The unusual warm-ups in the central Adirondacks added a bit of open water in strong current areas and waterfowl and gulls suddenly appeared (in February!). Red Crossbills continue to be widespread and White-winged Crossbills were particularly active on 2/28/18. Birding in an area along Route 30 in Long Lake we found at least a dozen and a highlight for me was observing aggression between two males. One male was foraging on spruce cones and began to look up with its bill completely open - it did this over and over as another male flew overhead. The flying male eventually evicted the foraging male and took its place. I've observed this behavior in male Red Crossbills and it was interesting to see it in male White-winged Crossbills also. Here are few observations from the past week:
March 1, 2018 - My older son and I had appointments in the Potsdam - Canton area, so this wasn't a birding trip, but we did feed Gray Jays in Long Lake on our way. We saw 4 Gray Jays (2 pairs at 2 different stops) - White-winged Crossbills were heard along Route 30 and at Sabattis Bog - a Ruffed Grouse flew across Sabattis Circle Road - 4 Bald Eagles were observed on Tupper Lake - and 2 male Common Mergansers were observed on an open channel at Tupper Lake. Out birding on February 28, 2018 (beautiful, calm wind day!), we found the following 27 species by birding in Long Lake (Hamilton Co.), Piercefield (St. Lawrence Co.), Newcomb, Minerva, and North Hudson (Essex Co.): Canada Goose - ~8 on Long Lake Mallard - 4 on the outlet of Little Tupper Lake (also the inlet of Round Lake) Greater Scaup - 1 with the Mallards above Ruffed Grouse - foraging in a deciduous tree along Tahawus Road (in Newcomb) Bald Eagle - 2 (adult and juvenile) eating the remains of a large bird with black wings along the Hudson River (Tahawus Road in Newcomb) Sharp-shinned Hawk - flyover Route 28N Downy Woodpecker Black-backed Woodpecker - female just north of John Dillon Park along Route 30 in Long Lake Pileated Woodpecker - several! Including 2 flyovers at the inlet area of Little Tupper Lake Gray Jay - 8! (2 along Rt. 30, 2 Round Lake Trailhead on Sabattis Circle Road, 2 at Sabattis Bog, and 2 along the Blueridge Road in North Hudson near the Sand Pond Marsh area) Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Boreal Chickadee - 9! (flocks of 4, 3, and 2 along the Blueridge Road near the Sand Pond Marsh area) nice views! Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper - singing! Golden-crowned Kinglet - several American Robin Purple Finch - many Red Crossbill - at least 10 (6 Rt. 30 in Long Lake, 2 females by the outlet of Little Tupper Lake, 1 at Sabattis Bog, and 1 at Sand Pond Marsh) Nice views! White-winged Crossbill - at least 14 (~12 along Route 30 in Long Lake, 1 heard at Sabattis Bog, and 1 heard at Sand Pond Marsh) Nice views! Pine Siskin - many! American Goldfinch Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird - 1 (Newcomb) Common Grackle - 1 (Newcomb) We also observed 2 Eastern Chipmunks along Route 421! Out birding on February 24, 2018 (some rain in the a.m., but not for long), our goal was finding Boreal Chickadees and White-winged Crossbills. We found the following 18 species by birding in Long Lake (Hamilton Co.), Piercefield (St. Lawrence Co.), Newcomb, Minerva, and North Hudson (Essex Co.): Ruffed Grouse Bald Eagle - 2 (Long Lake and Newcomb) Hairy Woodpecker Gray Jay - 4 (pair at the Round Lake Trailhead and 2 at Sabattis Bog) Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Boreal Chickadee - 7 (flocks of 4 and 3) in the Sand Pond Marsh vicinity on the Blueridge Road - nice view! Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Golden-crowned Kinglet Purple Finch - many Red Crossbill - many! (Rt. 30, Sabattis Road, Rt. 421 - Horseshoe Lake Road (feeding on Hemlock cone seeds), Rt. 28N in Long Lake, Rt. 28N in Newcomb, Blueridge Road in Minerva and North Hudson) White-winged Crossbill - Nice view along Route 30 in Long Lake! More heard and flyovers near Sand Pond Marsh in North Hudson. Pine Siskin - many American Goldfinch Dark-eyed Junco Joan Collins 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/ --
