Our destination on our last morning up north was the bog on Sabattis Circle Rd. We arrived at 8:30AM and began to slowly walk up and down the road, checking out each chip sound and bird movement; there was a lot of activity to try to identify. The bog is on the west/ northwest side of the road; the habitat is very boreal, with some deciduous trees mixed in right along the roadside (picture).
We tried to make a Boreal Chickadee out of a Black-capped; the song was right, but as easy as they were to see, there were no unmistakable field marks for verification. We'll leave the region without this bird, but I know they were there, several times; next year!
A Song Sparrow moved apace with us, and several White-throated Sparrows vocalized much of the morning. Hermit Thrush called, Cedar Waxwing flew over, and RB Nuthatch "yenked" here and there. Overall, though, it was pretty quiet, especially warbler-related. A disappointing end to.....
Bam. Just like that, a wave of birds started crossing the road from west to east. A bunch of Yellow-rumped warblers, an adult male and many juvies, swarmed through the trees. Common Yellowthroat were at the edge of the bog. A flame-throated Blackburnian male was heard, then seen (I had to chase him about a quarter-mile for a positive ID; finally got him to pop his head up just as I was turning back.)
Back at the bog (picture), we kept hearing a very high-pitched five note call; Cape May Warbler, no doubt about it, but I needed to see it. Voila! Up in the spruce trees, a beautiful Cape May, allowing a brief full glimpse. A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was singing out in the bog, and a Magnolia Warbler flitted about at eye level on the east side of the road. All this in half an hour. Now that's a good ending.
Boreal birds were harder to come by than we expected, but overall it was a great experience, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Just when you are experiencing the post-spring migration blues, an Adirondack trip is just the right cure.
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