Date: 5/18/26 6:30 pm From: Rich White via groups.io <richard.cw12...> Subject: [hmbirds] Saratoga County Century Run
Jackson Mesick, Steve Mesick, Christina McLaughlin, Keith Cronin, and I
completed a Saratoga County century run on Saturday (5/16). We plan to do
century runs in all 11 counties in Region 8, and so far have done Albany
(2018 - 128 species), Rensselaer (2019 - 124 species), and Greene (2023 -
118 species). We took time off work last week for scouting. We didn't
necessarily have a species goal in mind, but knowing that Saratoga is
generally the best county in the region, I think we all had our eyes set on
130 whether we admitted it out loud or not.
We met at 1:30 a.m. at Crescent Park in Halfmoon and headed to Vischer
Ferry from there, where we heard Sora and Virginia Rail (we didn't go in at
that time—we could hear them from the road/parking area). Our next stop was
the Zim Smith Trail at Coons Crossing for a Great-horned Owl that Steve had
in scouting. Unfortunately, walking and checking his phone at the same time
is not a skill Steve has, and he fell off the path and hurt his ankle. And
what's even worse is we didn't get the owl. We continued to Round Lake
Preserve (where we had received permission to enter at that hour), now with
one team member limping but birding through the pain, and picked up Common
Gallinule and American Woodcock. We then made a short stop at Saratoga NHP
that yielded duetting Great Horned Owls (so Steve sprained his ankle for
nothing since we got the bird we were trying for when he fell). We then
dipped on the Eastern whip-poor-wills that have been reported around Malta
Tech Park. Overall, a pretty solid start.
Day birding started at Saratoga County Airport at 5:17, where we got the
expected sparrows (Grasshopper, Savannah, and a silent Vesper), as well as
an unexpected flyover Common Loon. We then went to Lake Desolation/Fox Hill
Road for higher elevation breeders that the Mesicks had scouted. We picked
up Winter Wren, Blue-headed Vireo, Purple Finch, Hermit Thrush, a drumming
Ruffed Grouse, and tons of warblers, including Nashville, Yellow-rumped,
Magnolia, Blackburnian, Black-and-white, Black-throated blue and green,
Canada, and bonus migrant Bay-breasted and Blackpoll. We dipped on the
Hooded Mergansers found in scouting, but a silent Dark-eyed Junco responded
to Jackson's pishing exactly where it had been singing in scouting. That
feeling when a scouted bird shows up on the day!
We then made our way south, picking up Louisiana Waterthrush, a scouted
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and the Purple Martins at Waterfront Park (we
commented at that time how Saratoga County feels like easy mode compared to
other counties in the region). Next stop was Saratoga NHP, where the
"bee-buzz" of a Blue-winged Warbler marked 100 species on the day just
after 10 a.m. (Congratulations to Christina on her first century run). We
added Yellow-throated Vireo, Orchard Oriole, Alder Flycatcher, Indigo
Bunting, Prairie Warbler, and Eastern Meadowlark.
From there, we went back to Round Lake Preserve and added Great Egret and
White-crowned Sparrow, and then headed to Vischer Ferry and the spots
nearby along the Mohawk that Keith and the Mesicks had scouted. VF was
productive, yielding Fish Crow and a fluffy baby Eastern-screech Owl
present in a hole we found in scouting. Spots along the Mohawk added
American Kestrel, Double-crested Cormorant, and Cedar Waxwing.
At this point in the day, every new species feels like a miracle. We had a
flyover flock of Brant near Mechanicville, putting our total to 127. We
arrived to Lock 2 and immediately added Bank Swallow. 128. So close. Then,
in scanning the river, I saw two small ducks, and my heart started racing
as I realized they were Green-winged Teals. As I was getting everyone on
them, Jackson shouted "Belted Kingfishers," and after a few moments of pure
chaos, we all got on both species, bringing our total to 130.
With some combination of luck and prep (probably mostly luck), we continued
to add birds. Ring-necked Duck and Green Heron at Stillwater School Nature
Trail, Killdeer at Wright's Loop (long story on why we didn't have one
earlier, but classic big day mishap there), and Willow Flycatcher. We went
back to Vischer Ferry to conclude our day, where we had two Least Bitterns
calling back and forth, bringing our total to 135. Then a male Blue-winged
Teal flew over the marsh briefly, and that was our final species of the
day. 136 total species on the day.
We are obviously thrilled at how the day went. We are excited to do the
other counties in the region, but we are now left wondering what is
possible in Saratoga County. We didn't have many passerine migrants or
shorebirds. Despite Jackson's perfect Barred Owl imitations, we also missed
that. On a good day, it feels like 140+ could be done (I don't know the
record for Saratoga County—perhaps Larry knows). And for anyone wondering,
Steve's ankle is doing fine now.
