Birding the Adirondacks:
Teddy Roosevelt Bird Walk
23 May 2015

 

On 23 May 2015, Adirondack Birding Center Director Brian McAllister led a bird walk on the Boreal Life Trail and the Barnum Brook 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 sunny, cold, windy morning – not good birding weather. The wind made it more difficult to hear and see the birds. Moreover, birds tend to be less active when it's cold, so we heard more birds toward the end of our walk, after it had warmed up. Despite the cold and the wind, we saw or heard a total of 27 bird species. eBird Checklist 

During the walk, we discussed methods of recognizing bird song and techniques to help remember the songs. We also covered the origin of bird names, including:

• Baltimore Oriole (so named because the colors of the male breeding bird were similar to those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore)
• Blackburnian Warbler (named after British naturalist Anna Blackburn)
• Nashville Warbler (named in 1811 by Scottish-American ornithologist Alexander Wilson, who first observed the bird in Nashville, Tennessee)

Highlights of the walk included a rare glimpse of a Cape May Warbler on the Boreal Life Trail. This was the first time that the Cape May had been observed during the Teddy Roosevelt bird walks; this bird was probably just passing through on its way north. We also had some excellent views of a Blackburnian Warbler on the Boreal Life Trail, a pair of mating Tree Swallows on Heron Marsh, and a Palm Warbler from the viewing platform on the Barnum Brook Trail.

On the upland portions of the Boreal Life Trail, we saw or heard the following birds:

Red-eyed Vireo	Blackburnian Warbler
Northern Parula	Black-throated Blue Warbler
Purple Finch	Nashville Warbler
Golden-crowned Kinglet	Red-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-headed Vireo	Cape May Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Ruffed Grouse

On the board walk across Barnum Bog on the Boreal Life Trail, we saw or heard the following birds:

White-throated Sparrow	Palm Warbler
Common Raven

On the Barnum Brook Trail, we saw or heard the following birds:

Northern Parula	Hermit Thrush
Magnolia Warbler	Red-winged Blackbird
Black-capped Chickadee	Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Red-eyed Vireo
Red-winged Blackbird	Tree Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Hermit Thrush
Canada Goose	Ring-necked Duck
Mallard	Chimney Swift
American Redstart	Palm Warbler
Blue Jay

We also observed the following shrubs and wildflowers in bloom or bud:

Clintonia	Bog Rosemary
Bog Laurel	Wild Sarsaparilla
Cotton Grass	Labrador Tea
Purple Trillium	Painted Trillium
Indian Cucumber-root	Hobblebush
Leatherleaf	Goldthread