March 22nd
March 18th
And in our corner of the world, it looks like this, STILL:
Service Road at Five Rivers EEC in Delmar
The deer watching was good...
We took a ride down to Germantown, on the Columbia County side of the Hudson River, on Saturday the 22nd. The hope was that some or all of the river ice had broken up, promoting northward movement of geese, ducks, and especially cormorants. We saw many groups of between two and thirty Canada Geese northbound along the partially unfrozen waterway. Small flocks of unidentified ducks flew past frequently as well.
Germantown Boat Launch
Barge traffic, snow-covered Catskill Mountains behind
Brash ice heading downriver on the ebb tide
At the RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary in Catskill, two Great Blue Herons flew over the cattail marsh, investigating the mostly frozen RamsHorn Creek. Bald Eagles, one adult and one sub-adult, were in the area also. No sign of any migrants.
Trailhead at RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary in Catskill
View from top of the observation tower at RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary
What's next:
March 22-28: The fourth week of March usually features a brief break between the early moving migrants, and the steady stream of new species that will be seen almost daily as the calendar turns to April. Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, and occasionally Long-tailed Duck will begin to show up this week, and Eastern Meadowlarks can be heard singing on sunny, warm mornings (remember those?) around this time. This year, we'll be playing catch up, as we are still waiting for Tree Swallows, Field and Fox Sparrows, Eastern Phoebes, and Pied-billed Grebes, among others. Don't forget to report your Rusty Blackbirds to Ebird, or at this website.
Next week:
Loons, Ospreys, and our first migrant warbler?
TW
At 2:00 from Castleton, the geese were flying back south...
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