flurries in the air
There were snow flurries in the air while taking my walk around Red House Lake today. I was glad to see many of the common LBJ’s around but there was significantly less waterfowl observed. Highlighted birds include 9 American Tree Sparrows, a Song Sparrow, 17 Cedar Waxwings and a late Woodduck down on the Maintenance Road.
I plan on giving Owl banding a try this evening with north western winds. I will let you know how the evening turns out.
Shot Gun Season Started Today!
I absolutely expected to stay inside due to this being the first day of shotgun season. You guessed it; I had this unexpected desired to get out of the house to do some birding. I located a few ducks after a quick trip over to Red House Lake (2 Horned Grebes, A zillion Canada Goose, 2 Common Mergansers, 4 Buffleheads, 3 Ring necked Ducks, and 4 Hooded Mergansers).
Highlight of the day was this Belted Kingfisher fishing from a branch near the beach. I took numerous photos framed perfectly but nothing turned out because the day was cloudy and dark (should have changed my ISO’s). I am starting to dream about what Allegany State Park looked like with the sun out!!
Returning from the grocery store I locate a male Ruffed Grouse crossing the road. I took some wonderful photos but with only 1/20th of second shutter everything turned out blurry. I promise that I will do better tomorrow with my camera’s settings!
Since I was unable to take any pictures today, here is a shot of this White-tailed Deer from this summer. Make sure you run my furry apple eating friend!
Following the Pot of Gold
A rainbow appeared around 3pm today after a constant 20 hours of rain. I just needed to open my windows due to temperatures being above average (71.2°F) and I wanted my cats to get some outside smells. I had full intentions on going to Wal-Mart for some needed groceries but something told me to try to find that gold (or fluff ball) at the end of that rainbow!
Photo taken by Birdmom in mid October during the Camp Flicker Event.
I have found myself reenergized after the opportunity of meeting Scott Weidensaul yesterday. We had some wonderful discussions on owl banding and I feel it helped me remember how important it is to get out each evening to study these owls.
As the sun started to set, I started asking questions like “will I continue to capture birds later than the previous two seasons”, “Could birds still be hanging around” or “could I capture any new birds tonight”?? All questions which I anticipate answering after another wonderful warm evening.
On my first net check there was a recaptured Northern Saw-whet Owl from a few nights previous but with this rain there weren’t any surprise that it was still hanging around. I did not expect that newly captured bird caught only minutes before a mini rain storm that hit. This has been my 31st bird this season. During the 4th hour of operation the nets were closed due to a larger storm that started to approached from the south. Thank goodness for nexrad radar for giving me the heads up on this storm.
It’s so hard to believe that snow and more rain is predicted for the next few evenings. I saw numerous Redbacked Salamanders running along the the leaves and logs while closing my nets. It almost feels like April Showers without any of the May flowers. I don’t expect to open again until next Monday or Tuesday!
FYI: I would like to thank my friend Bill Adams who blogged one of my owl photos from this site. Please check it out at: http://billadams.net/billblog/?p=70
A Northern Saw-whet Owl – November Surprise
Friday evening after 11 hours of banding, the Allegany State Park station had one of its best nights. What I don’t understand was that Thursdays evening also had equally nice winds (from the north) but we didn’t catch any owls. The different I did notice between the two nights was that birds normally moving south were observed in the NEXRAD radar moving in a westerly direction.
Within the first 4 hours of operations we had banded 7 newly captured birds and there was no doubt that I wouldn’t be going to bed until 5am in the morning. Winds were calm from the North East and then slowly shifted to the South East as the evening progressed. I had decided to close early due to a slow spell that appeared to be developing. But I have this simple rule that when you catch an owl, the nets must stay open for another net check. It wasn’t until 4:15am that I got my first opportunity to close and head to bed. I seriously considered doing an all nighter but the winds really started picking up and there was a big storm closely approaching. It was time to close everything up and head to bed.
Catching 11 individuals for the night is the stations new record!! Overall the station banded 9 new birds and 2 additional individuals originally banded 15 days ago during the Perfect Fluffball Night. The one recaptured bird was our friend from earlier in the week (Nov 6 ) which had lost 10.3grams!! Over the past 4 nights this bird has gained back 2.2grams. The other recaptured bird which I had originally banded 15 days ago had lost 5.2 grams (which is almost 6% of its body weight).
Questions that I begin to ask after looking at the data include: Are these two young birds local birds which have no intention on migrating south? Were they hatched late in the season and not ready to start moving yet? Could these birds have arrived at their current wintering grounds? Is it possible that due to weather these birds have located a stopover site and will continue migration in the near future? I hope that over time that we can answer these questions and get a better understanding of these birds Natural History. All I can hope is that my neighboring banding friends catch these fluff balls at their station!!
FYI: Many banders across the North East have been reporting this owl season being one of their worse season in 10 or more years. I have not had the consistent captures like last year but I have had 2 “BIG” nights which have taken me over my previous two year’s numbers (birds per net hours and individuals captured). The best part is that my season isn’t over yet! Check back to Mon@rch’s Nature Blog for learning how my season continues. (I think its time for a nap)!!
Late Monarch Movement
Originally uploaded by Mon@rch.
Today I observed a Monarch here in Allegany State Park during its migration to Mexico. Today’s weather was in the upper 50’s with calm wind and clear skies. Who would have expected to see any more Monarch’s this season after the numerous snowstorms, down pour rain, windstorms and hard frosts that have occurred. This will probably be my last Monarch of the season that I will encounter!
FYI: This photo wasn’t the monarch that I observed, it was taken in August.
Just another day!
These days happen to all of us from time to time! Mine started with my nose running and throat all scratchy. I almost forgot about doing a needed net repair after my last banding session. A flying squirrel had chewing through one of my trammel lines which I needed to replace before sunset. I had fallen in the mud numerous times while checking for owls. On my 9:15pm check I heard that flying squirrel going “squeak, squeak” not far from my nets. I looked around saying, “please not tonight – please”! Over and over again I end up checking my nets with no fuzz balls. Even worse, I forgot that the TV series Lost was on tonight and missed the first 45 minutes of the show!
Then again, days like today are what keep me one of the happiest naturalist in the world! I observed my first two Horned Grebes this fall swimming in Red House Lake. Weather has allowed me to open my nets again after many frustrating nights of rain and lake effect. The fresh air has allowed me to breathe again and it feels wonderful to be able to walk around!! I saw my little wild mouse buddy hopping around the path, I had to say hello. I continued to find myself turning off my headlamp while walk back to the house. It is amazing the numerous little sounds you’ll hear. Some of the sounds included small mammals squeaking, passerines calling over head, geese honking and the trickling sounds of the water in the drainage ditch! I also happen to catch a few stars trying to peek through the clouds (All of which I have not seen or heard in a quite a few days).
I might not have caught any owls tonight but it was well worth the attempt. There is always tomorrow to try again!!
Down time lets me work on new blog!
Weather hasn’t been too good recently and the owl banding station hasn’t had its nets open in the past few days. I don’t anticipate seeing the station starting to band again until Friday evening which will be producing northern winds (perfect for these owls which are bottled up north). Expect me up into the wee hours of the night.
With all this down time, I started to explore new areas to host my blog which is compatible with flickr, ect… Word Press is exactly what I what I have been looking for. I have been moving months worth of files from the old site (soon to be gone) to this wonderful new site. It has been fun exploring my new features and trying to imply them to this blog site. Enjoy and please feel free to spread the word to others about this site!
Fall Foliage Report
This week the leaves started to really look like fall here in allegany state park. I would anticipate that more leaves will start changing and dropping with our colder nights that we have been having. I recorded a low temp last night of 33.1 F which is the coldest so far this fall. The 7th of October will be a full moon which will make the temperature drop with a few nights of frost. This September has almost been the rainiest September that has been ever recorded (so, yes I am still mowing the lawn).
This has been a report from Mon@rch your Fall Foliage Reporter for allegany state park, NY.
Click here for a large size: static.flickr.com/92/256301317_3ed81ad158_b.jpg
Click here for a larger size: static.flickr.com/92/256301317_3ed81ad158_o.jpg
Grouse Displaying
I have never seen so many grouse as I have just before the start of Grouse season. While getting out of my truck for a closer photo, this grouse started to display.
Suddenly the male Ruffed Grouse took off and stopped my heart from whizzing past my head. Now all relaxed, I started to walk towards the tree (saw a feather on the ground and wanted a closer look) and then my heart stopped again! There was a female behind the tree which I didn’t realize was there. What a wonderful life I have.
Basement Vistor
One of the Park Naturalist brought this little critter to my office and notified me that he had just caught it in the basement. For a short time we were identifying this as something else until PG (who was babysitting it) said “its brownie” pointing to its picture in the field guide! After going through all the keys and reading up on it – she was correct that this little mouse was a Meadow Jumping Mouse Zapus hudsonius.
Some interesting details that we learned about brownie was that it should have much longer hind legs than its front legs, its tail is twice as long as the body and fur has an interesting yellowish brown (almost red highlights) to it. This mouse does resemble the Woodland Jumping Mouse but doesn’t have the white tipped tail like the woodland species has. Some other interesting facts that we learned is that its first jump is about 2-3 feet and then follow with smaller hops (which made it hard for the Naturalist to capture – I would have loved to watch the capture). I really found interesting is that this species will go into hibernation from late October to Mid May (for over a ½ year). Just remember that these mice are food to the many other animals that we love to photograph! It’s a mammal that we rarely see being that they are most active at night and sleeping most of the year. After observing this little mouse in the office we released it over on the other side of the lake with hopes to making many more baby mice.
The Day of Exploring New Territory
Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
This was a wonderful day today! Weather was perfect and I was given many photograph opportunities. I was invited to join two inspirational biologists in search of some fall wildflowers in an area of the park that I have never explored before. Here I would like to include a few other photos from our hike trip up into the woods.
These two flowers (Zigzag Goldenrod and Crooked-stem Aster) were located along the forest edge. They both have that Zig n Zag feel to them and its ironic that they were growing together. The Zigzag Goldenrod was a wildflower that I never took the time to identify until this trip.
This Magnolia Warbler was showing off its yellow coloring which let me get a quick photo or two before disappearing into the shrubs. There were a few Magnolia’s flying around but most of them were high up into the canopy. Some Common Yellowthroats, Chickadees and a Thrush species was in the same area with the Magnolia.
While leaving, we came across this Green Heron in the wet grass while searching for some shorebirds. Was wonderful it would pop its tuft up and get a grasshopper or two. We were lucky to have watched it for about 4 minutes before disappearing into the grass.
Nodding Ladies’ Tresses Orchid (Spiranthes cernua)
While checking out the other wildflowers – we happened to come across these Nodding Ladies’ Tresses Orchid Spiranthes cernua!! They are such interesting looking Orchids with the flowers spinning around in spirals. The pictures tell it all!
Young Woodturtle Found
Found a very tiny Wood Turtle Clemmys insculpta along the Horse Trail here in Allegany State Park. No one in the group had seen this species this small before. Its measurements was 110mm by 80mm which is very tiny (check this photo Adult Woodturtle to see the typical size that I see them). Also, this turtle had an older cracked shell incident which we are guessing was caused by a horse stepping on it (shape and size). It is probably a few years of age and appeared to have survived the accident with the cracked shell (starting to grow together). But, this turtle did have paralyzed hind legs and would drag it with its front legs!
Closed Gentian
Here is Closed Gentian which the purple or blue flower is commonly found here in AlleganyState Park in the woods or wet meadows.
This flower is unique that there is a white form of this plant. An interesting fact which we learned about Closed Gentian is that the only insect which can successfully pollinate this flower is the bumblebee (Flora of Michigan). We are double checking to make sure this isn’t a different species but its leaning towards being the white form of Closed Gentian.
Nashville Warbler
Nashville Warblers are always fun to find. Not my best shot in the world but this bird just wouldn’t come out of the pines for a clear picture! I think part of my problem was that I tried to get the right angle and while hand holding the 400mm – I just couldn’t hold it still enough for the sharp image! I learn with each picture that I take! You can see some of the chestnut brown streaks on this birds head with the photo on the right! Not the best photos in the world but was happy to have photographed it!!
Deer More Interested in Apples than Me
These White Trailed Deer let me walk right up to them and take their picture! I do get to see the deer feeding on these apples quite often but these really did not care that I was there.
Movement of some Northern Ring-necked Snakes
Was an interesting day today! Heading back to work from my lunch break – I located a Northern Ring-necked Snake in the middle of the road. Took a few pictures and then let it go! What was so interesting was that another one of these young Ring-necked Snakes were found inside the administration building. It obviously was a different individual by the amount of orange ring around its neck and the first one looked like it was going to shed soon. Just can’t figure out where these snakes are coming from??
I did let both of them go in the direction towards the picnic area.
Dogwood Berries is good source of food!
I have been seeing many birds recently feeding on the Dogwood Berries along the bike path here in Red House!! Here are some of the birds that I observed:
Red Eyed Vireo
Yellow-rumped Warbler (note its banded and probably one of my birds)
Lots of fruit in the forest for both birds and other wildlife! Do keep your eyes open!!
STARWARS under the stars!
Labor Day Weekend was a wet one and we tried to figure out what additional fun things to do! After I made a quick visit home, we had our own movie theater set up at the campsite. STARWARS was soo much fun to watch under the stars and was a first time we had done anything like this before! We saw many campers checking out the movie as they pass by the campsite! I just love how in tune all the kids are while the adults are trying to stay close to the fire and stay warm.
Spotlighting Wildlife
An Allegany State Park tradition is that families go out at night and spotlight animals along the roads! You never know what you might encounter and here are a few animals that we encountered.
This Raccoon thinks we are going to throw food!
This White-tailed Deer didn’t let me take too many photos of it!
Why are we finding cats out in the middle of the woods?
day two – North Country Trail
After breakfast, the kids started to make a small fire, broken down camp and we headed out on the trail towards the Quaker Store. We hit the re-route and I don’t see where it helped the existing trail that was previously there. I would have rather walked through the slush wet trail than climbing over the mountain with slush on the trail. At one point we did decide to adventure down the hill in search of the old trail (which we never found, but did find the pickers). The back section behind all the Quaker Cabins was a fun hike; we laughed, spit trail mix at each other and truly enjoyed the day. We finally arrived at the Coon Run road and worked our way over to the Quaker Store (in search of a ride to Cain Hollow). What a wonderful hiking trip and I am very proud of these two hikers that assisted me. To learn more about the trip, follow the links to the pictures.
day one – North Country Trail
Today was the start of my back packing trip along the North Country Trail with two young naturalist. We started at the administration building here in Allegany State Park and headed to the Stony Brook Lean-to for an overnight. All morning we watched the NEXRAD radar which said that it was finally clear for us to start hiking. Of course, it rained for the first 1 ½ hours of hiking! We stopped at the Conservation Trail Lean-to and took some time to eat our Subway subs (and to try to stay dry). We arrived after 5 hours of hiking at the Stony Brook Lean-to. After setting up the tents, we made dinner, joked around and got a camp fire going. With our luck, after going to bed we had two porcupines started chewing on the lean-to building and I finally was able to fall asleep after being absolutely exhausted. I noticed mice running around the outside of the tents about 5:30 am and the coyotes howling about 8:30am the following Morning. What a night, look at the pictures and learn more about the trip.
Walmart Adventure
Unexpectedly I made a small detour to Red House Creeks while heading to Walmart today. These pictures are taken near the Bradford toll booth here in allegany state park, NY.
Is that a….. your kidding me…..
I can now say to expect the unexpected here in Allegany State Park. Today we had an unexpected visitor here at the Administration Building which got trapped in one of our window wells (probably at night sometime). Don’t ask how a mammal that lives in the water ends up in a location like this (up a hill, behind a building and quite a distance from water) but this is proof that it can happen. Typically we get a toad (wait, there already is a toad in there), salamanders or even a snake stuck in these wells. Mammals typically are able to climb out or they might decide to climb in and eat these other critters. This window well was just a little too tall for this beaver to climb out. Luckly P.G. happened to be out for a cigarette break and heard a noise!
Trapping wasn’t easy be we were able to get this beaver into the trash can. The officer that assisted ended up with some beaver scat on his leg (whoops). We were quickly off to the lake to be released. Of course, it didn’t take long for a crowd to show up excited to see the release. Once we opened the can the beaver slowly walked out and headed right to the creek which empties into Red House Lake this location.
Once in the water the beaver got very low and tried getting as much of its fur wet as possible (creek water was shallow). It then headed down the stream dtowards the lake (moved must slower than I had expected).
When the beaver made it over to deeper water – it took a small dive and then ended up in the middle of the lake in about 10 seconds! I would like to wish our beaver friend good luck and a fun adventure very away from buildings!
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 
