Archived issues: May 28-June 2, 2008 May 21-27, 2008 May 14-20, 2008 May 6-13, 2008 May 1-6, 2008 April 23-30, 2008 April 16-22, 2008 April 7-15, 2008 April 1-7, 2008 March 25-March 31, 2008 March 19-March 26, 2008 March 12-March 20, 2008 March 5-March 11, 2008 February 27-March 4, 2008 February 20-26, 2008 February 13-20, 2008 February 4-12, 2008 January 28-February 4, 2008 January 22-28, 2008 January 14-21, 2008 January 8-14, 2008 January 1-7, 2008 December 23-31, 2007 December 13-17, 2007 December 4-12, 2007 November 28 - December 4, 2007

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HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
May 28 - June 2, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

As you read the Almanac each week, you may notice an imbalance of entries between the upper and lower Hudson. While ecologists recognize that these are, in many ways, two distinct rivers, they are socially, biologically, and physically connected. The river that runs from the High Peaks to Troy is no less special than that which runs to the sea. We always hope that we will hear more stories from above tidewater. Please do not be bashful.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

6/1 - Staatsburg, HRM 85: We checked out the Staatsburg red-shouldered hawk nest (see 4/22) this evening. The full foliage made getting a clear sighting difficult, but there is at least one large nestling present. We couldn't see any emergent feathers yet, just fluffy white down.
- Linda Lund, David Lund

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

5/28 - Newcomb, HRM 302: I saw my first tiger swallowtail butterfly of the season today as it flitted across the yard, riding the wind and looking for flowers. The only flowers were dandelions, violets and eyebright, but nearby lilacs and ground cover phlox were blooming, so it probably found something. Bunchberry bracts were now open, I presumed the flowers were as well, and blueberries were blooming along the roadsides. Mike Tracy reported the first dragonfly of the season at the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center. According to Mike's wisdom, this should shortly spell doom for blackflies. We can only hope, because these pestilential insects are driving us all nuts!
- Ellen Rathbone

5/28 - Waterford to Lock 1, HRM 159-164.5: We traveled upriver on our weekly Adirondack Mountain Club paddle. These paddles are well attended. This night our "moderate speed" group had 25 paddlers and the "lily-dipper" group had 14. An immature bald eagle soared over the Hudson north of Waterford as we headed for the Lock 1 dam. This was a one-year-old, judging by the very dark body, and he was not alone in the thermals. A broad-winged hawk soared above him, making an occasional dive at the eagle. Showing great airmanship, we saw the eagle twice turn over neatly on his back to aim his talons at the stooping hawk. It would hesitate with talons up until the hawk passed by. The third time, the eagle did what a pilot would call a "slow roll" - a continuous roll to upside down and continuing smoothly in the same direction until right side up again. It was an impressive display of flying for a young bird.
- Alan Mapes

5/28 - Kowawese, HRM 59: A cold front came through, giving us a gorgeous sunny day with a strong north wind. The ebb tide dropped beyond its midday prediction and Cornwall Bay emptied in the mini-blowout, exposing scores of deadfalls among the sandbars. One of the adult bald eagles nesting nearby perched on a derelict tree trunk, the wind ruffling its head feathers, looking altogether at peace with the world.
- Tom Lake

5/29 - Schuylerville, HRM 186: With some trepidation, I eased my little red kayak into the water near the PCB warning sign that was prominently displayed at the Canal Park boat launch. What might I find in these new waters where I had never paddled? Things of glory: great blue herons, mergansers, orioles, mayflies, caddisflies, water pennies, common map turtles, pinskter flowers and bluets, moose maple, yellow darters and, for some reason, a bat out for an afternoon flyover. Things of glory near a scary sign.
- Fran Martino

5/29 - Highland, HRM 75.5: As I left my house, a buzzing near my entry door caught my attention. Honey bees were zinging in and out from behind my house siding. I had erected three Mason Bee houses in the hope they would pollinate my plants. No worry now.
- Vivian Yess Wadlin

5/29 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Nine consecutive days with an empty eel net, coupled with warm water and neap tides, did nothing to boost my expectations. But as soon as you think you have wildlife behavior figured out, eels in particular, they humble you. I had an audience today, the Sound and Story Project of the Hudson River Valley, and the fates were kind. By the end of our spring sampling, eels appear in three phases: translucent, black, and yearlings (last year's glass eels). We had one of each. The two-inch translucent eel may have been in the estuary for a month, the same size but fully-pigmented black eel perhaps twice as long, and the four-inch elver at least a year. It is nice when nature cooperates.
- Tom Lake, Eileen McAdam

5/29 - Sandy Hook, NJ: The brant at Sandy Hook have dwindled down to nearly zero. This is their usual time to vacate for the long trip into the Arctic to breed. We will look for their return Columbus Day weekend. They have left the bay beaches and shallows to gulls, terns, herons, egrets, and a few black ducks.
- Dery Bennett

5/30 - Minerva, HRM 284: I was down in the swamp behind my house this evening and listened to the sounds around me. The American bittern was there (with that amazing plumbing call), as were lots of red-winged blackbirds, a couple of swamp sparrows, and scattered common yellowthroats. The blackflies were still an issue, though somewhat diminished, while the mosquitoes were waking up. It was still a tad too early for the bats, but they have returned to our attic, and would no doubt be heading the short distance west to our open wetland area to catch said tiny flying critters. As for wildflowers, painted trillium, goldthread, starflower, and chokeberry were out and about, always a pleasure.
- Mike Corey

5/30 - Saratoga County, HRM 170: My return to the Round Lake, Anthony Kill heron rookery (see 4/27) had good news and bad news. The good news is that all 13 nests were occupied with young, some with as many as three young heron being tended by the adults. The sad news is that there are patches of Eurasian water chestnut (Trapa natans) that I had not seen there last year. I yanked as much as I could fit into my little red kayak and disposed of it properly.
- Fran Martino

[I have come across viable water chestnut seeds in cornfields 20 miles from Hudson. These were almost certainly deposited by visiting waterfowl, ducks and geese that find the seeds caught in their leggings as they leave the river but manage to shed them as they stop to feed in ponds, lakes, and farmer's fields. It is a dispersal strategy that works well for the water chestnut, but not well for ecologists. Tom Lake.]

5/30 - Hyde Park, HRM 82: Heading down the path at the end of a busy day, with multiple school groups visiting us at the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, I stopped to allow a "lengthy" resident of this National Park to cross slowly in front of me. It was a beautiful, shiny black rat snake. It appeared to be in no hurry at all, and I was content to wait and watch as it made its way toward the old Ice House. All five feet of the snake easily slid beneath the rock foundation of this old building.
- Ann Murray

5/30 - Beacon, HRM 61: The fishing from Long Dock was good. I caught and released a 16 lb, 1 oz carp and two others estimated at 8 lb. and 3 lb. This was also an opportunity to try some non-offset, circle hooks. I wasn't sure if carp feed in a fashion that would make circle hooks effective. But they did their usual "grab and run" resulting in solid hook-ups and easy releases.
- Bill Greene

5/30 - Beacon, HRM 60.5: We were looking under the rocks in the water with 4th graders from South Avenue School and, to our surprise, we found glass eels! One eel I caught had no pigment yet, just two red dots. Very exciting!
- Rebecca Houser

5/30 - Westchester County, HRM 27: As I drove north on the Saw Mill Parkway near Hawthorne I caught sight of a wheeling bird banking back and forth above the road. The sun shone on it, lighting its very distinct long, sharp wings which bore clearly defined white patches near the tip ends. The body of the bird was pale and rather slender, the tail straight and narrow. I looked as long as traffic allowed, then returned home to read this week's Hudson River Almanac with the reports of nighthawk sightings. Had I been lucky? I checked my bird book to find my description fit that of a nighthawk. Another first for me.
- Robin Fox

5/31 - Saw Kill, HRM 98.5: As we drove from the Bard College Field Station up the dirt road that runs along the Saw Kill, we saw a small creature crossing the road and stopped to check it out. It was a hellgrammite - a large, dark, elongate insect larva (dobsonfly) with a strong pair of mandibles. Several people we know have run afoul of these jaws. The larvae are aquatic and the adults are terrestrial, but they pupate in soil. This larva had crawled at least 100 feet uphill and across the road in order to find a suitable place to dig. We have dug them up by mistake while finding worms for bait, but this is the first time we had seen a hellgrammite this far from the water.
- Bob Schmidt, Kathy Schmidt

5/31 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: A lone snow goose was keeping company with immature Canada geese in the Norrie Point boat basin. I assumed it was an injured bird, but it flew off as we approached with a group of paddlers.
- Alan Mapes

5/31 - West Park, HRM 82: The beautiful home of moss and mud between our front door and the lamp was inhabited again this spring. Five eastern phoebes fledged from an extremely over-crowded nest on Memorial Day weekend. A seemingly exhausted mom and dad continued to feed the fledglings in nearby trees for at least three days. Just when it seemed time for a well deserved break, both mom and dad phoebes appeared to have instead chosen to refurbish the well-worn nest, perhaps considering a second brood. (That would match the time of initial creation and successful use of this nest by the pair last season, producing four fledglings.)
- Mike and Ann Murray

5/31 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: After 72 days it was the end of the sampling season, time to take the gear out. One last juvenile eel in the net, a little over two inches long, chocolate brown, fully pigmented, was a nice find. Still, this spring saw the fewest number of glass eels immigrating into the brook in six years of data collecting. From a highpoint in numbers three years ago, 2006 saw a 73% decline followed by 85% fewer this year. If a trend is there, it might be that we see a peak year followed by two steep declines. However, for a fish that has been on earth for millions of year, a six-year snapshot is not even the blink of an eye.
- Tom Lake

5/31 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: In early evening a line of strong thunderstorms swept across the Hudson from west to east. The river turned from hazel to leaden gray in a matter of seconds; the cyclonic wind churned and before long the Hudson was capped-over from bank-to-bank. Cottonwood seeds filled the air like a snowstorm. The rain did not arrive immediately, allowing time to lie back in the grass and watch the incredibly dynamic storm clouds. They crept over in three levels, the highest moving slowest, the lowest and darkest rolling over like they were caught in a whirlpool. The fringes of these spun away in all directions as lightning lit up their underbelly. At the height of the storm, like cannon shots, the wind snapped two nearby mature trees-of-heaven midway up their trucks. It was surreal. If this were Hollywood, an alien spacecraft would have tumbled down out of the swirling storm clouds.
- Tom Lake

6/1 - Hopewell Junction, HRM 68: An early evening walk on the Dutchess Rail Trail from Hopewell Junction to Lake Walton was filled with bird song, including the delightful trills of a wood thrush. We were hoping to see if the mute swan pair that had a nest in a Lake Walton cove two weeks before had been successful. After scanning the lake with binoculars we spotted the handsome pair carefully guarding 5 fuzzy gray cygnets far out on the lake. Despite the fact that these birds are not a native species, we enjoyed seeing the feathered and fuzzy family. When almost back to the entrance, we spotted a red fox with a mouthful, first crossing the trail one way, stopping, looking at us, turning back and looking some more. It was, no doubt, calculating its safety as it headed back across the trail into a field still holding a mouthful of something pinkish - too large to be a mouse, perhaps a baby opossum. It was great to see that the red fox population seems to be thriving in many locations in Hudson Valley.
- Carolyn Plage, Ed Connelly, and Chance Plage

TIDE
The tide comes back and forth,
Gently and strongly every day,
The water hits the shore,
Every minute, of every day, of every year.
It brings sand and takes sand.
It brings leaves and takes leaves.
It brings sticks and takes sticks.
Always to take and give back,
But never to keep.
- Anthony Bruno, 6th Grade, Vails Gate School

6/1 - Westchester County, HRM 34: In recent weeks I have seen a red fox on a trail above the Old Croton Aqueduct, in the first segment leading from the dam, and a coyote trotting along the base of the land fill on Croton Point. I hadn't seen either in years.
- Marguerite Pitts

6/1 - Scarborough Light, HRM 32: After the last Hudson River Almanac mentioned the teasing "promise" of an osprey nest at Scarborough Light, I decided to go look this morning. Sailing near, I saw a sizable pile of sticks below the #14 and the white navigation light, the kind of mess we associate with an osprey nest. Standing on its edge were two osprey, one larger than the other, the smaller occasionally giving the high osprey cry. Above the light, a third osprey circled, small fish in its talons. As I sailed closer, first one then the other spread big wings and left the pile of sticks. Soon, the two were harassing the third, swooping for its fish out over the Tappan Zee. Then all three spiraled up into a sky of white, charcoal and brilliant blue and disappeared from sight.
- Dan Wolff

6/2 - Catskill Creek, HRM 113: While paddling north on the Catskill Creek, I noticed an angry crow having an encounter with a turkey vulture overhead. The crow struck at the vulture with its feet, but the bigger bird was unfazed by the crow's attempt to shoo it away. The vulture turned on its wing, and landed on the shore where it joined a second vulture. Two vultures standing on the shore? Odd! I paddled a bit closer and saw through my binoculars that vulture #2 was eating an eel. Even odder! Both vultures sort of took turns, holding the eel with their feet while they pulled at their slippery meal. I guess the road cleanup crew has turned into shoreline cleanup crew.
- Fran Martino

6/2 - Saugerties Lighthouse, HRM 102: One of the guests at the Saugerties Lighthouse said he saw a black bear on the trail when he looked out the bedroom window this morning. He thought it might be a big dog at first until it stood up on its hind legs. I thought the same thing until I identified bear tracks in the wet sand on the trail near the dock in front of the lighthouse. Later, someone knocked at the door to report seeing the bear near the start of the trail. It was the wildlife photographer who visits regularly to photograph birds. He was so excited when he saw the bear that he forgot to take a picture. I received an e-mail message from Lauren and Tim, residents of Malden, the hamlet north of the lighthouse. While visiting the lighthouse yesterday, they spotted a bear on the shoreline across Esopus Creek between the jetty and the long dock. They reported seeing the same or a similar bear this morning walking through their back yard in Malden.
- Patrick Landewe

6/2- Kerhonkson, HRM 82: Although a bit early, as we do not usually see them until July, it was our first rattlesnake sighting of the season. The three-foot-long, golden-brown specimen was a fresh roadkill on Berme Road. The unfortunate reptile had been run over, and the rattle removed, presumably by the motorist. I notified Randy Stechert, the Rattlesnake Ranger. He took the data and advised us to either put the specimen in the freezer or give it a decent burial. I was tending toward the latter option but found this morning that the corpse had been removed by someone who needed it more than we did!
- Sarah Underhill

6/2 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: In the evening before the new moon, the ebb tide was extra low. A large snapping turtle had come ashore climbed a short embankment and was now slowly digging a hole with its hind legs. It would be dark soon and this female would lay a clutch of eggs in the hole, cover them up, and then return to the creek. All would be accomplished in a very slow, deliberate manner. Their success rate, however, is not good. Raccoons and skunks love turtle eggs and the scent the female leaves behind is unmistakable to these scavengers.
- Tom Lake

[In years past, I've had many middle-of-the-night "Jurassic Park" moments with huge snapping turtles in the beam of my headlamp. These were usually battles over possession of fish captured in research nets. The water, the night, the light, and their demeanor often combined to make them look the size of trash can covers. While 20-30 lb. snapping turtles are not uncommon, truly large ones can reach 40-50 lb with a carapace length of 18". Tom Lake.]

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County].
Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
- June 14: 3:00-5:00 PM Fishin’ on the River! Seine netting, angling.
Equipment provided. Free

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM
Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- June 11: 4:00-5:00 PM Wild Wednesdays - Milli-Centipedes: Story hour with live animals.
- June 18: 4:00-5:00 PM Wild Wednesdays - Eels: Story hour with live animals.

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HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
May 21 - 27, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

The presence of black flies, sultry days, and a real mix of rather unrelated stories are all good indications that spring is winding down and summer is not far off.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

5/25 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 34: This morning as I was walking around a small pond I spied the adorable pointy whiskered face of a river otter staring at me from the water close to shore. We seemed equally curious until the otter realized I was accompanied by my dog (oblivious to its presence) and decided to submerge and leave.
- Norma Goldstein

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

5/21 - Hamilton County, HRM 286: We were sitting in our plastic kayaks in the almost dry Indian River bed near the confluence with the Hudson River. We were waiting for the daily Indian River Dam water release to wash us down to the Class III white water stretch of the Upper Hudson Gorge. A young adult bald eagle flew overhead, close enough for us to hear his wing beat, enjoy the bright yellow beak, and spot a few remaining speckled feather patches on the underside of his wings. We guessed he was doing a "fishing commute" upstream from the Hudson to the Indian River lakes.
- Joe Hayes

5/21 - Beacon, HRM 61: My biggest carp yet at Long Dock: 18 lb. 4 oz., 32" long. And another that weighed 12 lb. 6 oz. The big one may be a hard act to follow, but the season is young. The bottom of the bay off the dock must be paved with golden shiners; I caught a couple of them as well, and the ones I didn't catch were busy stealing my bait most of the day.
- Bill Greene

5/21 - Fishkill, HRM 61: While sitting in my yard, enjoying the aroma of lily-of-the-valley wafting on the air, a pair of catbirds were busy searching for nesting materials. One of the catbirds attempted, unsuccessfully, to break apart some small twigs. The bird moved across the lawn nearer to me to seek out a "snake skin." The snake skin in question was a latex glove my wife had used to handle her potting soil and plants, but it had fallen off a table. After pecking at it a number of times, the bird relented since it could not break it apart or carry it off.
- Ed Spaeth

5/21 - Staten Island, New York City: I delighted in the raucous calls of yellow warblers, American redstarts, black-throated green warblers, Baltimore orioles, and red-eyed vireos, as they sifted through the almost mature, but still soft vegetation of a tiny Staten Island wood lot. Below the birds, below the beeches and oaks, below the shadblow now developing fruit, was a solitary pink lady's slipper orchid. Behind them all, a brand new mega supermarket.
- Dave Taft

5/22 - Newcomb, HRM 302: There I was, sitting at my desk at the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center, quietly working away, when "Whack!" - something hit the window. I peered out and saw a small warbler sitting on the ground looking all rumpled. I grabbed my "Bird Rescue Unit" (a cardboard box) and rushed out. I found it, scooped it up, placed it in the box with a roll of paper towel to hold it in place, and closed the lid. After an hour or so sitting on my desk, it started to bump around, so I knew it must have recovered. I took the box out on the back deck, opened the lid, and - zip - out it flew, a lovely magnolia warbler.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/22 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: The succession of the seasons had changed this tiny brook from an icy maelstrom in later winter to a shady, sultry stream in late spring. The icy pelting of March's sleet was now the insane buzzing of blackflies. The wool and down of winter was now t-shirt, shorts and sandals. Any observation effort that takes you to the same place over time has that reward. Pondering these profound realizations, I moved through a haze of gnats and a bouquet of honeysuckle and Dame's rocket to find that my glass eels nets were totally empty. While the research will continue through the end of the month, whatever determines when these tiny fish arrive from the sea has been turned off.
- Tom Lake

[One of the signs of the waning spring season is the appearance of Dame's rocket along the river and its tributaries. This non-native wildflower comes in white, pink, violet, and purple. Its wonderfully sweet fragrance accompanies me in late May as I make early morning checks of pots, traps, nets and other education and research collection gear. Tom Lake.]

5/22 - Town of Wappinger: Mama, one of the two mated bald eagles, was perched alongside the nest on a limb feeding on what might have been a catfish. While no other eagles were in sight, on two recent evenings three eagles were in the nest tree, two adults and one immature. The adults were the mated pair but the immature was a mystery. If the young bird was kin, it might have been one of two fledged in June 2006 from nest NY62A, 500 feet west of this new nest. With no nestlings to occupy the adults, they may not hang around as much as summer comes.
- Tom Lake

5/23 - Lexington, Greene County, HRM 122: We took an after-dinner walk along the edge of the forest that now covers Bearpen Mountain. From high up in the sugar maples and hickories we could hear, then see, a prairie warbler, then two rose-breasted grosbeaks, male and female, the female seeming to sing a softer version of the male's practiced song. When we stopped craning our necks and looked down, there was a male scarlet tanager on the ground just a few yards in front of us on the trail. He was slowly hopping and pecking, like a robin, but without the upright posture or the head cocking. We watched and watched. His rich red color seemed to glow. Finally we had our fill and, difficult as it was, walked away from a scarlet tanager in plain sight.
- Walter Havighurst

5/23 - Garrison, HRM 51: Taking a time out to bring my new granddaughter out to lay on a blanket in the grass for the first time, we were delighted to enjoy a bluebird, a ruby-throated hummingbird, and a pileated woodpecker. We also caught the antics of three squirrels hanging upside down, busily cutting off young branches atop a maple tree. Were they making nests?
- Kathleen Kourie

5/24 - Saugerties Lighthouse, HRM 102: I watched from the lighthouse dock this morning as an osprey (one of a pair) glided over the jetty carrying sticks in its talons. Wings flapping, it hovered momentarily over channel marker #93 and dropped the sticks on top. With each addition, a haphazard pile of sticks is gradually taking shape as a nest.
- Patrick Landewe

[For at least the last decade, we have been teased each spring by the promise of an osprey nest along Hudson River tidewater. As far as we know, none have been successful. Scarborough Light (HRM 32) in the Tappan Zee has been a favorite target. Other attempts have occurred in Haverstraw Bay as well as some locations just south of Albany. Tom Lake.]

5/24 - New Paltz, HRM 78: I saw a lovely olive-sided flycatcher and a black-billed cuckoo at the Shawangunk Grasslands this morning.
- Sharon Gambino

5/24 - New Paltz, HRM 78: I was very excited to see a pair of common nighthawks zooming around the sky above my backyard this evening. I have not seen night hawks in at least ten years. I used to see them regularly near the Mid-Hudson Bridge, as well. Why have they become so scarce?
- Sharon Gambino

[The disappearance of the nighthawk is a mystery to us all. Years ago they were a reliable sight and sound in our cities and villages. I used to take the kids to "downtown" Coxsackie to watch them. Every year they were regulars in Albany, Poughkeepsie, and Saratoga Springs. On August evenings, we'd look forward to flocks of them circling overhead as they migrated south. Not any more. I heard of only one report from Albany this year. No one seems to know why this is. It possibly could relate to the increase in common crows and fish crows in the urban scene. They might easily prey on the eggs or young. Another possibility is night lighting which is decimating the night flying insects, the main food for nighthawks. Rich Guthrie.]

5/24 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 68.5: We went to Bowdoin Park to walk the trails and found ourselves taking a trip back in time. As we approached the point above the south rock shelter, we could hear the sound of drums and the singing of Native Americans from the fields below. At the lookout, in the tall dead tree, five turkey vultures were resting on the branches. As we came down onto the ball fields we encountered a wonderful gathering of Native people, dancing, and singing.
- Carolyn Plage, Ed Connelly and Chance Plage

[This Native American Indian Festival was organized by park naturalist Dave Beck. It was held on the park's soccer field, the very spot where an Algonquian Indian village stood as Henry Hudson arrived in 1609. To Native people, this is hallowed ground. The field was "destroyed," archaeologically speaking, during World War I when it was mined for sand. Giant conveyor belts carried glacial sands to barges waiting along the river. Local children were paid to stand by the side and pick off "arrowheads" for a nickel a piece. Many of them are now in a collection at the American Museum of Natural History. Tom Lake.]

5/25 - Town of Cortlandt, Westchester County, HRM 44: As we sat outside the last two nights, off in the distance we could hear the approaching calls of what we thought were Canada geese. But as they got closer, the honk became less defined and more of a muffled clack than that of Canadas. As they approached overhead last night, I pointed my flood light up in the air as the flock was just over the tree tops. There were hundreds of them and they were not Canada geese. They flew in a scattered pattern, not the tight V of Canadas. It took over a minute for each flock to pass over us - there were three waves within one hour and two the night before within twenty minutes. What were these birds?
- Bill Burns

[Quality, concise, detail-filled observations always help with identifications. Too often, fuzzy eye-witness accounts sound like UFO sightings. In this instance, the season, the calls, the flight pattern and night flight all point to these being brant, a small goose closely related to the Canada goose. Tom Lake.]

5/25 - Croton River, HRM 34: While hiking along the river trail of the Croton River, spotting the usual suspects of belted kingfishers, great blue herons, and double-crested cormorants, we noticed something different in our binoculars. These were not a pair mallards but a pair of common mergansers. We had never seen them here this late in spring, in this warm weather. They were very busy feeding; the male would barely lift his head for a second before he would re-submerge, feasting away.
- Scott Horecky, Kathy Sutherland

[Common mergansers are generally a winter visitor to Hudson tidewater, arriving in the lower estuary by mid-December.While they more regularly nest in New York's north country and Canada, the State Breeding Bird Atlas shows confirmed nesting records from eastern Dutchess County and Ulster County. Tom Lake, Steve Stanne.]

5/26 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: It seemed like cement blocks were dropping out of the sky along a mile reach of tidewater. Carp were spawning. There were explosions, eruptions here and there, as groups of 5-15 lb. carp rushed into the shallows to consummate their goal.
- Tom Lake

[For years there has been a legend of a Loch Ness-type "monster" in Lake Champlain that the locals have dubbed "Champ" There were photos and video, always grainy, of a long sinewy shape just below the surface of the lake, undulating in a serpentine manner suggesting the neck of a long-extinct plesiosaur. Twenty years ago, Dr. C.L. Smith of the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan investigated the claims and, after many hours of viewing photos and video footage, discovered that these "monsters" were simply huge congregations of large carp, climbing over each other in a spawning frenzy. Tom Lake.]

5/27 - Newcomb, HRM 302: At the edge of the High Peaks, our current spring bloomers are starflower, foamflower, witch-hobble, painted trillium, sessile-leaved bellwort. False Solomon's seal and Canada mayflower should be coming along soon, as should bunchberry, although I haven't seen any buds for that yet. The chokecherries are getting ready to open, too.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/27 -Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: They are appropriately named "chorus frogs." What seemed like hundreds of wood frogs were playing a concerto for much of the night in the trees next to my bedroom window. At first it was like listening to falling rain, very loud, but soothing. However, they were waking me up whenever they changed their chord. What a racket!
- Tom Lake

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County].
Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
- June 14: 3:00-5:00 PM Fishin’ on the River! Seine netting, angling.
Equipment provided. Free

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free.
Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- June 5: Kayaking the Hudson River Valley, Shari Aber
- June 11: 4:00-5:00 PM Wild Wednesdays - Milli-Centipedes: Story hour with live animals.

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
May 14 - 20, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

By mid-May, spring seems to be catching its breath. The frenetic pace of April and early May - with flowers blooming, birds and fish migrating, and trees leafing out - has slowed. The morning songbird chorus continues as breeding hits its peak, largely unseen within the green walls of foliage.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF A PREVIOUS WEEK >>>>>

5/11 - Esopus Meadows, HRM 87: Three of us headed to Esopus Meadows Lighthouse at 8:30 AM and saw several large flocks of birds flying high and heading north over the river. We didn't have binoculars, so we're not sure what the birds were. They seemed too small for Canada geese but too large for most types of ducks. One flock looked as if it could be cormorants, but another V was too neat and orderly for cormorants. Later, at the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge, I saw another large flock, in two intersecting WW formations, flying north over the bridge.
- Phyllis Marsteller

[I’m confident that they were brant, small geese. This is their time to move north and they do so in loosely organized flocks, somewhat resembling a very shallow V. Rich Guthrie.]

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

5/14 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: We were doing some shoreline sampling with a boat shocker when we caught an unusual herring. The fish was 90 mm long, looked like an American shad, but had the jaw of a river herring. It turned out to be a blueback herring, but with a very deep body. We were reminded that some river herring probably do not leave the Hudson River, but stay and develop the body shape of a "landlocked" herring. There may not be many of these, but one pops up every once in a while.
We caught a substantial number of spottail shiners over sandy bottoms. While measuring them, we noticed that many had leeches on their fins. These are piscicolid leeches, parasitic juveniles with free-living adults, and appear as small light green leeches attached to fins. We preserved some of the spottails that died and, while preparing the specimens for the New York State Museum collection, counted 7 leeches on the caudal fin, two on the dorsal fin, one on each pectoral fin, and one on the left pelvic fin of a single spottail shiner. This appears to be a significant parasite load.
- Bob Schmidt, Dan Miller, Chris Bowser

5/14 - Fishkill, HRM 61: On a very pleasant afternoon, my wife and I were sitting in our yard enjoying the mild weather and the fragrance of our lilacs wafting on the air. Looking skyward, we spotted a turkey vulture circling overhead, then another, still more, until the kettle amounted to nine birds. My wife remarked, "It gives one an eerie feeling seeing that many vultures hovering overhead." Truthful as the statement was, however, we noted that we live on the side of a mountain with warm thermals providing for strong updrafts as we watched the vultures climb ever higher in the sky.
- Ed Spaeth

5/14 - Brooklyn, New York City: Due to a school bus reservation mishap my kindergarten-first grade class ended up in Brooklyn Bridge Park under the Manhattan Bridge instead of Floyd Bennett Field. Seining was challenging with rocks, bricks, and tires, all invisible underwater.
After several trials, we finally pulled up a small silver fish. It turned out to be a juvenile striped bass about 3 inches long. A good day was had by all and we returned to the school on the F train.
- Shino Tanikawa

[Even a single fish can provide a story for schoolchildren. At 3" long, this was a yearling striped bass, possibly born in the Hudson River last summer (small size suggest a late hatch). It may have spent its first winter along the inner pier areas of New York City where the water temperature can be slightly warmer than open water. In 5-7 years it may become a part of the annual spring spawning stock. However, 3" striped bass are like the jelly beans of the sea. Snack food. Everyone loves them. That little striped bass will have a long road to travel until it reaches a less vulnerable size. The odds of any one baby striped bass, as a newly hatched larvae, reaching adulthood, is a million to one. That is why millions of striped bass lay millions of eggs. It is necessary to replace Mom and Dad, and that is what reproduction of vertebrate life is all about. Tom Lake.]

5/15 - Moordener Kill, HRM 138.5: After seeing the normal assortment of birds - eagles, blue herons, peregrine falcons, swallows, geese, ducks, and cormorants - we were slowly cruising along the area by Winnie's Landing, just north of Henry Hudson Day Park, when we came upon a common loon. We were standing on the upper deck of the Dutch Apple Cruise boat with a science and a math teacher from Guilderland School District when we heard the distinctive call of a loon. At first, I thought it was one of the 8th grade students doing a masterful loon call, but then I heard it again. Then we spotted the loon floating along side the boat thirty-five feet away, moving with the current, heading south.
- Pat Van Alstyne

5/15 - Town of Athens, HRM 116: I was at Cohotate Preserve cleaning the field station in preparation for school groups visiting over the next few weeks. I was surprised to find the carcass of a sturgeon on the shoreline where we usually fish. It was approximately 30" long and somewhat decayed. Its eyes were gone and tail was partially removed, but the head and body were in pretty good shape. I attempted some identification based on the books that I have at the field station and I think it was a shortnose.
- Elizabeth LoGiudice

5/15 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: As the roar of my neighbors' lawn-mowers surround me, I am delighting in my own "lawn." First it was tiny anonymous white flowers, then spreads of spring beauties, violets of white, and several colors of blue. What a pretty salad they make! Now I step through early hawkweed, Robin's plantain, sweeps of buttercups, a mat of yellow cinquefoil and what looks like puddles: ajuga, blue, lavender, and purple. And amidst all these flowers, little red "blossoms," Japanese red maple seedlings thickly sprouting over the entire lawn. How can I mow?
- Robin Fox

[Many chic suburban lawns have become green mono-culture carpets devoid of the dandelions, daisies, buttercups, clover, and violets of my youth. Neighbors sneer at the "weedy lot" I call my front lawn. But when the breeze blows just right, tiny puffs go forth downwind from my yard carrying their promise of a technicolor tomorrow! Tom Lake.]

5/16 - Catskill, HRM 113: While they tend to get all the press, striped bass are not the only lure to Hudson River anglers. Walleye, up to 12 lb., have been taken all spring, mostly at night, in Catskill Creek.
- Tom Gentalen

5/16 - Saw Kill, HRM 98.5: As I waded in the mouth of the Saw Kill, I was pleased to see several "strings" of yellow perch eggs waving in the current. A few feet upstream I caught two 14" yellow perch on a spinner.
- Bob Schmidt

5/16 - Staten Island, New York City: Walking in a light drizzle along the course of a beautiful woodland creek on the south shore of Staten Island, I turned my attentions from plants to stones. Some significant plantings had been undertaken along the stream banks, but the banks had eroded, exposing beds of smoothed river stones proportionate to the tiny stream. One of slightly strange shape caught my eye and I picked up a flat, gray, half moon-shaped stone about 3" wide. Notches on either side seemed fitted for a human hand. Each time I tried to convince myself the stone was merely a stone, I looked at the perfectly beveled sides, and the incredibly fine edge, and replaced it in my pocket. Finally, curiosity made me show it to an archaeologist. Palming it, feeling its heft, inspecting the beveled edge under a hand lens, he identified it as a scraper, made of argillite, and of considerable age.
Perhaps 5,000, even 10,000 years ago, an ancient fellow Staten Islander squatted near this same stream side, perhaps in a drizzle like the one that wetted me, and carved this tool. And who could have guessed that many years later the stone would find another set of hands to appreciate its craft and feel its weight. The stone now has a second life on my desk, where I mull over park plans and wonder at its story.
- Dave Taft

5/17 - Tivoli Bays, HRM 100.5-98.5: Dan Miller and I did some boat shocking and set some herring nets in Stony Creek and the Saw Kill. Putting a small-mesh herring net in the Hudson is ordinarily a beacon that attracts white perch from miles away. This year we caught no white perch. Shocking turned up only one. Have white perch crashed or am I just lucky?
- Bob Schmidt

5/17 - Columbia County, HRM 104: The tall oaks and maples along the river were serving as way-stations for waves of newly arrived songbirds. Baltimore orioles were almost common today, flashing flame orange in the sunlight. Ecologist Aldo Leopold described the oriole’s flash as "like a burst of fire."
- Tom Lake, Christopher Letts, Andra Sramek, Susanne Lake, Barry Keegan

5/18 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Recent rains had this small brook running again. The spring glass eel migration had slowed to a trickle, just a precious few, and all of them, no longer even translucent, appearing as tiny black threads.
- Tom Lake

5/18 - Croton River, HRM 34: Despite the raw weather, carp have begun to leap and cavort, the beginning of their spawning rituals. Anglers are taking striped bass to 25 lb., and there is a good deal of surprise that bluefish up to 10 lb. are mixed in with the bass. The Boyz at the Bridge were recollecting that in earlier times, bluefish were a September phenomenon.
- Christopher Letts

5/18 - Manhattan, New York City, HRM 2: Signs of spring in Manhattan.
At ten o'clock this morning at Hudson River Park on Harrison Street, 8 brant were sitting quietly on the water in the little cove between the back of Stuyvesant High School and Pier 25. In the plantings along West Street, salt-spray roses (Rosa rugosa) were in full bloom, as were the cat mints.
- Thomas Shoesmith

5/19 - Newcomb, HRM 302: On the road in early morning I saw two red foxes on the pavement, alive. I'm not sure what they were doing. As I approached, I could see something in the road that resolved into two foxes that parted and trotted off into the woods. About halfway to Tupper Lake, a bobcat crossed the road. I slowed down as it moseyed across, stopped, and looked back over its shoulder at me as I rolled past.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/19 - North Germantown, HRM 109: The overwhelming presence of striped bass in the Hudson River short-circuited the commercial shad season this spring. There are very few, if any, nets still in the water. While that may be good for the preservation of adult shad, their progeny will face many of the same predators this summer and fall when they try to exit the river for the sea.
- Tom Lake

5/20 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Ir was a brisk day with fresh snow on the High Peaks this morning. A Baltimore oriole was in the yard as well. In the central part of the High Peaks, orioles have only put in an appearance for a year or so, and then only one or two birds, so this was rather exciting. Despite the ravages of the deer, two of my apple trees have buds. These are two that haven't had flowers before, so I am very excited.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/20 - Green Island, HRM 152: Just after 9:00 PM, the sky in the east took on a silver glow that precedes moon rise. The tide was halfway out and ebbing. A thousand dimples out on the river marked the presence of shad, river herring, and many other fish This was the night of the full moon in May, the Corn Planting Moon to many Native people. It was going to be a quick glimpse, however, as a thick gray cloud bank was poised just above the horizon to capture the moon. In the 500 years before Henry Hudson, the Mohican people were almost totally committed to horticulture: maize, squash, and later, beans. Their gardens and fields were often flood plains along the river, areas largely lost with the advent of the railroad in the early 19th century. Their season began in May, continued with the Green Corn ceremony in late August, and climaxed with the autumn harvest.
- Tom Lake

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County].
Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
- June 14: 3:00-5:00 PM Fishin’ on the River! Seine netting, angling.
Equipment provided. Free

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free.
Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- June 5: Kayaking the Hudson River Valley, Shari Aber

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
May 6 - 13, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

As the enjoyable aspects of the season reach the High Peaks of the Adirondacks, the entire watershed is bathed in the colors and scents of springtime. Nestlings are everywhere, from goslings to eagles to the new broods of songbirds hidden away in the foliage.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

5/11 - Albany, HRM 145: It was Mother's Day and, appropriately, one of the best days of the spring. This was our 2nd annual shad bake for the Native American Institute, held within a near-forest of flowering trees in Corning Preserve. It took longer to set up this year as orioles singing in the flowering dogwoods provided just too much distraction. An eastern kingbird meted out some revenge as it harassed a crow over our slow-planking shad. Over 150 park-goers sampled our smoked, baked, and pickled shad, and watched traditional dances of the Hodensaunee. American shad have probably been the focus of such riverside springtime celebrations, as a part of native traditions, for many millennia.
- Tom Lake, Christopher Letts, Andra Sramek, Barry Keegan, Mariann Mantzouris

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

5/6 - Troy, HRM 151.5: We decided to do our annual spring electro-fishing jaunt to the Poesten Kill in Troy where we sampled around the 1st Avenue bridge. It was nice to see a substantial river herring run in progress, 40-50 fish, and we could not see what was in the deep pool above the bridge. All the herring we caught were alewife (we have taken blueback herring there in past years). Along with the usual array of fishes (banded killifish, American eel, rock bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed) we caught two species worth mentioning: one fathead minnow, an exotic fish that seems to be spreading in the Hudson Valley from the Mohawk River, and a number of breeding male tessellated darters. Tessellated darters do not develop the gaudy colors that Midwestern and Southern darters are known for, and therefore we tend to overlook them. These individuals were very dark chocolate with jet black fins. The dorsal fins were speckled with black and chocolate. Their colors may be subtle but are very attractive.
- Bob Schmidt, Bryan Weatherwax

- Peaks To Palisades -
Tumbling down from the peaks to the bay
A Nation's great river wended its way.
Through gorges and riffles, past forests and fields
Nature's own highway and her bountiful yield.
Three hundred miles, She meanders along
Gaining in volume before emptying out
But never drawn dry, for you plainly can see
Twice in each day She's refreshed by the sea.
Sturgeon and stripers, herring and shad
Delectable oysters, all to be had
By hard-working folks off the sweat of their brows
Using methods and tools passed father to son.
Then despoiled by Man with filth and with waste,
Yet, somehow the Lady maintained her fine grace.
Reborn again, She still marches on
Enshrined and celebrated in a Pete Seeger song
The Hudson still flows in our hearts and our minds
Perhaps to continue 'til the end of all time.
- Jim Beemer

5/7 - Newcomb, HRM 302: This morning we discovered a deer carcass on our walk. I was off in my own thoughts and finally looked down to see a clump of deer hair, a clump about the size of a sandwich plate. As we looked around, there was more hair. Lots of hair, and finally the skull, spine and remaining ribs of the deer, all still attached. Hair was everywhere. A little further along, there was more hair, and another pile. I suspect coyotes were dashing off with parts of the deer and plucking and eating it in different locations.
The blackflies were out in swarms this morning with my school group at the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center. They did not seem to be biting yet. Our leaves are just starting to be visible, but mostly they are tiny and lots of leaf buds dominate the scene. No tree flowers yet, except the maple flowers which are all on the ground now. The lilacs are loaded with flower buds; it should be a good year for them.
- Ellen Rathbone, Toby Rathbone

5/7 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Perhaps it was the new moon tides but there were 10 glass eels in the net this morning. That was as many as the previous 12 days combined. A few alewives fluttered upstream in the dying current, turning on their sides when they scooted through pools that were shallower than the fish were deep.
- Tom Lake

5/7 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: The first fluffy goslings of the season made their appearance today with proud and watchful parents towering over them.
- Christopher Letts

5/8 - Newcomb, HRM 302: It was extremely humid this morning. Still, it seems to have brought the birds out of the woodwork! The yard was surrounded by songsters galore, most of which I couldn't identify. I can confirm the first ovenbird of the season and the rest were probably other warblers that I cannot identify, even if they are singing one at a time. I filled the feeders up this morning and the yard is full of birds. It's a happy thing.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/8 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Under a dark, closed canopy of maples and ash, the drizzled humidity heightened every smell. It was a mixture of spring flowers, budding trees, decayed leaves, and that peculiar odor that marks fish are around. They were not glass eels - my net held none.
The blackflies were thick but did not seem to be biting; I suppose I’d find out later. The "flute players" added their voice to the woods this morning, mostly veerys, maybe a wood thrush. As I reset the net on its re-bar, I noticed among the pebbles and cobbles a "worked" piece of quartzite, the size of a grapefruit. The ends had been repeatedly battered and fractured. A prehistoric Indian hammerstone. Ah, if rocks could only talk.
- Tom Lake

- Of These Wet Rocks -
An anonymous waterfall stirs the sediment and pebbles of my curiosity as drizzle beads gather at the end of my nose, like the dew that adorns the corners of a jewelweed leaf.

The froth borne of these cascades bubble and flow like milk, which will soon give life to the Hudson.

Now, as the clouds devour the moon I stand, uncertainly invading the privacy of this bellowing wall of water.

I want to leave, to respect the time these rocks have away from kayakers and camera flashes. But my eyes remain glazed in this post-dusk lighting and my sneakers must be soled with concrete, because I cannot.

I'm rendered stoic and still by the question of: How am I supposed to stand and present myself in this place drunken with pale mystique?

I can't possibly attempt a: "Double hands on my hips, head purposefully left-leaning as if I'm waiting for something more." What more is there?

I wouldn’t dare try to strike an "arms folded across a puffed out chest, which may instinctually lead me to spit as if I'm some kind of washed up high-school ballplayer putting too much pressure on my son, chewing gum too loudly" Kind of stance.

Or should I stand at all?
Should I kneel slowly?
Or drop rapidly to my knees
in fanatical worship?

Perhaps I'll stand a bit longer legs spread lazily, shoulders shrugged in thankfulness with lips open, leaving me to inhale through my mouth the air that suggests, that maybe these wet rocks are as happy to view me in my ordinary posture, as I am to view them in all of their grace.
- Matt Caligiure, Constitution Marsh Sanctuary

5/9 - Hudson Valley: With at least 20 active bald eagles nests along Hudson tidewater, reports were coming in from observers who happen to see them when out on the river. Many have nestlings, some of which may be 6-7 weeks old. With plenty of food provided by the adults, the nestlings come of age pretty quickly. They are just an amazing sight, all gangly innocence as they discover their new world day-by-day.
- Tom Lake

Soft breezes, lilac bloom
heady, sweet.
Yellow swallowtail sips springtime!
- Robin Fox

5/11 - Highland, HRM 78: Mother's Day: I watched a scarlet tanager picking edible tidbits out of an old white mulberry tree on Mother's Day. Mason bees were making mud doors to protect their offspring in the houses we built for them.
- Vivian Yess Wadlin

5/11 - Beacon, HRM 60-61: With high tide and winds whipping up waves onto the shore, we turned north from Denning's Point onto the Riverside Trail. Just then a beautiful gray fox stepped out onto the old railroad tracks and, seeing us, froze. We froze too and locked eyes for at least 20 seconds before the fox turned tail and headed back into the woods. It was a beauty. Always wanting to increase the vocabulary of our pooch, we quietly told him "That's a FOX!"
- Carolyn Plage, Ed Connelly, Chance Plage

5/12 - Newcomb, HRM 302: A northern parula has been singing in the neighborhood for the last couple of days. And the cherry trees are starting to bloom.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/12 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Ten days ago, a neighbor heard a scream coming from the edge of the woods next to his house. He and another neighbor shined a spotlight on the area and saw a bobcat standing in the grass at the edge of the treeline. It ran away. This morning at 4:30, a bobcat came slowly through the woods behind my house, occasionally letting out a "scream" that has been aptly called "piercing." As I lay in bed I was hoping that the foxes had their kits tucked safely in their den.
- Tom Lake

5/13 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Another moose miss! This evening Toby and I were headed toward the Pump House down on the Hudson for our "long" walk. En route, we passed a neighbor coming back. Just as I was about to ask him, "So, any moose signs down there?" he beat me to the punch by saying "There are moose tracks around the Pump House." We hurried along, I scoured the ground to find the tracks, and there they were. They pointed towards the trees but then vanished. There is a wetland on the other side of the trees, but we didn't see any signs down there either.
Upon further examination of the tracks, I decided they must have been a couple of days old. Still, this means there is a moose around somewhere in the area.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/13 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: We clearly saw a beaver paddling along in the river at Norrie Point today at noon. There were plenty of students and fishermen around, but the big rodent just kept swimming, diving, and staying a respectable distance as it warranted. The Indian Kill is puttering along - some days no glass eels, some days just a few.
- Chris Bowser

5/13 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 73: It seems early for fireflies, but there were some here tonight. It's not only early, but cool.
- John Mylod

5/13 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: I emulated one of ecologist Aldo Leopold's favorite practices this morning. With a mug of hot coffee I went out onto my deck just before first light and listened to the woods awaken. While it is true that a few birds seem to chirp all night, the rising crescendo of birdsong from just before dawn to sunup can be deafening. There really is a kind of a "roll call" each morning in May, as certain species come awake. The first change in the background cheeps came from several finches: goldfinches, house finches, purple finches. Then a couple of robins. Titmice. Cardinals. An oriole. Before long the veerys joined in adding their flutish song, and I could hear faraway crows. A pair of Canada geese flew over. From under the deck came a chipping sparrow. Once the entire ensemble was in full chorus, I could hear some repetitive and different off key notes - a mockingbird. The final song was a harsh call from a catbird. The show was over for this morning.
- Tom Lake

5/13 - Pine Bush, HRM 60: I could not believe my eyes: a male indigo bunting was feeding on the ground under my bird feeder. He hung around all day in the rhododendron bushes, flying in to feed and then returning to the relative safety of the leaves. In my many years of bird watching, I have never had the pleasure of this visitor. I took his picture and shared it with my high school English classes. What a treat for us all.
- B. Ganley

5/13 - Edgewater, NJ, HRM 8.5: I checked the fiddler crab colony today. The habitat that they have found so suitable and protected, judging from the several thousand occupying the catch basin of the Edgewater Commons Mall a few years ago, is almost a lost cause. There are maybe 100 holes today. The drastic reversal of fortune in this case is due, not to the wasteful or unthinking actions of their worst enemy, us, but to the inexorable force that comes with the simple passage of time known as succession. When first created, the catch basin was undoubtedly too deep. But as water flowed in with the tides from the fast moving river, silt dropped out of it as it slowed nearly to a stop. This action gradually filled the basin to an ideal level and fiddler crabs came and prospered, growing in numbers each year. Then it became shallow enough for common reed - Phragmites - to begin to grow, which trapped yet more silt and formed an island unsuitable for the crabs. Now the island occupies much of the northern end and their paradise is no more.
- Terry Milligan

[Terry Milligan has been keeping us apprised of the fiddler crab colonies at Edgewater since Volume VII (2001-2002) of the Hudson River Almanac. Tom Lake.]

5/13 - Navesink River, NJ: It was time to check out a report of a school of fish, maybe herring, crowded near the base of a dam in a small tributary of the Navesink River, a tributary of Raritan Bay. It turned out to be a dense school of Atlantic menhaden, or moss bunker, holding against the strong current of a spillway fed by a rain-swollen lake. The rivers here have been loaded with adult menhaden for about a month, ample food for the spring run of bluefish and striped bass. The locals call the bluefish "racers." They come into the estuary this time of year long, lean and mean, big head, thin body, but soon fatten up and leave. Menhaden do not run into freshwater to spawn; maybe they were attracted to the aerated water from the dam.
- Dery Bennett

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County].
Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
- May 17: 3:00-5:00 PM Fishin’ on the River! Seine netting and angling. All equipment provided. Free.
- May 22: 7:00-8:30 PM The Mannahatta Project: Mapping Manhattan Island 400 years ago. Eric Sanderson

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- June 5: Kayaking the Hudson River Valley, Shari Aber

Spring 2008 Hudson River Shad Bakes
- May 18: 18th annual, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1:00 PM. For information, call (212) 483-7667.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
May 1 - 6, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

We all have our moments of spring. Being awakened early each morning by the "birdie, birdie, birdie" of cardinals is one of my favorites. Then there are hummingbirds. Why so many hummingbird reports in the Almanac?The length and breadth of their arrival, for many, is the purest sign of springtime. It is the type of signal that indicates warming weather, blooming flowers, and a delicate touch of wildlife.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

5/5 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Our first hummingbirds of the season:a male, a female, and one immature, showed up this evening. By 9:00 PM, it was too dark to see, but we could hear. A hundred feet away from the direction of the red fox den we heard a series of yips, several voices, short and thin, probably the four kits. There was no way to be sure, but it sounded like the nighttime exchange we hear when a mama coyote brings dinner back to her pups. These kits were very excited for a few seconds, then silence. Dinner time. - Tom Lake

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

5/1 - Newcomb, HRM 302: I heard my first "zee-zee-zee zoo-zee" today: a black-throated green warbler.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/1 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: This tributary is a narrow rocky chute flowing over shale bedrock that slowly drops from the fall line about 500 feet inland from its mouth. Glass eels choosing this stream are greeted by a rather uninviting climb through a low bio-productivity brook. I often wonder why they choose this tiny tributary over hundreds of others. Since so many things about freshwater eels are cloaked in mystery, answers to our basic questions might come from the unexpected.In the uplands a mile to the southeast of its mouth is a large swamp that must be paradise to eels. Is there a signal in the brook's flow that tells them so?
- Tom Lake

5/1 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: We smoked our first shad today, truly labor-intensive, yet a labor of love. The smell of the wood smoke, the texture of the brined fillets, the golden finished product are all a part of springtime. This is year 24 for smoking in concert with our spring shad bakes along the Hudson. In the 1980s, we also smoked Atlantic sturgeon, possibly the best smoked product ever produced in the Hudson Valley. When legal, we also managed to smoke a few striped bass, arguably its best cooked form. Today, smoking produces a specialty food; in the times before refrigeration, including prehistory, smoking allowed the abundance of springtime protein from the sea to be stretched well into summer.
- Tom Lake

5/1 - Beacon, HRM 61: I saw my first chimney swifts of the season today, right about on time. Our house wrens also arrived and the gray tree frogs began their evening chorus. We have a piebald robin in our neighborhood with white primaries in the wings and tail. On a similar note, we saw a piebald red-tailed hawk last weekend near the Columbia County airport: the body was white with just a few dark scattered feathers contrasting against the brick-red tail.
- Stephen Seymour

5/1 Furnace Woods: We have had frost in northern Westchester County the past two nights. Yesterday the windshield wipers took care of it. This morning I had to scrape. I have begun to hear Baltimore orioles singing.
- Christopher Letts

5/2 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Jackie LaCourse reported a young moose in her yard on the edge of Newcomb. Jackie said that they had a female and her offspring there last year and suspects that this might be junior, now on his own.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/2 - Milan, HRM 90: My first ruby-throated hummingbird of the season, a male, arrived at my feeder. I hope we do not have another sub freezing night. Among the many gray squirrels at my feeder I have two that have red tails! A hybrid of a red and a gray squirrel?
- Marty Otter

5/2 - Ulster Park, HRM 87: Our first hummingbird of the season!
- Bill Drakert

5/2 - Hunter’s Brook, HRM 67.5: There was a soft white glow along the river and the tributaries, shadbush and flowering dogwood. Our Roy C. Ketcham students found an empty net today as the presence of glass eels has dropped to zero.
- Samantha Deger, Kayla Rath, Tom Lake

5/2 - Croton River, HRM 34: Midge Taube kindly gave me a striped bass he had caught on rod and reel to use in my spring "funny fish"elementary school programs. The 26" female was heavy with ripe eggs, and was caught far up the Croton River. Was she wandering, part of a spawning aggregation, or chasing alewives?
- Christopher Letts

5/2 - Sandy Hook, NJ: Our killdeer hatched and fledged (mama taught them the 50 yard dash) four young today from her nest in a parking field surrounded by buildings, tour buses, and yelling school children. All chicks were doing fine.
- Dery Bennett

5/3 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Lorraine Miga and I saw our first great blue heron of the season wing its way across route 28N to land in a small vegetation-filled pond to look for an afternoon snack. This pond is intermittently tended by beavers. They haven't been there for a while, so the vegetation is taking over. Still, with the recent rains the water level is high enough to support a meal for a heron and paddling for a trio of male mallards. We also saw a pine marten dash across the Blue Ridge Road in front of us. It was a lovely reddish brown with black legs and a dark tail. It was also in a hurry, so we only caught a glimpse of it as it bolted back into the woods.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/3/1907 - Red Hook, HRM 91: Excerpted from the Red Hook Journal:"Eleven crates of German carp weighing a thousand pounds, were shipped from Saugerties to New York last week. The fish were caught in the lower [Esopus] creek, which teems with them. The fishermen find ready sale in the New York market for all they catch."
- Maynard Ham

[PCB contamination has made commercial capture and sale of the Hudson's abundant carp illegal today. Steve Stanne.]

5/3 - Pleasant Valley, HRM 84: I heard the song of house wrens that return every spring to the fruit trees in my side yard, They were singing away this morning despite chilly 40 degree F air temperatures and a drizzly rain. Yesterday I saw and heard my first catbird of the season in wooded thickets, "meowing" rather loudly. They are now joining the calls of the many cardinals, song sparrows and red-winged blackbirds that have already been singing for weeks, waking me up at 5:00 AM each morning.
- Kathy Kraft

5/3 - Pine Bush, HRM 60: My first hummingbird of spring came to the feeder this morning. I had filled it last week and noticed the nectar was gone. I thought it had leaked because I hadn't seen a hummingbird.As soon as I refilled it this morning, there it was. What a pleasure on such a gray, dreary, cold morning!
- B. Ganley

5/3 - Manhattan, HRM 12.5: Well over 500 people jammed into a corner of Inwood Park in northern Manhattan for our 16th annual Hudson River Foundation shad bake. All enjoyed a sample of smoked, baked, and pickled shad.
- Christopher Letts, Dave Taft, Jasper Fox, Tom Lake

5/3 - Staten Island, New York City: We are seeing turkey vultures every day. Today, three circled the Fort Wadsworth park's administrative building, a scene too suggestive for comment.
- Dave Taft

5/4 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Shadbush is blooming 90 miles south of us, but not yet up our way. Every time I think I see one, it turns out to be a tree with fuzzy catkins instead of white blossoms.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/4 - Gardiner, HRM 73: We had our first yellow warbler and Baltimore oriole of the season show up, admiring the blooming flowers on our apple tree.
- Rebecca Houser, Brian Houser

5/4 - Alpine, NJ, HRM 18: This was our 22nd annual shad bake in northern New Jersey, a state that shares the Hudson River with New York.We cooked and served in the shadow of the Palisades as osprey and eagles fished out in the river.
- Tom Lake, Jasper Fox, Christopher Letts

[The Hudson River shad bake has its origins in colonial times. Other than keeping a wary eye for British vessels, commercial fishing was hardly disrupted by the American Revolution. Europeans were introduced to shad by the Algonquian people who lived along the river. For many millennia they had been celebrating the fish’s annual return - the predictability of resources was very important in prehistory. Native Americans baked shad and other fish on huge riverside roasting platforms, some of which were a half-acre in size. Fires, hot coals and cobbles were set around flat rocks upon which shad were placed for slow cooking and smoking. We have always wondered if they saw this as a festive occasion, with song and dance and laughter. How could they not?Our modern shad bake serves a dual purpose: we celebrate the fish and we hope to reconnect people to the river. Tom Lake.]

5/4 - Putnam Valley, HRM 55.5: Our first ruby-throated hummingbird of the season arrived. We had recently put out the feeders and today a single male showed up. They are a little late; we usually see them about the first of May.
- Martin Turner

5/4 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: Our first hummingbird visit of the season. The lovely little bit of shiny green appeared where a fuschia basket and the feeder hang all summer. Although there's no basket there yet, I hung the feeder from the hook. A "welcome home!"
- Robin Fox

5/4 - Sandy Hook, NJ: We did our first seining in Sandy Hook Bay this morning and landed one solitary fish, but an interesting one: a 20 mm-long juvenile bluefish, probably hatched offshore in the Atlantic within the past three weeks and able to make it inshore to spend its formative months in the estuary. Other finds: hermit crab, Asian shore crab, isopods, and sand shrimp. The water temperature was in the low 50s.
- Dery Bennett

5/5 - Mohawk River, HRM 159: In a wetland north of Niskayuna Road, painted turtles dived from logs, a muskrat lodge, and a submerged trash can at my approach from the adjacent bike path. Basking near them on the can was a turtle whose shape distinguished it from the painted turtles.I suspected an illegally released, non-native, red-eared slider. After a perilous wetland balancing act, I got close enough to the now submerged slider for my sturdy butterfly net to serve as more than a wading staff.As I help this turtle find a suitable home and hope she isn't carrying eggs, I will help the NYSDEC add relevant information about her to the Herp Atlas Database.
- Ken Blanchard

[Information on the New York State Herpetological Atlas for turtles can be found on DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7140.html]

5/5 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 76: I helped our Poughkeepsie High School students check the fyke net in the Fall Kill this afternoon. We got 77 glass eels and 13 elvers. The creek was 57 degrees F. About a dozen alewives were resting and enjoying the lee of our net. A beautiful thing to see.
- Chris Bowser

5/5 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: New moon, old story: no glass eels. In research, results are not to be taken personally - no data is still data. Things brightened considerably when I saw my first oriole of the spring perched on the limb of a box elder bending over the brook.
- Tom Lake

5/5 - Bronx, New York City: Searching for plants in Pelham Park, I was greeted by a pair of brilliant Baltimore orioles feeding on an oak branch at the park's entrance. It was much better than any flowery entrance sign!
- Dave Taft

5/6 - Newcomb, HRM 302: I was thinking of hummingbirds this morning as I came down the walkway to the main building of the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center. Our hummingbird garden was still mostly under snow (a 3-foot pile remaining from what slid off the roof). It isn't melting any too quickly, but warmer days are on the way, so it will be a race to see which happens first: the hummers arriving or the snow disappearing.
There were many birds at my feeders this morning. A red-breasted nuthatch took over a peanut feeder seconds after I had it up and didn't even care that I was standing a foot away. Red-winged blackbirds, a blue jay, assorted sparrows, purple finches, and probably a goldfinch were lurking in the trees. I heard cardinals singing, and saw a broad-winged hawk. The peepers were in full voice last evening. It is amazing what a little sunlight and warmth will do.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/6 - Goodnow Flow, HRM 295: Amy Freiman reported hummingbirds at her house.
- Ellen Rathbone

5/6 - Columbia County: The road to the river was lined with apply blossoms and lilacs in bloom.
- Tom Lake

5/6 - North Germantown, HRM 109: Most of us only get snapshots, snippets of a larger tableau. But an entire day on the river plays out like a theatrical performance: eagles and osprey, cormorants and kingfishers, musical songbirds, shad, bass, catfish, and the human element of fishermen and boats, all arrayed against a backdrop of tides, currents, and weather systems moving east off the Catskills.
Double-crested cormorants have taken over the two light towers in the reach where we drifted our shad nets, off Silver Point to the south and Greene Point to the north. The Silver Point tower had 30 birds and eight nests, close together on each corner of the structure's cross-beams. The Greene Point tower had fewer birds, only four nests, but we saw a couple of nestlings.
The fishing was slow but on a few occasions the shad came up in the net in threes, "bananas." This is an expression that has its origin 50 years or more ago, when Henry Gourdine of Ossining shad-fished in the Tappan Zee. When the run was heavy and the nets were filled with fish, Henry would haul a short section of gillnet into the boat and exclaim, "they’re coming in bunches, just like bananas!" The river was 53 degrees F.
At one time or other, we had 5 bald eagles in sight. Two of them were adults. Near sundown we had two immatures low overhead engaged in extended aerial playtime. We saw one osprey for the day, but we did hear at least one other. There is something grand about tidewater, that is until I head up into the mountains and then I say the same thing about the smell of balsam fir and the faraway vistas.
- Tom Lake, Bud Tschudin, John Mylod

5/6 - Constitution Marsh Sanctuary, HRM 53.4: The water was calm as I launched my canoe from Foundry Cove into Constitution Marsh. A great blue heron greeted me, a few pairs of nesting Canada geese did their best to hide along the shoreline, and turkey vultures circled above. I spotted an osprey flying overhead and paddled past a few more geese noisily defending their unseen, but assuredly nearby, nests. The paddle to the south end of the marsh was quiet until I found myself in the midst of carp doing their "spring fling" prelude to spawning. As I continued on the unobstructed serpentine water trail a huge snapping turtle lumbered out of a shallow pool and onto a fallen tree to bask. I stopped at Jim’s Walk [a boardwalk named in honor of former Audubon warden, Jim Rod] and saw bald eagles riding the thermals. Red-winged blackbirds-a-plenty were fluttering about and wild turkeys could be heard gobbling away in the woods. Another fine paddle.
- Carl Steiniger

<<<<< REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON DIAMONDBACK TERRAPINS >>>>>

If you see any diamondback terrapins this spring, please report the where and when and other particulars to biorlb@hofstra.edu They might be basking on shorelines or on projections, floating at the surface, or swimming along. Whatever and wherever, I'd like to know. Thanks. Russell Burke, Hofstra University, Department of Biology

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County].
Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
Fishin’ on the River! Seine netting and angling. All equipment provided. Free.
- May 17: 3:00-5:00 PM

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- June 5: Kayaking the Hudson River Valley, Shari Aber

Spring 2008 Hudson River Shad Bakes
- May 18: 18th annual, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1:00 PM.
For information, call (212) 483-7667.

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
April 23 - 30, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

Every spring, without fail, as though it's required, we comment that "spring is early" or "spring is late." These perceptions are based on averages, many of which are purely anecdotal in our memories. But it seems no matter how early or late spring arrives, by May the season has caught up with itself. With global warming and climate change on most people's minds, however, even small deviations are magnified. Having said all that, I feel compelled to mention that the spring flowers sure seemed to bloom early this year!

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

4/25 - Saugerties, HRM 102: Yesterday, after walking around our wetland pond to see if mama Canada goose's goslings had hatched, my eye caught a large slow-moving form in the alder thicket not fifteen feet away. It was a gorgeous American bittern! As it slowly and somewhat awkwardly moved through the thicket, it repeatedly croaked a harsh staccato call that seemed odd in the face of a potential threat. Today, after some searching, I managed to spot it again, motionless, head pointed toward the sky, in the nearby tussock sedges. Several years ago we saw one on and off for two weeks here in the same tussocks and were hopeful it would nest, but it was apparently just passing through.
- Dan Marazita

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

4/23 - Newcomb, HRM 302: I joined biologist Stacy McNulty at the Adirondack Ecological Center on a search for spotted salamanders. It was supposed to be rainy, but the stars were out. We hiked to two vernal pools near Arbutus Lake and scanned the water with our head lamps. There were several masses of wood frog eggs, which - thanks to the lack of rain - were starting to emerge from the ponds. We were able to scoop 2 spotted salamanders in a net so we got a good look at them with their shiny black skin, sides blushed with blue, and backs speckled with bright yellow dots. Several more were floating in the water. Adult wood frogs were out as well, silently suspended at the surface of the water.
We even saw two in mating embrace, the small grayer male grasping the larger, pinker female. As we moved to the second pool, wood frogs and a few peepers started to call in the first pool - the trauma of our presence having passed. While not as exciting as a salamander migration, it was still a great experience to be out in the woods at night taking a peak at the private lives of our native amphibians. We were also treated to the distant calling of a barred owl.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/23 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: It was the end of the academic semester and the beginning of another great seining season on the Hudson, so my Marist College students and I took a field trip to Norrie Point. As soon as we got there we noticed a pair of furry mammals swimming in the cove, frequently diving, arching their backs as they did so, with no tail slaps at all. I think they were river otters. We seined at two hours after high tide. For most of the students, it was their first time in waders, and no one was disappointed. Our catch included golden and spottail shiners, tessellated darters (several of them gravid with eggs), white perch, yellow perch, a few small American eels, banded killifish, several river herring, and a 16" white catfish. One of the herring had a distinct fresh wound on its back. Perhaps a near miss with an otter?
- Chris Bowser, Beth Roessler

4/23 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Students from Randolph School had the opportunity to assist in a moment of research. Fyke nets set for eels are an easy and efficient collection method. At low tide the stream is usually behaving itself, and the net is quickly checked and reset. Today we had 6 glass eels that had fully transformed from their fresh-from-the-ocean transparency of a month ago to a bright translucency. They will continue gaining pigmentation all summer until by fall they will look like miniature brown and yellow adult eels.
- Goldy Safirstein, Chris Iverson, Tom Lake

4/23 - Town of Wappinger: As far as we can tell, the eagle pair in the new nest along the river (NY62B) are not incubating eggs this spring, or any longer if they had been. With no solid tie to the nest, they are less likely to put up with intrusion, so approaching the area to monitor behavior has to be done in a stealthy manner or they will leave. A spotting scope allows us to "get close" while still hundreds of feet away. They know you are there, but you have not stepped inside their "alert" distance, let alone their flight distance. Over time you establish, at least in my mind, a compromise separation of mutual tolerance. This morning there was one big white head sitting down in the nest. It was the female and it was anyone's guess as to why she was there. It is possible that there are eggs in the nest that will never hatch and, at the risk of sounding anthropomorphic, sitting there allowed her a measure of comfort.
- Tom Lake

4/23 - Sandy Hook, NJ: This is the height of coastal spring migration of raptors, and Sandy Hook concentrates them before they make the cross-water hop to New York and Long Island. Falcons cross the water without hesitation and accipiters are pretty much the same. But the buteos, great fans of thermals, come up to the tip of the Hook and the ocean (no thermals over water), then hang around soaring for a bit before heading back south till they find solid land to continue their northern voyage. Least happy with over-the-water flying are the turkey vultures and today 15 of them came up to the end of the Hook and spent at least an hour bobbing in the air before heading south to go west to head back north over land.
- Dery Bennett

4/24 - Newcomb, HRM 302: I heard my first common loon this afternoon, although our seasonal, Mary Tisi, reported hearing one earlier this week.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/24 - Town of Wappinger: We hoped to see some encouraging activity but neither adult eagle was in sight at the new nest, NY62B. The nest tree was quickly acquiring its spring allotment of poison ivy, the bane of tree-climbers. We'd have to deal with that and soon. The tree's new tulip-shaped leaves had grown to where we could clearly see the connection to its common name. A horizontal limb just below the nest had been a feeding perch for the pair; we noted two long, fresh cuts where the bark had been scraped off. It may also have been the result of "beak-cleaning," often a post-meal activity.
- Pete Nye, Tom Lake

4/24 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: Shadbush - a.k.a. shad blow, juneberry, sarvisberry (serviceberry) - was blooming along the shores of the Croton Reservoir. In my yard, brilliant yellow goldfinches clustered amidst the pinky, lavender blossoms of the azalea.
- Robin Fox

4/25 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: I was admiring our flowering dogwood in bloom, by all accounts a week or more early, when I spotted a brilliant orange red fox twenty feet beyond in the background, lazily lounging on a small hill of dirt in our woods. We had recognized this dirt hill, a former woodchuck colony, as a potential fox den in late winter as we saw sporadic activity in the area.
- Tom Lake

4/25 - Beacon, HRM 61: The "Big Carp" showed up today at Long Dock, the largest of which was 17 lb., 32" long, and 22" in girth. I estimated two others to be in the 5-8 lb. All were measured and released. I lost two more due to hook pulls, as I was trying to move them away from the rocks. I also caught a 9" golden shiner, solving the mystery of what was stealing my bait. Anglers at the end of the dock were catching bullheads, channel catfish, and small striped bass. A dozen sportfishing boats arrived after noon, drifting and trolling in the channel for striped bass.
- Bill Greene

4/25 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Thirteen days without rain had reduced the brook to a trickle on low tide. The few remaining shallow pools appeared glassy in the darkness of midnight. Every few minutes I heard and saw an eruption as a half-dozen alewives rushed into a riffle in a spawning commotion.
- Tom Lake

4/25 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Toby Rathbone and I saw our first mockingbird of spring this morning and down the road the first forsythia was starting to bloom. While out in my yard I saw in my peripheral vision a long, skinny white thing floating across the grass and through thefence: an ermine. Poor thing was still totally white, which was the only reason I was able to see it. It looked like someone had tied a string to a white hankie and was dragging it across the lawn.
- Ellen Rathbone

[Ermine is the common name for the winter white phase of the short-tailed weasel. Like many boreal species, being white where winters are snowy is an adaptation that provides an element of camouflage. As spring arrives, the fur of the short-tailed weasel turns a tawny brown, perfect for the dark understory of the forest floor. Tom Lake.]

4/26 - Minerva, HRM 284: It was a wonderful evening: the air was nearly65 degrees F and the peepers were shrill, almost deafening. The American bittern was back in the swamp, with its cool call that sounds like plumbing about to give up the ghost. I also heard the very strong and amazing song of a frisky hermit thrush in the woods. Yellow-rumped warblers, winter wrens, and brown creepers are back, with their pretty, unmistakable songs (I never actually saw them). Our early spring exotic "wildflower," coltsfoot, blooming along the road. Some early trillium is up, but too early for blooms.
- Mike Corey

4/26 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: We had an all-day parade of biodiversity at the Norrie Point Environmental Center today. This morning an angler caught a 39" striped bass. Nearby along the Indian Kill, we have a net specially designed to catch juvenile American eels. It is regularly checked by students from the Dutchess Academy of Environmental Science during the week. On the weekends, Kingston volunteers Katrina Gagnon and John Miller take over. This afternoon, we found 10 glass eels in the fyke net, along with an older eel (elver) and a beautiful leech. The leech was roughly 2" long, though it's hard to really tell. It looked just like the size and type I've often seen on the undersides of snapping turtles.
The main event of the day centered around the monthly "FishinÂ’ the River" program offered by the Hudson River Research Reserve and NYSDEC's "I Fish NY" program. We estimate about 200 people participated throughout the afternoon, both seining and angling for fish and learning about Hudson River ecology firsthand. White perch were the major catch on rod and reel, while the seine brought up a diverse assortment of white perch, yellow perch, bullhead catfish, tessellated darters, spottail shiners, banded killifish, pumpkinseeds, and a fourspine stickleback.
- Chris Bowser, Mark Vangorden, Ryan Coulter, Katrina Gagnon, John Miller

4/26 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: It was now 14 days without rain and fish migration had all but ceased. Whatever alewives had been here had left. The pools were empty - no white suckers, white perch, or carp.Glass eels were scarce. The magic riverward flow of spring rains that seems to urge the fish upstream was missing.
- Tom Lake

4/26 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Everything seems earlier this year. A few years ago lilac and dogwood were a mid-May treat. Both were in full bloom now.
- Christopher Letts

4/26 - Yonkers, HRM 18: I spotted a savannah sparrow today at the Beczak Environmental Center. I saw a pair there last week, maybe three altogether.
- Jeff Weber

4/27 - Newcomb, HRM 302: We finally got some rain last night (0.14"), first in along time. With it came our first worms on the roads this morning.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/27- Minerva, HRM 284: Shadbush was in bloom, about ten days early in an average year, along the Olmstedville to Pottersville road. Over the last 15 years, blooming has ranged from April 20 to May 19 with the average of about May 6.
- Mike Corey

4/27 - Saratoga County, HRM 170: I was eager to take a look at the Round Lake, Anthony Kill heron rookery this year. My visit was about a month earlier than last year. The sad news is that we've lost 8 nests, but the good news is that the remaining 13 are all being gently tended by the adult great blue herons.
- Fran Martino

4/27 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: We had been seeing the male red fox, a brilliant orange with black legs, sitting on top of the dirt hill they have modeled into a den. This morning, the reddish-gray female, was out with her three kits, each no larger than a house cat. They are reddish-gray like their mother, and adorable. Like a combination puppy-kitten, they played up and down the dirt hill finding toys in the twigs, branches, sticks, and each otherÂ’s tails.
- Tom Lake

4/27 - HunterÂ’s Brook, HRM 67.5: ... and on the fifteenth day it rained! By the time it ended we would have over an inch and a half.Because it was a gentle rain, one that Native Americans would call a "female rain," the land had a chance to absorb much if it. Still the brook ran and strong and clear. It would take a while for the wildlife to respond; I did not expect to see an increase in fish migration for a few days.
- Tom Lake

4/28 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Lilacs were showing serious color. It is an odd year when the parade of spring flowers have all bloomed before the first of May.
- Tom Lake

4/29 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 76: The heavy rain exiting the Fall Kill took its toll on our eel fyke net, bending the supporting re-bar in all sorts of directions and pulling the net up taught. We decided to leave the net out for the night, even at the cost of a night's hole in our data. On the bright side, the net seemed fine, we caught 14 glass eels, and everybody pulled together safely and in good humor.
- Chris Bowser

4/29 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: My house is at the edge of woods, with an arm of the Croton Reservoir out front. I know there are coyotes around. For years I've heard them, seen their tracks, and caught glimpses of them. But I always hoped to see a fox. I see the tracks in the snow but never a live animal. Yesterday, right in the middle of the daffodils, was a beautiful red fox. It stood, posed, sniffing the air, occasionally pawing the ground. It had delicate black legs, black tipped ears, and a wonderful bushy tail. The perfect fox! It trotted a few steps, plopped down to unceremoniously scratch dog-style. Then, it faded into the brown, leafy undergrowth of the woods. What a treat!
- Robin Fox

4/29 - Furnace Brook, HRM 38.5: Yesterday our "Furnace Brook team" put their eel fyke back in the brook for a week of sampling. They noted a high flow rate and debris all over the place from the rain. Today, they found 49 glass eels, 8 of which weighed a whopping 2.2 grams!
- Chris Bowser

4/29 - Sandy Hook, NJ: Flocks of double-crested cormorants, more than 500, fewer than 1000, flew up the spine of the Hook this noon on their way north. Usually we see them strung out over the water; these were in patches about 300 feet high.
- Dery Bennett

4/30 - Newcomb, HRM 302: It was snowing, fair-sized flakes, and depressing! Like so many drops of scarlet blood, the fallen maple flowers lay scattered on the pavement.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/30 - Delmar, HRM 142: The past week has seen air temperatures in the 70s and 80s at the Five Rivers Environmental Education center. During reptile training for our volunteers, the painted turtles put on a real show, basking on every log. I counted 24 on one log alone. Trout lily, shadbush and cherry were all blooming. Today summer left. It's in the low 40's with snow flurries between breaks of sun.
- Dee Strnisa

4/30 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Each year we try to figure out what motivates these two-inch glass eels to ascend waterways they have never seen before. We mull over the moon and its pull, rain and riverflow, and the likely possibility that we are drawing from a dwindling population.
Students from Roy C. Ketcham High School collected 5 glass eels today, a number that may be significant, if we only knew what it meant.
- Tom Lake, Jon Tokarc, Jeremy Patton

4/30 - Town of Wappinger: Dutchess Community College student Angela Anderson had never seen an eagle in the wild. In recent days we had stalked NY62B in the shadow of the tall tuliptree several times but no one was home. Today Mama was sitting in the nest and Papa was perched on an adjacent limb. In the context of the smaller nest (compared their six-year-old original, NY62A) they appeared enormous.
- Tom Lake

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
FishinÂ’ on the River! Seine netting and angling. All equipment provided. Free.
- May 17: 3:00-5:00 PM

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- May 1: Life on the Edge: Small Mammals in Hudson Tidal Wetlands, Cathy McGlynn

Spring 2008 Hudson River Shad Bakes

• May 3: 16th annual, Inwood Park, Manhattan, NYC 1:00 PM.
• May 4: 22nd annual, Alpine Boat Basin, Palisades Interstate Park, Alpine, NJ 1:00 PM.
• May 10: 21st annual, Riverfront Park, Nyack, NY, 1:00 PM.
• May 11: 2nd annual, Erasmus Corning Park, Albany, NY, 1:00 PM.
• May 18: 18th annual, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1:00 PM.

For information, call (212) 483-7667.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
April 16 - 22, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

The "greening" of the Hudson Valley occurs like a wave, slowly moving up the watershed in April as tree leaves and grasses begin to backlight the emerging flowers. The steady spread of color from the yellow forsythia to the stark white of cherries is like a light going on along the river. Shadbush and flowering dogwood are close behind.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

4/16 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Our red fox family continues to delight. Today Mama was sitting next to the tool shed under which she has her nest. I commented to her from my back door that she must have beautiful little pups. Scarcely a minute later 2 tiny fox kits trotted out from under the shed. In a week or two, once the young are fully weaned, the female will probably move the den to another location
- Diane Lowry

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

4/16 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Our forsythia was in full bloom now, pickerel frogs were calling, and yet there was frost on the windshield.At dawn the air temperature was 23 degrees F. As temperatures rise, even at 50 degrees, black flies have become ferocious. Yard work will be a bloody business this week. Coincident events just about every year: the flowering cherries break into bloom, and the first barn swallows return to Pine Lake.
- Christopher Letts

4/16 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: On a warm and breezy day, the spicebush in our woods burst into blossom.
- Robin Fox

4/16 - Hudson River Estuary: The NYSDEC Hudson River Fisheries Unit has resumed its annual tracking of sonic tagged adult Atlantic sturgeon.These fish spend the first few years of their life in the river where they were born, then move out to ocean waters where they spend most of their life. Once mature (about 10 years old for males, 15-20 for females), they return to fresh water in their natal river in late spring through early summer to spawn.
Last year our remote receiver, anchored in the river near Hastings-on-Hudson [HRM 21.5], indicated that a few fish showed up early and were missed by our mobile boat tracking crew. This year we started early to listen for any fish on their way into the Hudson to spawn. To our surprise and delight, "Minerva McGonagall," a 7.5 foot female Atlantic sturgeon, was found in the river on April 8. (Note: Atlantic sturgeon tagged in 2006 were christened with names of Harry Pottercharacters.) She stayed near Stony Point [HRM 40] at the upper end of Haverstraw Bay for nearly a week. She has now begun to move with the tide into the lower Hudson Highlands.
Minerva was tagged with a long term [5 year] sonic tag near Roger's Point [HRM 82], just north of Poughkeepsie. The objective of the program is to identify Atlantic sturgeon spawning areas and gain insight into their behavior and habitat preferences during their spawning run.
The long term tags will also confirm how often males and females spawn.
- Amanda Higgs

4/17 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: I consider the ornamental magnolia tree to be the new "shadbush" in the Mid-Hudson reach of the river. The true shadbush, a native species, has been, at least colloquially in some areas on the East Coast, considered a harbinger of 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. The bright, beautiful, and immensely fragrant magnolia was in full bloom today. As it began to show color a week or more ago, the first shad were nosing up the river.
- Tom Lake

4/17 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: This morning I went out with my second cup of coffee to look for the newest "spring-thing." The slowly greening lawn was dotted with very tiny composite flowers - more a bunch of pin-head sized white dots than flowers. But, they carpeted much of the still-brown lawn. I looked, hoping, at the area where I expect the spring beauties to flower. There was nothing showing. But just now, in late afternoon, I went out to look again and to my delight, there theywere: the first spring beauty blossoms trembling in the breeze!
- Robin Fox

4/18 - New Paltz, HRM 78: I travel on Route 32 each morning and feel fortunate to enjoy a wonderful sight. Along the way I often pass wild turkeys, at least 15, both toms and hens. I guess the toms know it's spring because they strut about with their beautiful tails fully open for all the hens to admire.
- Gail Logan

4/18 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Another day without rain; the brook level was dropping and the flow decreasing. Students from Dutchess Community College and Roy C. Ketcham High School helped with the eel net. Even with the stronger tides of the full moon approaching, our count was only 10. A dead male white sucker drifted slowly downstream.
These fish ascend freshwater streams in spring to spawn, a dangerous activity in shallow water. Predators. This one had a huge chunk ripped from its back. With no talon marks from an eagle or osprey, we guessed it might have been a lost fox or coyote lunch.
- Angela Anderson, Kathryn Goerge, Kayla Rath, Tom Lake

4/18 - Beacon, HRM 61: During an enjoyable seven-hour session in the great weather on Long Dock, I caught and released 4 carp, all decent size, the largest of which weighed 8 lb. 6 oz. The carp were occasionally rolling at the surface. Anglers at the end of the pier were catching small striped bass, white perch, and an occasional brown bullhead.
- Bill Greene

4/18 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: We dined on the fruits of the newseason: shad roe, dandelion crown and mustard greens salad, and rhubarb pie. Finest kind!
- Christopher Letts

4/18 - Sandy Hook, NJ: Hard clam season in the Navesink River runs out the end of this month so we hit the low tide around noon today to build up a small backlog. The clam bed showed signs of wearing thin; it's been pounded since November 1. But we landed our share accompanied by the soothing mutterings of brant and the incessant, raucous chatter of oystercatchers arguing over mates and territory.
- Dery Bennett

4/19 - Newcomb, HRM 302: We hit 80 degrees F today, in a shady spot!Somehow 80s in April in the Adirondacks just isn't right. So much for spring. The river was back up, though. It had crested earlier in the week and was going down, but the abnormally hot weather over the last two days did a number on the snow pack in the High Peaks, resulting in a flush of water downstream. Meanwhile, "spring" is bursting out all over.
At 1:30 AM wood frogs were "quacking," I heard peepers this afternoon, and the toads have been trilling for the last three nights. I don't recall ever hearing them this early, and certainly not before the frogs.
I saw a merlin this morning, a killdeer has been around for a couple of days, and I heard my first woodcock "peent" as well.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/19 - Minerva, HRM 284: I heard my first peepers and scattered wood frog calls tonight. The open water area in the swamp near my house is still pretty much iced in, although the small ditches and associated pools away from the swamp are open. We have many male red-winged blackbirds acting territorially. A phoebe made itself known to me today- a first for the year. We still have around 18" of snow in the woods behind the house, despite the 78 degree weather. Snow is melting fast.
- Mike Corey

4/19 - Stony Creek, HRM 100.5: I was walking along the path to Stony Creek with the intention of setting herring nets. It was great to see blooming bloodroot and a huge patch of blooming dogtooth violets (a.k.a.troutlilies). I had a stand off with an American toad on the path and saw a great butterfly (probably a comma, but I have trouble telling them from question marks on the wing). There was also my first snake of the season, a very rusty colored garter snake in the mouth of the Saw Kill.
Later I managed to intercept a small run of male yellow perch (210-240 mm) in the mouth of the Saw Kill.
- Bob Schmidt

4/19 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: Through binoculars from the NYSDEC Environmental Center patio, I found an osprey flying wide circles west of Esopus Island until an adult bald eagle zoomed into view and "attacked" the osprey. There was a brief scuffle, then a short acrobatic "dogfight" with circling loops, and dives, until the osprey flew downriver and the eagle landed in a large pine on the west shore.
Shortly the osprey returned and made several looping passes in front of the perched eagle, then finally gave up.
- Dave Lindemann

[Eagles and ospreys often have a very contentious relationship along tidewater.Osprey, the great "fish hawk," are the equal of an eagle at fishing. Bald eagles, however, have a tendency to be lazy. They are noted for their in-flight pirating of fish caught by osprey with harassing, body-bumping, talon-raking, and feather-scattering intimidation maneuvers designed to force the osprey to give up the catch. Tom Lake.]

4/19 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 76: Craig Hoover, a student at Dutchess Community College, and his father, Skip Hoover, a teacher at Kreiger Elementary, found a whopping 84 glass eels in the fyke net set up on the Fall Kill. That's the record for that site this season.
- Chris Bowser

4/19 - Town of Wappinger: It is looking bleak for the production of nestlings from the NY62 nests this spring. After five successful season of fledging eaglets this may be the pair's second barren year in a row.
The male brought a fish to the new nest (NY62B) this week, ordinarily a sign that there is a third mouth to feed. But the fish, a gizzard shad, was never offered to the nest and was instead eaten on a nearby feeding perch. At dawn this morning both adults were at the new nest, but neither were inside. They perched side-by-side on a limb a few feet away.
- Tom Lake

4/19 - Furnace Brook, RM 38.5. Ossining High School students Laura Hellmich and Dara Illowski, along with their mothers, Heidi and Susan, and their teacher Valerie Holmes, sampled glass eels for three days around this month's full moon. After the first full day and night, they found 101 glass eels in their fyke net. The water was a warm 68 degrees F. They are setting the nets as part of a high school research project to see what kind of environmental factors, such as lunar cycles, affect glass eel numbers in their local tributary.
- Chris Bowser

4/19 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: Spied the first bloodroot blossom in the garden today. I expect the deer will spy it next. I also picked my first batch of fiddlehead ferns for supper!
- Robin Fox

4/20 - Newcomb, HRM 302: A heard a hermit thrush last night! Presently, a winter wren is singing its little heart out outside my office window at the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/20 - Minerva, HRM 284: I heard one solitary, lonely little peeper in the back end of the swamp behind our house this evening. Still no wood frogs. I'm wondering if their population is sinking everywhere? I recall hearing none, or few of them, last year. While standing and musing, I did hear "peenting" and twittering coming from sky; although I couldn't actually see the woodcock, I knew it was there. Song sparrows were out and about, robins were noisily hanging out in the woods, and one wood duck was desperately seeking open water.
- Mike Corey

4/20 - Columbia County, HRM 118: I was standing in my yard when I heard an unmistakable sound: our yellow-bellied sapsucker had returned and was pounding on my metal 911 sign.
- Bob Schmidt

4/20 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: After two days in the 80s, the air today was more April-like - in the 60s. Glass eel and elver numbers in the net continued to be unpredictable. Discovering what motivates them to swim upstream is still elusive after six years of paying attention.
Out in Wappinger Creek, the carp were beginning their spring behavior of rolling and splashing, mostly tied into spawning. Carp are a nonnative species of minnow, meaning that Colonial Americans did not witness these often stunning performances.
- Tom Lake

4/20 - Furnace Brook, RM 38.5: On the second day of their sampling, Ossining High School students Laura Hellmich and Dara Illowski found 48 glass eels in their fyke net. The water temperature had fallen 9 degrees F in 24 hours, an amazing number that underlines the resiliency of these fish. As the students worked, 2 bald eagles circled overhead.
- Chris Bowser

4/20 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Where two barn swallows flew four days ago, three dozen now dipped and soared, mingling with tree and rough-winged swallows. We hope their appetite for the wicked black flies is sharp.
- Christopher Letts

4/20 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: A female eastern towhee came to the bird feeder several times this afternoon. What a pretty bird and a first for me.
- Robin Fox

4/21 - East Fishkill, HRM 61: As we passed a semi-truck heading west this evening on I-84, we saw, ever so briefly in the glare of our headlights, a lone coyote on the highway median. Upon arriving home, we listened to a neighbor's message on our answering machine alerting us to the presence of coyotes heard in our nearby woods and suggesting that we not let our cat outdoors.
- Ed Spaeth, Merrill Spaeth

4/21 - Staatsburg, HRM 85: I went up the road to check on the resident kestrels. As I got there, the male flew up from the ground to a telephone wire with a small snake in his talons. It was 6-8 inches-long, still alive, but too far away to identify. The kestrel put the snake's head in his mouth and slurped it down like a piece of spaghetti.
- David Lund

4/21 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Tulips and redbud were flowering and shadbush was finally in full bloom.
- Christopher Letts

4/22 - Staatsburg, HRM 85: The red shouldered hawks are definitely nesting. One or the other of them has been more-or-less constantly on the nest since April 11. When I go by, there's always a head or a tail sticking out over the edge of the nest.
- David Lund

4/22 - Highland, HRM 76: Most people know wood ducks nest in hollow trees, using cavities carved by pileated woodpeckers. But have you ever seen them just perched in a tree for no particular reason? Such was the case as I was walking my dog in the early morning hours. We had just passed our mailbox and the silhouette of two large birds in a red oak caught my attention. I took a closer look and saw it was a mated pair of wood ducks perched on a pair of limbs 30 feet above the ground. I live a half-mile from Black Creek and have seen them on a large vernal pool in wet springs. But this year being so dry, I guess they stopped in the tree to wonder "what happened to our summer home?"
- Jim Beemer

4/22 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Students from Randolph School combined their 15 minutes of volunteer river herring observation with a check of our eel fyke. We counted 13 glass eels and noted that at least half of them were beginning to show some darker pigment, an adaptation that we think is linked to their switch from ocean to estuarine habitat. A few of them resembled tiny black threads, a major change from the near transparency of a month ago.
- Tom Lake

4/22 - Sandy Hook, NJ -The shad bush is blooming here, about on schedule. We have had strong onshore winds the past few days, keeping the temperature about 15 degrees F cooler than inland.
- Pam Carlsen

[Since 1994, shadbush bloom dates for Sandy Hook have ranged from 4/8 to 4/28, with an average date of the third week in April. Tom Lake.]

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
FishinÂ’ on the River! Seine netting and angling. All equipment provided. Free.
- May 17: 3:00-5:00 PM

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- May 1: Life on the Edge: Small Mammals in Hudson Tidal Wetlands, Cathy McGlynn

Spring 2008 Hudson River Shad Bakes

• May 3: 16th annual, Inwood Park, Manhattan, NYC 1:00 PM.
• May 4: 22nd annual, Alpine Boat Basin, Palisades Interstate Park, Alpine, NJ 1:00 PM.
• May 10: 21st annual, Riverfront Park, Nyack, NY, 1:00 PM.
• May 11: 2nd annual, Erasmus Corning Park, Albany, NY, 1:00 PM.
• May 18: 18th annual, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1:00 PM.

For information, call (212) 483-7667.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
April 7 - 15, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

The spring cascade of colors has begun: forsythia to magnolia to shadbush. This will continue in the weeks ahead to dogwood, lilac, and many others. It is one of the best ways to measure the northward and upward advance of spring from the coast to the High Peaks of the Adirondacks.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

4/9 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: On a gorgeous afternoon with a perfect tide and gentle stream flow, students from Randolph School had the opportunity to assist in a moment of research. Our eel fyke is fixed to short lengths of re-bar set in the stream bottom and measures about 15'long by 12' wide. As we approached our net from downstream we spotted 4 wood ducks, 2 pairs, using it as a break in the current to dabble on the gravel bottom. We had a dozen or more glass eels and half as many elvers- a good haul. They would be weighed and measured and returned upstream.The wildlife parade continued as a muskrat swam across just downstream, a flock of 100 noisy goldfinches in daffodil-yellow came through, a graceful Cooper's hawk shadowed the forest canopy, a broad-winged hawk made a fly-by, and before leaving, we had accumulated a woodpecker "grand slam," with a downy, hairy, pileated, flicker, and a red-bellied.
It was an altogether perfect hour.
- Goldy Safirstein, Phil Suriano, T.J. Groen, Nils Lewis, Chris Bowser, Tom Lake

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

4/7 - Hudson Highlands, HRM 45: I watched a pair of ravens flying in formation today over the "goat path," Route 6/202, about a mile south of Anthony's Nose. With wings cocked and legs down, and without seeming to move a feather, they flew within a foot of each other the whole time while they made several turns and dropped over the edge.
- Scott Craven

4/7 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: Riverman Cal Greenburg told me today that he will not set shad nets this spring. For the first time in 40 years, shad lovers will leave his driveway disappointed. It kind of takes the gold out of forsythia, one of the flowers that we link to the appearance of shad in the Hudson each spring.
- Christopher Letts

4/8 - Newcomb, HRM 302: We were staring at a slowly moving Hudson River as it passed along the shore at the Newcomb pump house and made its way under and around the remaining floes of ice. I heard a gurgle of water that didn't match what I was seeing and, as I looked downstream, I saw the head of a beaver cutting across the current to the far bank. A sound upstream drew my attention and I watched the force of the water break off mini-bergs from the ice pack. From downstream we heard another sound, the call of a beaver, a very hard to describe moaning whine. As we looked, we saw not one, but two beaver heads now skimming the surface. One hauled itself up on the shore while the other continued to swim around. Another ice chunk grated loose upstream and the beaver on the shore decided this was a threat so he returned to the water. We returned to our vigil and watched the beavers swim back to the shore where once again one of them climbed out. Then we decided to call it a day, bid the beavers farewell, and headed home.
- Ellen Rathbone, Toby Rathbone

4/8 - Minerva, HRM 284: I was out on my snowshoes this evening behind the house. The ice-covered open water areas of my swamp yielded little in terms of critters, but in the marginal shrubs and in the woods were male red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, and robins. I searched in vain for snow fleas. I think they need warmer, sunny conditions to get them up and out on the snow.
- Mike Corey

4/8 - Indian Kill, HRM 85: Overnight our glass eel fyke net caught 2 glass eels, 20 elvers (two-years-old plus), and 3 fourspine sticklebacks. I'm wondering if the tidal marsh habitat at the site, with much cattail, phragmites, and substantial horizontal range of tide, makes it a great place for eels to spend a year or two.
- Chris Bowser

4/8 - Staatsburg, HRM 85: Recently, as I drove into the hamlet of Staatsburg, I saw a red-shouldered hawk fly up from near the roadside and alight on a mass of sticks lodged in a V of a white ash trunk.
Later, with binoculars, I could see the hawk standing on the mass of sticks that incorporated what looked like fresh nesting material, including sprigs of hemlock. I have seen this red-shoulder frequently and today there was a female on the sticks with a male a few dozen feet away. Dare we hope there's a new family in town?
- David Lund

[Although they are less common than red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks do nest in Dutchess County. They seem to stay in an area several years, perhaps moving to a different tree, but not far from last year's nest. Barbara Butler.

Red-shouldered hawks are more tolerant of people and close proximity to housing than red-tailed hawks. The fresh greens are a good sign. It sounds like they are setting up housekeeping. Rich Guthrie.]

4/8 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Our resident breeding red foxes have had, so far, a single kit. Last year they had 4. We can see it moving around at the edge of the woods with Mom mostly at dawn and dusk. This seems early. Last year we did not see the baby foxes until April 30. In spring 2007, their maternity den was in a compacted brush pile; this year they have moved under a nearby tool shed where the adults have brought squirrels. We have found their skins and bones scattered around the edge.
- Diane Lowry

4/8 - Brooklyn Heights, New York City: Star magnolias were in bloom through Hicks Street, and perched on just one, a lovely, mint-bright phoebe, tail bobbing and flitting from flowered branch to flowered branch.
- Dave Taft

4/8 - Staten Island, New York City: The robins were crazy with love and vying for territories every morning, ignoring the worms on the pavement and the blooming Persian speedwell blooming everywhere on the lawn at Fort Wadsworth. Three cardinals were also besotted this morning, each calling from a separate parking lot tree, and each as red as a forgotten Christmas tree ornament.
- Dave Taft

4/9 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Our first butterfly of the season, a Compton's tortoiseshell, came by today.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/9 - Town of Wappinger: It seemed like a change in plans was afoot.
The mated pair of bald eagles were now back in their original nest, NY62A, having, or so it seems, abandoned the nest closer to the river.
This morning, Mama was hunkered down in the nest with Papa perched close by. It was not too late for them to make up their mind and incubate eggs.
- Tom Lake

4/9 - Staten Island, New York City: In a secluded woodland, dozens of clean white bloodroot flowers greeted the cool air of spring like they have since bloodroot was "invented." Seeing these blooms has become a personal ritual for me each spring.
- Dave Taft

4/10 - Newcomb, HRM 302: This evening as Toby Rathbone and I headed down to the river, we were taken aback by a branch full of pussy willows just emerging. They hadn't been there the day before.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/10 - Hudson River Estuary: Observing river herring! There is a volunteer effort underway this spring to record, albeit anecdotally, the presence of river herring in Hudson River tributaries. Times and tide play a major role in the presence of river herring in tributaries, but the mix of these tend to be different for each. For example, in the bigger tributaries, like the Wappinger, Rondout, Catskill and possibly Stockport Creeks, river herring come in on the flood tide, mingle, and then stick around for another tide cycle. In smaller tributaries like Canterbury Brook, Quassaick Creek, Hathaways Glen, and Hunter's Brook, they come in on the flood, spawn if they are ready, and exit on the ebb tide. It is not unusual to see their characteristic "rushing up along the shore," males chasing females, at any time of the day or night in most tributaries, although nighttime flood tides might be favored. Time and tide may not be as important as the location where you are observing. Some reaches of tributaries lend themselves better to the acrobatics of herring, such as long deep runs, pools behind large rocks, and inshore shallows adjacent to deeper water. In the Serengeti, it would be like finding a spot to watch the perfect watering hole, thus the lions!
- Tom Lake

4/10 - Hudson River, HRM 92-96: This evening a friend and I paddled north from Kingston Point to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. We watched the falcon box for awhile until it became clear that there was at least one peregrine present. At one point, the falcon flew out, briefly fluttering overhead checking us out, perched on the beams under the bridge, and watched us until we left.
- Wes Ostertag

4/11 - Newcomb, HRM 302: I heard my first winter wren of the season singing away in full voice.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/11 - Town of Esopus HRM 82: On a beautiful sunny afternoon, my partner Tona and I decided to canoe on Chodikee Lake and then continue north on Black Creek. We had gone past several beaver lodges and were passing another when suddenly a Canada goose began swimming toward us.
It took off and flew just over Tona's head, wheeled and flew back grazing her head this time with fast-beating wings. We were frightened; that bird was big and its wings very powerful, especially as seen close-up underneath! We back-paddled and the goose swam away. Then we realized what had happened: We had failed to notice its mate sitting atop a beaver lodge; it was simply defending its nest. We wanted to continue but instead made a wide detour through a flooded area next. We were rewarded further by the sight of a bald eagle, many herons and, on the way back, a huge beaver swimming in the lake, then diving down with a great flap of its tail.
- Judy Mage

4/11 - Staten Island, New York City: I wondered when it would happen, but today while touring through the Great Kills park with my friend Dave Avrin, a pair of wild turkeys paraded out in front of the car. My first wild turkey within the park boundary.
- Dave Taft

4/12 - Germantown, HRM 108: After an entire winter of seeing only 2-3 purple finches and goldfinches at a time my backyard feeders, today produced an explosion in numbers. I counted 15-20 of each, as well as the typical numbers of "regulars" - titmice, downy woodpeckers, mourning doves, and assorted sparrows. The ground was a moving patchwork of colors as they hopped about pecking up the seeds I'd scattered.
- Laurie Fila

4/12 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Some A.P. Biology and Environment students from Roy C. Ketcham High School helped us check our daily catch
- 5 glass eels and 2 elvers - from our research net. As we finished up our work, a pair of trusting mallards drifted downstream right past us, close enough to exchange smiles.
- Celina Alvarez, Arnold Cruz, Wilfredo Chaluisant, Tom Lake

4/12 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Just when I was winding down on the bird feeding season, a little push of birds made me think twice. Fox sparrows, a family favorite, showed up - gotta feed them! - and chipping sparrows, song sparrows, white-throated sparrows and the kicker, white-crowned sparrows. Off the ground, we saw the usual goldfinches, house finches, and continuing strong numbers of pine siskins. And a flock (well, 6) of purple finches, usually seen only in the nastiest of winter weather. Sigh. Another trip to the feed store seems in order.
- Christopher Letts

4/13 - Newcomb, HRM 302: We were getting snow, little stuff that won't likely stick around, but still, it was snowing. The river is in flood stage now, thanks to almost an inch of rain and the continual melting of snow. I've heard that there is still over eight feet of snow up on Mt.Marcy. Our snowstick shows that we have a little less than a foot of snow on the ground, but that all depends on where you are standing.
There are many bare spots, but likewise there are pockets where it is almost knee deep.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/13 - Ulster Park, HRM 87: Forsythia and myrtle are out in Esopus.
- Bill Drakert

4/13 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: As far as we can tell, our first alewives of the spring arrived to spawn here today.
- Chris Bowser

4/13 - Croton River, HRM 34: It's not like it was 15 years ago, or before that as far back as I can recall. Still, the sight of hundreds of Dutchman's breeches blooming pulls me here every April. Back then, in the road gorge, there was a carpet of dainty flowers under foot and a canopy of ancient hemlocks overhead. The hemlocks succumbed to the woolly adelgid and now, with the canopy missing, Japanese knotweed has colonized the gorge, pushing out everything else. Still, it's worth the visit this time of year, as the remaining hundreds of dainty, lacy mint green leaves support tiny blossoms of Dutchman's breeches.
- Christopher Letts

4/14 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: We spotted our first osprey of the season, scouting the river for fish. Its appearance, not surprisingly, coincides with the first reports of herring being caught in our eel nets. The exquisite timing in the natural world never ceases to amaze me. We also have a mallard nest near the building. The female is camouflaged so well that you have to actively look to spot her.
- Laurie Fila

4/14 - Croton River, HRM 34: No wildlife observer should miss any chance to visit this estuary. Something is always going on. Dawn low tides are especially fine for good looks at the usual and unusual. This morning from my "blind" (pickup truck cab) I watched tree swallows, phoebes, a lone pair of bufflehead and another of green-winged teal.Then, riding the flood under the railroad bridge, a couple of horned grebes, one splendid in breeding plumage, the other drab in winter wear.
A mated pair, surely: they swam together, dove together, and got within ten yards of my blind.
- Christopher Letts

4/14 - Staten Island, New York City: Shad bush was fully in bloom. I could not resist the urge to take a final peek at a Staten Island bloodroot patch on this cool and drizzly day. As I walked, dozens of chipping sparrows flew off from a grassy field at the entrance to the woods. And once in the bright leafless shade of the woods, I noted 175 flowers before losing count, possibly because of a waterthrush calling, my first of the season. I couldn't track down the bird, and ultimately had to guess that there were still about a hundred flowers left uncounted. Trout lily and Canada mayflower leaves sprang up through the leaf litter without flowers as yet. Blue cohosh and wild oats poked up flowerless as yet too. Spicebush was alive with its tiny chartreuse flowers.
- Dave Taft

4/15 - Saw Kill, HRM 98.5: A group of Siena College students showed up to talk about eels and check the glass eel fyke in the mouth of the Saw Kill. We only caught two glass eels but one of the students saw and picked up a red-spotted newt. This is the first time we had seen one from tidewater.
- Bob Schmidt, Catherine O'Reilly, Cris Winters, and lots of Siena College students

4/15 - Fishkill, HRM 61: A bright, sunny spring morning was made a bit more cheerful by watching the courtship display of two resident eastern bluebirds. Both male and female bluebirds were perched on different branches of a budding dogwood tree that was near their nest box, when the very bright blue male flew down to the ground and seized an insect.
With the insect in its mouth, he returned to the dogwood tree where he fed the insect to the female doing a fluttering wing display. He did this twice in close succession. On the third foray, he moved to another branch, ignored the begging flutters of the female and presumably ate the captive insect himself.
- Ed Spaeth

4/15 - Dobbs Ferry, HRM 23: From our new third floor apartment on Palisade Street, we can see the Hudson River, the tops of trees, and yes, the Palisades. We have come to recognize the calling of a neighborhood cardinal that frequents the trees across the street, making us crane our necks for a welcome flash of red in the still bare woods.
- Denise Woodin

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
Fishin' on the River! Seine netting and angling. All equipment provided. Free.
- April 26: 3:00-5:00 PM

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free.
Information:845-889-4745, x105.
- May 1: Life on the Edge: Small Mammals in Hudson Tidal Wetlands, Cathy McGlynn

Spring 2008 Hudson River Shad Bakes

• May 3: 16th annual, Inwood Park, Manhattan, NYC 1:00 PM.
• May 4: 22nd annual, Alpine Boat Basin, Palisades Interstate Park, Alpine, NJ 1:00 PM.
• May 10: 21st annual, Riverfront Park, Nyack, NY, 1:00 PM.
• May 11: 2nd annual, Erasmus Corning Park, Albany, NY, 1:00 PM.
• May 18: 18th annual, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1:00 PM.

For information, call (212) 483-7667.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
April 1 - 7, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

April is the time of the year for "firsts," and this week had plenty ofthem: river herring, shad, flowers, warblers, osprey, butterflies, woodchucks, and in no fewer than 22 huge nests along Hudson tidewater, the first bald eaglets!

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

4/6 - Tappan Zee, HRM 27: In our overnight gill nets we caught our first river herring (alewives) and first American shad, one nice plump roe shad, of the season. Dinner!
- Robert Gabrielson Sr.

[Since its inception, the Hudson River Almanac has reported the first American shad caught in the estuary each spring, usually by a commercial fishing net. The dates have ranged from March 26 to April 18, reflecting late winters, early springs, and extreme conditions on the river. Water temperature seems to be a contributing factor; the shad appear when temperatures hit 40 - 48 degrees F. Also affecting the date is the dwindling number of shad netters. For example, 20 years ago the first commercial nets shad encountered were in the Upper Bay of New York Harbor; today they might not meet a net for another week and 30 miles or more up the river. Regardless of when the first one is caught, they probably are in the river by late March every year. With shad stocks in steep decline and a long and rich tradition of Hudson River shad fishing on the verge of disappearing, the first shad should be celebrated as it kindles hope for renewal of the population and the fishery. Tom Lake.]

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

4/1 - Kinderhook, HRM 128: The snow geese I reported 5 days ago were now settled on the top of the hill behind our house. I wondered why the snow hadn't melted up there yet until I got a closer look!
- Cris Winters

4/1 - Columbia County, HRM 118: We caught a Jefferson's salamander on a road in Hillsdale tonight. We happened to look at its feet and discovered that the front left foot had seven toes! The two outer toes had "split" to form the extra digits. A quick search of the internet indicated that polydactyly is not uncommon in some New York salamanders (spotted salamanders) and known from tiger salamanders as well. There was no specific mention of this condition in Jefferson's salamanders, but they all are close relatives.
- Bob Schmidt, Alec Schmidt, Caroline Wise

4/1 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: We spotted an adult bald eagle perched at the mouth of the Indian Kill this morning and a pair of pileated woodpeckers flying along one of the park's access roads.
- Laurie Fila

4/1 - Hyde Park, HRM 82: A little brown bat fluttered over my yard today at sunset. I was glad to see they're not all dead.
- Peter Fanelli

[Researchers have found wintering bats in the Northeast with a mysterious white fungus around their muzzles and occasionally on other parts of their bodies. Many bats have died. It has been named "white-nose syndrome" and the attributed mortality has exceeded 90% in some caves. The affected bats seem to have had low fat reserves, insufficient to keep them alive through the winter. The fungus is likely opportunistic, moving in after an unknown malady has already weakened them. Since the fungus on the bats is one normally found in caves, the illness probably begins as something else and the fungus just takes advantage of a sick animal. While the exact cause is largely unknown, some of the possibilities offered by experts include climate and seasonal changes possibly due to climate change, disrupted hibernation cycles, and the effects of pesticides. Ellen Rathbone, Erik Kiviat, Bob Schmidt.]

4/1 - Ulster Park, HRM 87: On a very mild night we heard our first spring peepers. - Bill Drakert, Fran Drakert


4/1 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 76: Poughkeepsie High School teachers and students helped us set our glass eel fyke net in the lower reach of the Fall Kill. As we were pounding rebar into the shaley bedrock, I heard 2 fish crows calling. I sometimes go a year or more without hearing any fish crows and yet this was the third pair I had heard in the last month. An omen of fish to come? The Fall Kill was 48 degrees F, considerably warmer than the river just 200 feet away (41 degrees).
These east side tributaries drain warm uplands, while the Hudson is still carrying remnants of ice and snow meltwater from the Adirondacks.
- Mark Vangorden, Lisa DiMarzo, Gwen Saylor, Chris Bowser, Angela Anderson, Tom Lake

[In a pilot project this spring, the Hudson River Estuary Program and Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve are involving students from several Hudson Valley schools in research on migration of glass eels into Hudson River tributaries (see 4/7 below). The students will strengthen their science education by doing real field research, and their efforts will expand our knowledge of eel migration, building on work done in recent years on Hunter's Brook in the Town of Wappinger andthe Saw Kill in Annandale. Chris Bowser, Steve Stanne.]

4/1 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Rough-winged swallows were dipping and soaring over Pine Lake today. Daffodils are now in bloom and it's time to plant the peas!
- Christopher Letts

4/2 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Even a single day of strong west-northwest winds can produce a blowout tide. We were still two hours from low tide and yet the water in Hunter's Brook barely wet the bottoms of my waders. Ordinarily the water would be knee-deep.
- Tom Lake

4/2 - Town of Wappinger: While the view from the new eagle nest (NY62B) is impressive, it is entirely exposed to the elements. Overnight we had a serious, albeit brief, storm. It lasted only ten minutes but featured thunder, lightning, quarter-inch hail in torrents, winds gusting over 50 mph, and driving rain. It may have been a straight-line storm or even a micro-burst heading through; it made a roar like a train coming that never quite arrives. During those ten minutes, NY62B would have been a frightening place to be. The tall tulip tree already bears the jagged scar of a previous lighting strike. At dawn this morning the nest was empty. Mama no longer was sitting on eggs. By mid-morning I found her sitting in the old nest sheltered by a stand of white pines.
- Tom Lake

4/2 - Sleepy Hollow, HRM 27: Our little tidal wetland keeps producing surprises. Twice a day it fills and empties through a culvert under the railroad tracks and is also fed by the runoff from Fremont Pond. I spotted two tall waders today, a great egret and a great blue heron. The heron left, flying away on slow-flapping giant wings. The egret followed a short while later, flying out over the Hudson, then returning to the muddy shallows to continue its stalking.
- Doug Maass

4/3 - Newcomb, HRM 302: We lost 3" of snow and were now down to 27". I saw a flash of bird this morning that didn't look familiar from recent months. It was a common flicker, probably reassessing its arrival as it stared at the snow.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/3 - Stockport Creek, HRM 121.5: An adult bald eagle greeted me and my little red kayak at the mouth of the Stockport Creek today. It seems I wasn't alone as I searched for spawning river herring. Stockport Creek is one of nine tributaries selected as a study site by the NYSDEC Hudson River Fisheries Unit Spring Volunteer River Herring Monitoring program. Volunteers from the Kinderhook Watershed Alliance are assisting by going to the site a couple of times a week for 15 minutes to record their observations. To learn how you can become an integral part of studying how river herring use the Hudson River, visit www.dec.ny.gov/animals/41545.html .
- Fran Martino

4/3 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 76: There was a nice display of male white suckers today vying for the attention of a larger female under the Water Street bridge on the Fall Kill.
- Chris Bowser

4/3 - Town of Wappinger: Magnolia and forsythia were showing color, daffodils were close, and bluebirds sprang up from my feet as I slowly walked the ridge line over the Hudson toward our eagle nests. The colors and images made it seem like a Disney cartoon. But my good cheer was dampened when I found that both eagles nests, the old and the new, were empty. I am now as confused as the mated bald eagle pair seem to be.
- Tom Lake

4/3 - Town of Pleasant Valley, HRM 75: The lower of the two vernal pools I reported on last week now has many wood frog eggs and, where communal breeding was taking place last week, there are now many adjacent clusters of eggs. There is still some breeding but not as frantic as last week. Spring peepers could be heard from the center of the pool and schools of fairy shrimp of all sizes were along the sides.

The upper pool is really a fen with many smaller and connected pools. In these, wood frogs were actively breeding and laying eggs. This evening, after two days of rain, many of these pools were filled with spotted salamanders, at least 100 in each pool, actively courting.
- John R. Mort

4/4 - Gardiner, HRM 73: On our walk today we spotted our first warbler of the spring, a yellow-rumped, as well as cedar waxwings, a saw-whet owl sitting in a tree cavity, and a garter snake.
- Rebecca Houser, Brian Houser

4/4 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 76: We had our first real "haul" of glass eels in our net this afternoon: six! The creek was running pretty strong.
- Chris Bowser

4/4 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: After a cold, hard driving rain, the water temperature in Hunter's Brook fell from 51 degrees F to 44 overnight. Each season that I work in tidal tributaries, I gain more respect for the resiliency of the cold-blooded creatures that live there.
- Tom Lake

4/5 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 68: We were giving our field archaeology students a tour of the prehistoric rockshelters at Bowdoin Park when an osprey flew in from the river, did a pirouette over the sports field (a former Woodland Indian village, sand-mined during WWI), and then disappeared over the trees. Later, on a path near the river, we came upon the forward half of a large white catfish lying in the dirt.

It was probably dropped by a bald eagle and, since the "best parts" of the fish were missing, the evidence pointed to a male eagle. They are known for eating the best parts of a fish before sharing with nestlings.
- Tom Lake, Stephanie Roberg-Lopez

4/5 - Putnam County, HRM 55: As we drove along the Taconic Parkway we spotted 3 woodchucks (ground hogs, whistle pigs) actively eating grass.

Now we really believe that spring has arrived in the Hudson Valley.
- Bob Schmidt, Alec Schmidt

4/5 - Yonkers, HRM 18: We were walking along the shore at the Beczak Environmental Center today when we spotted a small dead fish in the mud.

We had to investigate. It turned out to be a juvenile (117 mm) spotted hake (Urophysis regia). We don't think of this species as being common in the Hudson estuary, so we were surprised to find one. This specimen was preserved and is now on its way to the New York State Museum collection in Albany.
- Bob Schmidt, Alec Schmidt

[The spotted hake is one of eight members of the cod family (Gadidae) documented for the Hudson River estuary. Among the other seven are some familiar names such as the Atlantic cod, the Atlantic tomcod, and pollock, as well as silver hake ("whiting"), red hake ("ling"), white hake, and fourbeard rockling. All are considered to be marine strays except for the tomcod, a migratory diadromous species that enters the estuary each fall to spawn under the winter ice. Tom Lake.]

4/6 - Feura Bush, Albany County, HRM 135: I was hanging out laundry for the first time this year when I spied something in the sky. Way up in the sky, just soaring around, the sun hit it just right and there was no mistaking the white head and tail. It was an adult bald eagle, the first I've seen and I have been looking. I watched as it soared toward the southwest. I wonder if it was headed to the Albany Alcove Reservoir, or possibly Onesquethaw Creek, just a quarter mile away.
- Roberta S. Jeracka

4/6 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: Our research net shared the narrow confines of Hunter's Brook this evening with a pair of gorgeous wood ducks. We had a nice collection of 22 glass eels but I felt guilty having to roust the wood ducks to get at them.
- Tom Lake

4/6 - Haverstraw Bay, HRM 38: Word came in from the river today that a netter had caught the first "bunker" (menhaden) of the spring. There was a time when the initial appearance of mossbunker, a marine herring, signaled the beginning of the end of the shad season. This year is coincided with the start.
- Robert Gabrielson Sr.

[Atlantic menhaden are a species of herring that spawn in salt to brackish water. Adults, also known regionally as mossbunker or pogies, and their young-of-the-year, known colloquially as peanut bunker or penny bunker, are found by the millions in the estuary in summer, providing forage for striped bass, bluefish, osprey, eagles and seals.Tom Lake.]

4/7 - Newcomb, HRM 302: We are at 21" at the snow stick, down 4" since yesterday! Rotting snow is everywhere, and roadsides are deep in sand left behind by the disappearing snowbanks. I heard the honk of a couple of Canada geese last night and again this morning, but I have yet to see a flock flying overhead.
- Ellen Rathbone

4/7 - Hunter's Brook, HRM 67.5: As the sun set over Wappinger Creek tidewater, five Roy C. Ketcham High School A.P. Biology and Environment students helped us check our eel net in Hunter's Brook. This was the evening after the new moon and with the strong tides and rise in water temperature (52 degrees F) we had high hopes. We felt more than saw the elusive glass eels in the bag of the net and carefully moved them to our collection bucket to be counted and weighed. We put 9 of them into a small glass jar and then watched as they performed an enthralling ballet, a graceful writhing. As dusk arrived and we re-set the net preparing to leave, a single little brown bat (Myotis) flitted among us along the narrow stream corridor.
- Chris Bowser, Samantha Deger, Jennifer Edwards, Amanda Faughnan, Kathryn Goerge, Kayla Rath, Tom Lake

[Glass eels arrive by the millions in the estuary each spring following a six-month to year-long journey from the greater Sargasso Sea area of the North Atlantic where they are born. Glass eel is a colloquial name, owing to their lack of pigment and near transparency. These are juvenile American eels returning to the estuaries of their ancestors along the east coast of North America. In anywhere from 12-30 years, depending upon their sex, they will leave the Hudson River watershed for the sea where we believe they will spawn once and then die. Tom Lake.]

4/7 - Newburgh, HRM 61: From a hilltop along the river in mid-afternoon, I was able to see "the river that flows both ways." At the top of the flood tide, during the reversal of the current from flood to ebb, the inshore waters were already a turbid tan. The physics of the near shore shallows had prompted the current to change to an ebb there while out in the deeper mid-river, with more inertia to overcome, the clear current was still flooding upstream.
- Tom Lake

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
Fishin' on the River! Seine netting and angling. All equipment provided. Free.
- April 26: 3:00-5:00 PM

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free.
Information:845-889-4745, x105.
- May 1: Life on the Edge: Small Mammals in Hudson Tidal Wetlands, Cathy McGlynn

Spring 2008 Hudson River Shad Bakes

• May 3: 16th annual, Inwood Park, Manhattan, NYC 1:00 PM.
• May 4: 22nd annual, Alpine Boat Basin, Palisades Interstate Park, Alpine, NJ 1:00 PM.
• May 10: 21st annual, Riverfront Park, Nyack, NY, 1:00 PM.
• May 11: 2nd annual, Erasmus Corning Park, Albany, NY, 1:00 PM.
• May 18: 18th annual, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1:00 PM.

For information, call (212) 483-7667.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
March 25 - 31, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

One of the thrills of Hudson Valley birding is to come upon a field of migrating snow geese. They are seen much more often as a high-flying white checkmark against the blue sky as they head south in autumn or north in springtime to Arctic breeding grounds. As uncommon as this is, we had two such sightings this week. The first glass eels, a rather ephemeral juvenile form of the American eel, arrived in the river's tributaries. This is the next chapter in their mysterious life history that began six months ago in the mid-Atlantic, a mile below the surface, or so we think.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF A PREVIOUS WEEK >>>>>

3/23 - Saugerties Lighthouse, HRM 102: I spotted a river otter swimming in the mouth of the Esopus Creek this morning. Its swift and undulating motions were unmistakable. After swimming at the surface for awhile, it dove and reemerged near our dock, swimming along the bulkhead. An hour later, I noticed a ripple in the water along the bulkhead and went to investigate. While I waited for what I hoped was the otter to reemerge, I noticed a bald eagle perched in a tree on the other side of the creek.Add to the scene red-winged blackbirds flying from the marsh to visit our bird feeder, 4 mute swans milling about in the mouth of the creek, and a dozen swallows skimming the water's surface. Eventually, the river otter reappeared, stuck its head up out of the water, looked around, and dove back under.- Patrick Landewe

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

3/25 - Saugerties Vly, HRM 104: I encountered our first-of-season Compton tortoiseshell butterflies flying in sunshine in an overgrown red cedar-shrub field adjacent to deciduous woodlands in extreme northern Ulster County, 250 yards south of the Greene County line. I was checking the field for woodcock when I heard one "peenting" nearby at the unlikely hour of 2:15 PM on a sunny afternoon. There was also a very cooperative Wilson's snipe foraging on one of the beaver dams, obligingly posing for a photo, and a male northern harrier ("grayghost") hunting the cattail beds out in the marsh.- Steve M. Chorvas

3/25 - Highlands Lakes State Park, HRM 60: I saw my first turtles of the season today, 2 painted turtles basking on logs, enjoying the afternoon sun, in an old farm pond in Orange County. I was so surprised, since it seemed so chilly still; I had to get my binoculars just to be sure!- Laura Heady

3/25 - Staten Island, New York City: Even though these would be a ho-hum sighting anywhere else, I just cannot get enough of the turkey vultures that greet me almost daily as I enter Ft. Wadsworth. It could be simply a bad omen, but it's hard to see it that way as they glide by so buoyantly.- Dave Taft

3/26 - Northern Saugerties Township, HRM 102: I spotted another eastern comma in northern Ulster County today, this time in my yard. This particular butterfly spent more time basking in the sunlight, allowing me to get off a few photos. Though the photos reveal some minor wear to the tip of one hind wing, this individual was in remarkably good shape for one that flew last fall, then spent the last several months hibernating in a crevice. - Steve M. Chorvas

3/27 - Kinderhook, HRM 128: I spotted some hooded mergansers, a bufflehead, and hundreds of common mergansers in Kinderhook Lake. An immature bald eagle flew across the lake and started to extend its legs into the water when several ring-billed gulls chased it off. I watched a flock of a few hundred snow geese fly over the top of our hill.- Cris Winters

3/27 - Stockport Flats, HRM 122: As I scouted along the Hudson I stopped at Stockport Flats. There were many mallards in the shallow water between the bare mud beds of the dormant yellow water lily and the arrow arum. Wood ducks could be heard and seen. Song sparrows were singing away, reminding me of marsh wrens.- Cris Winter

3/27 - Saw Kill, HRM 98.5: Catherine O'Reilly and her Bard College students have been monitoring an eel fyke net that was set in the mouth of the Saw Kill 12 days ago. Today they caught their first glass eel of the spring. - Bob Schmidt

[Freshwater eels have survived global cataclysms for millions of year but now some populations appear to be diminishing, even disappearing, worldwide and no one knows why. While American eels are considered freshwater fish, they are born at sea and many of them spend much of their lives in tidewater. Each spring, millions of immature eels ascend tidewater from the sea along the entire coast of North America. Their near lack of pigment has earned them the name "glass eel." This is a particularly vulnerable time and little is known about this period in their life history. Our annual research in Hudson River tributaries is designed to understand some facets of the life of American eels. It is difficult to protect them as a species when you know so little about them. Tom Lake.]

3/27 - Newburgh, HRM 61: The sky was overcast but the temperature was a mild 48 degrees F as a gentle breeze ruffled the waters of a secluded wooded pond near Stewart Airport. A census of waterfowl in this pond revealed 2 Canada geese, several mallards, 4 hooded mergansers and a pair of northern pintails. On the nearby grassy slope were several robins, while a fox sparrow foraged near to the shelter of a fence row.- Ed Spaeth

3/28 - Minerva, HRM 284: Peepers in full voice? Salamanders rutting and frisking in vernal pools? Butterflies on the wing? Where? I noted these occurrences in the latest Almanac. However, in Minerva we were still looking at close to three feet of snow on the ground in the open, seven feet under the eves. The best we could do was a very confused-looking killdeer on an ice-covered parking lot a few houses away. The killdeer was bright with spring plumage, but looked very lost. Our maple taps thawed today; the sap is hesitant, but sweet.- Mike Corey

3/28 - New Baltimore, HRM 131.5: It started last night as a cool light drizzle. By midnight it had turned to a sleet/drizzle combo. And by morning the ground was covered with a layer of crunchy snow, sleet, ice and slush. Pretty, but not fun. The birds liked it though. They were lined up waiting for me to dish out cracked corn and sunflower seeds. I was soon inundated with hordes of grackles and red-winged blackbirds pushing and shoving to get to that morsel. An occasional mourning dove tried bravely to elbow in with some success. That dainty little bird has some chutzpah. It was worth the price of admission just to see the dove evade blackbird beaks now and again. Soon, though it became too much.The dove either was satisfied or discouraged enough to leave the table.White-throated and song sparrows were satisfied to feed in the sanctuary under the fir tree boughs.- Rich Guthrie

3/28 - Tivoli, HRM 100.5: Driving east on Kidd Lane in late afternoon near Tivoli Bays, a large dark-haired creature wandered into my path. At first I thought it was a rather large skunk as it waddled across the road. As I got closer, I realized it was a very large beaver. It lumbered across the road into a clearing and then into some brush. Its size, its shining black coat, very wet and oily, and that amazing tail were an incredible and exciting sight.- Rich Schiafo

3/28 - Columbia County, HRM 125: It was raining tonight so we went out looking for amphibians. There were few available but we did find our first spotted salamander and Jefferson's salamander of the year.- Bob Schmidt, Alec Schmidt

3/28 - Cold Spring, HRM xx: Walking along the edge of a large hayfield this morning, we realized that the “white line” in the middle of the field where the contour changed, was a flock of 60 snow geese. Within a few minutes, with much excited honking, they were joined by another one hundred or so winging in from the south. When they were spooked by a kestrel we could see that two of them were gray phase snow geese, a form also known as a blue goose. - Ralph Odell, Leslie Heanue

3/28 - Bronx, New York City: Dave Kunstler and I were searching for rare plants in Pelham Bay when a large female harrier swept past us and made us look up. Amid dozens of robins was a monk parakeet (parrot). As we headed back out, we saw our first phoebe of the season, perched on a fence-line.- Dave Taft

3/29 - Indian Kill, HRM 85: The NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program and National Estuarine Research Reserve, along with high school students, are studying the migration of juvenile glass eels into several Dutchess County tributaries. Today, our first glass eel was caught on the Indian Kill, which flows into the Hudson at Norrie Point. The two-inch-long eel was almost completely transparent except for its eyes and a line of small dark specks along its length. The water temperature was 47 degrees F.- Chris Bowser

3/29 - Pleasant Valley, HRM 75: I was excited to see, despite continuing cold temperatures (23 degrees F this morning with a dusting of snow!) that the male goldfinches that have been coming to my feeder all winter are beginning to change from their drab olive plumage to bright yellow. A true sign of spring! - Kathy Kraft

3/29 - Beacon, HRM 61: While walking southward along the Riverside Trail, the brisk northwest wind was at my back. On my return I was glad for layered clothing that kept the chill away. During my walk I encountered robins foraging, crows flying, red-winged blackbirds singing, cardinals and mourning doves foraging, and a pair of mallards swimming in a trackside slough. Swimming past me close to shore in Hudson was a river otter. It dove underwater briefly and then headed for the tree-lined shore. I lost sight of it, but it may have a home in a culvert or bank-side hollow.- Ed Spaeth

3/30 - Cohoes, HRM 157: We stopped by the falls at Cohoes hoping to see an eagle or two. The falls were roaring away, plumes of mist rising upward and the chilly waters roiling with savage speed. No eagles were seen, but we did see some huge greater black-backed gulls with heavy bodies and enormous wingspans. We left the falls and were driving back through Cohoes when I looked up and saw an adult bald eagle soaring above the city! The eagle glided and soared on thermals for a good ten minutes until suddenly making a straight line for the Mohawk River. The bird flew over the old mill area and dove toward the water. I lost view because of the roof tops. The eagle had a surprising amount of speed, especially in the dive. A great show!- Pat Van Alstyne

3/30 - Saugerties, HRM 102: On our walk along the trail leading to the Saugerties lighthouse we saw river otter scat along the boardwalk to the dock. There were also tracks and tunnels. - Virginia Luppino

3/30 High Falls, Ulster County, HRM 85: It was a gorgeous spring day with mild temperatures in the high 40s. While walking along the old towpath of the abandoned Delaware and Hudson Canal in High Falls, we noted the emergence of skunk cabbage in the damp environs of the canal bed. For the same reason that the skunk cabbage is beginning to open, an early rising little brown bat was seeking flying insects, surprised as we were at its appearance in broad daylight. Later, as we crossed Rondout Creek in Rosendale, we saw another little brown bat flitting above the bridge and the creek. - Merrill Spaeth, Ed Spaeth

3/30 - Black Creek, Ulster County, HRM 82: The vernal pools were alive at the Black Creek preserve. There were a few peepers and a noisy bunch of "quackers" (wood frogs). The spotted salamanders had begun their yearly pilgrimage. You could see the spermatophores deposited by the early-arriving males. Red-spotted salamanders [newts] were also swimming around at Shaupeneak. - Peter Relson, Carol Anderson

3/30 - Columbia County, HRM 125: Many birders were discussing the "red invasion" this winter, referencing the large contingent of northern species around this year. We had 3 red-breasted nuthatches most of the winter in our feeder until they left about two weeks ago. Today another "red" appeared, a common redpoll. A number of people have been reporting redpolls, but this was the first one to visit us.- Bob Schmidt

3/30 - Staten Island, New York City: Though still cold, spring was definitely in the air as Ray Matarazzo and I set out to explore a newly acquired piece of property. Tracts this size are rare enough in the city, but this was a healthy woodland with lots of grassy edges to boot.One of the highlights included an emergence of fire flies! Dozens of these beetles clambered about slowly, jockeying for a position among the first shoots of trout lily and Canada mayflower at the base of an old oak. The southern exposure had heated the ground significantly, and beetles were everywhere. I stooped to photograph them and was covered in an instant. My camera, my arms, my jeans. Ray and I agreed it was a wonderful spring initiation - baptism by firefly! We also found three species of Lycopodium, Spiranthes orchid rosettes (probably Cernua), and some beautiful old beech trees that had miraculously escaped the ardent pen-knives of Staten Islanders.- Dave Taft

3/31 - Sandy Hook, NJ: This was the 33rd annual last-Monday-in-March bird species count to celebrate the return of Sandy Hook ospreys as well as eat a mess of squid, squid salad, squid in spaghetti sauce, and squid sautéed. It was cool, 42 degrees F, drizzly, breezy with a northwest wind at 15 mph, and mostly dismal. We recorded 44 species, near our record low of 42, and we added no new species to our 32 year cumulative of 149. Among the notable sightings were red-throated and common loons, northern gannets, great egrets, oystercatchers, tree swallows, fish crows, and piping plovers. Raptors were noticeably absent with only northern harrier showing up, and we failed to spot a pigeon (rock dove) for the first time since we started counting back in 1974. - Dery Bennett

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg.
Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
Fishin’ on the River! Seine netting and angling. All equipment provided. Free.
- April 26: 3:00-5:00 PM

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:845-889-4745, x105.
- May 1: Life on the Edge: Small Mammals in Hudson Tidal Wetlands, Cathy McGlynn

Spring 2008 Hudson River Shad Bakes
- May 3: 16th annual, Inwood Park, Manhattan, NYC 1:00 PM.
- May 4: 22nd annual, Englewood Boat Basin, Palisades Interstate Park, Alpine, NJ 1:00 PM.
- May 10: 21st annual, Riverfront Park, Nyack, NY, 1:00 PM.
- May 11: 2nd annual, Erasmus Corning Park, Albany, NY, 1:00 PM.
- May 18: 18th annual, Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, 1:00 PM.
For information, call (212) 483-7667.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
March 19 - 26, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

In a week full of eagles, harbor seals, and "monster" waterfowl migrations, we must give the amphibians their due! The first warm rains of late March launched spring peepers into song and sent frogs and salamanders on their annual journey to mate in vernal pools, wetlands, and ponds.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

3/19 - New Paltz, HRM 78: Driving home from a trip to Manhattan, the sight of a few salamanders crossing the road tipped me that tonight was the night. A soft drizzling rain had fallen all day and continued as I went to a local vernal pool around midnight. The pool was still covered with ice on three sides but a thin sliver of open water on one side drew my attention. That is traditionally the best spot to find salamanders and, sure enough, they were there, not in large numbers but 20-30 of them were visible. Perhaps many more were hidden below the ice.Continuing around the pond I found another shallow depression with a few inches of water and salamanders arriving enthusiastically every few minutes. Hopefully I will see larger numbers on the next rainy night as the temperature warms.
- Fran Dunwell

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

3/19 - Columbia County, HRM 118: Given that the calender said spring was imminent, and it was raining, we went out on a road known for amphibians. We saw and removed about 40 wood frogs and spring peepers from the road in about an hour. Good to see them again!
- Bob Schmidt, Kathy Schmidt, Margot Boucher, Alec Schmidt

3/20 - Cheviot, HRM 106: I spotted a pair of redhead ducks nearly at my feet at Cheviot Landing. I looked for more among the mass of waterfowl but could not locate any. This was a monster waterfowl day with a mix of canvasbacks, ring-necked ducks, and common goldeneyes.
- Mimi Brauch

3/20 - North Germantown, HRM 109: A pair of adult bald eagles have become almost a fixture here. There may be a nest nearby.
- Mimi Brauch

3/20 - Red Hook, HRM 98: (From the Red Hook Journal, March 20, 1868) Navigation Opens! The ice in the Hudson broke up very suddenly on Monday night and on Tuesday nearly all the ice in the river was in pieces.Considerable damage was done along the shore by the breaking up of the ice and high water. When the ice moved out of the Rondout Creek, canal boats, etc., were carried down the stream, and several canal boats were sunk. Near Castleton, the water and ice covered the railroad tracks for some distance, to the depth of four feet, so that no trains were able to pass for three days. The river, is now nearly free from ice, and navigation will soon be fully open.
- Maynard Ham

3/20 - Newburgh, HRM 60: A pond at Stewart Airport in a wooded area on the north side of the airfield, now ice-free, had attracted a pair of Canada geese and at least one hooded merganser. The merganser was diving in the water. Last year around this time at this same pond I noted that a pair of hooded mergansers were active.
- Ed Spaeth

3/21 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: The full moon came a day late, but the vagaries of the moon and the equinox are broad enough to say they coincide. A cold and relentless northwest wind blew all night and at dawn it was still bending trees. The wind plus the air temperature combine? to make it feel like zero Fahrenheit. It had been another night for eagle endurance. The new nest, only half-size in comparison with the old nest, seemed to have plenty of drafty openings where patching was necessary. The ground around the tulip tree was littered with twigs and branches of all sizes, leading me to wonder if the wind was doing a little dismantling. It bears watching.
- Tom Lake

3/22 - Saugerties, HRM 102: I was checking vernal pools and a reliable pond for amphibians this afternoon (those I found were swarming with red-spotted newts and bullfrog tadpoles) when I encountered my first flying adult butterfly of the year. An eastern comma flushed from my path out to an open utility cut, flew a few yards and alighted for a decent view. The utility cut is bordered by mixed woodlands on both sides, and is located at the very northern edge of Ulster County.
- Steve M. Chorvas

3/22 - Black Creek, Ulster County, HRM 82: On a public interpretive hike at Scenic Hudson's Black Creek Preserve, I heard my first spring peepers and wood frogs calling this season. They were in two different vernal pools closer to the Hudson River than to Black Creek. A third pool in the park, Hemlock Pool, had a quite few small masses of salamander eggs clinging to branches in the water - definitely spotted salamanders and perhaps even some Jefferson's. There were several members of the "spotted crowd" hanging out nearby in the water. The male salamanders had deposited their spermatophores a few days earlier. The wonders of the vernal pools never cease to amaze!
- Susan Hereth

3/22 - Port Ewen, HRM 88: I was unhappily awake before dawn, so I took my dog to Freer Park where the glow of sunrise began to reflect in the Hudson and in the ripples of mud at the shore. An exuberant chorus of birdsong told me spring had already arrived for some creatures, despite the sub-freezing chill. It was hard to regret the lost sleep after that.
- Dan Shapley

3/22 - Gardiner, HRM 73: On a walk this morning, we spotted a Compton tortoise shell butterfly! Seems a little to early for these guys to be waking up from overwintering.
- Rebecca Houser, Brian Houser

3/22 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: After three days of steady and strong west-northwest winds, a blowout tide pretty much emptied the lower end of the tidal Wappinger. A small group of black ducks were walking around in the exposed mud flats foraging.
- Tom Lake

3/22 - Beacon, HRM 61: During an afternoon walk along the riverside trail to Denning's Point, I heard woodcock calling, but I could not see them from my vantage point near the bridge over the railroad tracks.They might very well have been right there in the leaf litter near a secluded pond or even under the railroad bridge, but they were not visible to me.
- Ed Spaeth

3/22 - Manhattan, HRM 5.5: We had our second harbor seal of the season hauled out on a kayak dock off West 72nd Street. It has been here for a week (see 1/28). The seal slips off into the river, swims around, dives, and hauls back out onto the dock. It is so wonderful to see this beautiful animal. We also have a nesting pair of red-tail hawks who have built their nest in a honey locust tree along the on-ramp to the West Side Highway. The female is sitting on eggs. As the male flies in, the female leaves and he sits on the eggs.
- Leslie Day

3/23 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 74: Almost as an afterthought, I went to see if the northern shrikes were still at Vassar Farm (see 1/12 - 1/13). The one by the gate was not there; however the other by field station was still hanging around. It was still making the circuit in the riparian area, particularly fond of the big grouping of dead trees in the middle. It seemed to be flying almost leisurely. At one point, right after landing on a perch, a black bird flew nearby calling repeatedly.It was red-winged in size, but through binoculars I saw the yellow iris a?d no wing patches: rusty blackbird! This was a preview of something that will be taking place, many times over, a couple of months from now and hundreds of miles north.
- Bill Lenhart

3/23 - Westchester County, HRM 34: Today, finally, the spring peepers were in full chorus in Glendale Swamp.
- Mimi Rosenwald

3/23 - Croton on Hudson, HRM 35: What a beautiful way to wake up Easter morning! A pair of bluebirds were checking out the nesting box in my backyard. What a joy to watch these magnificent birds, their brightly colored feathers glistening in that first morning light, as they engaged in their yearly rituals. I keep my fingers crossed that they stick around this year...
- Leen Provost

3/23 - Sandy Hook, NJ: This morning, between the bird feeders and the back door, there was an almost perfect circle of bird feathers on the grass, marking the last seconds in the life of a mourning dove and a hearty breakfast for a raptor, probably the neighborhood sharp-shinned hawk.
- Dery Bennett

3/24 Newcomb, HRM 302: We are still sitting at 30" at the snowstick, and when I misstep off the beaten paths, I crash through into snow about mid-thigh deep. I'll be glad when it has melted. Lots of sunshine lately, but the days and nights have been cold. I've seen snow buntings, red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, grackles, and I swear I even saw a starling. They have learned that I have food. They also seem very appreciative of the water in the heated birdbath. A suggestion to those who are considering purchasing a heated birdbath: Don't get the small one! Shuck out the extra money and get the full-size birdbath. It doesn't need refilling as often, and can service many more birds at one time.
- Ellen Rathbone

3/24 - Ulster Park, HRM 87: Coltsfoot was just beginning to bloom near our house.
- Bill Drakert

3/24 - Sandy Hook, NJ: On the way into work today, I spotted five rowboats with anglers fishing for winter flounder in the Navesink River.On Sandy Hook, northern gannets seemed to be aimlessly flying close to the beach. A half-mile offshore there was a great swath of gannets sitting on the water with a few flying overhead but none diving. It looked as if they had all just finished a strenuous feed and were resting up for the next assault.
- Dery Bennett

3/24 - New Paltz, HRM 78: Traveling along the New York State Thruway on my way home from work, I saw what I first thought to be a large brown ball rolling across the highway. Then I realized it was not rolling, but was instead scurrying and dodging fast moving traffic. A muskrat, trying to reach the safety of the center median.
-Reba Wynn Laks

3/24 - Crugers, HRM 38.5: Looking out our front window, we noticed an extra large buck in our neighbor's yard. He was the size of a small pony. In the moonlight, we could see that he had very large antlers and was devouring every crocus in the yard. Then he moved on to the shrubs.Later, I could hear the clip-clop of hooves on the blacktop as a herd was scattering down the street.
- Dianne Picciano, Phil Picciano

[White-tailed deer shed their antlers in late winter and then re-grow new ones during the summer and fall. Tom Lake]

3/25 - Newcomb, HRM 302: The air temperature fell to -4 degrees F tonight, but the stars were amazing. I heard no coyotes this time, however. For the last two nights they were in full voice, sounding like hundreds right outside the windows.
- Ellen Rathbone

3/25 - Columbia County, HRM 125: I was driving up the Taconic Parkway when I noticed a red-winged blackbird walking across some skim ice on a small pond. He slipped twice on the slick ice, which I found humorous, but I also identified with him. I guess all of us bipedal organisms have similar problems.
- Bob Schmidt

3/26 - Town of Pleasant Valley, HRM 75: Two ice-free vernal pools, 2000 yards apart, on? at 350' above sea level and the other at 516': At the lower pool, the wood frogs had moved in and spring mating was in fullforce: several clusters of 4-12 together and in full chorus. Frogs are quite docile and you can approach them to within a few feet and net them very easily - do not expect that in another week. Fairy shrimp were in abundance. The upper pool is a closed conifer and blueberry environment and no activity had begun as yet.
- John R. Mort

3/26 - Town of Wappinger: Although it was early morning, it was a warm sun that peeked over the trees and lit up the new eagle nest. Mama was incubating and the sun reflected from her big white head. She appears all the larger this spring as she sits in a smaller nest. The river was calm and in the absence of a cold west wind, I read her expression as serene rather that the pensive look of a few days ago.
- Tom Lake

3/26 - Annsville Bay, HRM 43.5: From the window of our car aboard the morning Metro North commuter train to Manhattan, we saw an immature bald eagle flying low over the water, its white spots clearly visible.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

3/26 - Manhattan, HRM 5.5: Just when we figured the seal had left and was chasing herring up the river, it appeared again today, hauled out on the kayak dock off West 72nd Street. Kim Durham, of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, viewed a digital photo and told us this was a yearling harbor seal.
- Lelsie Day

[To report a marine mammal sighting, call the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation's 24-hour Hotline, (631) 369-9829.]

<<<<< SPRING 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Norrie Point Environmental Center, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg.Information 845-889-4745, ext:105.
Fishin' on the River! Seine netting and angling. All equipment provided. Free.
- April 26: 3:00-5:00 PM

Tivoli Bays Visitor Center. Free. Handicapped accessible. Information:845-889-4745, ext:105.
- Saturday, March 29, 1:00-2:00 PM: River Otters on the Hudson.

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:845-889-4745, x105.
- April 3: A Visit with John Burroughs, Jack Maguire

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
March 12 - 20, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

As the vernal equinox arrived we began year fifteen of the Hudson River Almanac, a natural history journal that seeks to capture the spirit, magic, and science of the Hudson River watershed from the High Peaks of the Adirondacks to the sea. A formidable goal. We do not capture it all, but then no one journal could. To try would be to underestimate the breadth of the subject. If we can document those moments that define the seasons, we will have done a good and interesting job.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

3/12 - Breakneck Ridge, HRM 56: I love Breakneck and the Hudson Highlands this time of year. At sunset, Storm King throws its shadow on Mount Taurus. From on top we were able to look down on both black and turkey vultures soaring.
- Scott Craven, Anthony Stern

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

3/12 - Putnam Valley, HRM 55.5: Today I heard the other sounds a common crow makes. The usual call we all know is a harsh "caw," but there is also a variety of rattles, coos, and clear notes. The sounds I heard were so interesting and attractive that I found it impossible to imagine they came from the crow sitting on the roof, except that the bird showed specific body movement coordinated with each different sound. The Cornell sound track doesn't do justice to the charming non-caw sounds.They have cured me of thinking of crows as the avian equiv?lent of horn-honking urban drivers. Would that Canada geese (they returned en masse this week.) also had a redemptive melodious aspect.
- Nancy P. Durr

3/12 - Sandy Hook, NJ: The English have long practiced the art of beach-bird sitting. They pick a winter beach, don every bit of wool they can find, and watch the ocean for hours. It's the opposite of ripping around the countryside missing things. I beach-sat for half an hour at lunchtime today and lucked on to a parade of 80 northern gannets gliding north 50-100 yards offshore in their favorite weather condition: winds of more than 15 mph. They made the less numerous herring gulls look clumsy. Then, a flock of shorebirds, probably sanderlings, also heading northward. Lastly, about 30 brant, reminding me just how fast waterfowl can fly. They were also going north up the beach. They usually do not make their migratory push until late May. Two red-eared, empty handed surf fishermen walked off the beach - no striped bass yet.
- Dery Bennett

3/13 - Knox, Albany County: Canada geese were setting up nesting territories, though our 15-acre freshwater pond remained nearly 100% ice-covered.
- Dave Nelson

3/13 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: As the waxing quarter moon strayed in and out of high cirrus clouds I was reminded that spring was right around the corner. I saw my first robin, a harbinger of spring for me.Upon the setting of the moon, Canada geese, on their trip northward, awkwardly settled into the nearby wetlands.
- Jasper Fox

3/13 - East Fishkill, HRM 64: Throughout the winter we have had one or two common redpolls at our feeder every few days, along with the goldfinches. Yesterday there were a dozen redpolls at once, leaving no room on the thistle feeder for the goldfinches. Then today there were 20, so many that a few had to resort to other seeds from the other feeder and even dropped seeds on the ground. They were swooping in and out of the yard on and off all day. Will there be even more tomorrow or were these on their way north to their breeding territory?
- Carolyn Plage

3/13 - Beacon, HRM 61: The winter is over on Long Dock. Today I caught a channel catfish, 3.75 lb, 22" long, a healthy, robust fish. It looks like one of the larger male catfish I catch here from time to time.
- Bill Greene

3/14 - Albany, HRM 145: I heard a song sparrow singing this afternoon, the first I've heard this spring.
- Dave Nelson

3/14 - Hyde Park, HRM 82: All day I had seen the signs, geese and ducks pairing off in the marshes, crows flying overhead with large twigs, cardinals calling from high in the trees, but this evening was the kicker. As I went out to close the garage door, there it was, the sweet sound of spring: peepers!
- Susan Maresca

3/14 - Putnam Valley, HRM 55.5: My first chipmunk of the spring emerged and found some nourishment at the base of the bird feeder.
- Nancy P. Durr

3/14 - Staten Island, New York City: This is increasingly the island of wonderful mysteries to me. I've always loved it, but as I grow to know it better, I find myself consulting old maps, making new naturalist acquaintances and friends. Today Ray Matarazzo of the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences and I took a walk through an unlikely looking ballfield, and found a beautiful natural grassland after trudging through endless mugwort. In the grassland we found Spiranthes orchids just leafing out after a winter dormancy, a red-tailed hawk, 5 woodcock (who scared us each five times), a very early nymphalid butterfly, perhaps a question mark, solitary bees, and the topper, a dead common shrew who had died on the sandy path between sites.
- Dave Taft

3/15 - Minerva, HRM 284: I tapped a couple of fine maple trees today and got maybe a half gallon of sap. Said sap froze the next day and has been quite solid since. It wa? 14 degrees F at my house today and there is still 2-3 feet of really heavy snow on the ground.
- Mike Corey

3/15 - Ulster Park, HRM 85: We had a fox sparrow at the feeder today.We do not see them often but, if we do, it is usually in March.
- Bill Drakert, Fran Drakert

3/15 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 74: Early this morning I watched a large "dog"go from behind my house down to the stream on the Springside Landscape Restoration site. It was grayish, had a beautiful bushy tail with a black tip and black at the base. Plenty of white-tailed deer take that route. The squirrels were all 20' up in the trees scolding. The coyote trotted along with a most beautiful, easy, rhythmic grace.
- Anne P. Strain

3/15 - Putnam Valley, HRM 55.5: Two red-tailed hawks were doing a soaring, mostly effortless, skillful ballet across a 100 degree arc of the sky today. It was an avian version of pair-figure skating. They moved with vertical changes using the thermals, sometimes far apart, sometimes close, and in three dimensions but without a lift from a partner, just the shared thermals.
- Nancy P. Durr

3/15 - Queens, New York City: Inspired by yesterday's explorations, I looked for similar sandy shoreline soils at Fort Tilden, and was rewarded with more Spiranthes rosettes (Spiranthes cernua). This is a fairly abundant species, if you know where to look. Two fine sharp-shinned hawks, courting with each other, flew overhead as I started off the trail and remained visible for what seemed like long minutes as ocean sounds ands pring scents filled the air.
- Dave Taft

3/16 - Town of Fishkill, HRM 63.5: The spring peepers were peeping this morning at Stony Kill Farm for the first time this year. I could actually count that there were only three chirping away.
- Andra Sramek

3/17 - Ulster Park, HRM 85: The sun is bright and getting higher in the sky every day. The first crocuses have appeared to join our snowdrops.
- Bill Drakert, Fran Drakert

3/18 - Town of Wappinger: This afternoon the "new" NY62 eagle nest appeared to be empty. That is a no-no for incubating birds eggs. After a while, I found the male perched on the shoulder of the "old" nest, not far away. He sat there for a while, then took off, flew right over my head, chirping, made a wide arc, and headed toward the new nest. Odd doings.
- Tom Lake

3/18 - Rockwood Hall, Westchester County, HRM 31: I could hear spring peepers while walking in Rockefeller Preserve in early afternoon. On the way back, on the same trail, I spotted a coyote.
- Joan Coffey

3/18 - Staten Island, New York City: As I was leaving Fort Wadsworth, a large turkey vulture with its typical "V" dihedral, tipped and glided over the guard booth of the park. Later, making my way up Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights, a large sharp-shinned hawk crossed Atlantic Avenue before the light allowed me to follow.
- Dave Taft

3/18 - Sandy Hook, NJ: Sometime within the past three days, the last of more than 10,000 greater scaup deserted their wintering coves on the backside of Sandy Hook and headed north toward the Arctic. This was the first time in 40 years of noticing that I have not seen a canvasback in any of the usual haunts. In general, counts of long-tail ducks, common goldeneyes, and red-breasted mergansers were low.
- Dery Bennett

3/19 - New Paltz, HRM 78: We made our way out in the pouring rain tonight to see if the spotted salamanders were making their first attempt at migrating to the vernal pools. We were only expecting to see a few, but to our surprise we helped two dozen cross the road. We hiked through the woods to see if there were any in the pools yet and found a few swimming around, as well as many newts. The best sighting of the night was a big fat Jefferson salamander that we helped cross the road. - Rebecca Houser, Brian Houser

3/19 - Town of Wappinger: In a cold, driving rain at midday I peered through binoculars at the female in the new eagle nest. We have tentatively designated this one NY62B, after the old nest, now NY62A. It would seem that it is the same mated pair. She was facing me, albeit at 500 feet, hunkered down, looking wet and miserable. It is during March each year that we get a full appreciation of how resilient these birds are. For a month, they sit all day, all night, in what is usually frightful weather, waiting for their eggs to hatch.
- Tom Lake

3/19 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: Snow drops, sweeping borders of them, were blooming, edging their way up from their winter leaf blanket. I brought a little clutch of them indoors yesterday. To my surprise, I find they have a lovely, sweet scent!
- Robin Fox

3/19 Sandy Hook, NJ: The first resident osprey of the season arrived this afternoon, called a few times, and later landed on a nearby building roof with a big, fat menhaden (i.e., bunker, pogy, fatback).The timing is just about right, though over the years their arrival date has moved up about seven days. The first osprey day is part of a springtime frenzy: St Patrick's Day, the equinox, the annual Squid and Spaghetti supper, the March 26 bird species count on the Hook, and the opening of winter flounder season.
- Dery Bennett

Osprey Return to Sandy Hook, NJ

1988 - 3/25		1998 - 3/25
1989 - 3/21		1999 - 3/24
1990 - 3/21		2000 - 3/16
1991 - 3/19		2001 - 3/19
1992 - 3/25		2002 - 3/25
1993 - 3/30		2003 - 3/24
1994 - 3/29		2004 - 3/22
1995 - 3/22		2005 - 3/24
1996 - 3/28		2006 - 3/23
1997 - 3/27		2007 - 3/23
		2008 - 3/19

3/20 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Just so I could say I did, I got up at 00:48 this morning, walked out on my deck in light rain, and noted not a thing had changed. Just a half hour earlier a pair of coyotes had been chorusing - they really do yip-yip-yip - and I had hoped they would keep it up just so I could have something to consider. But they tossed in the towel a few minutes early. The vernal equinox had arrived, and with it began our 15th year of the Hudson River Almanac.
- Tom Lake

3/20 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: With all of the rain and runoff of the past week, it has been difficult to distinguish high tide from low tide. Today the creek was out into the flood plain and two Canada geese were swimming furiously in a foot of water normally a footpath along the bank. I had to wonder if their nest was under water.
- Tom Lake

3/20 - Town of Wappinger: The new, or transplanted, bald eagle nest(NY62B) is near the top of a tulip tree, or yellow poplar. It is a "soft" wood but sturdy in comparison to the white pine where their old nest still resides. On a windy day that white pine will list back and forth until you wonder how it does not snap. In the face of a strong northwest wind today, the tulip tree stood its ground. Mama still has that stoic look as she endures the rigors of incubation.
- Tom Lake

3/20 - Queens, New York City: For me, the vernal equinox has rarely coincided with the first real signs of spring. My car was covered with the shed bud scales of a neighboring calary pe?r as I drove off to work this morning. The rain of the last few days had clearly started the buds opening. As I parked and headed into my office, I was greeted with a busy flock of robins who were eating the proverbial “early worms” of spring. Dozens of still living earthworms littered the sidewalk, and it called to mind that the full moon of March, tomorrow, is sometimes called the "worm moon."
- Dave Taft

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Visitor Center. Free. Handicapped accessible. Information:845-889-4745, ext:105.
- Saturday, March 29, 1:00-2:00 PM: River Otters on the Hudson.

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:845-889-4745, x105.
- April 3: A Visit with John Burroughs, Jack Maguire

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
March 5 - 11, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

As we check off the many signs of approaching spring, one by one, we can add a couple more this week: huge flocks of mixed blackbirds surging up the Wallkill River valley and three more seal sightings. The first of the spring-spawning river herring are in the Hudson and the seals, mostly harbor seals, will soon be acting like kids in a candy store.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

3/10 - New Paltz, HRM 78: On my way to work this morning I watched a three mile stretch of blackbirds pass over. In the past I have seen large flocks of migrating blackbirds but nothing like I saw this morning. There must of been at least 10,000 of them flying north. It was unreal, like Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds."
- Rebecca Houser

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

3/5 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 68: The air temperature reached 69 degrees F today, a record high for the date. The previous record high had been 59 degrees.
- National Weather Service

3/5 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Torrential downpours lasting most of the day left 1.5 inches of rain.
- Tom Lake

3/5 - Tarrytown, HRM 27: We recently hung out a small bi-level bird feeder outside the kitchen window. At midday it suddenly cleared out like someone had sounded the equivalent of a bird fire alarm! We looked up in an adjacent tree and spotted the reason: a Cooper's hawk. It hung around for 10 minutes, then took off, and the dining counter at the bird feeder quickly reopened for business.
- Bob Boothe, Mary Ann Boothe

3/6 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Toby Rathbone and I heard a boreal chickadee on our walk this morning. This was the first of these I've heard in a couple of years. We also had a gray squirrel in the yard eating seed from my bird feeder near where we had seen a black (melanistic) squirrel a few days ago. For a place that rarely has more than red squirrels and chipmunks, these have been interesting surprises.
- Ellen Rathbone

3/6 - Delmar, HRM 142: After a week of snow, sleet, ice and then yesterday's torrential downpours at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, today dawned bright, sunny and warm. In the woods I saw a ball of fur rolling down a hill. It was two chipmunks mating, or maybe fighting, I can never tell with those guys.
- Dee Strnisa

3/6 - Hyde Park, HRM 82: I returned late today from a two day overnight trip. As promised in a letter earlier this winter, the maintenance crew hired by the owners of the power line that separates my house from my neighbor's had paid a visit. They removed every living thing from under the power line, where a thick hedgerow had been, apparently no longer content to just top lop the trees. Not surprisingly, the bird feeders on my deck were eerily quiet this morning.
- Peter Fanelli

3/6 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 75: Carp fishing has not begun yet, but I have been riding the Metro North commuter train. After many rides with no luck I spotted 8 bald eagles today in the 20 river miles from Cold Spring south to Croton-Harmon.
- Glen Heinsohn

3/6 - Town of Wappinger: At dawn this morning, Mama was sitting on eggs, as she had been for nearly a week. Mama is a female bald eagle with a blue leg band number N42. She was born in a Delaware River nest in Sullivan County in 1995. She and her mate built a nest near the river in 2001 that was designated as NY62. In the six years from 2002-2006, the pair fledged 4 male and 3 female eaglets. Last year they did not produce any offspring. This year they have moved, abandoning NY62 and building a new nest nearby. As I watched, the male came in and switched places with the female, who took off for a morning meal - a changing of the guard. They will share incubation until an egg hatches, Mama doing 90% of the work, not bringing any food to the nest that might attract predators such as raccoons. Often our first indication of a successful hatch is when one of the adults brings a fish to the nest. At that point, there is a third mouth to feed.
- Tom Lake

3/6 - Wappinger Falls, HRM 68: I heard and then spotted a lone red-shouldered hawk circling its way north.
- Steve Seymour

[This sighting was very near two other red-should hawk sightings the previous week (see 3/2). Tom Lake.]

3/6 - Dutchess Junction, HRM 59: From our morning Metro North car we spotted our first red-winged blackbird of the season perched on a reed in a marsh near the tracks.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

3/7 - Minerva, HRM 284: Today we saw the first real sign of spring, for us, as far as I can tell. Despite 3' of snow on the ground and 10' snow piles in driveways, they were here, on the wing, and in the treetops: a dozen red-winged blackbirds. Their "conk-a-reeeee" call was in the air.
- Mike Corey

3/7 - Northumberland, HRM 161: The usual gathering of common mergansers, buffleheads and mallards was joined today by a pair of black ducks that came drifting down stream on an ice floe. Wisely, they disembarked shortly before reaching the Northumberland Dam, paddled ashore, and then flew back up stream. Later I had a rare visitor to the feeder, a red-bellied woodpecker. Though shy, it found opportunities to feed with the chickadees and a single white-breasted nuthatch.
- John Guyer

3/7 - Cheviot, HRM 106: This afternoon the Hudson was covered in waterfowl. I can only estimate the stream of canvasbacks, at least 300.There were nearly as many ring-necked ducks and Canada geese three miles south toward Clermont. There were common mergansers and some goldeneyes as well.
- Mimi Brauch

3/7 - Gardiner, HRM 73: Late tonight, I spotted our first spring peepers of the season, only a few, hopping across the road.
- Rebecca Houser

3/7 - Bronx, New York City: We still have some winter visitors. Outside the Bronx Zoo on the river walk there were 10-12 common redpolls, all females. Maybe the males have gone north.
- Walter McNaturally

3/8 - Newcomb, HRM 302: I heard my first red-winged blackbird today.With all the snow, sleet and rain that came yesterday, I got to wondering if birds ever turn around and head back south. But this morning I heard a whole flock of them, so I guess they've decided to tough it out.
- Ellen Rathbone

3/9 - Town of LaGrange, HRM 76: While out on a drive we spotted a large owl hunting in a wooded area near Sprout Creek Farm. It was a big specimen of a normally nocturnal hunter. He sat for a few minutes, an impressive and rare sight, as we watched. The wing span was impressive.I think it might have been a great horned owl.
- Jen Kovach

3/9 - Beacon, HRM 61: Lots of f?lks were pulling into Madame Brett Park's little parking lot to see Beacon's "Niagara Falls" and what an wonderful sight it was! Fishkill Creek was a-raging, and a-roaring over the Tioranda falls and down to the river. We drove home to East Fishkill, passing as many bridges over the creek as we could think of, and at every one we could see that the creek had flooded far over the banks, leaving many trees and shrubs with very wet feet.
- Carolyn Plage, Ed Connelly, Chance Plage

3/9 - Senasqua, HRM 36: In this small park on the river at Croton-on-Hudson, I spotted a flock of 30 cedar waxwings in migration. I never tire of looking at these beautiful birds.
- Jane Shumsky

3/9 - Sarah's Point, HRM 34: The southern tip of this peninsula is also known as Teller's Point, or just Croton Point, and it was from here, this afternoon, that I spotted a seal in the Hudson. Croton Bay was calm at just past 3:00 PM, the ebb tide was halfway out, and I had a good look with binoculars. Just beyond was a raft of buffleheads.
- Larry Trachtenberg

3/10 - Ulster Park, HRM 85: We had a brief serenade from a great horned owl tonight, always good to hear.
- Bill Drakert

3/10 - Croton Bay, HRM 34: On this beautiful, sunny morning, there was a little ice slush washing against the shore. Three hundred feet out in the bay I spotted there a strange looking "duck." Upon closer inspection with the binoculars, it turned out to be the head of a seal. It dove and reappeared at intervals of 3-4 minutes. That sight, and 3 immature bald eagles perched nearby, made my morning walk a special one.
- Tony Usobiaga

3/10 - Sandy Hook, NJ : Woodcock were doing their "peent" calls at dusk today.
- Dery Bennett

3/11 - Ulster Park, HRM 85: As I was out for a short walk on a perfect March day, an adult bald eagle circled over our house. That is always good! The tufted titmice were singing and the crocuses were peeking out, but not quite time to blossom yet.
- Bill Drakert

3/11 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: A personal harbinger of spring, one that goes back to my childhood, is the emergence of the furry little catkins on the pussy willow. They were fully out today, right on time.
- Tom Lake

3/11 - Scarborough, HRM 28: As I was riding the Metro North commuter train south this morning I saw a seal, maybe the same one as I spotted two days ago, hauled out on a rock outcropping 20' offshore.
- Larry Trachtenberg

3/11 - Sandy Hook, NJ: The first killdeer of the season that I've seen, or heard, came as a loud-calling flyover of a patch of bare sand surrounded by a field. These are just the kind of nesting habitats these big plovers zero in on. They are early nesters, laying their eggs in a scrape and fledging their young around Memorial Day. The kids are so precocial they seem to almost run out of their egg shells as speedy long-legged puffballs.
- Dery Bennett

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Visitor Center. Free. Handicapped accessible. Information:845-889-4745, ext:105.
- Saturday, March 29, 1:00-2:00 PM: River Otters on the Hudson.

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:845-889-4745, x105.
- April 3: A Visit with John Burroughs, Jack Maguire
- May 1: Life on the Edge: Small Mammals in Hudson Tidal Wetlands, Cathy McGlynn

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
February 27 - March 4, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

As we near the vernal equinox and the end of winter, spring is slowly creeping up through the watershed. Flocks of male red-winged black?irds, robins, and grackles are returning to the lower valley, while in the High Peaks we are still seeing 40" of snow and -30 degree F air temperatures.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

2/27 - Putnam County, HRM 53: I was delighted to see the tracks of a very large fisher (a male, I assumed) in the snow in my yard today.Perhaps it was looking for my "dependents," a plethora of gray squirrels that live in the large, ancient maples and vacuum the seed I put down for the ground feeding birds. Fishers, like ravens, are becoming more widespread down here - I never saw either when I was a kid. Maybe its connected to the increase in coyotes. Great horned and barred owls have been other recent voices in the night.
- Ralph Odell

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

2/27 - Newcomb, HRM 302: When I got home last evening I donned my snowshoes and headed out to check the fence line for more deer damage.So far there doesn't seem to be anything new, but then the snow is deep enough for them to just about walk right over the top of the fence (5'fence with 3' of snow). As I was checking for deer damage to the trees, I saw something that made me chuckle: I followed the trail of a deer that had stepped over the fence to where it ended at a collection of stalks, the now-headless remains of last year's sunflowers. It had decapitated the plants and left naught behind but the bare stalks. Not a seed nor crumb to be seen. I think it inhaled the heads in one gulp. The seeds that were still in the heads were undeveloped, which is why the birds were not eating them, but I guess that a desperate deer will eat almost anything. Probably a welcome change from cedar! After it ate the heads, it went back over the fence and disappeared.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/27 - Ulster Park, HRM 85: I think this must be a tough year on the white-tailed deer herd. With all the snow, they are coming down to suburbia and eating all the shrubs! The lawns are full of tracks. We looked out last night and the deer were feeding on our shrubbery and our neighbor's dogwood.
- Bill Drakert

2/27 - South Staten Island, New York City: Ray Matarazzo, Richard Lynch and I were searching for an answer to a riddle that we began to guess at this past fall. Spiranthes orchids are complex enough to begin with, but the hints come at odd times of the year. The flower stalks we stared at this past late September had no leaves, just the very last flowers at the tip of a spike or two. So today, at the tail end of February, we began poking through the dry grasses and poor soils of south Staten Island, thinking that if we found some leaves at this point in the year, we'd be very close to an answer. We found many rosettes of egg shaped, beautiful green leaves. But after consulting myriad field guides, technical works, Victorian writings of the period, and New York State Botanist Chuck Sheviak, it turns out that Spiranthes lacera is our answer. A nice plant to add to my personal list, and a wonderful addition to our knowledge of the flora of New York City. Still, for me, the riddle will continue until this summer's bloom season; I need to get a good view of the flower spike completely encircled by these tiny blooms. In my experience, natural riddles aren't quickly answered.
- Dave Taft

2/27 - Sandy Hook, NJ: One of the joys, and challenges, of wildlife watching is trying to figure out, often fruitlessly, what is really happening. We have had a large gathering of thousands of greater scaup in Spermaceti Cove on the bay side of the Hook, observable from a warm pickup truck parked by the side of a road. What they seem to be up to is totally random flying: a carnival of jumping off the water in waves into the wind, wheeling downwind (except when they don't), landing in the midst of an existing raft, or building a new one that starts as a mass but becomes a string. Then, batches are airborne again, this time maybe a longer flight before landing. At any one time, there can be 1000 head?ng north, 500 wheeling, and a separate 200 landing to the south, all within the space of a football field. It is, at once, inspiring and mystical. We'll miss them when they head north with spring.
- Dery Bennett

2/28 - Newcomb, HRM 302: It was a beautiful morning, sunny and bright, blue sky, a perfect day for forest tracking with some junior and senior high school students from Crown Point. We hiked a mile along the Sucker Brook trail. Not much was moving, likely due the recent snow and cold, but we did see a mink trail, several mouse trails, and a great otter trail. There were slides all over the place, 2 x 2 lope tracks within the slides, or where the otter just pushed itself along with its back feet, and loops and circles. I suspect it was having a good time. But we saw no fox, and no squirrel. That's got to be a first; we almost always have squirrel tracks.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/28 - New Baltimore HRM 131.5: After rea ding about the golden eagle sightings in the Almanac, I felt I had to relate mine, even though it occurred last fall. It is not uncommon to see bald eagles, both adults and immatures, in the area around New Baltimore, so when I spotted the great bird on a hillock of a local field I pulled over to park and observe it for some time. It was busy eating and acted as if I was insignificant. The color, the size, the strength. the very primordial nature, made quite an impression.
- Kelly Halloran

2/28 - Croton Bay, HRM 34: Shortly after our 7:19 AM Metro North train from Croton Harmon to Grand Central left the station, we began to see eagles in Croton Bay. There were 8-10 birds and all less than 50 yards from the train. An adult standing on the shoreline alerted us. Then we noticed more of them in the air, including a pair grasping talons and circling, then another flying parallel to the train. As we continued south, more eagles, a mix of adults and immatures, came into view. We were so excited that no one was keeping count of how many there were. As the train accelerated, the birds rapidly faded from view. The entire sighting lasted only about 30 seconds, but it provided an exhilarating beginning to the day and a topic of conversation for the remainder of the trip.
- Hugh McLean

2/28 - Inbuckie Bay, HRM 33.5: As our Metro North train car passed just south of Croton-Harmon this morning, we counted 4 bald eagles on the ice to the east of the tracks.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

2/29 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Our weather station at the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center registered a low of -27 degrees F overnight. Our maintenance man, Mike Tracy, had -29 degrees at his thermometer at 11:00 PM. Either way, that's close enough to -30 in my book to say "dang, that's cold!"
- Ellen Rathbone

2/29 - Glens Falls, HRM 208: An overnight air temperature of -18 degrees F was recorded.
- National Weather Service

2/29 - Albany, HRM 145: The air temperature fell to 0 degrees F overnight, tying the record low for the date.
- National Weather Service

2/29 - Ulster Park, HRM 85: Just before the snow started, we had 8 white-tailed deer in the yard and they stayed well into the evening. For all the talk of winter finches the only "star" bird we have had is a Carolina wren, a neat little bird. Snow or not, spring must be coming.There was a big flock of robins down the street, over 1100 birds!
- Bill Drakert, Fran Drakert

2/29 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 68: An air temperature of +3 degrees F was recorded overnight, tying the record low for the date.
- National Weather Service

2/29 - New Hamburg: The river at dawn sat very still. The tide was full and there was scarcely any current. The air temperature was +4 degrees, warm by north country measures, but it hurt to breathe. Fortunately for my face, there was no wind. A broad plume of steam had risen from the Danskammer power generating facility acro?s the river, its form frozen in the sky. The tidal Wappinger looked like it was smouldering with steam lifting off the warmer-than-the-air water. A hundred Canada geese that had set down for the night were beginning to fidget, waking to the first light of day.
- Tom Lake

2/29 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: The most frequent visitors at our feeders this winter have been goldfinches, black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, a cardinal pair, a downy woodpecker pair, blue jays, juncos, red-breasted nuthatches, house finches, and various sparrows.Our harmonious feeding ground was suddenly invaded today by a flock of 30 starlings. They swooped in, chased all the other birds away, and boldly took command of all the feeders under our olive tree. Even the squirrels scattered as this gang made their attack. After engaging in a quick meal of suet, seeds and peanuts, they took off, departing just as quickly as they had appeared.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

3/1 - Saugerties Lighthouse, HRM 102: In recent days, I have heard red-winged blackbirds calling in the wetlands near the Saugerties Lighthouse. This morning, I noticed one scratching for seed below the bird-feeder. Male red-winged blackbirds arrive early to claim territory before females show up for breeding season. This sighting seemed especially early so I checked my lighthouse keeper logbook. Last year, I heard the first red-wings on March 12th.This year they are apparently a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.
- Patrick Landewe

3/1 - Hudson River: As part of a study investigating PCB concentrations in edible tissues of Hudson River waterfowl, NYSDEC is looking for mallard nests from the Hudson River this spring (April and May). The plan is to collect to collect one egg per nest for PCB analysis to better understand deposition of PCBs from the hen to the egg. We need to find mallard nests in parts of the Upper Hudson River (from Corinth toMechanicville) and in parts of the Hudson River Estuary (from New Baltimore to Newburgh). The more eyes we have looking, the more chances we have of locating these hard to find nests. Mallard nests often consist of a small, shallow bowl of grass lined with downy feathers, usually well-hidden in whatever vegetation is nearby. Mallard hens typically lay 8-10 greenish to buff-colored eggs. However, their nests won't necessarily be on the water's edge, and nests can often be found in marsh edges, grasslands, agricultural fields, and uplands. If you stumble across a mallard nest within 0.5 miles of the Hudson River in any of the above areas, please let us know. If you have a GPS unit, get coordinates. If not, mark something nearby, so that you can easily find the nest again. Once you've found a nest, avoid returning too often, so as not to encourage the hen to abandon the nest or attract predators.With your help this study can be a success!
- Sean Madden, Biologist; ssmadden@gw.dec.state.ny.us (518) 402-8977

3/2 - Newcomb, HRM 302: We now have 40" at the snow stick. This morning my suspicions were confirmed as I watched a squirrel eating seed from a feeder on a feeder pole that is rigged with anti-squirrel paraphernalia.The snow is so deep that it is a simple matter for the squirrels to jump from the "ground" right to the feeder, less than 2' overhead.
- Ellen Rathbone

3/2 - Milan, HRM 90: I spotted our first male red-winged blackbird today, waiting his turn at the feeder. This seems very early.
- Marty Otter

3/2 - Shokan, HRM 92: I was traveling west on Route 28 near Shokan, admiring the bright blue sky, when I saw a large object in the top bare branches of a tree. As I approached, I was surprised to see a beautiful, adult bald eagle. I've seen them near the Ashokan Reservoir before, but never along a highway. The eagle was magnificent, gazing out toward the reservoir, seemingly oblivious to the traffic below.
- C. McCauley

3/2 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 68: Red-shouldered hawks are?an uncommon sight most of the year, except perhaps during fall migration. While driving on Route 9 yesterday I was surprised to see an adult red-shouldered perched on a utility wire. I tend to associate these types of hawks with stout tree limbs. I think I saw the same hawk today, another adult red-shouldered, not more than few hundred yards to the west, perched on the top of a 40 MPH sign, about 10' off the ground, overlooking Hunter's Brook. From there the raptor had a perfect view of the shrubby flood plain and the small mammals that dwell there. I'm not sure which choice of perch was the most odd.
- Tom Lake

3/2 - Highland Mills, HRM 50: I was pleasantly surprised a half hour ago when I spotted about two dozen robins sitting in a red maple in the front yard. They seemed to be trying to soak up the sun! Now they have found the holly bushes and have begun to chow down on the red berries. I hope it's a good sign of an early spring that they're back here so soon.
- Alan Groth

3/4 - RamsHorn, HRM 112.2: Spring is certainly on its way. At my yard in Palenville, I heard a brown creeper singing its song, a song that is too large for a bird of such diminutive size. At our RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary, I heard the first fish crow, and had a mixed flock of well over 2,000 blackbirds fly over in an endless stream.
- Larry Federman

3/4 - Liberty Marsh, HRM 41: Though technically still winter, this marsh near the headwaters of the Wallkill sounded like spring. The male red-winged blackbirds were deafening. Canada geese were noisily rising off the water in flocks of 40-50 birds, migrants from points north. The local geese flew here and there in mated pairs. In the even light of a gray drizzly day, the hooded mergansers were like beacons on the water.I counted at least 30, both hen and drake, before switching to wood ducks, common mergansers, coot, mallards and black ducks. As I was about to leave, the noise increased from a section of the marsh partially hidden from view. Up off the water came a huge number of snow geese, well over 200 birds, a spectacular show as they filled the sky overhead in three separate Vs, each nestled behind the open, trailing end of the one in front.
- Tom Lake

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:845-889-4745, x105.
- Apr 3: 21st Century Damsels and Dragons, Larry Federman

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HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
February 20 - 26, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

For the most part, the Almanac reports natural history events involving weather and wildlife. However, the occasional extra-terrestrial entry, such as lat week's total lunar eclipse and this week's fireball, expands the boundaries of our journal to include a broad and welcome context.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

2/26 - Staten Island, New York City: Kathy Garofalo called to tell me that we had a rare visitor. When I reached Great Kills Park, we were able to relocate the snowy owl she had mentioned to me that morning - from the looks of it, an immature female, large and dark, but with a white face and those piercing yellow eyes that make them look so predatory. I mentioned the bird to park police officer William Wilkens Jr. as I was leaving, and he seemed eager to see it. So, as we stared together at the bird, his new binoculars still focusing in and out, he told me it was his first snowy owl. It was fun to be out with an excited new bird watcher, and it allowed me the privilege to further appreciate the beauty of these birds. Not to mention the miracle that brings them to us cyclically some winters.
- Dave Taft

<<<<< NATURAL HIS?ORY NOTES >>>>>

2/20 - Newcomb, HRM 302: To better view the total lunar eclipse, Toby Rathbone and I went out to ski and walk the golf course in the moonlight. It turned out not to be ideal. The moon was great and the skiing was excellent, for me, but Toby had a hard time of it. The snow wouldn't support his weight; he would hover on the surface for a second or so, and then crash through into near chest deep snow. We finally had to call it quits. We peeked out again later, around 10:00 PM, and it looked like brown smoke across the surface of the moon.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/20 - Essex County, HRM 280: The sky was very clear for the lunar eclipse tonight. I watched it out the window all the way home along the Northway. It was beautiful. The normally whitish moon turned a fine amber color as the eclipse progressed. It was stunning.
- Mike Corey

2/20 - West Point, HRM52: As I was leaving West Point Building 667 late this afternoon, I looked up and saw Igraine - the female red-tailed hawk and mate to the late Uther Pendragon - sitting on the top of the Catholic Chapel. This was one of Uther's favorite perches and I was pleased to see her sitting there. Twice before this winter, I had noticed her there and she often would wait until I did see her and acknowledge her before flying off. I hope she will return to the light tower nest site and raise a new brood with a new found mate. It turned out Uther did produce one last brood with Igraine. I saw the offspring last August and the young male behaved almost exactly like the young Uther and Uther's son Arthur. At the time, I thought Igraine had found a new mate to help raise the brood (at a new nest site), but it could very well have been one of the adults from any earlier brood. I hope to have a clearer answer this spring.
- Jim Beemer, Natural Resources Manager

2/21 - Ulster Park, HRM 85: We spotted our first male red-wing blackbird in a backyard tree today.
- Fran Drakert, Bill Drakert

2/21 - Town of Schodack, Rensselaer County, HRM 140: In late December, I saw a flock of 15-20 robins on my back lawn and the woods were full of them and their songs. At that time I was persuaded to think that these might have been holdover, or winter robins. Today there were, once again, flocks of them all over. I wonder what they eat in the winter? At the same time, I also saw my first bluebird of the season.
- Anne Hunter

[At some point in late winter, birds like robins change from wintering holdovers to migrating flocks. That time is fast approaching when birds that have migrated only a short distance, will begin to slowly move back into their traditional breeding ranges. Tom Lake.]

2/21 - North Greenbush, HRM 147: Going out to my compost station today, with containers of old carrots and coffee grounds in hand, I heard some rattling and rustling noises from under the ancient pines that are on the edge of my woods. Looking closer, I saw at least 18, perhaps 20 wild turkeys, not more than 100 feet from me. I froze on my path, not daring to move. I watched as the turkeys poked around amidst the recently broken pine branches. They acted like little soldiers on patrol, checking here, checking there. Carefully, they made their way back into woods, meandering along. A couple paused and seemingly took a drink from the brooklet that emerges from the ground. My dogs were sitting in the sun in front of my home and they never heard the turkeys!
- Pat Van Alstyne

2/21 - Beacon to Croton-Harmon, HRM 61-34: This morning was a good one for eagle watching from Metro North's 6:47 AM train out of Poughkeepsie.We spotted 12 bald eagles between Beacon and Croton Harmon. At least eight of them were adults. The largest group consisted of three adults and one immature in the park at the Peekskill train station. That's a good number when there isn't much ice on the river.
- Malcolm Castro, Bob Kelly

2/21 - George?s Island, HRM 39: I launched my kayak from George's Island at 2:00 PM today. The tide was ebbing and it was a bright, sunny day, which masked how cold it actually was - gloves and paddle jacket quickly became encrusted with ice particles. Yesterday, I had noticed a pair of adult bald eagles, possibly a mated pair, perched 20 feet high in a tree on the south end of the Oscawana Island promontory. They were there today as well, in clear sight, watching the river, 25 feet from where I passed on the water.
- Steve Butterfass

2/21 - Sandy Hook, NJ: There were big flocks of starlings, 200-300 in a flock, here today. At least I thought they were starlings until the binoculars revealed them to be a mixed bag of starlings, male red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, and a couple of common grackles, working the lawn. The local gang of cedar waxwings apparently harbors one Bohemian waxwing, which accounts for the serious bird-listers skulking around in the woods armed with expensive-looking binoculars.
- Dery Bennett

2/22 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: In a foot of fresh snow, our returning mated pair of red foxes began to snuffle around the woodpile and brush pile, probably contemplating setting up shop for another breeding season.
- Diane Lowry

2/23 - Minerva, HRM 284: The dog and I just got in from a fine snowshoe hike (he wore paws, I wore the shoes), and it was a beautiful time to be out. Minerva has about 2.5 feet of snow on the ground in the woods, and it was a pleasure to be out in it. I spent some time looking for tracks- we had a couple of inches of fresh fluffy snow yesterday. Similar to what I've been seeing all winter, other than the ubiquitous tracks of all sizes of white-tailed deer, there's been little to find. The deer are everywhere. Sunflower seeds that I normally put out for birds are gobbled up by the pesky hoofed beasts. Shrubs and small trees in the woods that are normally ignored by deer are being chomped to within an inch or so of their lives.
- Mike Corey

2/23 - Hyde Park, HRM 82: A friend from Johnstown (NY) called yesterday during the snowstorm to tell me a barred owl had landed in a pine tree in her backyard and a huge assortment of woodpeckers were at her feeders, including a pileated. Although I had an assortment of woodpeckers at my feeders as well, I lamented that I had not yet been blessed with any pileated guests. This morning, as I cleared the path to the driveway, a large black-and-white bird flew up from an elm 10' away, landed in a dead tree across the road and clucked at me, as if answering my complaints. Finally, a pileated! It waited patiently across the street, occasionally knocking away at the tree, until I had finished shoveling. I hid behind a snow-covered evergreen and watched as it returned to its excavation in the elm tree. It appeared to be a female; is it too much to hope a pair might settle in this spring?
- Susan Maresca

2/23 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: A gorgeous adult eagle sat atop a tree near a house on the hill that overlooks the river. We were invited to view the bird from their driveway and were simply awestruck at how clear a view we had. Its yellow eyes seem to pierce right through us and we could see the sharpness of its talons wrapped around the branch. The most thrilling part was seeing the paisley-like patterns on its velvety chest and the contrast between the vivid white of its head and tail against its dark body.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

2/23 - George's Island, HRM 39: The view was like a picture postcard:water a battleship gray, sky gray with a bluish tinge to it, and trees decorated with white "icing" on their branches. There was virtually no wind and the stillness could almost be heard. We were delighted to see an adult eagle perched on the top of the highest tree. Soon the next tree became occupied with an pair of immatures sitting close together on one branch, and then another adult sitting highe? up on the same tree. A pair of adults gave us an aerial show overhead and then flew around the back of Dogan Point. Two more immatures flew in, stayed for a while and then flew off.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

2/24 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67-66: This winter has not provided many opportunities for a good long trek on snowshoes. The 10-12" of new snow had a crusty coating that made it as much snow-sliding as snowshoeing.The rewards for a mile walk along the river were many from tracks to sightings. Two small groups of foraging bluebirds made a colorful contrast in the pure white snow. Several sets of coyote tracks, possibly my midnight troubadours, cris-crossed the railroad right-of-way. An adult bald eagle whizzed past no more than 100 feet away, seemingly oblivious to me and certainly in a hurry. When I took the time to stop, look, and count (how jaded are we getting with regard to eagle sightings?) I counted 4 immatures and 2 other adults with the three-mile range of my binoculars.
- Tom Lake

2/24 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: We were taking advantage of the clear sky tonight by doing a "no headlamps" snowshoe. On the trek home, the sky lit up with a series of flashes like a distant, silent lightning strike. We looked up and saw the largest (or closest) meteorite we had ever seen. We were able to follow its path for a second until it faded.
- Erin Sine, Kurt Winkelman & Cynthia Fowx

[From the description, this sounds like what is known colloquially as a fireball. Almost any object - a grain of sand, a meteorite, space junk - entering the earth's atmosphere from outside heats up, producing a glow.Most objects - and there are many millions of them - burn up and we never even notice. More heat resistant material lingers and if it is large enough, can produce a brief but spectacular fireball. If you are out at night and observant, it is not rare to occasionally see a fireball, and almost always by accident. Several years ago, one reflected its flash on the surface of Wappinger Creek at 2:00 AM while I was striped bass fishing. Perhaps the most memorable occurrence was a public night-seining program at Croton in September 2000, when "a bright orange fireball streaked across the northern sky" as a backdrop to the setting of our 250 foot net. The ooohs and aaaahs lasted for a full minute. Tom Lake.]

2/24 - Shrewsbury River, NJ: The number of wintering ruddy ducks, off by themselves, was up to about 400. Nearby, with as many as 10 each, were brant, American wigeon, bufflehead, hooded merganser, black duck, and a solitary mute swan in the distance.
- Dery Bennett

2/25 - Orange County, HRM 56: I spotted a pair of adult bald eagles this morning. They flew in from the north, circled around over Goosepond State Park for several minutes, then disappeared. I had never seen anything like it here.
- Kate Mitchell

2/25 - Garrison to Ossining, HRM 51-33: In this 18-mile run, this morning, we counted 5 bald eagles along the river from our Metro North commuter car.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

2/26 - Newcomb, HRM 302: 7" more. We now have 38" on the ground at our snow stick.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/26 - Sandy Hook, NJ: How do you count individual ducks in a big, really big, raft of wintering greater scaup (with only a few lesser scaup included)? These were in Spermaceti Cove on the west side of the Hook. From a distance the rafts looks like black patches on steel gray water. Up closer, with binoculars, or when the birds are rocking in choppy water, they show much of their white sides. A few weeks ago, we estimated 5,000 birds in two separate rafts. Now, it's more like 10,000-12,000 in adjacent coves and one thin batch stretching out between the two. And they are active - swimming and flying from one raft to another, stringing out and bunching up, most so close they are almost touching each other. Solution: You count the scaup in the field of y?ur binoculars and multiply by the number of fields; when your eyes fill up with tears and stop working you add 10% and head for the barn.
- Dery Bennett

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:845-889-4745, x105. - Mar 6: Interpreting the Hudson River, Scott Guerin

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
February 13 - 20, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

This was a week of record warmth one day and bitter cold the next. The week also had its usual smattering of interesting wildlife behavior, but perhaps the most impressive moment was the total lunar eclipse. This is an infrequent celestial event that stresses our ability to put into words what we believe our eyes can see, and is probably best left to the poets.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

2/19 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Red fox are leaving all sorts of signs around, especially urine postings. I had a group of 5th graders last week and we followed one set of fox tracks to where they met up with a second set of fox tracks. They had a fox "encounter." Then they parted and went their separate ways. We've also seen where foxes have been hunting, i.e., pounce, scrabble, crunch, slurp.
- Ellen Rathbone

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

2/13 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: The forest sparkled like crystal in the first glow of sunshine that crept over the hills from the east. It had turned bitter cold overnight, following 2.5" inches of snow, ice, and rain in the preceding 24 hours, and the resulting rime ice covered every twig and branchlet. A resounding crack like a rifle shot echoed through the trees as a branch of a white pine snapped under the weight of the ice. I stood stone still and watched a herd of white-tails high-stepping through the woods, breaking their way through the crusty snow. Despite the social upheaval of school closings, delays, plowing, and shoveling, it was nice being out in the woods in a real winter landscape that has been largely absent this season.
- Tom Lake

2/13 - Fishkill, HRM 61: 5:00 AM On this dark, damp and fog-shrouded morning, the freezing rain gave a definite crunch to the snow cover. The unsalted trackless road surface was a sheer sheet of ice. As I checked the bird feeders I noted a set of animal tracks in the snow. Although, the rain had destroyed the general impression the paws had made, they were oval in shape, spaced about a foot apart, with about a 4 inch straddle. Later, in the daylight, I was able to distinguish some impression of foot pads and claws and could tell the animal's general direction going from the woods, under a black walnut tree and near some fir trees, and then emerge from my yard and cross the road to my neighbor's yard. From these clues, I suspect a red fox, or perhaps a gray fox that I've seen on earlier occasions, made a transit of my yard on its nightly rounds.
- Ed Spaeth

2/14 - Town of Newburgh, HRM 62: The advance and retreat of glaciers in the Hudson Valley, carrying great loads of stone and debris, occurred more than 18,000 years ago, but you can get a feel for how they functioned even today. This is the time of the season when large parking lots have a?mountain of snow that has been pushed to the side by plows after each storm event. As the warming sun of late February melts the ice, a collection of accumulated dirt and detritus is left behind, growing more concentrated every day, mimicking ancient glacial features in the Hudson Valley.
- Tom Lake

2/14 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: Valentine's Day, and the day after the storm, dawned bright and beautiful. We drove past Ogilvie's Pond looking for the resident great blue heron when a medium sized bird almost flew into our windshield with a red-tailed hawk in hot pursuit! They were so close that we instinctively ducked inside the car!
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

2/14 - Oscawana, HRM 38.5: We stopped at the Oscawana overlook, always worth the effort in winter. As we scanned the brilliant, blue sky, an adult bald eagle came circling over the treetops. After short while it settled down on the point on a limb of a hardwood. We watched it through our spotting scope as it preened and kept an eye on the river. Once in a while it would stare over at us, a quarter-mile away. It's very exciting to see an eagle in the scope and realize that it is looking back at you.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

2/15 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Another very cold night: -15 degrees F.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/15 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 69. Drivers stopping for wildlife: it is always heartening when it happens, but unfortunately it doesn't always happen. White-tailed deer make us sweat when they zoom across just before or just after we pass, but wild turkeys are a show worth stopping to watch. Traffic heading both ways on Sheafe Road came to a halt for several minutes, with nary a toot or angry shout. Close to two dozen wild turkeys crossed the road in their practiced fashion, a hierarchy of young and old, guardians and the flock, many wisely looking both ways. The collective behavior of both humans and the birds had a way of restoring hope in an otherwise bleak winter.
- Tom Lake

2/15 - Staten Island, New York City: I counted 23 wild turkeys running along the fence at Seaview Avenue. In contrast, I spotted the remains of a young muskrat that didn't quite make it across Hylan Boulevard at the entrance to Great Kills Park.
- Dave Taft

2/15 - Brooklyn, New York City: The sun is setting later and later each day, and as I left the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at Bay Ridge on Route 278, a sharp-shinned hawk made good use of the sun's last rays, hunting the road shoulder and catching the light in the most remarkable way.
- Dave Taft

2/16 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Toby Rathbone and I were skiing the golf course this morning, another cold one. We spotted chickadees on and around one of the bluebird nest boxes. They must have been using it as a shelter from the cold and we were glad to see they had found it.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/16 - Hudson River: While the number of mitten crabs, an invasive species, recovered in the Hudson River remains at three, the total confirmed in the Mid-Atlantic region, Chesapeake Bay to the Hudson River, is now 13. The Hudson estuary recoveries have occurred in an upriver progression, June 3, October 29, and December 9, from the Tappan Zee to Danskammer Point, river miles 27-67. It is perhaps noteworthy that the only two juveniles collected to date have come from New York; no other states have reported juveniles at this time. We do not yet know whether the mitten crabs have established a self-sustaining population in the Mid Atlantic region. If you encounter a mitten crab in New York State, please notify Leslie Surprenant, NYSDEC Invasive Species Management Coordinator (518) 402-8980, (ljsurpre@gw.dec.state.ny.us)
- Carin D. Ferrante, Smithsonian Mitten Crab Coordinator

2/16 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Last April, a pair of red foxes had a litter of four kits in a brush pile den 25 feet into th? forest in a semi-rural backyard of a residential home. The male was a grayish-phase, almost charcoal, while the mother was the typical light reddish color.Now, after an absence of eight months, they are back, nosing around the brush pile.
- Tom Lake

[Red foxes breed from late December through the end of March, peaking January and February. Their kits are typically born in March and April.Ellen Rathbone.]

2/17 - Newcomb, HRM 302: At our Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center feeders today, we had common redpolls, pine grosbeaks, a northern shrike, a blue jay, hairy woodpeckers, red-breasted nuthatch, and black-capped chickadees.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/17 - Hudson Highlands: Over the past 2-3 weeks, at least two immature golden eagles have been regularly observed flying in and among the peaks and swales of the Hudson Highlands.
- Pete Nye

2/17 - Alpine, NJ, HRM 18: It was quiet and just starting to rain on my afternoon walk along the Shore Trail from Alpine Boat Basin about a mile upriver to Excelsior Dock. Just before 5:00 PM I decided to take a restored path down to the abandoned dock. As I reached the bottom, I noticed two diving ducks just off the ruins of the dock. They were two male red-breasted mergansers with their crests clearly sticking out each time they surfaced from a dive. I could see the white ring around the neck and the pattern on their breasts. The tide was full and the river calm and I sat on a boulder for several minutes, watching them fish.
- Bob Rancan

2/18 - Newcomb, HRM 302: We had a high temperature today of 50 degrees F, but by midday it was already dropping back. Our lovely, spring-like weather can vanish in a heartbeat. By 4:30 PM we were back below freezing and snow flakes were in the air.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/18 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 73: The air temperature reached 62 degrees F today, tying the record high for the date.
- National Weather Service

2/18 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67.5: This is mating season for coyotes, and 3:30 AM seems to be their prime hour. Each of the last few mornings I've been awakened by their communal caterwauling.
- Tom Lake

[Coyotes typically mate January through March, peaking in February.Ellen Rathbone.]

2/18 - Manhattan, HRM 5: The air temperature reached 65 degrees F today, surpassing the old record for the date of 62.
- National Weather Service

2/19 - Ulster Park, HRM 85: We spotted our first robin of the year on our lawn today.
- Fran Drakert, Bill Drakert

2/19 - Gardiner, HRM 75: We heard the sounds of male red-winged blackbirds today - spring is near!
- Rebecca Johnson, Brian Houser

2/20 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 76: I let our evening class at Dutchess Community College out a little early so we could see the start of the total lunar eclipse. Tonight the moon would pass through the earth's shadow, something that would not occur again until December 2010. By 8:45 PM it was underway, a dark shadow appearing at 7 o'clock on the face of the full moon. The weather forecast had cautioned some cloudiness but for us the sky was clear, starry, and only the contrail of a passing jet briefly blurred our view.
- Tom Lake

2/20 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: By 10:30 PM, nearing full eclipse, an orange glow - often called the "copper penny" look - had set over the moon. To me it looked like orange sherbet. At about the same time, from the north and northwest, I could hear coyotes chorusing, possibly in response to the fading light. However, given their almost nightly calls, I suspect that they hardly needed any encouragement.
- Tom Lake

2/20 - Fishkill, HRM 61: We watched the red moon with our telescope; it looked like a close up NASA image of Mars. Saturn was in a triangle with the moon and a star and we could clearly see Saturn's rings through the scop?.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

2/20 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: Jasper and I bundled up in coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and with a thermos of hot coffee sat in lawn chairs to watch the lunar eclipse. As the veils of haze drifted away, the clouds parted like theater curtains and the eclipse began. There was a smudgy scoop at the edge of the bright disc, then slowly a more distinct arc of darkness, and finally the magic, reddish moon in the brilliantly dark sky. There was still pale light on the western edge of the eclipsed moon when we finally gave in to the cold. When I looked again at 5:00 AM, the strange and glorious rosy-colored moon had become the brilliant and magical once-a-month miracle again.
- Robin Fox

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:845-889-4745, x105.
- Mar 6: Interpreting the Hudson River, Scott Guerin

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
February 4 - 12, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

While it is not easy to categorize a winter as being atypical due to all of the factors involved, we continue to gather evidence on this one!
In the past week, the extremes ran from a record high temperature in Manhattan to near record lows in the High Peaks, and several winter thunder and lightning storms in between.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

2/10 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: A cold front swept over Rockland County, across the river, and straight toward us, bringing bitter cold and blustery winds gusting over 35 mph. I met a busload of kids and parents from NYSDEC's New York City Camps Diversity, as well as students from the Albany Camps Diversity, many of whom had never seen a bald eagle in the wild. Our first 10 minutes on the Verplanck waterfront, in the midst of a swirling whiteout, might have been the most impressive display of eagles I have ever seen. We had at least a dozen adults and immatures close overhead engaged in courtship and play. They hovered in the wind, with wing-touches, talon grabs, and general horsing around. Some were so close we could hear their wings. They were like larger-than-life phantoms in the wind and snow. From the kids and others we heard one continuous "Ohmygod!" After 10 minutes or so, it died down, many of the birds having been blown away by the strong winds. You cannot script these moments; this was a real-time event that might not occur again for months, or years, or ever.
- Tom Lake, Andra Sramek, Jessica Perez, Yusuf Burgess, Christopher Letts

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

2/4 - Putnam County, HRM 53: If you can blank out the noise of traffic on Route 301, a couple of hours on Canopus Lake will let you have an "Adirondack experience." Squint just a little, and the pine forest on the rugged hills becomes north woods conifers, the edging marshes and small islands reminiscent of beaver country. Calls of mating pileated woodpeckers and the "Gronk! Gronk!" of cruising ravens flesh out the North Country illusion.
- Christopher Letts

2/5 - Wappinger Falls, HRM 68: They were easy to hear in the silence of night - a howling pack of coyotes. They were nearby, as well, as I listened to them talking t? one another.
- Jen Kovach

2/5 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Another confusing "winter" weather pattern brought us thunder, lightning, and 2.5" of rain overnight.
- Tom Lake

2/5 - Sandy Hook, NJ: From out of the blue this morning, one of the coves on the bay side of Sandy Hook seemed almost clogged with scaup, colloquially known as bluebills or broadbills, mostly bunched up tight against the wetland shore - one great swath of black waterfowl. Maybe there were some lesser scaup mixed in, but they looked like an all-greater gathering. A very rough estimate was at least 5,000 birds, approaching the 10,000-bird rafts we used to see farther out on Raritan Bay a generation ago.
- Dery Bennett

2/6 - New Hamburg, HRM 67.5: It was 8:30 PM, dark as midnight with the new moon, and worthy of a riverside visit. It seemed like an odd combination with the shadowy images of ice floes slowly moving upriver in the rising tide, damp and very cold air, and yet a spectacular light show with thunder and lightning in the west as a cold front swept over dropping 1.25" of rain.
- Tom Lake

2/6 - West Point, HRM 52: Well, Punxsutawney Phil's Academy cousin thinks his more famous relative is a little daft. Today I spotted a nice fat, active woodchuck actively foraging on a West Point Academy hillside. It didn't seem like he thought six more weeks of winter was coming.
- Jim Beemer

2/6 - Sleepy Hollow, HRM 27: George Hatzmann has been a hunter, angler, and trapper in Westchester for more than 6 decades, and certainly has seen changes. For many years I have listened to his fond remembrances of family canoe trips on the Pocantico River. In recent weeks those memories, perhaps lubricated with a little spring fever, got brighter.

That is how we ended up a couple of miles upstream from Pocantico Lake, canoe on top, with air and water temperatures both uncomfortably close to freezing. After fits and starts we launched, and the trouble, as they say, soon began. What George recalled from a quarter of a century back was a wide, park-like flood plain with a user friendly stream flowing through wildlife-rich riparian habitat. What we got was shoal water, silt banks, and brush-choked sharp bends in the channel. Huge new homes and a famous country club had contributed trash and construction debris, flung over the woodland slopes - out of sight to them, but clearly visible to us.

In the end, we made it down to Pocantico Lake and we spent more time in the canoe than we did dragging it, though it didn't always seem that way. We jumped a herd of deer, flushed a big flock of mallard and black ducks, AND saw two kingfishers. A swift brown form ran down a sloping log into the water; we couldn't be certain, but it looked like a mink. Around a final bend, the waters broadened and a bridge loomed.

On the bridge and facing the other way were Big John and Midgie, of "Boyz at the Bridge," fishing. How often do you get the chance? We glided under the bridge. George, in the bow, grabbed one of the fishing lines and yanked hard. The uproar on the bridge was gratifying to say the least.
- Christopher Letts

2/6 - Manhattan, HRM 5: The air temperature reached 68 degrees F today establishing a new record for the date. The previous record high was 58 degrees.
- National Weather Service

2/7 - New Baltimore, HRM 131.5: A major tributary, perhaps the Mohawk River, let loose its ice today. The Hudson was high, with a bank-to-bank load of slushy icy cakes, over its banks in places, onto yards, forming ribbons of dirty debris. It happens every year, usually more into late winter, when creeks and streams thaw, ice jams up, and then the river lets go.
- Rich Guthrie

2/7 - Croton Point, HRM 35: Always nice to trade observations with riverman Cal Greenberg, who lives in a waterfront bungalow in the old river town of Verplanck. We tend to credit wintering eagles for the dearth?of winter ducks in recent years. I'd seen just one take a goldeneye this season, but Cal had spotted a small flock, diving off Potato Rock, an old name for the northwest tip of the Point. "And know what?" said Cal, "There was a seal diving with them!" Cal had also watched an eagle take a gull out of the air near his home in Verplanck.It was the third time he had seen this "and it was always a greater blackback."
- Christopher Letts

2/8 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 76: The storms had passed but the effects were just now appearing. The Fall Kill was well over its banks into the flood plan and up into the trees. Ice jams had broken and sudden freshets swelled the creek even more. A small herd of four white-tailed deer appeared stream side at a place where they were used to crossing in a bound-and-a-half. Today a bound-and-a-half only got them to a point, up to their knees, where they had to wade.
- Tom Lake

2/8 - Fishkill, HRM 61.4: We saw our first male red-winged blackbird this morning at one of our feeders. This is the earliest we've seen them. I checked my notebook; it looks to be about 10 days early. I started keeping track of things during the winter of 2000-2001. Below are the first sighting dates of male red-winged blackbirds for the last three years:

• 2005: Feb 18
• 2006: Feb 19
• 2007: Feb 24

- Irene Penney

2/8 - Sandy Hook, NJ: Two days after 60 degree weather, some crocuses were an inch up and in the backyard a pair of house sparrows have laid claim to the bird house. A pair of robins came to drink from the bird bath. Yet, the bays and rivers are loaded with greater scaup. It's a confusing season.
- Dery Bennett

2/9 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: From Old Steamboat Dock we had a great close-up look when a harbor seal popped up from the river with a fish in its mouth. As we watched, it continued to pop up and down in the water, munching on its fish.
- Vicki Goldberg

2/9 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Thalia April, two and a half, announced that a walk in the falling snow would be just the thing. We bundled up and let ourselves out the back door. The flakes were large and feathery, and enough had fallen so that there were tracks to be seen. Around the feeders the traceries of bird tracks were thick and gray squirrels had been foraging. Near a woodpile a chipmunk had ventured out and its tracks led us to the red swing. We swung in the snowflakes until everyone's hands were cold, and then back to a blazing fire and hot chocolate. An hour later, peering out the back door, Thalia spotted the first blossoms of snowdrops. Surely they had not been there when we searched that flower bed for tracks, such a short time earlier?
- Christopher Letts

2/10 - Sandy Hook, NJ: This was an annual winter waterfowl walk, theoretically taken when there should be lots of ice around to concentrates ducks in small open-water sites for easy spotting. There was no ice this year even though it was a wintry day with 30 mph northwest winds. However, in various bays and ponds we racked up an impressive number of winter waterfowl: greater scaup (thousands), hooded merganser, coot, gadwall, mallard, black duck, ring-necked duck, American widgeon, Canada goose, brant, mute swan, bufflehead, shoveler, and ruddy duck. In the air we spotted one red-tailed hawk and a harrier, plus a dozen turkey vultures riding the wind with nary a wing beat.Notable by their absence (or invisible to our watering eyes): goldeneye, long-tail duck (old squaw), canvasback, and red breasted merganser.
- Dery Bennett

2/11 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: At dawn the air was a crisp 5 degrees with a windchill of -15 degrees F. Even with warm gloves my fingers ached. The winds of overnight, gusting to 40 mph had subsided. It was a super-freeze and, if by magic, the tidal Wappinger was nearly covered with ice. At the edge of the sheet a large flock of Canada geese had set down, 75 birds at lea?t, some up on the shelf, others in the water, all making me feel even colder.
- Tom Lake

2/11 - Annsville Bay, HRM 43.5: It was a 9 degree morning for bald eagles as we surveyed from aboard our Metro North commuter train headed into Manhattan. We counted 8 bald eagles, a mix of adults and immatures, on the ice in Annsville Bay.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

2/11 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: There was no need to check the thermometer this morning - one look at the rhododendron bushes was enough. Their usually shiny, tough, green leaves that spread in circles around the flower heads, were tightly folded, dark and lifeless-looking against the branches. When it's really cold, the rhododendrons seem to huddle, "shoulders" hunched, "hands" clasped together for warmth. It was officially cold: the thermometer read 5 degrees F!
- Robin Fox

2/12 - Newcomb, HRM 302: The air went down to -15 degrees F overnight and, even now in mid-morning, it had only risen to -8.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/12 - Kowawese, HRM 59: A pair of wintering adult bald eagles flew low over the ice field of Cornwall Bay toward Sloop Hill. One of them, having seen something, broke off and made a pass into the shallows, dragging its talons in an open lead, but missing whatever it was. A white, cottony mist crept down over the face of Storm King as a snowstorm arrived from the west.
- Tom Lake

2/12 - Little Stony Point, HRM 55: It is unusual to see two avian anomalies within a span of minutes, but that's what happened. I watched a gathering of ring-billed gulls close offshore fussing about in the river and noticed that a few feet away a lone duck was paddling slowly among the ice cakes. It was a single male canvasback, an odd sighting.It seemed healthy enough but such occurrences usually indicate a bird that has lost touch with its flock, perhaps injured, ill, weakened in some way. Swinging my binocular across to Orange County I saw a large dark bird turning tight circles in the swale between Crow's Nest and Storm King Mountain. It looked like an immature bald eagle either hunting or feeling for a thermal. I kept watching and when it banked into the light I could see the whitish band at the base of its tail, a golden eagle, a raptor not seen with any regularity in the Hudson Valley.
- Tom Lake

[Golden eagles are uncommon in the Hudson Valley. There have been a couple of them in northeastern Dutchess County for many winters, but the rest of the year we tend to see them only in migration. Golden eagles, one of the Native American archetypes for the "Thunderbird," is more of an uplands raptor and less inclined than bald eagles to be near big water. With talons larger and stronger than those of the bald eagle, they are known as fast and powerful hunters. Tom Lake.]

2/12 - Crugers, HRM 34: As the predicted storm approached, there was quite a bit of traffic at the bird feeders. Eleven male red-winged blackbirds spent much of the morning here.
- Dianne Picciano

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks:
1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:
845-889-4745, x105.

- Mar 6: Interpreting the Hudson River, Scott Guerin

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
January 28 - February 4, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Est?ary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

While bald eagles tend to dominate our winter entries, this week we hear about awide variety of wildlife, from one end of the watershed to the other. Some will tugat your heartstrings while others make you want to pull your hair out!

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

1/30 - West Point, HRM 52: After a rainy morning, the skies cleared up beautifullyfor the afternoon. I stepped out my office door and heard a musical croaking soundoverhead. I looked up and saw a pair of ravens soaring southwest along the thermalson Crow's Nest mountain. They were engaging in ritual pair bonding and just having afun afternoon, the way ravens often do when soaring along.
- Jim Beemer

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

1/28 - Montrose, HRM 40: Today was such a spectacular, sunny day that we took a longwalk along the riverfront at the Veteran's Hospital in Montrose. The water wasglistening like diamonds in the sunlight. Not a barge, plane or train could be seenor heard. As we made our way over the metal walkways, the only sounds that could beheard were the water gently lapping up against the rocks and the rustling of theremaining oak leaves in the trees. It made us wonder of what it must have been likehere thousands of years ago. No ice was present anywhere and coyote tracks could beseen in the sand along the little beach area. About 50 Canada Geese were foragingnear the old clubhouse and a lone immature bald eagle passed overhead, probably onhis way north to Dogan Point.
- Dianne Picciano, Phil Picciano

1/29 - Queens, New York City: Red-tailed hawks seemed to be everywhere. Thismorning, turning from Woodhaven Boulevard at Broad Channel onto the westbound BeltParkway, one of the largest red-tails I've ever seen perched gloomily on one of thelight poles of the off ramp. In the damp mist, I could just make out that he waslooking at me as I negotiated the entrance ramp.
- Dave Taft

1/30 Dickey Brook, Town of Cortlandt, HRM 43: About once a decade beaver appear inthis watershed and attempt to settle along a chain of three small lakes upland intoBlue Mountain Park. When their cuttings have come to the notice of park management,the beavers have gotten the bum's rush. That is until the most recent wave ofimmigrants arrived last year. For whatever reason, they have been allowed to remain,and to carry on with their building trade. I took advantage of the most recent coldsnap to walk the shores of the middle and lower ponds on several inches of clear,new ice. Several hundred trees had been downed, from saplings to stout trees 18" atthe base. A dam, about 100' feet in length, had blocked a feeder stream in the lowerlake creating a new pond of several acres . Two small islands have been pretty welldenuded and two bank lodges were seen. I resolved to come back on a summer eveningto meet the engineers and wondered anew at the presence of these wildlifecommunities less than a mile from the center of Peekskill.

I had a pleasant walk suspended above the pond bottom by 6" of crystal ice,over patterns of leaves and twigs and snail trails, sunken logs, rocksuntouched, unmoved, since the retreat of the last glacier. I was unprepared forthe brown hump protruding above the ice several hundred feet from the dam. Itwas a good-sized beaver, several years old, over 40 lb. weight, more than threefeet long. I puzzled over it for a long while. All four paws were visible. Noevidence of traps, snares or arrows. What happened? This seemed to be awell-fleshed animal with many years yet to live, but a life that had endedhere. I thought of the axe in my truck but let it pass. Ward Stone, DECWildlife Pathologist, already has more work than any single person should haveto deal with. So I left it, suspended in ice. On my way back to the parking lotI decided it was pretty likely that down under one of thos? lodges was a newgeneration of beavers, little kits that would be rippling the surface when Icame back for a warm-weather visit.
- Christopher Letts

1/31 - Constitution Marsh, HRM 51.4: From our Metro North train along our morningcommute to Manhattan, we spotted two bald eagles flying high over Constitution Marshwith their magnificent wing spans stretched out in full view. A short while laterand several miles down river at Annsville (HRM 43.5), we counted three bald eagleson the ice: two adult, one immature, on the east side of the tracks just north ofPeekskill.
- Mike Boyajian and Jeri Wagner

1/31 - Brooklyn, New York City: Looking out toward Staten Island from Bay Ridge, thegrassy field along the shore was covered with gulls of every stripe, ring-billed,black-back, herring, perhaps ???? By contrast, in the water behind the field,thousands of greater scaup in grand sweeping swirls spread out like chocolatesprinkles on the tidal currents of the lower harbor.
- Dave Taft

2/1 - New Baltimore, HRM 132: Stephen Seymour's 1/28 comment on fewer wild turkeysthis winter may be correct, but our flock in the Hannacrois Creek Preserve seems tobe doing well this winter.
- Jean Bush

[These observations often apply only to localized areas. In my area, Town ofWappinger, the wild turkey population seems to have been halved in the last year,while at the same time the coyote population has doubled. Coincidence? Maybe. TomLake.]

2/1 - Oscawana, HRM 38.5: Despite the freezing rain this afternoon, we ventured outalong the river. At Oscawana Point, the sky and river melted into one gray, mistybackdrop for the adult bald eagle perched high on a branch over the river. It seemedoblivious to the inclement conditions, probably waiting to catch a meal in thechurning waters. As we passed Ogilvie's Pond, we were thrilled to observe the anticsof at least 10 hooded mergansers, the black-and-white markings of the males were astark contrast to the murky pond. Gliding along the water, diving and popping upagain a few feet away, they, too, seemed to be enjoying the rainy day.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

2/1 - Staten Island, New York City: On a dark rainy day, rangers Bill Parker, AlisonLuchnik, and Diane Wulff joined me to see if the bats we'd observed earlier thisseason in one of Fort Wadsworth historic bunkers were still "hanging around."Thinking they must have moved on, we penetrated deeper into the gloomy fort,searching several of the other likely-looking alcoves without success until, on ourway back out, Bill looked hard at our original site, and found one bat, deeplyensconced in some of the brick work. With that sight image in mind, Alison quicklylocated another, and finally, I found a third. From what we could judge a few monthsago, these are big brown bats. However, one does seem a tad larger than the others,with a somewhat paler snout. I will bring a step ladder the next time we visit.
- Dave Taft

2/2 - Hyde Park, HRM 82: As we followed the Meadow Trail at the Home of FDR NationalHistoric Site, it descended into a small valley that was sheltered to the south by astand of hemlock. A few inches of snow had been spared by the evergreen shade, butthe only tracks we found that day were human or locomotive. Further on, the trailwas partially flooded and frozen, but passable. Then Kerri pointed out what lookedlike a beaver dam. Sure enough, we found that the bark had been munched from thebases of a couple of nearby trees. Also, a few smaller diameter stumps emerging fromthe water had clearly been gnawed. We found no obvious lodge, so we chose to believethat our rodent friend simply moved on to find a cozier place. Closer to the railtracks and a quarantined stretch of river, the rattling chatter of a beltedkingfisher alerted us to his presence. He was perched in a branch, overhanging thewetland, surveying his not-so-frozen domain. The kingfisher's harsh cal? was a starkcontrast to the delicate tinkling of the river ice just a few feet away.
- Chris O'Sullivan, Kerri Brady

2/2 - Garrison, HRM 51: We saw three adult bald eagles this morning, from our MetroNorth car, sitting on a sand bar. A fourth was flying high in the sky above them.Later we spotted a "monster" adult bald eagle perched in a tree in Peekskill'sriverside park (HRM 43.5). It seemed so large that it looked like a St. Bernard.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

2/3 - Kingston, HRM 92: I travel from West Hurley to Wappinger Falls every Sunday.As I enter the New York Thruway there is a large circular ramp with an embankmentoverlooking a small rill (it's too small to be called a creek). Recently, and mostdays in winter and into spring, I see a large hawk with a brown head and back, palebelly, sitting on the ground halfway up the hill and, I assume, hunting. Iconsistently see this particular bird at the same location for several years, now,but have never observed other such hawks spend so much time on the ground. I wonderif it's a red-tail?
- Ray Spiegel

[This is not an uncommon sight along the Thruway. When you see a hawk behaving likethe one you describe, it is, most of the time, a red-tailed hawk or one of its closerelatives. They've captured some prey and are on the ground feeding in the grass. Itis just about the only time that they are not perched in a tree or on a fence post.Tom Lake.]

2/3 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: When the Super Bowl ended around 9:45, severalnearby homes had small firework displays, mostly firecrackers and noisy sky rockets(Giants fans, I supposed). Our dogs were OK with the racket that lasted 15 minutes.Then there was 15 seconds of silence; then the coyotes began. It sounded like twosmall packs, 6-8 or more animals, calling, squeaking, howling, their entirerepertoire. The fireworks had surely agitated them and they, in turn, solicited alldogs to join in the protest. It all took nearly an hour to subside.
- Tom Lake

2/3 - George's Island, HRM 39: As I launched my kayak from George's Island inmid-afternoon, a large immature eagle flew low over the launch area toward a groupwith spotting scopes at the north end of the park. As I paddled south, I saw fivemore in flight, including one with the telltale white head and tail feathers whotook off from a tree it was sitting in at Oscawana.
- Stephen Butterfuss

2/3 - Bronx, New York City: Moving along Route 95, with the "Welcome to Westchester"sign in view, a red tailed hawk flew up from the road median, carrying some sort ofprey. A few miles further along, a merlin swept past unencumbered.
- Dave Taft

2/3 - Navesink River, NJ: It was a sunny, windless, 45 degree F day with a middaylow tide, just right for a few hours of scratching for hard clams. There were sevenof us, ranging in age from 3-77, working from four feet of water up onto drysandbars. Results: about 200 clams, half a dozen four-inch horseshoe crabs (releasedcarefully), a mud crab, and a sand worm. We spotted a few sand shrimp skittering onthe surface, plus the usual contingent of begging herring gulls. Duck hunting seasonis over so there were a few relaxed brant and black ducks around.
- Dery Bennett

2/4 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Today began well with the sighting of a blue jay! Normally,this is not something of note, but they have been conspicuous by their absence thiswinter. I had not seen one for 2-3 months.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/4 - Newcomb, HRM 302: I had a great group of 5th graders today for winter trackingat the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center. We hit pay dirt on the trail,all sorts of tracks: fox, squirrel, mouse, grouse, long-tail weasel, marten,raccoon, possibly fisher, and a whole pack of coyotes! The coyotes were the highpoint. The tracks were difficult to identify at first, very large, splayed toes, butfilled with snow and not well-d?fined, so we followed them. When we hit Rich Lake,we found a patch of yellow snow (very musky - I made everyone take a sniff), andfinally distinctive canine prints. The tracks were very large, almost as big as thepalm of my hand. As we continued around the trail, the coyote tracks kept crossingours. Finally I came to the conclusion that either this animal was going around andaround the peninsula on the ice, crossing over where we were walking, or we had apack. Considering the tracks all looked the same age, and knowing that the easterncoyote demonstrates pack-like behaviors, I decided that we had multiple animalshere.
- Ellen Rathbone

2/4 - New Hamburg, HRM 67.5: It helps to have an active imagination. As I looked outon the ice-choked river, the surface looked like a fancy restaurant with linentablecloths. Ice floes were still drifting slowly, shoulder-to-shoulder, down riverin the last of the ebb tide. I could see six eagles, a mix of adult and juveniles,perched on their "ice tables," one to a seating, all apparently feeding on fish, andall accompanied by one or two crows. Bald eagles can be surprisingly tolerant whenthere is, in their mind, enough to go around.
- Tom Lake

2/4 - Sandy Hook, NJ: A small-gull sized bird on a vacant osprey nest turned out tobe a peregrine falcon eating a recent catch. I couldn't tell what its meal was, butthere were plenty of buffleheads available in the bay.
- Dery Bennett

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [DutchessCounty]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- Mar 6: Interpreting the Hudson River, Scott Guerin

Hudson River Research Reserve at Norrie Point, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg[Dutchess County]. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- Feb 9: Winter on the River: Walk & Talk, 12:30 - 2:00 PM.

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program offerings:
Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, andmore...
- Feb 10: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY [Westchester County], 3:00 PM.
* For information on this free public program call: 212-924-8290


<<<<< HUDSON RIVER MILES >>>>>

The Hudson is measured north from Hudson River Mile 0 at the Battery at the southerntip of Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is at HRM 12, the Tappan Zee 28, BearMountain 47, Beacon-Newburgh 62, Mid-Hudson 75, Kingston-Rhinecliff 95, Rip VanWinkle 114, and the Federal Dam at Troy, the head of tidewater, at 153. Entries frompoints east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on themainstem.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
January 22 - 28, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

Harbor seals and other marine mammals have been sporadic visitors to the Hudson estuary for millennia. In recent years we may have begun to do a more thorough job of reporting them. This past week saw several more records, possibly of the same animal. Most of the seals are in the river to dine on the bounty of fish, especially in late winter and spring. Many are juveniles and, almost without exception, are in healthy condition. Just as winter finches and the occasional moose tie us to the northern reaches of the watershed and beyond, seals remind us of our connection to the sea.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT FROM LAST WEEK >>>>>

1/19 - Rockwood Hall, Westchester County, HRM 31: In early afternoon, a harbor seal was hauled out on a glacial erratic at low tide, just offshore, directly across the Hudson River from Hook Mountain. As a Parks and Recreation supervisor for the Taconic Region of the NYS OPRHP, I had heard a radio dispatch referring to?a seal sighting, and had traveled to Rockwood Hall to verify and to make sure the animal was not in distress.
- Laurence Gill

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

1/22 - Rhinebeck, HRM 92: This morning, when Josette Lee and I walked south on Mill Road, we saw "pancake ice" on the Landsman Kill, a tributary that runs southwest from Rhinebeck to the Hudson. The ice was just beyond a small dam that was built many years ago for a mill. We counted 5-6 dozen of the pancakes, ranging from 8-10" in diameter to over two feet across. They looked like sugar-coated lily pads, with raised edges, and at one side of the kill, they had started to join into a solid sheet of ice. I've seen pancake ice in the high Arctic, in salt water, but I didn't know that it formed in fresh water.
- Phyllis Marsteller

[This may have been frazil ice that first forms as tiny, round crystals throughout the water in cold weather after nucleating in some way that has long been a puzzle to scientists. Turbulent, super-cooled (slightly below 32 degrees F) water tumbles the crystals around making them grow until they float at the surface in loose agglomerations. It looks like floating snow. If frazil touches something underwater, a deadfall or a rock, it sticks, building from the sides and from the middle of the river and can eventually form dams, as is the case at the Ice Meadows (HRM 245) where the ice can grow to near glacial proportions. Cobbles and gravels at the bottom can be popped to the surface when the ice becomes buoyant enough. This process adds to the other river dynamics that are constantly moving sand, silt, gravel, and cobbles along the riverbed. Evelyn Greene.]

1/22 - Kowawese, HRM 59: It was a bitter cold morning and the only respite would be hiking a woodland trail. The 6th grades from Vail's Gate High Tech Magnet School had joined me for a brisk walk. Lack of snow made winter tracking of the park's nocturnal wildlife nearly impossible but we did come across one set of interesting tracks, a confused coyote that had come to the edge of a trail and had made several turns in place possibly trying to decide which way to go. Later on the beach we stood on the sand and I spoke to the group, facing into a frigid zero-degrees Fahrenheit windchill. A student, her back to the wind, asked, "Mr. Lake, are you crying?"
- Tom Lake, Barbara Oliver, S. Gerald

1/22 - Constitution Marsh, HRM 51.4: From our early morning Metro North commuter train we spotted a lone adult bald eagle perched proudly in a tree in Constitution Marsh. We could only wonder where the other two were that we had seen a few days earlier. Later on our trip the conductor announced that he had seen four eagles on the ice.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

1/23 - Oscawana, HRM 39.5: A beautiful adult bald eagle was sunning itself on one of the high south-facing branches of Oscawana Island. In the sky a little to the south, 4 more eagles cavorted high overhead. The adult flew off its perch, swooped down towards the river, and came back with a large fish in its talons. It landed in a tree and voraciously devoured its meal.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

1/23 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: We quietly stepped through the soft pine needle carpet, scanned high up through the evergreen branches, and were delighted to see two long-eared owls in one tree, one owl facing us directly. The distinctive long tufts and vertical markings on its chest were clearly evident. Later we discovered a third owl roosting in a nearby tree.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

1/24 - Putnam County, HRM 54: I stepped out onto Canopus Lake, in Fahnestock Park near the headwaters of Sprout Brook, a Hudson River tributary, just as the sun was disappearing. There were about 8" inches of hard ice underfoot. This lake is well-known to be either "on" or "off," but rarely in between. It did not take me long to realize that no fish would be coming up through the holes this evening. As?last light ebbed away, I left the lake to the ravens and coyotes.
- Tom Lake

1/24 - Bear Mountain Bridge, HRM 46: I watched a northbound adult eagle as I crossed the Bear Mountain Bridge this afternoon. The eagle banked hard to the left to avoid a dive-bombing peregrine falcon; the peregrine turned, climbed, and made a second pass at the eagle before returning to its perch on the bridge. The eagle continued north. It looked like a C-5 cargo plane compared to the peregrine's F-14 maneuvers.
- Stephen M. Seymour

[For many years we have jokingly referred to the peregrine falcons on the Bear Mountain Bridge as the "toll-collectors." As migrating autumn songbirds search for a narrow crossing of the Hudson River, they often settle on the passage from Anthony's Nose across to Bear Mountain. At those times it is not uncommon to see a peregrine come blasting out of the sky to scatter a flock of cedar waxwings or blackbirds. Tom Lake.]

1/25 - Beacon, HRM 61: While visiting the Dia-Beacon Museum, we were delighted to see two dozen robins in the parking lot feeding on the copious scarlet-orange berries of the European hornbeam trees. What a photo op!
- Jen Rab

1/25- Putnam County, HRM 54: Just after dawn I returned to Canopus Lake. There had been a light dusting of snow overnight and as I walked out on a fresh coating I could see some faint tracks. Small circular ridges marked my six holes from last evening. I followed a singular, linear pattern of dog paws, from hole to hole. A lone coyote had been out in the night checking each for bits of breakfast muffins or leftovers from lunch. Ice fishermen will, on occasion leave such things, as well as a small fish or two on the ice for the ravens.
- Tom Lake

1/26 - Glasco, HRM 100: I knew I had waited too long to get to the river; the sun was gone in the west and the afterglow was shining across Tivoli Bays across the way. The steady ice floes in the river told me the tide was pretty much at flood slack. In the absence of much light, establishing a sight image for eagles would not be easy. Luckily I was able to locate two adults perched on ice floes, their white heads like beacons. One immature, more of a dark smudge on a slab of white ice, was midway between them. None of them seemed in a hurry to get anywhere.
- Tom Lake

1/26 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 75: The weather had been so nice during the "January Thaw," that I decided to try my luck with doughball fishing for carp off the Poughkeepsie waterfront. I had some good opportunities over a span of a few days in the ice-less river, but did not receive a single nibble.
- Glen Heinsohn

1/26 - Hackensack Meadowlands, NJ: Highway hawks at 60 mph: I spotted a rough-legged hawk on a high tension tower, a red-tailed hawk on a small tree near Giants Stadium, and 3 more red-tails and a smaller hawk, maybe a red-shouldered, in bare trees along the New Jersey Turnpike just north of Newark Airport..
- Dery Bennett

1/27 - Norrie Point, HRM 85: There was a lone female ruddy duck in the southwest corner of the Norrie Point marina this afternoon, the first ruddy duck I've ever seen there. It was interesting to watch her feeding. When she dove, she'd often come up under the thin layer of ice that had formed around the edges of the piers. When she did this, she'd roll and give a kick and shoot unerringly towards the open water with her back up against the ice. She was amazingly unconcerned about close human presence as I was about 15' away from her when I first saw her and I continued to watch from that distance.
- David Lund

1/27 - Milton, HRM 71.5: It was a clear day with a few clouds and temperatures in the high 30s. We had no difficulty in finding the albino red-tailed hawk purported to be in a field west of Milton. Although distant, it was quite visible as it perched atop a pole beside a frozen pond. A little farther north, another normally colored red-tail was als? seen as it perched in a bare deciduous tree along the perimeter of a nearby field. Without field glasses, one might almost think the albino red-tail was a snowy owl, it was such a bright white with some black markings in the wings.
- Merrill Spaeth, Ed Spaeth

1/27 - Beacon, HRM 61: As we walked along the riverside trail in late afternoon, we spotted a mockingbird chasing a robin from its cache of berries. Few other birds were seen. A freight train rumbling along the western shore seemed to have frightened waves of gulls as they flew up from the river and circled over Newburgh landing. The river for the most part was ice-free except for rim ice along the banks. Heading back to car, we enjoyed a glorious sunset as well.
- Merrill Spaeth, Ed Spaeth

1/27 - Shrewsbury River, NJ: I counted 200 ruddy ducks in two separate flocks on the river plus a red-tailed hawk on a telephone pole and 10 mute swans in the distance. The river was open but smaller creeks had ice. Later I watched herring gulls land on slick, new creek ice without a single skid or trip. They swoop down close to the ice at high speed, then climb one foot into the wind and drop gently onto the ice. Neater than a gymnast nailing a landing.
- Dery Bennett

1/28 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67.5: The digital clock said 0321 when my dog and I suddenly sat up in bed. It was a pair of owls serenading - one was literally right outside our window in a Norway maple, another not far away. The calls, though clear, were not altogether familiar. They sounded like "puppies fussing and cats complaining," with one owl making a short direct vocalization (male?) and the other a more varied and longer response (female?). If I did not know that these were owls in trees I would have thought they were cats and dogs. Later I would listen to owl calls on tape and, given the tone, variety, and dialogue, would tentatively conclude that they were short-eared owls. However, after conferring with naturalists and owl experts like Jim Beamer, Rich Guthrie, Erik Kiviat, Pete Nye, and Steve Stanne, I came to realize that these could have been uncommon variations on the calls of barred or screech owls. A postscript to this story was the dead (frozen) Norway rat that I found on my back deck, coincidently under the Norway maple, at first light. We have no cats around our neighborhood, as far as I know, so the Norway rat was a real delivery, likely dropped by one of the owls as it flew over.
- Tom Lake, Cody the golden retriever

[There is a rich folklore worldwide in human culture, a mythology that the presence of owls calling at night portends doom. This is a bad rap that occasionally results in doom for the owls. In contrast, Native Algonquian people in the Hudson Valley generally saw owls in a more positive role a protector, or guardian. Tom Lake.]

1/28 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 75.5: Leaving work and walking down the top level of the parking deck across from the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, I was marveling at how nice the weather was. Just then, from behind, a good-sized bird buzzed right past my left hand, giving me a good start, then continued flying between the 3rd and 4th decks no more than two feet off the pavement, finally sweeping up to the roof of the building behind the deck. My hunch was right: it was the Cooper's hawk that has been terrorizing the birds I feed in the lot outside the office.
- Donna Lenhart

1/28 - Town of Fishkill, HRM 63: Has anyone noticed that there may be fewer wild turkeys around this winter? The small flocks I'm used to seeing along route 9D in Dutchess County have been absent this winter, unless there is enough food back in the woods to keep them content and out of sight.
- Stephen M. Seymour

1/28 - Manhattan, HRM 5.5: A good number of New Yorkers watched a harbor seal hauled out on a dock at the 79th Street Boat Basin today. We estimated that the seal was 3-4' long and weighed about 90 lb.
- Leslie Day

[P?otos of this seal seem to confirm that it is the same animal that we have tracked in the lower estuary over the last three weeks: 12/31 - Piermont HRM25; 1/15 - West Point HRM52.5; 1/17 - Ossining HRM33; 1/19 - Rockwood Hall HRM31; 1/19 - Sleepy Hollow HRM28, and 1/28 - Manhattan HRM5.5. To report a marine mammal sighting, call the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation's 24-hour Hotline,(631) 369-9829.]

1/28 - Sandy Hook, NJ: There were many gulls in the air but one of them, while the same silver-and-white color, flew low over the phragmites, bobbing and fluttering - a male northern harrier (marsh hawk). These silver males, sometimes referred to as "ghost birds," are special; most harriers I see are females or immatures, in various shades of brown and tan.
- Dery Bennett

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County]. Handicapped accessible. Free. Information:
845-889-4745, x105.

- Feb 7: Tugboats on the Hudson, Steve Trueman

Hudson River Research Reserve at Norrie Point, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- Feb 9: Winter on the River: Walk & Talk, 12:30 - 2:00 PM.

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program offerings:
Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, and more...
- Feb 10: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY [Westchester County], 3:00 PM.
* For information on this free public program call: 212-924-8290

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
January 14 -21, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

There is something nice about knowing there is a marine mammal, in this case a harbor seal, out in the river. They are just uncommon enough to make them very special. They appear and disappear (two more sightings this week, 25 miles and 4 days apart), like Houdinis, popping up when least expected, head like a basketball with whiskers, and with an appetite for all the seafood the river produces.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT FROM LAST WEEK >>>>>

1/15 - Sandy Hook, NJ: A patch of lawn attracted about 60 brant pulling grass. Periodically one would assume the "attack position," head down and forward, and chase a nearby brant. Then peace would descend, followed by more attacks and more truces. There seemed to be no pattern for this activity, nor clearly obvious bullies or wimps. Add it to the long list of animal behavior we don't understand.
- Dery Bennett

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

1/14 - Staten Island, New York City: It is finally adding up for me. "Pale Male" may have been the celebrity messenger, but there must be a population explosion of red-tailed hawks in New York City. I seem to see them everywhere I travel along the south shore of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Today, some friends and I walked out into the Fort Wadsworth parking lot to see a large adult red-tail perched in a poplar and staring straight at us. Two blue jays were already scolding him, and I suppose we were the final indignity. With a labored haul, he lifted off the tree and landed in an old oak, this time facing out into the harbor. The jays continued their torment and he continued?to move from tree to tree until the jays tired of the game. For a hawk, my agonizing commute along the coast of Brooklyn and Queens is a five-minute flight. I can't help wondering if I'm seeing 2 birds in a large range, or many birds variously distributed. Whatever the cause, these hawks are welcome addition.
- Dave Taft

1/15 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: Faced with glare and distance, you often need a spotting scope to clearly see birds when looking across the river to Rockland County. With the late afternoon sun behind it, a bald eagle was clearly defined against the purplish sky. So intent were we on seeing this bird that we failed to notice a large immature in a tree right behind us. A gentleman driving by stopped and told us that it had been perched there all day. We also saw an eagle flying high over the river, heading south.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

1/15 - West Point, HRM 52.5: A seal was spotted and photographed at noontime today close to shore off the North Dock. The photo strongly suggested that this was the same light-colored harbor seal that was seen hauled out at Piermont on New Year's Eve, having traveled 27 miles upriver in two weeks (see 12/31, Piermont Pier).
- Jim Beemer

1/16 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 75.5: You can tell when you are around a birder. You never seem to have their undivided attention. They are continually being distracted by sights and sounds that no one else seems to notice or hear. And so it was as we tried to have a conversation along the bank of the tidal Fall Kill as night-roosting crows began to assemble, raptors whizzed about, and songbirds anxiously flitted. But we were both rapt when a half a dozen pigeons bolted from the eaves of a brick building and a peregrine falcon came cruising around the corner of the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum. The pigeons escaped, our conversation ended, and we went our separate ways still tuned in to that other frequency.
- Tom Lake, Chris Bowser

1/17 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Winter came back as we recorded -5 degrees F overnight.
- Ellen Rathbone

1/17 - Constitution Marsh, HRM 51.4: From our early morning Metro North commuter train traveling along the edge of Constitution Marsh, we spotted an adult bald eagle in a tree. Illuminated in the blueish hue of the morning light, its white head was clearly visible.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

1/17 - Rockland County, HRM 33: On a gray day, traversing the causeway from New City to Congers, I spotted a cluster of bald eagles (one adult, 3 immatures) hunkered down on the ice on Lake DeForest, the man-made reservoir on the Hackensack River. It does not take them too many wing beats to be over Rockland Lake and on to the Hudson. Lake DeForest is a regular haunt for our wintering friends.
- Joel Epstein

1/18 - Knox, Albany County, HRM 145: This morning a northern cardinal was singing its unmistakable spring song. Titmice were beginning to sing as well.
- Dave Nelson

1/18 - Newburgh, HRM 62.5: Traveling south on 9W late this afternoon, I noticed numerous crows in trees on both sides of the highway. Turning onto Interstate 84, I saw several thousand more perched in trees on both sides of the road with still many hundreds more flying overhead. As I left that stunning scene, perfectly scripted for a notable Hitchcock movie, and headed east across the gray ice-free Hudson, I noted the subdued pink of the eastern sky above the snow covered mountains, looking much like sugar cakes sprinkled with chocolate. My rearview mirror revealed an even more glorious multi-hued vermilion sky to the west. It was a beautiful ending to a day replete with all manner of weather, starting with rain, snow and finally warm sun.
- Ed Spaeth

1/18 - Constitution Marsh, HRM 51.4: As our early morning Metro North commuter train sped along the edge of Constitution Marsh, we were treated to a special sight of 3 bald e?gles perched in a tree, braced against the icy precipitation - one was an adult, another immature, and the third, in shadows, was indeterminate.
- Mike Boyajian, Jeri Wagner

1/18 - Verplanck to George's Island, HRM 40-39: It was the morning after two inches of heavy snow-slop. Twenty members of the Palisades Nature Association joined us for their 9th annual Hudson River bald eagle tour. Over the next 90 minutes we counted 5 adult birds and 12 immatures. While we would never admit that eagles might become commonplace, it was a special moment at George's Island when four black vultures appeared close overhead, twirling in a mini-kettle, ebony black against a turquoise sky.
- Nancy Slowik, Christopher Letts, Tom Lake

1/18 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: It was easy for us to sense that John Muir "theology" of forests as a natural cathedrals as our group entered a dense stand of white pines in near-total silence. There was nary a whisper as we treaded lightly on pine needles in subdued light with a soft evergreen fragrance in the air to a point where we could look up and see three long-eared owls asleep in their communal roost. From our vantage, 20' below, they hardly seemed like owls: Chris Letts offered that they resembled "pineapples with feathers," and we agreed. These are nocturnal hunters that spend the daylight hours at rest. After several minutes of collective appreciation, we made a stealthy exit.
- Nancy Slowik, Tom Lake

1/18 - Hackensack Meadowlands, NJ: After many runs of wasted gas to North Germantown and Cheviot Landing, I finally found the canvasbacks. They had gone to the city! I estimated the crowd to be 150-200 at DeKorte Park, part of the Hackensack River watershed that flows into Newark Bay. There were also a few ruddy ducks, pintails, Canada geese, loads of mallards, a couple of red-tailed hawks, and a northern harrier.
- Mimi Brauch

1/19 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: Our public Hudson River bald eagle programs do not draw the crowds they once did, when an eagle on the river was a novelty, but those that do show up are full of enthusiasm. Thirty-five of us took turns peering through spotting scopes at an odd-looking immature eagle perched on a snag along the periphery of Green's Cove just below Verplanck. It was mottled white and brown with nearly all of the white on its breast. Generally such splashes of white are on their back. This one looked, superficially like a giant red-tailed hawk! On its right leg was a red band. In less than an hour we counted 5 adult eagles and 3 immatures.
- Andra Sramek, Christopher Letts, Tom Lake

[Blue leg bands, most commonly seen by observers along the Hudson, are on eagles that have fledged in New York State. A red leg band, as in this case, could have come from either Ontario Province in Canada, or the State of Maine. Pete Nye.]

1/19 - Sleepy Hollow, HRM 28: I'm a locomotive engineer for Amtrak and today I spotted a harbor seal sitting on a rock in the river, just watching the train go by a short distance north of Tarrytown. I was really amazed. I didn't know there were seals in the Hudson.
- Rachel Phillips

1/20 - Newcomb, HRM 302: It's a beautiful morning here, sunshine, blue sky, -8 degrees F. There were still no great flocks of birds at my feeders, despite new seed and feeders.
- Ellen Rathbone.

1/20 - North Germantown, HRM 109: It seemed odd for the end of January - no ice on the river as far as you could see, save for a slushy accumulation along the shore. However, a 17 degree F air temperature, coupled with a 17 mph wind, producing a windchill of about -17 degree F, promised a change. Across the way at the edge of Inbocht Bay I spotted an adult eagle in a hardwood and wondered if it was one of the locals from a nearby nest. As I further wondered where its mate might be a large shadow passed over the ground at my feet. Looking up I had a nice view of a second adult eagle as ?he disappeared over the railroad tracks and into the treeline.
- Tom Lake

1/20 - Cheviot, HRM 106: At the last of the flood tide, a dozen goldeneyes, both hens and drakes, were diving on the submerged rock and earth pier that extends a quarter-mile from the eastern shore. No more than six were on the surface at one time as the rest dove on fish and shellfish. A formation of 14 male common mergansers came down the river, just off the water, in perfectly synchronized flight, glowing in the bright sunlight.
- Tom Lake

1/20 - Saugerties, HRM 102: Despite a series of frigid nights, the Esopus Creek above the dam at Saugerties was still wide open except for a few back bays where 8" of ice had formed. Yellow perch, bluegills, black crappie, and pumpkinseed were all eager to please the ice anglers. At one point all action ceased. Then a huge largemouth bass, all of 5 lb., grabbed the lure. We needed a spud to widen the hole to extract the fish. The hook on my ice jig was straightened. Largemouth bass might be big and strong, but they do not hold a candle to the grace and beauty of a crappie! Stuffing the bass back in the hole was nearly as difficult as getting it out.
- Tom Lake

1/20 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: As we passed the old clay pit on Riverview Avenue, we spotted two stately great blue herons standing on the edge of the pond waiting for breakfast to come by. As we drove down to the west end of Sixth Street, there were 3 beautiful adult bald eagles riding the thermals against the blue sky. Two juveniles were locking talons, typical of play behavior, while soaring over the frigid Hudson.
- Dianne Picciano, Phil Picciano

1/21 - Hudson River: Here are a couple of observations from The Red Hook Journal, from a winter on the Hudson 140 years ago:

• Friday Morning Jan. 3, 1868: The Hudson River is said to have been once the resort of salmon in as large numbers as shad, and it is suggested that, under proper laws restraining fishermen, it might be restocked, as is now being done with the Connecticut.
• Friday Morning Jan. 10, 1868: They have had several days of good skating on the river at Tarrytown this winter, a circumstance which has not occurred before for many years.

- Maynard Ham

[The genesis of the belief that salmon were native to the river began with Henry Hudson in 1609, and was probably a case of mistaken identity. Atlantic salmon are spring spawners. Hudson and his crew would not have seen "large stores of salmon" in the river in September of 1609. He may have seen fish that were unfamiliar to him, such as striped bass or weakfish. Tom Lake.]

1/21 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: From the edge of the old clay pit at Verplanck we watched a pair of adult eagles to the south over Dogan Point. They chased one another, swooping up and down, wing touches, talon grabs, courtship behavior. It's that time of the season. The channel marker buoy just offshore and south of Steamboat Dock had it usual cormorant "gang," both double-crested and great cormorants.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center [Dutchess County].
Handicapped accessible. Free. Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- Feb 7: Tugboats on the Hudson, Steve Trueman

Hudson River Research Reserve at Norrie Point, Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg [Dutchess County]. Free.
Information: 845-889-4745, x105.
- Feb 9: Winter on the River: Walk & Talk, 12:30 - 2:00 PM.

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program offerings:Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, and more...
- Feb 10: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY [Westchester County], 3:00 PM.
* For information on this free public program call: 212-924-8290

<<<<< HUDSON RIVER MIL?S >>>>>

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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
January 8-14, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

A week of spring-like air temperatures, the designation of a New York State butterfly, and having the sun rise a minute earlier for the first time since mid-June, did little to blunt the notice that a third Chinese mitten crab had been recovered, this time at Danskammer Point.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

1/9 - New Paltz, HRM 78: Three of the satellite tags that we attached to adult Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River last summer have popped off and are transmitting data in e-mail form to my computer. The tags were programmed to store data (water temperature, depth, and light intensity to estimate geo-location later in the data analysis) every 15 minutes and pop off on December 15, 2007. Each day the tag transmits data until the battery dies or all the data is transmitted. We have the locations where the tags surfaced, which give us a very broad idea of where each fish was when the tag popped off. One is in the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern shore, another in the ocean near the eastern shore of Maryland, and one is offshore, in the middle of the Atlantic. Presumably it became detached from the fish prematurely and floated away.
- Amanda Higgs, Mark Dufour

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

1/8 - Newcomb, HRM 302: In 59 degree weather, I snowshoed the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center's Sucker Brook Trail to put up some ski signs. I was surprised to find beaver tracks, trails, and chews around and under one of the bridges. This is where one usually expects to see otter signs this time of year, not beaver. But there was no mistaking the footprints and the browse marks. The lack of any slides also provided a good clue that it wasn't otter. There was also a set of mink tracks, but they were older. The water was high, rushing out the Little Sucker Brook and into the Rich Lake Outlet at a level I hadn't seen in a long while. You'd think it was April or May! I even heard a chickadee doing its spring-time call.
- Ellen Rathbone

1/8 - Albany, HRM 145: The air temperature reached 60 degrees F today, a record high for the date.
- National Weather Service

1/8 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 68: The air temperature reached 63 degrees F today, also a record high for the date.
- National Weather Service

1/8 - Town of Cortlandt, Westchester County, HRM 43: The sky was still black but I could tell it was extremely foggy since the lights in the parking lot were like huge fuzzy gauzes. Even at this pre-dawn hour, the air was 55 degrees F as I stood at the edge of Loundsbury Pond, an impoundment of Dickey Brook, a Hudson River tributary. Stepping out onto a frozen lake in total foggy darkness can be eerie, maybe adventurous, even foolhardy. On the rare occasions when this occurs, it reminds me of the scene from Dr. Zhivago where the Red Army charges across a frozen lake on horseback to rout the Bolsheviks. No Bolsheviks today, but hopefully strong ice. Ten feet out I drilled a hole - just over 4" of black ice - plenty safe. However, after a day of springlike weather, it would not be safe by dusk. While they had been around the pond for the last month or more, today was the first time that a flock of 30 Canada geese b?gan pairing up, a prelude to nesting. In a few instances there were three, sorting things out, generally two males posturing and jousting. At least a dozen bluebirds in the bushes serenaded us. Fish? Yes, a few managed to break the tranquility but not so many that we unable to enjoy the rest of the show.
- Tom Lake, Christopher Letts

[We tend to mention bluebirds frequently in the Almanac because they have not always been such a prominent feature of the winter landscape in Hudson Valley. Their increased presence may be another example of a general softening of our winter weather. Tom Lake.]

1/8 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 74: I took a walk at lunch time at Vassar Farm to search for the northern shrike that had recently been spotted by some Waterman Bird Club birders. I never found it, but on the way back had a fly-over by 2 snow buntings.
- Bill Lenhart

1/8 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: We counted 5 pairs of hooded mergansers in the old clay pit, a remnant of the brick industry of long ago. Across the road, out on the Hudson, a huge raft of common mergansers stretched a mile from Dogan Point north to Verplanck. We estimated that there may have been as many as 500 ducks.
- Tom Lake, Christopher Letts

1/8 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: I flicked on the patio floodlights and watched raccoons, opossums and skunks mooch for bird seed. Leaving the light on for ten minutes started a nocturnal entomology program as a medley of cold-tolerant night-flying insects sought the light. January thaw?
- Christopher Letts

1/8 - Manhattan, HRM 5: The air temperature reached 64 degrees F, one degree Fahrenheit shy of the record high for the date.
- National Weather Service

1/9 - Albany, HRM 145: The air temperature reached 62 degrees F, a record high for the date.
- National Weather Service

1/9 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 68: The air temperature reached 62 degrees F today, tying the record high for the date.
- National Weather Service

1/9 - Manhattan, HRM 5: The air temperature reached 64 degrees F, tying the record high for the date.
- National Weather Service

1/10 - Albany, HRM 145: It was announced today that, thanks to 35,000 state-wide student voters, grades 3, 4, and 5, who participated in a contest to name a New York butterfly, the red- spotted purple/white admiral butterfly will be the official New York State butterfly. Legislation will now be introduced in both houses designating the red-spotted purple/white admiral as the official New York State Butterfly. Once the legislation passes and is signed by the governor, the butterfly will join the list of official state flora and fauna including the rose as the state flower, the sugar maple as the state tree and the bluebird as the state bird. This contest was a huge success because our students had fun while learning. They should be proud of the fact that they exercised their right to vote and, as a result, impacted legislation and made a difference in New York State.

- Aileen Gunther, New York State Assemblywoman

[The red-spotted purple/white admiral butterfly belongs to the family of brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) and can be seen statewide. These are two forms of one species, although as with many taxonomic designations there is debate between "lumpers" and "splitters." Some scientists see minute variations as a reason to split or differentiate, while others see enough similarity in the same features to lump life forms into the same species. The red-spotted form is more common in the southern part of the state; the white form is more common in northern areas. The best evidence for the closeness of their relationship is the fact that the forms interbreed where their ranges overlap. Tom Lake.]

1/10 - Hudson Valley: Today was the 30th annual Mid-Winter Bald Eagle Census in New York State, t?e day when we try to count all the eagles in all of the major state flyways, wintering, roosting, and congregation areas. A recent surge of true winter weather had driven many wintering birds south from Canada, points north and east. Our expectations were pretty high.
- Tom Lake

1/10 - Albany to Westchester County, HRM 145-35: Our helicopter flight down the Hudson as part of the annual NYSDEC Mid-Winter Bald Eagle Census found no ice whatsoever on the river for our entire route. From the air, our eagle count was 42 (27 adults and 15 immatures).
- Scott VanArsdale, Doug Traudt, Dave Bowden, Bob Hanrahan, Pete Nye

1/10 - Lattintown Brook to Iona Island, HRM 69-44. This 25-mile reach of the estuary is the annual trek I take to count eagles. Much depends on the weather, visibility, ice on the river, and the whim of the birds - in 2001, I counted 52; in 2002 I had only 5. Today was relatively warm with no ice on the Hudson. The wooded highlands along the river were a rich brown, no snow, promising to make identification of immature eagles a real challenge. Birders are good at developing a sight image, but good camouflage defeats the best of us. From first light to noon, traveling north to south, both sides of the river, I counted 13 birds, 10 adults and 3 immatures. Twice I spotted two adults perched close together, most likely mated pairs, probably from Hudson Valley nests.
- Tom Lake

1/10 - Northern Westchester County, HRM 33-44: Even though I know I missed a bunch - some of the immatures I spotted only because they roused or I saw them land - I had at least one eagle at every stop. I ended up with 28, the final one soaring over the Annsville Circle just north of Peekskill. On this same route a few days earlier, with some ice on the river, I counted 49.
- Christopher Letts

1/11 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Midnight thunder, in January - it was odd enough to wake me up. A cold front swept over the Mid-Hudson Valley bringing torrential rain. It seemed to make more than just me a bit anxious as I could hear a coyote yelp between each thunder clap.
- Tom Lake

1/11 - Danskammer Point, HRM 66.5: Another juvenile Chinese mitten crab, a male, was found on the impingement screen at the Danskammer Point Power Generating Facility. Two legs were missing but the crab was still alive. This was the third mitten crab collected in the estuary in last 7 months (see 6/3 Nyack; 10/29 Cold Spring). This specimen was sent to the Marine Invasions Lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland for analysis.
- Mark DuFour

[The three mitten crabs recovered thus far include an adult male, an immature male, and an immature female. If you encounter a mitten crab in New York State, please notify Leslie Surprenant, NYSDEC Invasive Species Management Coordinator (518) 402-8980, (ljsurpre@gw.dec.state.ny.us), and Carin D. Ferrante, Smithsonian Mitten Crab Coordinator (ferrantec@si.edu). Do not release them live! If you take photos, make certain that you take both dorsal and ventral views so we can determine its sex. Leslie Surprenant.]

1/11 - Brooklyn, New York City: A 50 degree day in mid-January and a foggy morning made my drive pleasant, if supernatural. At the Erskine Street exit I spotted a red-tailed hawk, too large for the tree, perched on a small planted oak. Like an oversized Christmas ornament, the bird dragged down the branch tip and with it the top part of the whole young oak. Each small shift of the breeze made him do a comical little shuffle. Sadly, for the first time in recorded history, the Belt Parkway was moving and I whisked past the bird all too fast.
- Dave Taft

1/11 - Sandy Hook, NJ: After a couple of 65 degree days, we were back in the 40s. Hundreds of starlings lined the telephone wires this morning on Sandy Hook, an argument against buri?d wires. Later, on a still ocean, there was a single red-throated loon fishing offshore as well as one human surf fisherman on the beach. No action for either. After a long absence, a flock of cedar waxwings, maybe 40, filled a hackberry tree.
- Dery Bennett

1/12 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 74: I went back to Vassar Farm this morning to once again search for the reported northern shrike. I finally spotted it, just adjacent to the Field Station. It was very active for the next hour, flying from perch to ground and perch again. Some blue jays seemed to be inquisitively following it although there were no hostile interaction between them. Some of the smaller songbirds seemed rather irate about its presence.
- Bill Lenhart

1/12 - Beacon, HRM 61: A chill north wind kept air temperatures in the low 40s and a heavy chop on the river for our walk along the Hudson from Denning's Point to Long Dock. While we saw no eagles, and nary a duck, we did spot 2 robins, 2 golden-crowned kinglets, and a lone dandelion in bloom. Easily enough to brighten our walk.
- Carolyn Plage, Ed Connelly, Chance Plage

1/12 - Peekskill to Croton Point, HRM 45-34: Today was our first eagle-watching day of the winter. While we didn't see a great number, we did see five adults and one immature between Peekskill and Croton Point. The highlight was an adult perched at Verplanck that seemed to be posing for photographs. In our travels we also saw a belted kingfisher, a great blue heron, and 2 long-eared owls at Croton Point. Not bad for a comfortably warm day.
- Malcolm Castro, Rudy Castro

1/13 - Middle Ground Flats, Hudson, HRM 118: My little red kayak shared the river with only one other vessel, the Veronica Evelyn, being gently coaxed north by the tug Cheyenne. I looped the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, then the island where a white-tailed deer bounded the short distance from the west side of the island to the east. About 150 Canada geese greeted my return to the east side of the island with loud honks. They put themselves into a formation that looked like a connect-the-dots picture of a basking shark's gaping mouth and large dorsal fin. I watched the sun set with two immature bald eagles perched on the island - maybe they were eyeing the one lone merganser riding the incoming tide.
- Fran Martino

1/13 - Pine Plains, HRM 96: While exploring back roads around Stissing Mountain, looking for one less traveled, a quiet place to hike, we watched a red-shouldered hawk hunting around a deserted pasture. He flew from tree to tree as we approached, but never left the area. I noticed mouse and mole trails under the melted snow.
- Joanne Engle

1/13 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 74: I went back to Vassar Farms today for some shrike photos. The bird was pretty accommodating as it sat for long periods of time at the tops of trees within the creek bottom. At times it vocalized, and once broke out into song. A few waves of goldfinches were pulled in by it, some flying at its head. After watching for 45 minutes, I started back to the parking lot, leaving the shrike behind. As I walked into a clearing, I saw a solitary bird in a maple tree. It was another northern shrike! I watched this adult for 5 minutes. At one point it flew into heavy shrubbery to the side of the road and emerged with prey in its feet. I could not tell what it caught as it flew along the shrub edge and then back into it.
- Bill Lenhart

1/13 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: The eagles are back! And how do I know? I have been noticing large white splatters on our paved driveway and absent mindedly wondered who came and dropped white paint while we were at work. The culprit may have been discovered. Sunday my sister saw an immature sitting in the very tall tulip tree, on a branch that reaches out over our driveway. This time it left a white splat calling card on the roof of my car - I assume this means good?luck! Over the five winters that we have been in this house we have had many sightings of eagles perched in the surrounding trees. Because we sit high above the river on the site of Revolutionary Fort Lafayette, the birds have great views up, down, and across the river.
- Pat Korn

1/13 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: It was an inauspicious start to our public bald eagle program. Fifty-three of us stood around at George's Island - fifty people with expectant looks; three naturalists with anxious looks. There was not an eagle in sight. We all caravanned a mile north to Verplanck and that made all the difference. A hundred common mergansers took flight from inside Green's Cove, launching into their bullet-like profile as they sped away out to the river. All this because an immature bald eagle was looping around the cove. Within minutes we had eagle flybys, several heading upriver to a join a "kettle" of eagles circling over Indian Point. We counted 8-10 and likely missed that many more. Feeding time. Across the river in the shadow of the Stony Point Light, we counted another 8-10 eagles as they soared, interacted, and faded in and out behind the treeline. What began as bird-less event had blossomed into a memorable time for all.
- Tom Lake, Christopher Letts, Andra Sramek

1/14 - Newcomb, HRM 302: The snow storm left us with just over 4" of fluff, bringing us back up to 15" on the ground. Everything is white once more. A cloud of common redpolls, 20-30 of them, descended upon my window feeder, all vying for the two feeding ports. Apparently they were oblivious to the multiple bird feeders just around the corner, or maybe the three red squirrels were too intimidating. As quickly as they appeared, though, they vanished - one moment it was a swarm, the next, not a bird to be seen anywhere. I wondered if a sharp-shinned or Cooper's hawk flew by.
- Ellen Rathbone

1/14 - Sandy Hook, NJ: Gulls here sometimes "tend" diving birds. They hang around while the divers - ducks or cormorants - bring up an edible. Then they freeload. Today a black-backed gull and a double-crested cormorant got in a tug of war over a fairly large fish that the cormorant worked for, but the gull wanted. There was much flapping and yanking with no obvious winner
- Dery Bennett

1/14 - Navesink River, NJ: The Oceanic Bridge is a low slung span across the Navesink between Middletown and Rumson and a favorite roosting place for winter starlings. It's best to start watching about half an hour before dark. They gather on the bridge railings and then drop down under the bridge to settle on the girders. Here they whistle, squeak, and squawk, as if to exchange news and reassure each other that they are safe from the peregrine falcon that often perches on a light standard above them.
- Dery Bennett


<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center; Free. Handicapped accessible. Information: 845-889-4745, ext.05.

Feb 7: Tugboats on the Hudson, Steve Trueman

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program offerings:
Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, and more...

• Jan 19: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
• Feb 10: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 3:00 PM.

* For information on these free, public programs call: 212-924-8290

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the co?responding river mile on the mainstem.

<<<<< TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE >>>>>

Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com by 9:00 pm on the Monday previous to publication. See something really special?

Give us a call at (845)297-8935.

The Hudson River E-Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. 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.

Conservationist magazine brings nature to your door. 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 to http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html

<<<<< USEFUL LINKS >>>>>

National Ocean Service tide predictions are on line at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides07/ and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides08/. Tidal current predictions are at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents07/ and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents08/

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

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
January 1 - 7, 2008
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

The harbor seal is a typical winter visitor in the estuary. Perhaps here far more frequently than we realize, seals become more visible when they haul out on ice floes. This highlight from last week is included here since their presence is noteworthy and is a wonderful reminder of the Hudson's connection to the sea.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT FROM A PAST WEEK >>>>>

12/31 - Piermont Pier, HRM 25: I spotted a harbor seal in the river in the same general location where we saw the snowy owl last winter. Maybe it will invite the snowy to come back for a encore.
- Joan Coffey

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

1/1 - George's Island, HRM 39: We held our 23rd Annual New Year's Day program at George's Island, usually an epicenter of eagle activity.
Participants over the years have numbered 25 - 900. We were on the low end of that range this time, but the eagles provided a show: 5 immatures on Dogan Point, alternately perching and preening, then jousting in the air, showing off their immense wingspan. One of the five loo?ed like someone had poured a can of white paint down the chocolate-colored feathers on its back. Scientists call this a "white extreme." While the eagles played acrobat, an immature Cooper's hawk perched in a mulberrytree just a stone's throw away, providing some contrast.
- Yvonne Lynn, Andra Sramek, Christopher Letts, Joel Epstein, Tammy Epstein, Max Epstein, Ava Epstein Jasper Epstein, Tom Lake

[Ornithologist Peter Dunne calls these birds "white extreme," a color phase fitting some three year-old bald eagles. It's been described as an eagle wearing a white cape. As immature eagles approach adulthood, their plumage eclipses from mostly brown, to mottled brown-and-white, to a showy-white display with some brown (white extreme), to the final white head and tail of the adult. Tom Lake]

1/1 - Sandy Hook, NJ: The American Littoral Society's 30th annual New Year's Day beach walk to the tip of the Hook drew 80 hardy hikers and 3 dogs for the cloudy, rainy start of the 3-mile round trip. Again we tried and failed to communicate with our New York members across the eight miles of water to Breezy Point on Long Island. This time we started with the 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke and Mentos candies, a 20-foot geyser experiment. Result: six inches of brown foam. Home-made "rockets" (match heads wrapped in aluminum foil, heated by a butanelighter) also failed. Finally, a store-bought sparkler atop a 15-foot pole produced a clear result: weak capgun-like pops at the end of its ignition flushed hundreds of gulls off the beach a quarter of a mile to the south. The gulls had congregated there to feast on surf clams tossed ashore by recent nor'easters. Except for a solitary mockingbird in the dunes, this was the extent of wildlife sightings.
- Dery Bennett

1/2 - Newcomb, HRM 302: A New Year's Day storm had passed and the morning dawned sunny and bright. We garnered almost 5" of new snow, bringing the total to about 27" on the ground. The sun had a huge halo around it, extending quite a distance, about two hand spans.
- Ellen Rathbone

1/2 - Red Hook, HRM 96.5: I snowshoed out at Poets' Walk as far as the Overlook Pavilion, which seems to be at the highest point in the park.
There were lots of fresh tracks from cross-country skiers, hikers, and snowshoers, as well as white-tailed deer tracks. There was no ice on the river, at least the section I could see, and the water was a dark slate gray. While I was looking at the river, an adult bald eagle flew past, headed south, flying low below the roadway level of the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge.
- Phyllis Marsteller

[Poets' Walk is off River Road in Red Hook, just north of the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge. Mown and gravel pathways lead to 120 acres of fields, forest, and spectacular river views. Walls of foliage and stone evoke outdoor "rooms" that reflect the 1849 aims of landscape architect Hans Jacob Ehlers. Scenic Hudson.]

1/2 - Queens, New York City: The pigeons seemed none too pleased with the red-tailed hawk that swept across Yellowstone Boulevard in Kew Gardens this morning. For its part, I've never seen one so mellow, coasting along over the homes and trees, but then, I'm not looking at the scene with a pigeon's eye view. Later this same morning, on the "Raptor Parkway" (Belt Parkway) in Brooklyn, another red-tail circled high over the landfills, hunting.
- Dave Taft

1/3 - Farmer's Landing, HRM 67: We had single digits (+7 degrees F) at dawn today, as cold as it has been this winter. The new ice on the river had that frozen, super-cooled saltwater look. The windchill was -9degrees F.
- Tom Lake

1/3 - George's Island, HRM 39: Today we were rewarded with our first bald eagle sightings of the season. The inlet was heavily crusted with ice as we arrived in early afternoon. We spotted an adult eagle on Dogan Point, quite well hidden amid the branches. Another adult soon joined it a?d they both flew off around the point upriver toward Verplanck.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

1/3 - Oscawana, HRM 38.5: The scene at Oscawana, not much more than a half-mile downriver, was quite different. There was no ice on the river and the water shone silver in the waning afternoon sunlight. Out on a long limb over the point was an adult eagle, basking in the sun on its south-facing perch.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson

1/3 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: We came looking for owls and, happily, 2 short-eared owls were perched on poles on the landfill. They seemed so tame - were we the first humans to ever approach them? - as we walked within fifty yards of them on the service road . They paid us no attention and we left them to their mousing. A pair of adult bald eagles was perched side-by-side in a big locust. We watched a female harrier skirt the dump and head out over the marsh. Down on the south side service road, as many as 800 waterfowl were under the lee of the Point:common mergansers, ruddy ducks, bufflehead, blacks, mallards, and a flock of wary lesser scaup.
- Christopher Letts, George Hatzmann

1/3 - Staten Island, New York City: Heading to meet with the district ranger at Great Kills Park, I was distracted by a large flock of birds.
They turned out to be 100 or more tree swallows! I could not believe my eyes; the thermometer in the car registered 15 degrees F. My mind stretched to think where the nearest flying insect might be, and even for a bird as adept as a swallow, Virginia seemed a long commute. I understand these birds switch their diet to berries in the colder months, but it has always struck me as a survival strategy, not a preference. In any case, these birds seemed happy enough.
- Dave Taft

1/4 - Troy to Stockport, HRM 153-122: With the leaves off of the trees, eagle nests have become quite visible. I find myself glancing towards the river every chance I have, hoping to find previously undiscovered nests. I can confidently say that I know of seven from Troy down to Stockport. It has now become a game in our family, instead of looking for VW bugs on the Thruway or deer in a pasture, we now look for eagles and nests!
- Pat Van Alstyne

1/4 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: A south wind suggests kind, moderate weather. Not today! With a 15 mile fetch across the mostly ice-sheathed Tappan Zee, the wind cut as much as yesterday's northerlies. A dark phase rough-legged hawk, dark enough to be a turkey vulture, lofted over the landfill and skirted the edge of the woods. In the wind-tossed pines on the south side of the Point, I was able to locate 3 wintering long-eared owls. They were so deeply buried in the deepest nest of pine boughs, I wondered if they were even aware of a frigid wind outside their snuggery.
- Christopher Letts

1/4 - Staten Island, New York City: Staten Island is a naturalist's heaven. William T. Davis knew this a hundred years ago, but I'm slow on the uptake. Here are highlights from a drive from Fort Wadsworth (Verrazano Narrows) to Great Kills (midway down the east coast of theIsland): At Sand Lane and Father Cappodano Boulevard, an adult red-tailed hawk sailed northbound. With my binoculars poised I watched from behind a red light. I could easily make out the deliberate gaze of a hunting hawk. The pigeons and starlings could see this too and got scarce fast. At Seaview Hospital off Father Cappodano Boulevard, 8 wild turkeys were strutting their stuff, having survived the holiday season.
At Great Kills Park, 3 robins called from the treeline along the shore front. Two mockingbirds picked perches high in the cedars. Sixty-four (I counted them) horned larks flew past and landed on the playground lawn.What spectacular beauties these birds are, bedecked with yellow and black faces. At Hylan Boulevard and New Dorp Lane, I spotted a mysterious raptor. It was very large for an accipiter, but with the love?y rusty barred breast of a mature Cooper's hawk. I pondered this one for quite awhile, the bird was gliding, not flapping, with fairly rounded wing tips, but awfully large for a Cooper's. I am tempted to call it an immature marsh hawk, but I must admit, I wouldn't be 100% certain.
- Dave Taft

[The description, including the colorful breast, fits an adult red-shouldered hawk. Like the red-tail, the red-shoulder is a member of the group of raptors called buteos. They are mostly medium to large sized hawks, stockier than accipiters, and their flight is usually more deliberate. In northern parts of its range, including New York, the red-shoulder migrates south and is not common in winter. However, a number have been noted in recent weeks in the Hudson Valley. Steve Stanne.]

1/5 - High Peaks, HRM 311: After summiting Algonquin Peak (5,114 feet), near the origin of the Hudson River, we stopped in the saddle between Algonquin and Wright Peak to eat. It was a balmy 20 degrees F but the wind was gusting to 60 mph. As we sat there we noticed a marten circling around us in the snow. He never got close but he had a keen interest in what we were doing. I assume he was hoping we were going to drop some crumbs on the ground.
- Scott Craven, Josh Freidman, Theran Fisher

[The marten (Martes americana), also know as the American marten, is often mistakenly called the pine marten (Martes martes), which is native to northern Europe. While both are medium-sized members of the weasel family, they are two distinct species. The American marten originally occupied the forests of Canada, Alaska and the northern United States, but extensive trapping and deforestation took their toll. By the early 1900s, the marten's presence in New York State had shrunk to just the central-most portion of the Adirondack Park. In 1936, martens were protected from trapping in New York in order to help them recover.
Forty-two years later, a limited trapping season was reopened within the High Peaks Wilderness Area. Martens now occupy over 5,000 square miles of territory within the Adirondack Park, appearing in a variety of forested habitats where they feast on a wide range of forest foods (red squirrels are high on the list of preferred meals). Although primarily a carnivore, the marten takes advantage of almost any food it can find, including berries. Rumor has it they are especially fond of grape jelly.
If you are out in the Adirondack forests, especially in winter, and you see a reddish packet of energy about the size of a small house cat darting through the woods, then you have been lucky to see the marten.
Ellen Rathbone, Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Center.]

1/5 - Red Hook, HRM 96.5: I went snowshoeing again at Poets' Walk and this time there was ice on the river north of the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge. Most of it was a thin sheet and in places there were small areas of open water with reflections of houses on the west bank of the river.
- Phyllis Marsteller

1/5 - Poughkeepsie to Beacon, HRM 75-61: Enroute to Manhattan we spotted 2 bald eagles from our Metro North Train. The first was an adult flying 40-50 feet over the east shore. The bird seemed to be hunting. We were about 12 minutes south of the Poughkeepsie station. The second was an immature, also close to the east shore, but this one was down near Beacon. It was a great way to start a day trip into New York City: take the train, see eagles and the Hudson River, then enjoy a musical on Broadway!
- Pat Van Alstyne

1/5 - Oscawana, HRM 38.5: It was a balmy 38 degrees F at midday and from the overlook near Oscawana Island I could not see a ripple on the river. On the scattered ice floes I counted 9 eagles, 3 adults and 6 immatures. The mountains across the river were mirrored on the water.One adult took off and headed south - such a beautiful sight!
- Dianne Picciano

1/5 - Verplanck, HRM 40.5: "The tugb?at guys are talking about eagles on the ice from the George Washington Bridge to Albany." That was riverman Cal Greenberg, who lives a very few feet from the Hudson and who pays attention to such things. We were talking not about eagles on ice, but about the huge first-year baby looming over our heads, 60' up in a locust tree. Our real attention was directed across the river to a favorite eagle winter perch and hunting station on the Rockland County side, where something new showed up since the oak leaves dropped lastmonth: a huge nest in a big white oak. At the moment, it was occupied by2 adults, contentedly feeding. The food was down in the nest and the spotting scopes were no help in determining if the birds were enjoying fish or fowl. Cal again: "They flew around that tree all summer.I've just been waiting for the leaves to drop so I could see if there was a nest."
- Christopher Letts

1/5 - Ossining to China Pier, HRM 33-43: Ice floes drawn down from upriver began to show up a few days ago and, predictably, the eagle sightings increased. Over a ten-mile reach, scanning the river from 8 different locations, I counted 49 eagles.
- Christopher Letts

1/6 - Putnam Valley, HRM 53: I was reading the newspaper in midday when a bunch of noisy crows caught my attention. I looked out my front window for several minutes as they fought over some prize, a deer carcass perhaps. Suddenly they all flew off, taking their dinner with them. I waited to see what spooked them. A beautiful bobcat snuck up to the spot where the crows had been and sniffed around. Only 10-15 feet from my window; it spotted me and took off. It was an awesome sight I'll never forget. This was my first bobcat sighting and I was pretty excited. I think it might stick around a little while anyway, my neighbor has "free range" chickens.
- Lois Erlacher[Our bobcat (Lynx rufus) population is stable and they are not uncommon in the Hudson River Valley. However, due to their largely dusk-to-dawn nocturnal habits and wonderfully camouflaged fur, they are rarely seen.Bobcats are native to New York State as are two other cats, the mountain lion and the Canada lynx. Both of these are now extirpated although the NYSDEC attempted a lynx reintroduction in 1989 that apparently was unsuccessful. Bobcat footprints (large paws with retractable claws) are sometimes mistaken for mountain lions'. A large bobcat's (adult males average 36" inches long including a short stubby tail) paws are near the size of a small mountain lion's.]

1/6 - Hudson Highlands to Westchester County, HRM 60-35: On a night roost count of wintering bald eagles at seven different locations, we counted 73 bald eagles.
- Ed McGowan

1/7 - Croton Bay, HRM 34: I could not resist the balmy weather and decided to launch the boat and go fishing. After a couple of hours of fruitless casting with a 5" green and white soft plastic shad, I finally set the hook into my first fish for 2008. To my surprise it turned out to be a sturgeon that I accidentally snagged while retrieving the lure.It was 28" long, brownish with a round nose - a shortnose sturgeon. I had no camera with me so I had to limit myself to admiring it for a few moments before returning it to the water.
- Tony Usobiaga

1/7 - Newburgh to Raritan Bay, NJ, HRM 60-0: As of today, we have had five blue crab tag returns from the New York Harbor area. One was recovered in the Harbor, two in Raritan Bay, one near the Statue of Liberty in the Upper Bay, and one from the Ambrose Channel in the Lower Bay. All of the crabs were tagged upriver in Newburgh Bay from August to October, 2007. The crabs were recaptured in commercial crab dredges.
- Amanda Higgs, Mark Dufour


<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center; Free. Handicapped accessible. Information: 845-889-4745, ext.05.

F?b 7: Tugboats on the Hudson, Steve Trueman

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program offerings:Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, and more...

• Jan 19: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
• Feb 10: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 3:00 PM.

* For information on these free, public programs call: 212-924-8290

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

<<<<< TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE >>>>>

Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com by 9:00 pm on the Monday previous to publication.
See something really special?
Give us a call at (845)297-8935.

The Hudson River E-Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program.
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.

Conservationist magazine brings nature to your door. 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 to http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html

<<<<< USEFUL LINKS >>>>>

National Ocean Service tide predictions are on line at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides07/ and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides08/. Tidal current predictions are at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents07/ and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents08/

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

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
December 23 - 31, 2007
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

This may be year's end for us but it is only the beginning of winter for wildlife. Ice and eagles will dominate our sightings for the next two mo?ths. Swans made some news this week, both tundra and mute swans.We also have a question about those flocks of robins that seem to be hanging around...or are they the first robins of the New Year?

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

12/20 - Town of Cortlandt, HRM 38.5: My feet were cold, my hands were cold, and the fish weren't biting. The ice on this tiny pond was about 3" thick, and thinner where the current of Furnace Brook ran beneath. So small it hasn't a name, it was one of many 18th-19th century mill sites on the lower mile of this steeply descending Hudson tributary. I went into a trance, a state of altered being familiar to most ice fishermen.

It comes upon us when action is slow but the mind is active. What was this brook like before all the dams? Swarming with native trout, I think. Was this a grist mill where farmers came on Saturdays to have their grist ground, and to talk weather and politics with their neighbors and friends? What spring flowers bloomed here and what small boys learned to swim in these waters? A sweet familiar call came to ear and I concentrated on the flock of 18 bluebirds overhead. Back to the present. At least there were no fish to clean this morning.
- Christopher Letts

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

12/24 - Stockport, HRM 121.5: I paddled my little red kayak westward from Stockport Creek while sporting my Santa cap, which gave me the look of one of Santa's elves. About midway across the channel, those weren't "three French hens" flying overhead, but rather 3 tundra swans vocalizing softly as they headed south.
- Fran Martino

[Tundra swans are often called "America's native swan." Their common name refers to their summer nesting range north of Hudson Bay in the Arctic tundra. They can usually be heard calling long before they are seen, which leads to another frequently used colloquial name: whistling swan. David Sibley remarks that distant flocks sound like "baying hounds." They can be differentiated from the more common mute swan by their smaller size, black bill (mute swans have an knobby orange bill) and a straight neck (mute swans have a lazy S-shaped neck). Tundra swans are occasional visitors to the Hudson Valley during late fall and spring migrations.
- Tom Lake.]

12/24 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: Yesterday's warm temperatures and heavy rains had broken up most of the ice that had formed in the tidewater inlet. A few hooded mergansers were diving at the eastern end of the inlet and a transitional eagle was keeping an eye on them.
- Stephen M. Seymour

12/24 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: The two young coyotes looked like bookends standing sentinel halfway up the east slope of the landfill - I think of them as "The Twins." Down on the flat at the bottom of the slope, 75 yards away, another coyote was feeding. It was dark gray and black, a big animal, and my presence did not slow its eating. An hour later, on my way to the parking lot, I passed the same way. The "little wolves" were gone, so I had to look at what had been their dinner: a deer kill that appeared several days old, at least what was left of it.
- Christopher Letts

12/24 - Croton Point, HRM 34: Took a walk around Croton Point today day with old friends visiting from Oregon. We headed out along the park road and quietly watched 4 long-eared owls roosting in the white pines on the south-facing side of the Point. We hiked up on the landfill where a short-eared owl rose up from the long grass and circled the landfill several times before a peregrine falcon came off the river and dove on it. The two continued to tangle as they headed east toward the Croton River. Quite a day.
- Scott Craven

12/25 - Farmer's Landing, Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Each winter birders await the onset of ice on the river, or "ice-in" as we call it.

At dawn on Christmas morning, fully half the breadth of the Hudson in the six-mile reach from Marlboro-Clinton Point south to Newburgh-Beacon was?ice-covered or sprinkled with floes. Directly out in front, in the shadow of Cedarcliff, were 6 bald eagles, 4 adults and 2 immatures, on shelf ice or floes drifting down river in the ebb tide. Most were feeding. Through the scope I watched one adult aggressively tear at a large fish it had clamped to the ice with its talons. The size, shape and color of the fish suggested gizzard shad. Ten feet away an immature anxiously paced, one foot to the other, clearly in a dither. At some point the adult would have its fill and the young would take the leavings, if the crows did not get there first.
- Tom Lake

[Wintering eagles on the Hudson have, for as long as there has been eagles and ice floes, use the ice as a means of transportation, like moving walkways at airports. The drifting ice takes them past potential opportunities for fish and waterfowl with minimal energy expenditure. And once food has been secured, the floes offer a measure of security.
- Tom Lake.]

12/25 - Putnam Valley, HRM 55.5: I spotted 8 robins and 2 bluebirds dining on insect life on the rain-exposed lawn. A month ago 20 robins came through and did their usual grass-searching but were most surprising when as many as 9 at a time were eating the berries of one of my Callicarpa (beauty berry) shrubs. Subsequently I've also seen juncos plucking these tiny berries. I agree with Chris Letts that juncos are abundant but they do not outnumber all other birds put together at my feeders. Over the last few weeks of casual observation I've noticed mourning doves are very abundant, cardinals seems scarce, blue jays seem less than normal, and chickadees about normal.
- Nancy P. Durr

12/25 - Sleepy Hollow, HRM 28: Looking out the window, I saw a flash of wings and spotted a rather large hawk as it landed on a squirrel. The hawk stood there clamped on the squirrel until it moved no more. At the same time a neighbor's cat crept to within 10' of the hawk and stood there, frozen, for 10 minutes. The cat and the hawk locked eyes. The hawk spread its shoulders to intimidate but the cat wouldn't move.

Finally the cat charged and the hawk attempted to take off with his prey. The squirrel must have been too heavy because it was abandoned.

The cat played with the dead squirrel for a half hour, then left. The hawk never came back. Not being a birder I can't tell you what kind of hawk it was. It seemed almost as large as an immature eagle, with a white underbody, lots of quarter-sized brown spots, and brown and white flecked wings.
- Doug Maass

12/25 - Sandy Hook, NJ: The influx of winter ducks continued: the raft of ruddy ducks in the Shrewsbury River had built from 50 a while ago to about 250 today.
- Dery Bennett

12/25 - Saugerties, HRM 102: Late last night, long after our Christmas visitors had left, we heard some "forest noises" outside but didn't think much of it. When I went out today there was red snow everywhere, beginning not more that 3' from the edge of our deck and continuing all through the woods north of our house and around the many places in the woods where you could see white-tailed deer had bedded down. By our wood pile I found a small doe, disemboweled and belly gutted but not eaten. Probably the work of coyotes, possibly coydogs or feral dogs. I left her where she was for tonight. I wanted to see what, if anything, came back to the kill. We often hear coyotes howling at night in summer.
- Dan Marazita

[I saw a few of what could be called "coydogs" in the early 1970s. At that time coyotes were far less common and it was generally thought that fact lead to occasional matings with dogs. At times they had group howls but more common was an occasional dog-like bark. I have not seen any coydogs in many years, while examining hundreds of eastern coyotes. It's thought that too many dog genes were maladaptive and that these animals were selected against in the wild. However, I suspect there are some domestic dog genes lurking i? the genome of the eastern coyote that may be adaptive, or at least not harmful, to their existence in the eastern U.S. There may be a very rare coydog conceived, but I don't recall seeing one since the late l980s.

Advice: Do not feed coyotes. Hunting tends to keep them wild and fearful of people. Properly regulated trapping is also useful in keeping their numbers in check. The eastern coyote is hated by some for killing deer but it in most of its range eats more rodent meat than white-tail.

Coyotes consume a wide variety of forage ranging from beech nuts and apples to insects such as grasshoppers, as well as frogs, birds, mice, chipmunks, and woodchucks. They eat a lot of road-killed deer. They also kill some domestic cats and on occasion some small or debilitated dogs.

Personally I find New York State a more interesting place with them here than not, and they do far more good than harm.
- Ward Stone, NYSDEC Wildlife Pathologist.]

12/26 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 75: Warmer air temperatures had loosened the Hudson - 80% of the river was now floe ice. In early afternoon we watched the ice push upriver in the flood current as an immature bald eagle flew down river only a few feet over the floes. It veered inshore and landed atop a light tower where it was almost immediately chased away by a rough-legged hawk. At 3:00 PM, as though a switch had been pulled, the ice stopped dead in the river. The flood tide had ended more abruptly than I had ever seen it.
- Tom Lake, Brandon Leyba, Belinda Sedillo

12/26 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 74: At dusk approached, we noticed many fewer crows in the trees along the river in the one-mile reach that serves as a wintertime communal night roost. Where we normally see thousands we only saw a few hundred. The answer was out on the river: Along the same stretch of river front, perched on the shelf ice for nearly a half-mile, were many more hundreds of crows, choosing to be there, at least for now.
- Tom Lake, Brandon Leyba, Belinda Sedillo

12/26 - Staten Island, New York City: The weather was relatively warm so I took two hours off to intercept an outgoing tide at Wadsworth's Beach. Black ducks, brant, and red-breasted mergansers busied themselves in the swirling eddies. Bladder wrack, or brown algae, parted neatly on the rocks like so much freshly shampooed hair. Here and there, the white mark of the bottom half of an oyster still fastened to these stones. I generally fish this spot at night, so the convenience of daylight was not wasted on me. I immediately set to work finding a live oyster. With no fish interested in my offerings, I had the time, but it was still no easy task to find one. Finally, there it was, a live oyster clinging tightly to the rocks amid the blue mussels. Only my second live oyster in many years of searching the lower harbor. I hope it bodes well for the future. On the walk back I saw where the low tide had deposited a freshly dead, winter plumed, red-throated loon. Smaller than its common loon relative, with a turned up bill, I tried to imagine what brought it here, and what it had seen in its short life.
- Dave Taft

12/26 - Newark, NJ: At Newark Airport, near the banks of the Passaic River, a stressed tributary of the Hudson, with the steaming Budweiser brewery as a backdrop, a red-tailed hawk perched on a light standard keeping an eye on the weedy shoulder of Routes 1/9. The bird ignored the blasts of down-shifting diesel-powered 18-wheelers headed for the container port in Elizabeth. Here?s to you, ?Industrial red-tail!?
- Dery Bennett

12/27 - Greenburgh, Westchester County, HRM 27: Often on the way to my office I pass a small pond that has an island in the middle and a larger-than-life-size statue of a saint, whom I take to be St. John the Evangelist because there?s a larger-than-life-size statue of an eagle sitting next to him. At various times I've seen a great blue heron or an egret perched on the saint's head, looking out over the pond. This morning the visiting bird was a male belted kingfisher. The bird stayed on the saint's head for a couple of minutes and then made its rattling cry and flew to the side of the pond. A few moments later a hawk flew over the pond, probably a red-tailed. I've read that during halcyon days kingfishers brought sailors calm seas and safe harbors two weeks preceding the solstice. I hope they also follow it.
- Susan Moritz

[The scientific name of the belted kingfisher - Ceryle alcyon - makes reference to the ancient Greek legend of Alcyone, a kingfisher that builds its nest on the surface of the ocean. The bird charms and calms the seas during its nesting season, supposedly the fourteen days preceding the winter solstice.
- Steve Stanne.]

12/27 - Farmer's Landing, HRM 67: I stood in the driving rain in mid-morning, appreciating modern waterproofing in rain jackets. No less than 80% of the river's width was full of floe ice at the start of the flood tide. Any loose ice had been drawn out of upriver creeks and marshes in the previous ebb tide. Scores of common mergansers and goldeneyes paddled in the open leads between the floes. Through the scope I watched an immature bald eagle eating a gizzard shad on an ice floe the size of a dining room table. A ring-billed gull circled the floe, time and again, waiting. Having had its fill, the eagle flew away over the ice field and immediately the gull hopped and swallowed what was left in one laborious gulp.
- Tom Lake, Brandon Leyba

12/27 - Town of Cortlandt, HRM 43: Another pre-dawn trudge out onto rapidly thinning ice. Yesterday's holes were still open - just drop in a line! And just like yesterday, only a few small sunfish were fooled into biting. So, why bother? Well, the setting was quite wonderful: a tiny lake set in a bowl and surrounded with steep, wooded slopes. A stream flows in, and out over a small dam, water music, free of charge, always a joy. Lots of time to muse, to think, to notice. A pair of courting pileated woodpeckers put on a wonderful show this morning, loud and flamboyant, impossible to miss. The flock of bluebirds did its morning overflight. Once a decade, wandering beavers find their way here, and this was the year. On the little island, dozens of saplings and a few sizeable trees had been dropped and chomped. What is next? It bears watching. When I walked off the ice after an hour or so, my heart was as light as my bucket. The whole day was ahead, but I had an adventure under my belt before breakfast; indeed, before my neighbors have reached their offices. And tomorrow, or in a month, the pond will "turn on" and my bucket will be as heavy as I want it to be, and the evening meal will be one to remember.
- Christopher Letts

12/27 - Sandy Hook, NJ: At the end of walk in the woods with Jersey Girl, an unleashed terrier mutt rescue dog, we came across a stock-still red fox. I saw it, the dog didn't see it, but soon picked up the scent, and the chase was on with a predictable result: slick fox outsmarts dumb suburban dog. There must be 30 dog walkers a day in this patch of woods, but that fox has not a worry in the world. The episode does raise an ethical issue, however: Is it okay to let a pet dog chase wildlife?Decidedly not.
- Dery Bennett

12/28 - Town of Schodack, Rensselaer County, HRM 140: This morning a flock of 15-20 robins appeared on my back lawn and the woods were full of them and their songs.
- Anne Hunter

[It is not uncommon to be asked, Were these the first robins of the new year or the last ones of last year? There was a time, not too long ago, when the "first robin of spring" had a full and significant meaning.Maybe it's climate change, a shift in their range, or robins making some kind of adaptation, but they appear to be resilient enough and capable of finding winter food to have a nearly year-round presence in the lower Hudson River Valley.
- Tom Lake.]

12/28 - Beacon, HRM 63: From our speeding M?tro North commuter train we had only seconds to see and count the 30-35 canvasbacks, drakes and hens, floating in the ebb tide shallows just off shore at Brockway. A little farther out were too many common mergansers to count.
- Tom Lake, Brandon Leyba

12/28 - Scarborough, HRM 32: A speeding Metro North commuter train does not often allow time for details. Nevertheless, in this case we had ample time to estimate that the raft of lesser scaup just offshore numbered 75-80 birds.
- Tom Lake

12/28 - Dobbs Ferry, HRM 23.5: It is not uncommon at low tide to see the entrance to Wicker's Creek completely dry, sandbars extending across the mouth. Such was the case as we sped past on Metro North this morning. Several dozen mixed gulls were on the sand and standing right among them, like two big kids on the playground, were two adult bald eagles.
- Tom Lake, Brandon Leyba

12/30 - Denning's Point, HRM 60: Pandemonium! When you see a hundred gulls take off at once, look for a reason. Cutting a swath up the middle of their formation was an adult bald eagle, showing no interest in the gulls, but the gulls were nevertheless demonstrating much anxiety.
- Tom Lake, Brandon Leyba

12/31 - Nutten Hook, HRM 124: Five large vessels and their tugs shared the open water with me and my little red kayak on the last afternoon of 2007. Heating oil tankers were busy traveling north and south, as crew members loaded and unloaded fuels. One deckhand took a break from his task to cheerfully wave and shout New Year?s tidings. His task was shoveling the snow off the deck and into the Hudson River.
- Fran Martino

12/31 - Westchester County, HRM 43: This was a marathon of mute swans - passing a one mile stretch of the East Branch of the Croton River, we counted 143 mute swans.
- Tom Lake, Belinda Sedillo

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Tivoli Bays Talks: 1st Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 PM, Tivoli Bays Visitor Center; Free. Handicapped accessible. Information: 845-889-4745, ext.05.

- Feb 7: Tugboats on the Hudson, Steve Trueman

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program offerings:

Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, and more...
- Jan 13: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
- Jan 19: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
- Feb 10: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 3:00 PM.
* For information on these free, public programs call: 212-924-8290

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

<<<<< TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE >>>>>

Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com by 9:00 pm on the Monday previous to publication. See something really special?

Give us a call at (845)297-8935.

The Hudson River E-Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. 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.

Conservationist magazine brings nature to your door. 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 to http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html

<<<<< USEFUL LINKS >>>>>

National Ocean Service tide predictions are on line at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides07/ and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides08/. Tidal current predictions are at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents07/ and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents08/

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

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
December 13 - 17, 2007
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

Two nor'easters hit the Hudson Valley this week; their intensity varied regionally but together they created winter conditions throughout the valley. From geese to eagles to winter waterfowl, the rush is on. We also added, in a rather odd manner, a new species to our Hudson River fish fauna list. Dave Taft made the astute observation that it was not unlike uncovering a long-forgotten mummy in a Cairo museum.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

12/17 - Indian Point, HRM 42: In 1979, we were running down all possible "new" and undocumented Hudson River fish species, focusing primarily on power plant consultants' collections. This was advance legwork that contributed to C. Lavett Smith's book The Inland Fishes of New York State (1985). We heard a rumor that a power company consultant had recovered and identified a juvenile mackerel scad, a new species for the river, from the Indian Point cooling water intake screens. We investigated but no one could locate the specimen. We opted, rightfully so, to leave it off the Hudson River fish fauna list - no body, no record.
- Tom Lake

Last week, I came across a specimen in a jar in the New York State Museum fish collection. It was labeled "mackerel scad, 82 mm, young-of-the-year, collected July 19, 1979, river mile 42 [Indian Point]." The missing fish from 28 years ago. When Kathy Schmidt went to sketch the scad, I took a closer look and discovered that it was, in fact, a round scad (Decapterus punctatus).
- Bob Schmidt

[Both round scad and mackerel scad are small marine fishes that belong to the jack family (Carangidae). According to C. Lavett SmithÂ?s Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes, scad are most often found in southern temperate and tropical seas, occasionally straying northward in the Gulf Stream to New England. The round scad becomes fish species number 214 for the Hudson River and its watershed. Tom Lake.]

Hudson River Jacks:

• crevalle jack (Caranx hippos, Linnaeus, 1766)
• round scad (Decapterus punctatus, Cuvier, 1829)
• Atlantic moonfish (Selene setapinnis, Mitchill, 1815)
• lookdown (Selene vomer, Linnaeus, 1758)
• permit (Trachinotus falcatus, Linnaeus, 1758)

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

12/13 - Newcomb, HRM 302: The storm left us with 8" of heavy and wet snow.
- Ellen Rathbone

12/13 Saratoga County, HRM 196: While the radio played "Though the weather outside was frightful..." my wife and I didn't stick around for the fire "delightful." Instead, we went for a delightful winter drive in my pickup truck. We took our time along the Hudson in Saratoga County, not so much because of the snowy road conditions, but to enjoy the river and the winter storm. I was surprised to see all the "slush flats"
floating down stream. There wasn't much open water and not a merganser nor mallard to be seen. Our area received about 10" of snow with a little mix of rain and sleet.
- John DeLisle

12/13 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: The most impressive nor'easter of the season (autumn, still) left a foot of snow. There were scores of dark humps on the snowy ice along the two-mile stretch of Wappinger Creek tidewater where Canada geese had set down and then hunkered down to wait out the storm.
- Tom Lake

12/14 - West Hurley, HRM 92: By the time the storm ended, we had over a foot of snow. I heard an unfamiliar chirping and looked outside my kitchen window to see a beautiful tan-brown puff ball of a bird sitting on the yew bush, continuously singing out with a steady "cheep, cheep, cheep." It looked more like a hand-made Christmas tree ornament then a real wild bird. It could easily fit in the palm of one's hand. I've seen these birds rarely here. Perhaps it was a wren looking for its partner or other wrens?
- Ray Spiegel

[My guess is that the bird was a Carolina wren. This species is a lovely warm brown in color, with a white line over its eye. They do call loudly, clearly, and repeatedly. They hang around houses, and will visit feeders for suet. As is suggested by its name, this wren is a southern species that has been spreading northward through the Hudson Valley in the past 10-20 years. It's thought that the lessening severity of our winters has allowed these birds to expand their range. Steve Stanne.]

12/14 - New Paltz, HRM 78: A flock of 40 snow geese flew south over the house this morning. I guess they finally got the message that winter is here.
- Steve Stanne

12/14 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: The morning dawned with a blue sky; the nor'easter had moved away. In rapid succession, three V's of high-flyer Canada geese came over, each more of a checkmark than a V with individual birds exchanging places along the line. Their formations often remind me of a volleyball team players rotating between points.
- Tom Lake

12/14 - Staten Island, New York City: The "End of the Earth" storm predicted by yesterday's weather casters turned out to be a thin glaze of slushy snow that made driving unpleasant, but hardly stirred the mixed flocks of cowbirds, starlings, grackles and red-winged blackbirds off their grassy verges.
- Dave Taft

12/15 - Village of New Paltz, HRM 78: Birds are often said to be able to predict storms. It certainly seemed that way this morning as we walked snowy floodplain fields, doing part of the Lake Mohonk Christmas Bird Count. Within a 90 minute period, we counted 5 northern harriers headed south over this one small patch of the Wallkill River Valley, and throughout the day, the calls of southbound skeins of Canada geese drifted down from increasingly cloudy skies. We bid Godspeed to the belted kingfisher that also passed overhead, and worried about the gorgeous adult red-shouldered hawk and a bright yellow-rumped warbler that seemed inclined to weather the storm in patches of wetland nearby.
- Christine Guarino, Steve Stanne?br />
12/15 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: With a foot of new snow in the uplands, the tidewater Wappinger was frozen bank-to-bank, no open water, mostly a slushy snow over thin ice. But it was strong enough to hold 50-60 Canada geese that had landed for a rest on their journey. Within the group, on the edge, was a single snow goose. While this is uncommon, it is not a rare occurrence. They are related. For a variety of reasons a goose may lose contact with its original flock, although I cannot recall ever seeing a Canada in a flock of snow geese. A good analogy might be a goldfish hanging out with a school of carp. Uncommon, but not unheard of.
- Tom Lake

12/15 - Croton River, HRM 34: The usual Saturday morning gathering of the Boyz at the Bridge was under way. Comments were made about the frequent close, low flights of juvenile bald eagles, occurring about every 15 minutes. There are days when the eagles are ignored by other birds - this was not one of them. Every overflight panicked gulls, geese and 100+ ducks. At one point, 3 of the eagles were engaged in various types of interactive flying, just above the water and on the inside of the railroad bridge. The interaction lasted more than 5 minutes and the eagles seemed to have interest only in one another. This was not reassuring to the waterfowl; they continued to flee as the big birds approached.
- Christopher Letts

12/15 - Sandy Hook, NJ: With a storm front due tonight, it was time for a quick area bird sweep in woods and on bays. In the woods, there were a few chickadees and a flock of about 50 robins that hadnÂ?t been there for at least a month. The theory is that our local robins are long gone south and these are Canadians. There seems to be plenty of berries around to see them through. On a nearly empty Shrewsbury River, there were 2 eared grebes near a boat landing, period.
- Dery Bennett

12/16 - Newcomb, HRM 302: Eight inches of snow fell last night, giving us a total of 19 on the ground by sunup.
- Ellen Rathbone

12/16 - Sandy Hook, NJ: As the storm front came howling through we had northeast winds and plenty of coastal flooding. Up the Shrewsbury River, near where the 2 grebes were yesterday, a flock of about 50 ruddy ducks was tucked into a safe lee.
- Dery Bennett

12/17 - Newcomb, HRM 302: The snow gauge outside my window at the Adirondack Park Visitors Interpretive Center now reads about 24" on the ground. It's amazing, though, how two feet of snow feels a lot like three feet when one has to walk through or shovel it.
- Ellen Rathbone

12/17 - Danskammer Point, HRM 66.5: It was quite cold this afternoon and the wind was strong. This cold snap certainly appeared to make our local eagles very active and draw in some new ones. The acrobatics over the river were spectacular: An immature appeared to be shadowing an adult for some time, following the adult's every move until each became tired and stopped on a limb hanging over the water. Shortly after I saw an immature on another limb enjoying some fresh fish. All the while a small contingent of buffleheads and common mergansers was tending to daily routine on the river. Not a bad way to spend a short break from work.
- Eric Shaw

12/17 - Annsville Creek, HRM 43.5: Another real low tide this morning, and two adult eagles were sitting on the ice in Annsville Bay; as one picked at something the other stood patiently behind it. An immature swooped down to join the brunch. The adult that was feeding looked up and vocalized at the immature. The immature thought better of landing and decided to wait its turn in one of the trees by the entrance to Camp Smith. I guess as far as eagles are concerned, two's company, three's a crowd.
- Scott Craven

[We've seen this quite a few times, where adult eagles, especially if they are females, will "hiss at the kids" and give them second thoughts.
There are exceptions, however, and much of this supposition comes from interpreting behavior. On occasion we will see a 4 year-old female, not quite yet an adult, with raging hormones, bully an adult male and take his meal away. No male bald eagle, adult or otherwise, cares to tangle with a 4 year-old female. Tom Lake.]

12/17 - Sandy Hook, NJ: The winds were gusting up to 40 mph and had moved to the northwest, the air temperature was right around freezing, and Raritan Bay was pretty well blown out. Waterfowl, mostly brant and black ducks, were hunkered down. Thus, three days of wildly variable coastal weather were handled with avian aplomb.
- Dery Bennett

<<<<< WINTER 2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program offerings:

Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, and more...

• Jan 1: 22nd annual New YearÂ?s Day, Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, 2:00 PM
• Jan 13: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
• Jan 19: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
• Feb 10: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 3:00 PM.

* For information on these free, public programs call: 212-924-8290

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

<<<<< TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE >>>>>

Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com by 9:00 pm on the Monday previous to publication. See something really special?

Give us a call at (845)297-8935.The Hudson River E-Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. 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.

Conservationist magazine brings nature to your door. 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 to http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html

<<<<< USEFUL LINKS >>>>>

National Ocean Service tide predictions are on line at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides07/ and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides08/ . Tidal current predictions are at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents07/ and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents08/ .

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 .

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
December 4 - 12, 2007 Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

It was announced this week that a second Chinese mitten crab, this one an immature female, was recently found along the Hudson. Coupled with the first recovery this past June, it casts an ominous cloud on the estuary (see 12/9 Cold Spring).

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

12/4 - Sleepy Hollow, HRM 28: It was 12 degrees F at 6:00 AM, and not much better at 9:30, cold and blowing, when I lit the woodstove fire at the Tarrytown Lighthouse. The chill was off when the 2nd graders trooped in an hour later, each bearing a token piece of stovewood. The wind had risen to 20, gusting to 30 mph, and for only the third time in 3 decades I decided to forego the trip up to the bell deck - 50' aloft there was an even stronger wind. We explored the iron structure and then yarned by the woodstove as the wind screamed higher and louder. Protected and coddled as we are today, the buffeting of the wind was a neat reminder of how difficult life would have been 125 years ago when this light was new.
- Christopher Letts

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

12/5 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 34: Today, for the first time, I saw several male and female common redpolls, a species of winter finch, at my feeders. They were mixed in with a Carolina wren, red-breasted nuthatches, and several goldfinches and house finches that were feeding on the ground.
- Jane Shumsky

12/5 - Crugers, HRM 38.5: There is a large hawk that hides in a pine tree near my bird feeders. He waits until the songbirds land in the feeders and then attacks and carries one off. What can I do? Shall I bring the feeders in for a few days until he gets tired of waiting for an easy meal, or do you think he will just come back again?
- Dianne Picciano

[This is likely a hawk of the group known as accipiters, either a Cooper's (about the size of a crow) or the smaller sharp-shinned hawk.
Most people who feed birds eventually run into this situation. Here are some thoughts. Mr. Hawk will take one, maybe two birds a day. That is probably a very small percentage of the total number that you are feeding. If you take in the feeders, the overwhelming majority of the birds may suffer. And, there is no guarantee that Mr. Hawk will move on.
He could be a local resident for the winter. Generally speaking, predators tend to pick off prey that are not as wary. From a strictly natural selection perspective (one that does not give a hoot about emotional tugs on the heart strings) Mr. Hawk is probably serving a useful purpose in fine-tuning the population. For example, birds that are too "smart" to become prey may have offspring that are likewise naturally wary. In order to serve both of these approaches, you could take in the feeders for a couple of days, and then put them back out. If Mr. Hawk returns, be resigned that this is nothing new; raptors have to eat as well, and this situation has been recurring far longer than we have been around to see it. All will survive.
- Tom Lake

12/6 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: On the landfill today I encountered another flock of American pipits.
- Jane Shumsky

12/7 - Yorktown Heights, HRM 43: I was in a huge empty pa?king lot waiting for a friend when I noticed what looked like a couple of pigeons clustering frantically. I edged the car closer to get a closer look. It was a fierce hawk pressed on top of a flailing pigeon. The hawk seemed to be squeezing its prey flat. When the pigeon stopped struggling the hawk took off with the limp bird dangling from its talons. The heavy pigeon made the escape flight low and slow. It took the entire length of the parking lot for the hawk to gain height and disappear.
- Robin Fox

[Without more physical field marks to narrow down the identification, this hawk may have either been a Cooper's hawk or a peregrine falcon. It sounds too big for a sharp-shinned, too small for a goshawk. The description of the "escape flight" suggests a Cooper's hawk.
- Tom Lake

12/8 - Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: I was munching on my lunch, not really focusing on anything, when I realized I was watching a blur of bluebirds in the bushes, on the lawn, and at the bird feeder. Long-awaited bluebirds had finally arrived! Earlier this year I'd put out special houses as neighbors had told me of nesting pairs in the area. I spent the spring and summer hoping they'd come to my yard. And now, in December, they appear. Migrants. I rushed out with extra seeds but the visit was over, the birds had flown.
- Robin Fox

12/9 - Cold Spring, HRM 54: This past October 29, a second Chinese mitten crab was found at the Cold Spring Boat Club boat launch (see 6/3 Nyack for the first mitten crab, an adult male). It was confirmed as an immature female, 30 mm carapace width. The juvenile female mitten crab was brought to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland, in early November. Although we now have 11 confirmed mitten crabs from the Mid-Atlantic region, this is the first appearance of a juvenile. Yet, we still cannot confirm a self sustaining population. Continued monitoring is needed to establish a better understanding of the population.
- Carin D. Ferrante, Amanda Higgs

[The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is native to the estuaries of China where it is highly regarded in the market. Mitten crabs are catadromous, meaning that they spend much of their life in freshwater, then return to higher salinities in the lower estuary (15-20 parts-per-thousand salt) to reproduce. The salinity gradients of east coast estuarine systems like the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the Hudson River are nearly ideal for them. Adult mitten crabs have a carapace width of about 3", but six of its 8 legs are almost twice as long, giving them an almost "spider crab" look. Unlike the native blue crab, a swimming crab, mitten crabs are burrowing crabs, similar to our mud crabs only many times larger. They have a generalist diet, varied in prey, and their potential ecological impact on east coast estuaries is still unknown.
Chinese mitten crabs were inadvertently introduced to Europe in the 1930s and are now widespread. The first U.S. mitten crab was caught in San Francisco Bay in 1993, though they may have been there earlier. They first appeared along the Atlantic coast in Chesapeake Bay in 2005. One more followed in 2006, and another this year. Already, 4 mitten crabs have been collected from Delaware Bay this year. All 7 of these crabs, plus the earlier one from the Hudson, have been males.
Chinese mitten crabs have been an invasive species in Europe for a decade or more. The Marine Invasions Lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland, is working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in monitoring their presence. It is illegal to import mitten crabs into the United States, but there is genetic evidence that the east coast mitten crabs arrived here from Europe via commercial traffic, much like zebra mussel in 1988.

If you encounter a mitten crab in New York State, please notify Leslie Surprenant? NYSDEC Invasive Species Management Coordinator (518) 402-8980, (ljsurpre@gw.dec.state.ny.us), and Carin D. Ferrante, Smithsonian Mitten Crab Coordinator (ferrantec@si.edu). Do not release them alive! If you take photos, make certain that you take both dorsal and ventral - top and bottom - views so we can determine its sex. Leslie Surprenant.]

12/9 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: I have been finding owl pellets under some trees near the landfill. Today an Audubon group spotted 2 long-eared owls close by and I wondered if these trees were their perches.
- Jane Shumsky

[Long-eared owls are normally strictly nocturnal, unlike their close relative the short-eared owl. Their daytime roosts are often in dense conifers. These habits make them hard to observe, but they do regularly appear in the Hudson Valley, where they hunt grasslands and open woodlands for small mammals, especially when winter limits the availability of food farther north. Tom Lake and Steve Stanne.]

12/10 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 67.5: After a night of freezing rain, first light revealed a world coated in rime ice, every branch, branchlet, and twig glistening. I was at Hunter's Brook to retrieve some research equipment I had stashed along the bank a while ago. In a quiet run of the brook near my destination floated 4 wood ducks, a drake and 3 hens, a kaleidoscope of vivid color. I watched them for a few minutes and then decided I could get my gear some other time.
- Tom Lake

12/10 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: For the second year, a yellow-bellied sapsucker is a regular at the suet feeders. Same bird? Well, it looks the same!
- Christopher Letts

12/11 - New Hamburg, HRM 67.5: A large raft of common mergansers, both males and females, drifted in the channel just below Diamond Reef. New arrivals, they had not been there an hour earlier. They dipped in the swales of the choppy river disappearing, reappearing, the males glowing like beacons, the females nearly indistinguishable against the backdrop of a somber December landscape.
- Tom Lake

12/11 - Croton Bay, HRM 34: Reports of common mergansers in numbers have been around from points north for several weeks. Today, a raft of about 100 males floated off the wine cellar beach on the south side of Croton Point, and both males and females were fishing the Croton Estuary.
- Christopher Letts

12/12 - Town of Wappinger, HRM 69: The grassy landfill wedged between Dutchess County airport and Wappinger Creek is often a good spot to see flocks of winter finches, particularly along the forest edge. I was having no luck finding any songbirds this morning when a "ghost" bird, a raptor, flared up from behind a grassy hummock. My first thought was "snowy owl" - the setting was right - but as it passed by I could see the russet tail. It was a fully-white, other than the tail, albino red-tailed hawk.
- Tom Lake

12/12 - Croton Point, HRM 35: When I began to walk at 7:00 AM, winds were calm, the temperature almost balmy. An hour later, the cloudscape was changing by the second, with wave after wave of multi-shaped, particolored clouds galloping by, pushed by a gusty northwest wind. The immature bald eagle hanging over the north side beach had a pair of shadows. The resident red-tail hawks ghosted the big bird's every move, Periodically one of the hawks would stoop on the eagle in a blazing dive. The eagle always met the dives with a smooth barrel roll that greeted the incoming hawk with an upraised array of huge talons. No contest!
- Christopher Letts

12/12 - Croton Point, HRM 34.5: After hearing of their presence for a week now, today I finally saw one of the two long-eared owls.
- Jane Shumsky

<<<<< WINTER 2007-2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson?River Estuary Program offerings:

Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, and more...
- Jan 1: 22nd annual New Year's Day celebration, Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, 2:00 PM
- Jan 13: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
- Jan 19: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
* For information on these free, public programs call: 212-924-8290

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

<<<<< TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE >>>>>

Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com by 9:00 pm on the Monday previous to publication. See something really special?
Give us a call at (845)297-8935.

The Hudson River E-Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. 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.

Conservationist magazine brings nature to your door. 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 to http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html

<<<<< USEFUL LINKS >>>>>

National Ocean Service tide predictions are on line at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides07 and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tides08 . Tidal current predictions are at http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents07 and http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents08 .

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 .

---

HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
November 28 - December 4, 2007
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>

December is the month we conduct Christmas Bird Counts in the Hudson Valley, a 100-year tradition ?f taking stock of our winter birds. For the past few weeks, Almanac observations have been filled with notices of an increased presence of winter finches as well as the usual migrants. This may be a memorable Christmas Count year.

<<<<< HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK >>>>>

11/28 - West Point, HRM 53: There we were, overlooking the Hudson River from 1100' up on the side of Crow's Nest Mountain. As if that wasn't good enough, a few winter finches were spotted in the tall grass nearby.
More soon appeared and "pishing" produced a flock of 60-70 close around us. Andrew Farnsworth of Cornell's Lab of Ornithology raised the binoculars, then told me "They're ALL common redpolls!" Uncommon birds all the way from the boreal forests. With a flutter of wings, winter was descending upon us. An irruption year for the boreal songbirds.

- Bob Kakerbeck

<<<<< NATURAL HISTORY NOTES >>>>>

11/28 - Newcomb, HRM 302: It dawned a beautiful day! Sunshine on freshly fallen powdery snow, less than an inch, made everything look nice. The songbirds continued to feed eagerly.

- Ellen Rathbone

11/28 - Wappinger Creek, HRM 67.5: More common mergansers had arrived into the delta at the mouth of this tidal tributary. There was a pretty even mix of hens and drakes, maybe 25 birds, skittering across the water, diving and preening in a loose assemblage. Perched overhead on a bare oak limb, with a disinterested look, was an adult bald eagle. The mergansers never showed the slightest concern. Mergansers and other diving ducks tend to be favored as eagle food given their mode of takeoff. As they flap, flap, flap down what seems like an extended runway to gain elevation, they are vulnerable to attack. Marsh ducks such as mallards, blacks, and wood ducks spring straight up off the water, lessening their time at risk.

[Eagles and "eagle food" are a poorly understood relationship. An explosion of gulls or waterfowl into the air often means a hungry eagle is soaring nearby. The sky over cornfields in Saratoga County will fill with hundreds of snow geese from the presence of a single eagle on the wing. But just as often ducks will swim, seemingly without a care, within a wingbeat of a perched eagle. Crows will share scraps from a fish dinner while standing within talon reach. It suggests that other birds might be able to sense when an eagle is hungry and when they might be in danger. Is there a subliminal message in the eye of an eagle? Tom Lake.]

11/29 - Catskill, HRM 113: A strong east wind and a serious chop on the water had sent all of the migratory waterfowl across the Hudson to the mouth of Hallenbeck Creek where the river was quiet. They were at least a quarter-mile away but my scope picked up a raft of ruddy ducks, buffleheads, and a considerable number of common mergansers.

- Tom Lake

11/29 - Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 68.5: From along the railroad right-of-way, a small flock of cedar waxwings broke in unison from a tree-of-heaven and disappeared into the forest. I thought it was me that spooked them until I saw a shadow pass over. It was a rough-legged hawk.
While probably not a threat to the songbirds, the hawk was still a predatory presence.

- Tom Lake

11/29 - Fishkill, HRM 61: Things were getting a bit "nuttier" around here, so to speak. Both a white-breasted nuthatch and a red-breasted nuthatch were frequenting my bird feeders. This was a first in the 24 years of bird-feeding. The red-breasted was the newcomer, quite tame as it flitted to and fro at the feeder and back to a grove of pine trees in my yard. The antics of both nuthatch species are fun to watch.

- Ed Spaeth

11/29 - Croton Point, HRM 35: It was a cold, dark morning, threatening rain or snow. But the birds were there: a red-tailed hawk perched, a Cooper's hawk hunting the thickets, an immature bald eagle soaring over Croton Bay, 2 harriers, 40' apart, flyin? south, a behavior that made sense to them if not to me, and a northern goshawk soaring over the bathing beach. On my walk I had 37 species, with pine siskin, kinglets, and purple finches in the mix. Best by far, better than a warm fire or a bowl of good soup, was a flock of bluebirds at the edge of the oak grove, calling, foraging, leaving me warm and hopeful.

- Christopher Letts

11/30 - Westchester County, HRM 34: I was on the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail near Quaker Bridge Road and was delighted to see, along with the usual winter suspects, a male yellow-belied sapsucker. The Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, 26 miles long, follows a 160-year-old route of the original Croton Aqueduct as it traveled south through the Bronx and Manhattan bringing drinking water from upstate reservoirs.

- Jane Shumsky

11/30 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: We feed our wild birds from October through March, the day we run out of seed. If they don't need it more in winter, well, we need them more during the cold months. Bags of black oil seed, sunflower hearts, and mixed seed get replenished often during this time. The trick is buying "thistle," the tiny black seeds so beloved by finches. It is pricy and the savings on a 50 lb. bag can be considerable. But 50 lbs is a lot of seed. There have been winters when I did not use all of it, and it won't keep through hot weather. A month ago I took a deep breath and ordered 50 lb, and now I'm glad.
Goldfinches were emptying the two tube feeders twice a week. This week, purple finch, pine siskins, and common redpolls showed up. Now I hope 50 lbs will be enough.

- Christopher Letts

12/1 - The Christmas Bird Count is held throughout the country around this time of year. It replaces the Victorian era "side-shoot," in which guests went out to shoot as many different bird and mammal species as one could on Christmas Day. In 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman organized a group of friends to observe, count, and share information about bird species without shooting them. The National Audubon Society, which Chapman helped organize, now sponsors this annual tradition.
Thousands of people go out to count and publish as many bird species as their group can in a sporting, competitive way. The result has been the gathering of significant data which has monitored changes in bird populations and distribution over the years. See below for Hudson Valley watershed Christmas Bird Count dates.

- Rich Guthrie

12/1 - Poughkeepsie, HRM 75: I read with interest the posting of crows and their congregating around Poughkeepsie in the recent edition of the Almanac (Poughkeepsie 11/25). My dad was born and raised in Poughkeepsie. He used to tell my brother and I stories of the crows, crossing the river to Highland, by the thousands, for their nightly roosting. He said they started about 3:30 PM and it went on for 45 minutes to an hour. In the AM, about 7:30-8:30, it began again, as they came back to the east side of the Hudson and disbursed to many townships for daily foraging. He used to say that the sky was 'black with crows"
and that it was an impressive sight for a young boy growing up in Poughkeepsie in the 1930s-1940s.

- Susan Droege

[This story has been told many times across many years by parents to children. Recalling my own youth, the magnitude of these daily crow migrations seemed larger than life through young eyes. There are, as best as I can tell, a half-dozen places along the river, from the Tappan Zee to the shadow of the Catskills, where crows have winter night roosts on one side of the river but do their daily foraging on the other. Like commuters going to and from work, they traverse the Hudson by the hundreds, even thousands, in early morning and then again in late afternoon. It is likely they have been doing this since before there were people here to watch them. Tom Lake.]

12/1 - Chelsea, HRM 65.2: Eagles are not easily spooked ?y trains so it must have simply been happenstance that an immature broke from a riverside cottonwood and then kept pace with us for a short time as we roared through Chelsea on Metro North. In the few seconds we watched, as it flew abreast our car window, we could see the mottled white, tan,and brown of a bald eagle eclipsing towards eventually maturity.

- Tom Lake

12/1 Denning's Point, HRM 60: A strong northwest wind had emptied out the inlet in the lee of Denning's Point. Scores of gulls were walking on the bottom of the bay, probing the sand and mud, taking this unique opportunity to forage for crabs and fish left behind as the tide ebbed away.

- Tom Lake

12/1 Croton Point, HRM 35: On this cold morning, made colder still by a brash northwest wind, the gulls were out in force. Taking advantage of the blown-out tide, they were clamming on the ice-glazed tide flats. The south end of the Croton-Harmon parking lot was more clamshell-white than asphalt black with crushed wedge-clam shells covering much of the surface. Five immature bald eagles circled, wraith-like, over the lower Croton River, with lots of interaction, but no attention directed toward the buffleheads and black ducks below.

- Christopher Letts

12/1 Crawbuckie, HRM 33.5: This legendary beach from which striped bass of epic proportions have been hooked (some even landed) by anglers over the years, had become just a sandy extension of a nearly emptied Croton Bay. The blowout tide had drawn the river out, closer to the channel, where a hundred winter ducks, mostly buffleheads and ruddy ducks, found just enough water to float.

- Tom Lake

[Blowout tides are not common. They occur most frequently following several days of strong and steady north-northwest winds. The daily tidal flushing of the estuary begins to accumulate a net loss of high water as the progression of flood tides are unable to compensate for ebb tides that are being lengthened in duration and effect by the wind. If this happens around a new or full moon (spring tides) the result can be even more spectacular. This scenario culminates in an ebb tide that seems to go seaward forever, draining tidemarshes and inshore shallows until the very "bottom" of the river is exposed. Tom Lake.]

12/1 - Ossining, HRM 33: What a blowout tide this morning - lots of exposed mud on Croton Bay with 2 bald eagles, one adult the other immature, sitting on it. IÂ?ve been seeing more eagles lately and IÂ?m wondering if these are residents or are they already coming down from up north?

- Scott Craven

[Unless we get some "real" winter, visiting eagles may be fewer this year. They are not terribly motivated to move south any more than necessary; they tend to winter on the edge of the ice, so to speak. Tom Lake.]

12/2 Newcomb, HRM 302: We ended up with about 4.5" of snow. It has been snowing pretty well most of this afternoon, though, so I suspect we can probably add another inch.

- Ellen Rathbone

12/2 Minerva, HRM 284: We were girding for a foot, but the first winter storm dropped only about 6" of snow, with a thin layer of freezing rain sandwiched in between.

- Mike Corey

12/2 - Furnace Woods, HRM 38.5: Ah, the first snowfall of the season.
At least the first to accumulate, perhaps 2". All bird feeders, filled to capacity last night, will need filling again tomorrow. It is fun to have so many finches around and to have a flock of red-winged blackbirds, an even dozen, all but 2 of them males. A CooperÂ?s hawk did not miss the opportunity to prey on so many avidly feeding birds, and several times this morning there was trouble in Paradise, with birds bouncing off windows. A scattering of mourning dove feathers suggested what the hawk had for brunch. For the second season running, juncos outnumber all other birds combined. Are others witnessing the same?

- Christopher Letts

12/3 North Germantown, HRM 109: In a tree at the boat ramp sat a bald eagle that allowed me to get out of the car, get the glasses, and inspect. It was almost mature, but still had lots of white streaks on its head and an almost fully white tail. At my presence, all it did was turn its head and stay put. On the river I could see only a couple of black ducks at a distance and a ring-billed gull overhead. Generally a very quiet time.

- Mimi Bauch

["New" adult: This eagle was in what birders refer to as "eclipse plumage." Bald eagles in our area generally mature between years 4-6, with years 4-5 being the most common. This may have been a 4 year-old making the transition from immature to adult plumage. Tom Lake.]

12/3 Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: At 10:00 PM the sky was black and the wind was howling out of the northwest; it felt and sounded like mid-winter. Yet, above all the noise I could hear geese far overhead, heading south. The wind was right and this was a "flight night."

- Tom Lake

12/3 Town of Fishkill, HRM 63.5: From an open field at Stonykill Farm I seemed to be standing directly under a raptor mini-migration: A red-tailed hawk had caught a tailwind and was speeding past; a northern harrier, teetering as though to keep its balance, was passing through; and a gorgeous northern goshawk made three spirals overhead before moving on.

- Tom Lake

12/4 Newcomb, HRM 302: As I was driving to work this morning I came across a large black "something" in the road. As I slowed down it turned out to be a flock of wild turkeys, adults and immatures. They were clustered in a bunch standing next to the guard rail. They didn't react as I drove past and I wondered if something was wrong. I turned around and drove back with visions of a log truck blowing through the flock. As I approached, they just stood. No reaction. I beeped my horn hoping it would make them fly up and over the guard rail (were they stymied by thecables?)
Perhaps they were used to ducking under the guard rail and now they couldn't because of the snow piled up. One finally fluttered up and over, but the others just milled about. The rest eventually headed down the road at a slow walk, "Mom" leading the poults, finally breaking into a slow jog and then stepping off onto the snowy slope. Turning around once more, I saw that the silly birds were now clustered in a bunch under a tree. They were not interested in actually going anywhere. A mystery. As I drove on, a log truck passed me. It would've been a bloodbath.

- Ellen Rathbone

12/4 Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 67.5: After a couple of nighttime air temperatures in the 20s, ice began to creep out from the shoreline of the tidewater Wappinger Creek. The hooded mergansers, common mergansers, ring-necked ducks, buffleheads, and other waterfowl were seeing their open-water areas slowly shrink. As winter comes on, this will be a common theme in the Hudson Valley: The formation of ice on water will narrow the options of eagles and waterfowl, pushing them both downriver in search of open water.

- Tom Lake

12/4 - Staten Island, New York City: Brooklyn was beginning to get positively sunny as I left its shores and drove west over the Verrazano Bridge. It was as if I was driving into Mordor. A deep, angry cloud engulfed Staten Island and snow fell heavily on man and beast alike. I could barely see Battery Weed and Fort Tompkins at the foot of the Bridge as the snow faded everything to a lovely pewter color. Wanting to get a better view, I headed to the overlook at Fort Wadsworth, where a very lonely looking white-throated sparrow and I perched on the overlook wall and enjoyed the sun re-emerging from behind the gloom.

- Dave Taft

<<<<< WINTER 2007-2008 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS >>>>>

Hudson River Foundation/NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program offerings:

Winter Birds: Bald Eagles, Great Cormorants, Black Vultures, Canvasbacks, Coots, and more...
- Jan 1: 22nd annual New YearÂ?s Day, Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, 2:00 PM
- Jan 13: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
- Jan 19: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 2:00 PM.
- Feb 10: Georges Island Park, Route 9A, Montrose, NY, 3:00 PM.
* For information on these free, public programs call: 212-924-8290

Hudson Valley watershed Christmas Bird Count dates:
12/15: Albany County, Chatham, Eastern Orange County, Mohonk Lake-Ashokan Reservoir, Putnam County, Saratoga State Park, Schenectady, Peekskill (Northern Westchester County)
12/16: Rockland County
12/18: Catskill-Coxsackie (Greene County)
12/22: Dutchess, Schoharie, Southern Orange, Southern Rensselaer counties.
12/23: Bronx-Westchester Region
12/29: Troy
1/1: Pawling (Hidden Valley)
For details on participating, go to: http://www.nybirds.org/ProjCBC.htm

<<<<< 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. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.

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