Adirondacks

While planning our June trip to the Adirondacks, national news broke on June 6, 2015 about two convicted murderers who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, NY. On June 9^th Mike’s brother Jim called to tell us that he is watching CNN and  several hundred law enforcement officers have descended upon our tiny town of Willsboro after reports of two strange characters walking down a local road. Surely they will catch these guys before our vacation.

Our nephew Kyle Peacoe came with us and we arrived at the camp to find no hot water, so after surveying the situation and trying to fix the problem we had to call in a plumber for assistance. The next day we drove to New Russia for a hike up to a scenic ridge where we had a few nervous moments when Sharon lagged behind and the escaped convicts were on our minds.  After the hike we head to Split Rock Falls where Kyle and I grab bars of soap and man-up for an outdoor bath in the 50 degree water of the falls. Who needs hot water anyway?

Sunday morning, while Kyle slept, we took a walk around our neighborhood, Buena Vista Park and found quite a variety of birds. There were Canada Geese, Mallards and Ring-billed gulls along the lake shore. We saw Northern Flicker, three Vireo species including Blue-headed, Red-eyed and Warbling along with American Goldfinch and Tufted Titmouse. It was a gorgeous blue bird day and we took the Port Kent ferry over to Vermont for the annual Burlington Wine and Food Festival. Not a lot of bird watching, just a few gulls and Black-crowned Night Heron, but that’s okay because today is about indulging in two of our favorite things: delicious food and great wines.

The central Adirondacks are a very special place because it is vast, wild and beautiful. Since we are now admittedly on a big year we decided to hire the services of expert Adirondack birding guide Joan Collins. You can find her at Adirondack Avian Expeditions or her facebook page. We met Joan early at the Town of Newcomb overlook which offers incredible  views of the Adirondack High Peaks and where a nearby Winter Wren was singing his crazy song and the Black-capped Chickadees chimed in as well. First stop was down Route 28 near a railroad crossing for a short hike down the tracks where perched on a treetop, an Olive-sided Flycatcher was calling out “quick three beers”. A short distance away our guide surprised us with a Black-backed Woodpecker nest that she had located recently. While we watched, the parents flew in and out with food for the very vocal young. Joan put us on our first Black-backed Woodpecker in 2012, one of the times we ran into fellow birder Bill Phelan.

The Roosevelt truck trail was our next stop and we decided to begin our hike from the south end. Looking over at Joan, it is obvious that she is not the least bit concerned about the escaped convicts (in fact we discussed the situation briefly) and she is totally focused on finding more birds along the trail in what is her Adirondacks. We came across Yellow-bellied, Alder and Least Flycatchers,  year bird Nashville Warbler and many more.

We stopped for sandwiches in Long Lake and then it was off to Sabattis bog where Joan has been seeing a family of Gray Jays. On the way in we saw a variety of Warblers including Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green and Magnolia  as well as three Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Another great find was a nesting Broad-winged Hawk. Alas, no luck on the Gray Jays but throughout the day Joan put us on 55 species and eight year birds. We saw fifteen species of warbler and another favorite, the Golden-crowned Kinglet. On the drive out we talked about a bird we have dipped on, the Ruffed Grouse, so Joan drove slowly and we did our best to find this elusive bird. While stopped to observe a beautiful Scarlet Tanager, Joan looked out to her left and sitting there, not five feet from her door was a Ruffed Grouse! We could not have hoped for a better way to end a spectacular day of birding.

That night we stayed near the town of Inlet/Eagle Bay at the Covewood Lodge, a magnificent historical property on Big Moose Lake. Our room was built as a playhouse for the original owner’s daughter. It sounds strange, but it was quite common back around the turn of the century, to build these elaborate little houses for the children. If you plan to go be sure to make your reservations well in advance and expect to see Common Loons on the lake. For breakfast it was Mary’s White Pine Bakery for what are without question the best donuts made anywhere in the world. Yummy! So with donuts in hand it’s off to Ferd’s Bog, another great little birding hot spot where we were finally quickly rewarded with two very friendly Gray Jays.

Our last stop on this Great Adirondack birding trip was to Whiteface Mountain, host of the 1980 Olympic downhill skiing events and many other world class events since. The views from the top of Whiteface are stunning and you can see Quebec to the north, Lake Champlain and Vermont to the east, the Adirondack High Peaks to the south and of course Lake Placid and beyond to the west. For several years we have been coming here hoping to find a bird that is only found in the summer time, in the northeastern U.S. at elevations above 3,000 feet. This would be the Bicknell’s Thrush, an early riser with a beautiful song and today is our day as we are able to first hear and then see a pair very near the top of the mountain. Life bird for sure!

We birded some other Adirondack hotspots but will save them for another post when we return to the North Country in August. Now it’s time to head back to Florida and while waiting for our flight in the Plattsburgh airport we heard they caught the last escaped convict and the saga is finally over.

Next up: Southeast Arizona Summer Birding

Trip : Total Species:  92  Year Birds:  13  Life Birds: 2

2015 : Year Birds: 364   Life Birds: 33

Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List