The tip of the spear...

While we've been waiting for migrant passerines to show up in our area, loons, grebes , ducks, and other waterbirds have been using the local river corridors to move back towards their breeding grounds.

Caspian Tern, Mohawk River near Cohoes

Three Caspian Terns, with Ring-billed Gulls, Mohawk River near Cohoes

Belted Kingfishers "doing it", Normanskill

male, flying right, and female, left, Belted Kingfishers 

Osprey with goldfish snack, The Crossings of Colonie

Horned Grebe, The Crossings of Colonie

 Horned Grebe, The Crossings of Colonie

Five Bonaparte's Gulls, (two with black hoods), and larger Ring-billed Gulls

 Same birds as above, now with a guest- Caspian Tern (right)

Virginia Rail, RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary, Catskill

Observation tower, RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary, Catskill

Listening to Virginia Rails, RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary, Catskill

What's Next:

April 26- May 3: The early neotropical migrants are piling up just to our south, and will be arriving shortly, perhaps as early as Tuesday morning (29th), and continuing sporadically into the weekend. The list of expected arrivals is a long one:

Vireos: Warbling and Yellow-throated.

Warblers: Blue-winged, Black-throated Green, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Prairie, Black-and-white, American Redstart, Blackburnian, Nashville, Northern Parula, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, and Magnolia.

Woodland songbirds: Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager.

Sparrows: White-crowned, Clay-colored (rare).

Shorebirds: Solitary and Least Sandpiper, Dunlin.

Miscellany: Chimney Swift, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Bobolink, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Cliff Swallow.

If the weather conditions are favorable, i.e. warm temperatures and south winds, all these species could show up by the end of the period; if not, they will trickle in at a much slower rate. Stay tuned

Capital Region Bird-finding Calendar is here


TW