| OVERVIEW
This was a week of highlights: They included the spring nesting of birds from herons to eagles, record and near-record bird sightings, a record catch of minnows, and the springtime arrival of a myriad of birds from wintering locations.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
4/19 – Ulster County, HRM 92: Just as a storm was brewing, I spotted a little gull flying with a group of Bonaparte’s gulls. I made a positive identification but then was unable to relocate the bird, as the wind began to howl.
– Peter Schoenberger
[There is only one historical record for the little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus or Larus minutus, the taxonomy is unsettled) in Ulster County. Coincidentally, a little gull was spotted yesterday by Jim Clinton, at the mouth of the Rondout Creek in a large, active group of Boneparte’s gulls. Given their rarity, today’s observation of the little gull (in the company of a good number of Boneparte’s) at Ashokan Reservoir, can only be assumed to be the same bird. Mark DeDea]
NATURAL HISTORY ENTRIES
 4/14 – Albany, HRM 145: I birded the city of Albany waterfront this morning, tallying a somewhat surprising 45 species. Highlights included a Caspian tern, a common loon in breeding plumage, a greater scaup, and a hooded merganser. Breeding raptors were setting up along the city waterfront, with a pair of peregrine falcons on the Dunn Memorial Bridge and a newly-arrived pair of osprey, farther north, on the Livingston Avenue railroad bridge, actively involved in nest-building. (Photo of common loon courtesy of Tristan Lowery)
– Tristan Lowery (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
4/14 – Town of Poughkeepsie: A week ago, we tentatively declared that bald eagle nest NY372 had failed to produce a nestling this season. We estimated that eggs were laid on February 21, so they were now well past what we would expect for a hatch date. Despite the numbers, the adult eagles were still going about business as usual: changing over nest coverage, bringing sticks and grass to the nest, and appeared to be sitting on eggs. However, I still have not seen any food come to the nest. I’m baffled.
– Dana Layton
[The psychology of eagles is uncharted waters. How the adults respond to an egg that does not hatch likely varies from bird to bird. It is easy to interpret this as a sign of “denial,” but most wildlife respond to instinct, not the abstract analyses of humans. Tom Lake]
4/14 – Bedford, HRM 35: The great blue heron rookery was quiet, with about a dozen herons incubating eggs. Some nests appeared to be empty, but there may have been a heron hidden from view. Two nests had a heron standing for a long period of time with no activity. Those may have been guardians, watching over their mates, hidden from view. Every now and then a heron would fly in and circle around before landing on a nest, switching places with its mate. This will be the routine until the eggs hatch in a couple of weeks.
– Jim Steck
4/15 – Mohawk River, HRM 157: There was a tight raft of 105 Bonaparte’s gulls in mid-morning, resting on the Mohawk River, just upstream from the Crescent Power Plant.
– Tom Williams, Colleen Williams (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
[This number of Bonaparte’s gulls is not so unexpected – they migrate in groups. This just happened to be a larger group. Rich Guthrie]
4/15 – Schenectady County, HRM 158: I surveyed Collins Pond in Scotia today, counting 29 species. Among them were 72 Bonaparte’s gulls and an adult mew gull, possibly a first county record.
– Ted Leyel (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
[The mew gull, also called the common gull (Larus canus), is native to northern Europe. They migrate west to Great Britain and occasionally to North America. European field guides refer to them as the common gull; American field guides tend to use the name mew gull. – Tom Lake]
 4/16 – Fort Miller, HRM 192: For the third day in a row, I traveled along the Hudson River through Fort Miller and found a breeding pair of red-throated loons. It was very exciting to see them so close to shore. (Photo of red-throated loon courtesy of Deborah-Tracy Kral)
– Scott Varney (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
4/16 – Schenectady, HRM 157: A brief stop for a scan of Schenectady County Airport produced a distant view of a snowy owl near one of the runways. This was, by far, my latest record for this species and my first April record.
– David Harrison (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
4/16 – Norrie Point, HRM 85: Water levels were roughly 2.5 feet higher than predicted, partially flooding the deck at the Norrie Point Environmental Center. The easy explanation was the rain – two inches fell at Norrie today, and equal or higher amounts in the watershed upriver. This graph from the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System [HRECOS] shows the higher than normal water levels and the rainfall accumulating through the day.
But look at the timing of the higher water levels in relation to the rain. Water levels went down through the day and the two days following. Rain did cause flooding in tributaries upriver, as shown in the HRECOS graph below, comparing water levels at Norrie to those at Lock 8 on the Mohawk River, the Hudson’s largest tributary. However, flooding on the Mohawk and other tributaries peaked on the following day.
The flooding at Norrie was not the result of heavy rain but rather of storm surge generated by strong winds piling ocean water against the coast, resulting in higher than usual water levels in New York Harbor and the Hudson estuary. From 4/15 into 4/16, sensors on a buoy, just off the harbor mouth, recorded easterly to southerly winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour. (HRECOS graphs courtesy of Steve Stanne)
– Steve Stanne
4/16 – Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: Our small red maple was adorned this morning with what seemed like a bird on every branch. These were male American goldfinches, and the red maple was instantly transformed into a lemon tree.
– Phyllis Lake
4/16 – Manhattan, HRM 1: As we checked our collection gear at The River Project’s sampling station on the lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25, a northern pipefish wriggled its way out of a crab pot before we were able to pull it up. Yet, we were still heartened to know that they were finally here!
– Nina Hitchings
4/17 – Washington County, HRM 202: The snowy owl irruption of the winter 2017-18, in the Washington County area east of Fort Edward, was significant, and it is interesting to ponder if the number of birds was a historical high. Numerous birders, myself included, had high counts of five birds on some days. Of course, that count was from roadside viewing and does not account for significant farmland and grasslands too distant for viewing. Maybe there were additional owls that were never close enough to see.
– Jeff Nadler (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
4/17 – Saratoga County, HRM 182: I drove a full circuit around Saratoga Lake this morning. From Silver Beach, I saw the first of what would be 38 common loons. Other highlights among the 44 species I counted were ring-necked ducks (115), greater and lesser scaup (215), buffleheads (75), common goldeneye (35), red-necked grebe (2), and a red-throated loon.
– Ron Harrower (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
 4/17 – Ramshorn Marsh, HRM 112.2: Our DEC Region 3 River Herring crew, employing a 300-foot haul seine, caught 121 goldfish today in the Ramshorn Marsh. They ranged in size from 8-20 inches and the colors ranged from bright orange to burnished gold. Some of the orange ones were mottled with black. This is the largest goldfish haul we have ever had since we began sampling in 2012. (Photo of goldfish courtesy of Amanda Higgs)
– Wes Eakin
[Goldfish (Carassius auratus) are a minnow, native to eastern Asia. They were widely introduced into North America in the early nineteenth century, but their presence in the Hudson River is most often attributed to aquaria release. Goldfish have been domesticated and bred for color, often hybridizing with carp. To discern a hybrid, you have to count barbels on the fish’s upper jaw: 4 for carp; zero for goldfish; 3 or fewer for hybrids. In the wild, goldfish can grow to 14-inches and weigh a couple of pounds. Tom Lake]
4/17 – Town of Poughkeepsie: One of the adults (looked like the male), from bald eagle nest NY62, was flying back to the nest, with a stick for refurbishing in one talon and the first river herring of the season (likely an alewife) in the other. Bob Rightmyer’s observation was a classic: “Fish sticks for dinner.” The two 23-day-old nestlings were being well-fed.
– Tom Lake
4/17 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: Turkey vultures were already in the air when our Hook Mountain Hawkwatch began, suggesting good air lift. High count for raptors today was broad-winged hawks (59). Liza spotted them, as they flew in from the southwest in midday, directly overhead, heading northeast. The largest kettle had 13 birds. Other migrant raptors included osprey (6), bald eagles (3), and American kestrel (1).
– Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
4/17 – Manhattan, HRM 1: When we checked our collection gear at The River Project’s sampling station on the lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25 we were rewarded with a beautiful adult northern pipefish, 130 millimeters (mm) long.
-Melissa Rex, Toland Kister, Michelle Jacobs
[Note: one inch = 25.4 millimeters (mm)]
4/18 – Ulster County, HRM 92: Two phalaropes were spotted in the Rondout, near the Hudson River, today. They were not far from a rare little gull and a large number of Bonaparte’s gulls. One phalarope was positively identified as a red-necked and the other almost surely was a red phalarope. Both of those species were first records for the county.
– Jim Clinton (Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club)
[These phalaropes (Phalaropus sp.) are sandpiper-like birds, equally at home wading or swimming. Both species are Arctic tundra breeders, heading home, after wintering offshore in the southeast. Tom Lake]
 4/18 – Stanfordville, HRM 84: There was a drake red-breasted merganser on Tamarack Lake this evening, along with gadwall, common mergansers, ring-necked ducks, wood duck, three great blue herons and five non-native mute swans. (Photo of red-breasted merganser courtesy of Deborah-Tracy Kral)
– Deborah Tracy-Kral
4/18 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: Broad-winged hawks, once again, dominated the migrating raptors at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch today, accounting for 93 of the 109 birds. The first one showed up in mid-morning, and it turned out that the broad-wings had two flight paths – one immediately west of the watch and one to the east. Liza developed a technique to follow every broad-winged hawk to the northeast, where they were often joined by others. In mid-afternoon, our last bird of the day, another broad-winged, flew low, beautifully backlit with the bands on its tail gleaming, and together with the other broad-wings that flew low over the watch, emphasized to us why we love watching hawks.
– Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
4/18 – Piermont, HRM 25: We took a drive out on the Piermont Pier this morning and immediately found a raft of 45 ruddy ducks as well as an immature bald eagle, out on the pilings. We counted 15 double-crested cormorants and a pair of osprey. Most notable, however, was a horned grebe south of the pier and an eastern meadowlark – my first meadowlark!
– Linda Pistolesi, Carol Weiss
4/19 – Town of Poughkeepsie: NY372: It now appears certain that bald eagle nest NY372 will have another failed year. Both adults were out of the nest this morning. I hung around for a while, but no one showed. [I have not seen them since.]
– Dana Layton
4/20 – Warren County, HRM 230: We found Lake George anglers shore fishing and saw quite a few others out in the lake, trolling for land-locked salmon and lake trout. A couple of them were successful. Rainbow smelt, prime forage for trout and salmon, would soon be surging inshore to spawn in the tributary creeks of the lake. That inshore migration will spark a flurry of both angler and gamefish heaven.
– Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake
[Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) are a saltwater species that also has land-locked populations in the Northeast, some that may date to the end of the last ice age. In the Hudson River, smelt behave as anadromous fishes, migrating in from the sea to spawn in freshwater. That population has been declining in recent times for reasons that are unclear. Lake George smelt can likely trace their ancestry to Lake Champlain, where smelt became landlocked when the Champlain Sea lost its link to the North Atlantic about 10,000 years ago. Tom Lake, Bob Schmidt]
4/20 – Saugerties, HRM 102: Green channel marker #93, across the mouth of Esopus Creek from the Saugerties Lighthouse, has once again become home for a pair of nesting osprey. They first appeared three weeks ago and immediately began piling sticks atop the steel tower for a fresh nest. Assuming this is the same pair that went through the motions of nest-building last year, they appeared to be in earnest this season.
– Patrick Landewe
4/20 – Quassaick Creek, HRM 60: Two years ago today, we spent an afternoon counting glass eels that had collected in our research fyke net overnight. After an exhausting three hours, we had counted 6,004 glass eels. [Note: The highest number of glass eels in one day, 8,067, was recorded on April 20, 2013 in Hannacroix Creek (river mile 132.5).
– Tom Lake, Hannah Ring
4/20 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: Broad-winged hawks, all adults, once again dominated the migrating raptors at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch today, accounting for 129 of the 144 birds recorded. By mid-morning, the clouds southwest of us dissipated, leaving us with a perfectly blue sky. Many of the hawks we saw were far to the west, but some eventually blew over the watch. Next high count for raptors was osprey with ten.
– Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
 4/20 – Manhattan, HRM 1: In beautiful sunny weather, we checked our collection gear at The River Project’s sampling station on the lighthouse tender Lilac at Pier 25. One of our killifish pots had captured two northern pipefish (120, 160 mm). (Photo of northern pipefish courtesy of Hudson River park)
– Siddhartha Hayes, Siri Dolce-Bengtsson, Omar Gabr
SPRING 2018 NATURAL HISTORY PROGRAMS
Saturday, April 28 – 1:00pm – 3:00pm
American eels
Norrie Point Environmental Center, Staatsburg
Join DEC’s Ashawna Abbott to learn about the fascinating life history of this migratory fish as well as the citizen science program that is helping restore the population. Then join DEC staff on a short walk to the Enderkill to check to see if our research fyke net has caught any glass eels.
For more information contact Ashawna Abbot 845-889-4745 x107
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.
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.
DEC’s Smartphone app for iPhone and Android is now available at: New York Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife App.
NY Open for Hunting and Fishing Initiative: Under Governor Cuomo’s Adventure NY initiative, DEC is making strategic investments to expand access to healthy, active outdoor recreation, connect more New Yorkers and visitors to nature and the outdoors, protect natural resources, and boost local economies. This initiative will support the completion of more than 75 projects over the next three years, ranging from improvements to youth camps and environmental education centers to new boat launches, duck blinds, and hiking trails. Read more about the Adventure NY initiative. For more information on planning an outdoor adventure in New York State, visit DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor.
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 |
Hudson River Almanac
