Birding the Adirondacks:
Teddy Roosevelt Bird Walk
7 September 2013
On 7 September 2013, Adirondack Birding Center Director Brian McAllister led a bird walk on the Heron Marsh Trail, with a brief detour to the floating bridge on the Woods and Waters Trail. The walk was part of the "TR" Birding Series. The walk began at 9:00 AM, when we met in the VIC building at the Paul Smith's College VIC. It was a partly cloudy,cool fall day. The walk began with a discussion of the fall bird migration and its impact on the birds we see here at the VIC. Many of the birds which are seen in northern New York and Canada in the summer are neotropical migrants – birds which breed in the US and Canada and winter further south. Falling temperatures and shorter days lead to southward movement for these birds. The birds travel at night and then spend the day resting and feeding.
This means that many of the birds we see in late August and early September at the VIC are migrants from Canada, stopping here on their way south. The birds tend to move in small mixed-species groups, apparently for protection against predators or to help find food. They keep in contact through chipping calls. Groups of migrating birds can often be located by listening for the chatter of Black-capped Chickadees, who produce constant chip notes which help keep the small mixed flocks together. Many of the birds we observed during our walk were traveling with chickadees.
We saw or heard a total of 26 bird species. Highlights of the walk included some good views of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Pine Warblers, and Blue-headed Vireos, apparently traveling with a small flock of Black-capped Chickadees. We also saw a Great Blue Heron on the southern side of Heron Marsh and a Belted Kingfisher hovering over the marsh like a helicopter and then diving for minnows.
In the parking lot and near the VIC building, we saw or heard the following birds:
| American Robin | Red-Breasted Nuthatch |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | Blue-headed Vireo |
| Cedar Waxwing | Winter Wren |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
On the Heron Marsh Trail, we saw or heard the following birds:
On the Woods and Waters Trail, we saw or heard the following birds:
| Blue Jay | Northern Flicker |
| Great Blue Heron | Mallard |
| Red-Breasted Nuthatch | American Goldfinch |
| Song Sparrow |
We also observed the following wildflowers or flowering shrubs blooming or fruiting:
| Indian Pipe | Cotton Grass |
| Goldenrod | Wild Raisin |
| Mountain Holly |