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19 Jun NNYBirds: FW: Tom Armstrong [Tom Armstrong ] 19 Jun NNYBirds: Fw: eBird Report - Ferd's Bog, Jun 19, 2013 [Joseph Brin ] 18 Jun NNYBirds: mark manske [mark manske ] 18 Jun NNYBirds: Re: Plattsburgh Mockingbird ["judyfheintz" ] 18 Jun RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? ["John and Sue Gregoire" ] 18 Jun NNYBirds: Ruffed grouse/olive sided flycatcher [Ber Carr ] 17 Jun NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA [Joseph Brin ] 17 Jun NNYBirds: Plattsburgh Mockingbird [eve ticknor ] 17 Jun RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? ["John and Sue Gregoire" ] 17 Jun Re: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? ["Sally Murray" ] 17 Jun Re: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? [Robbie LaCelle ] 17 Jun RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? ["Willie D'Anna and Betsy Potter" ] 17 Jun RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? [Will Raup ] 17 Jun RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? [Will Raup ] 12 Jun Philadelphia Vireos, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Black-backed Woodpeckers & more ["Joan E. Collins" ] 12 Jun NNYBirds: Philadelphia Vireos, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Black-backed Woodpeckers & more ["Joan E. Collins" ] 12 Jun NNYBirds: Rusty Blackbirds in Wanakena [Eileen Wheeler ] 11 Jun NNYBirds: Late Whip Report [Alan Belford ] 11 Jun NNYBirds: FW: Spring Pond Bog eXpedition [Alan Belford ] 10 Jun NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA [Joseph Brin ] 10 Jun NNYBirds: Olive-sided flycatcher -not [Ber Carr ] 10 Jun NNYBirds: Black-crowned Night-heron Massena ["usamlc" ] 7 Jun NNYBirds: Essex flycatcher [eve ticknor ] 4 Jun NNYBirds: [Joan Howlett ] 04 Jun NNYBirds: Re: Update on Bicknell's Thrush & more ["MICHAEL C" ] 4 Jun Update on Bicknell's Thrush & more ["Joan E. Collins" ] 4 Jun NNYBirds: Update on Bicknell's Thrush & more ["Joan E. Collins" ] 3 Jun NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA [Joseph Brin ] 03 Jun Re: NNYBirds: Puzzling Redstart song and plumage [Dana Rohleder ] 3 Jun NNYBirds: American Redstart [John Peterson ] 3 Jun Re: NNYBirds: Puzzling Redstart song and plumage ["John and Sue Gregoire" ] 3 Jun NNYBirds: Intervale Lowlands Preserve, June 1-2 ["Larry Master" ] 03 Jun NNYBirds: Puzzling Redstart song and plumage ["Bruce" ] 02 Jun NNYBirds: 11th Ad'k Birding Celebration in the books. ["brian" ] 1 Jun NNYBirds: File - HelpFile - PLEASE READ & SAVE!! [] 31 May NNYBirds: Birding Celebration extras ["brian" ] 30 May NNYBirds: Black-billed Cuckoo ["dmbirder5" ] 30 May NNYBirds: Partners in Flight V Workshops, Birding Field Trips, Poster Sessions - Snowbird, Utah, August 25 - 28 Register Now While Low Rates Still Available [Steve Holmer ] 30 May Re: NNYBirds: Lewis's woodpecker sighting Saranac Lake area [Kim Holmlund ] 30 May NNYBirds: Lewis's woodpecker sighting Saranac Lake area ["brian" ] 30 May Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station ["Michael Morgan" ] 30 May Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station ["Larry Federman" ] 30 May NNYBirds: Philly V [John Thaxton ] 30 May Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station ["John and Sue Gregoire" ] 29 May Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station [Dana Rohleder ] 29 May NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station ["Cris" ] 29 May Bicknell's Thrush & 3-feet of snow on the Adirondack High Peaks ["Joan E. Collins" ] 29 May NNYBirds: Bicknell's Thrush & 3-feet of snow on the Adirondack High Peaks ["Joan E. Collins" ] 29 May NNYBirds: Great Adk Birding Celebration ["brian" ] 28 May NNYBirds: Fw: Clinton County on May 28th ["Bill Krueger " ] 28 May NNYBirds: Wanakena Area [Ber Carr ] 27 May NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA [Joseph Brin ] 27 May Re: NNYBirds: CBC Sunday Morning News-birding [Emily Pugsley ] 27 May Re: NNYBirds: 3" waterfowl egg - Need I D [Laura Smith ] 27 May NNYBirds: 3" waterfowl egg - Need I D ["adkarcadia" ] 27 May Re: NNYBirds: CBC Sunday Morning News-birding [Joan Howlett ] 26 May NNYBirds: CBC Sunday Morning News-birding ["brian" ] 26 May NNYBirds: Rainy Day Swallows and Swifts [Paul Osenbaugh ] 26 May RE: NNYBirds: Ring-billed Gull 1999, 2001, & 2002 [John Peterson ] 26 May Re: NNYBirds: Ring-billed Gull 1999, 2001, & 2002 [Laura Smith ] 26 May NNYBirds: Ring-billed Gull 1999, 2001, & 2002 [John Peterson ] 25 May NNYBirds: Philadelphia vireos, Perkins Clearing ["Jeff Nadler" ] 25 May Re: NNYBirds: Cumberland Head hot bed! [Laura Smith ] 24 May NNYBirds: Cumberland Head hot bed! ["crane43" ] 24 May NNYBirds: American Woodcock ["crane43" ] 23 May Re: NNYBirds: Whip-poor-will ["Gerlach, Jeff" ] 23 May NNYBirds: Whip-poor-will [Dana Rohleder ] 22 May Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Bobolinks ["Joan E. Collins" ] 22 May NNYBirds: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Bobolinks ["Joan E. Collins" ] 21 May NNYBirds: Mourning Warbler [Alan Belford ] 21 May RE: NNYBirds: Osgood River [Alan Belford ] 21 May NNYBirds: Osgood River ["brian" ] 20 May NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA [Joseph Brin ] 20 May NNYBirds: Mourning warbler [John Thaxton ] 19 May Sedge Wren, Bicknell's Thrush, & other sightings ["Joan E. Collins" ] 19 May NNYBirds: Sedge Wren, Bicknell's Thrush, & other sightings ["Joan E. Collins" ] Subject: NNYBirds: FW: Tom Armstrong From: Tom Armstrong <bustedstuff55 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:21:35 -0700 (PDT) How are you? Tom Armstrong [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Fw: eBird Report - Ferd's Bog, Jun 19, 2013 From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:57:19 -0700 (PDT) A trip to Ferd's Bog this morning with Dave Fitch was quite successful. Many birds were heard only but we did get great looks at LINCOLN'S SPARROW and GRAY JAY. At Moose River Plains the only different species we found was OVENBIRD. Joseph Brin Baldwinsville, N.Y. ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "do-not-reply AT ebird.org" To: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 4:45 PM Subject: eBird Report - Ferd's Bog, Jun 19, 2013 Ferd's Bog, Hamilton, US-NY Jun 19, 2013 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.0 mile(s) 30 species Common Loon  1 Great Blue Heron  1 Broad-winged Hawk  1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  2 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher  1 Blue-headed Vireo  2 Red-eyed Vireo  2 Gray Jay  1 Blue Jay  2 Common Raven  1 Black-capped Chickadee  2 Red-breasted Nuthatch  1 Golden-crowned Kinglet  2 Eastern Bluebird  2 Hermit Thrush  1 Cedar Waxwing  3 Black-and-white Warbler  1 Nashville Warbler  3 Common Yellowthroat  1 Northern Parula  2 Magnolia Warbler  2 Blackburnian Warbler  1 Black-throated Blue Warbler  1 Yellow-rumped Warbler  1 Black-throated Green Warbler  1 Song Sparrow  3 Lincoln's Sparrow  1 Swamp Sparrow  2 White-throated Sparrow  4 Purple Finch  1 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14456412 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: mark manske From: mark manske <manske59 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:10:51 -0700 (PDT) http://theputtingstroketeacher.tpsteacher.com/gtsbfqm/hthiei/aae/uazka/jyn/npgel.html mark manske mdkuw/div> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Re: Plattsburgh Mockingbird From: "judyfheintz" <judyfheintz AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:32:50 -0000 THERE IS ALWAYS A MOCKING BIRD BY THE SENIOR CENTER ON CATHERINE STREET> ON AN OTHER NOTE: HEARD THE WHIP-poor-will at the bottom of my lane on Leroy Manor Road Dannemora. JUDY HEINTZ --- In Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com, eve ticknor wrote: > > Early this afternoon a Northern Mockingbird near Pine Harbour Assisted Living off Rte 9. > > Eve Ticknor > Box 2206 > Prescott, On K0E 1T0 > res: 613-925-5528 > cell: 613-859-9545 > > Box 122, 35 Elm St > Essex, NY 12936 > > "Change how you see, not how you look." > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? From: "John and Sue Gregoire" <khmo AT empacc.net> Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:32:16 -0400 Some additional comments from a local resident who moved to Whitefield, NH. Although I live in northern NH, I wanted to add my comments to this thread about bird populations. I've only lived year-round at this location since August 2011, but before that I made many trips up here at different times of the year. I always made a list of the birds I could identify (either by sight or sound) on my land. In just the past couple of years I've noticed that the only thrushes I see or hear are Robin and Hermit Thrush. I used to hear Wood Thrush and Veery as well. Recently I had the good luck to hear a Swainson's Thrush in 2 different locations - one was way up north near a lake, and the other was on a trail to some remote ponds last Monday. Susann -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Ruffed grouse/olive sided flycatcher From: Ber Carr <mycocarex AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:21:17 +0000 I had some amazing vocalizations from a ruffed grouse - doing its distraction display his past Saturday on the Janacks landing trail. A olive sided flycatcher was doing its best eliminating dragonflies and a blue-headed vireo was feeding young. On Sunday, found a Nashville warbler feeding young on the high rock trail in Wanakena,NY. And just to keep things interesting, on Route 3 outside of Cranberry Lake was a northern goshawk on Saturday evening. Bernie CarrSyracuse, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:57:14 -0700 (PDT) RBA   *  New York *  Syracuse * June 17, 2013 *  NYSY  06. 17. 13   Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): June 10, 2013 - June 17, 2013 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer,  Madison & Cortland compiled:June 17 AT 6:30 p.m. (EDT) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org     #359 -Monday June 17, 2013   Greetings. This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of  June 10, 2013   Highlights: ----------- LEAST BITTERN WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER BLACK TERN RED-HEADED WOODPECKER LAWRENCES WARBLER(Hybrid) PRAIRIE WARBLER CERULEAN WARBLER GRASSHOPPER SPARROW ORCHARD ORIOLE EVENING GROSBEAK Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------      5/16: 5 BLACK TERNS and 1 LEAST BITTERN were found at Tschache Pool. Onondaga County ------------      6/11: An adult male ORCHARD ORIOLE was found on Conners Road at Dead Creek west of Baldwinsville. It was seen again on 6/14 but not since. A GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was seen at Ceder Bay Park in Fayetteville.      6/14: An ACADIAN FLYCATCHER continues at Whiskey Hollow off of West Dead Creek Road west of Baldwinsville.      6/15: A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER has returned to a swamp on Fenner Road north of Rt. 370 and west of Baldwinsville. It was observed again today. A walk at Green Lakes State Park yielded 46 species highlighted by an ORCHARD ORIOLE. Oswego County ------------      6/11: A WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER was seen at the end of the outlet at Sandy Pond. A LEAST BITTERN was again heard at the Rt.6 wetlands north of Rt.3 in Volnay.      6/14: At least 3 CERULEAN WARBLERS were found on Darrow Road south of Mexico. A PRAIRIE WARBLER continues to be seen in Happy Valley on Churchill Road north of Rt. 69.      6/15: The hybrid LAWRENCE’S WARBLER was again found at Great Bear Recreation Area off of Rt. 57 north of Phoenix. Oneida County ------------      6/13: 2 adult male EVENING GROSBEAKS were reported at a resicence on Sulphur Springs Road northwest of Delta Lake. Madison County ------------      6/12: 2 BLACK TERNS were seen at Woodman Pond north of Hamilton.                     --  end report Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y.  13027  U.S.A. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Plattsburgh Mockingbird From: eve ticknor <edticknor AT sympatico.ca> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:30:52 -0400 Early this afternoon a Northern Mockingbird near Pine Harbour Assisted Living off Rte 9. Eve Ticknor Box 2206 Prescott, On K0E 1T0 res: 613-925-5528 cell: 613-859-9545 Box 122, 35 Elm St Essex, NY 12936 "Change how you see, not how you look." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? From: "John and Sue Gregoire" <khmo AT empacc.net> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:24:27 -0400 Will, Joan, Chris, et al., I believe we also have to consider this year's migration weather patterns, the possibility of at least some overshoot and the decline of many species over the longer term. While in the ADK in mid-May we saw/heard many species that had not as yet been reported from further south (Ithaca area). Since that time some have come in but very few have been notably late based on our 27 year arrival norms. Thrushes in general have been on a precipitous decline. Once we could count on many banded and now we consider ourselves lucky to get one or two birds that are not Robins. Over the year's we've noted a situation similar to what Will is proposing. However, we do not believe that lack of and/or duration of song is due to this year's events only. Over the course of 27 years of banding and daily point counts here we have also noticed a sharp decline in the amount and duration of song. It appears to us that bird numbers are getting so low that it now suffices for many species to reach a nesting territory, attract what mates are available and then not have to advertise, compete or defend as there is little competition. I also believe some numbers are regional. This spring the migration in the central flyway was extremely dense and strong with banding stations reporting record numbers. Radar so often showed intense bloom over that flyway while we (the northeast) barely had any returns until one got to the Hudson valley and points east. One comment to be considered when evaluating Breeding Bird Surveys. Several years ago we saw many declines in species numbers based on BBS route reports. I informally asked the folks at Patuxent to compare the age of those running routes to the declines reported. In sum we found that, not surprisingly, many reporters had been doing the routes for years and were now quite a bit older; the species declines reported were most often those that call/sing at higher frequencies. Some of us increasingly deaf older folks had to abandon routes but some are still doing them. I can only hope they still hear better than I. Best, John -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" On Mon, June 17, 2013 16:07, Will Raup wrote: > Joan & all, > > One reason why you haven't seen much discussion is that things are variable across > the state.  You (and others) have noted a lack of Indigo Bunting reports, yet I > point to Joe Giunta's post on this list that Indigo Bunting was at nearly every stop > while birding the Hudson Valley.  So which is it?  Are they abundant or missing? > > Not all neo-tropical migrants are missing or where lacking in any way (in at least > Eastern New York).  Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, where > extremely abundant through May.  Flycatchers were somewhat hard to find, especially > Olive-sided but that is a continuation of long term declines. Eastern Wood Pewee's > were still migrating through into Early June and personally it was one of my best > springs for Canada Warbler, again they were late moving.. Memorial Day and later. >  Thrushes have been mixed, Veery has been lower than expected, but this comes after > several years of being nearly the dominate thrush in Eastern New York.  Population > cycles?  Swainson's Thrush was late as well, I had one in my yard on Memorial Day, > one of the latest I've had personally in the Hudson Valley.  Reports from the high > peaks of Catskills in Greene County show a very healthy population of both > Swainson's and Bicknell's Thrushes, Blackpoll Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. >  Ruby-crowned Kinglet has also been reported in good numbers from Hunter Mountain. > > This was also one of the best springs in the Albany area for the so called "spruce > budworm" warblers, especially Cape May Warbler.  Both Tennessee and Bay-breasted > Warblers were reported in good numbers as well! > > I do agree that bird song is down.... but what birds I am seeing seem to be busy > nesting, lots of birds carrying food to their young, lots of fledgling birds hopping > around as well. > > My personal theory is that many birds were late arriving this year, this cut down on > the amount of time they had in the past for setting up territories and courtship and > they seemed in many cases to simply skip to nesting.  Typically in early July we see > a second wave of bird song as broods #2 get started.  I'm curious to see if some of > the species that have been MIA so far, suddenly turn up right where we expect them > to be (or not). > > I'm curious to hear what others experience has been this spring, especially from > other parts of the state. > > Good Birding! > > Will Raup > Albany, NY > > > > To: cth4 AT cornell.edu > CC: NYSBIRDS-L AT list.cornell.edu; NFC-L AT list.cornell.edu; nypizzacat AT gmail.com; > crimmer AT vtecostudies.org; Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com > From: Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com > Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:35:17 -0400 > Subject: NNYBirds: RE: [nysbirds-l] Minimal Migration or Population Decline? > > Hi Chris/All, > > I am out every day and I have not noticed any improvement. As I walk > through the forest (or bogs), the lack of birds is all I can think about. I > am surprised this has not been a dominant discussion on our NYS Birds list > serve. It is so disturbing and everyone is anxiously awaiting BBS data for > this year - but of course roadside surveys don't work well for many species. > I can barely find a Lincoln's Sparrow (I jump up and down when I hear one > now) - a species that is normally abundant in our Adirondack bogs. Canada > Warbler numbers are way down. I have also noticed the same lack of species > that you listed (although, I have not noticed a lack of Ruby-throated > Hummingbirds in northern NY). Indigo Bunting is another species that is > hard to find. Scarlet Tanager, Veery..I could keep going. > > Chris Rimmer, Director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, emailed about > the lack of neotropical migrants in e-central VT, and he is hearing the same > thing from others - how quiet the forests are this spring. He has noticed > that Swainson's Thrush numbers are down up on Mount Mansfield in VT. I've > been finding a few more on dawn tours up Whiteface Mountain since the > Memorial Day Weekend 3-foot snowfall melted away. I plan to conduct the > Mountain Birdwatch survey of that peak on Thursday, and the results should > shed some light on Swainson's Thrush numbers (at least in high elevation), > in addition to numbers for all the other species we tally for that survey (I > have the data from last year to compare to). > > Jeff Nadler, photographer, just emailed about a 3 day trip he took to boreal > habitat areas in northern VT & NH, which he visits every year, and the lack > of birds this year. He noticed not only a lack of neotropical migrants, but > also a lack of year-round boreal species! He echoed the same thing everyone > is noticing - the forests are "quiet" with no loud dawn chorus. > > I think we are all wondering the same question: "What happened?" I hope > this question will eventually have an answer. > > Joan Collins > > Long Lake, NY > > From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes [mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu] > Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:17 AM > To: Joan E. Collins > Cc: NYSBIRDS-L; NFC-L; Sean O'Brien > Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? > > Thank you, Joan, for this anecdotal evidence. Since it has been a couple of > weeks now, I'm curious to know if anyone has noted an improvement in their > local area birding spots, or if it has been more of the same. For me, I've > noted a serious lack of typical neighborhood birds that used to be a regular > part of the acoustic atmosphere: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole > and Red-eyed Vireo, just to name a few. I've also noticed a lack of > Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year - usually, they are zipping around and > chittering in the neighborhood. Not so this year, yet anyway. If this is > region-wide, I'd think it critically important to collect as much data as > possible to help monitor or track this seeming dearth of activity. I expect > this fall migration to be fairly telling, if there was a pop-ulation-wide > impact of some kind. > > Sincerely, > > Chris T-H > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ------------------------------------ > > All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. > Subject: Re: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? From: "Sally Murray" <sallymurray AT frontier.com> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:10:41 -0400 The woods on Garnet Hill are very quiet. Where are the hermit thrushes which used to be numerous? How I miss them. We do have more purple finches than usual at the feeder. Sally Murray ----- Original Message ----- From: Joan E. Collins To: 'Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes' Cc: 'NYSBIRDS-L' ; 'NFC-L' ; 'Sean O'Brien' ; 'Chris Rimmer' ; Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 3:35 PM Subject: NNYBirds: RE: [nysbirds-l] Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Hi Chris/All, I am out every day and I have not noticed any improvement. As I walk through the forest (or bogs), the lack of birds is all I can think about. I am surprised this has not been a dominant discussion on our NYS Birds list serve. It is so disturbing and everyone is anxiously awaiting BBS data for this year - but of course roadside surveys don't work well for many species. I can barely find a Lincoln's Sparrow (I jump up and down when I hear one now) - a species that is normally abundant in our Adirondack bogs. Canada Warbler numbers are way down. I have also noticed the same lack of species that you listed (although, I have not noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in northern NY). Indigo Bunting is another species that is hard to find. Scarlet Tanager, Veery..I could keep going. Chris Rimmer, Director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, emailed about the lack of neotropical migrants in e-central VT, and he is hearing the same thing from others - how quiet the forests are this spring. He has noticed that Swainson's Thrush numbers are down up on Mount Mansfield in VT. I've been finding a few more on dawn tours up Whiteface Mountain since the Memorial Day Weekend 3-foot snowfall melted away. I plan to conduct the Mountain Birdwatch survey of that peak on Thursday, and the results should shed some light on Swainson's Thrush numbers (at least in high elevation), in addition to numbers for all the other species we tally for that survey (I have the data from last year to compare to). Jeff Nadler, photographer, just emailed about a 3 day trip he took to boreal habitat areas in northern VT & NH, which he visits every year, and the lack of birds this year. He noticed not only a lack of neotropical migrants, but also a lack of year-round boreal species! He echoed the same thing everyone is noticing - the forests are "quiet" with no loud dawn chorus. I think we are all wondering the same question: "What happened?" I hope this question will eventually have an answer. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes [mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu] Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:17 AM To: Joan E. Collins Cc: NYSBIRDS-L; NFC-L; Sean O'Brien Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Thank you, Joan, for this anecdotal evidence. Since it has been a couple of weeks now, I'm curious to know if anyone has noted an improvement in their local area birding spots, or if it has been more of the same. For me, I've noted a serious lack of typical neighborhood birds that used to be a regular part of the acoustic atmosphere: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole and Red-eyed Vireo, just to name a few. I've also noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year - usually, they are zipping around and chittering in the neighborhood. Not so this year, yet anyway. If this is region-wide, I'd think it critically important to collect as much data as possible to help monitor or track this seeming dearth of activity. I expect this fall migration to be fairly telling, if there was a pop-ulation-wide impact of some kind. Sincerely, Chris T-H [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? From: Robbie LaCelle <thebooksearcher AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:53:12 -0400 Hi all, I have also noticed that Indigo Buntings have been quite uncommon. Other years they were everywhere around here (Central NY - Oneida County). This year I can ride five miles on my bike and have none. I have had a few in the area but not many. Other birds that I think are scarce this year include (in my area): Alder/Willow Flycatcher Chestnut-sided Warbler Mourning Warbler Blue-winged Warbler All of the thrushes seem to have normal populations. Most other birds seem to be about normal. But I thought May was perhaps the worst we've had in 5 or 6 years. I think Will Raup's theory may be correct. Maybe once they get done with nesting there will be more singing birds. Robbie LaCelle Camden, NY On Mon, Jun 17, 2013 at 4:07 PM, Will Raup wrote: > Joan & all, > > One reason why you haven't seen much discussion is that things are > variable across the state. You (and others) have noted a lack of Indigo > Bunting reports, yet I point to Joe Giunta's post on this list that Indigo > Bunting was at nearly every stop while birding the Hudson Valley. So which > is it? Are they abundant or missing? > > Not all neo-tropical migrants are missing or where lacking in any way (in > at least Eastern New York). Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, > Baltimore Oriole, where extremely abundant through May. Flycatchers were > somewhat hard to find, especially Olive-sided but that is a continuation of > long term declines. Eastern Wood Pewee's were still migrating through into > Early June and personally it was one of my best springs for Canada Warbler, > again they were late moving.. Memorial Day and later. Thrushes have been > mixed, Veery has been lower than expected, but this comes after several > years of being nearly the dominate thrush in Eastern New York. Population > cycles? Swainson's Thrush was late as well, I had one in my yard on > Memorial Day, one of the latest I've had personally in the Hudson Valley. > Reports from the high peaks of Catskills in Greene County show a very > healthy population of both Swainson's and Bicknell's Thrushes, Blackpoll > Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Ruby-crowned Kinglet has also been > reported in good numbers from Hunter Mountain. > > This was also one of the best springs in the Albany area for the so called > "spruce budworm" warblers, especially Cape May Warbler. Both Tennessee and > Bay-breasted Warblers were reported in good numbers as well! > > I do agree that bird song is down.... but what birds I am seeing seem to > be busy nesting, lots of birds carrying food to their young, lots of > fledgling birds hopping around as well. > > My personal theory is that many birds were late arriving this year, this > cut down on the amount of time they had in the past for setting up > territories and courtship and they seemed in many cases to simply skip to > nesting. Typically in early July we see a second wave of bird song as > broods #2 get started. I'm curious to see if some of the species that have > been MIA so far, suddenly turn up right where we expect them to be (or not). > > I'm curious to hear what others experience has been this spring, > especially from other parts of the state. > > Good Birding! > > Will Raup > Albany, NY > > > > To: cth4 AT cornell.edu > CC: NYSBIRDS-L AT list.cornell.edu; NFC-L AT list.cornell.edu; > nypizzacat AT gmail.com; crimmer AT vtecostudies.org; > Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com > From: Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com > Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:35:17 -0400 > Subject: NNYBirds: RE: [nysbirds-l] Minimal Migration or Population > Decline? > > Hi Chris/All, > > I am out every day and I have not noticed any improvement. As I walk > through the forest (or bogs), the lack of birds is all I can think about. I > am surprised this has not been a dominant discussion on our NYS Birds list > serve. It is so disturbing and everyone is anxiously awaiting BBS data for > this year - but of course roadside surveys don't work well for many > species. > I can barely find a Lincoln's Sparrow (I jump up and down when I hear one > now) - a species that is normally abundant in our Adirondack bogs. Canada > Warbler numbers are way down. I have also noticed the same lack of species > that you listed (although, I have not noticed a lack of Ruby-throated > Hummingbirds in northern NY). Indigo Bunting is another species that is > hard to find. Scarlet Tanager, Veery..I could keep going. > > Chris Rimmer, Director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, emailed about > the lack of neotropical migrants in e-central VT, and he is hearing the > same > thing from others - how quiet the forests are this spring. He has noticed > that Swainson's Thrush numbers are down up on Mount Mansfield in VT. I've > been finding a few more on dawn tours up Whiteface Mountain since the > Memorial Day Weekend 3-foot snowfall melted away. I plan to conduct the > Mountain Birdwatch survey of that peak on Thursday, and the results should > shed some light on Swainson's Thrush numbers (at least in high elevation), > in addition to numbers for all the other species we tally for that survey > (I > have the data from last year to compare to). > > Jeff Nadler, photographer, just emailed about a 3 day trip he took to > boreal > habitat areas in northern VT & NH, which he visits every year, and the lack > of birds this year. He noticed not only a lack of neotropical migrants, but > also a lack of year-round boreal species! He echoed the same thing everyone > is noticing - the forests are "quiet" with no loud dawn chorus. > > I think we are all wondering the same question: "What happened?" I hope > this question will eventually have an answer. > > Joan Collins > > Long Lake, NY > > From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes [mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu] > Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:17 AM > To: Joan E. Collins > Cc: NYSBIRDS-L; NFC-L; Sean O'Brien > Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? > > Thank you, Joan, for this anecdotal evidence. Since it has been a couple of > weeks now, I'm curious to know if anyone has noted an improvement in their > local area birding spots, or if it has been more of the same. For me, I've > noted a serious lack of typical neighborhood birds that used to be a > regular > part of the acoustic atmosphere: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole > and Red-eyed Vireo, just to name a few. I've also noticed a lack of > Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year - usually, they are zipping around and > chittering in the neighborhood. Not so this year, yet anyway. If this is > region-wide, I'd think it critically important to collect as much data as > possible to help monitor or track this seeming dearth of activity. I expect > this fall migration to be fairly telling, if there was a pop-ulation-wide > impact of some kind. > > Sincerely, > > Chris T-H > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ------------------------------------ > > All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. > Subject: RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? From: "Willie D'Anna and Betsy Potter" <dannapotter AT roadrunner.com> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:28:20 -0400 Hi all, I was out every day in May and it seemed to me that while the migration was not as good as usual, it was not dramatically different either. I did the one Breeding Bird Survey I have on 9 June and it seemed comparable to most years. However, I haven't compiled the data yet to compare the numbers and see if my impression is correct or not. Cheers, Willie D'Anna Wilson, Niagara County, NY -----Original Message----- From: bounce-98082370-15084384 AT list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-98082370-15084384 AT list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Will Raup Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 4:08 PM To: NNY Birds Cc: 'NYSBIRDS-L' Subject: RE: NNYBirds: RE: [nysbirds-l] Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Joan & all, One reason why you haven't seen much discussion is that things are variable across the state.  You (and others) have noted a lack of Indigo Bunting reports, yet I point to Joe Giunta's post on this list that Indigo Bunting was at nearly every stop while birding the Hudson Valley.  So which is it?  Are they abundant or missing? Not all neo-tropical migrants are missing or where lacking in any way (in at least Eastern New York).  Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, where extremely abundant through May.  Flycatchers were somewhat hard to find, especially Olive-sided but that is a continuation of long term declines. Eastern Wood Pewee's were still migrating through into Early June and personally it was one of my best springs for Canada Warbler, again they were late moving.. Memorial Day and later.  Thrushes have been mixed, Veery has been lower than expected, but this comes after several years of being nearly the dominate thrush in Eastern New York.  Population cycles?  Swainson's Thrush was late as well, I had one in my yard on Memorial Day, one of the latest I've had personally in the Hudson Valley.  Reports from the high peaks of Catskills in Greene County show a very healthy population of both Swainson's and Bicknell's Thrushes, Blackpoll Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.  Ruby-crowned Kinglet has also been reported in good numbers from Hunter Mountain. This was also one of the best springs in the Albany area for the so called "spruce budworm" warblers, especially Cape May Warbler.  Both Tennessee and Bay-breasted Warblers were reported in good numbers as well! I do agree that bird song is down.... but what birds I am seeing seem to be busy nesting, lots of birds carrying food to their young, lots of fledgling birds hopping around as well. My personal theory is that many birds were late arriving this year, this cut down on the amount of time they had in the past for setting up territories and courtship and they seemed in many cases to simply skip to nesting.  Typically in early July we see a second wave of bird song as broods #2 get started.  I'm curious to see if some of the species that have been MIA so far, suddenly turn up right where we expect them to be (or not). I'm curious to hear what others experience has been this spring, especially from other parts of the state. Good Birding! Will Raup Albany, NY To: cth4 AT cornell.edu CC: NYSBIRDS-L AT list.cornell.edu; NFC-L AT list.cornell.edu; nypizzacat AT gmail.com; crimmer AT vtecostudies.org; Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com From: Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:35:17 -0400 Subject: NNYBirds: RE: [nysbirds-l] Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Hi Chris/All, I am out every day and I have not noticed any improvement. As I walk through the forest (or bogs), the lack of birds is all I can think about. I am surprised this has not been a dominant discussion on our NYS Birds list serve. It is so disturbing and everyone is anxiously awaiting BBS data for this year - but of course roadside surveys don't work well for many species. I can barely find a Lincoln's Sparrow (I jump up and down when I hear one now) - a species that is normally abundant in our Adirondack bogs. Canada Warbler numbers are way down. I have also noticed the same lack of species that you listed (although, I have not noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in northern NY). Indigo Bunting is another species that is hard to find. Scarlet Tanager, Veery..I could keep going. Chris Rimmer, Director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, emailed about the lack of neotropical migrants in e-central VT, and he is hearing the same thing from others - how quiet the forests are this spring. He has noticed that Swainson's Thrush numbers are down up on Mount Mansfield in VT. I've been finding a few more on dawn tours up Whiteface Mountain since the Memorial Day Weekend 3-foot snowfall melted away. I plan to conduct the Mountain Birdwatch survey of that peak on Thursday, and the results should shed some light on Swainson's Thrush numbers (at least in high elevation), in addition to numbers for all the other species we tally for that survey (I have the data from last year to compare to). Jeff Nadler, photographer, just emailed about a 3 day trip he took to boreal habitat areas in northern VT & NH, which he visits every year, and the lack of birds this year. He noticed not only a lack of neotropical migrants, but also a lack of year-round boreal species! He echoed the same thing everyone is noticing - the forests are "quiet" with no loud dawn chorus. I think we are all wondering the same question: "What happened?" I hope this question will eventually have an answer. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes [mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu] Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:17 AM To: Joan E. Collins Cc: NYSBIRDS-L; NFC-L; Sean O'Brien Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Thank you, Joan, for this anecdotal evidence. Since it has been a couple of weeks now, I'm curious to know if anyone has noted an improvement in their local area birding spots, or if it has been more of the same. For me, I've noted a serious lack of typical neighborhood birds that used to be a regular part of the acoustic atmosphere: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole and Red-eyed Vireo, just to name a few. I've also noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year - usually, they are zipping around and chittering in the neighborhood. Not so this year, yet anyway. If this is region-wide, I'd think it critically important to collect as much data as possible to help monitor or track this seeming dearth of activity. I expect this fall migration to be fairly telling, if there was a pop-ulation-wide impact of some kind. Sincerely, Chris T-H [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] __._,_.___ Reply via web post Reply to sender Reply to group Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) RECENT ACTIVITY: Visit Your Group All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use • Send us Feedback . __,_._,___ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l AT cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l AT cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- Subject: RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? From: Will Raup <hoaryredpoll AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:07:48 -0400 Joan & all, One reason why you haven't seen much discussion is that things are variable across the state.  You (and others) have noted a lack of Indigo Bunting reports, yet I point to Joe Giunta's post on this list that Indigo Bunting was at nearly every stop while birding the Hudson Valley.  So which is it?  Are they abundant or missing? Not all neo-tropical migrants are missing or where lacking in any way (in at least Eastern New York).  Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, where extremely abundant through May.  Flycatchers were somewhat hard to find, especially Olive-sided but that is a continuation of long term declines. Eastern Wood Pewee's were still migrating through into Early June and personally it was one of my best springs for Canada Warbler, again they were late moving.. Memorial Day and later.  Thrushes have been mixed, Veery has been lower than expected, but this comes after several years of being nearly the dominate thrush in Eastern New York.  Population cycles?  Swainson's Thrush was late as well, I had one in my yard on Memorial Day, one of the latest I've had personally in the Hudson Valley.  Reports from the high peaks of Catskills in Greene County show a very healthy population of both Swainson's and Bicknell's Thrushes, Blackpoll Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.  Ruby-crowned Kinglet has also been reported in good numbers from Hunter Mountain. This was also one of the best springs in the Albany area for the so called "spruce budworm" warblers, especially Cape May Warbler.  Both Tennessee and Bay-breasted Warblers were reported in good numbers as well! I do agree that bird song is down.... but what birds I am seeing seem to be busy nesting, lots of birds carrying food to their young, lots of fledgling birds hopping around as well. My personal theory is that many birds were late arriving this year, this cut down on the amount of time they had in the past for setting up territories and courtship and they seemed in many cases to simply skip to nesting.  Typically in early July we see a second wave of bird song as broods #2 get started.  I'm curious to see if some of the species that have been MIA so far, suddenly turn up right where we expect them to be (or not). I'm curious to hear what others experience has been this spring, especially from other parts of the state. Good Birding! Will Raup Albany, NY To: cth4 AT cornell.edu CC: NYSBIRDS-L AT list.cornell.edu; NFC-L AT list.cornell.edu; nypizzacat AT gmail.com; crimmer AT vtecostudies.org; Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com From: Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:35:17 -0400 Subject: NNYBirds: RE: [nysbirds-l] Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Hi Chris/All, I am out every day and I have not noticed any improvement. As I walk through the forest (or bogs), the lack of birds is all I can think about. I am surprised this has not been a dominant discussion on our NYS Birds list serve. It is so disturbing and everyone is anxiously awaiting BBS data for this year - but of course roadside surveys don't work well for many species. I can barely find a Lincoln's Sparrow (I jump up and down when I hear one now) - a species that is normally abundant in our Adirondack bogs. Canada Warbler numbers are way down. I have also noticed the same lack of species that you listed (although, I have not noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in northern NY). Indigo Bunting is another species that is hard to find. Scarlet Tanager, Veery..I could keep going. Chris Rimmer, Director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, emailed about the lack of neotropical migrants in e-central VT, and he is hearing the same thing from others - how quiet the forests are this spring. He has noticed that Swainson's Thrush numbers are down up on Mount Mansfield in VT. I've been finding a few more on dawn tours up Whiteface Mountain since the Memorial Day Weekend 3-foot snowfall melted away. I plan to conduct the Mountain Birdwatch survey of that peak on Thursday, and the results should shed some light on Swainson's Thrush numbers (at least in high elevation), in addition to numbers for all the other species we tally for that survey (I have the data from last year to compare to). Jeff Nadler, photographer, just emailed about a 3 day trip he took to boreal habitat areas in northern VT & NH, which he visits every year, and the lack of birds this year. He noticed not only a lack of neotropical migrants, but also a lack of year-round boreal species! He echoed the same thing everyone is noticing - the forests are "quiet" with no loud dawn chorus. I think we are all wondering the same question: "What happened?" I hope this question will eventually have an answer. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes [mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu] Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:17 AM To: Joan E. Collins Cc: NYSBIRDS-L; NFC-L; Sean O'Brien Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Thank you, Joan, for this anecdotal evidence. Since it has been a couple of weeks now, I'm curious to know if anyone has noted an improvement in their local area birding spots, or if it has been more of the same. For me, I've noted a serious lack of typical neighborhood birds that used to be a regular part of the acoustic atmosphere: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole and Red-eyed Vireo, just to name a few. I've also noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year - usually, they are zipping around and chittering in the neighborhood. Not so this year, yet anyway. If this is region-wide, I'd think it critically important to collect as much data as possible to help monitor or track this seeming dearth of activity. I expect this fall migration to be fairly telling, if there was a pop-ulation-wide impact of some kind. Sincerely, Chris T-H [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] __._,_.___ Reply via web post Reply to sender Reply to group Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) RECENT ACTIVITY: Visit Your Group All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use • Send us Feedback . __,_._,___ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l AT cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- Subject: RE: NNYBirds: RE: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? From: Will Raup <Hoaryredpoll AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:07:48 -0400 Joan & all, One reason why you haven't seen much discussion is that things are variable across the state.  You (and others) have noted a lack of Indigo Bunting reports, yet I point to Joe Giunta's post on this list that Indigo Bunting was at nearly every stop while birding the Hudson Valley.  So which is it?  Are they abundant or missing? Not all neo-tropical migrants are missing or where lacking in any way (in at least Eastern New York).  Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, where extremely abundant through May.  Flycatchers were somewhat hard to find, especially Olive-sided but that is a continuation of long term declines. Eastern Wood Pewee's were still migrating through into Early June and personally it was one of my best springs for Canada Warbler, again they were late moving.. Memorial Day and later.  Thrushes have been mixed, Veery has been lower than expected, but this comes after several years of being nearly the dominate thrush in Eastern New York.  Population cycles?  Swainson's Thrush was late as well, I had one in my yard on Memorial Day, one of the latest I've had personally in the Hudson Valley.  Reports from the high peaks of Catskills in Greene County show a very healthy population of both Swainson's and Bicknell's Thrushes, Blackpoll Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.  Ruby-crowned Kinglet has also been reported in good numbers from Hunter Mountain. This was also one of the best springs in the Albany area for the so called "spruce budworm" warblers, especially Cape May Warbler.  Both Tennessee and Bay-breasted Warblers were reported in good numbers as well! I do agree that bird song is down.... but what birds I am seeing seem to be busy nesting, lots of birds carrying food to their young, lots of fledgling birds hopping around as well. My personal theory is that many birds were late arriving this year, this cut down on the amount of time they had in the past for setting up territories and courtship and they seemed in many cases to simply skip to nesting.  Typically in early July we see a second wave of bird song as broods #2 get started.  I'm curious to see if some of the species that have been MIA so far, suddenly turn up right where we expect them to be (or not). I'm curious to hear what others experience has been this spring, especially from other parts of the state. Good Birding! Will Raup Albany, NY To: cth4 AT cornell.edu CC: NYSBIRDS-L AT list.cornell.edu; NFC-L AT list.cornell.edu; nypizzacat AT gmail.com; crimmer AT vtecostudies.org; Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com From: Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:35:17 -0400 Subject: NNYBirds: RE: [nysbirds-l] Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Hi Chris/All, I am out every day and I have not noticed any improvement. As I walk through the forest (or bogs), the lack of birds is all I can think about. I am surprised this has not been a dominant discussion on our NYS Birds list serve. It is so disturbing and everyone is anxiously awaiting BBS data for this year - but of course roadside surveys don't work well for many species. I can barely find a Lincoln's Sparrow (I jump up and down when I hear one now) - a species that is normally abundant in our Adirondack bogs. Canada Warbler numbers are way down. I have also noticed the same lack of species that you listed (although, I have not noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in northern NY). Indigo Bunting is another species that is hard to find. Scarlet Tanager, Veery..I could keep going. Chris Rimmer, Director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, emailed about the lack of neotropical migrants in e-central VT, and he is hearing the same thing from others - how quiet the forests are this spring. He has noticed that Swainson's Thrush numbers are down up on Mount Mansfield in VT. I've been finding a few more on dawn tours up Whiteface Mountain since the Memorial Day Weekend 3-foot snowfall melted away. I plan to conduct the Mountain Birdwatch survey of that peak on Thursday, and the results should shed some light on Swainson's Thrush numbers (at least in high elevation), in addition to numbers for all the other species we tally for that survey (I have the data from last year to compare to). Jeff Nadler, photographer, just emailed about a 3 day trip he took to boreal habitat areas in northern VT & NH, which he visits every year, and the lack of birds this year. He noticed not only a lack of neotropical migrants, but also a lack of year-round boreal species! He echoed the same thing everyone is noticing - the forests are "quiet" with no loud dawn chorus. I think we are all wondering the same question: "What happened?" I hope this question will eventually have an answer. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes [mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu] Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 11:17 AM To: Joan E. Collins Cc: NYSBIRDS-L; NFC-L; Sean O'Brien Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? Thank you, Joan, for this anecdotal evidence. Since it has been a couple of weeks now, I'm curious to know if anyone has noted an improvement in their local area birding spots, or if it has been more of the same. For me, I've noted a serious lack of typical neighborhood birds that used to be a regular part of the acoustic atmosphere: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole and Red-eyed Vireo, just to name a few. I've also noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year - usually, they are zipping around and chittering in the neighborhood. Not so this year, yet anyway. If this is region-wide, I'd think it critically important to collect as much data as possible to help monitor or track this seeming dearth of activity. I expect this fall migration to be fairly telling, if there was a pop-ulation-wide impact of some kind. Sincerely, Chris T-H [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Philadelphia Vireos, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Black-backed Woodpeckers & more From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT frontier.com> Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:04:47 -0400 6/10/13 Roosevelt Truck Trail (Minerva in Essex Co.) I took a late day hike on the beginning of the Roosevelt Truck Trail and found a male Black-backed Woodpecker, a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers carrying food, a vocal Boreal Chickadee, a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and a Swainson’s Thrush among other expected boreal habitat species. A Broad-winged Hawk vocalized near the railroad bed (1/3 of a mile from the Roosevelt Truck Trail). 6/7/13 to 6/9/13 9th Annual Adirondack Birding Festival Blog post at: http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/boreal-birds/9th-annual-adirondack -birding-festival 6/6/13 Northville-Placid Trail (S) in Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) Bill Labes and I took a walk on the N-P Trail and found a vocal Black-backed Woodpecker (in the area where I observed mating in early May). We found many warblers and beautiful wildflowers including Pink Lady’s Slippers (photo at: http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian ). 6/5/13 Dawn Tour up Whiteface Mountain (Essex Co.) Blog post at: http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/boreal-birds/a-recent-dawn-tour-up -whiteface-mountain 5/31/13 Lake Pleasant (south of Indian Lake in Hamilton Co.) I found several Philadelphia Vireos in an area where I used to tally one each year during my old BBS route. The area is about ½ mile north of the bridge over the Indian Lake – Lewey Lake intersection to 2 miles north of this location. I had beautiful, long scope views of a bird on the west side of Route 30 before it flew to the east side along Indian Lake. The birds were found in second growth aspens and beech trees. I found an Olive-sided Flycatcher on the Perkins Clearing Road at a wetland over 6.5 miles in (past Sled Harbor). Joan Collins Long Lake, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l AT cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- Subject: NNYBirds: Philadelphia Vireos, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Black-backed Woodpeckers & more From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com> Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:04:47 -0400 6/10/13 Roosevelt Truck Trail (Minerva in Essex Co.) I took a late day hike on the beginning of the Roosevelt Truck Trail and found a male Black-backed Woodpecker, a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers carrying food, a vocal Boreal Chickadee, a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and a Swainson’s Thrush among other expected boreal habitat species. A Broad-winged Hawk vocalized near the railroad bed (1/3 of a mile from the Roosevelt Truck Trail). 6/7/13 to 6/9/13 9th Annual Adirondack Birding Festival Blog post at: http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/boreal-birds/9th-annual-adirondack -birding-festival 6/6/13 Northville-Placid Trail (S) in Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) Bill Labes and I took a walk on the N-P Trail and found a vocal Black-backed Woodpecker (in the area where I observed mating in early May). We found many warblers and beautiful wildflowers including Pink Lady’s Slippers (photo at: http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian ). 6/5/13 Dawn Tour up Whiteface Mountain (Essex Co.) Blog post at: http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/boreal-birds/a-recent-dawn-tour-up -whiteface-mountain 5/31/13 Lake Pleasant (south of Indian Lake in Hamilton Co.) I found several Philadelphia Vireos in an area where I used to tally one each year during my old BBS route. The area is about ½ mile north of the bridge over the Indian Lake – Lewey Lake intersection to 2 miles north of this location. I had beautiful, long scope views of a bird on the west side of Route 30 before it flew to the east side along Indian Lake. The birds were found in second growth aspens and beech trees. I found an Olive-sided Flycatcher on the Perkins Clearing Road at a wetland over 6.5 miles in (past Sled Harbor). Joan Collins Long Lake, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Rusty Blackbirds in Wanakena From: Eileen Wheeler <eiwheeler AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:52:29 -0700 (PDT) I took some short hikes in Wanakena today- rubber boots would have been a good idea as there was tons of water on the trails.  About 5 minutes into the High Falls Truck Trail I noticed a male Rusty and shortly a female foraging in the water and grass to the left of the trail.  They flew, but not far with a lot of calling going on and some song.  A few minutes later, on my way back, there was even more activity and at least 3 birds calling, 2 also singing.  I watched the male gather insects and feed them to a juvenal who was doing a lot of wing flapping.  I believe there was a fourth bird, as 3 flew off together in the direction where I'd heard an adult singing. Two  Northern Waterthrush also in that section of trail. Eileen Wheeler Canton, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Late Whip Report From: Alan Belford <alan_belford AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:19:22 -0400 As a rainy day helps me begin to dig out, I thought I'd pass along a late whip-poor-will sighting if nothing else but for the record. 5/24 - in the middle of Route 3A as I was driving passed Fort Drum on my way from Syracuse back home. Sorry for the long delay. Good Birding! Alan Belford Saranac Lake [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: FW: Spring Pond Bog eXpedition From: Alan Belford <alan_belford AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:16:20 -0400 I helped lead a trip to Spring Pond Bog this past Saturday (6/8) and we had the following: Birds Canada Goose Common Loon Broad-winged Hawk Chimney Swift Mourning Dove (Tupper Lake) Rock Pigeon (Tupper Lake) Ruby-throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Red-eyed Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Blue Jay Gray Jay Common Raven American Crow Tree Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Brown Creeper Red-breasted Nuthatch House Wren (Tupper Lake) Winter Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Veery Hermit Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird European Starling (Tupper Lake) Cedar Waxwing Northern Parula Nashville Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Black and White Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Common Yellowthroat Canada Warbler Scarlet Tanager Indigo Bunting Savannah Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln’s Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Purple Finch Other Sightings White-tailed deer Snowshoe Hare Eastern Chipmunk Red Squirrel Moose tracks Wild Turkey nest and hatched eggs Green Frog Spring Peeper Eastern Newt (Red Eft stage) Painted turtle Snapping turtle laying eggs Good Birding! Alan Belford Saranac Lake [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:49:58 -0700 (PDT) RBA   *  New York *  Syracuse * June 10, 2013 *  NYSY  06. 10. 13   Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): June 03, 2013 - June 10, 2013 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer,  Madison & Cortland compiled:June 10 AT 6:30 p.m. (EDT) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org     #358 -Monday June 10, 2013   Greetings. This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of  June 03, 2013   Highlights: ----------- LEAST BITTERN RING-NECKED DUCK SANDHILL CRANE RUDDY TURNSTONE RED KNOT BLACK TERN EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL RED-HEADED WOODPECKER SWAINSON’S THRUSH PRAIRIE WARBLER GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER CERULEAN WARBLER GRASSHOPPER SPARROW EVENING GROSBEAK Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------      6/6: 3 RED KNOTS were seen on the Wildlife Trail along with RUDDY TURNSTONE, PEEP and SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER.      6/8: 6 BLACK TERNS, a SANDHILL CRANE and TRUMPETER SWANS were seen in Tschache Pool. Oswego County ------------      6/4: 2 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were found at Sunset Bay Park in Scriba.A SWAINSON’S THRUSH, probably a breeding bird, was heard on Otto Mills Road north of Redfield. 2 SORA RAILS plus VIRGINIA RAILS and PIED-BILLED GREBES with young were seen in the County Rt.6 wetlands north of County Rt. 3. The TRUMPETER SWANS also have young in that location again this year.      6/6: A PRAIRIE WARBLER has returned to Happy Valley on Churchill Road north of Rt.69 in Parish after being absent for a number of years. Up to 3 BLACK TERNS were sighted on the common Tern island on Oneida Lake in Constantia.      6/7: A GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER was found on O’Conner Road in Scriba. 2 CERULEAN WARBLERS were found in pine ttrees on County Rt.51 in New Haven.      6/8: 5 GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were found at the south end of Main Street in Richland. An EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL was seen at Roosevelt Road north of Constantia.      6/9: A SANDHILL CRANE was seen on Sage Creek Road near Derby Hill. A LEAST BITTERN was heard at the County Rt. 6 wetlands Madison County ------------      6/6: A pair of EVENING GROSBEAKS continues to frequent a feeder on Carpenter Road near Shedds. Onondaga County ------------      6/7: A possible early migrant RING-NECKED DUCK was seen on Crooked Lake near Tully.                --  end report Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y.  13027  U.S.A. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Olive-sided flycatcher -not From: Ber Carr <mycocarex AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:36:45 +0000 I heard a distant olive-sided flycatcher on what would be a new location for me near the setback in Wanakena on Sunday. When I got a little closer, I heard it again - but it turned out it was a catbird doing a good imitation of the "three beers" portion of the song. Yesterday, the hairy woodpecker on First Street in Wanakena fledged. Bernie Carr Syracuse, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Black-crowned Night-heron Massena From: "usamlc" <ccurtis AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 02:01:58 -0000 Saw a BCNH and an American Bittern along the Wiley-Dondero canal (Robinson Bay Rd) tonight at about 8:30pm. Both were foraging. There was another bittern vocalizing in the distance. I've never seen a BCNH here before so this was a treat. Mary Curtis Massena, NY ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Essex flycatcher From: eve ticknor <edticknor AT sympatico.ca> Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 13:01:33 -0400 I can hear a Great-crested Flycatcher near the corner of Rte 22 and Elm Street in Essex. It is still "weep"ing now. First time I have heard one around here. Eve Ticknor Box 2206 Prescott, On K0E 1T0 res: 613-925-5528 cell: 613-859-9545 Box 122, 35 Elm St Essex, NY 12936 "Change how you see, not how you look." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: From: Joan Howlett <hobeauworks AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2013 11:52:01 -0400 A Migratory Birds Webcast, Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 6 pm will celebrate the Nature Conservancy's global achievements in protecting migratory birds and their habitats. Director Dave Mehlman will host a live discussion on initiatives to protect diverse species by conserving the international ecosystems they depend on for survival. Sign in at lifestream.com/conserve. Email birdswebcast AT tnc.org with any questions. Joan Howlett Norwood, NY ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Re: Update on Bicknell's Thrush & more From: "MICHAEL C" <mjcantwe AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2013 14:59:11 -0000 Two Bicknell's Thrush heard in Wilmington on Bonnie View Rd. early Tuesday (May, 28) morning. ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Update on Bicknell's Thrush & more From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT frontier.com> Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2013 09:32:58 -0400 6/1/13 Whiteface Mountain, Essex County, NY On a dawn tour of Whiteface Mountain with birders from NYC on Saturday, we found at least 15 Bicknell's Thrushes between 3900 and 4400'. After the extreme weather event with 3 feet of new snow between 5/25 and 5/26, I was curious to see what we would find. After my recent post, a birder from NYC emailed about the Swainson's Thrushes. He wondered if the cold/snow would help in "beating them back" down the mountain. I wondered the same thing, and it did indeed seem to be the case! We only heard 3 Swainson's Thrushes in the 3900 to 4400 foot elevation range, and only one was singing (the other 2 called). In the days after the snowfall last week, temperatures were very warm (80 to 90 degrees) and there were only small, remnant snow piles left along the road from the plowing by Saturday. Time will tell if the Swainson's Thrushes will move back up the peak this breeding season. I plan to conduct the Mountain Birdwatch survey as close to last year's date (6/23/12) as possible for a good comparison. It was lovely to hear the Bicknell's Thrushes singing at dawn (& pre-dawn), and as usual, they switched over to occasional calling after 5 a.m.! I also noticed that I did not hear the Black-throated Blue Warbler that I found singing (at around 4200') on 5/19. There was a Black-throated Green Warbler singing, but lower down from where I found one on 5/19. Blackpoll Warblers were found singing up the peak but far fewer than expected. It was the same situation for Yellow-bellied Flycatchers in the 3900 to 4400 foot range. I will be up on Whiteface several times a week through the breeding season with dawn tours, so I'll be able to observe changes that may occur now that the snow/cold is gone (hopefully gone for the season!). Sean O'Brien, a birder friend from Saranac Lake, was up on Whiteface Mountain's summit on 5/31, and he called to note the lack of Swainson's Thrushes after the storm also. The weekend tour was two days, with Saturday spent in boreal habitat (high and low elevation boreal), and Sunday spent in the vast St. Lawrence Valley grasslands, wetlands, and shrublands. In the largest bog (actually a "fen") in NYS, we found boreal bird species including Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Palm Warbler, and Lincoln's Sparrow, along with many bog plants in bloom - Labrador Tea and Bog Laurel. Butterflies were photographed along the way (Tom Fiore - we found Arctic Jutta again this year!). I continue to find the grasslands of the St. Lawrence Valley fascinating, but at times, heartbreaking, when you return to a mowed field knowing all the species that were nesting in it. We spent a great deal of time at a large, Henslow's Sparrow "colony" where I can't even begin to estimate how many birds occupy the gigantic wet, unmanaged field. The birds were buried in the grass - often just a few feet from us, but mostly remained out of sight. The Birds of North America Henslow's Sparrow account mentions that Eastern Meadowlarks are dominate over Henslow's, and we can add Red-winged Blackbird to that section after our observations on Sunday! A few Henslow's Sparrows appeared and were immediately attacked by Red-winged Blackbirds, which may be a factor in their singing from the ground, out of sight. There were very few Savannah Sparrows heard in this location. Thanks to Mike Morgan, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, for sending a journal article discussing the importance of social cues used by Henslow's Sparrows in choosing a breeding location - study conducted in Iowa (playbacks were used to entice Henslow's Sparrows to restored habitat areas). After spending time reading about Least Flycatcher aggregates, I am becoming more and more interested in the social cues used by some species for their choice of breeding habitat. I will write another blog on this topic that will focus on Henslow's Sparrows. At another grassland location, we enjoyed watching Grasshopper Sparrows vying for singing perches on two old stumps in a large field - and they were occasionally confronted by Song Sparrows, but it appeared the Grasshopper Sparrows were winning the stumps! Overall, we found 115 species, including 20 warbler, 11 sparrow, and 8 flycatcher species. Painted and Snapping Turtles have been laying eggs in the past week. I've rescued as many as possible from roadways, where they are often hit. We also observed a Mink, Porcupine, Snowshoe Hare, and of course many Deer. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/ http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l AT cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- Subject: NNYBirds: Update on Bicknell's Thrush & more From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com> Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2013 09:32:58 -0400 6/1/13 Whiteface Mountain, Essex County, NY On a dawn tour of Whiteface Mountain with birders from NYC on Saturday, we found at least 15 Bicknell's Thrushes between 3900 and 4400'. After the extreme weather event with 3 feet of new snow between 5/25 and 5/26, I was curious to see what we would find. After my recent post, a birder from NYC emailed about the Swainson's Thrushes. He wondered if the cold/snow would help in "beating them back" down the mountain. I wondered the same thing, and it did indeed seem to be the case! We only heard 3 Swainson's Thrushes in the 3900 to 4400 foot elevation range, and only one was singing (the other 2 called). In the days after the snowfall last week, temperatures were very warm (80 to 90 degrees) and there were only small, remnant snow piles left along the road from the plowing by Saturday. Time will tell if the Swainson's Thrushes will move back up the peak this breeding season. I plan to conduct the Mountain Birdwatch survey as close to last year's date (6/23/12) as possible for a good comparison. It was lovely to hear the Bicknell's Thrushes singing at dawn (& pre-dawn), and as usual, they switched over to occasional calling after 5 a.m.! I also noticed that I did not hear the Black-throated Blue Warbler that I found singing (at around 4200') on 5/19. There was a Black-throated Green Warbler singing, but lower down from where I found one on 5/19. Blackpoll Warblers were found singing up the peak but far fewer than expected. It was the same situation for Yellow-bellied Flycatchers in the 3900 to 4400 foot range. I will be up on Whiteface several times a week through the breeding season with dawn tours, so I'll be able to observe changes that may occur now that the snow/cold is gone (hopefully gone for the season!). Sean O'Brien, a birder friend from Saranac Lake, was up on Whiteface Mountain's summit on 5/31, and he called to note the lack of Swainson's Thrushes after the storm also. The weekend tour was two days, with Saturday spent in boreal habitat (high and low elevation boreal), and Sunday spent in the vast St. Lawrence Valley grasslands, wetlands, and shrublands. In the largest bog (actually a "fen") in NYS, we found boreal bird species including Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Palm Warbler, and Lincoln's Sparrow, along with many bog plants in bloom - Labrador Tea and Bog Laurel. Butterflies were photographed along the way (Tom Fiore - we found Arctic Jutta again this year!). I continue to find the grasslands of the St. Lawrence Valley fascinating, but at times, heartbreaking, when you return to a mowed field knowing all the species that were nesting in it. We spent a great deal of time at a large, Henslow's Sparrow "colony" where I can't even begin to estimate how many birds occupy the gigantic wet, unmanaged field. The birds were buried in the grass - often just a few feet from us, but mostly remained out of sight. The Birds of North America Henslow's Sparrow account mentions that Eastern Meadowlarks are dominate over Henslow's, and we can add Red-winged Blackbird to that section after our observations on Sunday! A few Henslow's Sparrows appeared and were immediately attacked by Red-winged Blackbirds, which may be a factor in their singing from the ground, out of sight. There were very few Savannah Sparrows heard in this location. Thanks to Mike Morgan, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, for sending a journal article discussing the importance of social cues used by Henslow's Sparrows in choosing a breeding location - study conducted in Iowa (playbacks were used to entice Henslow's Sparrows to restored habitat areas). After spending time reading about Least Flycatcher aggregates, I am becoming more and more interested in the social cues used by some species for their choice of breeding habitat. I will write another blog on this topic that will focus on Henslow's Sparrows. At another grassland location, we enjoyed watching Grasshopper Sparrows vying for singing perches on two old stumps in a large field - and they were occasionally confronted by Song Sparrows, but it appeared the Grasshopper Sparrows were winning the stumps! Overall, we found 115 species, including 20 warbler, 11 sparrow, and 8 flycatcher species. Painted and Snapping Turtles have been laying eggs in the past week. I've rescued as many as possible from roadways, where they are often hit. We also observed a Mink, Porcupine, Snowshoe Hare, and of course many Deer. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/ http://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 16:43:56 -0700 (PDT) RBA   *  New York *  Syracuse * June 03, 2013 *  NYSY  06. 03. 13   Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): May 27, 2013 - June 03, 2013 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer,  Madison & Cortland compiled:June 03 AT 6:30 p.m. (EDT) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org     #357 -Monday June 03, 2013   Greetings. This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of  May 27, 2013   Highlights: ----------- BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON GLOSSY IBIS BLACK VULTURE SANDHILL CRANE BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER WHIMBREL SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER RUDDY TURNSTONE WILSON’S PHALAROPE COMMON NIGHTHAWK RED-HEADED WOODPECKER ACADIAN FLYCATCHER ORCHARD ORIOLE EVENING GROSBEAK PINE SISKIN Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------      5/27: SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and RUDDY TURNSTONE were found on the Main Pool.A WILSON’S PHALAROPE was seen at Knox-Marsellus Marsh.100+ BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS were seen flying over Knox-Marsellus Marsh. 1,300 DUNLIN,  600 SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPERS, 250 LEAST SANDPIPERS and 270 SEMI-PALMATED PLOVERS were seen at the Main Pool and Kipp Island. 10 BLACK TERNS were seen at Tschache Pool.      5/28: 2 adult and 2 young SANDHILL CRANES contunue at Carncross Road.      5/29: 2 ORCHARD ORIOLES and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW were seen near the Audubon Center north of Savannah.      5/31: A GLOSSY IBIS was found at Knox-Marsellus Marsh. It was relocated the next day.      6/1: 2 first summer SANDHILL CRANES were seen at VanDyne Spoor road in the marsh. Derby Hill ------------      1,459 raptors were counted on this last official week of the Count at Derby. A BLACK VULTURE ON 6/1 was the raptor highlight. A YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER was seen on 5/30. RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was seen on 5/31. The main attraction this week was COMMON NIGHTHAWK with 15 on 5/27, 19 on 5/29 and 131 on 5/31. Onondaga County ------------      5/28: 2 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were seen migrating over Dead Creek at the Town of Van Buren Transportation Dept . west of Baldwinsville.      5/30: 3 recently fledged BARRED OWLS were seen in Whiskey Hollow. An ACADIAN FLYCATCHER was heard in back of the Town of Van Buren Tansportation Dept. It has not been relocated.      5/31: A first summer male ORCHARD ORIOLE was seen at Ceder Bay Park in Fayetteville. A GRASSHOPPER SPARROW was found on Meeker Hill Road in Tully.      6/1: The Onondaga Audubon Field Trip to Three Rivers WMA north of Baldwinsville found 53 species. Highlights were a WILSON’S WARBLER and yet another ACADIAN FLYCATCHER away from Whiskey Hollow. This bird was heard again on 6/2.  Madison County ------------      5/28: EVENING GROSBEAKS and PINE SISKINS continue to come to a feeder on Carpenter Road near Shedds. Oneida County ------------      5/28: An ORCHARD ORIOLE was seen at the Turning Stone RV Park in Verona. Oswego County ------------      6/1: A WHIMBREL was seen on a rock outcropping near the Tern Island on Oneida Lake from Constantia.             --  end report Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y.  13027  U.S.A. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: Puzzling Redstart song and plumage From: Dana Rohleder <dcrohleder AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:01:27 -0400 Bruce, A novice birder probably wouldn't have been able to notice what was going on. Also, just knowing the song wasn't quite right places you well on the intermediate ladder, not a novice. But even experts learn something nearly every time they bird. So birders don't often categorize their skill level because it doesn't mean a lot. I could be an expert at raptors, but not be able to tell gulls apart. The take home message is to go out there every day with an open mind, keep your head out of the field guide when you are in the field, and above all, enjoy yourself! -- Dana Rohleder Port Kent, NY On 6/2/2013 9:13 PM, Bruce wrote: > Six days of camping/paddling/birding and photography in the ADKs last week provided several interesting increases in my ornithology knowledge. The most interesting was twice hearing confusing warbler song that neither John Pipkin nor I could identify at first. We were along Big Moose - Stillwater road on May 29, a day that was rainy and required birding by car with brief breaks for photography (sorry for the delay, but I've only just returned home). > > The unidentified bird sounded like a Redstart, but wasn't quite right for us. Finally we found the bird, but it was a "female". This led to searching several more minutes for the close-by male, without success. Finally we realized that the "female" was singing. Certainly it was too early for first year males to be singing (or probably even hatched). And, we found a second "female" singing at a site a half mile down the road. Only after returning home did John, and then later I, work through the literature that described the delayed plumage maturation that American Redstarts have. Apparently males only develop the full "male" plumage after the first breeding season (at which they are less successful - the first breeding year may be "practice"). Sibley talks about this in his "Guide to Bird Life and Behavior" book and I read a couple of the primary scientific literature articles on the topic: > > Rohwer, S., Fretwell, S. D., & Niles, D. M. (1980). Delayed Maturation in Passerine Plumages and the Deceptive Acquisition of Resources. The American Naturalist, 115(3), 400-437. doi: 10.2307/2460726 > > Rohwer, S., Klein, W. P., Jr., & Heard, S. (1983). Delayed Plumage Maturation and the Presumed Prealternate Molt in American Redstarts. The Wilson Bulletin, 95(2), 199-208. doi: 10.2307/4161750 > > Perhaps a photograph of the first male would be of interest to some: > http://tinyurl.com/ldxd9fp > > Of course, this maturation pattern is well known in some birds (e.g., Bald Eagles), but I was surprised to find it in passerines. > > My apologies to the experts for whom this is old information. It is great to be a novice birder and discover such things as this delayed plumage maturation in a warbler type bird. > > Bruce Dudek > Niskayuna/Colonie > > > > ------------------------------------ > > All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. > Subject: NNYBirds: American Redstart From: John Peterson <jmcp7 AT live.com> Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 11:57:24 +0000 Bruce, If you are close enough to American Redstart first-year male, you’ll also see tiny, irregular, black spots on the background of the plain plumage on the breast. No two birds have the same pattern, and they are developing the black pattern of a older male. --Mike Peterson, Montreal Sent from Windows Mail From: John and Sue Gregoire Sent: ‎June‎ ‎3‎, ‎2013 ‎7‎:‎30‎ ‎AM To: Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: NNYBirds: Puzzling Redstart song and plumage Bruce, Thanks for that report. The truly great thing is that you identified the anomaly, researched it, learned and shared. Too many folks new to a field subject take the easy "ask" short cut. Congratulations! john -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" On Sun, June 2, 2013 21:13, Bruce wrote: > Six days of camping/paddling/birding and photography in the ADKs last week provided > several interesting increases in my ornithology knowledge. The most interesting was > twice hearing confusing warbler song that neither John Pipkin nor I could identify > at first. We were along Big Moose - Stillwater road on May 29, a day that was rainy > and required birding by car with brief breaks for photography (sorry for the delay, > but I've only just returned home). > > The unidentified bird sounded like a Redstart, but wasn't quite right for us. > Finally we found the bird, but it was a "female". This led to searching several > more minutes for the close-by male, without success. Finally we realized that the > "female" was singing. Certainly it was too early for first year males to be > singing (or probably even hatched). And, we found a second "female" singing at a > site a half mile down the road. Only after returning home did John, and then later > I, work through the literature that described the delayed plumage maturation that > American Redstarts have. Apparently males only develop the full "male" plumage > after the first breeding season (at which they are less successful - the first > breeding year may be "practice"). Sibley talks about this in his "Guide to Bird > Life and Behavior" book and I read a couple of the primary scientific literature > articles on the topic: > > Rohwer, S., Fretwell, S. D., & Niles, D. M. (1980). Delayed Maturation in Passerine > Plumages and the Deceptive Acquisition of Resources. The American Naturalist, > 115(3), 400-437. doi: 10.2307/2460726 > > Rohwer, S., Klein, W. P., Jr., & Heard, S. (1983). Delayed Plumage Maturation and > the Presumed Prealternate Molt in American Redstarts. The Wilson Bulletin, 95(2), > 199-208. doi: 10.2307/4161750 > > Perhaps a photograph of the first male would be of interest to some: > http://tinyurl.com/ldxd9fp > > Of course, this maturation pattern is well known in some birds (e.g., Bald Eagles), > but I was surprised to find it in passerines. > > My apologies to the experts for whom this is old information. It is great to be a > novice birder and discover such things as this delayed plumage maturation in a > warbler type bird. > > Bruce Dudek > Niskayuna/Colonie > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: Puzzling Redstart song and plumage From: "John and Sue Gregoire" <khmo AT empacc.net> Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 07:30:11 -0400 Bruce, Thanks for that report. The truly great thing is that you identified the anomaly, researched it, learned and shared. Too many folks new to a field subject take the easy "ask" short cut. Congratulations! john -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" On Sun, June 2, 2013 21:13, Bruce wrote: > Six days of camping/paddling/birding and photography in the ADKs last week provided > several interesting increases in my ornithology knowledge. The most interesting was > twice hearing confusing warbler song that neither John Pipkin nor I could identify > at first. We were along Big Moose - Stillwater road on May 29, a day that was rainy > and required birding by car with brief breaks for photography (sorry for the delay, > but I've only just returned home). > > The unidentified bird sounded like a Redstart, but wasn't quite right for us. > Finally we found the bird, but it was a "female". This led to searching several > more minutes for the close-by male, without success. Finally we realized that the > "female" was singing. Certainly it was too early for first year males to be > singing (or probably even hatched). And, we found a second "female" singing at a > site a half mile down the road. Only after returning home did John, and then later > I, work through the literature that described the delayed plumage maturation that > American Redstarts have. Apparently males only develop the full "male" plumage > after the first breeding season (at which they are less successful - the first > breeding year may be "practice"). Sibley talks about this in his "Guide to Bird > Life and Behavior" book and I read a couple of the primary scientific literature > articles on the topic: > > Rohwer, S., Fretwell, S. D., & Niles, D. M. (1980). Delayed Maturation in Passerine > Plumages and the Deceptive Acquisition of Resources. The American Naturalist, > 115(3), 400-437. doi: 10.2307/2460726 > > Rohwer, S., Klein, W. P., Jr., & Heard, S. (1983). Delayed Plumage Maturation and > the Presumed Prealternate Molt in American Redstarts. The Wilson Bulletin, 95(2), > 199-208. doi: 10.2307/4161750 > > Perhaps a photograph of the first male would be of interest to some: > http://tinyurl.com/ldxd9fp > > Of course, this maturation pattern is well known in some birds (e.g., Bald Eagles), > but I was surprised to find it in passerines. > > My apologies to the experts for whom this is old information. It is great to be a > novice birder and discover such things as this delayed plumage maturation in a > warbler type bird. > > Bruce Dudek > Niskayuna/Colonie > > ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Intervale Lowlands Preserve, June 1-2 From: "Larry Master" <lawrencemaster AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 00:48:58 -0400 A total of 68 species (including 14 warbler spp on territories) were seen over the weekend on two Great Adirondack Birding Celebration field trips to Intervale Lowlands Preserve in Lake Placid (www.intervalelowlands.org). A composite checklist from Saturday (61 spp) and Sunday (58 spp) is below with the highest individual daily total shown. Most of the numbers are tallies of singling males on territory. Several known resident species were missed. Larry Master Lake Placid Canada Goose 37 (includes 10 and 1 goslings from two broods; this non-native breeder is rapidly increasing in the area) Mallard 10 Hooded Merganser 1 (2+ females are using nest boxes) Common Merganser 3 Ruffed Grouse 4 (drumming males; a nest with eggs, first found on May 14, was predated by an ermine the night of May 30, despite efforts of the hen grouse to fend off the ermine, with remains cleaned up by crows the following afternoon - captured on trail camera video clips) Wild Turkey 1 (3 on most previous days) American Bittern 1 Great Blue Heron 2 Turkey Vulture 3 (up to 9 the preceding week) Northern Harrier 1 (female) Osprey 1 Spotted Sandpiper 2 (2 pairs before last week's high water) Wilson's Snipe 1 Herring Gull (American) 1 Mourning Dove 4 Great Horned Owl 1 (being mobbed by crows) Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2 (up to 6 visiting feeders) Belted Kingfisher 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 American Kestrel 2 (pair) Alder Flycatcher 10 Eastern Phoebe 2 Eastern Kingbird 1 Blue-headed Vireo 2 Red-eyed Vireo 6 Blue Jay 16 American Crow 16 Common Raven 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1 Tree Swallow 6 (3 nesting pairs) Barn Swallow 2 Black-capped Chickadee 8 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Winter Wren 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Eastern Bluebird 2 Veery 3 American Robin 2 Gray Catbird 6 Brown Thrasher 1 Cedar Waxwing 14 Ovenbird 1 Nashville Warbler 17 Mourning Warbler 7 (late[?] migrants singing on three of last year's territories for the first time on 2 June) Common Yellowthroat 9 American Redstart 6 Cape May Warbler 1 (back on territory for 3+ years) Northern Parula 4 Magnolia Warbler 16 Blackburnian Warbler 2 Yellow Warbler 12 Chestnut-sided Warbler 4 Black-throated Blue Warbler 3 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6 Black-throated Green Warbler 1 Chipping Sparrow 2 Song Sparrow 11 Lincoln's Sparrow 3 Swamp Sparrow 5 White-throated Sparrow 11 Indigo Bunting 2 Red-winged Blackbird 5 Common Grackle 6 Purple Finch 7 Pine Siskin 1 American Goldfinch 4 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14314827 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Puzzling Redstart song and plumage From: "Bruce" <bdudek2 AT nycap.rr.com> Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2013 01:13:41 -0000 Six days of camping/paddling/birding and photography in the ADKs last week provided several interesting increases in my ornithology knowledge. The most interesting was twice hearing confusing warbler song that neither John Pipkin nor I could identify at first. We were along Big Moose - Stillwater road on May 29, a day that was rainy and required birding by car with brief breaks for photography (sorry for the delay, but I've only just returned home). The unidentified bird sounded like a Redstart, but wasn't quite right for us. Finally we found the bird, but it was a "female". This led to searching several more minutes for the close-by male, without success. Finally we realized that the "female" was singing. Certainly it was too early for first year males to be singing (or probably even hatched). And, we found a second "female" singing at a site a half mile down the road. Only after returning home did John, and then later I, work through the literature that described the delayed plumage maturation that American Redstarts have. Apparently males only develop the full "male" plumage after the first breeding season (at which they are less successful - the first breeding year may be "practice"). Sibley talks about this in his "Guide to Bird Life and Behavior" book and I read a couple of the primary scientific literature articles on the topic: Rohwer, S., Fretwell, S. D., & Niles, D. M. (1980). Delayed Maturation in Passerine Plumages and the Deceptive Acquisition of Resources. The American Naturalist, 115(3), 400-437. doi: 10.2307/2460726 Rohwer, S., Klein, W. P., Jr., & Heard, S. (1983). Delayed Plumage Maturation and the Presumed Prealternate Molt in American Redstarts. The Wilson Bulletin, 95(2), 199-208. doi: 10.2307/4161750 Perhaps a photograph of the first male would be of interest to some: http://tinyurl.com/ldxd9fp Of course, this maturation pattern is well known in some birds (e.g., Bald Eagles), but I was surprised to find it in passerines. My apologies to the experts for whom this is old information. It is great to be a novice birder and discover such things as this delayed plumage maturation in a warbler type bird. Bruce Dudek Niskayuna/Colonie ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: 11th Ad'k Birding Celebration in the books. From: "brian" <birder64 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2013 23:22:29 -0000 Another successful run of the Great Adirondack Birding Celebration with 104 species seen. Highlights include our "boreal trio" of Bicknell's thrush, black backed woodpecker(nesting), and boreal chickadee, as well as a field of 18+ bobolinks, an olive-sided flycatcher on territory, and very friendly gray jays. The Champlain Valley trip produced a beautiful blue-winged warbler, veery, great crested flycatcher, marsh wren, and a eastern wood pewee. Thanks much to all the participants, trip leaders, informative speakers, vendors, and steering committee. Brian McAllister Saranac Lake ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: File - HelpFile - PLEASE READ & SAVE!! From: Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com Date: 1 Jun 2013 19:17:42 -0000 PLEASE READ & SAVE!!! Northern_NY_Birds (NNYBirds) Monthly Help & Information File Please read the list guidelines (see below) before engaging in discussion. In addition, familiarize yourself with how the list operates, especially if you've never participated in an Internet email discussion group before. It's a good idea to SAVE THIS MESSAGE somewhere so you know how to unsubscribe and alter your subscription settings. GUIDELINES: A discussion area for amateur to expert birders to report rare, unusual, or simply interesting bird sightings in Northern NY. This would include the Adirondacks, St. Lawrence, Tug Hill, Eastern Lake Ontario, and Lake Champlain areas. Loosely, anywhere east of Lake Ontario/I-81 and north of I-90. Relevant cross-postings from neighboring groups are also encouraged. On the website, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Northern_NY_Birds , events and trips relative to the group may be posted and/or placed on the group calendar. Birding-related photos, files, and polls may also be uploaded. Please feel free to use any of these features. 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EMAIL COMMANDS These e-mail messages are intended to cause some action to occur, such as subscribing the FROM address to a mailing list. Commands are usually one or two word phrases which should be entered in the SUBJECT field of the message. Any other fields are ignored... it doesn't matter what you put in them. The following commands are accepted: To JOIN a group, send a blank message to: Northern_NY_Birds-subscribe AT yahoogroups.com To UNSUBSCRIBE from a group, send a blank message to: Northern_NY_Birds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com To POST a message to a group, send your message to: Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com To post a message to a group's owners and moderators, send a message to: Northern_NY_Birds-owner AT yahoogroups.com To put your email message delivery on hold for a group, send a blank message to: Northern_NY_Birds-nomail AT yahoogroups.com To change your subscription to daily digest mode, send a blank message to: Northern_NY_Birds-digest AT yahoogroups.com To change your subscription to individual emails, send a blank message to: Northern_NY_Birds-normal AT yahoogroups.com To receive general help information, send a blank message to: Northern_NY_Birds-help AT yahoogroups.com Thanks, Dana C. Rohleder, O.D. List Administrator Northern_NY_Birds-owner AT yahoogroups.com ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Birding Celebration extras From: "brian" <birder64 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 01:00:45 -0000 If you're coming over to the Birding Celebraton at the Paul Smiths College VIC Saturday, then you might want to bring some cash to buy a raffle ticket...we are raffling off a Vortex Nomad 20-60 x 60 Straight Spotting Scope with Pro GT tripod. We're also raffling a beautiful photograph of a Bicknell's thrush taken by Larry Master, www.masterimages.org Brian McAllister ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Black-billed Cuckoo From: "dmbirder5" <dmbirder5 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 22:46:02 -0000 This morning while birding at Lake Alice WMA in Chazy I observed a pair of BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS in the trees right at the main parking lot. As I've never seen this species it this area, I was quite surprised and pleased! Dayna Peru ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Partners in Flight V Workshops, Birding Field Trips, Poster Sessions - Snowbird, Utah, August 25 - 28 Register Now While Low Rates Still Available From: Steve Holmer <sholmer AT abcbirds.org> Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 13:44:46 -0700 Partners in Flight V Workshops, Birding Field Trips, Poster Sessions - Snowbird, Utah, August 25 - 28 Register Now While Low Rates Still Available Register online now to join the fun and be a part of the premier bird conservation strategy opportunity for all the Americas. Be a part of the solution for migratory birds, go birding in spectacular Utah, socialize with colleagues, and share your work at the poster sessions. See www.PIFV.org for more information and to register online at a reduced rate. Steve Holmer Senior Policy Advisor American Bird Conservancy & Director, Bird Conservation Alliance 202-234-7181 ext. 216 sholmer AT abcbirds.org Skype: sholmerabc www.abcbirds.org, www.birdconservationalliance.org, ABC on Facebook, ABC Videos [cid:image001.jpg AT 01CE5D54.FE709470] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: Lewis's woodpecker sighting Saranac Lake area From: Kim Holmlund <kim AT massari.com> Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 16:11:46 -0400 Brian, any specific location on Kiwassa? Kim On May 30, 2013, at 2:31 PM, "brian" wrote: > Keep your eyes open for a confirmed Lewis's woodpecker sighting in the SW region of Saranac Lake Village. Bird seen along Kiwassa Rd. > > Brian McAllister > Saranac lake > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Lewis's woodpecker sighting Saranac Lake area From: "brian" <birder64 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 18:31:43 -0000 Keep your eyes open for a confirmed Lewis's woodpecker sighting in the SW region of Saranac Lake Village. Bird seen along Kiwassa Rd. Brian McAllister Saranac lake ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station From: "Michael Morgan" <mrmorgan AT gw.dec.state.ny.us> Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 08:27:48 -0400 This is a very contentious subject, but actually NYS Law supports eradicating cats where they are harming birds. NYS "policy" may be a different matter, depending on location. See NYS ECL § 11-0529. Cats hunting birds; dogs pursuing deer or killing other wildlife in certain areas Mike >>> "Larry Federman" 05/30/13 7:25 AM >>> Feral cats are indeed a major problem, as many of us know, and anyone who reads the info on the ABC site will find out. Even though, “ Making a bad situation worse, NYS frowns on anyone shooting a feral cat. “ I feel that since you are running a scientific research station, eradication the nuisance by whatever means is justified. Larry From: Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2013 6:55 AM To: Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station Cris et al, I also missed the message closing Mike's site due feral cats. It is a huge problem for those of us who band as we simply can not have lunch ready and waiting for the predator. As we have seen, one feral cat is too many. This spring we also closed our station for the first time in 27 years. That continuity of the spring data set is now lost thanks to the person who dumped a feral cat here on the sanctuary. The cat proved to be trap shy and a vicious killer of wildlife. We still have the problem with fall and saw-whet owl seasons around the corner. Making a bad situation worse, NYS frowns on anyone shooting a feral cat. Many humane societies push a concept called TNR which is trap, neuter, release. Whether or not they then go on to establish care colonies is mute as the cats continue to predate wildlife. A very recent academic study has proven this point. The numbers of birds killed by outdoor (and "outdoor/feral" can be used interchangeably here because they have the same effect) each year is staggering! I suggest that anyone interested in educating themselves on the problem, the research and the methods to help should go to . From there one can access all the info available to ABC as well as the remainder of their excellent and helpful website. The upside of our loss of station was our ability to bird for a week in the ADK for the first spring in the last 27! Lastly, an indoor cat is a lovely companion, healthier than those allowed outdoors and doesn't miss the kill! Migratory birds have enough man-made obstacles during their long journeys north and south without inflicting this major predator upon them. John -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" On Wed, May 29, 2013 19:53, Cris wrote: > Hello John, > > I cannot find your message now re: the closing of the banding station because of > extreme predation by feral cats at the site. However, I want people to know about > the impact of cats on bird populations that are already stressed by migration storms > and habitat losses. I am not hearing the normal birds here in Saranac Lake this > year, especially the Hermit Thrushes that used be abundant in the woods around our > camp. There NONE so far this year, and I suspect it is due the cat predation I have > been observing for the past few years as the new year-round homes are built and the > new cats are given free rain. > > I would like to know your thoughts on this issue, as well as those of other serious > and concerned birders. > > Best regards, > Cris > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station From: "Larry Federman" <birderlarry AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 07:25:24 -0400 Feral cats are indeed a major problem, as many of us know, and anyone who reads the info on the ABC site will find out. Even though, “ Making a bad situation worse, NYS frowns on anyone shooting a feral cat. “ I feel that since you are running a scientific research station, eradication the nuisance by whatever means is justified. Larry From: Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2013 6:55 AM To: Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station Cris et al, I also missed the message closing Mike's site due feral cats. It is a huge problem for those of us who band as we simply can not have lunch ready and waiting for the predator. As we have seen, one feral cat is too many. This spring we also closed our station for the first time in 27 years. That continuity of the spring data set is now lost thanks to the person who dumped a feral cat here on the sanctuary. The cat proved to be trap shy and a vicious killer of wildlife. We still have the problem with fall and saw-whet owl seasons around the corner. Making a bad situation worse, NYS frowns on anyone shooting a feral cat. Many humane societies push a concept called TNR which is trap, neuter, release. Whether or not they then go on to establish care colonies is mute as the cats continue to predate wildlife. A very recent academic study has proven this point. The numbers of birds killed by outdoor (and "outdoor/feral" can be used interchangeably here because they have the same effect) each year is staggering! I suggest that anyone interested in educating themselves on the problem, the research and the methods to help should go to . From there one can access all the info available to ABC as well as the remainder of their excellent and helpful website. The upside of our loss of station was our ability to bird for a week in the ADK for the first spring in the last 27! Lastly, an indoor cat is a lovely companion, healthier than those allowed outdoors and doesn't miss the kill! Migratory birds have enough man-made obstacles during their long journeys north and south without inflicting this major predator upon them. John -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" On Wed, May 29, 2013 19:53, Cris wrote: > Hello John, > > I cannot find your message now re: the closing of the banding station because of > extreme predation by feral cats at the site. However, I want people to know about > the impact of cats on bird populations that are already stressed by migration storms > and habitat losses. I am not hearing the normal birds here in Saranac Lake this > year, especially the Hermit Thrushes that used be abundant in the woods around our > camp. There NONE so far this year, and I suspect it is due the cat predation I have > been observing for the past few years as the new year-round homes are built and the > new cats are given free rain. > > I would like to know your thoughts on this issue, as well as those of other serious > and concerned birders. > > Best regards, > Cris > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Philly V From: John Thaxton <JPThax5317 AT aol.com> Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 06:55:19 -0400 (EDT) Philadelphia vireo singing in our yard this morning. Pat & John Thaxton Keene, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station From: "John and Sue Gregoire" <khmo AT empacc.net> Date: Thu, 30 May 2013 06:55:16 -0400 Cris et al, I also missed the message closing Mike's site due feral cats. It is a huge problem for those of us who band as we simply can not have lunch ready and waiting for the predator. As we have seen, one feral cat is too many. This spring we also closed our station for the first time in 27 years. That continuity of the spring data set is now lost thanks to the person who dumped a feral cat here on the sanctuary. The cat proved to be trap shy and a vicious killer of wildlife. We still have the problem with fall and saw-whet owl seasons around the corner. Making a bad situation worse, NYS frowns on anyone shooting a feral cat. Many humane societies push a concept called TNR which is trap, neuter, release. Whether or not they then go on to establish care colonies is mute as the cats continue to predate wildlife. A very recent academic study has proven this point. The numbers of birds killed by outdoor (and "outdoor/feral" can be used interchangeably here because they have the same effect) each year is staggering! I suggest that anyone interested in educating themselves on the problem, the research and the methods to help should go to . From there one can access all the info available to ABC as well as the remainder of their excellent and helpful website. The upside of our loss of station was our ability to bird for a week in the ADK for the first spring in the last 27! Lastly, an indoor cat is a lovely companion, healthier than those allowed outdoors and doesn't miss the kill! Migratory birds have enough man-made obstacles during their long journeys north and south without inflicting this major predator upon them. John -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" On Wed, May 29, 2013 19:53, Cris wrote: > Hello John, > > I cannot find your message now re: the closing of the banding station because of > extreme predation by feral cats at the site. However, I want people to know about > the impact of cats on bird populations that are already stressed by migration storms > and habitat losses. I am not hearing the normal birds here in Saranac Lake this > year, especially the Hermit Thrushes that used be abundant in the woods around our > camp. There NONE so far this year, and I suspect it is due the cat predation I have > been observing for the past few years as the new year-round homes are built and the > new cats are given free rain. > > I would like to know your thoughts on this issue, as well as those of other serious > and concerned birders. > > Best regards, > Cris > > ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station From: Dana Rohleder <dcrohleder AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 29 May 2013 21:06:52 -0400 Cris, I believe you may be thinking about a post regarding Kestrel Haven being shut down by feral cats. As far as I know, the Crown Point banding station monitored by Mike Peterson et al is still open. If you are interested, these are the people to contact about Kestrel Haven: John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ -- Dana Rohleder Port Kent, NY On 5/29/2013 7:53 PM, Cris wrote: > Hello John, > > I cannot find your message now re: the closing of the banding station because of extreme predation by feral cats at the site. However, I want people to know about the impact of cats on bird populations that are already stressed by migration storms and habitat losses. I am not hearing the normal birds here in Saranac Lake this year, especially the Hermit Thrushes that used be abundant in the woods around our camp. There NONE so far this year, and I suspect it is due the cat predation I have been observing for the past few years as the new year-round homes are built and the new cats are given free rain. > > I would like to know your thoughts on this issue, as well as those of other serious and concerned birders. > > Best regards, > Cris > > > > ------------------------------------ > > All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. > Subject: NNYBirds: To John Peterson Re: Crown Point Bird Banding Station From: "Cris" <crisniche AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 29 May 2013 23:53:55 -0000 Hello John, I cannot find your message now re: the closing of the banding station because of extreme predation by feral cats at the site. However, I want people to know about the impact of cats on bird populations that are already stressed by migration storms and habitat losses. I am not hearing the normal birds here in Saranac Lake this year, especially the Hermit Thrushes that used be abundant in the woods around our camp. There NONE so far this year, and I suspect it is due the cat predation I have been observing for the past few years as the new year-round homes are built and the new cats are given free rain. I would like to know your thoughts on this issue, as well as those of other serious and concerned birders. Best regards, Cris ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Bicknell's Thrush & 3-feet of snow on the Adirondack High Peaks From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT frontier.com> Date: Wed, 29 May 2013 10:29:16 -0400 I have had a number of inquiries by phone and email regarding the heavy, late snowfall that took place in the Adirondack Mountains over Memorial Day weekend and its implications for Bicknell's Thrush and other neotropical migrants that recently returned. I wrote a blog post with thoughts on this subject, and on severe weather events and climate change (photo by Aaron Kellett, Whiteface Mountain Manager) at: http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/climate-change/extreme-weather-eve nts-and-climate-change This link, with the photo taken by Aaron Kellett, is also posted to my Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian Yesterday, I drove just west of the Adirondacks to the St. Lawrence Valley grasslands and shrublands, which always feels like you've traveled to the Midwest, with a completely different suite of bird species from the mountains! I enjoyed finding Henslow's Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and more in the grasslands, and Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers in the shrublands among many other species. As I drove back into the Adirondacks later in the day, it was such a bizarre sight to view the snow-capped mountains looking a lot more like typical February rather than almost June! I'll be up on Whiteface again for a dawn tour in a few days and I'll report back on the conditions. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l AT cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- Subject: NNYBirds: Bicknell's Thrush & 3-feet of snow on the Adirondack High Peaks From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com> Date: Wed, 29 May 2013 10:29:16 -0400 I have had a number of inquiries by phone and email regarding the heavy, late snowfall that took place in the Adirondack Mountains over Memorial Day weekend and its implications for Bicknell's Thrush and other neotropical migrants that recently returned. I wrote a blog post with thoughts on this subject, and on severe weather events and climate change (photo by Aaron Kellett, Whiteface Mountain Manager) at: http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/climate-change/extreme-weather-eve nts-and-climate-change This link, with the photo taken by Aaron Kellett, is also posted to my Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian Yesterday, I drove just west of the Adirondacks to the St. Lawrence Valley grasslands and shrublands, which always feels like you've traveled to the Midwest, with a completely different suite of bird species from the mountains! I enjoyed finding Henslow's Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and more in the grasslands, and Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers in the shrublands among many other species. As I drove back into the Adirondacks later in the day, it was such a bizarre sight to view the snow-capped mountains looking a lot more like typical February rather than almost June! I'll be up on Whiteface again for a dawn tour in a few days and I'll report back on the conditions. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Great Adk Birding Celebration From: "brian" <birder64 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 29 May 2013 02:17:41 -0000 Mark your calendars for this coming Friday and Saturday evenings as the Paul Smith's College VIC presents two keynote speakers as part of the 11th Great Adirondack Birding Celebration. Also, join fellow birders as Angelina Ross and Dr. Glenn Johnson present the latest details on the NYSDEC Spruce Grouse Project at 1:30pm Saturday, 1 June in the VIC theater. Details can be found here: http://adirondackvic.org/Great-Adirondack-Birding-Celebration-2013.html Northern New York Audubon members receive a discount on admission to the lectures. Brian McAllister Saranac Lake...Adirondack Birding HQ! ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Fw: Clinton County on May 28th From: "Bill Krueger " <billkrueger AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 28 May 2013 19:20:50 +0000 Bill Krueger Plattsburgh, NY Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: James Osborn Date: Tue, 28 May 2013 19:17:32 To: Cc: Subject: Clinton County on May 28th Hi Bill,   I hope that you are enjoying your trip.   I made a short visit to Clinton County today. Things were quite busy.   * NO LUCK with shorebirds at the Chazy Riverlands. The Lake has risen to the point where there is virtually no edge for the birds to use. Hopefully this situation will change in the next few days or so. * The field on the south side of the Little Chazy River is partially flooded. The gulls were busy in there this morning. The only notable species, however, was a single CASPIAN TERN. SPECIES OF NOTE SEEN TODAY: * BRANT (112) - Flock flying north over the Beach and Picnic Area at Point Au Roche State Park at 6:17 AM. * Willow Flycatcher (1) - Single bird in the south end Marsh along Ridge Road at Lake Alice WMA. This was a very vocal bird. There were several Alder Flycatchers in the same area. This is the same area that this species was in in 2012. * Carolina Wren (1) - South end of Long Point where the trail splits and heads to the point. This species has been in this location for a while now. * GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER (1) - Long Point at Point Au Roche State Park. This singing Male was in the tree at the beginning of trail next to the Lecture Center on Long Point. * CAPE MAY WARBLER (1) - Pine stand on MacAdam Road at Lake Alice WMA. This area is across the road from the trail head (with the mailbox) for the Forest Trail. Species seen here on May 28th, 2012. * BAY-BREASTED WARBLER (1) - Foraging with the Cape May on MacAdam Road. This species was also seen in this same exact location on May 28th, 2012. * BLACKPOLL WARBLER (6) - All 6 birds were in the forest next to the parking lot for Lake Alice on Ridge Road. You didn't even have to get out of your car to hear them. * Eastern Meadowlark (2) - Field next to Wildlife Migration parking lot on MacAdam Road at Lake Alice WMA. These birds arrived here last year about the same time.  Good luck at "Laurin's Pool" when you return.   Jim   ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Wanakena Area From: Ber Carr <mycocarex AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 28 May 2013 13:48:52 +0000 We had a surprise in uptown Wanakena. A hairy woopdpecker has a nest in a black cherry tree on First Street. "Talking trees" is a term that Gary Lee coined for the chatter from a woodpecker nest. Yellow-bellied flycatcher was back on territory on the High Rock trail. Of the nesting warblers, I haven't had northern parula yet on territory. Several days of rain put a damper on my hiking the trails. Bernie Carr mycocarexathotmaildotcom [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 27 May 2013 16:59:20 -0700 (PDT) RBA   *  New York *  Syracuse * May 27, 2013 *  NYSY  05. 27. 13   Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): May 20, 2013 - May 27, 2013 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer,  Madison & Cortland compiled:May 27 AT 7:30 p.m. (EST) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org     #356 -Monday May 27, 2013   Greetings. This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of  May 20, 2013   Highlights: ----------- GLOSSY IBIS WHIMBREL RUDDY TURNSTONE RED KNOT WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER STILT SANDPIPER WILSON’S PHALAROPE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER ACADIAN FLYCATCHER PHILADELPHIA VIREO PROTHONOTARY WARBLER PRAIRIE WARBLER YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT ORCHARD ORIOLE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------      5/21: A COMMON LOON was seen on Tschache Pool. A PROTHONOTARY WARBLER was heard at Benning Marsh.      5/24: DUNLIN and SEMI-PALMATED PLOVERS continue along the Wildlife Drive. A GLOSSY IBIS was seen at Benning Marsh.      5/25: DUNLIN, 16 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS and a WILSON’S PHALAROPE were seen at the Kipp Island area. A STILT SANDPIPER was seen along the Wildlife Drive. A WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER and a LEAST BITTERN were found at Benning Marsh. Derby Hill ----------      Derby staged a comeback this week, or at least on 5/22 when 2,402 hawks were counted. BROAD-WINGS made up 1868 of the birds. Other highlights of the week included RED-HEADED WOODPECKER on 5/21 and 5/23 and a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL on 5/21. In all 3,814 hawks were counted. Cayuga County ------------      5/20: 2RUDDY TURNSTONES, DUNLIN and LEAST SANDPIPERS were seen at Fairhaven State Park.      5/25: A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was reported just after noon at the intersection of Upton Road and Maiden Lane south of Red Creek. Unfortunately the bird was never relocated. Onondaga County ------------      5/21: A COMMON NIGHTHAWK was heard singing in the pre-dawn in the university area.      5/22: An ACADIAN FLYCATCHER has returned to Whiskey Hollow west of Baldwinsville.      5/23: A juvenile male ORCHARD ORIOLE was found on Marble Street Island in Baldwinsville and was relocated the nest two days.      5/24: 10 DUNLIN were seen in a wet area in Tully near the intersection of Banner Road and Rt. 11A.      5/25: The Onondaga Audubon Field Trip to Whiskey Hollow was attended by 20 avid birders plus thier fearless leaser. Although the Acadian Flycatcher was a no show we did find 43 species of probable breeding birds.      5/27: 2 PRAIRIE WARBLERS were found on Meeker Hill Road in Tully. 9 species of Warblers were found on Herlihy Road just west of Shakham Road east of Tully. Oswego County ------------      5/20: A colony of CLIFF SWALLOWS was seen on an Amish barn in Willianston.      5/21: 3 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were seen hawking insects in Constantia.      5/22: A PHILADELPHIA VIREO and a GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER were found on the Oswego County Rail Trail going east off of Barnard Road north of Phoenix.      5/24: 12 WHIMBREL were seen on the Tern Island in Oneida Lake from Constantia. 118 DUNLIN and 26 RED KNOTS in breeding plumage were seen flying by Phillips Point on Oneida Lake.      5/26: A late WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was seen on Kibby Road south of Mexico.       --  end report Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y.  13027  U.S.A. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: CBC Sunday Morning News-birding From: Emily Pugsley <epugsley AT oberlin.net> Date: Mon, 27 May 2013 17:03:39 -0400 On 5/26/2013 7:50 PM, brian wrote: > > A bit off our regional radar but a very worthwhile episode! > http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50147664n&tag=api > > Thanks, I was glad to see this! We live here in N.Ohio and visit the great birding spots around us. Many of these places were shown in this video. It is spectacular for Spring migration!! I used to think Cape May was great, but this is even better. Our Fall migration is spent in Keene; not spectacular, but it is spectacular for other reasons. Emily [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: 3" waterfowl egg - Need I D From: Laura Smith <arcadiaco AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 27 May 2013 13:58:31 -0400 Just as an update, I now have the egg in a small container on my heated seedling mat which would be abt the right temp so even if someone thinks of something tonight, it won't be too late. I just don't have the time or energy to play mom till it hatches. Thanks, Laura On Mon, May 27, 2013 at 12:47 PM, adkarcadia wrote: > ** > > > Hi Folks! > I found an egg abt 3" long on our dock abt an hour ago. It is tan w/brown > speckles. It is a typical egg shape, rounded on one end tapering to a > slight point on the other. I'm assuming it was from a waterfowl that was > resting on the dock & probably wasn't there very long & it is quite sunny > so probably still viable. All the nests have been failing due to the loss > of the cattails in Big Brook Marsh last year w/the brushhogging & w/o cover > the gulls pick them off as soon as they come off the nest. I don't know > what it is or where there are any active nests. I know we have had Canada > Goose, Mallard, Common Merganser & Wood Ducks lose their young to gulls > this year. I know that birds will drop eggs for a few days before > renesting. I would like to ID it and possibly locate another waterfowl nest > w/eggs near Willsboro or is it not feasible to introduce it to another > nest. I've been keeping it in my hand to maintain warmth. Any thoughts or > suggestions appreciated! If feasible to put in another nest, any info on > locations would also be appreciated. Thanks!!! > Happy Birdin' > Laura Smith > Willsboro Bay > > > -- Laura Dikovsky Smith Arcadia Cottages On Willsboro Bay http://www.arcadiaco.com Arcadia Cottages is now on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Willsboro-NY/Arcadia-Cottages-On-Willsboro-Bay-Lake-Champlain-Adirondacks-NY/335184089528?ref=ts Are you signed up as an organ donor? Save a life, sign up today! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: 3" waterfowl egg - Need I D From: "adkarcadia" <arcadiaco AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 27 May 2013 16:47:39 -0000 Hi Folks! I found an egg abt 3" long on our dock abt an hour ago. It is tan w/brown speckles. It is a typical egg shape, rounded on one end tapering to a slight point on the other. I'm assuming it was from a waterfowl that was resting on the dock & probably wasn't there very long & it is quite sunny so probably still viable. All the nests have been failing due to the loss of the cattails in Big Brook Marsh last year w/the brushhogging & w/o cover the gulls pick them off as soon as they come off the nest. I don't know what it is or where there are any active nests. I know we have had Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Merganser & Wood Ducks lose their young to gulls this year. I know that birds will drop eggs for a few days before renesting. I would like to ID it and possibly locate another waterfowl nest w/eggs near Willsboro or is it not feasible to introduce it to another nest. I've been keeping it in my hand to maintain warmth. Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated! If feasible to put in another nest, any info on locations would also be appreciated. Thanks!!! Happy Birdin' Laura Smith Willsboro Bay ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: CBC Sunday Morning News-birding From: Joan Howlett <hobeauworks AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Mon, 27 May 2013 10:31:26 -0400 Very nice. Thanks, Brian. Joan Howlett, Norwood, NY On May 26, 2013, at 7:50 PM, brian wrote: > A bit off our regional radar but a very worthwhile episode! > http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50147664n&tag=api > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: CBC Sunday Morning News-birding From: "brian" <birder64 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 23:50:50 -0000 A bit off our regional radar but a very worthwhile episode! http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50147664n&tag=api ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Rainy Day Swallows and Swifts From: Paul Osenbaugh <adkkestrel AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 18:15:20 -0400 Took a spur of the moment trip down the Lake to Wickham Marsh and Au Sable Point this rainy Sunday. The Lake is very high and one wonders how many nests have been swamped...Nothing remarkable except a nice, big feeding flight of Swallows and Swifts out on the Lake. It was a northbound, low-flying squadron made up of Tree, Barn, Rough Wing and Cliff Swallows, with an occasional Chimney Swift, too. Hundreds in total, at least. A nice reward for getting out on a soaking day. Paul Plattsburgh [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: RE: NNYBirds: Ring-billed Gull 1999, 2001, & 2002 From: John Peterson <jmcp7 AT live.com> Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 14:23:07 +0000 Laura, The management has to do with the control of Ring-billed Gulls in South Burlington because of the airport. The USDA is in charge. Too bad we don’t have more data, but after ‘03 the order came down from the Northern NY Audubon Society to cease and desist, we obeyed their command. --Mike Peterson, Montreal Sent from Windows Mail From: Laura Smith Sent: ‎May‎ ‎26‎, ‎2013 ‎9‎:‎40‎ ‎AM To: Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: NNYBirds: Ring-billed Gull 1999, 2001, & 2002 Always enjoy reading your informative posts Mike! Do you know what the circumstances were of the captures? It sounds as if it has to do w/management of agricultural fields. Very disturbing, if that is the case! Thanks for any add'l info! Laura Smith Willsboro Bay On Sun, May 26, 2013 at 9:27 AM, John Peterson wrote: > ** > > > A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers Islands, Isl. C, was > fitted with band number 794-72155 by High Peaks Audubon Society, Inc., on > June 12, 1999. That year there were 1,000 Ring-billeds banded, all of Isl. > C, and some 22 banders took part, It was caught May 23, 2013, due to > control operations (nest bombing, gassing, avicides, wetting agents, etc.) > at .9 mi. ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden County, VT, by Jacob > Borgeson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. > > > > A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers Islands, Isl. C, was > fitted with band number 744-72389 by High Peaks Audubon on June 9, 2001. > There were 1,000 banded, and 21 banders took part. It was caught May 20, > 2013, due to control operations at .9 ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden > Co. by Jacob Borgeson of USDA. > > > > A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers, Isl. C, was fitted with > number 794-87373 by High Peaks Audubon on June 15, 2002. There were 1,000 > banded, and 19 banders took part. It was caught May 23, 2013, due to > control operations at .9 ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden Co, by Jacob > Borgeson of USDA. > > > Sent from Windows Mail > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > -- Laura Dikovsky Smith Arcadia Cottages On Willsboro Bay http://www.arcadiaco.com Arcadia Cottages is now on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Willsboro-NY/Arcadia-Cottages-On-Willsboro-Bay-Lake-Champlain-Adirondacks-NY/335184089528?ref=ts Are you signed up as an organ donor? Save a life, sign up today! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: Ring-billed Gull 1999, 2001, & 2002 From: Laura Smith <arcadiaco AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 09:40:50 -0400 Always enjoy reading your informative posts Mike! Do you know what the circumstances were of the captures? It sounds as if it has to do w/management of agricultural fields. Very disturbing, if that is the case! Thanks for any add'l info! Laura Smith Willsboro Bay On Sun, May 26, 2013 at 9:27 AM, John Peterson wrote: > ** > > > A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers Islands, Isl. C, was > fitted with band number 794-72155 by High Peaks Audubon Society, Inc., on > June 12, 1999. That year there were 1,000 Ring-billeds banded, all of Isl. > C, and some 22 banders took part, It was caught May 23, 2013, due to > control operations (nest bombing, gassing, avicides, wetting agents, etc.) > at .9 mi. ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden County, VT, by Jacob > Borgeson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. > > > > A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers Islands, Isl. C, was > fitted with band number 744-72389 by High Peaks Audubon on June 9, 2001. > There were 1,000 banded, and 21 banders took part. It was caught May 20, > 2013, due to control operations at .9 ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden > Co. by Jacob Borgeson of USDA. > > > > A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers, Isl. C, was fitted with > number 794-87373 by High Peaks Audubon on June 15, 2002. There were 1,000 > banded, and 19 banders took part. It was caught May 23, 2013, due to > control operations at .9 ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden Co, by Jacob > Borgeson of USDA. > > > Sent from Windows Mail > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > -- Laura Dikovsky Smith Arcadia Cottages On Willsboro Bay http://www.arcadiaco.com Arcadia Cottages is now on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Willsboro-NY/Arcadia-Cottages-On-Willsboro-Bay-Lake-Champlain-Adirondacks-NY/335184089528?ref=ts Are you signed up as an organ donor? Save a life, sign up today! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Ring-billed Gull 1999, 2001, & 2002 From: John Peterson <jmcp7 AT live.com> Date: Sun, 26 May 2013 13:27:36 +0000 A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers Islands, Isl. C, was fitted with band number 794-72155 by High Peaks Audubon Society, Inc., on June 12, 1999. That year there were 1,000 Ring-billeds banded, all of Isl. C, and some 22 banders took part, It was caught May 23, 2013, due to control operations (nest bombing, gassing, avicides, wetting agents, etc.) at .9 mi. ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden County, VT, by Jacob Borgeson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers Islands, Isl. C, was fitted with band number 744-72389 by High Peaks Audubon on June 9, 2001. There were 1,000 banded, and 21 banders took part. It was caught May 20, 2013, due to control operations at .9 ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden Co. by Jacob Borgeson of USDA. A newly-hatched Ring-billed Gull on Four Brothers, Isl. C, was fitted with number 794-87373 by High Peaks Audubon on June 15, 2002. There were 1,000 banded, and 19 banders took part. It was caught May 23, 2013, due to control operations at .9 ENE from South Burlington, Chittenden Co, by Jacob Borgeson of USDA. Sent from Windows Mail [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Philadelphia vireos, Perkins Clearing From: "Jeff Nadler" <jnphotonet AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 25 May 2013 13:06:15 -0000 Yesterday morning, driving through Perkins Clearing area in Hamilton County, I found at least 2 Philadelphia vireos in wet secondary growth just before the Miami River bridge. The birds vocals were a less repetitive than red-eyed and they were lower in the habitat. I only got a quick inconclusive view since a large truck carrying a bulldozer arrived to do work at a logging road intersection, right there. Disappointing. I am fairly confident they were Philys based on past encounters elsewhere but it would be great if anyone else visits and confirms, especially ahead of Hamilton County's birding event field trip there. If you take the turn off Route 30 behind Mason Lake and then take the right turn for the Pillsbury Mountain trailhead, I heard and briefly saw one in the wet low trees and shrubs jut before arriving at the bridge over the Miami River - both sides of the road. Elsewhere, many warbler species along the way. Particularly common in the woods driving past the Miami River bridge were black-throated blue warblers, new photo link below. A second stop at the Roosevelt Truck Trail north of Minerva offered brief sounds of a Cape May warbler. Rather quiet otherwise. http://imageshack.us/a/img209/4481/mg9515b.jpg Jeff Nadler ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: Cumberland Head hot bed! From: Laura Smith <arcadiaco AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 25 May 2013 08:33:38 -0400 I had the same experience recently! Day trip around the park & came home to the best birding right here on Willsboro Bay. As to the Merlins, be careful what you wish for!!! Several years ago I was really excited to see a pair of Merlins in my yard but that lasted about two days. The rest of the summer was awful. Never knew if it would be woodpecker feathers or what kind of feathers would be strewn about the yard. And of course their telephone pole dining table was in clear view of the window by my computer. Was very glad that they didn't return following years. Prefer to view them over farm fileds far away from any birdwatcher's homes! Happy Birdin' Laura Smith Willsboro Bay On Fri, May 24, 2013 at 2:11 PM, crane43 wrote: > ** > > > Having returned from a very nice Road Scholar trip to Lake Erie Islands > and McGee Marsh I once again realize our North Country has great birding. > First morning back on 5/ 13 I was greeted by a pair of Merlins in a > neighbor's Spruce tree. I hoped they would stay to nest, but not so. Looked > out a window on 5/16 and a Brown Thrasher was digging through the leaves on > my "to do" list, followed by a first in the yard a Red-bellied Woodpecker > on the suet. Bobolinks have returned to the back field, Orioles were back, > Pr Rose- breasted Grosbeaks at feeder, Blk poll, Blk- throated Blue, Am > Redstart, Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Wt.- throated and Crowned Sparrows the > day continued with 32 species in or close to my yard. Maybe I should just > stay home! > > > -- Laura Dikovsky Smith Arcadia Cottages On Willsboro Bay http://www.arcadiaco.com Arcadia Cottages is now on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Willsboro-NY/Arcadia-Cottages-On-Willsboro-Bay-Lake-Champlain-Adirondacks-NY/335184089528?ref=ts Are you signed up as an organ donor? Save a life, sign up today! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Cumberland Head hot bed! From: "crane43" <olsen AT northnet.org> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 18:11:10 -0000 Having returned from a very nice Road Scholar trip to Lake Erie Islands and McGee Marsh I once again realize our North Country has great birding. First morning back on 5/ 13 I was greeted by a pair of Merlins in a neighbor's Spruce tree. I hoped they would stay to nest, but not so. Looked out a window on 5/16 and a Brown Thrasher was digging through the leaves on my "to do" list, followed by a first in the yard a Red-bellied Woodpecker on the suet. Bobolinks have returned to the back field, Orioles were back, Pr Rose- breasted Grosbeaks at feeder, Blk poll, Blk- throated Blue, Am Redstart, Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Wt.- throated and Crowned Sparrows the day continued with 32 species in or close to my yard. Maybe I should just stay home! ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: American Woodcock From: "crane43" <olsen AT northnet.org> Date: Fri, 24 May 2013 17:44:36 -0000 Pt au Roche St. Pk Thursday 5/23 evening "peent" calls and display flight 8:15 pm and on flight overhead, could see the bird even in rain. Common Snipe also in flight same location beginning of paved road to the boat ramp. Wed. 6 pm Wilson Warbler at Au Pt St Pk. just past toll booth in dogwoods on s. side of road. Nancy ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Re: NNYBirds: Whip-poor-will From: "Gerlach, Jeff" <gerlach.j AT nypa.gov> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 21:42:26 +0000 Jeff Gerlach New York Power Authority Environment, Health and Safety Office: 914-287-3848 Cell: 914-629-8275 Sent from my iPhone On May 23, 2013, at 4:58 PM, "Dana Rohleder" > wrote: I had a FOS Whip-poor-will calling much of last nite on Trembleau Mtn. outside of Port Kent. It probably helped that the moon was quite bright. -- Dana Rohleder Port Kent, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Whip-poor-will From: Dana Rohleder <dcrohleder AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 16:58:04 -0400 I had a FOS Whip-poor-will calling much of last nite on Trembleau Mtn. outside of Port Kent. It probably helped that the moon was quite bright. -- Dana Rohleder Port Kent, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Bobolinks From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT frontier.com> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 10:56:33 -0400 5/22/13 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) *Eastern Wood-Pewee arrived outside our house today. A migrant *Tennessee Warbler was singing at dawn outside our home. I had a lovely view of one of the breeding Mourning Warblers on our property this morning. 5/21/13 Tupper Lake Marsh (Franklin Co.) & Sabattis Bog (Hamilton Co.) *Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were back yesterday at Sabattis Bog. There are Bobolinks at Tupper Lake Marsh again this year - way out from the platform (bring a scope). They are in the same area as the Sedge Wren. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l AT cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- Subject: NNYBirds: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Bobolinks From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 10:56:33 -0400 5/22/13 Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) *Eastern Wood-Pewee arrived outside our house today. A migrant *Tennessee Warbler was singing at dawn outside our home. I had a lovely view of one of the breeding Mourning Warblers on our property this morning. 5/21/13 Tupper Lake Marsh (Franklin Co.) & Sabattis Bog (Hamilton Co.) *Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were back yesterday at Sabattis Bog. There are Bobolinks at Tupper Lake Marsh again this year - way out from the platform (bring a scope). They are in the same area as the Sedge Wren. Joan Collins Long Lake, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Mourning Warbler From: Alan Belford <alan_belford AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 17:31:47 -0400 My apologies for replying all when I meant to reply to Brian. Need sleep. Birds have been moving here in Central NY too with a good fallout on the weekend along the lake, and the usual breeders including mourning warblers (at Highland Forest South of Syracuse). Good Birding! Alan Belford Saranac Lake Currently in Syracuse [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: RE: NNYBirds: Osgood River From: Alan Belford <alan_belford AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 17:24:16 -0400 Hi Brian, I hope all is well. I know I spoke with you about the GABC, but don't think I ever replied. Things have been crazy busy. I'm not sure if you still need someone - I may be able to help on Sunday. I know you mentioned Madawaska, but I'm open. Let me know, and I'll be in touch as my schedule looks clearer. -AB To: Northern_NY_Birds AT yahoogroups.comFrom: birder64 AT yahoo.comDate: Tue, 21 May 2013 03:30:47 +0000Subject: NNYBirds: Osgood River Paddled the Osgood River today. Saw/heard the following: olive-sided flycatcher, alder flycatcher, Merlins on a nest, black- backed woodpecker, palm, yellow rumped, n. parula, blackburnian, magnolia, Canada, and Nashville warblers, red-shoulderd hawk, scarlet tanager. Lincoln's sparrow, and Savannah sparrow heard singing. Indigo bunting still at Paul Smiths College VIC feeder. Brian McAllister Saranac Lake [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Osgood River From: "brian" <birder64 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 03:30:47 -0000 Paddled the Osgood River today. Saw/heard the following: olive-sided flycatcher, alder flycatcher, Merlins on a nest, black- backed woodpecker, palm, yellow rumped, n. parula, blackburnian, magnolia, Canada, and Nashville warblers, red-shoulderd hawk, scarlet tanager. Lincoln's sparrow, and Savannah sparrow heard singing. Indigo bunting still at Paul Smiths College VIC feeder. Brian McAllister Saranac Lake ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 17:26:11 -0700 (PDT) RBA   *  New York *  Syracuse * May 20, 2013 *  NYSY  05. 20. 13   Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): May 13, 2013 - May 20, 2013 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer,  Madison & Cortland compiled:May 20 AT 7:30 p.m. (EST) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org     #355 -Monday May 20, 2013   Greetings. This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of  May 13, 2013   Highlights: ----------- GLOSSY IBIS BLACK SCOTER WILSON’S PHALAROPE BAIRD’S SANDPIPER SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER PROTHONOTARY WARBLER CAPE MAY WARBLER PRAIRIE WARBLER ORCHARD ORIOLE EVENING GROSBEAK Migrants this week ------------ CANADA WARBLER BLACKPOLL MAGNOLIA WARBLER MARSH WREN WILLOW FLYCATCHER ALDER FLYCATCHER COMMON NIGHTHAWK SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPER BAIRD’S SANDPIPER WILSON’S PHALAROPE SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------      5/17: A WILSON’S PHALAROPE was found at Benning Marsh. The following shorebirds were seen at various places from the Visitor’s Center to the end of the Wildlife Drive. DUNLIN LEAST SANDPIPER SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPER SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS PECTORAL SANDPIPER SOLITARY SANDPIPER SPOTTED SANDPIPER SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER SNIPE KILLDEER      5/18: A PROTHONOTARY WARBLER has returned to Armitage Road just across the river. 2 WILSON’S PHALAROPES were seen at Benning Marsh. A BAIRD’S SANDPIPER was seen in the mud at the end of the main pool.      5/19: A WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER was seen in the main pool. A GLOSSY IBIS was seen flying over the Wildlife Drive area. Derby Hill ------------      The flight continues to slow at Derby. Only 1,476 raptors were counted this week with BROAD-WINGS and TURKEY VULTURES making up the bulk of the birds. Other highlights were PRAIRIE WARBLER, 2 ORCHARD ORIOLES and 9 EVENING GROSBEAKS on 5/15, 22 BRANT on 5/16 and 2 SANDHILLCRANES plus 5 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS on 5/19. Madison County ------------      5/14: The feeders at Linda Salter’s home on Carpenter Road near Sheds continue to have EVENING GROSBEAKS and PINE SISKINS. They continued throught the week. Oswego County ------------      5/14: An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW were found at Sunset Bay Park.      5/16: An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was found at the Mosquito Station off of Lower Road on the north shore of Oneida Lake. BRANT, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER and BLACK SCOTER were reporte among the ten species if migrants seen flying at Phillips Point on the north shore of Oneida Lake.      5/17:A PRAIRIE WARBLER  was seen on Gilbert Mills Road just east of Rt. 264.      5/19: A rare SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER was seen on Rt.30 in Willianston near the Cranberry farm. Unfortunately it was never relocated. Onondaga County ------------      5/15: 2 CAPE MAY WARBLERS were seen at the end of Potter Road at Three Rivers WMA north of Baldwinsville.      5/16: Among the 10 species of birds seen near the lake in Skaneateles were 8 SNOW GEESE.       --  end report Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y.  13027  U.S.A. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: NNYBirds: Mourning warbler From: John Thaxton <JPThax5317 AT aol.com> Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 19:58:13 -0400 (EDT) A Mourning warbler was in Keene today near the bottom of our road. Pat & John Thaxton Keene, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law. Subject: Sedge Wren, Bicknell's Thrush, & other sightings From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT frontier.com> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 19:50:01 -0400 *: First-of-the-season 5/19/13 Tupper Lake Marsh (Franklin Co.) & Whiteface Mountain (Essex Co.) At 3:30 a.m. this morning, I stopped at Tupper Lake Marsh (there is a platform here that overlooks a huge marsh). It was spectacular - no cars, calm winds, brilliant star-lit sky. Swamp and Song Sparrows were (nocturnally) singing. Amer. Woodcocks were displaying. A Barred Owl called from across Tupper Lake. American Toads and Spring Peepers vocalized. And a *Sedge Wren was singing! Historically, there was another Sedge Wren record not far from this location noted by Charlcie and Marian Delehanty on July 5, 2000. I am fond of the fascinating Sedge Wren song, so it delayed me quite a bit! The wren is a good distance out in the marsh, so it helps to visit on a calm-wind night - I would recommend a night visit when car traffic is minimal. I found 8 *Bicknell's Thrushes between 3900 and 4300 feet on Whiteface Mountain between 6:15 and 7 a.m. this morning. All 8 birds were calling, not singing. There were many Swainson's Thrushes and *Blackpoll Warblers singing. For over a decade now, I have been observing species expand their breeding ranges upward on mountains. Today, I found Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue Warblers singing at 4200 feet! There are even more Amer. Robins on the upper reaches of the mountain this year. There was also a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird at 4200 feet - he was sitting on the snow and intermittently drinking the dripping snow-melt water. I did not hear any Yellow-bellied Flycatchers yet. And.the Woodchuck was observed again today! Today, it was between 3800 and 3900 feet and had a mouthful of birch bark! Mammals: The Woodchuck on Whiteface, 3 Porcupines (1 in the road I had to swerve to avoid and 1 adult with a baby near the toll gate at Whiteface), and a Red Fox with a mouthful of prey in the road. Cones: It should be a great winter! Cone crops on Balsam Fir, Red Spruce, and White Pine look great. I will check other coniferous tree species soon. There is still snow on Whiteface! 5/18/13 Trail to West Mountain and Shallow Lake (Hamilton Co.) *Great Crested Flycatcher *Canada Warbler 5/17/13 Roosevelt Truck Trail (Essex Co.) & Route 28N in Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) *Olive-sided Flycatcher - singing from a wetland that is unfortunately on private land along Route 28N in Long Lake *Swainson's Thrush - Roosevelt Truck Trail Moose tracks were observed again on this trail. 5/16/13 Various locations in Essex Co. birding with Sean O'Brien *Cape May Warbler - at least 4 singing birds at the Lake Placid Golf Course; we had lovely views of one that dropped from its lofty heights down to about 20 feet up to forage. In the gale force winds of Thursday, we were on the summit of Whiteface Mountain in late afternoon where we first found the Woodchuck at 4200 feet!!! This is the strangest thing I have ever encountered over 4000 feet in the Adirondacks! It seems it would be nearly impossible to dig a burrow at that elevation! 5/14/13 Wildflower Tour on the Ampersand Mountain Trail in Franklin Co. On a wildflower tour with a couple from Philadelphia, PA, we found the following flowers: Hobblebush Early Fly Honeysuckle Two-leaved Toothwart Painted Trillium Purple Trillium False Solomon's Seal Hairy Solomon's Seal Smooth Solomon's Seal Wild Sarsaparilla Canada Mayflower Starflower Foamflower Goldthread Carolina Spring Beauty Jack-in-the-pulpit Trout Lily Clintonia Canada Violet YellowViolet Marsh Blue Violet Bluets - in Tupper Lake On the drive home, I observed an adult Porcupine with a baby along Route 30 between Tupper Lake and Long Lake. There are some photographs posted to my blog and on my business Facebook page (listed below). Joan Collins Long Lake, NY https://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/blog -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l AT cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- Subject: NNYBirds: Sedge Wren, Bicknell's Thrush, & other sightings From: "Joan E. Collins" <Joan.Collins AT Frontier.com> Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 19:50:01 -0400 *: First-of-the-season 5/19/13 Tupper Lake Marsh (Franklin Co.) & Whiteface Mountain (Essex Co.) At 3:30 a.m. this morning, I stopped at Tupper Lake Marsh (there is a platform here that overlooks a huge marsh). It was spectacular - no cars, calm winds, brilliant star-lit sky. Swamp and Song Sparrows were (nocturnally) singing. Amer. Woodcocks were displaying. A Barred Owl called from across Tupper Lake. American Toads and Spring Peepers vocalized. And a *Sedge Wren was singing! Historically, there was another Sedge Wren record not far from this location noted by Charlcie and Marian Delehanty on July 5, 2000. I am fond of the fascinating Sedge Wren song, so it delayed me quite a bit! The wren is a good distance out in the marsh, so it helps to visit on a calm-wind night - I would recommend a night visit when car traffic is minimal. I found 8 *Bicknell's Thrushes between 3900 and 4300 feet on Whiteface Mountain between 6:15 and 7 a.m. this morning. All 8 birds were calling, not singing. There were many Swainson's Thrushes and *Blackpoll Warblers singing. For over a decade now, I have been observing species expand their breeding ranges upward on mountains. Today, I found Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue Warblers singing at 4200 feet! There are even more Amer. Robins on the upper reaches of the mountain this year. There was also a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird at 4200 feet - he was sitting on the snow and intermittently drinking the dripping snow-melt water. I did not hear any Yellow-bellied Flycatchers yet. And.the Woodchuck was observed again today! Today, it was between 3800 and 3900 feet and had a mouthful of birch bark! Mammals: The Woodchuck on Whiteface, 3 Porcupines (1 in the road I had to swerve to avoid and 1 adult with a baby near the toll gate at Whiteface), and a Red Fox with a mouthful of prey in the road. Cones: It should be a great winter! Cone crops on Balsam Fir, Red Spruce, and White Pine look great. I will check other coniferous tree species soon. There is still snow on Whiteface! 5/18/13 Trail to West Mountain and Shallow Lake (Hamilton Co.) *Great Crested Flycatcher *Canada Warbler 5/17/13 Roosevelt Truck Trail (Essex Co.) & Route 28N in Long Lake (Hamilton Co.) *Olive-sided Flycatcher - singing from a wetland that is unfortunately on private land along Route 28N in Long Lake *Swainson's Thrush - Roosevelt Truck Trail Moose tracks were observed again on this trail. 5/16/13 Various locations in Essex Co. birding with Sean O'Brien *Cape May Warbler - at least 4 singing birds at the Lake Placid Golf Course; we had lovely views of one that dropped from its lofty heights down to about 20 feet up to forage. In the gale force winds of Thursday, we were on the summit of Whiteface Mountain in late afternoon where we first found the Woodchuck at 4200 feet!!! This is the strangest thing I have ever encountered over 4000 feet in the Adirondacks! It seems it would be nearly impossible to dig a burrow at that elevation! 5/14/13 Wildflower Tour on the Ampersand Mountain Trail in Franklin Co. On a wildflower tour with a couple from Philadelphia, PA, we found the following flowers: Hobblebush Early Fly Honeysuckle Two-leaved Toothwart Painted Trillium Purple Trillium False Solomon's Seal Hairy Solomon's Seal Smooth Solomon's Seal Wild Sarsaparilla Canada Mayflower Starflower Foamflower Goldthread Carolina Spring Beauty Jack-in-the-pulpit Trout Lily Clintonia Canada Violet YellowViolet Marsh Blue Violet Bluets - in Tupper Lake On the drive home, I observed an adult Porcupine with a baby along Route 30 between Tupper Lake and Long Lake. There are some photographs posted to my blog and on my business Facebook page (listed below). Joan Collins Long Lake, NY https://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/blog [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ All postings to Northern_NY_Birds are protected by copyright law.