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Re: Lesser Black-backed Gull - Cohoes-Crescent Road
Cathy and I tried brief stops at the overlook and school st this morning. many adult great bb"s, but could not find the leser. we did have an adult glaucous gull at the river overlook.
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gregg recer
malta NY
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Lesser Black-backed Gull - Cohoes-Crescent Road
I found a Lesser Black-backed Gull around 4:00 this afternoon in the Mohawk River near the pull-off on Cohoes-Crescent Rd. before the stop sign at Rt. 9. Compared with the Great Black-backed Gull behind it, it was smaller and less dark on the back. And, it had a tucked-in but still visibly smudgy head. I attached one photo that I think is good enough for i.d.
John H.
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Northern Mockingbirds at 5 Combines Trail, Hudson Falls
While hiking the 5-Combines Trail in Hudson Falls today, I found 2 Northern Mockingbirds, 3 Mallards, a single Great Blue Heron and boatloads of Northern Juncos. Also 1 very active Muskrat.
Scott Varney Salem, NY
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Queensbury Pine Grosbeaks
Yesterday morning I visited the continuing grosbeak flock behind Queensbury Middle School. There were at least 25 birds present. The crabapples have been worked over pretty well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that flock either shifted to some of the other trees nearby or moved on. With the sun actually out, and the birds slightly drunk on fermented apple, I was able to get photos I’m pretty happy with. Check them out here:
This morning I drove up to partridge run WMA to see if any grosbeaks or other finches were in the crabapples at the Bradt Hollow/High Point intersection. I had no success. On the way home, along Route 85 just after the (western) intersection with Cass Hill road, a raven was sitting on a tree branch holding court.
Zach S-W Albany -- Zach Schwartz-Weinstein
203 500 7774
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Fort Edward Grasslands yesterday
We searched the Washington county grasslands yesterday afternoon, had rough-legged hawks and harrier, but no owls. Scott and Denise, Loudonville
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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A pleasant surprise yesterday while doing my sector of the S. Rensselaer CBC: I was walking out of a pine grove when I happened to notice a few white droppings in the fresh snow. I paused to look up into one of the pines and appeared to be a small lump on the side of the trunk was the tail of what turned out to be a Barred Owl looking right down on me from the darkness of the pine. It was there when I went by going in and not a bit fazed by my going by on the way out. If I didn't train the binoculars on that small innocuous lump, I would certainly have missed the owl. How many others have I walked by totally oblivious to their presence?
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southern rens CBC sector H prelim results
Cathy Graichen and I covered the northern part of a split version of the usual sector H on the SR CBC today -- basically the city of rensselear down to the northern end of papscanny preserve. Highlights included 4 adult bald eagles, a group of ~40 common redpolls along american oil rd just north of papscanny, 2 white-crowned sparrows (1 adult, 1 imm) and a large group of wild turkeys in the same area, and 1 each peregrine, merlin and n. harrier. Overall count totals were on the low side for many species. The Hudson was flowing very strong and was full of debris and very turbid.
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gregg recer
malta NY
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Red Crossbills - Madison Ave. Pinelands
I spent several hours at the Madison Ave. Pinelands (Albany Pine Bush) this morning in search of Crossbills. I heard some finch-like sounds flying overhead at least twice but couldn't see the birds. After leaving for some lunch I went back to the trailhead and walked the yellow trail again and around 1:30 I heard and then spotted some finches feeding on pine cones near the top of the trees. After going through my photos I believe that all the finches I saw were Red Crossbills, and I'd estimate at least 20. This fall and winter I now have seen 5 of the irruptive winter finches in our area, but I still need Evening Grosbeak for the complete set. That, I guess would make a "winter finch six-pack". I attached 3 pics of the crossbills below.
John H.
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Hey friends - Thursday doesn't look promising for finding a spot for good walking. Let's hope for better weather next week. Merry Christmas, and watch out for all that ice underfoot!
Naomi
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Preliminary Schenectady CBC Results - Saturday, December 19, 2020
Initial results from this Saturday’s CBC show 59 species, same as last year and about the same as the ten-year average. The weather was challenging, with upwards of two feet of snow on the ground and a pre-dawn temperature of -11F. Fortunately, there was virtually no wind. Good finds include: 2 Wood Ducks, 2 Gadwalls, 5 Green-winged Teal, 3 Great Blue Herons (blue from the cold!), 9 Black Vultures, 1 Rough-legged Hawk, 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 4 Northern Flickers, 3 Merlins, 2 Peregrine Falcons, 5 Fish Crows, 4 Common Ravens, 10 Red Crossbills, 27 Pine Siskins, 2 Snow Buntings, 1 Fox Sparrow, 1 Swamp Sparrow (RIP), and 2 Brown-headed Cowbirds. A new species was added to the list: Eurasian Wigeon, with good pictures when the bird was re-found in subsequent days. Northern Pintail and Rusty Blackbird were found during count week but outside of count day. Larry Alden Compiler
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Pine Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, Green-wjnged Teals, Red Crossbills
Sorry about the delayed email but I’ve been busy since the Saratoga and it’s connect the CBCs. Saratoga had some interesting sightings including both Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls. The national cemetery had both species and there was another flock of redpolls on Nielsen Road.
Saturday in urban Schenectady had some surprising results, including a pair of Red Crossbills in Central Park and several Green-winged Teal on the river.
Steve Mesick, East Greenbush
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Heard a pair, duetting, for a solid 10 minutes in the night! Probable breeding for the Atlas! - Scott and Denise, Loudonville
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Two More Pics of Eurasian Wigeon
Light was not conducive to good duck photography this morning but I've attached 2 pics from this morning (VF power plant), one showing the Eurasian Wigeon with 2 Gadwalls and some Mallards.
John H.
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Re: eur wigeon at VF power plant
Glad to see that Gregg found the wigeon after I left this morning. I attached two pics I took from yesterday. The bird looks very much like the pics in Sibley for "nonbreeding male" Eurasian and Crossley's "eclipse male" Eurasian. I don't see any trace of green, for ex., that might indicate a hybrid Eurasian and American. In addition to the Wigeon there were about 6 Gadwalls present.
John H.
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eur wigeon at VF power plant
in view now with large group of ducks below the dam -- gregg recer malta NY
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Crescent Park - Eastern Phoebe
Lindsey Duval <lindsey.duval@...>
Just spotted a tail wagging Eastern Phoebe hanging around the porch of the pale yellow house at the Crescent Park pull off on Terminal Rd (Halfmoon). I initially wrote off the call as coming from one of the numerous starlings.
Trail is under snow and water frozen.
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Nature at work today during the Schenectady CBC
We initially drove by the sparrow along the side of the road. A cursory look suggested it was just another white-throat. But before we went too far, I started thinking there were some things that just didn’t seem right, so we pulled over and walked back. Luckily, no cars came along to spook it. Upon closer inspection, my hunch was confirmed. It was not a white-throated sparrow, but a swamp sparrow. Not the most likely of locations to find one. Swamp sparrows are uncommon on this count. We’ve had them 14 times in the last 25 counts, and almost always only one when we do. So it’s a good bird. Stepping back and getting ready to head back to the cars, we were completely surprised when a Cooper’s hawk came in “out of nowhere” and grabbed our great find! We stood there with our mouths open, shocked. After a bit, we justified it by saying the Coop wasn’t really the bad guy. The swampy was acting very tame and wasn’t where we would have expected to find one. The swampy must have been sick and the Coop was just doing it a favor since it would probably have died of starvation overnight. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. Larry Alden
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Vischer Ferry Power Plant - Eurasian Wigeon, Peregrine Falcon, Gadwall
Today on the Schenectady CBC our team (Eric Molho, Pat Dollard, and myself) found some great birds at the Vischer Ferry Power Plant. The best one was what I think is a Eurasian Wigeon. There also were 2 Gadwall, 2 Bald Eagles, and a Peregrine Falcon. While scouting there yesterday I saw 3 Northern Pintails. A scope is recommended to see the ducks and they may not be visible from the Niskayuna side of the river. There were many ducks that were either too far away or obscured by the glare of the sun. Also, the trail going east from the Power Plant has yet to be tramped on and the snow is pretty heavy.
While scouting yesterday I also spotted a Rusty Blackbird gritting on Riverview Rd. a little west of the main entrance at Vischer Ferry. (But, didn't see one today.) One very bad digiscoped photo of the Wigeon below.
John Hershey
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Today, after dropping off my car at Napa Auto for a battery replacement, I walked over to the big white church to see if the Pine Grosbeaks had moved out of the area as a result of the 36" of snowfall. Despite the snow, they were still present In full force (over 50 individuals). They kept flying down to the ground and were munching on the snow near the parking lot entrance. I walked slowly toward them and stopped within 4 feet of them. They chirped non-stop while eating snow and then it happened...one flew from the ground and perched ON TOP OF MY HEAD! I stood there in amazement and enjoyed the 5-second moment until it flew back to the ground. This was the second time that a bird has perched on me this Fall season (Yes, it's still not Winter).
Loving Birds and Birding,
Scott Varney Salem, NY
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OT: Jupiter and Saturn Tonight
Hi Folks,
Please excuse this off-topic post, but I know many birders share an
interest in the night sky and also have binoculars and spotting
scope to enjoy celestial views.
As you've probably heard, Jupiter and Saturn will appear exceptionally close together in the evening sky on December 21. Clear skies, of course, are not guaranteed, but tonight promises to be "clear and cold" and the pair are already close enough to be a fine sight by eye and fit in the same telescopic field. Tonight at 5:15 PM from the Capital District and surrounding region they will be 14 degrees above the horizon and appear 20 arcmin apart (the Moon appears 31 arcmin across). Jupiter is brighter and fainter Saturn will be to the upper left at about the 11 o'clock position. Also shown is how they and their moons will appear in a telescope. (Any astronomical or spotting scope should do just fine. Start with the lowest power.) With twilight encroaching and their low altitude the fainter moons will be a challenge. You'll probably only see the four Galilean moons of Jupiter and perhaps Titan. (If you see Titan, try for Rhea.) If you're outside this area, look 45 minutes after local sunset.
The next such close conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is March 15, 2080.
Clear skies, Alan
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