Hudson River Almanac 6/22/13 - 6/27/13

June 22 - 27, 2013
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist

OVERVIEW

It was a quiet week, illuminated by a gorgeous "Supermoon," that included stories of snakes, mulberries, hungry carp, and the education of eagles.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

6/27 - Town of Poughkeepsie: In the ongoing education of the eagle fledgling from NY62, the adult female has been leaving food (fish) on a couple of tree stumps not far from the nest. The fledgling appears to be comfortable; he perches in a white pine near the nest, spending much of his time preening, stretching, or napping. He occasionally takes a short flight to see if food has been left on the tree stumps.
     - Terry Hardy, Bob Rightmyer, Judy Winter

NATURAL HISTORY NOTES

6/22 - Kingston, HRM 92: Dawn spotted it first: We came upon a beautiful northern copperhead snake sunning itself at Onteora Lake in Kingston.
     - Dave Yozzo, Dawn Osselmann

[Coppperheads are one of three venomous snakes in New York State. The other two are rattlesnakes: the timber rattlesnake and the eastern massasauga - the latter not found in the Hudson Valley. As with all protected terrestrial species, due to the often unbridled zeal of collectors, and in the interest of preservation, we do not give exact locations where they are found. Tom Lake. Photo of northern copperhead by Dave Yozzo.]

6/22 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: Twenty-nine anglers of all ages tried their luck at our monthly DEC Hudson River Fishing Program. A strong south breeze softened the 88 degree Fahrenheit air temperature. Of the eleven fish landed, three were caught by five-year-old Erin Cleary, the largest of which was a fourteen-inch-long white catfish. The highlights of the catch included three species of bullhead catfish (yellow and brown bullhead plus white catfish) as well as several yearling striped bass 140-170 millimeters [mm] long. The river, still turbid with runoff from last week's seven inches of rain, was 66 degrees F.
     - Tom Lake, Ryan Coulter

6/23 - Minerva, HRM 284: The rainy weather with glimpses of the sun has done amazing things greenery-wise. I was out for an early morning walk and it was a great day for "singers" - a red-eyed vireo, plenty of red-winged blackbirds, swamp sparrows, song sparrows, least flycatchers, and pied-bill grebe (what a swell sound). Mink frogs and green frogs were also making themselves known. In the water we had a veritable field of bullhead lilies with just a handful of white water lilies blooming. Along the trail to the woodland pond, a beautiful pink lady's-slipper orchid was in bloom. It was a fine day for a hike around the back forty for sure.
     - Mike Corey

6/23 - Saw Kill, HRM 98.5: An eighteen-inch-long northern water snake was hunting at the edge of one of the series of waterfalls where the Saw Kill briskly cascades down into the Hudson. The snake was busy trying to snap up some sort of small fry that were hurling themselves upstream against the full force of the falls. Down at the mouth of the creek, several large carp (two to three feet long) were also very interested in something and were scouting out the area. To add to the general melee, cicadas were flying and singing everywhere.
     - Sarah Underhill

6/23 - Croton Point, HRM 34: While I walked on the Croton Bay side of the Point at low tide, an adult bald eagle flew overhead, taking advantage of the breeze. At times it was being pursued by several small birds that probably took exception to the eagle's presence so close to their nesting area. It settled in a distant tree for a while and then continued soaring. I wondered if this was the same eagle that has been nesting on the other side of the Hudson River just north of Nyack for several years now?
     - Dennis Mastafiak

[There was a time, not long ago, when a summer sighting of an adult bald eagle along the Hudson River could quite confidently be attributed to one of the very few nests that existed. Now, however, with as many as 25 nests along the river and in the nearby uplands, we can only guess from where they have come to hunt the river. Tom Lake.]

6/23 - Bronx, New York City: The East River marshes at City Island were draining quickly in the ebb tide just before what would be a blazing red dawn. Three evenly spaced, stark-white great egrets positively glowed as they foraged in the tide pools in the light of the Supermoon. The day's air temperature would reach 91 degrees F.
     - Tom Lake

[A "Supermoon" is the coincidental occurrence of a full moon with the closest approach that the Moon makes to the Earth on its orbit. This results in the largest apparent size of the Moon as seen from Earth. Tom Lake.]

6/24 - Town of Poughkeepsie: On this steamy summer day the new fledgling from eagle nest NY62 was perched in a white pine, panting like a puppy. It is not uncommon on days like this for an eagle to find some shallows along the river and go wading to cool off.
     - Tom Lake

6/24 - Kowawese, HRM 59: The high tide from yesterday's Supermoon, coupled with the high river level from all of the precipitation in the watershed, pushed the tide line far up on the beach and into the flood plain. The only higher reach of the tide I have seen here occurred with surge attributed to tropical storms.
     - Tom Lake

6/24 - New Hamburg, HRM 67.5: While heading out of our driveway, I encountered what may have been the same female northern map turtle that crossed the drive last year to lay her eggs, and at virtually the same location. She must have been at the upper end of the size range for map turtles, as I measured her carapace at 11.5 inches long. She tried excavating several nest sites but the combination of Item 4 and road gravel was resistant, so she moved on. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay around long enough to see where she finally nested. [Photo of map turtle by Steve Stanne.]
     - David Cullen

6/24 - Orange County, HRM58: I went out to the mouth of Moodna Creek this morning, hoping for a smooth cruise in my kayak and sightings of a few birds. I got the birds, but a steady southerly wind kicked up a healthy supply of waves. It was low tide, the mud flats were fully exposed, and perched here and there were two adult and two immature bald eagles. The adults' white heads were visible from a long ways off. The highlight of the morning was an eagle-osprey chase. When an osprey appeared overhead, flying out of Moodna Creek with a fish, both adult eagles quickly took flight in pursuit of a "free" meal. The osprey, however, won this one and made it down toward Storm King Mountain with its catch.
     - Michael Pogue

[This adult pair is probably from the Sloop Hill nest (NY50) and appears to have fledged two young this spring. Tom Lake.]

6/24 - Fort Montgomery, HRM 46.5: Just north of the old Fort Montgomery Marina, soon to be the Mine Dock Park thanks to Scenic Hudson, I saw a group of blue jays mobbing a raven. There has been a pair of ravens hanging out all spring between the south face of Anthony's Nose, Fort Montgomery, and Con Hook two miles upriver. I would have thought that with their kinship with crows they would be "mobbers" not "mobbees."
     - Scott Craven

6/25 - Blooming Grove HRM 55: I have noticed a decline in the number of cardinals at the feeders and only one pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks. At this time there are usually quite a few hummingbirds zipping in and around the feeders as well, but sadly I have seen only one. The gardens are full of their favorite flowers as well. Has anyone else noticed an apparent decline?
     - Carol Coddington

6/25 - Croton River, HRM 34: As we crossed the railroad bridge over the mouth of the Croton River heading south on Metro North this morning, I saw an adult bald eagle flying over the Hudson River and headed toward Croton Point. It was only ten feet over the water and twenty yards from the bridge, so it was clearly visible from the train.
     - Hugh L. McLean

6/25 - Garnerville, Rockland County HRM 45: While heading to the backyard to fill the bird feeders, I was delighted to see a large wood turtle on the path. This was the first one I had ever seen, and one that I did not expect to see in my yard.
     - Caroline McDonald

6/26 - Esopus Meadows, HRM 87: Looking out over the Hudson, I watched three great blue herons, one of which was having plenty of success catching blue crabs close to shore. Farther out, two groups of double-crested cormorants were sitting watching the passing water traffic. Just upriver from all this, an adult bald eagle crossed the river and disappeared behind some trees.
     - Jamie Collins

6/26 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: We electro-shocked Hunter's Brook today, assessing if it would serve our purposes as an autumn sampling site for "silver eels." We caught 30 eels where the brook meets the tidal Wappinger, half of which were of a size that we could tag (>250 mm). One of them was 700 mm (28" long). We also caught a few rock bass. There are stone walls on either side of the creek stream that have great hiding places for eels. We also caught a huge northern clearwater crayfish (Orconectes propinquus), a native species.
     - Sarah Mount, Chris Bowser, Bob Schmidt

["Silver eels" refers to American eels, 20-30 years old, that have undergone physical changes preparatory to spawning. They have changed from the green-and-yellow coloration of their yellow eel phase, to dark black and stark white. Their eyes become enlarged and their alimentary canals atrophy. These changes are adaptations to traveling in the deep, dark waters of the North Atlantic to the eels' Sargasso Sea spawning sites, the exact locations of which are still a mystery. Tom Lake]

6/27 - Hudson, HRM 118: Comments in the Hudson River Almanac about carp eating mulberries reminds me of when I was a child. We used white mulberries for bait to catch carp in the river at Hudson.
     - Sal Cozzolino

6/27 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Windrows of dead cicadas lined the shore in places where the tide could not reach. On Day 36, their hum had receded to what sounded like a pretty average late-summer level.
     - Tom Lake

SUMMER 2013 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS

July 20-21: Hudson River Days
More than 40 river and riverfront events will be offered, spanning the length of the Hudson from New York City to Albany, during this fifth annual celebration of the river, anchored on Saturday, July 20, by City of Water Day in New York Harbor and Hudson Rising on the Kingston waterfront and uptown. For a full schedule of activities, visit the Hudson River Days website. The following are a few River Days natural history programs likely to be of particular interest to Almanac readers.

July 20: 12 noon - Hudson River Fishes We Have Loved to Eat! on the Pennsy #399 barge at the Hudson River Maritime Museum, 50 Rondout Landing, Kingston [Ulster County].
For at least ten millennia, we have cherished the variety and bounty of Hudson River fishes. Join Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist Tom Lake on a journey through time to see those species that we loved the best! Sponsored by the Hudson River Estuary Program and Hudson Rising. Questions? Email Ann Loeding.

July 20: various times - The Second Annual Great Hudson Estuary Fish Count.
At the following sites naturalists will use seine nets, minnow traps, and rods and reels to capture live fish from the Hudson and show visitors these slippery, wriggly, and fascinating creatures usually hidden below the river's surface. During the day the sites will share news of their catches with each other to highlight the diversity of fishes throughout the estuary. The fish are released after participants view them up close.

Brooklyn - Brooklyn Bridge Park (Main St. under Manhattan Bridge): 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Seining the River Wild: Part of City of Water Day. Free but RSVP is required as space is limited; sign up at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy website.

Manhattan - East River Park at South St. & Montgomery St.: 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Catch-and-release fishing clinic as part of the Pier 42 Exhibits Opening Day and City of Water Day. Bait and tackle will be provided (or bring your own), plus basic fishing instruction and other activities to explore the estuary. Free, but materials are limited. Please register at the Lower East Side Ecology Center website.

Manhattan – Hudson River Park, Pier 25 at North Moore St. 10:00 AM-4:00 p.m.
Big City Fishing: catch and release fishing with rods & reels, plus river education activities for the public; look for the striped bass windsock on pier's north side. Part of City of Water Day. Free. For info email the Hudson River Park Trust or call (212)627-2020 and ask for the environment and education department.

Yonkers - Habirshaw Park [Westchester County] 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Seining program offerd by the Beczak Environmental Education Center. Part of City of Water Day. Fee $5.00. For info: (914)377-1900 x12.

Piermont - Flywheel Park [Rockland County] 11:00 AM-2:00 p.m.
Seining program with educators from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Sparkill Watershed Alliance. Free. For info: email Margie Turrin or call 845-729-8535.

Sleepy Hollow - Kathryn W. Davis RiverWalk Center [Westchester County] 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Take part in a seining program with staff from Teatown Lake Reservation and Strawtown Art and Garden Studio, then create art with natural pigments, clay, and crushed sandstone from the river's shores. Free. To make a reservation, call 914-762-2912 x110.

New Windsor - Kowawese Unique Area [Orange County] 4:30-5:00 p.m.
Seining program with Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist. Free. For info, email Tom Lake.

Staatsburg - Norrie Point Environmental Center [Dutchess County] 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Seining program with Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve staff. Free. For info: 845-889-4745 x105

Kingston - Kingston Point Beach [Ulster County], 11:00 a.m.
Seining program with City of Kingston Parks and Recreation/Forsyth Nature Center staff. Free. For info: 845-481-7336 or email Steve Noble. 

Athens - Cohotate Preserve [Greene County], 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Seining program with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County. Sponsored by Columbia-Greene Community College. Fee: $ 5.00. For more information, call 518 622 9820 x 33. To register, call Columbia Greene Community College at (518) 828-4181, ext. 3342.

July 25: 7:00 p.m.
The Bald Eagle: Back from the Brink at the Adirondack Interpretive Center, Newcomb [Essex County]. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry presents NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program naturalist Tom Lake for a look at the journey taken by the bald eagle from near extinction to its flourishing present in the Hudson Valley.

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

The Hudson River Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by Steve Stanne, education coordinator at DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com. 

To subscribe to the Almanac (or to unsubscribe), go to DEC's Email Lists page, enter your email address, and click on "Submit." A page listing available subscription topics will appear. Scroll down; under the heading "Natural Areas and Wildlife" is the section "Lakes and Rivers" with a listing for the Hudson River Almanac. Click on the check box to subscribe. While there, you may wish to subscribe to RiverNet, which covers projects, events and actions related to the Hudson and its watershed, or to other DEC newsletters and information feeds.

The Hudson River Almanac archive allows one to use the DEC website's search engine to find species, locations, and other data in weekly issues dating back to October 2003.

Discover New York State Conservationist - the award-winning, advertisement-free magazine focusing on New York State's great outdoors and natural resources. Conservationist features stunning photography, informative articles and around-the-state coverage.

USEFUL LINKS

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's high and low tide and tidal current predictions are invaluable for planning boating, fishing, and other excursions on and along the estuary.

The Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System [HRECOS] provides near real-time information on water and weather conditions at monitoring stations from Manhattan to the Mohawk River.

Historical information on the movements of the salt front is available on the U.S. Geological Survey's Hudson River Salt Front website.

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.