| OVERVIEW
The High Peaks of the Adirondacks, the source of the Hudson River a mile above sea level, were covered in white, the season’s first snow. The exodus of young-of-the-year (YOY) fishes headed to the sea had slowed to a trickle and Hudson Valley hawk watches were winding down for the year.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
 11/30 – Cornwall Bay HRM 57: A few weeks ago we captured a Chinese mitten crab in one of our standard overnight crab pots baited with herring. (Our DEC blue crab research program has been ongoing since 2006.) It was a female with a carapace width of 63 millimeters (mm). A female mitten crab of this size could be sexually mature and on her way downriver to reproduce. We caught just one mitten crab last year as well. Thankfully we haven’t been seeing an increase of them in our catch each year. The mitten crab is now in the collection of the New York State Museum. (Photo of mitten crab courtesy of Tom Lake.)
– Jessica Best, Bob Schmidt
[Note: one inch = 25.4 millimeters]
[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 (ppt) – to reproduce. The salinity gradients of east coast estuarine systems like Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the Hudson River are almost ideal for them. Adult mitten crabs have a carapace width of only about 75 mm, but six of their eight legs are almost twice as long giving them a “spider crab” look. Unlike the native blue crab, a swimming crab, mitten crabs are burrowing crabs, similar to mud crabs only many times larger. They have a generalist diet, and their potential ecological impact on east coast estuaries is still unknown. Tom Lake]
NATURAL HISTORY ENTRIES
 11/25 – Kowawese, HRM 59: Inspired by Elisa Caref’s plan for “off-season seining” (see 11/21), we headed off to the beach. The day was right (60 degrees Fahrenheit) with a warm and relentless wind blowing hard up through the Hudson Highlands. The white-capped swells turned into rollers as they reached the beach and, coupled with a strong undertow, made navigating an 85-foot seine tricky. The low tide shallows, churning from wind and current, created a high energy zone. Predictably, the surf was filled with white perch, foraging on prey swept up in the turbulence. There was no sign of migrant fishes. The water was 46 degrees F. (Photo of seining at Kowawese courtesy of Phyllis Lake.)
– Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake
11/25 – Rockland County, HRM 35: Our Rockland Singles Afternoon hiking group was very lucky to see a male belted kingfisher this afternoon. First we heard its distinctive fast cackling call and then we located the bird. It was hanging out on a branch over Tweed Pond that is off the Long Path in High Tor State Park. Another highlight was the pair of black vultures that kept us company from overhead.
– Susan Salant
11/26 – Town of Stanford, HRM 88: In mid-morning on Hunn’s Lake, we found a cackling goose, a greater white-fronted goose (first seen yesterday), and a blue-morph snow goose spotted two days ago by Deborah Tracy-Kral, mixed in with about 500-600 Canada geese.
– Carena Pooth, Herb Thompson, John Askildsen
[The greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons), an Arctic breeder, appears once or twice most years during the fall or winter. They are usually found in large flocks of Canada geese, a reward for the patient birder who checks carefully. Barbara Butler]
11/26 – Esopus Meadows, HRM 87: I spotted a small raft of 10 long-tailed ducks in the river just south of the lighthouse in Esopus Meadows. At first I thought they were buffleheads but when I checked my photos I saw that they were long-tailed ducks.
– Jim Yates
11/26 – Galeville, HRM 74: Matt Goldowitz reported a northern shrike at the Shawangunks Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. As many as three short-eared owls and good numbers of northern harriers were also on their winter hunting grounds.
– Mark DeDea
[The northern shrike (Lanius excubitor) is a boreal songbird whose presence in the Hudson Valley is often associated with severe winter weather to the north. They are often in migration from near-Arctic breeding grounds to possible Mid-Atlantic wintering locations. They have a raptor-like appearance and will often impale their prey, smaller songbirds, on thorns or barbed wire. This has earned them the scientific name for their genera, Lanius, Latin for butcher. – Tom Lake]
11/26 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We had our third golden eagle of the season today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. The golden eagle was first spotted over Croton Point after which it flew due west, well north of the Hook, past Bear Mountain. The only other migrant raptor was a red-tailed hawk. Non-raptor observations included a small skein of migrating of Canada geese (8).
– Trudy Battaly, Drew Panko
11/27 – Newcomb, HRM 302: The High Peaks of the Adirondacks were white and there was snow on the ground in Newcomb. Winter had teased us for a while, but it was getting serious now.
– Julie Slaybck
11/27 – Battenkill, HRM 193: While out walking my dog in our wooded backyard today, I saw and photographed a single broad-winged hawk perched on an old maple tree about 20 feet up. I knew I had a pair nesting here during the summer, but figured both had migrated out of the area weeks ago. It was a very pleasant late-season surprise!
– Scott Varney (Hudson-Mohawk Birds)
11/27 – Ulster County, HRM 79: There were not many raptors still migrating, but a second-year golden eagle passed the Mohonk Preserve Hawkwatch this afternoon. It was our fifth golden eagle for the fall season.
– Zachary Smith
11/28 – Battenkill, HRM 193: Bald eagles were beginning to be seen more frequently, especially along the Battenkill. It seemed that white-tailed deer road-kill carcasses were creating a readily available food source for them along with deer gut piles left by local hunters.
– Scott Varney (Hudson-Mohawk Birds)
11/28 – Columbia County, HRM 121: In mid-afternoon I counted 46 mallard ducks, both hens and drakes, feeding along the shore of Philmont Reservoir.
– Nancy Kern (Hudson-Mohawk Birds)
 11/29 – Ulster County, HRM 92: I made my first ever hike to Pickerel Pond in the Bluestone Wild Forest. When I got to the pond’s edge I assembled my pack rod to test the waters. Within ten minutes a chain pickerel came charging from the depths to snatch my lure within five feet of me. After unhooking the fish, I watched a pickerel frog emerge from the cold water of the pond and bask in the sunlight at the shoreline’s edge. Pickerel Pond had lived up to its name. (Photo of pickerel frog courtesy of Bob Ottens.)
– Bob Ottens
11/29 – Stanfordville, HRM 84: I spotted a male northern harrier (“grey ghost”) being chased by some crows. Once the brief chase concluded, the harrier (with yellow eyes!) took a quick dip in a small farm pond. (See banner photo of northern harrier bathing courtesy of Deborah Tracy-Kral.)
– Deborah Tracy-Kral
11/29 – Kowawese, HRM 59: A strong west wind never reached us on the beach as we were in the lee of Plum Point. Our search for the last of the seaward-headed migrants came up empty. As we cleared the net after each haul of the seine, every tessellated darter, spottail shiner, and white perch had us thinking “striped bass.” But it was wishful thinking. The water temperature of the low tide shallows warmed by the sun had risen to 48 degrees F.
– Tom Lake, B.J. Jackson
[The prominence of Plum Point that shielded us from the west wind carries much historical significance. In 1777, Captain Thomas Machin of Lamb’s Artillery Regiment, 2nd Continental Artillery, aligned a battery of 14 cannons on the height of ground behind the beach to defend a chevaux-de-frise, a blockade across the river made up of 100 log frames with sharp spikes and 5,281 feet (more than a mile) of chain. (In 1776, Captain James Wallace, with ten British warships, sailed past Plum Point headed upriver where they burned Kingston.) Machin’s 1777 blockade was never challenged by the British. Ironically, Thomas Machin had deserted from the British Army at Boston in 1775 to join the Colonial effort. Tom Lake, Michael Sheehan]
11/29 – Yonkers, HRM 18: We began our first “out-of-season” seining effort in early afternoon at the Center for the Urban River at Beczak. We made six hauls and were pleasantly surprised with our catch. On our first and fourth hauls we netted YOY striped bass and a few Atlantic silversides. Our third haul produced a yearling striped bass (190 mm). The other three hauls came up empty. Still, not bad for the end of November. The water was 50 degrees F and the salinity was 10.0 ppt.
– Elisa Caref, Jay Muller
 11/30 – Town of Poughkeepsie: Bald eagle nest NY372, overlooking the Hudson River, has failed to produce a fledgling each of the last two years. However, being true to their life-long fidelity, the mated pair have been in almost constant company this autumn. Today they sat side-by-side in the nest as if breeding season were here and later did the same on the limbs of a nearby hardwood tree. It is never easy to read the landscape with eagle behavior but these two look as though they are eager to begin a new year. (Photo of pair of bald eagles courtesy of Dana Layton.)
-Dana Layton
12/1 – Battenkill, HRM 193: Early this morning, I watched as seven bald eagles (four adults and three immatures) and two ravens fed on a white-tailed deer carcass on Cemetery Road near Hanks Farm.
– Scott Varney
12/1 – Saratoga County, HRM 157: The ponds west of the Whipple Bridge at the Vischer Ferry Preserve remained ice-free today. The diversity of dabbling ducks reported in the past couple of weeks was about the same. In addition to Canada geese, mallards, and American black ducks, I noted green-winged teal (50), American wigeon (14), northern shoveler (9), northern pintail (6), gadwall (3), and wood duck (4). The northern shovelers seemed to be mostly segregated into hens and drakes and one male had full breeding plumage.
– John Hershey (Hudson-Mohawk Birds)
12/1 – Hyde Park, HRM 82: After devouring all my neighbor’s bird seed, a black bear visited my yard last night, taking down four feeders but leaving the poles standing. Sampling the buffet, the bear ate mixed seed, meal worms, and peanuts. It then took away the suet feeder with five suet logs, perhaps for a snack.
– Art Filler
12/1 – Kowawese, HRM 59: Putting a net in the water was now a day-to-day decision. We needed a cooperating tide, a reasonable wind, and a stable water temperature to help us create some expectations. How late in the season would we still find ocean-bound YOY fishes? Our first few hauls provided darters, perch and spottail shiner. On our traditional “last haul” before wrapping up, we were rewarded with three YOY striped bass (61-63 mm). The exodus was not quite over yet. The river had fallen back to 46 degrees F.
– Tom Lake, B.J. Jackson
[Over the last three autumns at Kowawese, our last-of-the season YOY striped bass were caught on 11/28 (2016), 11/3 (2015) and 11/18 (2014). While these dates are interesting, they probably prove very little – the river is big, our net is small. However, it suggests the fish may be lingering longer in freshwater. Tom Lake]
WINTER 2018 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 from 12:00 noon – 1:00 PM
Extinction: A Question of Adaptation (Where did all the “elephants” go?). Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program’s Consulting Naturalist, at Saratoga Springs Public Library, 49 Henry Street. Part of 2018 Saratoga READS series (The 6th Extinction); no registration required. Questions: e-mail Chris Alexander
Saturday, February 24 – 1:00 PM
The Changing Ecology of the Hudson River Flyway. Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program’s Consulting Naturalist, at Five River Environmental Education Center, Delmar. Southern Adirondack and Capital Region Audubon.For information, e-mail John Loz
HUDSON RIVER MILES
The Hudson is measured north from Hudson River Mile 0 at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is at HRM 12, the Tappan Zee 28, Bear Mountain 47, Beacon-Newburgh 62, Mid-Hudson 75, Kingston-Rhinecliff 95, Rip Van Winkle 114, and the Federal Dam at Troy, the head of tidewater, at 153. The tidal section of the Hudson constitutes a bit less than half the total distance – 315 miles – from Lake Tear of the Clouds to the Battery. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.
TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OBSERVATIONS OR TO SUBSCRIBE
The Hudson River Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program. Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com.
To subscribe to the Almanac (or to unsubscribe), use the links on DEC’s Hudson River Almanac or DEC Delivers web pages.
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. Visit the Conservationist webpage for more information.
USEFUL LINKS
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration online tide and tidal current predictions are invaluable when planning Hudson River field trips.
For real-time information on Hudson River tides, weather and water conditions from twelve monitoring stations, visit the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System website.
Information about the Hudson River Estuary Program is available on DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4920.html .
Smartphone app available for New York outdoor enthusiasts!
DEC, in partnership with ParksByNature Network®, is proud to announce the launch of the New York Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife App for iPhone and Android. This FREE, cutting-edge mobile app gives both novice and seasoned outdoorsmen and women essential information in the palm of their hands. Powered by Pocket Ranger® technology, this official app for DEC will provide up-to-date information on fishing, hunting and wildlife watching and serve as an interactive outdoor app using today’s leading mobile devices. Using the app’s advanced GPS features, users will be able identify and locate New York’s many hunting, fishing and wildlife watching sites. They will also gain immediate access to species profiles, rules and regulations, and important permits and licensing details.
NY Open for Hunting and Fishing Initiative
Governor Cuomo’s NY Open for Fishing and Hunting Initiative is an effort to improve recreational opportunities for sportsmen and women and to boost tourism activities throughout the state. This initiative includes streamlining fishing and hunting licenses, reducing license fees, improving access for fishing and increasing hunting opportunities in New York State.
In support of this initiative, this year’s budget includes $6 million in NY Works funding to support creating 50 new land and water access projects to connect hunters, anglers, bird watchers and others who enjoy the outdoors to more than 380,000 acres of existing state and easement lands that have gone largely untapped until now. These 50 new access projects include building new boat launches, installing new hunting blinds and building new trails and parking areas. In addition, the 2014-15 budget includes $4 million to repair the state’s fish hatcheries; and renews and allows expanded use of crossbows for hunting in New York State.
This year’s budget also reduces short-term fishing licenses fees; increases the number of authorized statewide free fishing days to eight from two; authorizes DEC to offer 10 days of promotional prices for hunting, fishing and trapping licenses; and authorizes free Adventure Plates for new lifetime license holders, discounted Adventure Plates for existing lifetime license holders and regular fee Adventure Plates for annual license holders.
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 |
