<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>
Spring weather returned to more moderate (usual) levels this week, but still no precipitation. By week's end, we had only 18% of normal rainfall for the month. Birds and flowers were again most prominent as both brightened up the April landscape. Most successful bald eagle nests in the watershed should have nestlings by now.
<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>
4/5 - Croton Point, HRM 35-34: Across three hours of birding I noted 61 species. Among these were 25 American kestrels, with pretty much one on every post on the landfill. At one point almost all of them were hovering above the hill.
- Lewis Lolya
[Gerard Manley Hopkins' 1877 poem The Windhover (quoted in part below) spoke of the European version of this small falcon. Tom Lake.]
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird, - the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>
4/3 - Schodack Island, HRM 139: On a sunny but cool morning I heard a barred owl call several times: "Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?" While most owls are nocturnal, the barred owl is one of the few that can be heard during the day.
- Mary Ellen Grimaldi
4/3 - Crugers, HRM 39: The resident great blue heron finally returned to Ogilvie's Pond. We watched it walk along the concrete wall of the pond, its neck stretched, until it reached the pair of Canada geese that frequent the pond. Then, knowing its limits, it spread its wide wings and flew over to the other side of the pond where it began to walk in the water.
- Dorothy and Bob Ferguson
4/4 - Troy, HRM 152: It was early afternoon and the tide had turned to flood, probably bringing herring up the river. A lone double-crested cormorant was fishing, diving repeatedly just south of the Hoosick Street Bridge.
- Regina Keenan
4/4 - Schodack Island, HRM 139: In keeping with what an odd winter and spring it has been with the weather and early appearances of blooms and birds, this morning I heard the sweet song of the eastern meadowlark from the neighboring pasture. I usually do not hear them until early May.
- Mary Ellen Grimaldi
4/4 - Hannacroix Creek, HRM 132: It was early morning as I watched an adult bald eagle flying below the tree tops with a fish in its talons, navigating the Hannacroix as an aerial highway heading toward the Hudson.
- Jean Bush
4/4 - Town of Poughkeepsie: For the second year in a row, the adults in eagle nest NY62 have produced two eaglets. While the male is often the primary food provider, in early morning, the female brought a bird to the nest, possibly a duck. In midday, for variety, she delivered a squirrel.
- Terry Hardy, Tom Lake
[This makes a total of eleven eaglets from three nests across the twelve years we have been monitoring this pair. Tom Lake.]
4/4 - Highland Falls, HRM 50: A big tom turkey with full tail fan on display was strutting around a hen this morning in the woods outside O'Neill High School.
- Scott Craven
4/4 - Fort Montgomery, HRM 46.5: Late in the day I watched an immature bald eagle fight the wind over the old Fort Montgomery site before heading back into the woods, I assume to roost.
- Scott Craven
4/4 - Annsville Creek, HRM 43.5: Due to the non-winter, we have seen very few eagles this year. However, as we drove across the Annsville (Route 9) Bridge today, we saw a magnificent adult circling overhead, his white head and tail gleaming in the sunlight.
- Dianne Picciano
4/4 - Manhattan, HRM 7.5-5.5: It was a good day in Central Park for early April migration. A fairly wide variety of species were seen including a few on the very early side as well as few less common species. The least-expected, a monk parakeet, was actually one that has been seen in the park a number of times, just not recently despite being a breeding resident species in New York City. An uncommon but annual migrant seen only early-on was a vesper sparrow. A nice feature of many bird observations was the birdsong that was heard from a wide variety of species including winter wrens and hermit thrush. The arrival of Louisiana waterthrush has been rather emphatic; never an abundant migrant, a minimum of five, and quite likely six or more, were seen. Other migration notes should include the sheer numbers of some very expected yet heretofore not-too-common migrants, such as the ruby-crowned kinglet, hermit thrush, palm warbler, pine warbler, and eastern towhee. There was also one white-crowned sparrow and several common loon flyovers.
- Tom Fiore
4/5 - Newcomb, HRM 302: While the above average temperatures in March fooled humans into thinking that summer had arrived, the birds and animals in the central Adirondacks were not tricked by balmy sunny days and were not exceptionally early in their arrival dates or behavioral mileposts. There were a few exceptions and most of them were water birds as the lakes did lose ice early and have been open for about a week. Common loon, great blue heron and bufflehead all had early arrival dates but other avian species were mostly within their usual arrival dates.
The chipmunk that lives in our side yard was still on its winter schedule, even with a food source (bird feeder) less than ten feet from its burrow. It seems to be staying below ground, likely dropping into torpor for two or three days at a time and then emerging on day three or four to raid the sunflower seeds from the feeder. Judging from the size of the debris pile and large stones pushed out of the burrow, I’m convinced that it has a small excavator in there for its burrow expansion project.
Green frogs have just begun to vocalize and we have seen some of their egg masses in the vernal pools, but the cooler temperatures have slowed them down at bit. Two years ago, when the snow cover was also gone by mid-March, the green frogs were breeding the first week of April. On the vegetation front, the non-native coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) was in bloom and the leaves of the trout lily (Erythronium americanum) were above ground but with no blossoms yet.
- Charlotte Demers
4/5 - Ulster County, HRM 78: Beginning at Millbrook, continuing our peregrine falcon observations at Mohonk Preserve, we saw sustained peregrine falcon activity including one chasing a raven. Human rock-climbing activity in the area appears to be conflicting with this year's eyrie, and may be keeping the peregrines away. At the Trapps, we watched a prey exchange (male catches the prey and then "hands off" to the female in mid-air) that may have been a starling. As the female fed, the male went to the eyrie to care for the eggs. At Bonticou, we heard a pair of barred owls and watched a pair of ravens carrying what appeared to be food to their nest. One peregrine was seen flying near the raven nest and then among several turkey vultures.
- Thomas J. Sarro, Joe Bridges
[Dr. Thomas J. Sarro, Professor of Biology at Mount Saint Mary College, has been assisting with the peregrine monitoring project at Mohonk Preserve since 1999 and is currently its coordinator. Peregrine falcons returned to the Shawangunks in 1998 after decades of near-extirpation due to pesticides in the food chain that compromised the birds' ability to reproduce. Tom Lake.]
4/5 - Town of Poughkeepsie: It an unusual behavioral switch, the adult male spent most of both yesterday and today in the nest. Ordinarily, the female tends to the nestlings as much as 90% of the time. I could see both eaglets bobbing their heads above the nest rim, one a bit higher than the other.
- Terry Hardy
4/5 - Putnam Valley, HRM 55.5: It was great, bring-a-smile-to-almost-any-face news! The first barn swallow returned mid-day and flew promptly down the basement stairwell to the sheltered nesting locale of many swallow families over many years. My casual phenology notes indicate that the return is early by maybe a week. Their return usually correlates with the presence of "shad flies" or blackflies that have not been abundant yet this spring.
- Nancy P. Durr
4/5 - Manhattan, HRM 7.5-5.5: We estimated that as much as 75-90 percent of all the migrant birds had cleared out of Central Park overnight. Given that the majority had only just arrived, that was a bit of a surprise.
- Tom Fiore
4/5 - Manhattan, HRM 3.5: Although the swamp sparrow is named after its favored habitat, I can't help projecting its other connotations, its hiding and lurking around on the ground, its coloration muddied like a ruined brown-gray watercolor. I spotted one earlier in the week at Bryant Park during the colder, damper days, hiding in the underbrush. Most of last week's song sparrows were gone. This morning, however, one surprised me, perched atop a bush and breaking out into song, sharing happiness in the return of warm weather.
- Alan Drogin
4/5 - Manhattan, HRM 2.7: During an afternoon walk in Hudson River Park from Canal Street north to 25th Street, I saw several small groups of brant geese eating "seaweed" (algae) from old pilings and sections of rip-rap. I believe these geese are part of the 40 I saw near here on March 2. I find it just amazing that these normally fairly reclusive waterfowl have found such a safe niche to winter. There are hardly any raptors to speak of here and there is plenty of forage at the river's edge. They have seemingly become accustomed to the occasional helicopter taking off, water taxis, and the sound of traffic on the West Side Highway. I'm wondering when they will head back north.
- Caleb Davison
[The late Dery Bennett, longtime director of the American Littoral Society, used to mark the seasons by noting how brant, a small species of geese, left Sandy Hook on Memorial Day. In his words, they would "shove off for the Canadian Arctic where they will breed, fledge young, and return around Columbus Day." Tom Lake.]
4/6 - Germantown, HRM 105: I looked up from large shadows moving over my yard to see as many as six turkey vultures overhead. I do not normally see them that close, nor over my yard. I went out a while later and saw them feeding on a road-killed rabbit. I looked again in a few hours and saw not a scrap of rabbit remains on the road. Turkey vultures may not be pretty, but they seem very efficient.
- Mimi Brauch
4/6 - Ulster County, HRM 78: Continuing our Mohonk Preserve peregrine falcon observations at Millbrook, we spotted a peregrine flying with a raven until it zoomed off for a quick prey exchange with its mate. The male peregrine soared with vultures, flying vigorously and taking several aggressive swipes at one. Later we saw the male falcon quickly copulate with the female. It is my belief that at Millbrook we are seeing an attempt to breed by a mature male and an immature, one year old female (darker plumage and lighter cere). Tom Cade, founder and director of The Peregrine Fund, believes that in North America, female peregrines do not become sexually mature until their second year, with some taking long as three years.
A peregrine flew through my field of vision later at the Trapps and landed on a snag. A turkey vulture flew right under its nose with no response. The vulture then tried to land on the ledge with the snag but was quickly driven away. The behavior we are seeing at the Trapps is indicative of a female being on eggs and the male guarding from optimum vantage points on the cliff. If our observations are correct, egg-laying may have taken place March 20-22, in which case hatching should occur between April 17 and 24. We will see.
- Thomas J. Sarro
4/6 - Bronx, New York City, HRM 15: While hiking through Van Cortlandt Park, my co-worker thought she spotted a cat on the trail. When we got closer we realized that it was actually a great horned owl fledgling on the ground. As we were leaving to give it some space, the fledgling puffed up into a huge scary ball and clicked its beak at us. One of its parents, perched in a tree overhead, quickly swooped past us to a lower tree to keep a closer watch.
- Kathryn Boula
4/6 - Manhattan, HRM 7.5-5.5: A breeding-plumage common loon was again on the Central Park Reservoir this morning. Sharing the reservoir were a hooded mergansers, northern shovelers, buffleheads, ruddy ducks, gadwalls, the usual mallards, American black ducks, some American coot, double-crested cormorants, and three gull species - ring-billed, herring and great black-backed - plus at least one brightly-plumaged pied-billed grebe.
- Tom Fiore
4/7 - New Hamburg, HRM 67.5: We frequently watch as the adult eagles bring food to the nestlings in the NY62 nest, but far less often see them acquire the catch. I watched at sunrise as the male dove repeatedly into the low tide shallows at the mouth of Wappinger Creek before finally connecting with a river herring, an alewife. As has been his habit for the last eleven years that we have watched him, he perched in a cottonwood and had his fill before addressing the needs of the nestlings. One more stoop, another herring, and then off to the nest.
- Tom Lake
4/7 - Manhattan, HRM 11: Further evidence of the renewed ecology and cleanliness of the Hudson River in New York City - a muskrat I saw last week swimming and landing on the city shoreline near the Little Red Lighthouse underneath the George Washington Bridge. The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is a medium-sized semi-aquatic native rodent and was a source of both food and fur to the native Algonquian people who lived here before the Europeans arrived 400 years ago. The meat is said to be tender and similar in taste to duck. In the early twentieth century, coats made of muskrat fur were labeled as "Hudson seal fur." Growing up to two feet in length, they are smaller than beavers that can also be found in this region.
- Mark Gluck
4/8 - Mid-Hudson Valley: The forests and hillsides along the river were beginning to gain color, mostly white as wild cherry and shadbush, as well as the first dogwood, were blooming.
- Tom Lake.
[Shadbush or serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.), a native species, has been, at least colloquially on the East Coast, considered a harbinger of spawning American shad arriving in estuaries. However, in the last several decades either shadbush is blooming later, shad are arriving earlier, or our observations are becoming more precise. From early April to early May, this wildflower has been a dependable indicator of advancing springtime inland up the estuary. Shadbush tends to be recognizable by the white glow it gives off, a softer, hazier white than flowering dogwood. In bloom, shadbush tends to have a horizontal aspect; dogwood seems to be more vertical. Since 1994, it has bloomed in the Mid-Hudson area as early as 3/31 (1998) and as late as 4/27 (2011). Tom Lake.]
4/9 - Troy, HRM 152: The ebb tide was nearly low in early afternoon and four double-crested cormorants were fishing in the Hudson just south of the Hoosick Street Bridge.
- Regina Keenan
4/9 - Pleasant Valley, HRM 76: My first brown-headed cowbird was at the feeder today - it seems early for them. The male cowbird joined a group of five or six white-throated sparrows. I have seen a lot of these beautiful little birds in the past few weeks and I love their distinctive markings.
- Kathy Kraft
4/9 - Highland Mills, HRM 50: We spotted a small, gray dog-like animal running across our lawn this afternoon. It was a coyote. This is the second one we've seen here in our 1960s development. The other was a few years ago. It looked a little lost, ran up the street across other neighbors' lawns, and I lost sight of it after the fourth house. It seemed in good condition, maybe a little scraggly, but had no trouble loping along. I think that distinctive movement is the most telling difference between a dog and a coyote.
- Alan Groth, Janice Groth
4/9 - Manhattan, HRM 3.5: This was our first New York City Audubon Bryant Park bird walk of the season Bryant Park continues to amaze with the abundance and diversity of its bird-life. The winter's white-throated sparrows were still lingering and singing. We had several sparrow species in grassy lawn in the center of the park: numerous song sparrows, a pair of chipping sparrows, and a field sparrow. We were later treated to the field sparrow singing his bright bouncing-ball song from a London plane tree, alongside his chipping sparrow cousin who was singing as well. We also heard a winter wren singing his amazing song, which I almost never hear in the city. He later popped out of the English ivy and gave us a great look.
- Gabriel Willow
[If anyone cares to join us, we will be continuing our walks every Monday, 8:00-9:00 AM, and Thursday 5:00-6:00 PM, through the end of May. It is a free drop-in walk. Gabriel Willow.]
<<<<< HELP US MONITOR HERRING MIGRATION >>>>>
DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program and Hudson River Fisheries Unit continue to recruit volunteers for their 2012 Volunteer River Herring Monitoring program. Monitoring will take place through May 31, during the annual river herring spawning migration from the ocean into freshwater tributaries. Volunteers are asked to look for signs of herring at a convenient site on the list below, at least twice a week for 15 minutes. No experience is necessary and training is provided. If you are interested in participating or would like to attend a training session, please contact us atr3hermon@gw.dec.state.ny.us or call 845-256-3172.
2012 Targeted River Herring Monitoring Sites
- Rensselaer County: Poesten Kill, Vlockie Kill
- Columbia County: Roeliff Jansen Kill
- Dutchess County: Fallkill, Maritje Kill
- Ulster County: Black Creek
- Orange County: Quassaick Creek, Popolopen Brook
- Westchester County: Sing Sing Brook
- Putnam County: Foundry Brook
<<<<< SPRING 2012 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>
April 14 - 2:00 PM
Discover Norrie Walk: Signs of Spring. Norrie Point Environmental Center, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Free. For information: 845-889-4745 x109.
April 14 - 1:00 PM
Grinnell Library, Wappinger Falls
Meet the Naturalists Series No. 2: Sturgeon, the Largest Fish in the Hudson River! Tom Lake, Naturalist, Hudson River Estuary Program. Grinnell Library, Wappingers Falls [Dutchess County]. Call to sign up: 845-297-3428.
April 21 - 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Family Fishing Day. For all ages; free use of rods, reels and bait. Norrie Point Environmental Center, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Wheelchair accessible. Free. For information: 845-889-4745 x109 orlake@sunydutchess.edu
<<<<< HUDSON RIVER MILES >>>>>
The Hudson is measured north from Hudson River Mile 0 at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is at HRM 12, the Tappan Zee 28, Bear Mountain 47, Beacon-Newburgh 62, Mid-Hudson 75, Kingston-Rhinecliff 95, Rip Van Winkle 114, and the Federal Dam at Troy, the head of tidewater, at 153. The tidal section of the Hudson constitutes a bit less than half the total distance – 315 miles – from Lake Tear of the Clouds to the Battery. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.
<<<<< TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE >>>>>
The Hudson River E-Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com . To sign up to receive the E-Almanac (or to unsubscribe), send an email message to hrep@gw.dec.state.ny.us and write E-Almanac in the subject line.
Weekly issues are archived at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25611.html . The DEC website's search engine can find species, locations, and other data in the archives.
The Hudson River Estuary Program has an e-newsletter! Stay connected by subscribing to RiverNet, which covers projects, events and actions related to the Hudson and its watershed.www.dec.ny.gov/lands/76018.html
Discover New York State Conservationist - the award-winning, advertisement-free magazine focusing on New York State's great outdoors and natural resources. Conservationist features stunning photography, informative articles and around-the-state coverage. For a free, no-obligation issue go tohttp://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html
<<<<< USEFUL LINKS >>>>>
The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s tide predictions are available online athttp://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=62 NOAA’s 2012 tidal current predictions are at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents12/ .
For real-time information on Hudson River tides, weather and water conditions from eight monitoring stations, visit the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System website athttp://www.hrecos.org .
Historical information on the movements of the salt front in the Hudson estuary is presented by the U.S. Geological Survey: http://ny.water.usgs.gov/projects/dialer_plots/saltfront.html .
Information about the Hudson River Estuary Program is available on DEC's website athttp://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4920.html .
Copies of past issues of the Hudson River Almanac, Volumes II-VIII, are available for purchase from the publisher, Purple Mountain Press, (800) 325-2665, or email purple@catskill.net
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Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
OVERVIEW
A winter ended that was barely noticeable in most areas of the watershed. The week leading up to the vernal equinox was punctuated by record-setting warmth as well as continued early arrival of migratory birds and blooming of spring flowers. Year eighteen of the Almanac ended on the equinox, reminding us that it stays alive only through the wonderfully generous natural history contributions from all of you. The Almanac goes out to more than 3,000 people each week, all of whom share in ongoing discovery and learning about our Hudson River watershed.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
3/14 - Staten Island, New York City: A road-killed river otter was found on the west shore of Staten Island about a month ago. Wildlife biologists speculated as to whether it was a stray or a sign that otters were re-establishing themselves. Today a DEC Conservation Officer recovered a second (also road-killed) river otter in the same vicinity. It looks like the river otter, not seen in New York City in a hundred years, may have a population on Staten Island. Now, if we can only get cars to stop running them over...
- John Fitzpatrick
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
3/14 - Saratoga National Historic Park, HRM 177.5: About 200 snow geese were spotted next to the Hudson River on the Saratoga Battlefield.
- Steve Abrahamsen
3/14 - Chatham, Columbia County, HRM 125: I have been hearing so many woodpeckers in the Borden's Pond Preserve. Yesterday I spotted a female pileated, but not her mate. They are regulars in the area, but it's been several months since my last sighting.
- Nancy Castaldo
3/14 - Yorktown, HRM 44: Wood frogs were "quacking" away in the little wetland at Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. This is the earliest that I can remember hearing them. If you kneel down, stay still, put your hand palm-up in the water, and wiggle your fingers just enough to make small ripples, sometimes a male frog will come over and swim onto your palm. Then he realizes that you are not a female frog and he swims away very fast. This only works at this time of year.
- Susan Butterfass
3/14 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Three 70 degree-plus days in a row. Our daffodils bloomed today, easily two weeks earlier than usual and a month earlier than last year. Also, trillium has popped up in the woods.
- Christopher Letts
3/14 - Croton Point, HRM 35: "Gronk, gronk, gronk." For the second morning I heard a raven calling; this time it was perched in plain sight and I passed it. In the presence of ravens I am always transported to wilder, more natural places - a magic bird.
- Christopher Letts
3/14 - Ossining, HRM 33: There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the outline of Croton Point and the hills of Rockland County were so perfect that they seemed unreal. Two robins, the first I've seen this season, skittered past. Clumps of bright yellow daffodils danced in the warm breeze.
- Dorothy Ferguson
3/14 - Manhattan, HRM 2: We spotted a woodcock perched at the corner of William and Wall Street today. I cannot recall ever seeing one in Manhattan before.
- Matt Klein
3/15 - Fort Edward, HRM 202: A spitting rain turned to light rain near dusk. We spotted three northern harriers including an adult male, a brown-tone male, and an adult female. At the perfect time for owls, it stopped raining. We sighted six short-eared owls, one of which was an extremely light-colored adult male.
- Dan Furbish
3/15 - Catskill, HRM 113: Today was definitely the earliest date that we have ever logged the annual spring arrival of river herring in Catskill Creek. Furthermore, it was the first time we ever saw striped bass here prior to St. Patrick's Day (they arrived today as well).
- Tom Gentalen
3/15 - Pleasant Valley, HRM 75: With air temperatures in the 70s the past few days, spring arrived early. This morning I heard my first eastern phoebe calling, joining the chorus of cardinals, song sparrows, Carolina wrens, chickadees and tufted titmice.
- Kathy Kraft
3/15 - Fishkill, HRM 61: I enjoyed watching a Carolina wren gather moss and other nesting material so that it could build nests inside my hanging tomato plant containers outside the back door. There are two containers and it brought nesting materials to both of them. Guess I won't be planting tomatoes in those containers.
- Ed Speath
3/15 - Putnam Valley, HRM 55.5: The Andromeda was coming into bloom. According to someone who has kept phenologic [phenology] records of such events since 1993, Andromeda ordinarily come into bloom between April 15 and April 25, some 30-40 days hence.
- Nancy P Durr
3/15 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: I was much taken with the spring finery of the weeping willows: delicate golden-green blossoms and tiny leaves gave the branches the look of having a fresh spring hairdo. Coltsfoot was blooming in great profusion on the roadsides.
- Christopher Letts
3/15 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: Tree swallows were zipping around the nesting boxes (bluebird boxes, actually, but the swallows always seem to prevail) and this morning they were in and out of the boxes and getting serious about it.
- Christopher Letts
3/16 - Saratoga County, HRM 208: Ice is "out" on Moreau Lake and northern shovelers have been seen on the open water this week.
- Gary Hill
3/16 - Croton Point, HRM 35-34: Forsythia was in full bloom, about three weeks earlier than usual.
- Christopher Letts
3/17 - Rondout Creek, HRM 92: River herring had arrived in Rondout Creek about two weeks early. My son, John, was kayaking and saw quite a few, and local fishermen were already collecting them. This may mean that striped bass are not far behind.
- John Neidhardt
3/17 - Hyde Park, HRM 80: While dining at the American Bounty Restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America, we watched from our table as a sharp-shinned hawk dined on a starling in the inner courtyard of Roth Hall. It stripped the feathers of the kill, moved the kill under a pine tree, carried it up into the tree, brought it back down to the ground and then finished consuming it. It took all of about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, at various times, crows flew overhead showing their annoyance at the hawk's presence. It was an extraordinary "fine dining" experience for us and other diners.
- Erin Murphy, Tim Murphy, Ed Spaeth
3/17 - Town of Cortlandt, HRM 38: Magnolia was in full bloom, at least a week early. - Christopher Letts
3/18 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: While our family was having a picnic dinner at the Norrie Point Marina, we finally saw the occupants of the beaver lodge. They were swimming under and around the long broad walk near the shoreline. One was large and the other was about three-quarters the size. They did not seem to be concerned about us leaning over the railing watching them, and they gave us a nice show before they departed.
- Steve Hesse and Family
3/18 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: This was the last week of winter and forsythia was in bloom along the river, hyacinths flowers were opening, magnolia was showing color, and daffodils had long been in bloom. These were all, in terms of an ordinary year, two weeks early
- Tom Lake
3/18 - Town of Newburgh, HRM 61: The air temperature reached 74 degrees Fahrenheit today, a record high for the date.
- National Weather Service
3/18 - New Windsor, HRM 59: The last couple of days have exploded with birdsong and nest-building activity in my yard. I was serenaded in turn by passionate and enthusiastic song sparrows, cardinals, robins, mockingbirds, mourning doves, and my personal favorite - purple finches. I couldn't locate to identify the joyous and insistent singer of "Peter,Peter,Peter." Isn't it early for Baltimore orioles, or is this a different bird?
-Joanne Zipay
[The "Peter, Peter, Peter" call is most likely the clear song of the tufted titmouse. The purple finch, indeed a wonderful singer, is not as common as it once was in the Hudson Valley, and as a nesting species it is usually associated with conifers. Its close relative the house finch, also a marvelous songster, is very common in suburban and urban habitats. The "purple" of a male purple finch is more raspberry red than purple and covers much of the bird's body. Color - a more crimson hue - on male house finches is concentrated on the crown and breast. Tom Lake & Steve Stanne.]
3/18 - Blooming Grove, HRM 55: We spotted two male yellow-rumped warblers on a walk in the woods behind our house - our first warblers this season. Phoebes have been singing in many spots as well.
- Betsy Hawes
3/18 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: Phoebes had returned and the sky was clouded with high-flying tree swallows.
- Christopher Letts
3/18 - Dobbs Ferry, HRM 23: A red-tailed hawk was devouring an unidentified bird high up on a black locust while a companion red-tail squawked from a nearby branch. Feathers floated down as he ripped away at the meal and sparrows snatched them as they fell. Nest lining?
- Elizabeth T. Martin
3/18- Hastings-on-Hudson, HRM 21.5: I was surprised by a commotion on our glass-enclosed front porch this afternoon. Flapping desperately against the taped-shut-for-winter corner windows was a bird with gray wings, sharply curved beak, strong legs, business-like claws, patterned belly, and black under-eye markings - a male merlin. As it slipped down the glass onto a plant stand for a still moment, I managed to cup its wings in both hands and carry it outside where, thankfully uninjured, the falcon soared to freedom - a magical moment. It likely had been hunting sparrows at our front yard feeder and pursued one through the open porch door (but no evidence of the hapless victim).
- MJ Madigan
3/19 - Staatsburg, HRM 86: At dusk, we positioned ourselves at Hyde Park wetland #1 (HP-1 on the State Wetland Map) about a mile east of the Hudson River, to observe the display of the woodcock (which did not occur). The temperature was near 70 degrees F and the gray tree frogs were voicing loudly with spring peepers joining in the background. A few mosquitoes appeared and so did a couple of little brown bats flying their erratic flights over our head. Venus and Jupiter were shining brightly high in the southwestern sky.
- Bill Jacobs, Judy Kito
3/19 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 75: The air temperature reached 78 degrees F today, a record high for the date.
- National Weather Service
3/19 - Chelsea, HRM 65.4: On the last day of winter we sat in 79 degree sunshine watching a small duck blind drift downriver in the current. The small, square wooden frame was covered with tied-down, now-brown, cedar branches. It had likely come loose from a waterfowl-season mooring upriver, and seemed to connect the seasons from fall to spring.
- TR Jackson, Tom Lake
[Duck blinds are floating platforms used by hunters to camouflage their presence on the water. Simple duck blinds are often made with floats on a wooden frame adorned with conifer branches. If they are well done, ducks and geese generally pay little attention to them or the hunters. Tom Lake.]
3/19 - Cold Spring, HRM 54: The river was 45 degrees F, considerably warmer than usual for the last day of winter. Anglers on the dock were having a slow but steady pick of small striped bass (16") and channel catfish (16-18"), caught on bloodworms. All fish were released.
- Tom Bouchard, Tom Jackson, Tom Lake
3/19 - Town of Warwick, Orange County, HRM 41: Danny Messina and I went to Liberty Marsh to look into a 3/17 report of cinnamon teal. While we did see a small group of green-wing teal and several northern shovelers, we did not see the hoped-for cinnamon teal. However, we did see two sandhill cranes on the south side of the marsh. They were definitely pair-bound as they never looked to be more than eight feet from each other. This was our earliest sighting date ever in Orange County, topping last year's on 4/13.
- Ken McDermott
3/19 -Manhattan, HRM 5: The air temperature reached 72 degrees F today, a record high for the date.
- National Weather Service
3/20 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: The vernal equinox arrived while most of us were asleep (1:14 AM). Today was another, albeit now official, spring day (70 degrees F), and one that was fairly filled with cabbage white butterflies. Like confetti in the air, it seemed to be an entirely fitting way to conclude the eighteenth annual volume of the Hudson River Almanac.
- Tom Lake
3/20 - Staatsburg, HRM 86: American toads were calling this morning.
- Jesse Jaycox
3/20 - Hyde Park, HRM 81: We found both bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) blooming amidst large, warm rocks on a hill in a park just south of Hyde Park. Populations of Dutchman's breeches in lower-lying areas were leafing out, but not yet blooming. This is a very early flowering date for these spring ephemerals.
- Kali Bird
3/20 - Town of Montgomery, HRM 62: Since early March I have had two red squirrels making quick forays into my yard from a wooded area just above Tin Brook. My first sighting was very exciting as I have never had them before. Smaller, more lithe and agile than the gray squirrels, their rich red fur seemed to be on fire in the sunlight. Even more interestingly, I noticed that they would stretch out spread-eagle on the trunk of a maple tree and chew the bark. At this time of year, red squirrels start running out of stored energy from the winter and turn to the sap of maples to get a quick fix of sugar.
- Patricia Henighan
3/20 - Town of Newburgh, HRM 61: The air temperature reached 80 degrees F today, a record high for the date.
- National Weather Service
3/20 - Crugers, HRM 39: Ogilvie's Pond, on the first day of spring, seemed to have been transformed overnight. Spatterdock was beginning to poke out of the water and we spotted more than 100 orange fish, averaging about six inches long, swimming very close to the surface. Two turtles were basking in the sun on a large log and a pair of Canada geese stood quietly on the cement wall of the pond. A perfect start to spring!
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson
[Goldfish, even bright orange ones, swim in the Hudson, but most often those we find are brassy in color; the orange ones catch the eyes of predators. These six-inch-long "orange fish" (more than 100) may well have been pre-spawning or even spawning golden shiners. Tom Lake.]
3/20 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: I looked out the window yesterday to see a large dark bird marching across the feebly-green lawn. It was a huge wild turkey that paraded on through the daffodils into the camouflage of the woods. I watched the shape of its body disappear in the dark shapes of fallen trees and leaf piles. I followed its passage only by the flashes of its red wattle. This morning, to my delight, the bird made another strut across the lawn into the woods, in what may become a new daily treat.
- Robin Fox
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR GLASS EEL STUDY
The DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program and National Estuarine Research Reserve seek volunteers to check fyke nets set in Hudson River tributaries and count the numbers of glass eels [immatures] caught. The project will run March to May, and will provide crucial baseline data on Hudson River eel populations. No experience necessary and training is provided. If you are interested in participating or would like to attend a training session, please contact Chris Bowser (chbowser@gw.dec.state.ny.us), Sarah Mount (sjmount@gw.dec.state.ny.us) or Zoraida Maloney (ztmalone@gw.dec.state.ny.us) or call (845) 889-4745. For more information, visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/49580.html
2012 Targeted American eel monitoring sites: - Hannacroix Creek (Greene County) - Saw Kill, Crum Elbow Creek, Fall Kill (Dutchess County) - Black Creek (Ulster County) - Indian Brook (Putnam County) - Furnace Brook (Westchester County) - Minisceongo Creek (Rockland County) - Coney Island Creek (Brooklyn)
HELP US MONITOR HERRING MIGRATION Spring is approaching and DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program and Hudson River Fisheries Unit are recruiting volunteers for their 2012 Volunteer River Herring Monitoring program. Monitoring will take place from April 1 through May 31, during the annual river herring spawning migration from the ocean into freshwater tributaries. Volunteers are asked to look for signs of herring at a convenient site on the list below, at least twice a week for 15 minutes. No experience is necessary and training is provided. If you are interested in participating or would like to attend a training session, please contact us atr3hermon@gw.dec.state.ny.us or call 845-256-3172.
2012 Targeted River Herring Monitoring Sites - Rensselaer County: Poesten Kill, Vlockie Kill - Columbia County: Roeliff Jansen Kill - Dutchess County: Fallkill, Maritje Kill - Ulster County: Black Creek - Orange County: Quassaick Creek, Popolopen Brook - Westchester County: Sing Sing Brook - Putnam County: Foundry Brook
SPRING 2012 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS
March 29 - 2:00-3:15 PM Stewardship of the Commons: Panel Discussion Evaluating Hudson River Valley Ecology, including Tom Lake, Naturalist, Hudson River Estuary Program. Performing Arts Center of the Student Center, Marist College, Poughkeepsie [Dutchess County]. Questions: Thomas.Lynch@marist.edu
April 5 - 7:30 PM Tivoli Bays Talks: John Burroughs with Rich Parisio. Tivoli Bays Visitor Center, Tivoli [Dutchess County]. Free. Wheelchair accessible. For information: 845-889-4745 x109.
April 14 - 2:00 PM Discover Norrie Walk: Signs of Spring. Norrie Point Environmental Center, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Free. For information: 845-889-4745 x109.
April 14 - 1:00 PM Grinnell Library, Wappinger Falls Meet the Naturalists Series No. 2: Sturgeon, the Largest Fish in the Hudson River! Tom Lake, Naturalist, Hudson River Estuary Program. Grinnell Library, Wappingers Falls [Dutchess County]. Call to sign up: 845-297-3428.
TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE
The Hudson River E-Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com . To sign up to receive the E-Almanac (or to unsubscribe), send an email message tohrep@gw.dec.state.ny.us and write E-Almanac in the subject line.
Weekly issues are archived at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25611.html . The DEC website's search engine can find species, locations, and other data in the archives.
The Hudson River Estuary Program has an e-newsletter! Stay connected by subscribing to RiverNet, which covers projects, events and actions related to the Hudson and its watershed. www.dec.ny.gov/lands/76018.html
Discover New York State Conservationist - the award-winning, advertisement-free magazine focusing on New York State's great outdoors and natural resources. Conservationist features stunning photography, informative articles and around-the-state coverage. For a free, no-obligation issue go tohttp://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html
USEFUL LINKS
The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s tide predictions are available online at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=62 NOAA’s 2012 tidal current predictions are at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents12/ .
For real-time information on Hudson River tides, weather and water conditions from eight monitoring stations, visit the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System website at http://www.hrecos.org .
Information on the movements of the salt front in the Hudson estuary is presented by the U.S. Geological Survey:http://ny.water.usgs.gov/projects/dialer_plots/saltfront.html .
Information about the Hudson River Estuary Program is available on DEC's website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4920.html .
Copies of past issues of the Hudson River Almanac, Volumes II-VIII, are available for purchase from the publisher, Purple Mountain Press, (800) 325-2665, or email purple@catskill.net
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