Burnt-Rossman SF and Partridge Run WMA

I headed over to Burnt-Rossman SF first thing in the morning to check on the Red Crossbill nest.

The female was still on the nest and you can actually see her tail hanging out in the above photo.

A little further down the road a few were found gritting in the road.

Incredible how tame these birds can be.


As I was watching the crossbills I happened to notice a large bird approaching from the south.

It was a juvenile Golden Eagle. Heading back up north on today's southerly winds.

As it came closer, the small white ovals at the base of the inner primaries were visible.

You can also see the "serrated" trailing edge of the wing. Another juvenile trait.

Back at Partridge Run WMA, I found a group of River Otters in one of the ponds that the ice was finally starting to go out on.

The fishing looked to be great and they were stuffing themselves with fish.

An adult Bald Eagle flew over as the otters fished below.

River Otters do very well in this area. It's tough to get a good look at them most of the time as they are very wary of people. These shots were fairly distant.

They also took a break to roll in a patch of snow and play around a little bit.

After their break was over, it was back into the water to do some more fishing.

They would occasionally hop back up on the ice and then slide back into the water. This one actually has some vegetation around it's neck. It sure didn't slow it down at all.

A good mammal sighting for today.

I stopped by the Common Raven nest. Sure enough, a couple of the eggs had hatched and now we have nestlings.

And then on to the Northern Goshawk nest. The nest has been under construction the last few days so I figured I'd check on it. The female was busily working on it when I got there. I watched her carefully adding another stick to it and trying to weave it into just the right position. Everything was fine until she realized I was watching her. I got the "evil eye" and I'm probably going to pay for this in the future.

SIGNS OF SPRING?

We still have quite a bit of snow on the ground. It's amazing how long it takes for for a snow pack of 5 feet to melt. Winters in this neck of the woods can be long and I have found that the best way to survive them is to stay busy and use the snow and cold to ones advantage. I really enjoy snowshoeing and this has been a great year for it. Not only is it great exercise, but it's actually much easier to get around the woods when there is a thick blanket of snow on the ground. All that underbrush that one gets tangled in during the summer is half buried and a lot easier to walk over. I picked a very remote area in the town of Berne today to do some snowshoeing. It's an area that I rarely visit and thought it would be fun to explore.

I was a couple of hours into my journey and so far things had been fairly quiet. I was moving along the edge of a stand of conifers and thought I caught a glimpse of something quietly moving through the trees. Whatever it was, it was shadowing me along my right side. I finally stopped and was able to get my bins on who was watching me.

It was a Northern Goshawk! Whoa.... Not everyday that someone gets a good look at one of these birds. They're not all that uncommon up here during the winter as a few usually decide to stop and hang around as they were migrating south from their more northern environs. Usually they give just brief views as they fly from a perch on the side of the road or are spotted flying overhead.


What happened next really surprised me. The bird flew closer, perched overhead and started vocalizing. They sound a lot like a giant, hen Wild Turkey. A loud, squeaky "Kek, Kek, Kek, Kek...".

It soon became apparent that this bird was not at all happy that I was there. Goshawks are know to be very territorial and this bird was showing all the signs of it.


They also really fluff up there undertail coverts during the breeding season as is shown well in this photo.

The vocalizing continued and it was obvious that this bird had no intentions of going anywhere. A nesting Northern Goshawk in this area is fairly uncommon. To find a territory and then a nest is even rarer.

I had to remind myself not to think too far ahead as so far only one bird has been spotted, and just because a bird is being territorial does not mean that it has found a mate or has decided to nest. I will certainly be stopping back in the future.


Later in the day I took a ride down to check on the Common Raven nest. The female was still on the nest incubating the eggs. All the snow and cold weather that we have been having have not slowed them down a bit. Some great signs (albeit small) of spring today.

5/2 PARTRIDGE RUN WMA

May is one of my favorite months of the year. For a birder in this part of the country it is a very exciting time of the year. Birds that are going to nest in the area begin to arrive and set up territories. Some birds simply migrate through the area and others are year round residents. There's something for everybody.

The local Raven nestlings are doing just fine. Their feathers continue to grow in and their vision seems to be improving as their eyes develop.

Blue-headed Vireos have been here a while now. It's not unusual to spot them up here when there are still patches of snow on the ground. The first one that I found this year was on April 10 and their numbers have been increasing since then as 6 of them were spotted today.

An Osprey was spotted migrating through the area.

We are fortunate to have a lot of flowing water up here on the state land. This Louisiana Waterthrush was spotted looking for aquatic insects in a stream. Sometimes they can be hard to get a decent look at so I was fortunate to find this one right out in the open.

This Chestnut-sided Warbler seems to be finding plenty to eat. These are probably one of the most numerous species of warblers found here in Partridge Run.

A Spotted Sandpiper was found on one of the water control structures that the DEC built years ago to create one of the ponds. They normally don't stick around in this area so we'll call this one a migrant also.

Solitary Sandpipers are also migrating through the area. This one was breaking tradition as it was joined by another one. Not that unusual.

Another Louisiana Waterthrush was found in a rocky creek. This bird has been in this area for a couple of weeks now singing away. Nothing says spring like the song of a waterthrush.

Always a crowd pleaser, this Black-throated Blue Warbler was singing and setting up territory in an area that they nest every year.

This bird here is a classic example of "if you build it, they will come". Those chestnut streaks on it's back give away it's identity.

A few years ago the DEC cleared an area and left some rows of underbrush behind. They mow between the rows each year and it has created exactly the habitat that these birds are looking for. This Prairie Warbler has set up a territory right in the middle of it.

This is one of the few that I have ever seen on the state land and I really enjoyed hearing it's unique song.

My own nickname for the Prairie Warbler is "the turbo bird". When I worked down at the quarry I realized that it's song sounds exactly like the sound that the turbochargers on a Caterpillar 992G loader make when it is put under full load. I'm sure you all have heard that sound... Right? O.K. maybe I was reaching a bit on that one.

RAVEN UPDATE

Meanwhile back at the Ravens nest things are progressing. The nestlings are rapidly growing in size. It's always amazed me at how fast the nestlings of all species of birds grow. It takes a constant supply of food for them to obtain such a rapid rate of growth.

I was happy to see that there were still 4 nestlings there. Ravens are one of the species that will sacrifice nestlings if there is not enough food for all. Doesn't seem to be an issue here.

Not a bad life that they have. Just sleep and preen until your parents show up with something to eat.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Even though spring migration has not kicked into high gear yet up here on the "hill", there is still plenty of bird activity to observe. Here are some highlights of the past week.



I found a pair of Long-eared Owls not far from my home in early March. I was out one evening doing some owling when I stopped at an area that looked like it might have some potential. I was standing in the dark, in a very quiet and desolate area, imitating the call of a long-eared when suddenly there was a loud crack about 30 feet above my head. It scared the hell out of me at first and when I looked up into the starlit night I could make out the silhouette of an owl circling above me. It gave me another wing clap and then flew into some nearby conifers. The bird started calling and then some other vocalizations started. It became apparent that there was another bird in the trees. I remembered reading that long-eared owls only give wing claps when they are defending a territory. I stopped by again the next night a dusk and watched one of the owls come out and hunt over a nearby field. I've stopped back quite a few times since then and I took the above picture early in the week at dusk. Not the best shot of one of the owls going out to hunt. Hopefully some better ones are to come.



A Fox Sparrow showed up at the feeders on the 12th. Nice to see some kind of migration going on.


Down at the Ravens nest things are progressing nicely.


There are actually four nestlings now and man are they hungry. The one that is not visible is quite a bit smaller than the others as it was hatched last. I like rooting for the underdog so I hope it makes it. The above picture was taken on 4/11.

This picture was taken on 4/15. Incredible how fast they are increasing in size. The adult birds are constantly in motion as they are hustling to find food to feed them.

I spotted this Ruffed Grouse on the state land near my house. It was feeding near some garbage that some inconsiderate dirt bag had dumped on the side of the road (unfortunately this is an all too common occurrence). When I took a look at the grouse I noticed there was a thin metal wire sticking out from it's neck. Then I noticed the small transmitter around it's neck and realized it was one of the grouse involved in the NYSDEC research project.

I stopped down at the Raven nest on 4/16 and was actually able to get a picture of one of the adults at the nest with the young.

This nest has been a great opportunity to watch these birds develop. It is situated so that one can actually see down into the nest instead of having to look up from the ground and only imagine what is going on.

LOCAL SIGHTINGS 4/5

A Common Loon on Myosotis Lake today.

Another hungry mouth has shown up at the Raven nest.