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Re: HMBC Field Trip reminder- Counting Common Nighthawks 8/24-8/26
On Tuesday evening, our group of approximately 15 observers counted 15 Common Nighthawks, all from 7:00pm- 8:00pm. A few made very close approaches at low altitude, offering very good looks. This evening, we tallied seven nighthawks, with the last two at 8:06pm. Those birds flew across the parking lot at virtually ground level, apparently looking for insects under the lights. We had some novice birders show up too, which was very refreshing and allowed us to point out resident birds to them during the lull between nighthawks. Tomorrow evening is the final night, keep an eye on the weather before heading over.
Tom Williams Colonie
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This week's destination: 8/26
Naomi Lloyd
Hey Thursday birders- welcome to the end (I hope) of summer! It's tough to think of where to go this week - Cohoes is still under an entire river and the Hudson is high too, mosquitos are vicious and trails are sodden. So let's meet at the Price Chopper in Mechanicville at 8:00am. From there we can go to Lock 2 first for the Little Blue Herons that have lingered, then check Wright's Loop and Stillwater Riverfront Park which should be wet, and points in between. We can try Stillwater School trail before classes start too, and maybe the Wilbur Rd Towpath trail. Use your own discretion if you wish to carpool. Meeting place: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Price+Chopper/@42.9096676,-73.6842422,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89de17c4dae450e7:0x7b0c0c6bb6e79aef!8m2!3d42.910088!4d-73.68524?hl=en&authuser=0 Naomi
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Little Blue Heron at Staats Island Road (Yesterday)
zach schwartz-weinstein
Yesterday morning shortly after sunrise, I found an adult Little Blue Heron foraging east of the tracks on Staats Island Road. I forgot to alert this list. My apologies.--
Zach Schwartz-Weinstein 203 500 7774
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belated report, 5 Rivers last Friday
scottjstoner
apologies for the delay...last Friday Aug 20 I birded Five Rivers Env Ed Cntr in Delmar, focusing on the beaver and heron pond areas. Highlights included Virginia Rail, Common Raven, Double-crested Cormorant, and Great Egret. -Scott Stoner, Loudonville
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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today at Round Lake
scottjstoner
Denise and I paddled Round Lake and its outlet, the Anthony Kill, in Saratoga Co. Biridng highlights included an adult Bald Eagle, Osprey, and Great Blue and Green Herons. Scott Stoner, Loudonville Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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Re: Terns sp?, Nassau Lake
Naomi Lloyd
Update: Rich Guthrie ID'd them as Black Terns. Still pretty nice for RensCo! Naomi
On Monday, August 23, 2021, 01:33:17 PM EDT, Naomi Lloyd via groups.io <naomi_kestrel@...> wrote: Squinting through the rain and mist I made out at least 6 Terns feeding on Nassau Lake. Not Caspian or Black, too big for Least, too small for Royal, pretty sure not Sooty. So, Common or Forster's? Middle of the lake but closer to the east side - my best bad look was from Lake Shore Circle Drive. Hope they stick after the rain ends! Point is where I had the best look: Also many swallows. Naomi
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Terns sp?, Nassau Lake
Naomi Lloyd
Squinting through the rain and mist I made out at least 6 Terns feeding on Nassau Lake. Not Caspian or Black, too big for Least, too small for Royal, pretty sure not Sooty. So, Common or Forster's? Middle of the lake but closer to the east side - my best bad look was from Lake Shore Circle Drive. Hope they stick after the rain ends!
Point is where I had the best look: https://www.google.com/maps/dir//42.5397973,-73.5986384/@42.5382084,-73.6031339,16z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0?hl=en&authuser=0 Also many swallows. Naomi
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HMBC Field Trip reminder- Counting Common Nighthawks 8/24-8/26
Tuesday, August 24 - Thursday, August 26, COUNTING COMMON NIGHTHAWKS (Albany County; evenings) Coordinators: Tom and Colleen Williams twill0526@... The Common Nighthawk is an aerial insectivore that feeds at dusk and dawn. It breeds throughout much of North America, although in decline as it is no longer observed during the summer in many urban and suburban areas. A long-distance migrant, Common Nighthawks travel in large flocks, on one of the longest migration routes of any North American bird. Most travel over land through Mexico and Central America to reach their wintering grounds in southern South America. Common Nighthawks are among the last migrants to return to their breeding grounds in spring. In the Capital Region, the bulk of southbound migration occurs from mid-August until early September with a peak around the end of August. We will conduct our viewing from the parking lot at the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center, located at 195 New Karner Rd. (Rt. 155) in Albany. Bring a chair and binoculars. We will begin each night at 6:00 p.m. Check the expected weather conditions, and visit this website before venturing over, in case of a cancellation.
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Re: cowbirds and redstart in our yard today
Sheree <Shereemeow@...>
Last fall that would happen on our property; they were bronzed grackles. Incredibly noisy but fascinating. They would usually come through twice a day. Some red-winged blackbirds and brown-headed cowbirds would be tagging along. The grackles, though, reminded me of a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. I am hoping they come back again this fall. Sheree Hipwell Schodack Landing
"We are asking kids to get hooked on kindness, not killing." Ingrid Newkirk
From: hmbirds@groups.io <hmbirds@groups.io> On Behalf Of
Shelley Gum via groups.io
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2021 9:35 AM To: ScottJStoner@...; hmbirds@groups.io Subject: Re: [hmbirds] cowbirds and redstart in our yard today
A large flock of grackles just flew in and filled all of our trees. After a brief conversation (apparently), they all departed. No idea how many, but for me too many to count.
-----Original Message----- this morning Denise and I had a brief stopover of about 50 mostly young brown-headed cowbirds and, separately, one American Redstart in our backyard.-Scott Stoner, Loudonville NY
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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Nighthawks
Eric Molho
A dozen silently feeding over Slingerlands plaza tonight between 6:45 and 7:10pm.
Eric
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No destination this week, 8/19
Naomi Lloyd
The remains of Hurricane Fred will be visiting us this week bringing an inch and a half or more of rain tonight and tomorrow. When it passes by, keep your eyes to the skies and to the water for tropical strays that might get caught up and need a day's rest before turning around. Shorebirds are just beginning to drop in but shore conditions have not been favorable so far - either too much water or too little. We're seeing post-breeding waders - two Little Blue Herons and a Black-crowned Night-Heron at Lock 2. Who knows what else is out there at your favorite creek or lakeside? Always be birding -- Naomi
On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, 07:01:27 PM EDT, naomi lloyd <naomi_kestrel@...> wrote: Hey Thursday birders! Things are getting quieter as nesting season comes into full swing. Interested in recording breeding bird behaviour? Check out the third NYS Breeding Bird Atlas and contribute to citizen science! https://ebird.org/atlasny/about Let's meet this week at Peebles Island SP for local breeders and shorebirds, if the flats are exposed. See you in the parking lot at 8:00. https://www.google.com/maps/dir//42.7847954,-73.6804016/@42.7824293,-73.6813688,3091m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e0?hl=en&authuser=0 Naomi
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Black-crowned Night-Heron - Lock 2
jhershey2
I found an adult Black-crowned Night-Heron late this morning at Lock 2 of the Champlain Canal in Mechanicville. It was perched on a rock below the dam very near the parking lot after crossing the bridge. I also spotted the 2 Little Blue Herons previously reported. One was on the Rennselaer side of the river and the other on the Saratoga side. I posted a photo of the Night-Heron.
John H.
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Re: cowbirds and redstart in our yard today
Shelley Gum
A large flock of grackles just flew in and filled all of our trees. After a brief conversation (apparently), they all departed. No idea how many, but for me too many to count.
-----Original Message-----
From: scottjstoner via groups.io <ScottJStoner@...> To: hmbirds@groups.io Sent: Tue, Aug 17, 2021 9:19 pm Subject: [hmbirds] cowbirds and redstart in our yard today this morning Denise and I had a brief stopover of about 50 mostly young brown-headed cowbirds and, separately, one American Redstart in our backyard.-Scott Stoner, Loudonville NY
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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cowbirds and redstart in our yard today
scottjstoner
this morning Denise and I had a brief stopover of about 50 mostly young brown-headed cowbirds and, separately, one American Redstart in our backyard.-Scott Stoner, Loudonville NY Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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common nighthawk at Five Rivers tonight
scottjstoner
Denise and I visited Five Rivers EEC in Delmar this evening; highlights included chimney swift, Great Horned Owl, a.great blue heron, and one Common Nighthawk flying northeast around 7:30 pm. We also saw muskrat and beavers! -Scott Stoner, Loudonville NY Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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Common Nighthawks in Albany
Cynthia Edwardson
Sixteen Common Nighthawks just flew over heading toward the SE while I was walking in my Albany neighborhood near McCormack Rd and Meadow Lane. They were not making any discernable sound. Earlier in the day we had a small kettle of both Turkey and Black Vultures moving overhead in the same direction. Cindy Edwardson Highfield Lane
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Little Blue Heron, Lock 2
John Kent
A juvenile Little Blue Heron continues at Champlain Canal Lock 2 this morning. It is with a Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron at the north tip of Quack Island. John Kent Selkirk
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Re: Songbird mystery disease
vickstry
Thank you
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On Aug 12, 2021, at 8:44 PM, Heidi <hocka1@...> wrote:
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Re: Songbird mystery disease
Heidi
Thanks for both responses.
On Aug 12, 2021, at 8:38 PM, Richard Guthrie <richardpguthrie@...> wrote:
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Re: Songbird mystery disease
Richard Guthrie
It looks like The disease was confined to the states south of us and has run its course. I suspect that it was related to the cicada hatch. There haven’t been reports of disease related deaths for several weeks. Indiana is now stating that it is okay to resume feeding the birds. But there is plenty of natural food out there. So the birds shouldn’t go hungry. Hummingbirds weren’t affected anyway. So I think it’s okay to continue feeding them.
On Aug 12, 2021, at 7:02 PM, zach schwartz-weinstein <zachsw@...> wrote:
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