| OVERVIEW
It is difficult to name a severe storm as a highlight for the week, so we chose our smallest and less often-seen owl. Still, the most memorable event was our second major nor’easter in exactly two months, this one causing notable shoreline damage in the lower estuary.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
2/24 – Staatsburg, HRM 86: I noticed a small silhouette this evening of some creature sitting on the ledge of my second-floor kitchen window. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but as I focused on the shape, I noticed two eyes staring back at me. It was a northern saw-whet owl. It turned and dropped back into the darkness of the night. I was astonished and wondered why it had decided to land there. As I thought about it, I noticed the rocks I had on the open sill. One of them had a more pointed shape and I wondered if the owl had been curious, thinking it may have resembled a mouse for the taking. There could have been heat waves from the warm air of the house that distorted the owl’s view, making it look as though the “mouse” was moving.
– Daniel Seymour
[Saw-whet (Aegolius acadicus), our smallest owl (6-8 inches-long), is fairly common but seldom seen. They migrate through our region quietly and will remain motionless and well-hidden, letting hikers and others walk right by them without detection, even at close range. Recent banding by audio attraction to capture saw-whets indicates that there are many more than otherwise observed. Saw-whets occasionally nest in our area, but usually will go undetected. I’ve seen Saw-whets nesting in wood duck boxes. Otherwise, they favor conifers, and will nest in old woodpecker holes, usually over or near water. Rich Guthrie]
NATURAL HISTORY ENTRIES
2/24 – Saratoga County, HRM 177: I visited the still-frozen waterfowl area on the southern part of Wright’s Loop this morning. I saw large numbers of waterfowl on the Sod Farm and more Canada geese “floating down” in waves. Highlights of the eleven species we counted included Canada geese (800) and northern pintail (34). The open stream that bisects the huge field held many ducks and geese including gadwall and northern pintails. Contentions over space were springing up as we watched a Canada goose bear down on a drake northern pintail. (By afternoon, Nancy Jane Kern counted 1,200 geese.)
– Ron Harrower, John Hershey (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
2/24 – Delmar, HRM 143: As we exited our vehicle at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center we heard soft cries far above. We looked up to see six long skeins of Canada geese, checkmarks in the sky, heading north.
– Tom Lake, T.R. Jackson
2/24 – Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: It was one year ago this morning when an angler came upon the body of an adult bald eagle in the shallow river just off shore. The eagle carried a blue leg band, number N42. He had been struck by a train. This was the tragic ending of the male from NY62 that had been missing for more than three weeks. Across the previous 16 years, this male had sired 16 fledgling bald eagles.
– Tom Lake
 2/24 – Arden Point, HRM 50.5: I hiked out to Arden Point this morning and then a mile upriver to Constitution Marsh. I noticed that the ash trees along the path to Arden Point and those in the Indian Brook delta at Constitution Marsh had all been afflicted by the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis). This invasive species had jumped the river at several locations in the lower Hudson Valley. The tree canopy in the Indian Brook gorge had taken a beating over the last couple of decades as the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsuga) just about wiped out the eastern hemlock. Now, a second virulent invasive species was targeting the ash trees. (Photo of Emerald Ash Borer courtesy of USDA.gov Department of Agriculture)
– Stephen Seymour
[The emerald ash borer is an invasive jewel beetle native to temperate northeastern Asia. They were first discovered in North America in 1999, in the U.S. in 2002, and in the Hudson Valley in 2010. They are now found in 33 states in addition to Canada. In its native range, the emerald ash borer is typically found at low densities and does not cause significant damage to trees native to the area. In the Hudson Valley, the emerald ash borer targets white, green, and black ash (Fraxinus sp.). Females lay eggs in bark crevices of ash trees and the larvae feed underneath the bark emerging as adults in one to two years. Infected ash trees are generally killed within 3-5 years. While biological controls are being used with varying success, genetic resistance in new growth ash trees holds the most promise. For more information to go to: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7253.html NYSDEC]
2/24 – Orange County, HRM 67-41: We suspected that the recent warm weather and southerly winds would create perfect conditions for a push of waterfowl into the greater “Black Dirt” area. We began at the Camel Farm (Wurtsboro) where we came upon a flock of 500 snow geese, at least eight of which were blue morph variations. We then traveled to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge (Town of Warwick). As we walked Liberty Marsh’s Liberty Loop (335 acres), we noticed that recent rain and snow melt had resulted in a significant amount of water in the wetland pool. Highlights included northern pintail (500), green-winged teal, American widgeon, mallard, Canada goose, gadwall, ring-necked duck, black duck, hooded and common mergansers, wood ducks, and American coot. A couple of northern harriers patrolled the wetlands putting up flocks of ducks, making it hard to tell which were leaving and those that were arriving. Meanwhile, huge V’s of Canada geese could be seen heading north in the distance. Red-winged black birds covered the wetland and were in full song.
– Larry Trachtenberg, Kyle Bardwell, Charlie Roberto
2/24 – Katonah, HRM 42: A peaceful morning in our backyard was interrupted by a fierce struggle between two male eastern bluebirds. While I have never seen this before, it is evidently common this time of year. The two males fought brutally for over half an hour, wrestling on the ground, tangled in the air, a true “Wild Kingdom” moment. We were concerned that one of them would become severely injured but resisted the urge to intervene. A female bluebird watching from nearby may have been the source of the trouble.
– Rick Stafford
[Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) have strong family ties. Non-migrating bluebirds will form family roosting groups and frequently use their nesting boxes to roost. However, just prior to the nesting season, “Dad” will physically kick out the young from last year. Then, it is not uncommon to see unattached males trying to woo over mated females and a battle will ensue. When it comes to breeding, male bluebirds will go to any extent necessary. Tom McDowell]
2/25 – Schodack Island State Park, HRM 135: Making my observation in a light rain, I counted eleven snow geese among an estimated 1,600 Canada geese. There were many, many flyover geese – they were on the move.
– Nancy Jane Kern (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
 2/25 – Town of LaGrange, HRM 76: Thanks to a heads-up from Susan Schaefer, I was able to find six snow geese with the flock of Canada geese near the back entrance to James Baird State Park. Two of the six were light-phase snow geese, three were dark-phase adults, and one was an immature dark-phase. (Photo of snow geese courtesy of Deb Tracy-Kral)
– Deb Tracy-Kral
2/25 – Westchester County, HRM 42: I checked the great blue heron rookery nests in Bedford to see if the great horned owls have returned to reclaim the heron nest they borrowed last April. So far there has been no sign of the owls. Great horned owls begin nesting much earlier than the herons. Last year a nestling owl in the heron nest, feared lost, had been very active moving from one side of the nest to the other. Then it was gone. It was likely not “lost” but had left right on schedule. As soon as their flight feathers are sufficiently developed, they leave the nest.
– Jim Steck
2/26 – Yonkers, HRM 18: We hauled our eel mop today from the Groundwork Hudson Valley’s environmental education center Science Barge and retrieved our first glass eel of the season. Glass eels are an immature life stage of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata). The Science Barge is moored at the confluence of the Saw Mill River and the Hudson River. The river temperature was 46 degrees Fahrenheit (F).
– Bob Walters, Robert Hothan
[Eel mops are a basketball-sized tangle of polypropylene “tentacles” placed in the river and found by glass eels to be a very cozy way-station on their trip upstream. The mop can be lifted out, shaken, and if present, , the glass eels will fall into a waiting bucket. The Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission literature has the perfect name for the mops: Medusa device. Medusa was a priestess in Greek mythology and in a fit of anger, the Greek goddess Athena, daughter of Zeus, transformed Medusa’s hair into a head of snakes. As the eel mop gyrates in the current, it conjures up this image. Tom Lake]
 2/27 – Castleton-on-Hudson, HRM 137.5: I estimated 1,000 red-winged blackbirds in my survey of the area this afternoon along with 400 Canada geese. The “murmuration” of blackbirds headed west. (Photo of red-winged blackbird courtesy of Kyle Bardwell)
– Nancy Jane Kern (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
[Murmuration is a collective noun describing hundreds of blackbirds flying together in a whirling, ever-changing pattern. Tom Lake]
2/27 – Schodack Landing, HRM 135: On my survey of the area this afternoon, in addition to Canada geese (500), I spotted a northern goshawk perched in a large tree watching a field and farm pond. The goshawk had a few dark vertical lines on the sides of its breast and its white supercilium tail had light barring. (Viewed with 30X scope and 10X42 Swarovski binoculars)
– Nancy Jane Kern (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
2/27 – Beacon, HRM 61: I took an exploratory crack at fishing for carp this afternoon. The total of my effort was three modest “bell-ringers” at dead low tide. I use small bells on the tips of my fishing rods, sensitive enough to let me know if fish nibble at my bait (corn kernels). My guess is they were golden shiners, goldfish, or very small carp. The smaller fish behave this way throughout the fishing season. Hits from brown bullheads, channel catfish, or bigger carp would have been much more robust.
– Bill Greene
2/27 – Verplanck, HRM 40.5: As we took a walk this morning we spotted our first killdeer of the season along the waterfront. Later, in the “clay pond” we found two Canada geese, six scaup (4 drakes and 2 hens), a mallard pair (hen and drake), and a great blue heron presiding over the pond from a nearby tree.
– Ed McKay, Hudson McKay
[The clay ponds at Verplanck are an artifact of the brick industry that flourished in the area in the 19th century but died out in the early 20th century. The clay deposits mined there are an artifact from the melting of the last Ice Age about 21,000 years ago. Clay was a major ingredient used in kilns to make bricks. Tom Lake]
2/27 – Cortlandt, HRM 38.5: I found skunk cabbage in bloom at the bottom of Salt Hill. Seemed early.
– Bob Meyer
2/27 – Manhattan, HRM 1: We checked our research sampling gear in Hudson River Park at The River Project’s sampling station on the lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25. We caught the usual and always welcome assortment of isopods and grass shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.), along with a comb jelly and a small mud crab.
– Siddhartha Hayes, Iftikar Ahmed, Omar Gabr
2/28 – Fort Miller to Schuylerville, HRM 193-186: It was a waterfowl bonanza this afternoon across these seven miles! There were at last 14 species present, including four different greater white-fronted geese, Canada geese, snow geese, cackling geese (2), ring-necked duck, black duck, mallard, bufflehead, hooded merganser, common merganser, common goldeneye, northern pintail (9), American widgeon (8), and one long-tailed duck.
– Scott Varney (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
 2/28 – Saratoga County, HRM 170: With spring-like conditions in Charlton on the last day of February, we had our annual visit by a flock of migrating cedar waxwings. They pass through every year, stopping to feast on last year’s crabapples and highbush cranberries. It was a record number; 30 of them, compared to our usual 20. It was also the earliest they have ever come through; the last two years they arrived on 3/17 and 3/31. (Photo of Cedar waxwing courtesy of Wendy Kuehner)
– Wendy Kuehner
2/28 – Greene County, HRM 124: This evening in Earlton, I heard two barred owls caterwauling nearby and a third barred owl calling in the distance: “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you.”
– Michelle Joyce (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
2/28 – Ulster County, HRM 85: The bald eagles of nest NY92 were back on their nest — it seems they may have two nests. They had not been around the nest at all until this last week when the ice on the Wallkill River finally started going out. The female was hunkered down in the nest today, perhaps forming a cavity, but did not seem to be incubating eggs.
– Jim Yates
2/28 – Galeville, HRM 74: I walked the blue trail at the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon spotting nine female northern harriers, a female red-tailed hawk, and at least ten short-eared owls. Nearer to dusk, the owls “fluttered” up and down all around me. It was very difficult to keep track of an individual owl – I almost needed an “owl air traffic controller” at this repurposed airport. Also noted was a male kestrel (Falco sparverius) sitting on a nest box. I took a couple of distant photos and when I enlarged them, I noticed two wires trailing from the back of the bird.
– Bob Ottens
[This falcon was one of Zach Smith’s banded birds (see 1/23). Zach banded 44 American kestrels in Ulster County in 2017, 27 nestlings and 17 adults. If you come upon a banded kestrel, Zach would love to know about it (zsgavilan), or report the information to: https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/bblretrv/index]
2/28 – Putnam County, HRM 54: During a morning bird walk on the blue trail at Fahnestock State Park, I spotted a red-necked grebe on Canopus Lake. The bird was first seen at the south end near the last bit of ice but by the time I left it was moving toward the center of the lake.
– Sean Camillieri
2/28 – Croton Bay, HRM 34-33: From my Croton-bound train, I was able to view a mixed group of six adult and immature bald eagles on a small gravel spit at Crawbuckie Beach in Croton Bay. The rumble of the train sent them scattering.
– Jim Miller
[Crawbuckie and Inbuckie are colloquial names used to describe the mile of tidemarsh and shoreline between the mouth of the Croton River and Ossining (river miles 34-33). The origin of the names is hazy but they were commonly used by local rivermen for well over a century. Crawbuckie is the low-tide beach facing Croton Bay made equally famous in the 1960s and 70s by striped bass anglers, when catching one of any size was big news. Inbuckie is the adjacent tidemarsh inside the railroad tracks. Prior to the early nineteenth century when the railroad bisected them, they were one. Tom Lake]
 2/28 – Yonkers, HRM 18: We had some modest success today with our “off-season” seining at the Center for the Urban River at Beczak. We were assisted by Aman Ali, Owen Draplin, Maged Saleh, and Ousoumane Sherif, interns from the Bronx Collaborative High School. Much to our delight we caught three fish, two mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) and one fathead minnow. The river’s salinity measured 2.96 parts-per-thousand (ppt) and the water temperature was 42.1 F. (Photo of fathead minnow courtesy of NANFA.org)
– Elisa Caref, Jason Muller
[The very unassuming pinkie-sized fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) is native to mid-continent United States. Its presence in the watershed may be a result of canal immigration or bait-bucket release. Bob Schmidt had previously found them in the “day-lighted” reach of the lower Saw Mill River. Tom Lake]
3/1 – Staatsburg, HRM 86: I heard a single spring peeper singing tonight in a vernal pool just as the rains, that would later turn to snow, began. This is the earliest I have ever heard them. Maybe the energy of tonight’s full moon was too much to resist!
– Daniel Seymour
3/1 – New Hamburg to Cold Spring, HRM 67-55: We took a survey trip down the river passing six bald eagle nests across twelve miles, four on the east side of the river and two on the west side. It was high tide and the flat calm river was covered with flotsam that had been lifted off the beaches. Our first nest (NY459A) is a first-year occupancy and one of the adults was headed out to the river; it would be a tough go fishing on high tide. Four other nests were quiet but NY377 at Brockway showed the kind of activity that suggested the adults were preparing for the nesting season.
– Tom Lake, B.J. Jackson
3/1 – Manhattan, HRM 1: It was overcast and warm as we went to check our research sampling gear in Hudson River Park at The River Project’s sampling station on the lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25. We caught an assortment of critters including isopods, grass shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.), and two small mud crabs. It is not often that our most exciting catch is an alien, in this case an Asian shore crab.
– Siddhartha Hayes, Toland Kister, Siri Dolce-Bengtsson, Omar Gabr
[The Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) is an invasive species that likely arrived in the United States in the ballast of cargo ships. It is native to the inshore ocean areas around China and Japan. The Asian shore crab favors rocky intertidal areas and occupies similar habitats and competes with our native mud crabs (Panopeidae). Adults can grow to 42 millimeters (mm) carapace width. Tom Lake]
3/2 – New Hamburg, HRM 67.5: We went to the river at the midday high tide in heavy snow with gale force winds gusting to 50 mph. Being one day after the full moon, the spring tide (a full moon or new moon tide) was already extra high and the storm surge had pushed it higher still, spilling into the flood plain and reaching upland areas rarely inundated by the river. Storm surge is produced by water being pushed toward the shore by the force of the winds moving cyclonically around the storm.
– Tom Lake, B.J. Jackson
3/2 – Piermont, HRM 25: A monster nor’easter, identified as a “bomb cyclone” by the National Weather Service, rolled across the Hudson Valley and into the lower estuary delivering gale force winds and accompanying storm surge that flooded sections of the Rockland County waterfront. The storm ripped apart the Piermont Pier, knocking out the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) tide gauge. The wave action from the strong winds and storm surge dislodged several barges anchored by the Tappan Zee Bridge and sent them careening down the river. Winds were measured at 46 mph at Piermont Pier by the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS) with gusts nearing hurricane force at 69 mph. While the most severe impact was caused by storm surge and high winds, severe flooding (2.5 inches of precipitation) contributed to the damage. The net of the storm included more than 2.2 million customers in the Northeast losing power.
– Margie Turrin
[This was the second “bomb-cyclone” in two months. A storm is considered a “bomb” if its central air pressure plummets by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours (a millibar measures atmospheric pressure). The previous “bomb-cyclone” occurred on January 3 and 4 when a nor’easter turned into a massive snowstorm and pounded the lower estuary. Given the wind speeds, windchills, and the foot of snow, that storm could easily could have been called a blizzard. Scientists suggest that the increasing frequency of major storms, and in particular the short lapse time between them, may be symptomatic of climate change. Tom Lake]
WINTER-SPRING 2018 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS
Wednesday, March 14 – 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Workshop: Green Infrastructure in Kingston
Presented by Emily Vail, Amanda Lavalle and Steve Noble
The Lace Mill, East Gallery
165 Cornell Street, Kingston
To register, please contact Emily Vail
Friday, April 20 – 7:00 p.m.
The River before Henry (the Prehistory of the Hudson Valley)
Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program’s Consulting Naturalist
Sponsored by the French and Indian War Society
Fort William Henry Museum
Lake George, New York
For information, e-mail Melodie Viele
Free Trees for Streamside Planting
The Hudson River Estuary Program’s Trees for Tribs program offers free native trees and shrubs for planting along the tributary streams in the Hudson River Estuary watershed. Our staff can help you with a planting plan and work with your volunteers. Since 2007, Trees for Tribs has provided more than 40,000 native trees and shrubs for planting along 20 miles of stream with the help of more than 9,000 local volunteers. We are now accepting applications for spring planting projects. Applications received by March 1, 2018 will be given preference.
For more information about the program or to download an application, please visit the DEC website at: HudsonEstuaryTFT.
Hudson River: Striped Bass Cooperative Angler Program
Do you fish for striped bass in the Hudson River? You can share your fishing trip information and help biologists understand and manage our striped bass fishery.
– Here’s how it works: Fill out a logbook provided by us whenever you fish on the Hudson River (by boat or shore). Record general location, time, gear used, what you caught (or if you didn’t catch anything) and return the logbook when you are done fishing. You’ll receive an annual newsletter summarizing the information in addition to the latest news regarding regulations and the river.
– Whether you catch-and-release or take home a keeper, you can be part of the Cooperative Angler Program. Join today by contacting: Jessica Best 845-256-3009 jessica.best
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.
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 sixteen 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 |
Hudson River Almanac
