Hudson River Almanac 2/2/19 - 2/8/19
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent this bulletin on 02/15/2019 02:00 PM EST |
| DEC Delivers - Information to keep you connected and informed from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation |
| Share or view as a web page || Update preferences or unsubscribe |
Hudson River Almanac
|
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Consulting NaturalistOverviewWe included two rarities this week, neither quite in the watershed, but both deserving mention. Air temperatures were on a roller coaster: one day record cold, a couple of days later record warmth. On the river, heavy ice was making marauding bald eagles very happy. Highlight of the Week2/4 – Glens Falls, HRM 208: Two days after record-tying cold, today’s air temperature reached 54 degrees Fahrenheit (F), tying the record high for the date. Across a two-day period, the maximum high and maximum low temperatures varied by 72 degrees F. Natural History Entries2/2 – Glens Falls, HRM 208: This was the sixth straight day of below-zero air temperatures, culminating in a reading of -18 degrees F, one-degree shy of the record for the date.
[Pam Plummer’s banded house finches are ours (Kara Belinsky): My SUNY New Paltz Research in Biology class. We have banded several hundred house finches, goldfinches, and chickadees over the past two summers (2017, 2018). All the birds have a USGS numbered band as well as three color bands (some are striped). ● The male house finch with a dark green-over-silver and black-over-yellow band, was banded by my student (Callie) and me on 6/20/2018 at one of our forest edge sites at the South Edge of campus). Our research question is two-fold: We would like to know more about their seasonal movements, and we’re “asking” the birds to tell us what types of landscaping/buildings/development best supports birds, e.g., which of our nine campus bird feeders do they visit and stay at most often? Which residential neighborhoods and yards do the same? How can we design campuses and suburbs to better support birds? If we were able to follow individual birds through time, they could tell us this on a larger scale. If you have a sighting of a banded bird, please contact us so we can add to our database: (NPcolorbandedbirds@gmail.com or Instagram @newpaltzornithology). Kara Belinsky]
2/2 – Verplanck, HRM 40.5: It was almost sunset at Verplanck’s waterfront, as the sun was hidden behind a beautiful purple and orange sky. At first, we noticed just one bald eagle flying high over Stony Point across the way, but upon closer observation, we counted 12 eagles perched on a long strip of ice on the edge of the channel. Initially three double-crested cormorants were on the channel marker, but soon nine more circled the marker and joined them.
[Pacific loon (Gavia pacifica) breed in the Canadian Arctic and winter along the West Coast south into Mexico. They are considered an accidental visitor (stray) to the Northeast. From 2000-2019, there have been a few dozen records from Maine to Cape May, NJ, but only about one dozen from coastal New York State. Western Long Island Sound is a natural extension of the watershed via the Harlem and East rivers. Tom Lake] 2/3 – Washington County, HRM 209: It was a raptor bonanza today at the Washington County Grasslands. The five species included nine rough-legged hawks, two of which were dark phase, one male (“gray ghost”) northern harrier, a sharp-shinned hawk, five red-tailed hawks, and two barred owls. 2/3 – Gansevoort, HRM 197: We had a nice mixed flock of approximately 40-50 each of horned larks and snow buntings this afternoon on Rugg Road. We did not find any Lapland longspurs. 2/3 – Town of Fishkill, HRM 63: I watched a flock of a dozen male and female cardinals in my 2/3 – Town of Fishkill, HRM 63: In midday, walking on the road between the manor house and the barn at the Stony Kill Environmental Center, I watched a flock of 25 rose-breasted grosbeaks landing in the cow field, then onto the macadam road, then back to the field. They seemed happy with the warmer, sunny weather (47 degrees F). 2/4 – Wappinger Falls, HRM 67.5: The air temperature reached 61 degrees F today, one-degree shy of the record high for the date. 2/4 – Palisades, HRM 23: Red-winged blackbirds were calling this morning from the marsh at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. This was at least two weeks earlier than what we think is usual. 2/5 – Rensselaer County, HRM 168: We saw our first-of-season turkey vulture this afternoon teeter-tottering in the sky above Staats Island Road in East Hoosick. We also estimated more than 1,000 blackbirds (varied sizes and varied tail lengths) converging on the reedy marshes. Early red-winged blackbirds?
[Common redpolls and hoary redpolls can be nearly indistinguishable from one another. In fact, because they can breed with one another, there is debate among ornithologists, naturalists, biologists, and birders as to whether they are really separate species or just variations of the same bird. Both of these finches prefer northern regions, but the common redpoll is the more southerly of the two and is much more likely to appear further south during irruptions. Hoary redpolls stay further north, and while they may also irrupt to the south, those appearances are far rarer. Audubon.com] 2/5 – Town of Poughkeepsie: As has been the case in recent days, the adult pair of bald eagles at nest NY62 were in full mating mode with several brief copulating episodes. They were still about three weeks from an anticipated egg-laying. The female flew to the nest today with talons-full of downy nesting material. As she approached the tall tulip tree, gliding on flat wings, they looked like a pair of ironing boards! 2/5 – Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 75: The air temperature reached 61 degrees F today, one-degree shy of tying the record high for the date. 2/5 – Newark, NJ: The air temperature reached 68 degrees F today, one-degree shy of the record high for the date. *** Fish of the Week ***
If you would like a copy of our watershed fish list, e-mail: trlake7@aol.com.
I also glimpsed a cardinal that looked different. I remembered a recent article in The New York Times (2/2) about a bilateral gynandromorph northern cardinal in Erie, PA, about 400 miles northwest of New York City. Now, I wonder if that was what I saw. The bird was a cardinal with the distinct crest, but the head was bright red and the body mostly buff or yellowish. I am mentioning this different-looking cardinal on the chance that another birder might spot it. (Photo of northern cardinal courtesy of Shirley Caldwell) [This Pennsylvania cardinal is another instance where something fascinating occurs beyond our watershed (see the Oyster Bay Pacific loon). However, considering that birds can fly, perhaps this can be a preemptive entry worthy of stretching our “borders.” Tom Lake] 2/7 – Mechanicville, HRM 168: Driving by in midday, I saw that were waterfowl in the open water on the Hudson River at Lock 2 of the Hudson-Champlain canal. The expected birds were there, Canada geese and common mergansers, and I was pleased to see a pair of northern pintails near the edge of the ice. They are such cool ducks (I know, I say that about all the ducks!). 2/7 – Troy, HRM 153: I heard a Carolina wren singing in my yard this morning, a song of spring-to-come from this former southern songbird. [On January 6, during the Esopus Bend Nature Preserve Winter Bird Count, Steve Chorvas counted 22 Carolina wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus), a number well-above the annual count’s average of 12.5. Tom Lake] 2/7 –Selkirk, HRM 135: I visited Henry Hudson Park in the Town of Bethlehem to check on my weekly river activity. I found two adult bald eagles in the nest (NY81) across the river. I am so happy to be able to follow them once again this year. The last time I visited the park six days ago, the river was frozen bank-to-bank, and the bald eagle nest was full of snow. It made me wonder (worry) if the nest was abandoned.
2/7 – Orange County, HRM 41: I conducted my annual winter raptor survey of the Black Dirt region and Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge. I tallied 80 raptors of ten species headlined by ten widely scattered rough-legged hawks. The three merlins I counted were more than expected. Red-tailed hawk numbers were good, and there was an immature drinking from a puddle on Onion Avenue.
DEC and its moose partners have a website with an online form to log moose sightings. For more information on moose in New York, including the sighting form, see: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6964.html. (Photo of moose courtesy of Tom Lake)
[Fishers (Martes pennanti) are one of our largest weasels (our river otters are similar-sized) reaching over forty-inches in length. They are seen periodically in the Catskills and Adirondacks and are not rare in the Mid-Hudson Valley. While the name of this fur bearer suggests an aquatic habitat and diet, they actually much prefer dense forests and porcupines. One of the colloquial names for fisher is “fisher-cat.” 2/8 – Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 75: The air temperature reached 55 degrees F today, one-degree shy of the record high for the date. 2/8 – Manhattan, HRM 1: We faithfully checked our research sampling gear twice this week in Hudson River Park at The River Project's sampling station on the lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25. It was unseasonably warm on both days. On 2/5, the air temperature was 65 degrees F, and today it was 55. We are still waiting patiently for our first fish of 2019. On both days this week our killifish traps caught an assortment of shore shrimp, isopods, and mud crabs. [The anticipation of The River Project’s “first fish” of the year is increasing. It had me thinking of a line, or a variation of a line, from the movie Field (River) of Dreams: The fish (sic) are there. If you set the gear, they will come! Tom Lake]
|
2/2 – New Paltz, HRM 78: I have had two banded house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) at my feeders recently, one male and one female. I would love to know where the house finches came from, who banded them, and why. Two days ago, a very pretty male (leucistic) house finch also showed up at the feeders. (Photo of house finch courtesy of Pam Plummer)
2/2 – Town of Poughkeepsie: The adult eagle pair from bald eagle nest NY62 were out on the ice today, fighting for space and jousting with a third adult, probably a wintering bird. While the winter river is sometimes iced-over or choked with ice floes, eagles always seem to find a way to get their fish. (Photo of bald eagles on the ice courtesy of John Badura)
2/2 – Long Island Sound: We spotted a Pacific loon in winter plumage in western Long Island Sound at Oyster Bay not far from the East River. It was in company with a red-necked grebe and a raft of 45 long-tailed ducks. (Photo of a Pacific loon courtesy of John Gaglione)
2/5 – Coxsackie, HRM 118: We found an estimated 50 common redpolls in a field north of Coxsackie. At least one Hoary Redpoll (Acanthis hornemanni) was in with the common redpoll flock. (Photo of Hoary Redpoll courtesy of Douglas Faulder)
2/6 – Hudson Valley Estuary: This week’s fish is the banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus diaphanus), a native species and number 115 (of 228) on our watershed list of fishes. Banded killifish are one of five members of the killifish family (Cyprinodontidae) in the watershed, including one that is a favorite with most students, the mummichog. They are not large – most are index-finger-size, slender with a bit of a snout – and are marvels of adaptation. They can be found from the high salinity waters of the lower estuary to the full freshwater of the river above tidewater. Because insect larvae are a significant component of the killifish diet, killifish have been used as a biological control for mosquitoes. Traveling in large schools, they are a favorite of many predatory fishes from pickerel to pike and striped bass to bluefish. Iconic riverman Everett Nack called them “blue-banded mudminnows,” owing to the breeding male’s incredibly beautiful lavender bands. (Photo of banded killifish courtesy Tom Lake)
2/6 – Manhattan, HRM 13.5: It was just a couple of days after the cold spell, and I found signs of spring at Inwood Park. Tiny shoots of Star-of-Bethlehem had appeared, and in the Clove, shoots of snowdrops were three-inches-high. I counted thirty Canada geese on the upper ball fields.
2/7 – Ulster County, HRM 78: While walking along Lenape Lane on the Mohonk foothills this afternoon, I had six white-tailed deer rapidly dash across the trail directly in front of me. This small group was comprised of four does and two six-point bucks (both had full antler sets not having shed yet). While this unexpected event sent my heart racing, my encounter with a barred owl was even more enjoyable. I spotted the owl within fifty feet of the trail edge. It was perched twenty feet off the ground glancing down at me seemingly undisturbed by my presence. I sat on a nearby rock watching for twenty minutes, then left before the owl got tired of looking at me. (Photo of barred owl courtesy of Bob Ottens)
2/8 – Adirondack Mountains: In its fifth straight year of aerial surveying for moose in the Adirondack State Park, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) reported spotting nearly 100 healthy moose over a four-day period. In 42 hours of helicopter flight time, 83 moose or groups of moose, all of which appeared healthy, were observed. Data from these surveys will refine our estimate of the moose population in the Adirondacks and will help inform a future moose management plan. The annual survey is part of a collaboration between DEC, Cornell University, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the Biodiversity Research Institute, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
2/8 – Minerva, HRM 284: It seemed like wildlife week up here! At 6:00 PM this evening, while driving up Route 30 from Lake Pleasant to Indian Lake, a fisher ran across the road in front of me about a mile north of the trailhead for Snowy Mountain in the Town of Indian Lake. I think it was only the second live fisher I've ever seen up here (most of the others were road-killed). (Photo of fisher courtesy of Madline Dennis)
Winter 2019 Natural History Programs
|
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation respects your right to privacy and welcomes your feedback | Update preferences or unsubscribe | Learn more about DEC Delivers. |
|
Connect with DEC:    
|
|
| Basil Seggos, Commissioner | |