Road Red-breasted Nuthatch Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush Amer. Robin Gray Catbird Cedar Waxwing Purple Finch Red Crossbill - many! There were many at the marsh in North Hudson and some of the males were singing. We also heard more at the Boreas River Bridge location on the Blueridge Road. White-winged Crossbill - just as we arrived at the marsh in North Hudson, a pair flew in to bathe! They stayed quiet and then flew across the marsh when they were done. (Red Crossbills were also dropping down to the water and cleaning their bills on the dead stumps nearby.) American Goldfinch Black-and-white Warbler Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat Magnolia Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Canada Warbler - singing at the marsh in North Hudson! Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco We also saw several Giant Swallowtails. Out birding on 8/26/17 at Whiteface Mountain, Bloomingdale locations, and Blue Mountain Road (Madawaska Trail), (Essex and Franklin Counties), we found the following 43 species: Mallard Ring-billed Gull Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon - in pursuit of a songbird at Mirror Lake Inn! Eastern Phoebe Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Gray Jay - 5; 1 along Blue Mountain Road, and 4 along the Madawaska Trail near the bog Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Barn Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Boreal Chickadee - ~20! This may be a new day-record for me! We kept finding Boreal Chickadee groups throughout the day! Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet - many! Ruby-crowned Kinglet - many on Whiteface! Bicknell's Thrush - ~8 heard calling at dawn Hermit Thrush American Robin Cedar Waxwing Purple Finch American Goldfinch Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat Black-throated Blue Warbler - female Palm Warbler - nice views! Yellow-rumped Warbler Lincoln's Sparrow - a surprise on the summit of Whiteface! Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco We observed a Giant Swallowtail in the parking area for the Madawaska Trail. Out birding on 8/25/17 in North Hudson, Minerva, Newcomb, Long Lake, and Tupper Lake for part of the day, we found the following 51 species: Canada Goose Wood Duck American Black Duck Mallard Wild Turkey Pied-billed Grebe - still feeding young at Shaw Pond in Long Lake! Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Virginia Rail - several at Shaw Pond in Long Lake! Sandhill Crane - 3 (one juvenile) in Tupper Lake along Dugal Road! Ring-billed Gull Common Loon - several Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle - adult at Tupper Lake Broad-winged Hawk - 2 Belted Kingfisher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - several! Hairy Woodpecker - several Black-backed Woodpecker - female along the Tahawus Road in Newcomb! Northern Flicker - 1 Pileated Woodpecker - 1 Blue-headed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Gray Jay - 6 (3 at the Round Lake Trailhead, and 3 at Sabattis Bog - all in Long Lake) Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Boreal Chickadee - 5 at the marsh along the Blueridge Road in North Hudson; nice views! Red-breasted Nuthatch Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Hermit Thrush American Robin - many on the move Gray Catbird Cedar Waxwing Purple Finch - several Red Crossbill - many; 8 at the marsh along the Blueridge Road; more heard along the Hudson River at Tahawus Road; at Sabattis Road birds were calling near the Little Tupper Lake inlet and Sabattis Bog White-winged Crossbill - 1 male observed at the marsh along the Blueridge Road American Goldfinch Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat Magnolia Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Chipping Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak - female I give weekly talks at The Hedges in Blue Mountain Lake where I am usually outside. On 8/24/17, we were inside due to colder temps, but with the windows open. Attendees told me they had been hearing a Barred Owl each night. My presentation has lots of audio sounds and Barred Owl is one of them. As I was breaking down my projector/computer, a Barred Owl began to vocalize right outside the window! I suspect it was looking for the "Barred Owl" it heard inside the building! My older son and I observed the Tupper Lake Sandhill Crane family (3) along Dugal Road in Tupper Lake on 8/23/17. Joan Collins President, NYS Ornithological Association Editor, New York Birders Long Lake, NY (315) 244-7127 cell (518) 624-5528 home http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/ http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian -- 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/ --
