FALL BIRDING

I had the opportunity this morning to do some Fall birding. The first place that came to mind was the Five- Rivers Environmental Center. So I headed down in the pre-dawn hours to kill some time before work.



  A couple of Cooper's Hawks were hanging out in the visitor center parking lot when I arrived. A couple of crows were scavenging some bread that was left for them and the hawks seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to harass them.



Once the sun started to warm things up, it became apparent that there was a good movement of migrants last night. There were quite a few Palm Warblers feeding on the vegetation that had gone to seed.



  Palm Warblers are one of my favorite Fall visitors.



The low sun angle was providing some great lighting for these birds. 


 A couple of Nashville Warblers were also found this morning.



Lincoln's Sparrows countinue to move through the area.



The small flock of Purple Finches countinues to hang out at 5-Rivers. The usually do during the Fall until they move on to a winter location.






There were a few White-crowned Sparrows mixed in with the gathering of White-throated Sparrows.



White-crowned Sparrow




And here is the bird of the day. As I was working my way through a group of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers, I heard a chip note that was noticably different. It was about the same volume as the Palm Warblers, but it was much "sharper".



Bright yellow undertail coverts... a busted eyering ....



it even was displaying the diagnostic small white patch at the bend of the wing. What could this drab, active little Warbler be? It's an Orange-crowned Warbler! A nice find for this area during Fall migration.

AUGUST 23 - PARTRIDGE RUN WMA

The morning started out warm and humid with a light rain falling. I couldn't resist going out and seeing what was going on. August can be a month full of interesting finds when it comes to birds, the past few trips out into the field certainly proved that. I stayed close to home today and birded the Partridge Run area of Berne.

White-throated Sparrows nest up here at the higher elevations and then head down into the valleys to spend the winter.

At one of my stops I spotted a Great-horned Owl keeping a close eye on me. Daytime sightings of owls are always are always a great opportunity to study these nocturnal birds a little closer.

So there I was, looking over a Least Flycatcher making sure it wasn't a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher when I saw another bird flitting around in one of the old apple trees that the state had planted years ago. I would have loved to have seen how wide my eyes got when I finally focused on it and realized what it was. It's a Cape May Warbler! What made this one especially nice was that it was an adult male in it's fall plumage.

It was lightly raining at this point and it would have been nice if the sun was out, but I sure wasn't about to complain.Cape May Warblers only pass through these parts during migration, they nest up north (mainly Canada). They nest in spruce bogs and their breeding success is directly tied to their favorite food source the spruce budworm.

The bird was very cooperative as it slowly and methodically searched the apple tree for food. Fruit trees such as this are usually loaded with insects and this year looks to be a banner year for apples as well. The deer must be licking their chops.

By mid-morning the rain had stopped and things started to brighten up a bit. This Scarlet Tanager probably felt right at home in the moist humid forest. It will soon be leaving for the tropical rain forests of central and south america to spend the winter.

I spotted this Nashville Warbler in an alder thicket. It was busily catching bugs and caterpillars to fatten up for the long journey ahead of it. Hard to say if this is a migrant or not as a few do nest here on the state land.

NOT BAD FOR AUGUST

I went out early this morning to see what was going on in the neighborhood. When you live in the middle of a 5000 acre state forest, there are plenty of birds around this time of year.

This Blue-winged Warbler was actively foraging at first light. They have stopped singing now and are some of the first to start heading south.

I couldn't quite figure out at first what this Ruby-throated Hummingbird was up to. It kept trying to fly while holding on to the stems of some of the leaves.

Then I realized that it was taking a bath by using its wings to splash some of the water droplets onto it's body.

This is a great time of year to get some nice looks at Nashville Warblers. They forage a lot closer to the ground now and can be very inquisitive.


They also have gone silent and are trying to fatten up for the long journey ahead.

If your an adult Chestnut-sided Warbler and it's August, it's time for your prebasic molt. This one had already lost it's tail feathers and was busy preening and trying to dry out a bit. The don't loose their flight feathers at this time, so they are still able to fly. Within a week or two this bird will look quite different. It will lose the yellow crown and black mask in exchange for a more drab appearance.

There are usually a few pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers that nest in the area. This year was no exception and this is one of the juveniles that were produced.

This first fall Magnolia Warbler was out and about looking for some tasty arthropod to munch on.

This is probably one of the locally hatched birds. An endless stream of these birds will pass through the area in September and October.

Ovenbirds are a lot of fun this time of year. They finally go silent, but they seem much more curious and don't spend as much time foraging on the ground.

During breeding season they rarely leave the dark shadows of the forest floor. That sun must feel great.

This adult female Black-throated Blue Warbler was busily looking for some food for it's nestlings. They are some of the last warblers in the area to actually finish nesting.

THE DOLDRUMS???

I'm always amazed when some refer to July and August as the "doldrums" when it comes to birding. I've always found this time of year to be quite the opposite. Let's do some simple math. A couple of birds show up in appropriate habitat, set up a breeding territory and raise a brood of offspring. Their in no hurry to migrate yet, so it stands to reason that there are more birds in a given area in the months of July and August then May or June.
The main factor that has allowed this time of the year to be labeled as "slow" is that our own lives become more involved with things such as picnics, vacations and firewood (it's actually the time of year that I try and get my wood for the winter split and stacked). Hardly seems fair. The dog-days of summer are not as birder friendly as the spring months are.

This female Common Yellowthroat brings home some tasty morsels for some hungry nestlings nearby.

This young Golden-crowned Kinglet was curious as to what I was up to.

It was a nice opportunity to snap a few pictures. Not often that they sit still for long.

No golden crown yet. That will come as the bird matures this fall.

A young Ruby-throated Hummingbird warms itself in the morning sun.

This was probably the most interesting observation of the day. It's a Canada Warbler (on left) and Nashville Warbler (right) travelling together. The nashville was a juvenile bird and was following the adult canada around. The young bird was actually making begging calls as if it was trying to get the canada to find it some food.

Its not that unusual for adult birds of one species to feed a begging fledgling of another species. Instinct is a powerful thing. At least they have matching eyerings.

And here was the surprise of the day. After some morning birding, I went home and was doing some things around the house. I heard something coming from the spruces next to my house that really caught me off guard. Jip, Jip, Jip ...... Jip, Jip, Jip. I ran to a spot where I could scan the top of the spruces from and managed to see a couple of Red Crossbills noisily flying away. Wow! Wasn't expecting that. I headed back out into the field, checking some areas that I thought would be attractive to them. I found some more and was able to snap some pictures.

Red Crossbills are some of the great nomads of the birding world. They can literally show up and nest anytime and anyplace. It will be interesting to see if they stick around.

I had a tough time today considering them winter finches.

August birding is so boring... Yeah right!

5/3 PRWMA

The morning was overcast and seasonably mild for early spring. Things got off to an interesting start right at first light. I was standing in a small clearing when I was shocked to see a large falcon flying due east at a relatively low altitude. Fortunately, I already had my camera on and was able to get off a quick "hip-shot".

Even without binoculars it was obvious that it was a Peregrine Falcon. The first one that I had ever spotted up here in Partridge Run and was completely amazed. The bird was flying like it was on a mission.

The nearest known nest sight for these birds is about 25 miles away in Albany and I knew this certainly wasn't one of them. During spring migration peregrines usually migrate north along the Atlantic coast and are rare inland. I'm thinking that this bird somehow got a bit off course yesterday and once the sun came up, it was headed east towards the very distant ocean. Quite an early morning wake up!

Here's an interesting anomaly that's been hanging around the area. This bird has returned to the same general area that it occupied last year. It sings a Golden-winged Warbler song most of the time, but it sure does not look like one.

It doesn't resemble the typical Blue-winged Warbler as it has a lot of white on the underparts, white cheeks and a lot of gray on the back and neck. This is a hybrid between a Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warbler. They call these birds Brewster's Warblers and as interesting as they are to look at, they are being created at a high price. The Blue-winged Warblers are taking over much of the traditional nesting grounds of the Golden-winged Warblers in our area. This is probably due to habitat succession as well as the blue-wings being more aggressive. This combined with the fact that the two species hybridize regularly, has led to a serious decline in the number of golden-wings in our area.

Nashville Warblers have also arrived in the area and a few are staking out some prime territory. You can actually see of the rufous crown feathers on this bird that are often difficult to see.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have also arrived. A great bird to look at as well as listen to.

I spotted this female Hooded Merganser on a small pond. It reminded me that last year I found 2 pair of them, that successfully nested just down the road. Seems to be an increasing phenomenon in our area.

Back at home the Pine Siskins are still inhaling as much thistle seed as possible. Are they ever going to leave?