Wow! That sounds amazing.
Are there or will there be other trips to those locations?
On Tue, Jun 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM Barbara Volkle <barb620...> wrote:
> Thanks to Strickland Wheelock for this report
>
> Barbara Volkle
> Northborough, MA
> <barb620...>
>
> *
> Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2025 17:44:28 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Strickland Wheelock <skwheelock...> <skwheelock...>
> Subject: Adirondack's Birding Results
>
>
> Our MAS trip from Drumlin Farm to the Adirondacks from Fri 6/6 to Mon 6/9
> involved a mixture of boreal and grassland habitats to maximize our
> exposure to the wide variety of breeding species that can be found in
> northern NY. Despite 2 very challenging rainy days [Fri & Mon], we had 2
> lovely birding days where we had many birding highlights each day as we
> explored remote boreal trails, marshes and managed grasslands - net result
> were 128 breeding species including 20 warbler species [Golden-winged,
> Mourning], thrushes [Bicknell's, Swainson's], sparrows [Henslow's,
> Lincoln's], vireos [Philadelphia, Blue-headed], terns [Caspian, Black],
> wrens [Sedge& Winter], chickadees [Boreal], jays [Canada], flycatchers
> [Yellow-bellied, Olive-sided, Alder], marsh species [Sora, Bittern, Crane]
> and so much more.
> Day 1 - 1st stop on our long drive [often in heavy rain] was in northern
> Vt near Whitehall NY - Tim's Trail that took us through some woods and then
> opened into a shrubby grassland returning back to the entrance - no rain at
> this point as this remote narrow trail turned out to be a goldmine of
> species - singing Golden-winged & Blue-winged & Prairie Warblers that also
> included a male Lawrence's Warbler - had also Field Sparrows, Louisiana
> Waterthrush, Magnola, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, B&W, Blk-thr Green, C
> Yellowthroat, Am Redstarts, Indigo Bunting, Yellow-thr Vireos, Gt-crested
> Fly & ended hearing 2 Screech Owls - close by we had along a small river a
> Kingfisher & War=
> bling Vireos [missed the Least Bittern spotted a few days earlier by
> Leslie].The balance of the day was dealing with medium rain as we explore
> some boreal trails, lakes with some success finding a Boreal Chickadee,
> Blk-thr Blue & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Veery,
> Golden-crKinglets, Pileated Woodpecker, C Loons, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Ravens
> - net result the rain kept bird activity low, us wet - thank goodness for
> Tim's Tr=
> ail where we all got excellent looks at the warblers, bunting & more!
> Day 2 - clear weather as we focused on boreal birding at Massawepie Mire
> near Tupper Lake as we hiked this old dirt railroad bed that crossed an
> expansive wetland bog with stunted scrubs, fir trees on either side of us -
> here we were greeted by 8 Canada Jays, singing Nashville, Canada, Wilson's
> & Palm Warblers, Yellow-bellied & Alder Flycatchers, Lincoln & Wht-thr
> Sparrows, Red-b Nuthatches, Golden-cr Kinglets - further down the trail the
> bog ends & opens up into ideal boreal forest for Blk-backed Woodpeckers &
> longshot Spruce Grouse which did not appear.Before you start walking the
> bog trail we had a variety of deciduous habitats that yielded Mourning,
> Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Magnola, Pine, N Parula, Blk-thr Green,
> Yellow, Blk& Wht, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ovenbirds, Rose-b Grosbeaks,
> Blue-headed Vireo, Olive-sided Fly, Scarlet Tanagers, Indigo Buntings,
> Cedar Waxwings, Broad-winged Hawks - missed the Blk-billed Cuckoos nesting
> nearbyAfter lunch, we headed to the Watertown area for non-boreal birding
> with grasslands & large marshes. Gameplan was to eat an early dinner and
> arrive at Chaumont Barrens Nature Preserve that has a lovely marsh &
> extensive fields [managed for field birds] for an evening birding
> experience - also has an observation tower for scanning the marsh and
> fields for nesting Short-eared Owls.As we walked to the marsh, we enjoyed
> various pairs of Bobolinks and E Kingbirds. Once at the marsh, volumes of
> Marsh Wrens & Swamp Sparrows were calling - over the marsh, a Caspian Tern
> was crashing into the water and a pair of Black Terns swooping about - in
> the water we had Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebes, C Moorhen plus an Am
> Egret, Gt Blue & Green Herons, a Virginia Rail called & as dusk was coming,
> suddenly a lone Sandhill Crane called & flew off -it was so special being
> there watching the sun set, hearing the Bobolinks singing along with the
> marsh birds - so peaceful & lovely way to end the day.
> Day 3 - An early start on a clear morning took us to Perch River wildlife
> area where there are lookouts and dikes around extensive marshes, fields
> and woodland edges. Here we experienced the songs of Scarlet Tanagers,
> Veery, Gt-crested Fly, E Kingbirds, Yellow Warbler - from the marshes, the
> song of the Soras and other marsh species. As we walked along the dike, the
> calls of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo greeted us, an Am. Bittern flew by us
> along with 3 Blk-cr Night Herons, more Pied-billed Grebes & C Moorhens,
> Caspian Terns plus all the Marsh Wrens & Swamp Sparrows - other highlights
> was a Green Heron teed up in the scope - a wonderful way to start the
> morning!Next stop was a special habitat for the Sedge Wren which we heard
> calling - nearby we had our 1st Towhees, Orchard Oriole, Catbirds, C
> Yellowthroats, Blk&Wht WarblersOur final stop in Watertown area was another
> managed grassland area that blew everyone away - one little dirt pull-off
> with the grasslands on either side of this back road. Here we had stunning
> looks at E Meadowlarks & Bobolinks sitting up on fence post, pair of Am
> Kestrels hunting the fields & stopping on the poles to tear apart their
> prey, being surrounded by Henslow's, Savannah & Vesper Sparrows singing &
> teeing up, Barn & Tree Swallows swooping bye, Turkey Vultures overhead - it
> was hard to leave!We then traveled back to Lake Placid area to bird another
> boral habitat - Bloomingdale Bog. Here we walked another trail in the
> evening enjoying another Canada Jay, Black-thr Blue, Magnolia, Blk-thr
> Green, Nashville Warblers, Red-b Nuthatches, Winter Wrens and the lovely
> song of the Hermit Thrush.
> Day 4 - Back to windy, cool & rainy weather as we drove up to near the top
> of Whiteface Mountain with the goal of finding/hearing the Bicknell's
> Thrush - as we got higher over 4000 ft, we did hear a Swainson's Thrush
> singing through the wind & rain - not ideal weather but we really lucked
> out as we pulled into a dirt pull off near the top, there was a Bicknell's
> Thrush feeding in the dirt by the stunted pines along with a Junco - time
> to get off the mountain and head home with time to stop maybe 1 more stop
> weather permitting.Fortunately the rain stopped briefly, and we pulled off
> by a small lake and what did we hear singing were 2 pairs of Philadelphia
> Vireos plus a nearby Red-eyed Vireo by the road edge - that was a special
> treat for everyone to compare the songs plus closeup views of the
> Philadelphia Vireo's breeding plumage. In the lake was a beautiful C Loon
> close up, Least Fly & Brown Creeper calling, Chestnut-sided & Magnolia
> Warblers feeding - that was a great ending as we then continued drive home
> in the rain.
> In the end again, we enjoyed viewing/hearing 128 species on this
> Adirondack excursion, many of which are species that we rarely see/hear in
> NE, especially in full breeding plumages. In addition to all the bird
> species, we encountered many large Snapping Turtles laying eggs, Muskrats,
> Swallowtail & other beautiful Butterflies along the trails, White-tailed
> Deer everywhere, Moose tracks, colorful wildflowers and the wonderful smell
> of the boreal forest surrounding you.
> Thanks to Leslie Bostrom for all her planning/scouting/driving and Lindsay
> Neubeck-Brown for her expertise/driving and a hardy crew of participants
> dealing with a few rainy days, hiking these trails and a few Mosquitos
> along the way - in the end, we all had a wonderful exposure exploring all
> these boreal and grassland habitats in upper NY!!
>
> Strickland Wheelock
> Uxbridge MA
>
>
