the highlight of your adirondack adventure

The 9th annual Adirondack Birding Festival was held this past weekend from June 7th to June 9th.  Many birders return year after year for this event, and it is always wonderful to see familiar faces on the field trips!  The Hamilton County Department of Economic Development & Tourism organizes the event each year.  Field trips are spread across large Hamilton County and areas surrounding the county.  There is no registration fee to attend, and the county assists birders with where to stay depending on their registered field trip locations.  Next year will mark the 10th year of the Adirondack Birding Festival and there will be even more field trips added as this event continues to grow each year.
 
Dr. Bruce Beehler, of Conservation International, returned again this year and helped lead field trips in addition to speaking on Saturday evening.  The presentation featured a fascinating mix of Dr. Beehler’s extensive knowledge of conservation issues and spectacular bird photos from around the world.

I led trips at Ferd’s Bog, Brown’s Tract Inlet, Low’s Ridge/Upper Dam Trail, and Moose River Plains.  It was raining at Ferd’s Bog, so things were fairly quiet on that hike!  (A participant re-visited the bog on Sunday afternoon and confirmed that Olive-sided Flycatchers are nesting there again this year!)  The rain let up as we transitioned to Brown’s Tract Inlet (photos included).  Just before the long, lovely board-walk (a canoe put-in, but terrific for birders!), we had great views of a Canada Warbler and Northern Waterthrush.  Low’s Ridge/Upper Dam Trail was a hit with participants.  We found 16 warbler species and had nice scope views of a singing Lincoln’s Sparrow in the bog section of the hike.  The highlight was watching the “changing of the guard” at a Common Loon nest as the adults changed places in their typically awkward way! A large Snapping Turtle was observed laying eggs near the Upper Dam on the Bog River.  At Moose River Plains we had lovely scope views of a singing Blackburnian Warbler perched at the top of a spruce tree.  Boreal Chickadees were heard (one participant had a view), but remained mostly hidden as they are actively nesting.  It was particularly exciting this year to have a new birder on this field trip who showed tremendous enthusiasm for every bird she viewed!  Sixty-four species were tallied on these particular field trips.

There is a great deal of talk regarding the lack of neotropical migrants in our area this year.  Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data will probably shed more light on birders’ observations.  Lincoln’s Sparrow, a bird that is usually abundant in bogs, is virtually missing!  We found only one Lincoln’s Sparrow along the mile-long, huge bog on the Low’s Ridge/Upper Dam Trail – where you would normally find many.  (It is the same situation in other bogs I frequent.)  We found none at Ferd’s Bog and Brown’s Tract Inlet.  Indigo Buntings are hard to find this year, as are Veeries, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  The numbers of birds appear to be way down, with an eerily quiet dawn chorus.  One of the potential reasons was extreme weather events occurring as migrants were making their way around or over the Gulf of Mexico.  Additional time and data will hopefully shed light on this worrisome situation.

Once again this year, several field trip leaders spent the weekend at our home.  Between early field trips, meals, and nighttime discussions of classical music, literature, and of course birds(!), it was a sleepless weekend!  My 18 year-old informed me that I hang out with very interesting people!  I would agree that birders are fascinating folks!

View of Brown’s Tract Inlet from up on a hill.