Trip Highlights

There is good news and bad news to report.  The good news is that 21 Allen Bird Club members gathered to watch, share summer birding stories, and munch on cookies.  The bad news is there were no sightings of nighthawks.  Actually, perhaps because of the wind, there were not the number of species usually seen.  There were however the sightings of blackbirds beginning to move together in large flocks, several mallards and wood ducks coming in for the night, the family of mute swans, nine cormorants perched in snags, three Great Blue Herons, a kingfisher, and perhaps the bird getting the most attention was the final bird of the evening - a Great Egret that gracefully flew in and landed at the water’s edge.

A dozen birders joined together to bird Plum Island.  The weather was full sun with  temps in the high 70s and the winds were light, better on the beaches, but calm from inland spots.

The tide was too high at Joppa Flats, so we headed directly to Plum Island for our first birding stop at the Salt Pannes. As we passed the gate we were given the first spectacle of the day, thousands of Tree Swallows swirling in the cluster that nearly filled the sky.  At the pannes, we were able to pick out several Barn Swallows joining the Tree Swallows in aerial pursuits.  Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were feeding together, which gave us all a great comparison study in size and Long and Short-billed Dowitchers forced us to look at shape and feeding style in order to get correct identifications. There were Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers and we picked out several White-rumped Sandpipers and a juvenile Stilt Sandpiper mixed in the group. Also there were Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, and an Osprey enroute to the end of the refuge.

Unfortunately, Lot 7 was full, as was the parking lot for Emerson Rocks and Sandy Point. Our seven-car brigade meant that we would be hard pressed to find spots in the smaller lots, so we headed to Hellcat, where parking was available.  From the dike, we spotted more Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, another Stilt Sandpiper (this one was an adult), and a Short-billed Dowitcher.  Also there were more yellowlegs, a Northern Harrier, Double-crested Cormorant, Gadwall, and Cedar Waxwings.

The Bill Forward Pool blind gave us much of the same and the Pines Trail added Purple Martin and American Goldfinch to the list.  A few members ended their birding early and the rest of us grouped together a bit tighter to reduce the numbers of cars and tried once more to get to the birding spots at the south end of the refuge.

Emerson Rocks gave us two Common Terns, a Common Eider, Great Black-backed Gull.  Lot 7 was still full, but we did find space to park at Lot 6 and it turned out to be a very good stop.  We found Laughing Gull sitting on the water, Bonaparte’s Gull in flight, Sanderlings and Piping Plovers, along with Semipalmated Plovers and Semi-palmated Sandpipers.

Next was a visit to Stage Island Pool.  It was very warm by then with no breeze and the mosquitoes were very bad.  Though a couple of us made it up the hill to the viewing platform, it was a quick trip with no new birds for our efforts.

One more stop at the Salt Pannes on the way out did not give us any new species for the day-list but did provide a bonanza of Semipalmated Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers to scan with hopes of finding something new.

We ended the day with 50 species.  Click below to view species list.

Several birders showed up at the WMA, not having seen the trip cancellation due to rain that was posted to the website rather late.  One birder stayed and here is his report:

“We all tried for the owls near the parking lot without success. Then others left and I birded on my own. The rain had largely abated by that point and there was even a hint of sunshine by the time I was wrapping up. Highlights included great looks at the Blue Grosbeak (on both sides of the border if that matters) and Grasshopper Sparrow. Also, many Field Sparrows, Tree Swallow Juveniles begging for food and being fed, Indigo Buntings and both Orchard and Baltimore Orioles.”

There were eight participants on our trip in the beautiful Tyringham valley.  Weather was pleasant - no rain as there has been the past 15 weekends, and comfortable temperatures - unlike the heat wave that was to come in a few days.  We had the “usual” species as we birded roadsides and woods, the Cobble, and part of the AT.  Highlights included a Thrasher and Bank Swallow at the end of Meadow Street, Ravens “crying”, and a Waxwing nest visited by a female Scarlet Tanager.  We had no luck with Bittern, Snipe or Cliff Swallow on Breakneck Road.  Then, a surprise on Monterey Road.  Near the bridge over Hop Brook, in a stand of larches where we have had Purple Finch in the past, we did spot a finch-like bird at the top of one of them.  We kept our eyes on it, thinking it wasn’t quite a finch.  Siobhan snapped one of her famous shots and the proof was there - a Red Crossbill!  We were thrilled, but wanted more looks.  We scanned the larch trees and saw a total of four individuals.  Unfortunately, as we walked back to our cars, we saw a fifth bird - a young crossbill dead on the side of the road.  

Soon we made our way to Post Farm, hoping for a Least Bittern that had been reported earlier this season.  The biting deerflies made us hustle through the woods to the marsh, but we did not hear the bittern.  We had Marsh Wren and a Kingbird there though.  

Chris had seen an eBird report of nesting Purple Martins in the town of Stockbridge near Tanglewood, and we decided to add a stop there.  The coordinates were misleading, but we enlisted the help of a Berkshire birder who knew how to get to the field where the nest box (and a newly added gourd array) were located.  This was in Gould Meadows, conservation land in Stock-bridge.  After a short walk through field and woods we saw the site, and very quickly we also saw a couple of Martins!  According to Hoffmann Bird Club members this is the first evidence of nesting Martins since the late 1800’s!  In the end we counted 4 or 5 individuals, both males and females.  Later it was learned that one of them was one that had been tagged in northern Connecticut in 2023.  This was a wonderful ending to a very successful Tyringham trip, adding two new species to this trip’s overall tally. Click on photo below to view complete species list.

We made some changes to the itinerary of this trip this year.  The Adirondack Birding Festival was held the previous weekend, and after consulting the festival schedule, we added some new locations to explore.  The weather was also in our favor the entire weekend, although it also proved favorable for the biting blackflies and mosquitoes!

On the first day we drove directly to Bloomingdale Bog where we walked on the rail trail there.  We soon began hearing birds we had expected including Nashville, Palm and Blackburnian warblers, White-throated Sparrow, Veery, and Purple Finch.  We had flying views of a male Harrier (“gray ghost”) and American Bittern.  We were entertained by a small family group of Canada Jays who seemed to fly in as soon as “peanuts” was mentioned, and they did gobble them up as soon as we dropped them.

We then made a couple of stops along Floodwood Pond road where we saw one lone Common Loon (no babies though).  On the way to our hotel in Long Lake we followed up on a report of a member who had attended the festival and had seen a Black-backed Woodpecker at a location near John Dillon Park, so we decided to check that out in case the woodpecker was nesting nearby.  Unfortunately, no luck, but we did stop in at the Park Headquarters and talked with staff members.  It is a totally accessible park managed by Paul Smith’s College; although we did not take time to walk the trails there, we knew it could be a future addition.

On the second day, instead of driving to the Massewepie Mire via Tupper Lake, we started on Sabbatis Circle Road.  We had more warblers here including Black-and-white, Redstart, Parula, Chestnut-sided, Canada, Magnolia, Yellow-rumped, and Black-throated Green.  One of us heard a distant call of Olive-sided Flycatcher, and with concentration, we all eventually heard it, but it stayed too distant to see.  

At the Tupper Lake pull-off we heard Snipe and saw a few Ring-necked Ducks, and at the marsh there most of us saw two Sandhill Cranes.  Then we were off to the Mire.  We had spoken with one of the guides for the birding festival and she offered some tips for birds to expect there, including a nesting loon in one of the ponds we pass to get to the Mire.  Very nice looks were had by all!  She also told us about access to a beautiful bog which is adjacent to the Mire.  A beautiful spot, and looking very similar to Ferd’s Bog, we decided this would be our new “Ferd’s,” saving the long drive to Inlet.  An added bonus was hearing Mourning Warbler nearby.  Massewepie Mire did not disappoint, once again.  On the way in we must have been near an Ovenbird nest because two scolded us as we passed.  We had nice looks at Lincoln’s Sparrow, more Nashvilles, and many Cedar Waxwings.  Two of us tried to make a woodpecker call into a Black-backed, but it turned out to be a Hairy.  We also had nice views of Golden-crowned Kinglets whose crowns, when really agitated, look more “ruby-ish”.  On the way out, one of us also heard a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.   After our walk, we drove a little further past the entrance to the trail where the guide said she had seen four Black-billed Cuckoos on a festival walk.  We did not see or hear them, but had a very nice look at a Broad-winged Hawk, and a Ruffed Grouse (no Spruce) sand-bathing.  On the way back to Long Lake we stopped again at Tupper Lake marsh to confirm our Sandhill Cranes sighting, and again at Sabbatis where we had a nice bittern fly up, and more Canada Jays.

On our last day we made the obligatory stop at Shaw Pond near Long Lake, but it, having been drained after intense rains two years ago, was no longer a pond.  We did spot some baby ducks far out, but could not locate a parent.  We also had Great-crested Flycatcher, a calling Raven, and a Sapsucker here.  Then we were off to another new location, thanks to the festival brochure - the Railbed wetlands in Minerva - which, perfect for us, was located east.  We were happy to find it and make it an addition to the trip.  The morning was overcast, so not too hot, but we did need our bug nets.  While being serenaded by a Swainson’s Thrush, we had nice looks at Blackburnian, more Cedars, and a very close Virginia Rail. We also saw a Kingbird, Hummingbird, another bittern, and added female Common Merganser (with babies in tow) and our first Great Blue.  

After a stop at Stewart’s shop on Route 28 (99 cent ice cream on Father’s Day!), we made our way to the Northway and our exit for the Fort Edward grasslands.  Along our first stop on Townline Road, one of us had a conversation with passing motorists who asked if we were the “senior citizens birding group” which gave us all a laugh!  At the wetland near the end of Townline we heard Marsh Wren, and had a double flyover of Bittern and Green Heron.  In the large grassland we did not get Grasshopper Sparrow nor Meadowlark, but heard Bobolinks.  We noted that all the fields seemed high, undoubtedly not mowed because of the amount of rain we have experienced this spring - which is great for nesting species!  One of our last stops was lunch and a walk at the Alfred Solomon Grassland Bird Trail, the first time we could walk this trail.  Here we added a Kestrel, Willow Flycatcher, and a flyby Thrasher.  

Once again, this weekend trip was filled with memorable moments for the six of us, and we were pleased with the tweaks we made to the itinerary.  A solid 113 species was our second highest for this trip.  Click on photo below to view complete species list.