End of winter birding

To celebrate the 90th and final day of meteorological winter (Dec., Jan., & Feb.), we took a slushy walk around parts of Five Rivers EEC today. Highlights were Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglet along the snow-covered boardwalk by Beaver Pond; a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on a big pine tree along Game Farm Rd.; Cedar Waxwing in the old orchard at the end of the parking lot; and a lone Canada Goose who flew over several times searching in vain for open water.

Location: Five Rivers
Observation date: 2/28/10
Number of species: 20

Canada Goose 1
Mourning Dove 30
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 12
American Crow 8
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown Creeper 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 50
European Starling 15
Cedar Waxwing 8
White-throated Sparrow 6
Northern Cardinal 4
American Goldfinch 2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/ny)

Red Crossbills, Schoharie county

My wife and I drove around Schoharie County on Sunday from 10AM-2PM. On the way down Rt. 30, at the creek crossing in Middleburgh, we had at least one Common Merganser in the water, with some Mallards, and one Belted Kingfisher watching the action overhead from a wire. Farther down the road a Merlin flew directly above us.

At Max V. Shaul SP, it was quiet at first, except for a female Pileated Woodpecker who flew over and perched. When we finally heard a lone nuthatch, we decided to "pish" to see if we could bring anything in. Well, that was the best our efforts have ever worked, as a huge, angry mob (they may have had pitchforks and torches) of chickadees, titmice, both nuthatches and creepers showed up all around us, sounding off their displeasure. We moved on, leaving the angry villagers behind.

Up the hill in Burnt-Rossman Hills SF, we ran into my namesake, Tom Williams, of Berne, who was staking out the intersection at Huckleberry Kingdom Rd. He gave us a quick education on the local habitat, and very soon a pair of male Red Crossbills flew into the top of a nearby deciduous tree. Their color, bill shape (of course) and song are quite distinctive. There was also a very large congregation of American Goldfinches feeding in the pines. Thanks Tom for your friendly guidance.

Over in Sharon Springs we had a flock of 17 Wild Turkeys, and a Cooper's Hawk flew overhead along Rt. 10. Despite being in agricultural environs much of the day, we encountered no roadside flocks of buntings or larks.

Short-eared Owls at the Battlefield

This evening towards dusk I made my way up to the Saratoga National Historical Park to try to see Short-eared Owls that had been reported earlier in the day. Between three birders we totaled five owls present. They would vocalize as they flew, a kind of harsh, barking sound. Two park-walking regulars, who appeared to be non-birders, said that they see these owls every year during mid-winter. So maybe this is a reliable spot for this species; I will have to look at previous CBC data and other databases to see if there are records for this location. They were seen from the red Neilson farmhouse, on top of the hill at Loop Road Tour Stop #2. The tour road appears closed to vehicles in the winter months, but this area can be accessed by parking on a short access road on the north side of Rt. 423/Rt. 32 about a mile in from Rt. 4. You can see the small, red farmhouse on the hill from the road.

Saugerties Lighthouse

Colleen and I had planned to visit Coxsackie this morning (Sunday 1/17), so we travelled a few more exits down the Thruway to Saugerties and walked out the Lighthouse Trail. This is a very pleasant walk, and must be terrific in the warmer, greener months. Go early, as even in the dead of winter we passed a half dozen groups making the walk. Tides are in play here as well, so check the tide tables and try to avoid high tide, as portions of the trail are underwater.

We were greeted by a singing Carolina Wren, and then three woodpeckers in succession (Red-bellied, Hairy, Downy.) There are a pair of seed/suet feeders at the lighthouse, and Song Sparrows and cardinals were going back and forth from the reeds and brush. In the open water south of the lighthouse spit, the mouth of the Esopus Creek, Common Mergansers were moving around, and a Belted Kingfisher was surveying the scene from a distant tree branch. An adult Bald Eagle flew across the river as well.

We scanned up and down the river for a previously seen Greater White-fronted Goose; it had been spotted amongst a huge flock of Canada Geese and reported on the previous day's Annual State Waterfowl Count. We had no luck seeing any geese, however. On the walk in, we did see a pair of Mute Swans swimming in unison in a small open lead nearer to shore. I highly recommend a visit to the lighthouse, and also the nearby Esopus Bend Nature Preserve.