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Recent Postings from
Northern New York Birds

Updated on Friday, October 19 at 09:06 AM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

10/18/07 (73 degrees!)

Winthrop: I drove to the Route 420 Great Egret roost location at 6 p.m. last 
night. There were only 3 Great Egrets in the roost when I arrived, and 
immediately, a group of 3 flew in to join them. I left at 6:20 p.m. and there 
were only 6 Great Egrets at the roost. I have found it interesting to watch the 
numbers slowly decline since Jeff Bolsinger and Carol Cady's posting of 110 
egrets on Aug. 25th. 


Yesterday, halfway between Potsdam and Canton on Route 11, at 3:15 p.m., I 
observed an adult Golden Eagle soaring low. It was one of those moments when I 
wished I had one of the bumper stickers warning drivers that I'm a birder!!! 
(I'm kidding....) In a safe manner, I immediately pulled off the highway and 
watched the eagle for a couple minutes before it abruptly soared off to the 
south. It was close enough that I could see its head looking down and around at 
the landscape below! An American Kestrel was observed on a wire along Route 11 
on my drive back. 


I briefly stopped at the two tower locations at Indian Creek Nature Center and 
Route 15. From the Indian Creek tower, I observed a juvenile Northern Harrier 
hunting over the marsh. There was one Yellow-rumped Warbler observed by the 
tower, and Rusty Blackbirds were abundant. A Common Raven vocalized by the 
parking area. (It occurred to me that I have never visited Indian Creek without 
hearing a raven vocalize while I'm in the parking area!) Without a scope along, 
I used binocs at the towers. Some of the species: Canada Goose (abundant), 
Gadwall, Amer. Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, and Great Blue 
Heron. Sparrows: Song, White-throated, and White-crowned. 


10/17/07 Regan Rd. in Potsdam

Amer. Kestrel
Sparrows:  Song, White-throated, White-crowned, and Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird - huge flocks; only one visited our feeders
Eastern Meadowlark - singing!!!  This was a nice surprise!
Rusty Blackbird - huge flocks
Common Grackle - huge flocks
Purple Finch - increasing in numbers at our feeders
Pine Siskin

10/16/07 Long Lake

My husband and I traveled to Long Lake on Tues. I hiked our dogs on the 
Northville-Placid Trail to Catlin Bay. In the time since we hiked this trail a 
few weeks ago, beavers built a dam near the wooden walkways over a wet area 
before the peninsula at Catlin Bay. Now, there is a lovely pond to the right 
along the trail - I stood in awe of what beavers can accomplish in so short a 
time - remarkable creatures! I sat on a high rock at the end of the peninsula 
and immediately spotted 3 Common Loons across the lake at the outlet of Big 
Brook - then another loon 2 bays to the north - then, a 5th loon, a juvenile 
that had been across the bay where I sat, made a bee-line toward my swimming 
dogs. Remember we had a long list serve discussion on this topic a few years 
back?! Well, I have yet another theory on this behavior! (Not just dogs, but 
loons approach human swimmers also.) I was thrilled when the juvenile loon came 
within 30 feet of me. It dove and came up with the largest fish I have ever 
witnessed a loon catch - it looked way too big for a loon to eat, but in one 
gulp, down went the fish! The fish was green on top and appeared pinkish on the 
bottom (I don't know fish at all). Is it possible that swimming creatures (dogs 
or humans) stir up the fish and make it easier for the loons to catch them??? 
This might explain why loons are known to approach swimming dogs and humans. 
Long Lake was uncommonly calm - a mirror and it was spectacular to be so close 
to the loon and see its beautiful reflection in the lake. My husband was at a 
different location on Long Lake at the same time and he too saw a loon (so a 
total of 6 at just two points along the 14-mile lake). 


Later in the afternoon we hiked up the Pinnacle Mt. and observed 6 Red-tailed 
Hawks flying south in the 10 minutes we spent on the summit. 


It is very frustrating for birders to travel through Tupper Lake at the present 
time - the roads are all under construction, so you can't stop on the causeway 
between Simon Pond and Tupper Lake. There are waterfowl species in the marshes 
that it would be nice to be able to stop and identify. 


After watching our sons run in a Cross Country Meet in Tupper Lake, we observed 
a beautiful Red Fox along Route 3 at dusk just outside of Tupper Lake on our 
way back to Potsdam. 


Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yesterday afternoon found me in the right spot at the right time for 
a change.  Had my optics along, too.  Lucky me! The first goodie of 
the day was a huge flock of AMERICAN PIPITS picking over a newly 
plowed cornfield along Stafford Road in Beekmantown, just north of 
Plattsburgh. As the flock was moving to the left I was scanning to 
the right with my scope and counting the ones that were kind enough 
to scoot up to the top of a furrow before disappearing again.  
Although I counted 91 (ninety one) Pipits, I'm certain there was at 
least double that.  A low-flying TURKEY VULTURE spooked the whole 
caboodle into the air and the swirling flock was immense.  Try as 
hard as I could for about an hour I could not 'turn' any of the 
Pipits into anything else (like a Horned Lark, or Longspur, etc...).  
Still, that number of Pipits all in the same area was pretty 
astounding.  

A short drive from there to Point Au Roche State Park was rewarded by 
an evolving flock of SNOW GEESE numbering around 3,000 individuals.  
My luck continued as the flock was mostly right in front of the beach 
area where I could park my keister down upon a picnic table and scope 
the grouping in relative comfort.  The luck got downright outrageous 
as I quickly spotted an adult ROSS'S GOOSE in the closest grouping 
right on the beach. The Ross's provided a nice show of preening and 
flapping and strutting around, provoking the occasional 'beaking' 
from its bigger cousins nearby.  The next hour and a half of 
squinting through my scope could not produce a second Ross's, 
however.  But who's complaining? It was a gorgeous Autumn afternoon 
with some wonderful Northern visitors to make it all perfect.  It was 
so pleasant that a CLOUDED SULPHUR BUTTERFLY decided to lap up some 
remnant knapweed nectar by the picnic table where I was sitting. 

Closer to home (Jay) the birds have been active lately.  We had a 
strong frost last night and the chill must have kicked some birds 
into high gear. This mornning there was a nice flock of sparrows on 
Hesseltine Road, including WHITE CROWNED, WHITE THROATED, CHIPPING, 
SONG, SWAMP and the Fall's first FOX SPARROW.  Later in the day as my 
wife and I were doing some outdoor work around the house a low-
flying, soaring NORTHERN GOSHAWK gave us a very nice show right 
overhead.  Those excellent hawk-alarms, AMERICAN CROWS, alerted us to 
look up at just the right time.  Decent flocks of AMERICAN ROBINS 
have been moving through, too, mostly in the morning hours.  

On Monday my pal, Nick, and I held a couple-hour hawkwatch from my 
driveway and saw some nice birds.  The highlight was the Fall's first 
RED SHOULDERED HAWK, which flew right over our heads.  Two OSPREYS, 4 
RED TAILED HAWKS and about a dozen SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS were seen, 
too.  Also flying past was a COMMON LOON and a few MONARCH 
BUTTERFLIES. A PINE SISKIN showed up for a while, too. 

Paul 
Jay, NY  

Today I saw my first Northern Shrike of the season on Fort Drum.  It 
was a quite brown HY bird.

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY

At ten to  one this afternoon, I observed a dozen snow geese at the
pond behind the Parkway dealership south of Canton.  (county rt. 25
just before the intersection with the caution light, about four miles
south of town.)  There were three in white juvenile plumage and one
with a very white head but gray body described as "dark adult" in the
Sibley guide.  
These are the first snow geese I have seen this season in the area.
Tom Wheeler
Potsdam

RBA

*  New York
*  Syracuse
*   October 15, 2007
*  NYSY 0710.15

Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert
Dates(s):October 08, 2007-October 15
to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com
covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
and MontezumaWetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County),
Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer, & Madison.
compiled:October 15, 1:00 p.m. (EST)
compiler: Joseph Brin
Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org


#75 - Monday October 15, 2007


Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of October 
08, 2007 


Highlights:

EURASIAN WIGEON
CACKLING GOOSE
NELSON�S SHART-TAILED SPARROW
PINE SISKIN
ORANGE CROWNED WARBLER
WESTERN SANDPIPER
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
RED PHALAROPE
SABINE�S GULL
NORTHERN SHRIKE



Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC)
------------

 On 10/10 an EURASIAN WIGEON was seen on the main pool. Also 2 CACKLING GEESE 
were seen at the visitor�s center. 

 On 10/14 a WESTERN SANDPIPER and 3 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were seen at the 
visitor�s center. The EURASIAN WIGEON was seen in the main pool. 

 On 10/14 4 NELSON�S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS were seen at Marten�s Tract. Also 
seen there was an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. 



Oswego County
------------

 On 10/10 a flock of approximately 70 PINE SISKINS were seen in Mexico. 

     On 10/11 a CACKLING GOOSE was seen at Bishop Hill north of Pulaski.
 On 10/11 the first FOX SPARROW of the season was seen at a private residence 
in Hastings. 

 On 10/12 over 2000 BRANT flew by the bluff at Derby Hill. Also seen were SURF 
SCOTER, BLACK SCOTER, and PEREGRINE FALCON. 



Cayuga County
------------

 On 10/12 15 RED PHALAROPES were seen from McIntyre Bluffs north of Fairhaven. 

     On 10/13 a SABINE�S GULL was seen from McIntyre Bluffs.


Onondaga County
------------

 On 10/13 the season�s first NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen in Raddison just east of 
the Three River�s Game Management Area north of Baldwinsville. 



--end transcript

--
Joseph Brin
Region 5 
Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A.
  
     
     

   




       

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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All,

Here are details for St. Lawrence-Adirondack Audubon's October 20th field trip 
to Indian Creek Nature Center jointly sponsored by the Laurentian Chapter of 
the Adirondack Mountain Club and Indian Creek Nature Center. 


Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake

St. Lawrence-Adirondack Audubon Field Trip

Indian Creek Nature Center

Saturday, Oct. 20

Canton

 

Join us for a fall bird walk at Indian Creek Nature Center. We will look for 
year-round birds, and late migrants along two of the trails (including the 
Tower Trail). At the top of the observation tower, we will use a scope to view 
birds on Lower Lake. A trip to the observation tower on the other side of Lower 
Lake along Route 15 will be our last stop. Bring binoculars! 


 

Time:  8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Distance:  Approximately 2 miles on level trails

Meet: At the main entrance (west end) for Indian Creek Nature Center. Take 
Route 68 from Canton toward Ogdensburg for 4 miles to a left onto Rensselaer 
Falls Rd. Travel several miles to a left turn into Indian Creek Nature Center. 
Drive all the way in to the circle area and park. 


Leader:  Joan Collins

Register by calling Joan at  or email at jecollins AT twcny.rr.com

This trip is jointly sponsored with Indian Creek Nature Center and the 
Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club. 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Potsdam

We continue to have 2 Pine Siskins and small numbers of intermittent Purple 
Finches visiting our feeders. Sparrows still around our home: Song, 
White-throated, White-crowned, and Dark-eyed Junco. Rusty Blackbirds continue 
to fill the trees and shrubs in the vicinity of our home. As Jeff Bolsinger 
mentioned, Ruby-crowned Kinglets seem to have finally moved on. We also have a 
Wild Turkey flock with 18 individuals! 


Some of the species observed on a short walk behind our home early Sat. 
morning: 

Northern Harrier - beautiful male!
Hermit Thrush
Black-throated Green Warbler - first fall female; I watched this fearless bird 
forage all around me for a very long time. 

Rusty Blackbird - hundreds on Sat.; many were perched low in trees so close to 
me, that I didn't need binocs. 

Purple Finch
Pine Siskin - 2

I took a midday walk on Wed. 10/10 on the Leonard Pond Trail with our 2 dogs. 
Some of the species found: 

Ruffed Grouse - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - adult
Blue-headed Vireo - 2 different individuals; one was singing
Gray Jay - at least 2; Two birds met us along the trail, and about 1/2 mile 
later, 2 Gray Jays vocalized in the trees (it could have been the same pair). 
Gray Jays have a wide range of vocalizations, and the sounds they made on Wed. 
were eerie and haunting. 

Boreal Chickadee - several vocalizing in the area just before the metal gate 
over 2 miles in. 

Golden-crowned Kinglet - many with some singing
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - abundant on Wed. with many singing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Magnolia Warbler - first fall female near the trailhead

My two dogs have a wonderful ability to find strange, unusual, or disgusting 
objects in the forest, and Wed. was no exception. Both dogs disappeared behind 
a little hummock along the trail (in the middle of no where) and I called them 
back. It looked like one of the dogs had a large red mushroom in his mouth, and 
I demanded he drop it - it wasn't a mushroom, but a lobster! Someone had dumped 
8 large lobster shells behind the hummock - very strange! The dogs acted as if 
they had discovered gold, and unfortunately, gobbled up much of the shells. 


We met a hunter on our way out - someone I happened to know. I asked what 
season it was - it's grouse season! 


For those who have not traveled Route 56 during the past month, the cutbacks 
underway along the road for the large power lines to Tupper Lake are startling. 
I know this is the compromise everyone wanted - for the lines to run along the 
road instead of through the boreal wilderness, but it is still heartbreaking to 
see so many trees being cut down. I have always found the section of road from 
Massawepie Mire along Route 3 to South Colton on Route 56 to be one of the most 
scenic roads in the Adirondacks, so it is sad to see the changes. 


Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Northern End of Lake George
Ticonderoga, NY
October 12-14, 2007

I have not been in Ticonderoga since Labor Day - on Friday morning, I
saw my first dark-eyed junco but they may have arrived earlier.  The
past few days I've seen half a dozen or so.

The Common Mergansers have returned and, of course, lots of Canada
Geese are passing through.

I've been excited to watch a male Evening Grosbeak visit the
stationary black oil feeder several prolonged times both yesterday and
today.  I've heard him singing a few times too.  I've seen Evening
Grosbeaks (never more than a pair) here a couple times in the past few
years.  When I have they've been "passing through" - I saw them once
in the morning and did not see them again.

I've been watching the feeders for Pine Siskins.  Last year, I did not
see any but they were here the year before - lots of Purple Finches
and House Finches.

Last year, a pair of Carolina Wrens arrived in August and stayed
through early spring.  I've not heard of seen any so far.

SNOW GEESE AT DEAD CREEK

Today, I went to Dead Creek - I did not try to count but I'd say there
were a few thousand there.


-- 
Nancy A. Carter

I awoke this morning to the sound of Snow Geese calling over my 
house, the first I've heard (or seen) this season.  A few minutes 
later, when I let the dog out for the first time in the morning, I 
heard a small flock of Evening Grosbeaks in the back yard.  
Unfortunately, I heard them fly off before I made it to the back 
yard to try to see them.  I had lots of work to do at home today, 
but after this encouraging start to the day I decided to head to 
Indian Creek Nature Center for a short time.  While there I saw my 
first Fox Sparrows of the season.  Otherwise, bird numbers were 
similar to what I saw on Friday, with comparable numbers of robins, 
White-throated Sparrows, and Rusty Blackbirds, but many fewer Ruby-
crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  At one point I pished 
to try to bring up some sparrows, and seemingly out of nowhere about 
80 Rusty Blackbirds popped up and began making quite a racket.  
After looking through them for a few minutes I turned around to head 
toward the tower just in time to see a Merlin flash through the 
woods mere feet in front of me heading straight for the blackbirds.

Birds seen from the Rt. 15 tower were also similar to what I saw 
Friday, except that the number of American Coots was up to 14, there 
were 4 Snow Geese mixed in with the Canadas, and I could not see the 
Redhead that has been here for at least 2 weeks.  I also watched a 
young Northern Harrier pluck a dead duck; feathers were flying 
everywhere.

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY

Hello All

I was interested to read Ron Pittaway's winter finch forecast, posted 
by Matt Medler, a few weeks ago, and to see some evidence of it at my 
feeders in Peru today, where we were visited by 3 Pine Siskins and, 
later in the day, a flock of about 25 Evening Grosbeaks.  We have no 
thistle right now, so the Siskins left, with one returning late in 
the afternoon.  The Grosbeaks were noisy and bustling near our barn 
and soon moved to our feeders.  They left after a half hour, but 
returned to feed again a short time later.  We still have a 
White-crowned Sparrow feeding at dusk, which is also the only time we 
see a pair of Titmice eating peanuts and sunflower seeds.

In the hedgerow on Eccles Rd. today was a flock of 25 Eastern 
Bluebirds, White-throated Sparrows and Juncos.

                                                      Liz Fitts, Peru

I turned up 52 species on a three and a half hour walk at Indian 
Creek Nature Center this morning.  There was still quite a bit of 
activity in the woods, although Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped 
Warblers, White-throated Sparrows, and Rusty Blackbirds accounted 
for the vast majority of migrant songbirds.  Small groups of Rusty 
Blackbirds flew overhead all morning, amounting to a total of about 
235 birds by my estimate.  When I first reached the nature center 
tower I could see a group of birds on the water directly in front of 
the tower that included 58 Blue-winged Teal, 32 American Wigeon, 1 
Red-breasted Merganser, and 11 American Coots.  I was surprised when 
I climbed onto the tower to see only another 100 or so ducks on 
Lower Lake; last Saturday more than 1200 ducks were visible from the 
tower.  The highlight of the morning came when I reached the east 
end of the Lowland trail.  As I scanned the marsh I saw a Peregrine 
Falcon briefly chase a Ring-billed Gull before landing on a snag, 
where it remained for 10 minutes giving me a great, extended view.

From Indian Creek Nature Center I went to the Rt. 15 tower, from 
which I saw about 700 ducks in the NW lobe of Lower Lake, which is 
mostly obscured from the nature center.  Here I counted 144 
American Wigeon, 16 Gadwall, 1 Redhead, 520 Ring-necked Ducks, and 2 
Lesser Scaup.  My total of 123 Pied-billed Grebes was the most I've 
ever counted at Lower Lake.  I had counted 81 grebes from Indian 
Creek Nature Center, and while I'm sure that I counted some grebes 
from both locations, I am confident that there are at least 150 Pied-
billed Grebes on Lower Lake now.

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY

I mistakenly posted the original date for this presentation, which  changed.  
Sorry about that...
 
John Thaxton
Keene, NY
 
 
Saturday, October  13th,  2007,  1:00 p.m. 
“This Land is Your Land: The Battle for the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge” 

 
Newcomb Visitor Interpretive  Center 
Join Sue Krause,  environmental educator and president of the Four Harbor 
Audubon Society in St. James, New York, for a telling powerpoint presentation 

about one of the most hotly debated wilderness areas in the  world.  Sue will 
discuss and show  photographs of the mammals and birds that breed in and 
migrate through this magnificent refuge, tell us about the history of the place 
and 

what we can all  do to protect this stunning, unspoiled wilderness. 




************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 
Saturday, October 6th,  2007, 1:00  p.m. 
“This Land is Your Land: The Battle for the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge” 

 
Newcomb Visitor Interpretive  Center 
Join Sue Krause,  environmental educator and president of the Four Harbor 
Audubon Society in St. James, New York, for a telling powerpoint presentation 

about one of the most hotly debated wilderness areas in the  world.  Sue will 
discuss and show  photographs of the mammals and birds that breed in and 
migrate through this magnificent refuge, tell us about the history of the place 
and 

what we can all  do to protect this stunning, unspoiled wilderness. 




************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yesterday morning produced a brief but exciting raptor show over our 
patch until the skies totally closed up and the wind shifted to the 
south from the east.  The highlight was an overhead, adult GOLDEN EAGLE 
soaring side by side with an immature RED TAILED HAWK.  Big bird, 
indeed.  A SHARP SHINNED HAWK patrolled our feeding station for a 
while,  seemingly oblivious to our presence not 30 feet away.  It 
didn't get anything as far as we could tell.  A pair of TURKEY VULTURES 
meandered back and forth across the valley before vanishing into the 
drooping clouds to the south.  

Other birds of note included VESPER, WHITE CROWNED, WHITE THROATED, 
SONG and SWAMP SPARROWS, a lingering CATBIRD, a RUFFED GROUSE (who 
visits the seed-strewn earth beneath our north feeders almost daily)and 
a single PALM WARBLER hanging out with a bunch of YELLOW RUMPS.

Non-avian species worthy or remark include a continuing movement of 
southbound MONARCH BUTTERFLIES, nectaring ORANGE and CLOUDED SULPHUR 
BUTTERFLIES and a SHORT TAILED WEASEL which put the spook into the herd 
of RED SQUIRRELS that have been decapitating the remnants of our 
coneflower crop.  
 

Yes, I had a similar experience, also in the fall, about 2 years ago at
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in VT.  I found out later that the
Vermont Youth Conservation Corps had built a new elevated walkway on parts
of the trail during the summer and had befriended the grouse, probably with
handouts.  Her name was "Ruff" the grouse, as I recall.  Whenever someone
would hike on the trail near the walkway, the grouse would come out and
follow for a hundred yards or so, then disappear back into the woods.  There
was also a second grouse who wasn't quite so brave and would skulk in the
bushes nearby.  Very strange and entertaining behavior!

Ken Copenhaver
Fairfax VT


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

10/9/07 Stockholm (Northern St. Lawrence Co.)

I had to be in Massena late today and decided to take Route 420 through 
Winthrop back to Potsdam. I was at the Great Egret roost location from 6:05 to 
6:15 p.m. (I could not stay any longer). It was heavily overcast and quite dark 
at that time. When I arrived, there were 29 Great Egrets at the roost, and 7 
were flying in over my car! I did not see any more arrive during the 10 minutes 
I watched. So there was a total of 36 Great Egrets when I left. I also saw a 
Great Blue Heron and many Wood Ducks in the air. Waterfowl species were not as 
abundant as they were when Mary Beth Warburton and I visited on Oct. 4th. 


Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

So it seems we might be getting some truly seasonal weather after all.  
Although we have not yet had a killing frost and annuals are still 
blooming in our garden (at ~1,000' above sea level), there was a brisk 
nip in the air this morning and the magnificently colored mountainsides 
were swept by a decent northerly wind.  A walk down Hesseltine Road 
resulted in a close view of an AMERICAN WOODCOCK and seven sparrow 
species - SAVANNAH,VESPER,SONG, LINCOLN'S, WHITE CROWNED, WHITE 
THROATED, and SWAMP. I had a single adult of the last five species in 
the same binocular field simultaneously.  They were all perched in the 
same small roadside shrub. A TITMOUSE caught our attention as it sang 
its little heart our nearby.  Quite a rarity for our patch.  Many 
CANADA GEESE were heading south in smallish skeins all over the skies.  
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES were still moving, too.  Perhaps a couple dozen 
were seen during the 2 hour period of our observation. 

There was a nice little raptor movement going on, too.  11 SHARP 
SHINNED HAWKS were joined by 2 NORTHERN HARRIERS and an adult GOLDEN 
EAGLE (first of the season for us)on their ways south.  A pair of adult 
NORTHERN GOSHAWKS provided around 1/2 hour of pure viewing pleasure as 
they circled and cavorted above our place before heading back to the 
hillside to the northeast. 

Alas, the wind shifted around and the clouds came and with them the 
rain.  So now I'm inside the library.  

Paul
Jay, NY 

Hello all,

Today  AT  Bloomingdale Bog and Gabriels(newly mowed fields along Rt 
86):

8 AMERICAN PIPITS(fly-over)
Many YELLOW-RUMPS
4 PALM WARBLERS
4 BOREAL CHICKADEE
2 GRAY JAY
1 N. HARRIER(imm)
1 possible? TREE SPARROW
3 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW
1 HERMIT THRUSH

Fields:
100+ AMERICAN CROW
22 WILD TURKEY
12 CANADA GEESE
8 SNOW GEESE

***FYI, there are reports of a huge southward movement of (young) 
SAW-WHET OWLS into S. Ontario/Quebec with predictions of overflow 
into NY and other N. states. Already postings of big #'s in PA/Mass. 
So get out in the woods at night this fall/early winter and listen!

toot-toot!
Brian McAllister
Saranac Lake

RBA

*  New York
*  Syracuse
*   October 08, 2007
*  NYSY 0710.08

Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert
Dates(s):October 01, 2007-October 08
to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com
covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
and MontezumaWetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County),
Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer, & Madison.
compiled:October 08, 2:30 p.m. (EST)
compiler: Joseph Brin
Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org


#74 - Monday October 08, 2007


Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of October 
01, 2007 


Highlights:


PARASITIC JAEGER
EURASIAN WIGEON
CACKLING GOOSE
EVENING GROSBEAK
PINE SISKIN
EURASIAN COLLERED-COVE (Extralimital)



Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC)
------------

     On 10/6 an EURASIAN WIGEON was spottted in the Main Pool.


Oswego County
------------

 Trips to Sandy Pond on 10/2 and 10/4 produced 11 species of shorebirds. 
Highlights were BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, BAIRD�S 
SANDPIPER, and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. 

 On 10/4 1 PARASITIC JAEGER, 17 EVENING GROSBEAKS, 1 CACKLING GOOSE, 2 BLACK 
SCOTERS, and 9 SURF SCOTERS were seen from the bluff at Derby Hill. 



Madison County
------------

 On 10/7 6 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS were seen at the Sod Farm north of 
Chittenango. 

 On 10/7 3 PINE SISKENS were observed on Coon Tree Lane on the DeRuyter 
Reservoir. 



Extralimital
------------

 On 10/2 an EURASIAN COLLERED-DOVE was seen in Port Crane northeast of 
Binghamton. According to the source the bird has been seen for over a month. 
The bird was seen on a telephone wire on Rt. 369 just south of Lock Street. See 
NYS Brids for more details. 



--end transcript

--
Joseph Brin
Region 5
Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A.



 
       
---------------------------------
Building a website is a piece of cake. 
Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I was just wondering if anyway has come across this...Just before we 
started on a hiking trail, I looked down and strutting out was an 
adult Ruffed Grouse. It was doing little clucking type 
vocalizations, pecking at the ground, and walking right towards us. 
I motioned to my wife so she could see it before it flew away (like 
a "normal" grouse) - but it never did. It continued going back and 
forth, and getting closer. About a minute passed and then it walked 
away from the trailhead register and towards the creek. So my wife 
and I started walking and just before the trail begins downhill I 
hear a "Hey!" behind me. My wife was letting me know the grouse was 
now following us. I merely replied to "walk faster" and soon we put 
tracks between us and the inquisitive grouse.

About an hour and half later coming back out we ran into a party of 
four coming in. We remarked about the grouse and as if on cue, it 
materializes at the trail-head again (followed by cameras clicking 
from the requisitely startled).

I've come across female grouse w/brood who have attempted to lure me 
away from the chicks. I've never had a grouse follow like a puppy. 
The only thing I can think is someone has a stocked feeder and the 
grouse got used to people in this fashion. For all intents and 
purposes the grouse looked completely normal.

The other interesting thing we saw this morning...While at Ferd's, 
there were two Gray Jay's coming to us for suet we brought in. Also 
within the bog were a pair of Black-backed's (female and male). The 
male Black-backed was flecking bark off whatever dead/dying conifer 
it happened to be at the moment. However when one of the jay's flew 
away with its fill, the male Black-backed would fly off in rather 
haphazard fashion (ie. random arcs) but eventually zero in on the 
jay so it would always land in its proximity. This happened at least 
four times. During all this the Gray Jay seemed completely 
indifferent to the Black-backed (as did the female Black-backed who 
always remained affixed to whatever tree she happened to be on). At 
no time did the male Black-backed fly into black spruce crowns (as 
I've seen Blue Jays do) to try to appropriate the cache. After 
landing near the jay, it remained a minute or so then make its way 
back to the same conifer and/or different one. 

Eventually both woodpeckers moved off into the spruce swamp. 

Bill Lenhart
Poughkeepsie NY

My father is visiting from Oregon this weekend so he and Carol Cady 
and I have been doing a little low-key birding.  Yesterday we spent 
90 minutes walking around Indian Creek Nature Center between thunder 
showers.  Far fewer songbirds were in the woods than I've seen on 
recent visits, although we heard 1 American Pipit, 5 Purple Finches, 
and 2 Pine Siskins fly over (about average for most days the past 
couple of weeks).  Ducks are now piling into Lower Lake; from the 
tower I saw the following waterfowl and waterbirds (numbers are 
estimates as a thunderstorm sent us back to our car before I had 
time to get good counts for most of the duck species):

Canada Goose: 1100
Wood Duck: 2
Gadwall: 1
American Wigeon: 80
American Black Duck: 30
Mallard: 200
Blue-winged Teal: 10
Northern Pintail: 6 (FOS)
Green-winged Teal: 25
Redhead: 1
Ring-necked Duck: 880
Lesser Scaup: 4
Pied-billed Grebe: 60 from ICNC tower and about 110 from Rt. 15 
tower; we certainly saw some individuals from both locations.
Common Moorhen: 2
American Coot: 3 (FOS)
Black-bellied Plover: 1 flying over lake

I rarely see Redhead on Lower Lake, but this species often occurs in 
rafts of several hundred at Wilson Hill WMA this time of year.  It 
seems like just one or two spill over to Upper & Lower Lakes each 
fall.

Today we went on a short hike at the Massawepie Boy Scout land.  
Every fall Carol and I hike around the south end of Massawepie Lake, 
and today was our day to do this for the year.  There is a nice 
patch of boreal forest here where we've seen Spruce Grouse once 
before, but we were not so lucky today.  Instead, we had great looks 
at a male Black-backed Woodpecker, and saw 3 Gray Jays and 2 Yellow 
Palm Warblers.  We were also treated to quite vibrant fall colors, 
which surprised us all given the very muted foliage we're seeing 
down here in the valley.

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY

Hoping to catch a hawk flight on north winds we climbed to the summit of  Jay 
Mountain and saw a total of six species:
 
Black-capped chickadee
Yellow-rumped warbler
Golden-crowned kinglet
Common raven
Canada goose
and, surprisingly,
a pair of Lapland longspurs that came in to forage on the summit as we sat  
around watching.
 
John & Pat Thaxton
Keene, NY



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

What a gorgeous fall day! I took a friend to Noblewood this morning and it was 
hard to tear ourselves away. If not for lunch....... 

There were lots of Canada Geese at the mouth of the Boquet and on the western 
side of the spit, along with 20 or so Great Black-backed Bulls and a possible 

Lesser Black-backed Gull ( adult). About 60 Bonaparts took off heading east but 
a few stayed near the larger gulls. Closer to the area in front of the Day 

Camp were 3 grebes. The best guess would be Horned, but my skills at 
identification into the sun lacks a bit! While looking in that area, 4 first 
fall Common 

Tern were flying back and forth and a little further away was another tern that 
I have tentatively identified as a first summer Black Tern. ( yes, I have seen 

them before, in the Ottawa area). Leaving there, we watched a female Pileated 
Woodpecker working on a birch tree. 


This afternoon we went over to Wickham Marsh. Along the road between HIghland 
Forge and Port Douglas we saw a nearly white squirrel who crossed the 

road in front of the car. The walk in from the entrance by the lake was 
pleasant. We startled a total of 11 Wood Ducks in a few spots as we walked, and 
saw 

lots of scampering, and chasing, chipmunks! We had a few Red-breasted 
Nuthatches in a tree near the open grassy area. It wasn't until we left and 
passed 

by the other entrance that I saw a sign for public hunting!  Ugh!

Yesterday there was an adult Common Loon partially in winter plumage by 
Whallon's Bay, and 2 male Ring-necked Pheasants crossing Lakeshore Rd near 

Cross Rd.

Happy Birding!
Eve 

Eve Ticknor
Coordinator OFNC Falcon Watch
38-9 Gillespie Cres
Ottawa, On  K1V 9t5

10/7/07 Wilson Hill & Robert Moses State Park (St. Lawrence River in northern 
St. Lawrence Co.) 


Late morning, I took a drive to Wilson Hill and Robert Moses State Park. I 
found 29 species - almost all at Wilson Hill (the protected area between Wilson 
Hill Island and Route 131). If I had a scope along, my species tally may have 
been higher, but I was fortunate, and most of the birds were right along the 
roadway. Here are some of the species: 


Canada Goose - countless! (in the water and in the sky)
Mute Swan - 2
Wood Duck - several
Gadwall - many
American Wigeon - many
Amer. Black Duck
Green-winged Teal - 2 at the peninsula area where there is a new causeway being 
constructed out to Wilson Hill Island. 

Redhead - 7 including 2 males
Ring-necked Duck - many
Pied-billed Grebe - many, including a group of 10 at the peninsula area under 
construction - one was observed eating a fish that I thought was too big for 
the grebe to swallow! 

Double-crested Cormorant - several at Hawkins Pt.
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture - many
Bonaparte's Gull - 1 at Wilson Hill
Great Black-backed Gull - Robert Moses State Park
Belted Kingfisher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - on the peninsula
Sparrows - Song, White-throated, White-crowned, and Dark-eyed Junco

Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

All,

MSNBC (headline) featured an article on the Adirondacks titled, "Easy winter, 
spring help these mice multiply". High Peaks Audubon President, Charlotte 
Demers (Huntington in Newcomb), is the interviewed scientist: 


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id//

As Larry Master mentioned in Sept., there has been an explosion of mice in the 
Adirondacks. We could not keep ahead of capturing the mice in our Long Lake 
house this past summer/fall, and our Long Lake neighbors have been capturing 6 
a DAY in their home!!! I will contact Phil Terrie at the north end of Long Lake 
to ask how his mouse data from 2007 compares on his historical chart - he has 
been keeping records of mice each year (for 30 years now?). 


Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The Saranac Lake Newspaper had an interesting article about bird
watching and Spring Pond Bog.  Brian McAllister is featured prominently.
The link is 
http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/News/articles.asp?articleID=8858

Tom Wheeler
Potsdam

A two hour visit to the TNC El Dorado Preserve yielded 10 species of 
shorebird, including one each American Golden-Plover and Baird's 
Sandpiper.  A distant flock of approximately 90 Sanderling was on 
the first point north of the preserve; it appeared that a few other 
shorebirds were mixed in with the Sanderling (Dunlin?), but the 
flock was too far away for me to be certain.  Otherwise, all of the 
shorebirds were on the algae-covered rocks near the bird blind 
except for a single Greater Yellowlegs on the beach to the south.  
My total shorebird list for the morning:

Black-bellied Plover: 12
American Golden-Plover: 1
Semipalmated Plover: 2
Killdeer: 52
Greater Yellowlegs: 1
Sanderling: 90
Least Sandpiper: 2
Baird's Sandpiper: 1
Pectoral Sandpiper: 4
Dunlin: 1

Other birds of note included 4 Surf Scoters on the water southwest 
of the blind, a raft of 62 Common Mergansers nearby, and at least 25 
American Pipits feeding on the shoreline or flying overhead.

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY

10/4/07  Winthrop (Town of Stockholm, in St. Lawrence Co.)

Mary Beth Warburton and I drove to Winthrop this evening to see if the Great 
Egrets were still roosting in a large marsh along Route 420 a mile north of the 
village of Winthrop. We arrived around 6 p.m. and stayed until 7:20 p.m. During 
the time we visited, we counted 72 Great Egrets fly into the marsh to roost. I 
am sure our count was not exact, since we may have missed a few egrets 
approaching from the east, but the count is probably close. We parked off Route 
420 and spent most of the time standing on the guard rail which gave us a nice 
view of the marsh (although, we looked a bit strange to all the cars driving 
by!). The bird activity was non-stop and just remarkable to witness. It 
reinforces how vital wetland areas are to so many bird species. Both of us were 
struck by the remarkable aerial acrobatics by the egrets as they decided where 
they would perch and as they interacted with each other. Some of the other 
species: 


Canada Goose - MANY; They filled the skies and many dropped down to join the 
egrets. 

Wood Duck - many
Mallard - many
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron - at least 10
Great Egret - 72 as mentioned above
Black-crowned Night Heron - at least 3 adults and 1 juvenile (one perched adult 
observed through a scope), and several times we observed them through 
binoculars as they flew near us. 

Great Horned Owl - I turned around to check for incoming egrets, and found this 
owl perched right behind us! 

Belted Kingfisher
Red-winged Blackbird - many

We probably missed some waterfowl since the skies were filled with birds and it 
was becoming dark. 


I am not sure how long the egrets will be at this location. It was quite a 
sight to see! 


Joan Collins, Potsdam & Long Lake
Mary Beth Warburton, Potsdam


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

10/4/07 Regan Rd., Potsdam

Since I first posted hearing Pine Siskins outside our Potsdam home on 9/23, I 
have continued to intermittently hear them over the last week and a half. Our 
feeders went back up on 9/23, but it took 11 days to finally get a Pine Siskin 
to visit them! I watched the solo siskin for over 10 minutes before the local 
Blue Jays decided it needed to be evicted! Purple Finches also showed up at the 
feeders today. A Pileated Woodpecker vocalized several times from somewhere in 
the heavy fog that covered the dawn landscape. White-crowned Sparrows are still 
abundant and singing outside our home. 


Other observations (from Potsdam unless indicated otherwise):
9/30/07
Sharp-shinned Hawk - after a Blue Jay

9/27/07
Cooper's Hawk - very loud CAK-ing juvenile that relentlessly hunted birds near 
our feeders. The Blue Jays ganged up on the bird each time it perched. 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - juvenile foraging on our chimney

9/26/07
Northern Harrier - female
Common Grackle - large flock fly-over

9/25/07 (88 degrees!!!)
Northern Harrier - beautiful male!
Sharp-shinned Hawk - going after a Blue Jay at our feeders

Also on 9/25/07 a walk on the Leonard Pond Trail:
Wood Duck - 2 males
Ruffed Grouse - many
Common Loon - 2
Blue-headed Vireo - many singing
Boreal Chickadee - the area just before the gate
Brown Creeper - several
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler

9/24/07
Northern Harrier - male

Just a note that it is October 4th, and we have yet to touch our heat. Years 
ago, when we first moved to the Adirondacks, there would always be an early 
snowstorm during the first week of October. Seems those days are long gone..... 


Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I stayed in Canton this morning to take care of some business, but had 
a couple of hours of free time so I headed over to Indian Creek Nature 
Center.  The birds were largely the same as on Sunday, with the 
exception of an Orange-crowned Warbler I found foraging in the dense 
alders along the far end of the boardwalk (just before the trail forks 
to go to the marsh deck and Lowland Trail).  

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY

RBA

*  New York
*  Syracuse
*   October 01, 2007
*  NYSY 0710.01

Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert
Dates(s):September 24 -October 01, 2007
to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com
covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
and MontezumaWetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County),
Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer, & Madison.
compiled:October 01, 11:30 a.m. (EST)
compiler: Joseph Brin
Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org


#73 - Monday October 01, 2007


Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of September 
24, 2007 


Highlights:

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
LINCOLN�S SPARROW
PARASITIC JAEGER
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
CACKLING GOOSE
SANDHILL CRANE
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
CACKLING GOOSE
SABINE�S GULL (extralimital)


Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC)
------------

 On 9/30 2 SANDHILL CRANES were see nat the Knox-Marcellus marsh on East Road. 



Oswego County
------------

 On 9/28 7 PARASITIC JAEGERS and 2 more JAEGER species were seen from Derby 
Hill. 

 On 2/29 SNOW GEESE, BRANT, WHITE-WING SCOTERS, and SURF SCOTERS were seen at 
Derby Hill. 

     On 9/29 a CACKLING GOOSE was seen flying over Bishop Hill Road. 
     On 9/29 an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was spotted in Noyes Sanctuary.


Onondaga County
------------

 On 9/29 2 CLAT-COLORED SPARROWS were seen under the power lines in Three 
Rivers Wildlife Management Area. 

 On 9/30 4 LINCOLN�S SPARROWS were found in back on the Town of Van Buren 
Transportation Department west of Baldwinsville. 



Cayuga County
------------

 On 9/30 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were seen at the end of McIntyre Road in the 
northeast part of Cayuga County. 



Extralimital
------------

 On 9/28 a SABINE�S GULL along with POMERINE and PARASITIC JAEGERS were seen 
from Broadway Bluffs on Lake Ontario in the eastern part of Wayne County. 



--end transcript

--
Joseph Brin
Region 5
Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A.

 
       
---------------------------------
Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, 
photos & more. 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This weekend on Rand Hill in Clinton County I still had lingering 
Black-throated Blues and on checking records, it seems as if the end of 
September is a usual time for them to still be here. 


Also I heard a Saw-whet Owl early morning and it seemed to be coming from the 
general area where I saw a juvenile about this time a number of years ago. A 
crow, which is unusual in the woods, started putting up a fuss and the owl 
ceased making noise before I could follow it. 


I have not had the number of White-throated sparrows as I usually do, but there 
were some White-crowned around this weekend. 


Judy Heintz  from the Dannamora area of Clinton County

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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While Carol Cady and I were walking to the tower at Indian Creek 
Nature Center this morning we heard and saw an American Golden-
Plover fly over us heading to the west.  Prior to this we had been 
hearing at least one Black-bellied Plover calling from toward Lower 
Lake for 10-15 minutes.  We didn't encounter either species again 
after the golden-plover flew by.  I've been seeing large numbers of 
birds on the tower trail most recent visits, but today there were 
just a few robins, Myrtle Warblers, and White-throated Sparrows.  
All the activity this morning was along the boardwalk heading to the 
Lowland Trail and Marsh Deck.  The woods and shrubs adjacent to the 
boardwalk were loaded with robins, Hermit Thrushes, Song, Swamp, 
White-throated, and White-crowned Sparrows, and Rusty and Red-winged 
Blackbirds.  Myrtle Warbler numbers were down substantially from 
Friday, and I saw no other warbler species (compared to 10 species 
Friday morning).  For about the past week I've been hearing Pine 
Siskins daily, and this morning I noted 4 flying over, as well as 
one pipit.

I made a quick trip to the Rt. 15 tower overlooking Lower Lake this 
evening to see what waterfowl numbers were like.  This morning only 
a couple hundred Canada Geese were on Lower Lake, but at 5 pm my 
estimate was 9000.  Other birds on the lake included about 400 Ring-
necked Ducks that I could see from the tower (I estimated 700 from 
the Indian Creek tower, but many were in a part of the lake that is 
not visible from the Rt. 15 tower), 46 American Wigeon, and 103 Pied-
billed Grebes.

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY

9/29/07 Massawepie Mire, SE St. Lawrence Co., Cloudy and cool (it was sunny in 
Potsdam!), 7 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. 


We had a lovely day for the Massawepie Mire field trip yesterday - overcast and 
cool (it can be too hot to be out in the open mire on bright sunny days). After 
we hiked almost 5 miles round trip on the old railroad grade, I asked if anyone 
wanted to hike the Mountaineer Trail around Massawepie Lake, and everyone took 
me up on it! - A wonderful group of people! Our total mileage for the day was 
~7.5 miles. We found 26 species. Here are some the species found: 


Wood Duck - male (outlet of Massawepie Lake)
Common Merganser - Massawepie Lake
Ruffed Grouse - several
Red-tailed Hawk
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Blue-headed Vireo - several singing along the Mountaineer Trail
Gray Jay
Common Raven
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - many, with several singing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Pine Warbler - several singing along the Mountaineer Trail; we had wonderful 
views of this species down low (often, I only see the underside of this species 
in breeding season when it perches at the tops of pines!) Pine Warblers breed 
in the pines along the outlet of Massawepie Lake, and this continues to be a 
terrific location to actually SEE them! 

Palm Warbler - abundant!; We mostly observed yellow (Eastern) Palms, but a few 
brown (Western) Palms were also observed (Palms were found throughout the fen 
and along the Mountaineer Trail also.). 

Swamp Sparrow - along Massawepie Lake & the outlet
White-throated Sparrow - many with several singing
White-crowned Sparrow - abundant with many singing
Dark-eyed Junco
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin - many flocks flying over the fen!
Amer. Goldfinch

We had windless conditions, and intently listened for Black-backed Woodpeckers, 
but had no luck yesterday. Boreal Chickadees were not encountered either. 


I had a wonderful day at one of my favorite birding destinations!

Observers:
Joan Collins - Potsdam & Long Lake
Emily & Jim Pugsley - Keene & Maryland
Neal Reilly - Plattsburgh & Schenectady
George Seymour - Long Lake & Saugerties

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello all,

Check out this radar map:
http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/index_loop.php

Most of the blue and green is bird movement!

Brian McAllister
Saranac Lake

Hello to the Eastern Birders! :)

I figured a good place to bounce questions about eastern birds would
be off eastern birders.

In late August, I photographed this vireo. Upon closer inspection I
realized there might be more to this bird than my brief field
observation obtained. 

Ive posted a link to where the image is posted. I hope that is ok.


http://www.bcbirding.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=identification&action=display&thread= 


Keep in mind that 'our' western warbling vireos tend to be brighter.

Last Saturday I did positively ID a Philadelphia vireo which I also
managed picture, albeit a poor one. I think this is the fourth such
record for my area (Southwestern B.C.)


http://www.bcbirding.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=reports&action=display&thread= 


Thanks in advance for your opinions!

Hope you all had/having a great fall migration.

Cheers
Gord
Chilliwack, B.C.

Hello all,

After hearing lots of "tsips", "zips", and, "tseeps" lastnight I 
thought a morning walk along Bloomingdale Bog(northend) might 
produced some migrants....and yes it did!

one big mixed flock(40-50) of YELLOW-RUMPED AND PALM WARBLERS(both 
Western and yellow palms observed in this flock)
2 BLACKBURNIAN WARLBERS
1 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER
2 BLUE-HEADED VIREO
1 BELTED KINGFISHER
2 AMERICAN KESTRAL
1 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK
1 SWAMP SPARROW...singing!
1 unidentified sp. of THRUSH(I'm leaning towards a Swainson's)
Lots of WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS...several singing!
One fairly high "V" of CANADA GEESE overhead.
also....
1 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER
2 BOREAL CHICKADEE
2 GRAY JAY
2 PURPLE FINCH
2 PINESISKINS
Many GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS
and...2 monarchs and 1 mourning cloak butterfly.

Brian McAllister
Saranac Lake

Monday at AuSable Point produced low numbers of birds but some species 
of note: GADWALL (pair), SCAUP (sp., female, 2), PIED BILL GREBE 
(juvenile), AMERICAN COOT (1), NORTHERN HARRIER (adult female) and, 
besides the 'expected' gull species, a raft of about 500 CANADA GEESE 
which wouldn't produce an oddity no matter how hard I squinted.  When 
is the weather going to turn,anyway?  

Paul
Jay, NY

On my drive home from work this evening a Peregrine Falcon flew over 
Rt. 11 almost directly over my car.  This was in the town of 
Gouverneur 2-3 miles east of the Jefferson/St. Lawrence County line.

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY

9/25/07 & 9/26/07 Potsdam

Several White-crowned Sparrows have been singing outside our home for the past 
two days. 


Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello all,  
Here's Ron Pittaway's winter forecast which most of you have probably seen by 
now. The cone crops here in NY are poor on all species except a fair cone crop 
on red pine. This is probably consistent with most of the rest of the 
Northeast. Also, non-native species prevalent here in Central and Southern NY 
such as Norway spruce and European larch might still hold a small amount of 
seed from last year's bumper crops. Look for comments in bold by each species 
to see how things could unfold here in Central NY and Northeast. 

WINTER FINCH FORECAST 

This winter's theme is "finches going in three directions" depending 
on the species. Some finches have gone east and west or both, while 
others will come south. Most coniferous and deciduous trees have very 
poor seed crops in much of Ontario and western Quebec. The exception 
is northwestern Ontario such as Quetico Provincial Park, Dryden and 
Lake of the Woods, where there are good crops on some species. 
However, north of a line from the top of Lake Nipigon to Manitoba the 
crops are generally low in the boreal forest. This will be a quiet 
winter for most (not all) winter finches in Algonquin Provincial 
Park, in contrast to last winter's bumper seed crops and abundance of 
finches. Most of last winter's White-winged Crossbills and Pine 
Siskins departed Ontario this past summer. They probably went either 
to eastern or western Canada or both where there are bumper cone 
crops. Type 3 Red Crossbills, which were abundant in Ontario last 
winter, have probably returned to their core range in western North 
America. White-winged and Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins will not be 
irrupting south out of Ontario as they do in some flight years, 
because most have already gone east and/or west. However, other 
winter finches such as Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks, Purple 
Finches and redpolls are irrupting or will irrupt southward out of 
northern Ontario. See individual species accounts for details. In 
addition I comment on other irruptive passerines, such as the 
Red-breasted Nuthatch, whose movements are linked to cone crops. Also 
included is a comment on northern owls.

INDIVIDUAL FINCH FORECASTS

Pine Grosbeak: This grosbeak will irrupt south of the breeding range 
because crops on native mountain-ashes (rowan berries) are generally 
poor in northeastern Ontario and across the boreal forest. However, 
crops are good in northwestern Ontario west of Lake Superior. Pine 
Grosbeaks should wander south to Lake Ontario and perhaps farther in 
search of crabapples and planted European mountain-ash berries, which 
have average crops in southern Ontario. Watch for them at feeders 
where they prefer sunflower seeds. After irruptions, Pine Grosbeaks 
return north earlier than other northern finches. Most are gone by 
late March. Buds form a larger part of their winter diet when 
mountain-ash crops are poor.

The last big Pine Grosbeak year was the winter of 2001-02, which occurred after 
the last widespread "bumper" cone crop of 2000-01. We are primed for a flight 
here in Central NY. Look for juveniles and females with perhaps a few adult 
males making it south into Central NY. More adult males will be present in 
Adirondacks and other parts of Northeast. Again, we are primed to see this 
rarest northern visitor here in Central NY. 


Purple Finch: Most Purple Finches will migrate out of Ontario this 
fall in response to the low seed crops. Currently, Purple Finches are 
migrating south through southern Ontario. Very few or none will stay 
behind at feeders in southern Ontario.
Look for very few Purple Finches in NY and the Northeast this year with the 
exception of perhaps small numbers occurring downstate south of the Catskills 
to Long Island. Good numbers should be present southward into Mid-Atlantic 
States, Appalachians and the Carolinas. 


Red Crossbill: The Red Crossbill complex comprises 9 sibling Types, 
possibly full species, which have different call notes, and different 
bill sizes related to cone preferences. At least three Types occur in 
Ontario. Type 3 (smallest bill) prefers small hemlock cones (and 
spruce cones) in Ontario. The hemlock Type 3 was abundant last 
winter, but is presumed absent now from the province because hemlock 
produced few or no cones in 2007. Type 4 (medium sized bill) is 
adapted to white pine cones. White pine cone crops are fair to good 
(but spotty) in northern Ontario. Currently, small numbers of Type 4 
Red Crossbills are present on the "east side" of Algonquin Park 
(heavy crop on white pine) and probably elsewhere with extensive 
white pine forest. Algonquin's east side pine forest is accessible 
from Highway 17 west of Pembroke. South of Algonquin white pine crops 
are poor to none. An infrequent presumed Type 2 Red Crossbill is 
associated with red pine forests.
Look for a few Red Crossbills to again persist in Chenango County(Central NY) 
where Red Crossbills have been present since at least winter 2004!! Last winter 
and spring Red Crossbill types nested in small to moderate numbers throughout 
NY excluding south of Catskills and extreme Western NY. They were more 
widespread than White-winged Crossbills in NY last year, but the opposite was 
true for the rest of the Northeast. 


White-winged Crossbill: This crossbill moves back and forth across 
northern coniferous forests searching for new cone crops. Most 
White-winged Crossbills left Ontario this past summer. They will be 
scarce or absent in Ontario this winter. They presumably went either 
west to bumper spruce and fir cone crops in Alberta and British 
Columbia, and/or to Atlantic Canada, which has large cone crops on 
spruce and balsam fir, particularly in Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
Island in Nova Scotia. White-winged Crossbills are currently common 
in Newfoundland and western Canada.
After last year's Adirondack and Northeastern nesting event, look for a 
scattered flock or two of White-winged Crossbills in Adirondacks, but like the 
forecast predicts they will be generally scarce or absent in NY and much of the 
Northeast this winter. 


Common and Hoary Redpolls: There will be a big flight of redpolls 
into southern Ontario and bordering United States. Seed crops on 
white birch, yellow birch and alder are very poor in most of Ontario. 
Expect redpolls at bird feeders this winter. Far northwestern Ontario 
has a good white birch crop so redpolls may be common there.
There hasn't been a "big" redpoll flight in Central NY south of Adirondacks 
since  and that occurred fairly late in the season in late January and 
February. There were modest redpoll flights in the Adirondacks in  and 
. We are primed for a big flight in the Northeast, the Adirondacks AND 
south of the Adirondacks here in Central NY. Look for small numbers perhaps 
even on Long Island and northern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 


Pine Siskin: Similar to the White-winged Crossbill, most Pine Siskins 
departed Ontario this past summer, presumably attracted to huge 
spruce and fir cone crops in Alberta and British Columbia and/or to 
big spruce and balsam fir cone crops in Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
Island and probably elsewhere in the Atlantic Provinces. Some of the 
very few siskins that remained in Ontario are now wandering south 
with sightings of usually only ones and twos in southern Ontario. 
Large southward irruptions occur when cone crop failures span much of 
Canada. Very few siskins will visit feeders this winter in southern Ontario.
There were nearly zero fall or spring migrating Pine Siskins in New York last 
year. Unlike the other finch species, excluding Purple Finch, there is almost 
always a fall and spring Pine Siskin pulse (push of migrating birds through 
NY). Look for the "pulse" to happen this year. In fact, I would not be 
surprised given the amount of feeders in the Adirondacks (and perhaps more 
populated wooded areas of Northeast) and Central NY that small numbers (a few 
here and there) persist here in Central NY and perhaps Southern NY at feeders 
mixed in with redpoll and goldfinch flocks.. with Goldfinch flocks earlier in 
season and redpoll flocks later in the season. There is evidence that Pine 
Siskins are starting to build in small numbers again in the Adirondacks. There 
have been recent sightings of a few to 50 in parts of Northern NY. Pine Siskins 
have been nearly continuously persistent in parts of the Adirondacks since 2001 
when they bred in very large numbers throughout much of the state. They again 
bred last year in the Adirondacks in small numbers. Good evidence exists to 
support the idea that Pine Siskins have nested in small numbers in the state 
every year since 2001! 


Evening Grosbeak: This grosbeak will irrupt south of the boreal 
forest this fall because tree seed crops are generally very poor in 
northeastern Ontario and western Quebec. In recent weeks scattered 
birds have visited feeders in southern Ontario. Beginning in the 
early 1980s the Evening Grosbeak declined significantly as large 
outbreaks of spruce budworm subsided. The larvae and pupae are eaten 
by adults and fed to nestlings. Expect Evening Grosbeaks at bird 
feeders in southern Ontario and northern United States, but not in 
the large numbers seen during the 1970s.
Evening Grosbeaks have become a bit of an enigma bird. Where have all the 
massive flocks of the 70's and 80's gone? Why aren't the Carolinas still seeing 
wintering flocks like they did almost annually up to 1990? Many tie their 
decline to the absence of a spruce budworm outbreak, which hasn't occurred 
since the late 1980's when their number started to precipitously decline. There 
was anecdotal evidence that they bred in areas this past summer a bit outside 
where they normally bred. Also, a couple of mid summer reports from Ithaca, NY 
was the first mid summer reports in years! They have become a biennial 
irruptive the past 15 years, and so they should be present in small to moderate 
numbers in hamlets of the Adirondacks and Northeast, and small numbers at 
feeders in wooded higher elevational areas in Central NY, the Catskills and 
perhaps points southward to the mountains of the Virginias. 


OTHER IRRUPTIVE PASSERINES

Red-breasted Nuthatch: They have been moving south since mid-June 
presumably because of the poor cone crop in central Canada. Almost 
all Red-breasted Nuthatches will depart Ontario's boreal forest by 
late fall and left the province. Some will be at feeders in southern 
Ontario, but they will be very scarce in Algonquin Park. Algonquin 
Christmas Bird Counts (32 years) show a biennial (every two years) 
high and low pattern, with some exceptions.
Irruptive birds have been showing up south of Northern NY since mid July. Birds 
have already been seen as far south as Georgia and Alabama! 


Bohemian Waxwing: The poor crop of native mountain-ash (rowan 
berries) in much of northern Ontario will cause Bohemians Waxwings to 
wander south and east this winter. Watch for them eating buckthorn 
berries and crabapples in southern Ontario. The mountain-ash crop is 
better west of Lake Superior with a big crop around Kenora at Lake of 
the Woods.
Look for Bohemian Waxwings at their usual haunts ...crabapple trees and other 
fruiting trees from Northern NY (particularly the St. Lawrence and Champlain 
Lake Plains) northward throughout parts of Northeast. Birds should become more 
common as we get into late December and early January and look for smaller 
flocks to make their way into Central NY and perhaps Southern NY come 
February-April. 


Blue Jay: A strong flight is expected this fall. The beechnut crop is 
zero and the acorn crop on red oak is only fair to good (aborted in 
some areas) in central Ontario. Soon thousands of jays will be 
migrating southwest along the shorelines of Lakes Ontario and Erie, 
exiting Ontario south of Windsor. This winter there will be far fewer 
Blue Jays in Algonquin Park and at feeders in central Ontario.
Blue Jays are already starting to move through New York as we speak(or type). 

Gray Jay and Boreal Chickadee: They are moving in northeastern Quebec 
east of Tadoussac along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. 
These movements could extend to southern Ontario and northeastern states.
It's been many years since (late 70's) there was a big Boreal Chickadee flight 
south of the Adirondacks. In 1976 birds were noted as far south as northern 
Pennsylvania and a few birds wintered on Long Island into at least April. Could 
this be the year? 


NORTHERN OWLS

Small mammal populations were abundant this summer in northern 
Ontario, presumably increasing after the big seed/berry/fruit crops 
in 2006. However, crops this year are very poor in much of the north, 
partly caused by cold weather and snow in late spring that froze the 
buds and flowers of many plants. In early August, Ontario Ministry of 
Natural Resources biologists on aerial surveys noted many raptors 
near James Bay including 15-20 Great Gray Owls, Short-eared Owls 
(common), Northern Harriers (common) and scattered Rough-legged 
Hawks. If small mammal populations crash this fall, then Great Gray 
Owls, Northern Hawk Owls and Boreal Owls will move, possibly 
southward into areas accessible by birders. Northern Saw-whet Owl 
numbers are linked to red-backed voles (a forest vole) in Ontario. 
There is the possibility that this vole could decline soon because it 
often cycles with deer mice. The huge population of deer mice in 
central Ontario is declining rapidly now because of poor seed crops 
this summer, particularly sugar maple samaras, which they store for 
the winter. If red-backed vole numbers decline as they often do in 
association with deer mice, there will be a strong flight of Northern 
Saw-whet Owls this fall.
Lets see what the owls bring.. things could shape up nicely. We're also due for 
a big Rough-leg flight, which also occurred the winter of 2001-02 the year 
after the last bumper cone crop. 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank staff of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and 
birders whose reports allow me to make predictions about finches. 
They are Ken Abraham (OMNR Hudson Bay Lowlands), Dennis Barry (Durham 
Region and Haliburton County), Kevin Clute (Algonquin Park), Shirley 
Davidson (OMNR Minden), Bruce Di Labio (Eastern Ontario), Carrolle 
Eady (Dryden), Dave Elder (Atikokan), Bruce Falls (Brodie Club, 
Toronto), Brian Fox (OMNR Timmins to Chapleau), Marcel Gahbauer 
(Labrador, Alberta, British Columbia), Michel Gosselin (Gatineau, 
Quebec), Charity Hendry (OMNR Ontario Tree Seed Plant), Leo Heyens 
(OMNR Kenora), Tyler Hoar (central Ontario and southern Quebec), 
Peter Hynard (Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia), Jean Iron (Toronto 
and northeastern Quebec), Christine Kerrigan and Peter Nevin (Parry 
Sound District), Barry Kinch (Timiskaming), Bob Knudsen (Ontario 
Parks, Algoma), Bruce Mactavish (Newfoundland), Scott McPherson (OMNR 
Northeast Region), Brian Naylor (OMNR North Bay), Marty Obbard (OMNR 
Peterborough), Justin Peter (Algonquin Park), Janet Pineau (Arrowhead 
Provincial Park), Fred Pinto (OMNR North Bay), Gordon Ross (OMNR 
Moosonee), Rick Salmon (OMNR Lake Nipigon), Don Sutherland (OMNR 
Hudson Bay Lowlands), Doug Tozer (Algonquin Park), Ron Tozer 
(Algonquin Park and Muskoka), Declan Troy (Alaska), Mike Turner (OMNR 
Brancroft District), Stan Vasiliauskas (OMNR Northeast Region), Mike 
Walsh (OMNR Muskoka and Parry Sound), John White (OMNR Ontario Tree 
Seed Plant) and Alan Wormington (Point Pelee). I thank Michel 
Gosselin, Jean Iron and Ron Tozer for reviewing the forecast. Ron 
Tozer also provided information from his upcoming book on The Birds 
of Algonquin Provincial Park.

PREVIOUS FINCH FORECASTS archived at Larry Neily's website: 
http:(email address 
filtered)/pittaway-old.htm 


Ron Pittaway
Ontario Field Ornithologists
Minden, Ontario
15 September 2007
www.ofo.ca 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello all,  
Here's Ron Pittaway's winter forecast which most of you have probably seen by 
now. The cone crops here in NY are poor on all species except a fair cone crop 
on red pine. This is probably consistent with most of the rest of the 
Northeast. Also, non-native species prevalent here in Central and Southern NY 
such as Norway spruce and European larch might still hold a small amount of 
seed from last year's bumper crops. Look for comments in bold by each species 
to see how things could unfold here in Central NY and Northeast. 

WINTER FINCH FORECAST 

This winter's theme is "finches going in three directions" depending 
on the species. Some finches have gone east and west or both, while 
others will come south. Most coniferous and deciduous trees have very 
poor seed crops in much of Ontario and western Quebec. The exception 
is northwestern Ontario such as Quetico Provincial Park, Dryden and 
Lake of the Woods, where there are good crops on some species. 
However, north of a line from the top of Lake Nipigon to Manitoba the 
crops are generally low in the boreal forest. This will be a quiet 
winter for most (not all) winter finches in Algonquin Provincial 
Park, in contrast to last winter's bumper seed crops and abundance of 
finches. Most of last winter's White-winged Crossbills and Pine 
Siskins departed Ontario this past summer. They probably went either 
to eastern or western Canada or both where there are bumper cone 
crops. Type 3 Red Crossbills, which were abundant in Ontario last 
winter, have probably returned to their core range in western North 
America. White-winged and Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins will not be 
irrupting south out of Ontario as they do in some flight years, 
because most have already gone east and/or west. However, other 
winter finches such as Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks, Purple 
Finches and redpolls are irrupting or will irrupt southward out of 
northern Ontario. See individual species accounts for details. In 
addition I comment on other irruptive passerines, such as the 
Red-breasted Nuthatch, whose movements are linked to cone crops. Also 
included is a comment on northern owls.

INDIVIDUAL FINCH FORECASTS

Pine Grosbeak: This grosbeak will irrupt south of the breeding range 
because crops on native mountain-ashes (rowan berries) are generally 
poor in northeastern Ontario and across the boreal forest. However, 
crops are good in northwestern Ontario west of Lake Superior. Pine 
Grosbeaks should wander south to Lake Ontario and perhaps farther in 
search of crabapples and planted European mountain-ash berries, which 
have average crops in southern Ontario. Watch for them at feeders 
where they prefer sunflower seeds. After irruptions, Pine Grosbeaks 
return north earlier than other northern finches. Most are gone by 
late March. Buds form a larger part of their winter diet when 
mountain-ash crops are poor.

The last big Pine Grosbeak year was the winter of 2001-02, which occurred after 
the last widespread "bumper" cone crop of 2000-01. We are primed for a flight 
here in Central NY. Look for juveniles and females with perhaps a few adult 
males making it south into Central NY. More adult males will be present in 
Adirondacks and other parts of Northeast. Again, we are primed to see this 
rarest northern visitor here in Central NY. 


Purple Finch: Most Purple Finches will migrate out of Ontario this 
fall in response to the low seed crops. Currently, Purple Finches are 
migrating south through southern Ontario. Very few or none will stay 
behind at feeders in southern Ontario.
Look for very few Purple Finches in NY and the Northeast this year with the 
exception of perhaps small numbers occurring downstate south of the Catskills 
to Long Island. Good numbers should be present southward into Mid-Atlantic 
States, Appalachians and the Carolinas. 


Red Crossbill: The Red Crossbill complex comprises 9 sibling Types, 
possibly full species, which have different call notes, and different 
bill sizes related to cone preferences. At least three Types occur in 
Ontario. Type 3 (smallest bill) prefers small hemlock cones (and 
spruce cones) in Ontario. The hemlock Type 3 was abundant last 
winter, but is presumed absent now from the province because hemlock 
produced few or no cones in 2007. Type 4 (medium sized bill) is 
adapted to white pine cones. White pine cone crops are fair to good 
(but spotty) in northern Ontario. Currently, small numbers of Type 4 
Red Crossbills are present on the "east side" of Algonquin Park 
(heavy crop on white pine) and probably elsewhere with extensive 
white pine forest. Algonquin's east side pine forest is accessible 
from Highway 17 west of Pembroke. South of Algonquin white pine crops 
are poor to none. An infrequent presumed Type 2 Red Crossbill is 
associated with red pine forests.
Look for a few Red Crossbills to again persist in Chenango County(Central NY) 
where Red Crossbills have been present since at least winter 2004!! Last winter 
and spring Red Crossbill types nested in small to moderate numbers throughout 
NY excluding south of Catskills and extreme Western NY. They were more 
widespread than White-winged Crossbills in NY last year, but the opposite was 
true for the rest of the Northeast. 


White-winged Crossbill: This crossbill moves back and forth across 
northern coniferous forests searching for new cone crops. Most 
White-winged Crossbills left Ontario this past summer. They will be 
scarce or absent in Ontario this winter. They presumably went either 
west to bumper spruce and fir cone crops in Alberta and British 
Columbia, and/or to Atlantic Canada, which has large cone crops on 
spruce and balsam fir, particularly in Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
Island in Nova Scotia. White-winged Crossbills are currently common 
in Newfoundland and western Canada.
After last year's Adirondack and Northeastern nesting event, look for a 
scattered flock or two of White-winged Crossbills in Adirondacks, but like the 
forecast predicts they will be generally scarce or absent in NY and much of the 
Northeast this winter. 


Common and Hoary Redpolls: There will be a big flight of redpolls 
into southern Ontario and bordering United States. Seed crops on 
white birch, yellow birch and alder are very poor in most of Ontario. 
Expect redpolls at bird feeders this winter. Far northwestern Ontario 
has a good white birch crop so redpolls may be common there.
There hasn't been a "big" redpoll flight in Central NY south of Adirondacks 
since  and that occurred fairly late in the season in late January and 
February. There were modest redpoll flights in the Adirondacks in  and 
. We are primed for a big flight in the Northeast, the Adirondacks AND 
south of the Adirondacks here in Central NY. Look for small numbers perhaps 
even on Long Island and northern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 


Pine Siskin: Similar to the White-winged Crossbill, most Pine Siskins 
departed Ontario this past summer, presumably attracted to huge 
spruce and fir cone crops in Alberta and British Columbia and/or to 
big spruce and balsam fir cone crops in Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
Island and probably elsewhere in the Atlantic Provinces. Some of the 
very few siskins that remained in Ontario are now wandering south 
with sightings of usually only ones and twos in southern Ontario. 
Large southward irruptions occur when cone crop failures span much of 
Canada. Very few siskins will visit feeders this winter in southern Ontario.
There were nearly zero fall or spring migrating Pine Siskins in New York last 
year. Unlike the other finch species, excluding Purple Finch, there is almost 
always a fall and spring Pine Siskin pulse (push of migrating birds through 
NY). Look for the "pulse" to happen this year. In fact, I would not be 
surprised given the amount of feeders in the Adirondacks (and perhaps more 
populated wooded areas of Northeast) and Central NY that small numbers (a few 
here and there) persist here in Central NY and perhaps Southern NY at feeders 
mixed in with redpoll and goldfinch flocks.. with Goldfinch flocks earlier in 
season and redpoll flocks later in the season. There is evidence that Pine 
Siskins are starting to build in small numbers again in the Adirondacks. There 
have been recent sightings of a few to 50 in parts of Northern NY. Pine Siskins 
have been nearly continuously persistent in parts of the Adirondacks since 2001 
when they bred in very large numbers throughout much of the state. They again 
bred last year in the Adirondacks in small numbers. Good evidence exists to 
support the idea that Pine Siskins have nested in small numbers in the state 
every year since 2001! 


Evening Grosbeak: This grosbeak will irrupt south of the boreal 
forest this fall because tree seed crops are generally very poor in 
northeastern Ontario and western Quebec. In recent weeks scattered 
birds have visited feeders in southern Ontario. Beginning in the 
early 1980s the Evening Grosbeak declined significantly as large 
outbreaks of spruce budworm subsided. The larvae and pupae are eaten 
by adults and fed to nestlings. Expect Evening Grosbeaks at bird 
feeders in southern Ontario and northern United States, but not in 
the large numbers seen during the 1970s.
Evening Grosbeaks have become a bit of an enigma bird. Where have all the 
massive flocks of the 70's and 80's gone? Why aren't the Carolinas still seeing 
wintering flocks like they did almost annually up to 1990? Many tie their 
decline to the absence of a spruce budworm outbreak, which hasn't occurred 
since the late 1980's when their number started to precipitously decline. There 
was anecdotal evidence that they bred in areas this past summer a bit outside 
where they normally bred. Also, a couple of mid summer reports from Ithaca, NY 
was the first mid summer reports in years! They have become a biennial 
irruptive the past 15 years, and so they should be present in small to moderate 
numbers in hamlets of the Adirondacks and Northeast, and small numbers at 
feeders in wooded higher elevational areas in Central NY, the Catskills and 
perhaps points southward to the mountains of the Virginias. 


OTHER IRRUPTIVE PASSERINES

Red-breasted Nuthatch: They have been moving south since mid-June 
presumably because of the poor cone crop in central Canada. Almost 
all Red-breasted Nuthatches will depart Ontario's boreal forest by 
late fall and left the province. Some will be at feeders in southern 
Ontario, but they will be very scarce in Algonquin Park. Algonquin 
Christmas Bird Counts (32 years) show a biennial (every two years) 
high and low pattern, with some exceptions.
Irruptive birds have been showing up south of Northern NY since mid July. Birds 
have already been seen as far south as Georgia and Alabama! 


Bohemian Waxwing: The poor crop of native mountain-ash (rowan 
berries) in much of northern Ontario will cause Bohemians Waxwings to 
wander south and east this winter. Watch for them eating buckthorn 
berries and crabapples in southern Ontario. The mountain-ash crop is 
better west of Lake Superior with a big crop around Kenora at Lake of 
the Woods.
Look for Bohemian Waxwings at their usual haunts ...crabapple trees and other 
fruiting trees from Northern NY (particularly the St. Lawrence and Champlain 
Lake Plains) northward throughout parts of Northeast. Birds should become more 
common as we get into late December and early January and look for smaller 
flocks to make their way into Central NY and perhaps Southern NY come 
February-April. 


Blue Jay: A strong flight is expected this fall. The beechnut crop is 
zero and the acorn crop on red oak is only fair to good (aborted in 
some areas) in central Ontario. Soon thousands of jays will be 
migrating southwest along the shorelines of Lakes Ontario and Erie, 
exiting Ontario south of Windsor. This winter there will be far fewer 
Blue Jays in Algonquin Park and at feeders in central Ontario.
Blue Jays are already starting to move through New York as we speak(or type). 

Gray Jay and Boreal Chickadee: They are moving in northeastern Quebec 
east of Tadoussac along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. 
These movements could extend to southern Ontario and northeastern states.
It's been many years since (late 70's) there was a big Boreal Chickadee flight 
south of the Adirondacks. In 1976 birds were noted as far south as northern 
Pennsylvania and a few birds wintered on Long Island into at least April. Could 
this be the year? 


NORTHERN OWLS

Small mammal populations were abundant this summer in northern 
Ontario, presumably increasing after the big seed/berry/fruit crops 
in 2006. However, crops this year are very poor in much of the north, 
partly caused by cold weather and snow in late spring that froze the 
buds and flowers of many plants. In early August, Ontario Ministry of 
Natural Resources biologists on aerial surveys noted many raptors 
near James Bay including 15-20 Great Gray Owls, Short-eared Owls 
(common), Northern Harriers (common) and scattered Rough-legged 
Hawks. If small mammal populations crash this fall, then Great Gray 
Owls, Northern Hawk Owls and Boreal Owls will move, possibly 
southward into areas accessible by birders. Northern Saw-whet Owl 
numbers are linked to red-backed voles (a forest vole) in Ontario. 
There is the possibility that this vole could decline soon because it 
often cycles with deer mice. The huge population of deer mice in 
central Ontario is declining rapidly now because of poor seed crops 
this summer, particularly sugar maple samaras, which they store for 
the winter. If red-backed vole numbers decline as they often do in 
association with deer mice, there will be a strong flight of Northern 
Saw-whet Owls this fall.
Lets see what the owls bring.. things could shape up nicely. We're also due for 
a big Rough-leg flight, which also occurred the winter of 2001-02 the year 
after the last bumper cone crop. 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank staff of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and 
birders whose reports allow me to make predictions about finches. 
They are Ken Abraham (OMNR Hudson Bay Lowlands), Dennis Barry (Durham 
Region and Haliburton County), Kevin Clute (Algonquin Park), Shirley 
Davidson (OMNR Minden), Bruce Di Labio (Eastern Ontario), Carrolle 
Eady (Dryden), Dave Elder (Atikokan), Bruce Falls (Brodie Club, 
Toronto), Brian Fox (OMNR Timmins to Chapleau), Marcel Gahbauer 
(Labrador, Alberta, British Columbia), Michel Gosselin (Gatineau, 
Quebec), Charity Hendry (OMNR Ontario Tree Seed Plant), Leo Heyens 
(OMNR Kenora), Tyler Hoar (central Ontario and southern Quebec), 
Peter Hynard (Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia), Jean Iron (Toronto 
and northeastern Quebec), Christine Kerrigan and Peter Nevin (Parry 
Sound District), Barry Kinch (Timiskaming), Bob Knudsen (Ontario 
Parks, Algoma), Bruce Mactavish (Newfoundland), Scott McPherson (OMNR 
Northeast Region), Brian Naylor (OMNR North Bay), Marty Obbard (OMNR 
Peterborough), Justin Peter (Algonquin Park), Janet Pineau (Arrowhead 
Provincial Park), Fred Pinto (OMNR North Bay), Gordon Ross (OMNR 
Moosonee), Rick Salmon (OMNR Lake Nipigon), Don Sutherland (OMNR 
Hudson Bay Lowlands), Doug Tozer (Algonquin Park), Ron Tozer 
(Algonquin Park and Muskoka), Declan Troy (Alaska), Mike Turner (OMNR 
Brancroft District), Stan Vasiliauskas (OMNR Northeast Region), Mike 
Walsh (OMNR Muskoka and Parry Sound), John White (OMNR Ontario Tree 
Seed Plant) and Alan Wormington (Point Pelee). I thank Michel 
Gosselin, Jean Iron and Ron Tozer for reviewing the forecast. Ron 
Tozer also provided information from his upcoming book on The Birds 
of Algonquin Provincial Park.

PREVIOUS FINCH FORECASTS archived at Larry Neily's website: 
http:(email address 
filtered)/pittaway-old.htm 


Ron Pittaway
Ontario Field Ornithologists
Minden, Ontario
15 September 2007
www.ofo.ca 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello all,  
Here's Ron Pittaway's winter forecast which most of you have probably seen by 
now. The cone crops here in NY are poor on all species except a fair cone crop 
on red pine. This is probably consistent with most of the rest of the 
Northeast. Also, non-native species prevalent here in Central and Southern NY 
such as Norway spruce and European larch might still hold a small amount of 
seed from last year's bumper crops. Look for comments in bold by each species 
to see how things could unfold here in Central NY and Northeast. 

WINTER FINCH FORECAST 

This winter's theme is "finches going in three directions" depending 
on the species. Some finches have gone east and west or both, while 
others will come south. Most coniferous and deciduous trees have very 
poor seed crops in much of Ontario and western Quebec. The exception 
is northwestern Ontario such as Quetico Provincial Park, Dryden and 
Lake of the Woods, where there are good crops on some species. 
However, north of a line from the top of Lake Nipigon to Manitoba the 
crops are generally low in the boreal forest. This will be a quiet 
winter for most (not all) winter finches in Algonquin Provincial 
Park, in contrast to last winter's bumper seed crops and abundance of 
finches. Most of last winter's White-winged Crossbills and Pine 
Siskins departed Ontario this past summer. They probably went either 
to eastern or western Canada or both where there are bumper cone 
crops. Type 3 Red Crossbills, which were abundant in Ontario last 
winter, have probably returned to their core range in western North 
America. White-winged and Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins will not be 
irrupting south out of Ontario as they do in some flight years, 
because most have already gone east and/or west. However, other 
winter finches such as Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks, Purple 
Finches and redpolls are irrupting or will irrupt southward out of 
northern Ontario. See individual species accounts for details. In 
addition I comment on other irruptive passerines, such as the 
Red-breasted Nuthatch, whose movements are linked to cone crops. Also 
included is a comment on northern owls.

INDIVIDUAL FINCH FORECASTS

Pine Grosbeak: This grosbeak will irrupt south of the breeding range 
because crops on native mountain-ashes (rowan berries) are generally 
poor in northeastern Ontario and across the boreal forest. However, 
crops are good in northwestern Ontario west of Lake Superior. Pine 
Grosbeaks should wander south to Lake Ontario and perhaps farther in 
search of crabapples and planted European mountain-ash berries, which 
have average crops in southern Ontario. Watch for them at feeders 
where they prefer sunflower seeds. After irruptions, Pine Grosbeaks 
return north earlier than other northern finches. Most are gone by 
late March. Buds form a larger part of their winter diet when 
mountain-ash crops are poor.

The last big Pine Grosbeak year was the winter of 2001-02, which occurred after 
the last widespread "bumper" cone crop of 2000-01. We are primed for a flight 
here in Central NY. Look for juveniles and females with perhaps a few adult 
males making it south into Central NY. More adult males will be present in 
Adirondacks and other parts of Northeast. Again, we are primed to see this 
rarest northern visitor here in Central NY. 


Purple Finch: Most Purple Finches will migrate out of Ontario this 
fall in response to the low seed crops. Currently, Purple Finches are 
migrating south through southern Ontario. Very few or none will stay 
behind at feeders in southern Ontario.
Look for very few Purple Finches in NY and the Northeast this year with the 
exception of perhaps small numbers occurring downstate south of the Catskills 
to Long Island. Good numbers should be present southward into Mid-Atlantic 
States, Appalachians and the Carolinas. 


Red Crossbill: The Red Crossbill complex comprises 9 sibling Types, 
possibly full species, which have different call notes, and different 
bill sizes related to cone preferences. At least three Types occur in 
Ontario. Type 3 (smallest bill) prefers small hemlock cones (and 
spruce cones) in Ontario. The hemlock Type 3 was abundant last 
winter, but is presumed absent now from the province because hemlock 
produced few or no cones in 2007. Type 4 (medium sized bill) is 
adapted to white pine cones. White pine cone crops are fair to good 
(but spotty) in northern Ontario. Currently, small numbers of Type 4 
Red Crossbills are present on the "east side" of Algonquin Park 
(heavy crop on white pine) and probably elsewhere with extensive 
white pine forest. Algonquin's east side pine forest is accessible 
from Highway 17 west of Pembroke. South of Algonquin white pine crops 
are poor to none. An infrequent presumed Type 2 Red Crossbill is 
associated with red pine forests.
Look for a few Red Crossbills to again persist in Chenango County(Central NY) 
where Red Crossbills have been present since at least winter 2004!! Last winter 
and spring Red Crossbill types nested in small to moderate numbers throughout 
NY excluding south of Catskills and extreme Western NY. They were more 
widespread than White-winged Crossbills in NY last year, but the opposite was 
true for the rest of the Northeast. 


White-winged Crossbill: This crossbill moves back and forth across 
northern coniferous forests searching for new cone crops. Most 
White-winged Crossbills left Ontario this past summer. They will be 
scarce or absent in Ontario this winter. They presumably went either 
west to bumper spruce and fir cone crops in Alberta and British 
Columbia, and/or to Atlantic Canada, which has large cone crops on 
spruce and balsam fir, particularly in Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
Island in Nova Scotia. White-winged Crossbills are currently common 
in Newfoundland and western Canada.
After last year's Adirondack and Northeastern nesting event, look for a 
scattered flock or two of White-winged Crossbills in Adirondacks, but like the 
forecast predicts they will be generally scarce or absent in NY and much of the 
Northeast this winter. 


Common and Hoary Redpolls: There will be a big flight of redpolls 
into southern Ontario and bordering United States. Seed crops on 
white birch, yellow birch and alder are very poor in most of Ontario. 
Expect redpolls at bird feeders this winter. Far northwestern Ontario 
has a good white birch crop so redpolls may be common there.
There hasn't been a "big" redpoll flight in Central NY south of Adirondacks 
since  and that occurred fairly late in the season in late January and 
February. There were modest redpoll flights in the Adirondacks in  and 
. We are primed for a big flight in the Northeast, the Adirondacks AND 
south of the Adirondacks here in Central NY. Look for small numbers perhaps 
even on Long Island and northern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 


Pine Siskin: Similar to the White-winged Crossbill, most Pine Siskins 
departed Ontario this past summer, presumably attracted to huge 
spruce and fir cone crops in Alberta and British Columbia and/or to 
big spruce and balsam fir cone crops in Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
Island and probably elsewhere in the Atlantic Provinces. Some of the 
very few siskins that remained in Ontario are now wandering south 
with sightings of usually only ones and twos in southern Ontario. 
Large southward irruptions occur when cone crop failures span much of 
Canada. Very few siskins will visit feeders this winter in southern Ontario.
There were nearly zero fall or spring migrating Pine Siskins in New York last 
year. Unlike the other finch species, excluding Purple Finch, there is almost 
always a fall and spring Pine Siskin pulse (push of migrating birds through 
NY). Look for the "pulse" to happen this year. In fact, I would not be 
surprised given the amount of feeders in the Adirondacks (and perhaps more 
populated wooded areas of Northeast) and Central NY that small numbers (a few 
here and there) persist here in Central NY and perhaps Southern NY at feeders 
mixed in with redpoll and goldfinch flocks.. with Goldfinch flocks earlier in 
season and redpoll flocks later in the season. There is evidence that Pine 
Siskins are starting to build in small numbers again in the Adirondacks. There 
have been recent sightings of a few to 50 in parts of Northern NY. Pine Siskins 
have been nearly continuously persistent in parts of the Adirondacks since 2001 
when they bred in very large numbers throughout much of the state. They again 
bred last year in the Adirondacks in small numbers. Good evidence exists to 
support the idea that Pine Siskins have nested in small numbers in the state 
every year since 2001! 


Evening Grosbeak: This grosbeak will irrupt south of the boreal 
forest this fall because tree seed crops are generally very poor in 
northeastern Ontario and western Quebec. In recent weeks scattered 
birds have visited feeders in southern Ontario. Beginning in the 
early 1980s the Evening Grosbeak declined significantly as large 
outbreaks of spruce budworm subsided. The larvae and pupae are eaten 
by adults and fed to nestlings. Expect Evening Grosbeaks at bird 
feeders in southern Ontario and northern United States, but not in 
the large numbers seen during the 1970s.
Evening Grosbeaks have become a bit of an enigma bird. Where have all the 
massive flocks of the 70's and 80's gone? Why aren't the Carolinas still seeing 
wintering flocks like they did almost annually up to 1990? Many tie their 
decline to the absence of a spruce budworm outbreak, which hasn't occurred 
since the late 1980's when their number started to precipitously decline. There 
was anecdotal evidence that they bred in areas this past summer a bit outside 
where they normally bred. Also, a couple of mid summer reports from Ithaca, NY 
was the first mid summer reports in years! They have become a biennial 
irruptive the past 15 years, and so they should be present in small to moderate 
numbers in hamlets of the Adirondacks and Northeast, and small numbers at 
feeders in wooded higher elevational areas in Central NY, the Catskills and 
perhaps points southward to the mountains of the Virginias. 


OTHER IRRUPTIVE PASSERINES

Red-breasted Nuthatch: They have been moving south since mid-June 
presumably because of the poor cone crop in central Canada. Almost 
all Red-breasted Nuthatches will depart Ontario's boreal forest by 
late fall and left the province. Some will be at feeders in southern 
Ontario, but they will be very scarce in Algonquin Park. Algonquin 
Christmas Bird Counts (32 years) show a biennial (every two years) 
high and low pattern, with some exceptions.
Irruptive birds have been showing up south of Northern NY since mid July. Birds 
have already been seen as far south as Georgia and Alabama! 


Bohemian Waxwing: The poor crop of native mountain-ash (rowan 
berries) in much of northern Ontario will cause Bohemians Waxwings to 
wander south and east this winter. Watch for them eating buckthorn 
berries and crabapples in southern Ontario. The mountain-ash crop is 
better west of Lake Superior with a big crop around Kenora at Lake of 
the Woods.
Look for Bohemian Waxwings at their usual haunts ...crabapple trees and other 
fruiting trees from Northern NY (particularly the St. Lawrence and Champlain 
Lake Plains) northward throughout parts of Northeast. Birds should become more 
common as we get into late December and early January and look for smaller 
flocks to make their way into Central NY and perhaps Southern NY come 
February-April. 


Blue Jay: A strong flight is expected this fall. The beechnut crop is 
zero and the acorn crop on red oak is only fair to good (aborted in 
some areas) in central Ontario. Soon thousands of jays will be 
migrating southwest along the shorelines of Lakes Ontario and Erie, 
exiting Ontario south of Windsor. This winter there will be far fewer 
Blue Jays in Algonquin Park and at feeders in central Ontario.
Blue Jays are already starting to move through New York as we speak(or type). 

Gray Jay and Boreal Chickadee: They are moving in northeastern Quebec 
east of Tadoussac along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. 
These movements could extend to southern Ontario and northeastern states.
It's been many years since (late 70's) there was a big Boreal Chickadee flight 
south of the Adirondacks. In 1976 birds were noted as far south as northern 
Pennsylvania and a few birds wintered on Long Island into at least April. Could 
this be the year? 


NORTHERN OWLS

Small mammal populations were abundant this summer in northern 
Ontario, presumably increasing after the big seed/berry/fruit crops 
in 2006. However, crops this year are very poor in much of the north, 
partly caused by cold weather and snow in late spring that froze the 
buds and flowers of many plants. In early August, Ontario Ministry of 
Natural Resources biologists on aerial surveys noted many raptors 
near James Bay including 15-20 Great Gray Owls, Short-eared Owls 
(common), Northern Harriers (common) and scattered Rough-legged 
Hawks. If small mammal populations crash this fall, then Great Gray 
Owls, Northern Hawk Owls and Boreal Owls will move, possibly 
southward into areas accessible by birders. Northern Saw-whet Owl 
numbers are linked to red-backed voles (a forest vole) in Ontario. 
There is the possibility that this vole could decline soon because it 
often cycles with deer mice. The huge population of deer mice in 
central Ontario is declining rapidly now because of poor seed crops 
this summer, particularly sugar maple samaras, which they store for 
the winter. If red-backed vole numbers decline as they often do in 
association with deer mice, there will be a strong flight of Northern 
Saw-whet Owls this fall.
Lets see what the owls bring.. things could shape up nicely. We're also due for 
a big Rough-leg flight, which also occurred the winter of 2001-02 the year 
after the last bumper cone crop. 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank staff of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and 
birders whose reports allow me to make predictions about finches. 
They are Ken Abraham (OMNR Hudson Bay Lowlands), Dennis Barry (Durham 
Region and Haliburton County), Kevin Clute (Algonquin Park), Shirley 
Davidson (OMNR Minden), Bruce Di Labio (Eastern Ontario), Carrolle 
Eady (Dryden), Dave Elder (Atikokan), Bruce Falls (Brodie Club, 
Toronto), Brian Fox (OMNR Timmins to Chapleau), Marcel Gahbauer 
(Labrador, Alberta, British Columbia), Michel Gosselin (Gatineau, 
Quebec), Charity Hendry (OMNR Ontario Tree Seed Plant), Leo Heyens 
(OMNR Kenora), Tyler Hoar (central Ontario and southern Quebec), 
Peter Hynard (Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia), Jean Iron (Toronto 
and northeastern Quebec), Christine Kerrigan and Peter Nevin (Parry 
Sound District), Barry Kinch (Timiskaming), Bob Knudsen (Ontario 
Parks, Algoma), Bruce Mactavish (Newfoundland), Scott McPherson (OMNR 
Northeast Region), Brian Naylor (OMNR North Bay), Marty Obbard (OMNR 
Peterborough), Justin Peter (Algonquin Park), Janet Pineau (Arrowhead 
Provincial Park), Fred Pinto (OMNR North Bay), Gordon Ross (OMNR 
Moosonee), Rick Salmon (OMNR Lake Nipigon), Don Sutherland (OMNR 
Hudson Bay Lowlands), Doug Tozer (Algonquin Park), Ron Tozer 
(Algonquin Park and Muskoka), Declan Troy (Alaska), Mike Turner (OMNR 
Brancroft District), Stan Vasiliauskas (OMNR Northeast Region), Mike 
Walsh (OMNR Muskoka and Parry Sound), John White (OMNR Ontario Tree 
Seed Plant) and Alan Wormington (Point Pelee). I thank Michel 
Gosselin, Jean Iron and Ron Tozer for reviewing the forecast. Ron 
Tozer also provided information from his upcoming book on The Birds 
of Algonquin Provincial Park.

PREVIOUS FINCH FORECASTS archived at Larry Neily's website: 
http:(email address 
filtered)/pittaway-old.htm 


Ron Pittaway
Ontario Field Ornithologists
Minden, Ontario
15 September 2007
www.ofo.ca

Hello all,  
Here's Ron Pittaway's winter forecast which most of you have probably seen by 
now. The cone crops here in NY are poor on all species except a fair cone crop 
on red pine. This is probably consistent with most of the rest of the 
Northeast. Also, non-native species prevalent here in Central and Southern NY 
such as Norway spruce and European larch might still hold a small amount of 
seed from last year's bumper crops. Look for comments in bold by each species 
to see how things could unfold here in Central NY and Northeast. 

WINTER FINCH FORECAST 

This winter's theme is "finches going in three directions" depending 
on the species. Some finches have gone east and west or both, while 
others will come south. Most coniferous and deciduous trees have very 
poor seed crops in much of Ontario and western Quebec. The exception 
is northwestern Ontario such as Quetico Provincial Park, Dryden and 
Lake of the Woods, where there are good crops on some species. 
However, north of a line from the top of Lake Nipigon to Manitoba the 
crops are generally low in the boreal forest. This will be a quiet 
winter for most (not all) winter finches in Algonquin Provincial 
Park, in contrast to last winter's bumper seed crops and abundance of 
finches. Most of last winter's White-winged Crossbills and Pine 
Siskins departed Ontario this past summer. They probably went either 
to eastern or western Canada or both where there are bumper cone 
crops. Type 3 Red Crossbills, which were abundant in Ontario last 
winter, have probably returned to their core range in western North 
America. White-winged and Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins will not be 
irrupting south out of Ontario as they do in some flight years, 
because most have already gone east and/or west. However, other 
winter finches such as Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks, Purple 
Finches and redpolls are irrupting or will irrupt southward out of 
northern Ontario. See individual species accounts for details. In 
addition I comment on other irruptive passerines, such as the 
Red-breasted Nuthatch, whose movements are linked to cone crops. Also 
included is a comment on northern owls.

INDIVIDUAL FINCH FORECASTS

Pine Grosbeak: This grosbeak will irrupt south of the breeding range 
because crops on native mountain-ashes (rowan berries) are generally 
poor in northeastern Ontario and across the boreal forest. However, 
crops are good in northwestern Ontario west of Lake Superior. Pine 
Grosbeaks should wander south to Lake Ontario and perhaps farther in 
search of crabapples and planted European mountain-ash berries, which 
have average crops in southern Ontario. Watch for them at feeders 
where they prefer sunflower seeds. After irruptions, Pine Grosbeaks 
return north earlier than other northern finches. Most are gone by 
late March. Buds form a larger part of their winter diet when 
mountain-ash crops are poor.

The last big Pine Grosbeak year was the winter of 2001-02, which occurred after 
the last widespread "bumper" cone crop of 2000-01. We are primed for a flight 
here in Central NY. Look for juveniles and females with perhaps a few adult 
males making it south into Central NY. More adult males will be present in 
Adirondacks and other parts of Northeast. Again, we are primed to see this 
rarest northern visitor here in Central NY. 


Purple Finch: Most Purple Finches will migrate out of Ontario this 
fall in response to the low seed crops. Currently, Purple Finches are 
migrating south through southern Ontario. Very few or none will stay 
behind at feeders in southern Ontario.
Look for very few Purple Finches in NY and the Northeast this year with the 
exception of perhaps small numbers occurring downstate south of the Catskills 
to Long Island. Good numbers should be present southward into Mid-Atlantic 
States, Appalachians and the Carolinas. 


Red Crossbill: The Red Crossbill complex comprises 9 sibling Types, 
possibly full species, which have different call notes, and different 
bill sizes related to cone preferences. At least three Types occur in 
Ontario. Type 3 (smallest bill) prefers small hemlock cones (and 
spruce cones) in Ontario. The hemlock Type 3 was abundant last 
winter, but is presumed absent now from the province because hemlock 
produced few or no cones in 2007. Type 4 (medium sized bill) is 
adapted to white pine cones. White pine cone crops are fair to good 
(but spotty) in northern Ontario. Currently, small numbers of Type 4 
Red Crossbills are present on the "east side" of Algonquin Park 
(heavy crop on white pine) and probably elsewhere with extensive 
white pine forest. Algonquin's east side pine forest is accessible 
from Highway 17 west of Pembroke. South of Algonquin white pine crops 
are poor to none. An infrequent presumed Type 2 Red Crossbill is 
associated with red pine forests.
Look for a few Red Crossbills to again persist in Chenango County(Central NY) 
where Red Crossbills have been present since at least winter 2004!! Last winter 
and spring Red Crossbill types nested in small to moderate numbers throughout 
NY excluding south of Catskills and extreme Western NY. They were more 
widespread than White-winged Crossbills in NY last year, but the opposite was 
true for the rest of the Northeast. 


White-winged Crossbill: This crossbill moves back and forth across 
northern coniferous forests searching for new cone crops. Most 
White-winged Crossbills left Ontario this past summer. They will be 
scarce or absent in Ontario this winter. They presumably went either 
west to bumper spruce and fir cone crops in Alberta and British 
Columbia, and/or to Atlantic Canada, which has large cone crops on 
spruce and balsam fir, particularly in Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
Island in Nova Scotia. White-winged Crossbills are currently common 
in Newfoundland and western Canada.
After last year's Adirondack and Northeastern nesting event, look for a 
scattered flock or two of White-winged Crossbills in Adirondacks, but like the 
forecast predicts they will be generally scarce or absent in NY and much of the 
Northeast this winter. 


Common and Hoary Redpolls: There will be a big flight of redpolls 
into southern Ontario and bordering United States. Seed crops on 
white birch, yellow birch and alder are very poor in most of Ontario. 
Expect redpolls at bird feeders this winter. Far northwestern Ontario 
has a good white birch crop so redpolls may be common there.
There hasn't been a "big" redpoll flight in Central NY south of Adirondacks 
since  and that occurred fairly late in the season in late January and 
February. There were modest redpoll flights in the Adirondacks in  and 
. We are primed for a big flight in the Northeast, the Adirondacks AND 
south of the Adirondacks here in Central NY. Look for small numbers perhaps 
even on Long Island and northern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 


Pine Siskin: Similar to the White-winged Crossbill, most Pine Siskins 
departed Ontario this past summer, presumably attracted to huge 
spruce and fir cone crops in Alberta and British Columbia and/or to 
big spruce and balsam fir cone crops in Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
Island and probably elsewhere in the Atlantic Provinces. Some of the 
very few siskins that remained in Ontario are now wandering south 
with sightings of usually only ones and twos in southern Ontario. 
Large southward irruptions occur when cone crop failures span much of 
Canada. Very few siskins will visit feeders this winter in southern Ontario.
There were nearly zero fall or spring migrating Pine Siskins in New York last 
year. Unlike the other finch species, excluding Purple Finch, there is almost 
always a fall and spring Pine Siskin pulse (push of migrating birds through 
NY). Look for the "pulse" to happen this year. In fact, I would not be 
surprised given the amount of feeders in the Adirondacks (and perhaps more 
populated wooded areas of Northeast) and Central NY that small numbers (a few 
here and there) persist here in Central NY and perhaps Southern NY at feeders 
mixed in with redpoll and goldfinch flocks.. with Goldfinch flocks earlier in 
season and redpoll flocks later in the season. There is evidence that Pine 
Siskins are starting to build in small numbers again in the Adirondacks. There 
have been recent sightings of a few to 50 in parts of Northern NY. Pine Siskins 
have been nearly continuously persistent in parts of the Adirondacks since 2001 
when they bred in very large numbers throughout much of the state. They again 
bred last year in the Adirondacks in small numbers. Good evidence exists to 
support the idea that Pine Siskins have nested in small numbers in the state 
every year since 2001! 


Evening Grosbeak: This grosbeak will irrupt south of the boreal 
forest this fall because tree seed crops are generally very poor in 
northeastern Ontario and western Quebec. In recent weeks scattered 
birds have visited feeders in southern Ontario. Beginning in the 
early 1980s the Evening Grosbeak declined significantly as large 
outbreaks of spruce budworm subsided. The larvae and pupae are eaten 
by adults and fed to nestlings. Expect Evening Grosbeaks at bird 
feeders in southern Ontario and northern United States, but not in 
the large numbers seen during the 1970s.
Evening Grosbeaks have become a bit of an enigma bird. Where have all the 
massive flocks of the 70's and 80's gone? Why aren't the Carolinas still seeing 
wintering flocks like they did almost annually up to 1990? Many tie their 
decline to the absence of a spruce budworm outbreak, which hasn't occurred 
since the late 1980's when their number started to precipitously decline. There 
was anecdotal evidence that they bred in areas this past summer a bit outside 
where they normally bred. Also, a couple of mid summer reports from Ithaca, NY 
was the first mid summer reports in years! They have become a biennial 
irruptive the past 15 years, and so they should be present in small to moderate 
numbers in hamlets of the Adirondacks and Northeast, and small numbers at 
feeders in wooded higher elevational areas in Central NY, the Catskills and 
perhaps points southward to the mountains of the Virginias. 


OTHER IRRUPTIVE PASSERINES

Red-breasted Nuthatch: They have been moving south since mid-June 
presumably because of the poor cone crop in central Canada. Almost 
all Red-breasted Nuthatches will depart Ontario's boreal forest by 
late fall and left the province. Some will be at feeders in southern 
Ontario, but they will be very scarce in Algonquin Park. Algonquin 
Christmas Bird Counts (32 years) show a biennial (every two years) 
high and low pattern, with some exceptions.
Irruptive birds have been showing up south of Northern NY since mid July. Birds 
have already been seen as far south as Georgia and Alabama! 


Bohemian Waxwing: The poor crop of native mountain-ash (rowan 
berries) in much of northern Ontario will cause Bohemians Waxwings to 
wander south and east this winter. Watch for them eating buckthorn 
berries and crabapples in southern Ontario. The mountain-ash crop is 
better west of Lake Superior with a big crop around Kenora at Lake of 
the Woods.
Look for Bohemian Waxwings at their usual haunts ...crabapple trees and other 
fruiting trees from Northern NY (particularly the St. Lawrence and Champlain 
Lake Plains) northward throughout parts of Northeast. Birds should become more 
common as we get into late December and early January and look for smaller 
flocks to make their way into Central NY and perhaps Southern NY come 
February-April. 


Blue Jay: A strong flight is expected this fall. The beechnut crop is 
zero and the acorn crop on red oak is only fair to good (aborted in 
some areas) in central Ontario. Soon thousands of jays will be 
migrating southwest along the shorelines of Lakes Ontario and Erie, 
exiting Ontario south of Windsor. This winter there will be far fewer 
Blue Jays in Algonquin Park and at feeders in central Ontario.
Blue Jays are already starting to move through New York as we speak(or type). 

Gray Jay and Boreal Chickadee: They are moving in northeastern Quebec 
east of Tadoussac along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. 
These movements could extend to southern Ontario and northeastern states.
It's been many years since (late 70's) there was a big Boreal Chickadee flight 
south of the Adirondacks. In 1976 birds were noted as far south as northern 
Pennsylvania and a few birds wintered on Long Island into at least April. Could 
this be the year? 


NORTHERN OWLS

Small mammal populations were abundant this summer in northern 
Ontario, presumably increasing after the big seed/berry/fruit crops 
in 2006. However, crops this year are very poor in much of the north, 
partly caused by cold weather and snow in late spring that froze the 
buds and flowers of many plants. In early August, Ontario Ministry of 
Natural Resources biologists on aerial surveys noted many raptors 
near James Bay including 15-20 Great Gray Owls, Short-eared Owls 
(common), Northern Harriers (common) and scattered Rough-legged 
Hawks. If small mammal populations crash this fall, then Great Gray 
Owls, Northern Hawk Owls and Boreal Owls will move, possibly 
southward into areas accessible by birders. Northern Saw-whet Owl 
numbers are linked to red-backed voles (a forest vole) in Ontario. 
There is the possibility that this vole could decline soon because it 
often cycles with deer mice. The huge population of deer mice in 
central Ontario is declining rapidly now because of poor seed crops 
this summer, particularly sugar maple samaras, which they store for 
the winter. If red-backed vole numbers decline as they often do in 
association with deer mice, there will be a strong flight of Northern 
Saw-whet Owls this fall.
Lets see what the owls bring.. things could shape up nicely. We're also due for 
a big Rough-leg flight, which also occurred the winter of 2001-02 the year 
after the last bumper cone crop. 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank staff of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and 
birders whose reports allow me to make predictions about finches. 
They are Ken Abraham (OMNR Hudson Bay Lowlands), Dennis Barry (Durham 
Region and Haliburton County), Kevin Clute (Algonquin Park), Shirley 
Davidson (OMNR Minden), Bruce Di Labio (Eastern Ontario), Carrolle 
Eady (Dryden), Dave Elder (Atikokan), Bruce Falls (Brodie Club, 
Toronto), Brian Fox (OMNR Timmins to Chapleau), Marcel Gahbauer 
(Labrador, Alberta, British Columbia), Michel Gosselin (Gatineau, 
Quebec), Charity Hendry (OMNR Ontario Tree Seed Plant), Leo Heyens 
(OMNR Kenora), Tyler Hoar (central Ontario and southern Quebec), 
Peter Hynard (Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia), Jean Iron (Toronto 
and northeastern Quebec), Christine Kerrigan and Peter Nevin (Parry 
Sound District), Barry Kinch (Timiskaming), Bob Knudsen (Ontario 
Parks, Algoma), Bruce Mactavish (Newfoundland), Scott McPherson (OMNR 
Northeast Region), Brian Naylor (OMNR North Bay), Marty Obbard (OMNR 
Peterborough), Justin Peter (Algonquin Park), Janet Pineau (Arrowhead 
Provincial Park), Fred Pinto (OMNR North Bay), Gordon Ross (OMNR 
Moosonee), Rick Salmon (OMNR Lake Nipigon), Don Sutherland (OMNR 
Hudson Bay Lowlands), Doug Tozer (Algonquin Park), Ron Tozer 
(Algonquin Park and Muskoka), Declan Troy (Alaska), Mike Turner (OMNR 
Brancroft District), Stan Vasiliauskas (OMNR Northeast Region), Mike 
Walsh (OMNR Muskoka and Parry Sound), John White (OMNR Ontario Tree 
Seed Plant) and Alan Wormington (Point Pelee). I thank Michel 
Gosselin, Jean Iron and Ron Tozer for reviewing the forecast. Ron 
Tozer also provided information from his upcoming book on The Birds 
of Algonquin Provincial Park.

PREVIOUS FINCH FORECASTS archived at Larry Neily's website: 
http:(email address 
filtered)/pittaway-old.htm 


Ron Pittaway
Ontario Field Ornithologists
Minden, Ontario
15 September 2007
www.ofo.ca

 
Saturday, September 29,  2007
Massawepie Mire– Boreal  Birds
Piercefield-Colton
Time:  7:00 a.m. 
Meet:  At the Boy Scout sign on Route  3.  (Sign is on the left after  
traveling approximately 11 miles from the intersection of Route 30 and Route 3 
in 

Tupper Lake.  If traveling from  the west, the sign is on the right just under 
6 miles from the intersection of  Route 3 and 56.) 
Leaders:  Joan Collins  
Distance:  4 miles on a level dirt road through  the mire.  For those who 
want to continue, we will also hike 2 miles round trip on the Mountaineer Trail 

south of  Massawepie Lake. 
Bring:  Hiking boots, food, water, sunscreen,  binoculars, and insect 
repellent. 
Register by calling the Newcomb VIC at ( or Joan Collins at . 
Jointly sponsored by St.  Lawrence-Adirondack Audubon, High Peaks Audubon, 
and the Visitor Interpretive  Center at Newcomb. 




************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com


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Hi everyone.

Yesterday, September 23rd, I hiked up Sawteeth and Gothic and 
continued on to Armstrong and Upper Wolf Jaw (about 13,5 miles and 
4300 ft of ascent) in the High Peaks.

Along the trail that reaches to the junction between Gothic and 
Sawteeth, I encountered a flock of birds that seemed to be moving up 
the slope from 2957 ft (+/-20 ft with GPS) to the junction (3578 
ft). I've observed that kind of movement (up a slope) during 
migration a few times. There were many Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll 
Warblers, a few Boreal Chickadees and  Kinglets (both species). At 
the junction, a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was observed.

Only two (presumed) Bicknell's Thrushes were heard along the hike: 
one called a few times while I was hiking up Sawteeth and the other 
one called two times at the junction to Armstrong (same spot as two 
weeks ago). 

After checking almost every Blackpoll Warbler encountered, I finally 
observed a Bay-breasted Warbler on the last ascent to Gothic at 4289 
ft. I had stopped to listen to a bunch of Ruby-crowned Kinglets 
singing, and found this single individual moving low in the 
vegetation, about five feet from the trail, with a Blackpoll 
Warbler. The buffy color of the under body extending uniformly to 
the undertail coverts and a wash of chestnut color on the flanks 
were readily visible. 

On the whole, about twenty Blackpoll Warblers were encountered, 
Boreal Chickadees were met at almost every stop (from 2957 ft to 
Upper Wolf Jaw) and Yellow-rumped Warblers were still numerous. 

Diane Demers
Montr�al, Qu�bec

This morning at Noblewood I counted 1200 Bonaparte's Gulls. I scanned
briefly for Little Gull without success and ended up using my time there
counting. The water level is very low, and the area of sand is larger
than usual. If any Noblewood birders can get over there, it would be
interesting if we could get another count. And I imagine that there
might be a Little Gull in there. At one point they took to the air for a
few minutes in a beautiful undulating wave of birds.

 

Also:

Great Black-backed Gull - 21

Black-bellied Plover - 1 juvenile (same individual over weeks?)

Wood Duck - 8

Hooded Merganser - 3 hen

 

Eric Teed

New Russia, NY

 

 



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RBA

*  New York
*  Syracuse
*   September 24, 2007
*  NYSY 0709.24

Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert
Dates(s):September 17 -September 24, 2007
to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com
covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
and MontezumaWetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County),
Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer, & Madison.
compiled:September 24, 4:30 p.m. (EST)
compiler: Joseph Brin
Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org


#72 - Monday September 24, 2007


Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of September 
17, 2007 


Highlights:

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
LINCOLN�S SPARROW


Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC)
------------

 On 9/22 14 species of shorebirds were found at Montezuma. At the visitor�s 
center and wildlife trail highlights were BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and AMERICAN 
GOLDEN PLOVER. At Tschache Pool BAIRD�S and STILT SANPIPER were found. 



Onondaga County
------------

     On 9/20 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER and 1 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER were seen.
 On 9/22 an adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON was found at the Onondaga Lake 
Marina in Liverpool as it flew onto the rocky spit. 

 On 9/23 LINCOLN�S SPARROWS were found in two places. 2 were found in back of 
the Town of Van Buren Transportation Dept. west of Baldwinsville and another 
was found at the Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area north of Baldwinsville. 
Also on that day an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was seen in Three Rivers. The area 
these birds were found in is under the power lines between Raddison and 60 
Road. 



--end transcript

--
Joseph Brin
Region 5
Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A.

 
       
---------------------------------
 Check out  the hottest 2008 models today at Yahoo! Autos.

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Here are some of the species observed at several locations over the past week:

9/17/07 Leonard Pond Trail (St. Lawrence Co.) I hiked only as far as the pond 
(2 miles round trip) at midday last Monday with my 2 dogs. 

Common Loon - 2
Red-tailed Hawk
Blue-headed Vireo - singing
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet - singing
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin

Also on 9/17, 2 Barred Owls vocalized outside our Potsdam home (they have been 
vocalizing each night). 


9/18/07 - Potsdam
Nashville Warbler - migrant

9/19/07 Azure Mountain (Franklin Co.) (I was on the summit from 2 p.m. to 2:20 
p.m.) 

Turkey Vulture - at least 10
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon (juvenile) - The Turkey Vultures were bothering the falcon by 
flying close to or above the bird. The falcon vocalized non-stop every time the 
Turkey Vultures flew near it. I watched the Peregrine for the first 10 minutes 
I was on the summit. 

Black-backed Woodpecker - in the spruce-fir trees at the trailhead parking area
Common Raven - 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler - singing

(The 2 Barred Owls vocalized outside our Potsdam home again.)

9/20/07 Azure Mountain (Franklin Co.) Mary Beth Warburton and I climbed Azure 
in early afternoon last Thursday. 

Turkey Vulture - several
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2 (1 adult, and 1 juvenile together)
American Kestrel - female
Common Raven
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Dark-eyed Junco

Mary Beth and I also observed 3 Great Egrets at a wetland a few miles north of 
Potsdam on Route 11. 


A House Wren was heard and observed outside our Potsdam home also. In the 
evening, the 2 Barred Owls were heard once again. 


There was a huge nocturnal river of migrants flowing Thursday night into early 
Friday (9/21/07). I listened to the birds Thursday evening and I was out at 
5:45 a.m. Friday morning and the migrants were still flowing! It was 
remarkable! 


9/22/07 Potsdam
I was out of town, but my husband informed me that a Great Egret flew over our 
Potsdam home! 


9/23/07 Potsdam
Northern Flicker - many were feeding on our lawn
Pileated Woodpecker -  vocalized several times
Pine Siskin - several heard with flocks of American Goldfinches

My husband convinced me to stop feeding birds this summer to discourage the 40 
Rock Pigeons that left the local farm and began to live on our roof! But 
hearing the Pine Siskins today convinced me that I need to fill the feeders 
once again! 


Joan Collins
Potsdam & Long Lake







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See http://ca.geocities.com/larry.neily AT rogers.com/pittaway-new.htm for Ron
Pittaway's informed forecast for finches and other birds this coming winter
in southern Ontario.  Because seed crops in northern New York are
synchronous across a large span of the northeast and thus similar to those
in adjacent Ontario, his forecast for the coming months will apply also to
our area.  Look for the usual biannual influx of redpolls into our area
later this fall and winter as well as some influx of pine and evening
grosbeaks and bohemian waxwings.  Also, northern owls may stage another
invasion into southern Ontario and Quebec and adjacent states.  Deer and
white-footed mouse and red-backed vole populations are extraordinarily high
now in the Adirondacks but will be crashing this winter.  Expect lots of
deer and white-footed mice to move into houses looking for food this fall.
I've live trapped over 40 at a friend's house in the past week.

Larry Master 
Lake Placid 

 

 



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I had brief but excellent looks at a Yellow-breasted Chat this 
morning at Indian Creek Nature Center.  The chat was in the dense 
shrubs along the trail to the nature center tower, about 75-100 feet 
from the parking lot.  This spot is where the tree canopy first 
opens up as you are heading toward the tower.  I saw the chat at 
about 8 am; about 2 hours later I flushed an Oporornis warbler off 
the ground along the trail to the marsh deck and lowland trail, 
about 30 feet from the parking lot.  I only saw the warbler very 
briefly, so I can't be sure about the id.  It seemed to be walking 
when I first saw it, and I had the impression of relatively long 
wings and a thrush-like appearance, making me think Connecticut, but 
my entire observation lasted maybe 2 seconds.  I spent quite a while 
searching the area but was unable to relocate the bird.

Other that these birds, the woods were fairly quiet, with many fewer 
birds than I saw on Friday morning.  The only other warblers I 
encountered were about a dozen Myrtle Warblers and one each 
Nashville and Magnolia.  A Pine Siskin that flew overhead was the 
first I've heard in quite a while.  The raft of Ring-necked Ducks on 
the east end of Lower Lake was up to about 350 birds, with at least 
2 Greater Scaup mixed in, and I saw 3 Lesser Scaup fly over.  I only 
counted 25 Pied-billed Grebes in this area, but at the Rt. 15 tower 
later on I counted 85.

Jeff Bolsinger
Canton, NY