Birding around Albany County...

Some random images from this week:

 Worm-eating Warbler, Deer Mountain Nature Trail (click to enlarge)

 Solitary Sandpiper, Normanskill (click to enlarge)

 Solitary Sandpiper, Normanskill (click to enlarge)

 Blue-winged Warbler, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Cape May Warbler, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Cape May Warbler, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Sora, Black Creek Marsh (click to enlarge)

Sora, Black Creek Marsh (click to enlarge)

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Week 11- What IS that sound...?

The Bobolink has one of the more unusual, and instantly recognizable, songs that we hear each spring starting about this time. The large, maintained grass field on the east side of the Five Rivers EEC property in Delmar is a showcase for these birds. One third of the field is cut each year in rotation, so that the habitat stays perfect for field birds. Eastern Meadowlark is seen here, and Savannah Sparrow as well. As more and more agricultural land reverts to shrubland and forest, it is vital to keep acreage like this in play for the rapidly declining populations of grassland species. In the winter Northern Harriers use the area, and Short-eared Owls have been seen in the vicinity of Five Rivers.

 Bobolink at Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

Bobolink at Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Bobolink at Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Bobolink at Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

Bobolink at Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Common Yellowthroat perched up and singing, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 White-crowned Sparrow, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

White-crowned Sparrow, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

What's Next:

May 10th- 16th

The caboose of the migration train is within sight. After this week, all new arrivals should be here, with the numbers of non-resident birds declining as we head towards June 1st.

The late Warbler group:

• Tennessee
• Bay-breasted
• Worm-eating
• Blackpoll
• Mourning

The late Flycatcher group: 

• Alder
• Eastern Wood-Pewee
• Olive-sided
• Willow

 Terns and sandpipers can be hit-or-miss, but given the right conditions:

• Common Tern
• Black Tern
• Semipalmated Plover
• Black-bellied Plover

On the evening of the tenth of May, and every subsequent evening for a couple of weeks, it is worth spending some time around dusk listening for flocks of Brant flying overhead. Their call is distinctive from that of both Canada Goose and Snow Goose.



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Slowly, but surely...

Spring migration has moved at a very deliberate pace so far, perhaps not so surprisingly after the cold overnight temperatures during the last half of April set back the flowering and leaf-out process. The unusual blocking pattern in the jet-stream led to terrific sunny, dry weather conditions in our area, but further muddled the migration pathways, favoring a more northwesterly push through the Ohio Valley into the Great Lakes region. A couple of new species seem to arrive each day into the Capital District, but in very low numbers. Current forecasts call for a return to the more normal west-to-east progression of weather systems over the next week or so.

 Brown Thrasher singing at Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 A pair of Hooded Mergansers at Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Veery at Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Great Blue Heron fishing at Vischer Ferry NHP (click to enlarge)

Wood Thrush singing at Five Rivers, North Loop trail (click to enlarge)

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Blue-winged Warbler

At Five Rivers in Delmar this morning, Blue-winged Warblers were among the most frequently heard species. They were around every corner, I counted more than a half-dozen.

 Blue-winged Warbler, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 

 There was a Black-throated Green Warbler singing softly along Larch Lane

Black-throated Green Warbler, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

  Blue-winged Warbler, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

  Blue-winged Warbler, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 Blue-winged Warbler, Five Rivers (click to enlarge)

 I noticed some fluffy little yellow guys shadowing around their parents, too.

Canada Geese, with goslings in tow (click to enlarge)

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Hooded Warbler, and you?

How did a morning that ended with this...

male Hooded Warbler, Normanskill Drive, Albany (click to enlarge)

start off? I'll show you. First, a male Orchard Oriole told us to kiss his undertail coverts...

male Orchard Oriole (click to enlarge)

Next, a Gray Catbird was in agreement about what we could do to its nether region...

Gray Catbird (click to enlarge)

Not to be outdone, a diminutive Blue-gray Gnatcatcher gave us the chump rump...

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (click to enlarge)

But, perhaps after reconsidering its initial attitude...

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (click to enlarge)

it popped out on a branch like a miniature mockingbird.

 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (click to enlarge)

 Swallows and Chimney Swifts were not impressed with our group, either.

 Northern Rough-winged Swallows perched, Chimney Swift high above (click to enlarge)

 Finally, the star of the show made its appearance, offering terrific looks and call notes for several minutes. 

male Hooded Warbler, Normanskill Drive, Albany (click to enlarge)

male Hooded Warbler, Normanskill Drive, Albany (click to enlarge)

male Hooded Warbler, Normanskill Drive, Albany (click to enlarge)

He moved through the brush, across the road, up and down the leafing trees, paying little heed to the open-mouthed birders below. What a cool surprise to end the morning!

male Hooded Warbler, Normanskill Drive, Albany (click to enlarge)

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Week 10, prime time...

Some random images from the past week:

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drumming on a stop sign, Vischer Ferry NHP (click to enlarge)

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Vischer Ferry NHP (click to enlarge)

 Baltimore Oriole, Vischer Ferry NHP (click to enlarge)

  

 Grasshopper Sparrow, Saratoga County Airport (click to enlarge)

 Savannah Sparrow, Saratoga County Airport (click to enlarge)

 male Orchard Oriole, Normanskill Farm, Albany (click to enlarge)

 Community Gardens at Normanskill Farm (click to enlarge)

 Whipple bridge at Normanskill Farm (click to enlarge)

 

 Prairie Warbler, Albany Pine Bush-Great Dune section (click to enlarge)

 giant Sycamore tree at Peebles Island State Park (click to enlarge)

 giant Sycamore tree at Peebles Island State Park (click to enlarge)

 

 branch of Mohawk River, southwest of Peebles Island (click to enlarge)

falls/rapids at Peebles Island (click to enlarge)

What's Next:

May 3rd- 9th

Many Warblers will be moving in and through this week, new arrivals should include:

• Magnolia 
• Canada
• Hooded
• Golden-winged (rare)
• Cape May
• Wilson's

Woodland birds such as Scarlet Tanager, Veery, Swainson's Thrush (transient migrant), Red-eyed Vireo, and Least Flycatcher will show up this week as well.

Both Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and later Black-billed Cuckoo, can be expected during this period. Their numbers fluctuate significantly from year to year, from fairly common and easy to detect, in the proper habitat, to uncommon and hard to locate.

Orchard Oriole will arrive in scattered locales, Lincoln's Sparrow will pass through (check those Song Sparrows twice these next few weeks), and the handsome Indigo Bunting should show at the end of the period in brushy, edge habitat near fields and power line cuts.

Least Bittern can be expected in the few cattail marshes where it has maintained a foothold in our area.



Capital Region Bird-Finding Calendar is here


TW