Spring ephemerals

If you take a “wildflower walk” in the Adirondack woods this time of year, here’s what you might see. But you better hurry, they don’t last too long!

All of  these wildflowers are found in a typical hardwood forest or “beech, birch, maple forest”- (click on wildflower name):

Red trillium -Trillium erectum

Yellow trout lily -Erythronium americanum

Painted trillium -Trillium undulatum

Dwarf ginseng -Panax trifolius

Trailing arbutus -Epigaea repens

Round-leaved yellow violet -Viola rotundifolia

and last, but not least

Spring beauty -Claytonia virginica

Photo credits: All photos Brian McAllister

Bird migration

I know this is a bit out of our “Adirondack range” but I wanted to show you how bird migration looks from a weather radar station in Key West, Florida. And the fascinating part about this is that these birds are flying at night(it’s safer). This radar is showing movement from around 8PM to 10PM Monday eve.

Watch as the birds(that bluish blob moving north off of Key West) work their way toward the mainland of southern Florida.

Now to relate this to our neck-of-the-woods….these birds should be in the Adirondacks sometime around mid May:-)

We wish them a safe journey.

Learn your boreal birds-Bicknell’s thrush

I wonder if in 1881, amateur ornithologist Eugene P. Bicknell, had any idea what a whirlwind he would cause in the birding world by classifying his new-found thrush as a subspecies. Back in the day they assumed this thrush was a just a subspecies of gray-cheeked thrush(a bird lesson for another day). Fast forward to 1995 and the birding-powers-that-be officially gave Bicknell’s thrush it’s current name and status as a species of thrush.

As birders eagerly watch for Bicknell’s thrush on Whiteface Mt near Lake Placid, they are grateful to Eugene because he added another bird to the big list, which in turn adds another “tick” off the list for the hardcore birders among us.

But over the years we’ve learned a lot  about Eugene’s bird, and it now stands precariously on a delicate precipice that could easily crumble. Bickies are listed as a “Bird of Special Concern”. As you look at the range for this bird you see a very small wintering ground in the Caribbean and a very localized breeding ground here in the northeast.

To make matters worse, Bickies nest in a very inhospitable area – they prefer the harsh climate of the very thickly-wooded red spruce-balsam fir forest found at higher elevations of the Adirondacks, Green, and White Mountains in northeast US.

Your best bet to see a Bicknell’s is to take a drive up the Whiteface Mt Toll Rd which is certainly eaiser than climbing the other mountains where Bicknell’s is found, but if you’re the hiking type and enjoy a good workout, then try Wright Peak, Hurricane Mountain, Blue Mountain, or even Cascade Mt(outside Lake Placid).

On Whiteface, stop, look, and listen along the stretch of road between the “Lake Placid Turn” and the “Wilmington Turn” before coming to the top.

Chances are you will hear the thrush before you see it. The peak time to observe this bird is during the early breeding season(late May-early June) when they are most vocal. You can hear the song here

As with other members of the thrush family, the Bicknell’s is somewhat drab brown in color with a pale white breast w/darker spots on the throat and upper breast. Many sharp-eyed birders are able to discern a reddish color to the feathers of the tail and larger(primary) feathers of the wing.

Also the paler brown coloration on the cheek of Bicknell’s differentiate it from the “gray-cheek” of the gray-cheeked thrush…clever name, eh?

Here’s the other ID clue that you need to know. At a point on most of the High Peaks around here you come to an elevation where the Bicknell’s shares habitat with it’s other cousin the Swainson’s thrush. That’s somewhere around the 2500-3000 ft level. But if you are beyond that elevation, in the thick spruce-fir forest, then there’s a very good chance you are looking at a Bicknell’s

Well pat yourself on the back and then buy yourself a beer to celebrate your accomplishment…not many get to see this bird, and it’s pretty high on the list of “priority sightings” for many birders.

Better yet, save the money from the beer and give it toward a research organization that’s keeping tabs on one of our prettiest but most imperiled thrush!

Photo Credit: Bicknell’s thrush – Wikipedia

Spotted salamander crossings…and other herp stuff

It reminds me of the Munchkins scene from the Wizard of Oz where they all start coming out of their hiding places after Dorothy’s house lands in their village, and Glinda the Good Witch tells the Munchkins it’s safe to come out now.

Spotted Salamanders-Ambystoma maculatum, are in the beginning stages of their breeding cycle and the warm spell of last week, along with a gentle nights rain is allowing for the nightly migration of salamanders from their protected winter homes to vernal pools of standing water.

After spending many winter months curled up in some crevice between a rock and tree root or old mammal tunnel, these salamanders are awakened by the need to mate. They “smell” their way to a nearby fish-less, spring rain-filled puddle or pool on the forest floor.

I happen to like the vernal pools around the Black Pond Trailhead parking lot on Keese Mill Rd(in Paul Smiths). After a good soaking rain in mid April it’s worth taking a walk to a woodland pool or small pond and look for these critters slowly migrating their way to water.

In the pools males will produce small white packets of sperm(spermatophore) that they attach to a small leaf or stick. The females will follow a few days later and enter the pool looking for spermatophores. Lying on top of a spermatophore, the female will gather it up into her reproductive organ and it will fertilize her eggs internally.

Soon after this she will lay a clump of gelatinous eggs in a pond and over time this egg mass absorbs water and swells to softball size. You may see these in shallow areas along a ponds edge. It often gets covered with algae also.

The human attraction to this yearly phenomena is to monitor and safely guide the salamanders that end up having to cross some of the roads leading from woodlands to the vernal pool. Many Paul Smiths College students participate in this endeavor along Keese Mill Rd. and safely carry spotted salamanders to the other side of the road.

Along with the spotted salamanders  you can often find Wood Frogs-Rana sylvatica crossing these deadly roads. They’re on the same pathway that the salamanders are on….getting to the water. In a large enough vernal pool you can find both salamanders and wood frogs actively mating on warm April nights.

Following close on their tails are Spring Peepers-Pseudacris crucifer. We’re all familiar with the often deafening chorus of peepers on a spring night around wetlands. This thumb-sized member of the chorus frog family can be pretty hard to locate among the grasses around a pond. They often tuck themselves under the overlapping grasses and disappear from view.

Although April showers do bring May flowers, it’s well worth the effort to explore the early, wet April nights in your favorite Adirondack woodland.

Photo credit: Spotted Salamander -Wikipedia

Birds and butterflies in this “early” spring

We have come to expect the normal Adirondack spring consisting of cold spells with snow, followed by some melting, followed again by a cold spell with sleet or something miserable like that.

However, Spring 2010 is fast becoming the  most enjoyable to many “spring-seeking” outdoor enthusiasts. The record high for Saranac Lake on this date is 74 degreesF set in 1989…we were just 4 degrees shy of that today.

Seems this warm spell has set into motion many winged migrants taking to the airways. I saw my first mourning cloak butterfly today. Fascinating to think that this butterfly(in adult stage) can hibernate through a wicked Adirondack winter! What a pleasure to see it floating through the air.

Looking at all the internet reports of bird sightings these past few days reveal that bird migration has gotten a bit of a jump with this warm air from the SW.

I saw my first great blue heron, eastern meadowlark, eastern phoebe, eastern bluebird(do you sense a direction pattern here?), and my first merlin(small falcon) all today.

While working in St Lawrence County recently, I’ve spotted many daffodils just beginning to poke out of the warming soil in many front yards. Also noted today….very small, dark brown spiders that were floating in the air on the ends of silken threads that they released into the wind. They will float on the wind until the threads catch on to some object…usually my head!

Keeping track of spring sightings(a.k.a.: Phenology), or any season for that matter, has become a favorite activity for many naturalists, and birdwatcher alike. Get a few field guides for your library and hit the trails.

Here’s to “earrach”…. “spring” in the Irish language.

Photo credit: Eastern Meadowlark-Brian McAllister