April Snow
Male Cardinal
By: Pat Coate
The very mild winter we just had took the sting out of Monday’s forecast of 8-12 inches of snow. Despite snow falling all day, we actually ended up with just a few inches since the ground and roads were warm enough that a lot of the flakes just melted away.
We had a steady stream of visitors to the feeders, including the pictured male cardinal. Our backyard grackles got the worst of the storm. Snow building up on the hedge where they built their nest finally caused the hedge to topple over and spilt the nest to the ground.
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Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe (breeding plumage)
By: Pat Coate
While spending a wonderful weekend visiting my daughter in Milwaukee I snuck in a quick walk at one of the downtown parks along Lake Michigan. There were a number of interesting migrants in the area including a beautiful pair of Horned Grebes in breeding plumage.
Birch Run Ponds
Osprey
By: Pat Coate
Stopped by the Birch Run ponds to see if the osprey were back. A pair were back and seemed to be settling in to the nest. The short trip netted close to 25 species, including the song sparrow and juvenile red-tailed hawk pictured.
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Fun in the Woods and Lessons Learned
Stream in 9 Mile Forest
By: Pat Coate – Actually a special guest column this week by friend Kathy H. with an entertaining, well-written account of our recent adventures in the 9 Mile Forest.
“Pat and I began our hike at 2:15 pm. The rain/drizzle had stopped; skies were still heavy with clouds.
We walked in with a “solid” plan (mine): down to the stream as soon as we started to hear it, then follow along crossing springs as we met them staying on the right side of the main stream so that the road was to our right. Having just walked the stream two weekends ago I felt confident to just run in and out without my usual amount of water or my pack with necessities. Just grabbed a pack to hold leeks and a rain jacket and brought along one water.
Pat and I collected some leeks, appreciated the clean water, and took some pics. Wildflowers are just starting to emerge there. Today we saw flowers not quite open: spring beauties, hepatica and yellow violets. As we mosied along I noticed some familiar landmarks.
Wanted to label this ‘Kathy taking a leek’ but wasn’t sure she’d appreciate it! She is rinsing off a freshly dug up bunch of leeks in the stream.
Then we began venturing into different terrain, coming across an old rusted very large (possibly sluice?) pipe. Trying to get bearings we saw a road. Remembered one from hike two weeks ago and a couple roads from past visits. These are really just old overgrown logging roads and though I was reasonably certain the directions of roads I’d been on previously – was not certain which we were on as we had approached from a different direction. We went back to the stream for awhile then back up to the road which seemed to take a lot longer than it should. We eventually came across an old crashed snowmobile and I knew then this was an unfamiliar road and therefore did not know what direction we should go.
Short-eared Owls
Short-eared Owl
By: Pat Coate
I squeezed in an after work trip to Church Road in Hamlin to see the short-eared owls on a recent business trip to Rochester. There were 5-6 owls variously perched in trees, hunting low over the field, pouncing on prey or landing in the field. Thanks to Jim A. for great directions and the genesee list for posting about the owls.
American Kestrel
Feels like summer with 80 degree temperatures. Birds are very active with the Kestrel vocalizing near the house. I am hoping they will decide to next in the nest box I put up last spring. They were great neighbors last summer!! 🙂
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Eastern Phoebe
Just heard an Eastern Phoebe singing outside the Administration Building a few min’s ago! WHOOT
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Finally some cross-country skiing
Cross-country ski trail in Allegany State Park
By: Pat Coate
Got out for my first and probably only cross-country skiing jaunt for the winter this past weekend at Allegany State Park. It has truly been the most mild winter (by far) that I can remember since we have lived in this area. It was a beautiful, sunny 20+ degree day. We had gotten 3-4 inches of snow the evening before but, with no base and the Sunday forecast in the 50s, the trails were not groomed. It was a peaceful, relaxing trip with an extended stop to enjoy the overlook along the Christian Hollow Trail.
American Robin
You are sure to see American Robin’s flying around Allegany State Park this weekend. They seem to be in large flocks and they are for sure moving through this area currently!! I do love seeing these guys! Spring is near!
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Ruddy Turnstone
Ruddy Turnstone (winter plumage)
By: Pat Coate
While cleaning up some of my files I came across these photos of a Ruddy Turnstone I’d taken in the fall in Myrtle Beach. Though there are occasional sightings of these birds in Western New York during migration, I had never seen one so it was exciting to find this one along the beach.
These shorebirds get their name because they will often search for food by turning over stones to see what delectables may be hiding underneath. They are evidently not picky eaters and will eat pretty much whatever they find under the stones, or under seaweed, sticks and other debris.
Eastern Bluebirds Checking out the Nest Boxs
Was a great morning, saw a pair of Eastern Bluebirds checking out my two boxes at my house this morning. Then coming to work saw another pair looking at boxes here in Allegany State Park. So, was a good day today!
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Tundra Swans
Tundra Swans has been pushing through the Allegany State Park area over the past week. If you hear them, look up they are flying very high up in the sky.
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Long-tailed Ducks
Long-tailed Duck (Male, non-breeding plumage)
By: Pat Coate
On a recent trip up to Rochester I made a quick stop at the Charlotte Pier where the Genesee River empties into Lake Ontario. There were two species that I hoped to find – the Snowy Owl that had been reported in the area and a Long-tailed Duck. Didn’t find the Snowy but there were quite a few Long-tailed Ducks – a life bird for me.
They are handsome birds that breed in the Arctic and winter along the northern coasts and on the Great Lakes. A diving duck, this bird spends a lot of time under water and can dive quite deeply, up to 200 feet. The Long-tailed Duck was previously known as Oldsquaw.
Red-winged Blackbird
Saw a flock of about 50 Red-winged Blackbirds yesterday! Sure sign that spring is near.
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Canada Goose
Is it me or did it appear that Canada Goose showed up everywhere? I saw a flock on the ice at Red House Lake . . . I saw a flock in the fields on my way home . . . . flying . . . !
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Northern Cardinal Singing
Heard the Northern Cardinals singing this week! Whoot spring is near!
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Snow Buntings
Flock of Snow Buntings
By: Pat Coate
Our local bird club had a field trip this past weekend literally heading out to the freshly manured fields in the northeast part of the county hoping to see the snow buntings, horned lark and Lapland longspurs that would be drawn to the seeds in the manure. We got two out of three – missing out on the longspur. We had a good sized flock of snow buntings (in the 100s) swirling about, and a dozen or so horned larks. Also a bit of excitement as some in the group spotted a Lesser Black-backed Gull mixed in with Herring and Ring-billed gulls – the Lesser Black-backed was the first recorded sighting of this bird for our county. Another highlight was a Red-tailed hawk abandoning its prey mid-flight as it was mobbed by crows.
Many thanks to Bert for leading this trip – it was a fun day of birding with a nice group of folks (and as a bonus I learned how to play zip and zap). Full species list follows.
Appalachian Trail – Mary’s Rock in Virgina
View from Mary’s Rock, Appalachian Trail
By: Pat Coate
I have a dream to one day (soon) hike the Appalachian Trail (Tom A. are you in?). While visiting my father-in-law in Virginia, my husband and I got a small taste of it by hiking up to Mary’s Rock in Shenandoah National Park. It was beautiful and I do hope to get back sometime. In any case, my journey has started- 4 miles down, only 2,196 or so more to go!
This stretch of the trail must be very well traveled as there was lots of erosion control along it, and just along that short stretch we ran into six other hikers. Only wildlife activity we saw were two soaring turkey vultures.
The Joys of Bird Photography
Tree Sparrow in Flight
By: Pat Coate
One of the many joys of bird photography is the short window of opportunity you often have to get that ‘perfect’ shot. It’s sort of like the unpredictability of trying to get a squirming child to cooperate for the family Christmas shot – but with the added challenge of shooting outdoors and minus the ability to use bribes or silly faces to keep your subject still.
Sometimes you get lucky and happen to capture a decent picture of a bird in flight, like the tree sparrow above. And sometimes you don’t always get a bird’s better side, like the chickadee in the following picture.
Ground Hogs Day 2012
To all my Blogging friends; I Allegany Tom on the 2nd of February 2012 did not see my shadow when I woke up this morning. I predict that spring will come early this year!! I just love this holidays and on a side note . . . . Punxstawney Phil did see his shadow this morning! He is predicting that there will be “six more weeks of winter”!!
(been doing this since 2006 and 75% wrong but this year I think I have a chance to be right)
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Waterfowl and Eagle Count
Bald Eagle along Allegheny River
By: Pat Coate
January 15th was the annual waterfowl and eagle count for the Buffalo Ornithological Society. Tim, Bert and I covered a section of Cattaraugus County in Western New York. Despite the warmer than average winter, that day started off at -10 degrees but we forged on, adding further evidence to my husband’s theory that birders are an odd lot.
Waterfowl counts were down significantly from prior years. The prevailing thought was that a lot of water to the north (like Lake Erie) was not yet frozen over, so the birds had not yet moved down our way to open water along the Allegheny River. We saw only five species of waterfowl, two bald eagles, and a total of just over 20 species on the day. It was still a fun day and Tim and Bert are excellent birders to spend time with. Full species list follows.
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More Hiking in Allegany State Park
Conservation Trail, Allegany State Park (NY)
By: Pat Coate
Took advantage of the continued mild winter and got a nice hike in over the weekend along the Conservation and part of the Finger Lakes/North Country Trail in Allegany State Park. The Conservation Trail is a 4+ mile loop that starts behind the Red House Administration Building.
It’s a beautiful trail up the mountain, passing through several evergreen stands providing thick enough cover to provide a snow-free trail. The less protected deciduous tree sections of the trail ranged from snow covered to muddy to sun-dried. There are numerous fallen trees to navigate and it seems the trail has not been cleared for many years, though it is well marked with blue, orange and white blazes (different legs of the trail are different colors).
Birds we heard or saw along the way included chickadee, junco, downy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, blue jay, and raven. We also saw numerous animal tracks in the snow that I will post next week – including one surprise for this time of year.
Tufted Titmouse
By: Pat Coate
The tufted titmouse is a somewhat infrequent visitor to our backyard feeder. So when this one stopped by this past fall I was happy to snap a few pictures.
These birds nest in pre-existing tree cavities, having to find ones made by other birds or natural ones as they are not able to create their own. Though I have never seen this, studies have shown that they often line their nests with hair. And it seems as though most any type will do as hair from livestock, raccoons and woodchucks, to mice and even humans has been found in their nests.
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Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas from Everyone at monarchbfly.com
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