Another walk through Henry’s Woods

The thermometer nudged into the lower 70’s today as the sun tried but couldn’t find a hiding place behind clouds. A gentle wind blew in from the northeast, but the sun kept things warm.

What a perfect day to walk Henry’s Woods in Lake Placid. The spring migrant bird population was in full chorus and the spring wildflowers were making themselves known with their vibrantly colored flowers.

Here’s what I saw:

Red trillium, Trout lily, Squirrel corn, Dutchman’s breeches, Spring beauties, Common toothwort, Round-leaved violet, bellwort(wild oats)

The bird population was very abundant, and too many to fill this blog. But I’ll list a few that I saw. If you walk the looped trail in a counterclockwise direction you will cross over several small tributary streams that feed a larger brook. Here the soil is very rich with a healthy overstory of beech, birch, maples, and some conifers for a splash of color.

The treetops in this area are just opening their buds and so small caterpillars  and other insects are  feeding on these buds.  These insects make for a great breakfast for birds. Here are some  of the species I saw feeding in the treetops:

Blackburnian warbler, Black-throated green warbler, Ovenbird, Black-throated blue warbler, Winter wren, Northern parula warbler

Photo Credit: “Squirrel Corn”-Brian McAllister

9th Annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration

Mark your calendars for the weekend of June 3-5! We are presenting the 9th Annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration(GABC) at the Paul Smith’s College VIC in Paul Smiths, New York.

We are thrilled to be featuring Scott Weidensaul as our  Saturday evening Joseph and Joan Cullman Lecture keynote speaker in the Paul Smith’s College VIC Theater @ 7:30pm

Click here for schedule, registration and additional information for this event.

Three days of birding events will take place at the Paul Smith’s College VIC as well as off-site field trips(Saturday and Sunday mornings) to Wilmington, Paul Smiths, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, and Santa Clara, NY. Each field trip will focus on finding the many boreal bird species that inhabit this area during their summer breeding season.

Friday will feature an all day Boreal Ecology Workshop at Massawepie Mire and The Wild Center. Friday evening is a dessert reception/GABC introduction, followed by our ever-popular owl walk on PSC VIC property.  Saturday afternoon activities include workshops, and presentations and time to visit our vendors Wild Birds Unlimited of Saratoga Springs

Please visit our GABC sponsors as they give much of their financial support, time and efforts to this years event:

Adirondack Park Institute, Inc.

Northern New York Audubon

Audubon New York

Cochran’s Cabins

Lake Clear Lodge and Retreat  - Stay and Dine Packages Available

Mac’s Canoe Livery

Wild Birds Unlimited

NYS Olympic Regional Development Authority

Paul Smith’s College – The College of the Adirondacks

The Wild Center

Bookman Designs

Adirondack Raptors

Photo Credit: Magnolia Warbler-Wikipedia

Just a little more patience

These rainy days highlight some of last years colors(wintergreen berries):

And with some patience we’ll eventually see shadebush -Amelanchier:

But as things open up, like these Hepatica flowers,

things seem to take on a beauty of their own(witch hobble leaves):

So let the rains fall soft upon the earth(red trillium),

…and fill our woods with the first hints of ephemeral color(Spring beauty),

Because this is not far behind!

All photos by Brian McAllister