Trip Highlights

Eleven members of the Allen Bird Club gathered at Pynchon Point Park to scan the confluence of the Connecticut and Westfield River.  At this first stop we found a Spotted Sandpiper, a Great Blue Heron, and a Great Egret.  There were also a couple of Carolina Wrens belting out their morning songs.  A perched up Bald Eagle to the north, four Mallards, and the expected robins, starlings, mourning doves, and two young cardinals were added to the list.

We moved on along River Road to the parking area for the bike path, seeing a mockingbird along the way.  Scoping the river and the Longmeadow Sandbar, we a spotted a Belted Kingfisher and another Great Blue Heron.  Only four Ring-billed Gulls were counted.

Our next stop was the dike off Circuit Rd near the Big E grounds.  Two Least Sandpipers were the only migrating shore birds we found for the trip.  A Fish Crow was heard as we passed by McDonald's on our way to the dike.  Once there, we had 10 American Crows fly over.  Here we added a Red-tailed Hawk and another Great Blue Heron, and heard the only Black-capped Chickadee of the morning.  Other new species seen here were Downy Woodpecker, House Finch, House Sparrow, and many pigeons.

We then moved on to Longmeadow and birded along Pondside Road for the remainder of the time.  The recently reported Northern Shovelers eluded us, but we did have several Wood Ducks - the males starting to regain their colorful attire.  A Warbling Vireo sang over our heads, and catbirds were complaining in the thickets.  Red-bellied Woodpeckers announced their presence several times as we moved along.  It was exciting to find five Scarlet Tanagers moving about in the higher foliage.  There must have been good berries or grapes nearby.

When we reached the viewing platform, we found 3 more Great Blue Herons, another Spotted Sandpiper, a Double-crested Cormorant, another Great Egret, and a Mute Swan.  An Osprey circled overhead while a female Red-winged Blackbird walked on lily pads seeking insects.  Cedar Waxwings were also seeking insects over the water.

Perhaps our most memorable sighting for the morning was four juvenile Green Herons perched in a line on the narrow branch of a dead tree midway down the pond.  A short time later an adult Green Heron flew in almost in front of us allowing a much closer view of this species.

Near the end of the trip, a Piliated Woodpecker flew across the water in front of us, much to the delight of Maryann, one of our new members.  As we were getting into our cars at the end of the walk, a Goldfinch sang a goodbye and a phoebe sat on a post bobbing its tail.   So we did see shorebirds, herons, and egrets - and totaled 40 species.

Twenty-two Allen Bird Club members spent a perfect late summer evening watching the sky for migrating Common Nighthawks.  Some of these birds flew over early (lucky Bill P. was there before 6:30 to catch them) and more after many people had left, but come they did, for a total of 20.

While we watched and waited, there was other bird activity to see.  What seemed like nearly a hundred Chimney Swifts and a few Tree Swallows swirled around over the viewing platform where we stood.  We watched huge flocks of blackbirds (starlings, grackles, and Red-winged Blackbirds) rise up and settle back down in the treetops, while Cedar Waxwings sallied out for insects in the lower bushes.

Wood Ducks and Mallards flew over, and we picked out a couple of Double-crested Cormorants and Great Blue Herons.  Northern Flickers and a Belted Kingfisher called out to get our attention.

It was a very pleasant evening toward the end of our club birding season to meet new club members as well as greet long time birding friends.

Nine members gathered to enjoy a beautiful weather day on Plum Island.  Bugs were not a problem and birds were plentiful!  Altogether we spotted 63 species, including Mute Swan and Red-tailed Hawk on the road, and had our usual fun studying the finer points of plumage to identify the less common shorebirds.  

The birding day began in Lot 1, where we met up with Holly.  She had already spotted a Bald Eagle, a N. Mockingbird and a N. Flicker to start our list. During the first 5 minutes we got on a Towhee, over a thousand Tree Swallows, a couple of Mourning Doves, 5 Cedar Waxwings, two Great Egrets, a Song Sparrow and a Goldfinch—and that was without stepping out of the parking lot.  Our aim was to arrive at Sandy Point by high tide (in 1 ½ hours), when shorebirds were expected to be resting along the beach, so no time to dally.  

We could not pass up the birds present at the Salt Pannes on the way, however, hoping it would not delay us too long.  There we picked up over 200 Semi-palmated Sandpipers, 120+ Semi-palmated Plovers, a handful of Least Sandpipers, 6 White-rumped Sandpipers and a Ruddy Turnstone.  Also there were one Great and about a dozen Snowy Egrets, two Great Blue Herons and two Osprey, along with a few songbirds, including another Towhee whose song rang out the whole time we were there.

From the Pannes we headed out to Sandy Point with only an occasional slowdown to try to identify birds here and there.  It was easy to notice the thousands of Tree Swallows that rose in large flocks along the way, and someone commented that there were less present than last year, but still more than enough for any casual observer to be in awe of the numbers.  On the drive, we spotted a Northern Harrier, a large group of mixed Snowy and Great Egrets, several Eastern Kingbirds and a Gray Catbird or two.

Upon arriving, after travel on a very bumpy road for several miles, there was just one space available in the lot next to the beach, leaving the other two cars to park in the alternate lot. Once together again, we ventured out to the beach and walked a way to find over 200 Semi-palmated Sandpipers and 150 Semi-palmated Plovers on the beach in close range and Craig spotted our only Sanderling for the day.  There were also groups of gulls, mostly Ring-billed, a few Herring and Greater Black-backs.  In a short time, Lois’ sharp eyes picked out a Lesser Black-backed Gull and Craig helped to clinch the identification of an immature Laughing Gull.  Also present was a group of Common Terns at the water’s edge and several more flying about. Two Least Terns were spotted in flight and sharing the air was a Peregrine Falcon and two Turkey Vultures.  It seems that arriving in time for high tide worked in our favor.

Stage Island Pool was our next stop.  Several birds noticed in that location on the way earlier had dispersed, but there was still a good number to observe even two hours after high tide.  We add-ed 20 Short-billed Dowitchers, many more peeps, two Green-winged Teal, 15 Mallards, and several Double-crested Cormorants.  A kind, young birder named Harry W., tried to help us with shorebird identification from the viewing platform.

We skipped past the blind to approach the Bill Forward Pool from the dike at Hellcat. The bird numbers were less than we expected, but we did get close-up views of Short-billed Dowitchers in a confusing variety of plumages, while trying without absolute success to pick out a Long-billed Dowitcher among several candidates.  There were also a good number of Greater Yellowlegs with the smaller shorebirds.  After careful study we added two Stilt Sandpipers and four immature or female Gadwalls to our list, too.

At the North Pool Overlook, Holly spotted a Black-crowned Night Heron tucked into the tall grasses at the edge of the water.  Here we also spotted two young Blue-winged Teal and our only Black Duck of the day.  Further along at the Warden’s, the walk out to the water gave us a meager Semi-palmated Sandpiper and two Black-bellied Plovers.

The Salt Pannes were empty on our way by, letting us know that approaching low tide was not a great time to stop for a visit.  Luckily, we had the foresight to stop early in the day, while the shorebirds were present in abundance.  Lot 1 was crowded by beachgoers, but we did bird across the street, picking up our first Willet and a couple of Greater Yellowlegs.

The last stop of the day was during low tide at the “Seawall,” which worked out well.  At least 40 Bonaparte’s Gulls were found on and over the water and another lone Willett was plodding along on the close shore with several Black-bellied Plovers. There was a dozen or more Double-crested Cormorants and lots of peeps and Black-bellied Plovers on an exposed mudflat part way across the open water.  It was a great ending to a perfect summer day spent birding with friends on the coast!

There were eight adult members and one junior birder (5-yr old) that gathered to enjoy a sunny and warm morning at Fort River Refuge. While waiting for everyone to meet, we began our bird list from the parking lot, spotting Tree, Rough-winged, Bank and Barn Swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Mourning Dove, Grackles, Starlings, Blue Jays, Robins, Cedar Waxwings and Bobolinks. The highlight bird here was the Purple Martin!

As we walked along the 1-mile path we saw Northern Flicker, Red-bellied, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Orchard oriole, Eastern Bluebird, Willow Flycatcher, Brown Thrasher, Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse.  

The birds seen along our walk on Moody Bridge Road near the pond and fields were Common Yellowthroat, Catbird, Wood Thrush, Goldfinch, House Wren, Phoebe, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Cardinals, Song and Field Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Veery, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Great Crested Flycatcher; Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Kingbird, Belted Kingfisher, more Bobolinks and an American Kestrel. In the pond were female Wood Duck with ducklings, and Mallards.

We all had a great morning, despite the thousands of mosquitoes from all the rain the day before.  We managed to identify a total of 47 species!

Eight members traveled to the Adirondacks for the club’s Northern New England trip this year.  One other member was with us “in spirit”; COVID interfered with his plans to join us, reminding us that the virus has not gone away…

As we drove from our meeting place near Warrensburg, NY the trip list started with one car seeing a Common Nighthawk. Birding began in earnest along the road into Moose River Plains, but this year it did not prove to be as productive as previously.  Birding was mostly “by ear” and we had poor looks at those birds we did see, until we came to Cedar River Flow where sharp eyes picked out a nesting Common Loon, a Common Merganser, and a distant Kingfisher sitting on a snag.  Ferd’s Bog is a required stop and offers a chance to stretch our legs on the short walk in.  None of the boreal species came into view but we did enjoy looks at the plant life of the bog.  Raquette Lake marsh, our last stop before heading to the hotel in Long Lake, gave us a look at a nesting Osprey.

Saturday morning we veered from the usual itinerary by birding the two sections of Sabattis Road (or Circle Road) before heading to Tupper Lake marsh.  We were not disappointed, and we finally saw some birds!  These included two American Bitterns, and some nice warblers, notably a beautiful Magnolia in the same tree as a Northern Waterthrush!  Parulas and Yellow-rumped also showed nicely.  The marsh at Tupper Lake often provides some surprises.  Here we heard Snipe calling, then a Least Bittern (or was it American?) flew in front of the platform.  We typically don’t check the view from the parking area, but this time we did, and we were re-warded with scope views of two Sandhill Cranes!  Seeing them reminded us that it was their call we heard when we got out of the cars previously.  

After a bit of confusion finding the entrance to the trail into Massawepie Mire, we geared up to fend off mosquitoes.  Although not as bad as last year, they were annoying until the bog opened up on both sides.  We had looks at Nashville Warblers and Lincoln Sparrows, targets for this area, but had no luck finding Olive-sided Flycatcher or Gray Jay.  After lunch at Tupper Lake we headed to Bloomingdale Bog.  E-bird had reported sightings of Black-backed Woodpecker and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher on Bigelow Road, so we went there first.  Although we did not get these species, we did see a couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets.  By then it was getting late in the af-ternoon and we decided to skip walking on the trail into the bog as the drive to Long Lake from this area takes a solid hour.  

Sunday began with dense fog which did not bode well for viewing at Shaw Pond marsh near Long Lake.  When we arrived, though, it was not just fog that limited our viewing opportunities.  The pond was empty of water, and we assumed a beaver dam had broken during one of the re-cent rain events.  In the parking lot of the Northfield-Lake Placid Trail we heard a different song of Blackburnian Warbler and had nice looks at a couple of birds.  The walk itself was pretty quiet except for Hermit Thrushes, Winter Wrens, and White-throated Sparrows, until we neared the parking lot on our way out.  While some in the rear were hoping to pull a Boreal Chickadee out of a small flock of Black-capped, those in the front had close, and interesting, looks at a Merlin.  

Our last stop in the higher elevations was to the historical ironworks at Tahawus.  We saw a Hooded Merganser mom with one baby, a cooperative Junco, and a quiet Red-eyed Vireo.  And, while most of us studied the descriptions of the old iron forge, one member of the group used the time to shoot some photos.  Later we discovered she had taken a great shot of a Yellow-throated Vireo, the only one of the trip!

We finally made our way to the grasslands near Fort Edward, which is always productive.  It was hot in the afternoon, but we had quite a bit of activity.  We added Kingbird and Mockingbird, Red-tailed and Cardinal.  At the marsh on Town Line Road a Marsh Wren delighted us with close views.  Then we were startled by a Least Bittern that flew from one side of the road to the other, nearly crashing in to one of us!  (Seeing this individual confirmed that the bittern we saw at Tup-per Lake was indeed an American. But we could now confirm Least Bittern as a new sighting for the Adirondacks trip). As we kept an eye on the location of the bittern, a Green Heron then flew out.

There was no Grasshopper Sparrow at the grasslands where Town Line meets Hinds Road where we have seen it in the past.  These Washington County grasslands have been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by National Audubon Society and some areas are managed by NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Grassland Bird Trust.  There is at least one viewing blind already set up with plans for some mowed trails.  But we also unfortunately witnessed what happens when fields are not managed.  This is farm country as well, and farmers mow their hayfields at this time of year.  When mowed too early, either inadvertently or for economic reasons, the nests of grassland species are destroyed.  Near the end of our tour we came upon a newly mowed field where we saw adult Bobolinks and Red-winged Blackbirds flying around and landing in the mown area apparently looking for their nestlings.  It was a sad reminder that more needs to be done to protect these habitats while also allowing economic activity to go on.

Click below to view or click here to download or the complete species list.