Here come the waterbirds...

The farm field at the north end of Wright's Loop in Stillwater frequently floods during heavy rains.  It offers good habitat for wading birds, and shorebirds during migration. After the recent deluge of rain throughout June, the field was completely inundated, but the level is coming down now, and may be attractive to passing birds.

 North end of Wright's Loop in Stillwater (click to enlarge)

  North end of Wright's Loop in Stillwater (click to enlarge)

The water level of the Mohawk River has come down over the last few weeks as well. When the gauge reading falls below ten feet, the rocky flats begin to be exposed, providing shorebird habitat, and resting areas for gulls and others.

Cohoes Flats, from Clark Ave. access (click to enlarge)

Spillway at Cohoes Flats (click to enlarge)

Occasionally, uncommon gulls, terns and other waterbirds that wander, or use the corridor to migrate, can be found around the flats.

Caspian Tern, Cohoes Flats (click to enlarge)

One of the premier migration stopover spots for waterbirds in the Northeastern United States is the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, located at the northern end of Cayuga Lake, between Syracuse and Rochester. Here is a link to a checklist of birds seen there, and their frequency of occurrence.

Montezuma NWR and other wetlands surrounding it make up the greater Montezuma Wetlands Complex. One of the finest wetlands is the Knox-Marsellus Marsh along East Rd. just north of the refuge.

(click to enlarge)

On the morning we arrived at the marsh, the diversity and especially the quantity of birds present was quite extraordinary, nothing that one would ever see in the Capital Region. Many dozens of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, half a dozen species of duck, more than a hundred Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, hundreds of smaller sandpipers and "peeps", gulls, Caspian and Black Terns, and two Sandhill Cranes. The downside is the distance from the observing location to the water, which is over 300 yards away and well below the observer.

Knox-Marsellus Marsh viewing area (click to enlarge)

Knox-Marsellus Marsh viewing area (click to enlarge)

Towpath Rd., at the southern end of of the marsh, offers a different angle to view the wetlands, closer to ground level, and attracts a few shorebirds on exposed mudflats.

 Knox-Marsellus Marsh from Towpath Rd. (click to enlarge)

 Puddler's Marsh, immediately east of K-M Marsh (click to enlarge)

 Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets at K-M Marsh (click to enlarge)

  Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets at K-M Marsh (click to enlarge)

The water level at the May's Point Pool was relatively high, and there were scattered Great Blue Herons, American Coots, Common Gallinules, and Pied-billed Grebes.

 platform at the May's Point Pool (click to enlarge)

 May's Point Pool (click to enlarge)

An interesting pair of visitors recently arrived in a remnant flooded woodland near the May's Point Pool- two adult Red-headed Woodpeckers!

Dead snags with many woodpecker holes (click to enlarge)

 Red-headed Woodpecker peering out of the bottom hole (click to enlarge)

At the Tschache Pool there were two Common Terns present, flying about gracefully and occasionally twisting and turning in mid-air.

 view from the observation tower at Tschache Pool (click to enlarge)

view from the observation tower at Tschache Pool (click to enlarge)

At the refuge Visitor Center, there is a healthy colony of Purple Martins right next to the parking lot. Almost all the "apartments" were occupied, and there was much coming and going and gurgling chatter.

 Purple Martin colony at Montezuma NWR Visitor Center (click to enlarge)

 Purple Martin colony at Montezuma NWR Visitor Center (click to enlarge)

 Visitor Center (click to enlarge)

The Main Pool at the refuge was drained this season in order to grow vegetation to assist hungry migrating waterfowl and others. There are still some smaller pools of rainwater around. We had an immature Sora pop out of the grass very close to our vehicle, offering splendid views. 

 Main Pool (?) at Montezuma NWR (click to enlarge)

 Main Pool at Montezuma NWR (click to enlarge)

 Bindweed along the roadside (click to enlarge)

There is a large impoundment at the end of Van Dyne Spoor Rd. near Savannah that held many waterbird families. There were numerous Common Gallinules, American Coots, Soras, Black-crowned Night-Herons, Least and American Bittern, and Pied-billed Grebes.

 Impoundment at the end of Van Dyne Spoor Rd. (click to enlarge)

  Impoundment at the end of Van Dyne Spoor Rd. (click to enlarge)

 American Coots (click to enlarge)

 Pied-billed Grebes and American Coots (click to enlarge)

Larger versions of these images are available at the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31316159@N02/


TW

Summer birding- The Adirondacks and Vermont

Every summer in early July, we head for the Adirondacks and/or Vermont. It offers the chance to see boreal birds, both summer breeders and year-round residents. 

Our first stop was at the eastern end of Little Tupper Lake in Hamilton County, NY. There was a pair of breeding-plumaged Common Loons just offshore.

Heading out Sabattis Circle Rd., we stopped along the roadside next to a bog opening. This location has consistently proven to be an excellent spot to see birds. We observed Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Winter Wren, both species of kinglet, Hermit and Wood Thrush,  Nashville Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, and Northern Parula.

 Sabattis Circle Rd., near Little Tupper Lake (click to enlarge)

 

bog opening at Sabattis Circle Rd. (click to enlarge)

At Bloomingdale Bog, which straddles the Essex/Franklin County, NY border, we walked south of County Rt. 55 for about half a mile. We observed a few Lincoln's Sparrows, along with Chipping, Song, Swamp, and White-throated Sparrow.

 old railroad bed at Bloomingdale Bog (click to enlarge)

 Bloomingdale Bog (click to enlarge)

power line cut at Bloomingdale Bog (click to enlarge)

Just beyond the power line cut is a wooden platform feeder where visitors deposit bird seed, peanuts, and other not-really-for-the-birds type foods. A family of Gray Jays has learned to silently trail behind visitors, and if need be, to glide right next to potential meal tickets. I have mixed feelings about this, but it's hard not to smile when a Gray Jay is looking you in the eye, eating hulled sunflower seeds from your hand.

juvenile Gray Jay taking seeds while parent observes from nearby branch (click to enlarge)

 adult Gray Jay (click to enlarge)

 juvenile Gray Jay (click to enlarge)

Palm Warbler (yellow) in a larch tree (click to enlarge)

  Bloomingdale Bog (click to enlarge)

 Bloomingdale Bog (click to enlarge)

 Bloomingdale Bog (click to enlarge)

After Bloomingdale Bog, we headed up Oregon Plains Rd. to the east end of Bigelow Rd., where we parked and walked in. Bigelow Rd. is renowned for hosting two other boreal residents, Black-backed Woodpecker and Boreal Chickadee. We came upon a couple of birders from Pennsylvania who had seen two Boreal Chickadees just before we arrived, but they could not be relocated. Due to the recent deluge of rain, the road was impassible without proper boots, so we reluctantly turned about-face and hiked back to the parking area.

Our final birding stop was private property at the Intervale Lowlands near Lake Placid, by invitation of the owner. We made a mid-afternoon loop through brushy fields, woodlands and the riparian corridor along the West Branch of the Ausable River. A wide variety of species were encountered, including Osprey, American Kestrel, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Veery, many Nashville and Magnolia Warblers, Indigo Bunting, and Purple Finch.

Olympic Ski Jumps at Lake Placid (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

We stayed at a lakefront cabin on Lake Champlain for two nights. The first day we got a bonus view with our evening meal...

 Lake Champlain at Westport (click to enlarge)

cabin on Lake Champlain at Westport (click to enlarge)

 double rainbow with dessert (click to enlarge)

 double rainbow with dessert (click to enlarge)

The next morning we headed over to Vermont on the Essex-Charlotte ferry, which is about a twenty-five minute journey. We drove over to Shelburne Pond, where a winnowing Wilson's Snipe circled over a nearby farm field. Not much else of note was found at the pond and surounding area, so we headed up to Shelburne Farms.

Adirondack Mountains from the ferry (click to enlarge)

Shelburne Farms has some wonderful dairy products, thanks to their resident bovines. But they have something even better, much rarer in the upstate, interior New England area: Cattle Egrets. For Capital Region birders, Cattle Egrets are like American Coots. Most anywhere else in the country, the two species are commonplace, but not around our parts, you've got to work to see 'em. We paid our admission to the farm grounds, and walked the gravel path out past the pastures towards the dairy barn, hoping for a lucky break. We got one, or rather two, perched up on a pair of fence posts near the barn.

 Cattle Egrets (click to enlarge)

Cattle Egrets (click to enlarge)

Cattle Egrets (click to enlarge)

Cattle Egrets (click to enlarge)

Cattle Egrets (click to enlarge)

Cattle Egrets (click to enlarge)

Back at our cabin, we had a real surprise waiting for us on our front door, a Luna Moth! 

 

Luna Moth (click to enlarge)

Tuesday morning we went back to Bloomindale Bog and Bigelow Rd. We were able to hear a pair of Boreal Chickadees along Bigelow Rd., but they never came close enough to the road for visual confirmation.

bridge near Bigelow Rd. (click to enlarge)

Bigelow Rd. (click to enlarge)

TW