Hudson River Almanac 12/1/15 - 12/6/15
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent this bulletin on 12/11/2015 03:33 PM EST |
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OVERVIEW Without a doubt the big story of the week was the rescue of the gray seal in the upper Hudson above tidewater. Rather than highlight any one entry here, we will let the sequence of events surrounding the gray seal unfold as they happened. Except as noted, the photos by John Carl D’annibale are used here thanks to the kind permission of the Albany TImes-Union; visit the Times-Union website to see more. NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
12/1 - Saratoga County, HRM 164: In response to a question as to the diet of the gray seal, I recalled a rather rare moment a few days ago when the gray seal showed itself with a large carp cross-ways in his mouth. He was eating well. 12/1 - Dutchess County, HRM 68: This afternoon an adult bald eagle was perched high on a pine as I was scanning the lake below. Once it noticed me it took off and I got a good look at its legs. They were banded. One band appeared to be orange (Massachusetts or Quebec), but the photo image quality was not good enough to read the alphanumerics. Within a few minutes of its leaving, all of the mallards returned from the north side of the lake. 12/1 - Bedford, HRM 35: Today was the last day of the 2015 season at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch and the skies were empty. A season that was full of great weather ended with a foggy rainy day. 12/2 - Saratoga County, HRM 164: On Day 131, The Riverhead Foundation requested permission from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct a rescue operation for the gray seal trapped in Lock One of the Hudson-Champlain Canal. NOAA agreed with the plan, and we were off! 12/2 - Kingston, HRM 92: I was in the backyard playing fetch with Filbert and Charlotte when the birds began flying in. Three. Thirty. Three hundred. Thousands came, filling tree tops and branches in seconds, their calls killing the quiet of the afternoon. I thought of Hitchcock. Then like a wave hitting hard sand this unit of birds exploded skyward, moving off, filling new trees. I could not see what had frightened them but time after time I continued to hear the wave sound even though they'd disappeared from my sight. I stood silent, marveling how nature takes me out of myself and brings me to the place of wonder. [In all likelihood, Betty’s birds were blackbirds, mostly starlings, traveling in huge flocks these late autumn days. Tom Lake.] 12/2 - Millbrook, HRM 82: In late afternoon, the fields on both sides of Oak Summit Road were filled with more than a thousand crows engaged in pre-roost foraging. An hour later, as dusk fell, they were all noisily tucked into their night roost on a hilltop a quarter-mile away.
12/4 - Saratoga County, HRM 164: The pumps were still going as dawn came on Day 133 for the gray seal. The wait seemed interminable. The lock is 325 feet long by 45 feet wide, and to lower the water level even three feet was time consuming. By the time the pumping ended in mid-afternoon, about 1.5 million gallons of water had been removed. As the level grew shallower, the seal began swimming pirouettes. Wearing waders and wet suits, Rob DiGiovanni Jr. and his Riverhead Foundation team climbed down into the lock and, with use of steering boards and a thirty-foot-long seine, managed to coral the seal against the south sill. At 3:38 p.m. they finally slid the gray seal into a specially designed cage. After nearly 27 hours, the seal was safely in hand. [VIew a video of the seal rescue by visiting DEC's YouTube channel.] [The list of Hudson River marine mammals is lengthy and includes seals, dolphins, porpoises, and even a one-time visit from a manatee in summer 2006. Among the seals, we’ve recorded gray, harbor, hooded and harp seals in the estuary. However, the overwhelming majority of seal sightings, perhaps as high as 95%, are harbor seals. With the exception of this gray seal, Almanac records include seal sightings only as far upriver as Troy (river mile 154). Spring is a favorite time for their visits, as the estuary is teeming with migratory herring then. Tom Lake.] 12/4 - Croton Point, HRM 35: For fifteen minutes in perfect morning light, I was able to watch an adult peregrine falcon perched by the road to the nature center. 12/5 - Washington County, HRM 202: I counted 18 species of birds during my survey of the Fort Edward area today. Along Fitzpatrick Lane I spotted a ring-necked pheasant flying across the bottom of a field. The bird went down into thick grass and disappeared. Immediately following in hot pursuit was an immature northern goshawk. Stymied, the raptor flew up and into a tree to watch the area. That did not last long as a male northern harrier arrived to harass the goshawk into leaving. The pheasant survived. In late afternoon, along Fitzpatrick Lane, I came upon two short-eared owls. 12/5 - Saratoga County, HRM 182: Among the 31 species of birds I encountered on my survey of Saratoga Lake today were 1,100 Canada geese, 260 common goldeneye - in large rafts at south end of lake - and two common loons. 12/5 - Saratoga County, HRM 184: The light was excellent today for my survey of Loughberry Lake, offering great views of ducks with refracted colors making scaup and ring-necked ducks look iridescent. I also counted 750 Canada geese, 850 ring-necked ducks, 170 mixed scaup, and two redhead ducks. 12/5 - Beacon, HRM 61: Their voices drowned out all other sounds. Many hundreds of blackbirds had taken over the canopy of several hardwoods and they were all talking at once. Through the scope we could see that most were starlings, but mixed in, often isolated, were red-winged blackbirds and brown-headed cowbirds. At one point they turned up the volume as we watched an immature bald eagle glide in from the river toward the trees. Pandemonium ensued even though there was little threat from the raptor. The congregation of blackbirds lifted off and quickly moved inland. The eagle took their spot. 12/6 - Minerva, HRM 284: There is some snow in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks, but you can tell that it's not much. There's a thin skim of ice on most of the quiet waters in the area, and no snow. Seems very strange for early December. 12/6 - Albany County, HRM 142: I spotted four black vultures in North Bethlehem this afternoon, perched in a tree overlooking the Thruway (I-87). Seems a little late for them. 12/6 - Columbia County, HRM 134: A sign of the season: This evening I got a report - with photos - of an immature snowy owl at the Lebanon Valley Speedway. 12/6 - Riverhead, Long Island: The gray seal rescued from Lock One on the Hudson River/Champlain Canal in Saratoga County two days ago was recovering at The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation facility in Riverhead, Long Island. The seal weighs 150 pounds (68.3 kilograms) and carries a yellow tag (979) on its left rear flipper. This was not his first visit to the facility. We will save that story for another day. So far he is being rather fickle with feeding, nibbling and nudging squid and frozen herring (high calorie food). There has been no date set for his release, although in the opinion of the biologists, the sooner the better. WINTER 2016 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS Friday, January 8 Saturday, January 23: 3:00 p.m. HUDSON RIVER MILES The Hudson is measured north from Hudson River Mile 0 at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is at HRM 12, the Tappan Zee 28, Bear Mountain 47, Beacon-Newburgh 62, Mid-Hudson 75, Kingston-Rhinecliff 95, Rip Van Winkle 114, and the Federal Dam at Troy, the head of tidewater, at 153. The tidal section of the Hudson constitutes a bit less than half the total distance – 315 miles – from Lake Tear of the Clouds to the Battery. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem. TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE Smartphone app available for New York outdoor enthusiasts! Copies of past issues of the Hudson River Almanac, Volumes II-VIII, are available for purchase from the publisher, Purple Mountain Press, (800) 325-2665, or email purple@catskill.net . |
12/1 - Saratoga County, HRM 164: This was Day 130 for the gray seal marooned above tidewater. Time was running out before the onset of winter’s ice. We were getting very worried since the locks were closed and river level had dropped significantly for winter. The Hudson could eventually freeze over, severely limiting the seal’s ability to haul out of the water.
12/3 - Saratoga County, HRM 164: This was Day 132 for the gray seal, with hopefully only one more to go. With the gates closed, at 1:00 p.m. the pumps began to drain the lock. Peering down inside from the lip, we could occasionally see the gray seal, 34 feet below, nosing in and out of portals and swimming around in about three feet of water. With snow and ice not far upriver, the water temperature had fallen to 41 degrees Fahrenheit. As a backdrop on this cold and breezy day, we watched several flocks of goldeneye and scaup make their way down river. Across the way, thousands of crows were massing, all flying this way and that before finding their heading and moving off to the northeast. 
With the help of the New York State Canal Corporation crew, the seal was carried to a protected shelter, stabilized, hydrated, checked for injuries (there were none), and prepped for transport to The Riverhead Foundation rehabilitation facility in Riverhead, Long Island. By 6:30 p.m. the truck was on its way to where the seal would be observed with a goal of eventual release. [Photo of gray seal in crate courtesy of Tom Lake.]|
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