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illustration by Julie Zickefoose |
High
Peaks
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illustration by Julie Zickefoose |
High
Peaks
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•Field Trips - HPAS field trips are free and open to the public
Sunday, April
27, 2008
Spring Wildflowers & Early Migrants
Indian Creek Nature Center, Canton
Time: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Distance: Under 1 mile on level terrain.
Meet: At the East End Entrance. Take Route 68 to Rensselaer Falls Road,
and travel 2.5 miles – the East End Entrance will be on your left (there is
a barn on the right).
Leader: Peter O’Shea (315) 848-2178
No registration required.
This trip is jointly sponsored by the Indian Creek Nature Center, and the
Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Keene Valley Hulls Falls Road
Time: 7:30 a.m
Meet: at the Marcy Field end of Hulls Falls Road and look for birds
with High Peaks Audubon Society member Ruth Kuhfahl (518) 576-4699. On a previous
year’s May walk in this diverse habitat we found nesting Pine warblers, Solitary
sandpiper and Indigo bunting.
Leader: Ruth Kuhfahl
No registration
required.
Jointly sponsored by the Hurricane Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club
and High Peaks Audubon Society.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Breakfast with the Birds Keene Valley
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Description: Join Pat and John Thaxton on the deck of their house in
Keene for coffee, cake, fruit, juice and birds. First, we will listen for
the birds and practice identifying them by ear. Then, we will hopefully see
them and verify our identifications because in early May the leaves in our
16-acre yard are small and few and far between, and our deck looks directly
into the canopy. Nesting warblers include Blackthroated blue, Black-throated
green, Blackburnian, Yellowrumped, Ovenbird, Magnolia, Nashville and Black
and white; other nesters include Red-eyed and Blue-headed vireo, Yellow- bellied
sapsucker, Downy, Hairy and Pileated woodpecker, American Robin, Ruffed Grouse,
Common Raven, etc. If things grow quiet on the deck, a short walk down our
road usually includes stops for Chestnut-sided warbler, Chipping Sparrow,
Eastern Bluebird and Red-shouldered and Broad-winged hawk. Last year those
who stayed long enough watched a Ruffed grouse drumming on a log ten feet
from the house.
Directions: From the intersection of Route 73 & 9N South (between Keene
& Keene Valley), turn east towards Elizabethtown; go approximately 2 miles
uphill to where the road levels and turn onto Baxter Mountain Lane (just beyond
little yellow house) on right; go past Round Top Lane on left, pass a house
on left as road levels, look for driveway on right, #84, and take it to the
end. Registration: Contact Pat & John Thaxton, 518.576.4232, or email
jpthax5317@aol.com
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Massawepie Mire, Colton
Time: 7:30 a.m.
Massawepie Mire is the largest bog (actually a fen!) in New York State. We
will walk the old, level railroad bed (now a dirt road) for ~ 4 miles round
trip and visit the South Branch of the Grass River location near the trailhead.
There will also be an optional 2 mile round-trip hike on the Mountaineer Trail
along scenic Massawepie Lake in the afternoon. Boreal birds, bog plants, and
scenic views will be our focus!
Leaders: Joan Collins & Eileen Wheeler
Register: by calling Joan at (315) 261-4246 jecollins@
twcny.rr.com or Eileen Wheeler (315) 386-2482 eiwheeler@
yahoo.com.
This trip is jointly sponsored with the Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack
Mountain Club.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Azure Mountain, Santa Clara
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Meet: At the Azure Mt. Trailhead on Blue Mountain Road
Azure Mountain’s 2512’ fire tower summit is reached by hiking a one mile trail
with an elevation gain of 944’. There are many warbler species along the way,
including Mourning Warblers and a few Blackpoll Warblers in a small area of
spruce and fir on the summit. There are also several cliffnesting species
that participants may possibly observe. Indigo Buntings can also be heard
singing along the trail.
Leader: Joan Collins
Register: by calling Joan at (315) 261-4246 jecollins@
twcny.rr.com.
This trip is jointly sponsored with the Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack
Mountain Club.
Saturday, May 24,
2008
Vanderwhacker Mt. Trail Wetlands Minerva (Just Past Town of Newcomb)
Time: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meet: Meet
and park along Route 28N at “Moose Pond Way”. “Moose Pond Way” is located
on the west side of Route 28N just north of the Boreas River Bridge. This
location is roughly 8.7 miles north of Minerva, and 5.7 miles south of the
Route 28N-Tahawas Rd. intersection. We can car-pool in high-clearance vehicles
for 2.7 miles down “Moose Pond Way” to the trailhead of Vanderwhacker Mt.
Join us for a walk to the beaver-created wetlands along the trail to Vanderwhacker
Mt. Many species will be observed along the way, including Olive-sided Flycatcher,
Rusty Blackbird, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Canada Warbler. We will hike approximately
three-quarters of a mile of the 2.5 milelong trail. There will be little elevation
change on this section of trail.
Leaders: Joan Collins and Amy Freiman
Register: By calling Joan at (315) 261-4246 jecollins@
twcny.rr.com.
This trip is jointly sponsored with the Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack
Mountain Club.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Gulf 7:00 a.m.
Time: 7:00 a.m.
Meet: Hannaford’s parking lot in Plattsburgh
A unique area, The Gulf is a parcel of NYS state land sandwiched between private,
mostly hunting club properties in northern Clinton County. The 2.6 mile hike
from the parking area to the Canadian border passes through different habitats,
some of which have changed over the years due to beaver activity. Some of
the birds seen in the spring and summer have been Canada and Mourning warbler,
Scarlet Tanager and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Turkey Vultures fly over at eye
level at the actual Gulf between the U.S. and Canada.
Bring: Water, bug dope, lunch
Leaders: Judy Heintz, John & Pat Thaxton
Register: Call John & Pat at 576-4232 or email: jpthax5317@aol.com.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Blue Mountain
Time: 6 a.m.
Meet: At the Blue Mountain Trailhead on Route 28/30.
Blue Mountain’s 3750’ fire tower summit is reached by hiking 2.2 miles with
an elevation gain of 1550’. We will get an early start to ensure a good possibility
of hearing Bicknell’s Thrush singing near the summit. Participants will likely
observe many other species including Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Boreal Chickadee,
Blackpoll Warbler, Canada Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush, and Winter Wren.
Leader: Joan Collins
Register: By calling Joan at (315) 261-4246 jecollins@
twcny.rr.com before May 23; after May 23, call (518) 624-5528.
This trip is jointly sponsored with the Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack
Mountain Club.
Memorial Day Weekend
(Date TBD)
Fort Drum, Great Bend
Join Jeff Bolsinger for a field trip at Fort Drum over the Memorial Day weekend.
For more information, and to register, please call Jeff at (315) 386-2565
or email at jsbolsinger@yahoo.com.
Please also note that space is limited, and Jeff will accept people on a first
come first serve basis. All participants will need to get Fort Drum passes
well in advance. Anybody that does not know how to get a pass, but wants to
come on the trip, should contact Jeff as early as possible.
June
20-22, 2008 Adirondack
Birding Festival
Hamilton County New York
The 4th annual "Adirondack Birding Festival" will be held from Friday, June
20 to Sunday June 22, 2008. The Hamilton County Tourism Office is once again
sponsoring this Hamilton County wide event.
2006 Results
2007 Results
Christmas Bird Counts
Ferrisburg (VT/NY) CBC
The Ferrisburg
count circle includes a swath of Lake Champlain shoreline as far west as Route
22 and the Magic Triangle, as far south as Camp Dudley and as far north as
Whallon Bay. The New York territory has an excellent variety of habitat and
always increases the number of species observed on the count. Volunteers meet
at the Westport Boat Launch at 7:30 a.m., bird the bay and the woods surrounding
it and then have breakfast before dispersing for the day. Everyone meets again
at the boat launch around 4:00 p.m. and gives their data to the coordinator.
Most participants then take Essex Ferry to Charlotte and drive a short way
to Vergennes, where the count dinner will takes place at the home of Debbie
Bushey. It's a well-organized, well-attended pot-luck dinner with a surplus
of good cheer. Contact: Mike Winslow at (802) 877-6586 or mikekira@verizon.net
Plattsburgh (NY)
CBC
The count circle is centered on Route 9 just south of the entrance to
the former Plattsburgh Air Base. As the participants in this count do not
meet before dispersing to their territories, Contact Judy Heintz at (518)
563-5273 or heintzjf@northnet.org
to arrange for a territory. Judy sends participants a map prior to the count
day and stresses the value of feeder sightings, so call in your sightings
if you live within seven and a half miles of the count circle center. At the
end of the day participants drop off their lists at Judy's house, where she
puts out light refreshments and has the computer ready to compile the initial
count numbers. Feeder watchers usually call in their sightings on Sunday night.
Elizabethtown (NY)
CBC
This count circle includes a mix of forest, field, and Adirondack wilderness
area, hosting a range of species from Rough-legged Hawk and Northern Shrike
to Common Raven and Boreal Chickadee. For more information, please contact
Matt Medler at (802) 999-1438 or etowncbc@yahoo.com.
Saranac Lake (NY)
CBC
The key to seeing a lot of birds on this count is the number of observers
both in the field and at feeders. So please take part, if only to report on
birds visiting your backyard feeders. The count is centered in Ray Brook and
includes the villages of Lake Placid and Bloomingdale, as well as some nice
boreal forest areas with resident Goshawks, Barred and Saw-whet owls, Black-backed
and Three-toed woodpeckers, Gray jays, and Boreal chickadees. Over the 50
plus years of the count, a total of 94 species have been observed on the count
(including 4 count week-only species). Some highlights of past counts have
included Three-toed woodpecker (7 times), Great Gray and Hawk owls, American
ittern, Bohemian waxwing (1/4 of counts), Hoary redpoll (recently every other
year), Red crossbill (1/3 of counts), White-winged crossbill (2/3 of counts),
Pine grosbeak (2/3 of counts), and North American record numbers of several
finch species. An enormous conifer seed crop portends many Purple finches
and White-winged crossbills for this year's count! Contact the compiler, Larry
Master (617-285-9086; larry@masterimages.org)
and/or Matt Medler at (802) 999-1438 or etowncbc@yahoo.com
ahead of time if you plan to participate.
update 4/9/08 - CLD
