A Project of the Hudson River Estuary Program
Compiled by Tom Lake, Consulting Naturalist
While enjoying outdoor spaces, please continue to follow the CDC/NYSDOH guidelines for preventing the spread of colds, flu, and COVID-19. To find out more about enjoying DEC lands and New York’s State Parks, visit DEC’s website #Recreate Local; https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/119881.html
Keep at least six (6) feet of distance between you and others.
Wear a cloth face covering in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
Avoid close contact, such as shaking hands, hugging, and kissing.
Wash hands often or use a hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
Avoid surfaces that are touched often, such as doorknobs, handrails, and playground equipment.
DEC recommends avoiding busy trailheads. Find the trails less traveled and visit when trails may not be as busy during daylight hours.
Overview
Spring of 2020 will long be remembered as a time when the season provided all of us with a much needed and natural spiritual renewal. The sights and sounds of springtime helped us cope, at least for a while, with the anxiety of the COVID-19 coronavirus. We were able to appreciate the endurance of nature and better understand our place in the World. We hope that the Almanac has provided a measure of connection to that world. Naturalist and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin said it well when he reasoned that “the future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.”
Highlight of the Week
 4/28 – Manhattan, New York City. Taking advantage of fewer people out walking, I went to Randall’s Island today and saw many signs of spring wildlife, including two snowy egrets and a great egret in the Little Hell Gate Salt Marsh, all foraging at low tide. Near the salt marsh, I saw a honeybee with full “pollen pants!” There was also a snowy egret at the Bronx Kill. (Photo of snowy egret courtesy of Jennifer Adams)
– Jennifer Adams
Natural History Entries
4/25 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We counted 127 migrating raptors today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. Broad-winged hawk led with 110. There was a slow but sparse, steady trickle of broad-winged hawks; all were close enough to identify as adult. All of toady’s migrant raptors came along one main channel from the far west. Today, we broke the Hook Mountain spring seasonal record for Cooper’s hawk with 79. The previous record was 33 (2017). Non migrants counted were bald eagle (2), red-tailed hawk (2), turkey vulture (7), black vulture (25), and two common loons.
– Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
*** Fish of the Week ***
 4/25 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 69 is the feather blenny (Hypsoblennius hentz) number 203 (of 230) on our watershed list of fishes. If you would like a copy of our list, e-mail: trlake7.
[The feather blenny is a small (some would say “stubby”), scaleless, mottled brownish-black fish with fleshy cirri (“feathers”) on their head. Their lower jaw has a row of small, close-set teeth like those of a comb, thus their family name, combtooth blennies (Blenniidae). They are benthic dwellers where they often burrow in the soft bottom and find refuge in old mollusk shells, especially oysters. When they lie still on the bottom with a little current, they look like another bit of vegetation on a small rock. Being a salt-water fish, they are limited to the lower estuary where they can find, minimally, 12.0 parts-per-thousand (ppt) salinity (full sea water is 32-35 ppt). They can grow to 100 millimeters (mm). The feather blenny was added to our watershed fish list in August 1994 from a feather blenny caught in the Hudson River at The River Project (Pier 41) in Manhattan. (Photo of feather blenny courtesy of National Marine Fisheries Service)
– Tom Lake
(One inch = 25.4 millimeters (mm))
4/26 – Delmar, HRM 143: For as long as I have been birding at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, there has been a leg-banded Canada goose present. The goose spends its time during the breeding season roaming between Wood Duck Marsh, Fox Marsh, and Goose Pond. I had never been able to read the band through binoculars, but during this past week I managed to get enough images to capture the band number. I submitted my findings to the Bird Banding Lab at the U.S. Geological Survey. Here is their reply:
Species: Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Sex: Female
Date banded: June 25, 2002
Banding Location: Feura Bush, Albany County [HRM 137]
Age: Hatched in 2001, or earlier (least 18+ years old)
– Tom Williams (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Cub)
4/26 – Saugerties, HRM 102: After a week’s hiatus, the male, seemingly resident, harbor seal was seen near the Saugerties Lighthouse. There were few details other than he was there. This was day 266 for “Sopy” in Esopus Creek.
– Patrick Landewe
 4/26 – New Paltz, HRM 78: We saw a bird at our feeder this morning that had a white head, was the size of a nuthatch, but without the pointed bill. I was able to photograph the bird as it moved about and appeared to be a piebald white-throated sparrow. I had never seen a piebald bird before. The crisp delineation of the white upon the head separating the browns and grays of the rest of the body was striking. (Photo of white-throated sparrow courtesy of Bob Ottens)
– Bob Ottens
4/27 – Waterford HRM 158: Today I confirmed that there were two eaglets in bald eagle nest NY485 on Peebles Island–I saw them both, side-by-side. My best guess was that the first one hatched April 19 with the second hatching April 24. With this in mind, I have discerned differences in feeding behavior: The younger nestling was slow to take food while the older one grabbed it with no hesitation.
– Howard Stoner
4/27 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We counted only seven migrating raptors today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. They were all osprey (83 for the season).
– Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
4/27 – Waterford HRM 158: I watched an adult eagle come flying in toward bald eagle nest NY485 with a large fish in its talons. The fish seemed too heavy to lift up to the nest, so the bird landed on a nearby beach. The eagle was then off to chase away a red-tailed hawk. The adult from the nest managed to carry some of the fish to the nest and feeding commenced. What followed was much screeching and other vocalizations that I was unable to decipher.
– Howard Stoner
4/28 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We counted 233 migrating raptors today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. Broad-winged hawk led with 189. A merlin buzzed a bald eagle to the southwest. The record for merlin in a spring season at Hook Mountain was eleven in 2003. By the end of today we had 18, a new record. Non migrants counted were bald eagle (3), red-tailed hawk (3), turkey vulture (5), and black vulture (6).
– Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
4/29 – Town of Poughkeepsie, HRM 68: When we talk of “signs of spring,” there is one that I note with interest as a promise of warmer days to come. Just after dawn, a half-dozen flight-challenged turkey vultures rose from their night roost in sun-warmed thermals. In the cold heart of winter, they rarely get up before noon.
– Tom Lake
 4/29 – Bedford, HRM 35: There were more signs that hatching had occurred at the great blue heron rookery. One nest had a heron standing on the rim with its mate perched close by. Two other nests each had a single heron standing on the nest. The young nestlings were very small at this point and would not be seen for a while. The remaining nests still had herons incubating with just their heads showing. (Photo of great blue heron courtesy Jim Steck)
– Jim Steck
 4/30 – Newcomb, HRM 302: In concert with our “social distancing,” my wife and I decided that a visit to our camp in Newcomb was probably the best option, the safest place where we could be distant from others. From the Overlook Park in Newcomb, we watched a sunlit, awe-inspiring Mount Marcy (Tahawus), still white from the previous days’ snowfall. (Photo of Mount Marcy courtesy of Roy Saplin)
– Roy Saplin, Christine Saplin
[Anecdotally, Tahawus is a Haudenosaunee Indian word that translates as “Cloud-splitter.” If true, it would be a very apt name for the highest of the High Peaks in the Adirondacks at 5,324-feet. Tom Lake]
 4/30 – Selkirk, HRM 135: New arrivals at Henry Hudson Park included rose-breasted grosbeaks, Baltimore orioles, and a singing black-and-white warbler in a spot where they have bred in past years. The bald eagle nest across the river from the park (NY81) failed this year. They appeared to be on eggs briefly, until it became clear that they were no longer incubating. In the tidal reach of the Vlomankill, I saw three river otters together, just below the waterfall at the head of tide. (Photo of Baltimore oriole courtesy of Thomas LaBarr)
– John Kent (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
[When pressed to name my favorite bird, I name the Baltimore oriole. They are truly the most beautiful, whereas the bald eagle is the most elegant. Naturalist Aldo Leopold describes the oriole’s orange flash as “like a burst of fire.” The Baltimore oriole is one of the more dependable returnees each spring from their winter haunts in the Southeast, Florida, and along the Gulf Coast. I cannot remember a spring when I was unable to find a Baltimore oriole somewhere in the first week of May. Tom Lake]
 5/1 – Ravena, HRM 133: I spotted this bright orange mass on a branch of a scrubby red cedar today. After an inch of rain, it had swelled, almost a glowing growth, like something out of a science fiction movie. (Photo of orange jelly fungus courtesy of Larry Roth)
– Larry Roth
[This is called “orange jelly fungus” (Dacrymyces palmatus). The literature says it is a wood decomposer and prefers to grow on confers where the bark is missing, exactly the environment where it was found. Bob Schmidt]
 5/1 – Town of Poughkeepsie: This had been a good spring for Hudson Valley bald eagles as many if not most had nestlings, some two or even three. We visited bald eagle nest NY372 today (ironically dubbed “Tombstone”) to watch the two healthy-looking, eager nestlings sitting in the sun enjoying the warmth and waiting for their next meal. (Photo of bald eagles courtesy of Sheila Bogart)
– Sheila Bogart
 5/1 – Cornwall Landing, HRM 57: Standing on a beach within view of Storm King Mountain evokes many emotions, not the least of which is a sense of awe. There is a half-tide beach here that requires timing to seine. At low tide you are into the soft bottom to your knees; at high tide you are nearly to the railroad tracks. With a forecast of thunderstorms, we seined in a steady rain with a sense of urgency.
The river felt good, albeit cool, at 51 degrees Fahrenheit (F). As we set the net, we heard a Carolina wren off in the hilly scrub: “Tea kettle, tea kettle tea kettle, tea” Our expectations were, as our answer to a beach walker’s question “What are you trying to catch? inferred. Whatever was home today. Our highlight was easy, as we collared a small school of yearling bluegills (class of 2019). They were small (40-42 mm) and beautiful with purple iridescence. This early in our sampling season, small gifts become greatly appreciated. On our last haul, we watched as tiny glass eels wiggled their way out of the mesh and back into the water. (Photo of glass eels courtesy of Tom McDowell)
– Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake
[Our small seine (12 x 6-foot x 5.0-millimeter mesh) was a gift from C. Lavett Smith (“Smitty”), ichthyologist, mentor, and grad school professor. Smitty was given this net long ago by his mentor, legendary ichthyologist Milton Trautman (The Fishes of Ohio, 1957). Smitty and I used this seine all through a summer 25 years ago sampling the streams of Ohio and the waters of Lake Erie for their colorful darters (Ethesostoma sp.) Tom Lake] |
