From mickey.scilingo@gte.net Tue May 27 04:06:39 2008 Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 04:01:51 -0400 From: Mickey Scilingo To: CayugaBirds , NYSBirds , NNYBirds , OneidaBirds Subject: Ft Drum, Perch River, Toad Harbor (long) Nine of us from the Ithaca area took a 2 day trip up north to visit Ft Drum, stopping along the way at a few favored places. In Oswego County, we arrived at Toad Harbor along the north shore of Oneida Lake around 2 PM on Sunday (May 25) afternoon. We struck out on the Prothonotary Warbler after 45 minutes of waiting, which continues a pattern of failed afternoon visits. The morning seems to be the best time to see this bird, as I have had 3 previously successful trips here just after sunrise. But we did come up with the expected CERULEAN WARBLER, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, EASTERN WOOD PEWEE, and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, among others, and a probable PHILADELPHIA VIREO. Around the corner on McCloud Rd, we had better success with the SEDGE WREN(S). After several minutes of possibly hearing 2 birds singing from back in the Phragmites, a few of us ended up walking out to the duck blind. Near the blind, one of the SEDGE WRENS was singing rather loudly from the reeds about 40 yards away. He popped up a few times, but none of us really got a good long look at him. A WILLOW FLYCATCHER called once from the marsh, and VEERY, WOOD THRUSH and a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO were heard from the woods south of McCloud Rd. In Jefferson County, we stopped at the parking area along Rt 12 at the Perch River WMA. From here we had great looks at MARSH WRENS as the sang their bubbly song just a few feet away from us. An adult BALD EAGLE floated overhead, and it was soon joined by another. CASPIAN and BLACK TERNS were seen cruising back and forth over the marsh, as was the resident OSPREY. We took a short drive down Allen Rd to a high spot that looked out over the half-filled Perch Lake. Immediately exiting our vehicles, we were greeted by the loud calls of a PIED-BILLED GREBE, and soon spotted 2 very amorous grebes close to the near shoreline. In the area near the vehicles, an EASTERN MEADOWLARK and a BROWN THRASHER sang while we were looking at 2 BLUE-WINGED TEAL and a couple of GADWALL on the lake. There were some shorebirds out at the very far side of the lake, and we were able to identify KILLDEER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, and both GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, but a large flock of about 300 peeps remained a mystery. We also had an AMERICAN BITTERN and a COMMON MOORHEN calling from the marsh, and we spotted an adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON along the far shore, and an immature BALD EAGLE perched on a snag over the water. On Sunday evening, we made a visit to the west side of the Wheeler-Sack Airport on Fort Drum. We were hoping to watch the COMMON NIGHTHAWKS perform their booming display, but we only heard 1 or 2 birds peenting from above, and never saw any of them. But we did have at least 16 WHIP-POOR-WILLS calling from inside and outside the airport fence, in Training Area 4B. Also heard were multiple VESPER and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, a few FIELD SPARROWS and EASTERN TOWHEES, a HERMIT THRUSH, and an AMERICAN WOODCOCK. On Monday morning, we began again along the west side of the airport, where we found a very cooperative CLAY-COLORED SPARROW near one of the observation platforms along the Main Tank Trail across from TA 4D. The bird was singing from inside the airport fence in an area of regenerating oaks and poplars. We also heard SCARLET TANAGER and BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. Near the intersection of the Main Tank Trail and old Rt 29, we had some great looks at a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, and we heard another in the immediate area. We slowly birded northward up Antwerp Rd and found a good variety of birds, including AMERICAN REDSTART, YELLOW WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, PINE WARBLER, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, CANADA WARBLER, LEAST FLYCATCHER, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, HOUSE WREN, and SWAMP SPARROW. Near the cemetery along Antwerp Rd just south of Reedville Rd, we encountered our first GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, which appeared to be a pure adult. We also saw our first of several PORCUPINES here. Out in the grasslands, we spotted AMERICAN KESTRELS, a few NORTHERN HARRIERS, COMMON RAVENS, and some ALDER FLYCATCHERS among the usual suite of grassland birds. We stopped along Antwerp Rd near the drop zone in TA 13A to look for a HENSLOW'S SPARROW. While in the area, a few of us witnessed a food transfer between a pair of NORTHERN HARRIERS. The male came flying in from the east carrying a small mammal. The female came up from the grass and the male dropped it down to her, and she caught it in mid-air and then returned to the ground, presumably to feed some young. That is always exciting to watch. After about 20 minutes or so, a small sparrow was spotted in the grass, but it quickly disappeared. After several more minutes had passed, the HENSLOW'S SPARROW began to sing, but remained mostly hidden in the grass. Right before we left, he popped up to the top of a Spirea stalk and sang and sang, and we were finally able to get some good looks at him through the scope. We next travelled east along Reedville Rd, where we encountered another warbler flock between Antwerp Rd and the railroad tracks that included another adult GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. We then danced in and out of rain showers as we made our way across the base to the eastern side to TA 14. Along Russell Turnpike, between South Tank Trail and Figert Rd, we had 2-3 MOURNING WARBLERS, a NASHVILLE WARBLER, a couple of INDIGO BUNTINGS, and our first hybrid Blue-wing/Golden-wing. This bird was not the hoped for Lawrence's Warbler, but instead a variant between the two. The Dunn/Garrett "Peterson Field Guide to Warblers" shows an illustration on page 49 of a bird that was similar to the one we saw. It was mostly grayish on the upper parts of its body, with a white underside. It had a small yellow cap, and a fairly strong black face patch, along with a yellow wing patch, and it was singing a Golden-wing type song. We also had our first and only BLUE-WINGED WARBLER song type here, but I personally did not see that particular bird, so I cannot say what it looked like physically. Along Figert Rd, we found our only PRAIRIE WARBLER of the day, and also had 2-3 more Golden-wing type birds. One we saw was a bird that was "mostly" a Golden-winged Warbler, but there were 1-2 others present that we did not see, but were singing Golden-wing type songs. Overall, the combined bird list of all 9 participants on the trip was around 125 species. Thanks to Jeff Bolsinger for providing information about the locations of the birds on Fort Drum, Bob McGuire for organizing the trip, and the other participants of the trip - Ann Mitchell, Steve and Susie Fast, Paul Hurtado, Laura and Ton Stenzler, and Gladys Birdsall - for some great birding. Hope to do this again next year. Mickey Scilingo