Entries Tagged as 'bird'
Everything is Heading South
April 4th, 2010 · 3 Comments · Adirondack Life
Tags: bird·lake champlain·point au roche
The Ruffed Grouse
May 26th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Adirondack Life
Ruffed Grouse – Bonassa umbellus Large Image (2.72 Mb)
I just read over at Adirondack Lifestyle about her encounter with a Ruffed Grouse. I also had an encounter with one last Saturday, but it was far less violent. We were cleaning up around some old stone walls when “JT” heard a strange noise – sort of a thrumming. Well, about 2 feet in front of his face he spotted this nesting grouse. Normally, these birds take-off pretty quick, but this one would not move.
Birds are great…for eating! If there was such a thing as an “Adirondack Chicken”, then this is it. I haven’t had the pleasure. When it comes to appreciating birds, most would agree that Audubon is a good reference. I’ve always found his descriptions to be a wonderful read, only lacking in recipes:
The Ruffed Grouse – J. J. Audubon
More Info:
Ruffed Grouse – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
The Wood Grouse – Audubon: Early Drawings
Hunting the Adirondack Grouse – The Outing magazine 1910
Ruffed Grouse Shortage – 1918 Annual Report – New York Conservation Commission
The Adirondack Grouse – Francis Sterne Palmer
Ruffed Grouse Society – Check the Banquet schedule.
Our Great National Playground
May 20th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Adirondack Life
Memorial Weekend is the traditional beginning of our Summer travel season here in the Adirondacks.
It’s not like we will be overrun, but most popular trailheads will be packed.
Plan ahead, check the Current Conditions, and consider hiking trails outside the High Peaks Area. Stay Safe – maybe I’ll see ya out there!
Spring Feast
April 25th, 2009 · No Comments · Adirondack Life
Handbook of birds of eastern North America …
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
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- Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
DEC ANNOUNCES SPECIAL SNOW GOOSE SEASON
February 3rd, 2009 · No Comments · News
New York Hunters Encouraged to Help Control Population Beginning Spring 2009
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today announced that a special snow goose hunting season will begin March 11 in most areas of the state. Federal and state regulations were amended last fall to allow this special season, under the authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to control certain wildlife populations.
Populations of snow geese (also referred to as “light geese” because of their white plumage) have grown to historic highs, and their feeding has negatively impacted natural vegetation found in coastal marshlands during breeding, migration and winter.
“The overabundance of snow geese, which nest in far northern regions of North America, is harming their fragile Arctic breeding habitat,” said Bryan Swift, DEC bird biologist. “Returning the snow goose population to sustainable levels is necessary to protect this delicate habitat, and every species dependent on it. Serious damage to agricultural crops, such as hay, winter wheat, barley and rye, occurs on migration and wintering areas as well.”
The Atlantic Flyway population of snow geese, composed mostly of “greater” snow geese, increased from approximately 50,000 birds in the mid 1960s to more than 1 million birds in recent years. Most of these birds pass through New York during spring and fall migrations and spend the winter in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Wildlife managers have been concerned about the impacts of too many birds for many years and they have recommended a population goal of 500,000 in the Atlantic Flyway.
New York has had a lengthy hunting season for snow geese for many years, but until now, federal regulations did not allow the season to be open after March 10, when large numbers of birds begin migrating north from their wintering areas. From mid-March to mid-April, more than 100,000 snow geese may spend time in New York, fueling up for their return to the Arctic breeding grounds. During the normal season, hunters harvest 5,000-10,000 birds annually.
Dr. Frank Gill to Speak at Adirondack Birding Celebration
March 27th, 2007 · No Comments · Adirondack Life, News
One of America’s leading ornithologists, Dr. Frank Gill, will be the keynote speaker for the 5th Annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration, to be held June 1-3, 2007 at the Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) in Paul Smiths. Dr. Frank Gill will give his address to birders at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 2 in the Paul Smiths VIC theater.
“We are extremely excited to have one of the biggest names in birding come to the Paul Smiths VIC for this year’s Great Adirondack Birding Celebration,” said VIC naturalist and event organizer Lydia Wright. “He literally wrote the book on ornithology.”
No kidding! This guy is a birding legend. Lydia is right, he did write the book. Check out his birding creds:
- Age 7 – First Bird identified, Song Sparrow
- 1969 – PhD Zoology, University of Michigan
- 1969-1995 – Ornithology Department, Academy of Natural Sciences
- 1996-2004 – National Audubon Society, Senior Vice President and Director of Science
- 1998-2000 – President of the American Ornithologists’ Union
- 1998 – Recipient William Brewster Memorial Award
- 2007 – National Audubon Society, Board of Directors
- Birds of North America, Life Histories for the 21st Century – Editor
- Ornithology – Author
- Birds of the World: Recommended English Names – Co-author
Did you know that Ornithology is considered the primary textbook in its field? Well it is.
The Great Adirondack Birding Celebration starts at 2 p.m. Friday, June 1 with a Boreal Ecology Hike, led by John Brown, at the Paul Smiths VIC. The welcome reception begins at 6:30 p.m., and at 7 p.m. author/naturalist Ed Kanze, of Bloomingdale, will give a presentation on “The World of John Burroughs.” At 8:30 p.m., VIC naturalists will lead an Owl Prowl on the VIC trail system.
On Saturday, June 2, birding field trips will be held from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. Exhibitors and vendors will set up from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Afternoon programs from 1 to 4 p.m. will include a sketching and journaling workshop with artist/naturalist Sheri Amsel and an “Adirondack Birds by Habitat” presentation by nature photographer Jeff Nadler. The Teddy Roosevelt Birding Challenge will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. And the keynote address begins at 8 p.m. in the VIC theater.
On Sunday, June 3, birding field trips will be held from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m.
The Paul Smiths VIC features prime boreal habitat, and some of the boreal species birders will seek on the field trips include the black-backed woodpecker, three-toed woodpecker, boreal chickadee, gray jay, Bicknell’s thrush and many species of warblers.
The Great Adirondack Birding Celebration is free and open to the public. Awesome!
More Info:
Tags: bird·events·paul smiths·wildlife
June is Birding Month in the Adirondacks
February 7th, 2007 · 2 Comments · News
Three festivals, new museum exhibit and support from Audubon New York
ADIRONDACK REGION, N.Y., February 7, 2007 – The Adirondack Park of New York state is a bird watching haven. All birds that migrate to the Adirondack region for the summer arrive by June. Over 100 bird species can be found nesting in the region, including the spruce grouse and Bicknell’s thrush. Birding enthusiasts have also been flocking to the area in increased numbers each spring, growing their life lists. This year the area boasts support from Audubon New York, more festivals and the grand opening of a new birding exhibit at the Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks. Many organizations have been putting together weekends with guided outings, workshops and lectures to help facilitate viewing and education.
Tags: bird·events·paul smiths·raquette lake·tupper lake·vic·wild center
