Another year of the GABC

This past weekend I led a pair of birding trips for the Paul Smith's College VIC during the 14^th annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration (GABC). Saturday dawned blue and clear as our group shuttled from the VIC to Osgood Pond for some birding and canoeing. Paddling while birding may not yield as long a list of species as covering more ground with a car, but it offers a sense of exploration that few other means of travel can match - particularly when checking out wild Adirondack waterways.

A perfectly still pond

We set off across the pond, listening to Pine Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, American Redstarts, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and a Brown Creeper from the shore as we went. The cool air was sunny and still, and we carved the only ripples on the mirror of the lake, keeping along the shore so we could better listen for birds and spotting several Common Grackles and a few ducks overhead. My co-leader discussed the history of a few of the camps along shore - most notably White Pine Camp and its history with Calvin Coolidge.

From White Pine Camp we paddled down the Osgood Rive, which initially flows north, and the once wide expanse of lake soon closed in around us in the hopeful prospect of finding more birds along the shore. Phalanxes of spruce, fir, and tamarack lined the way as we paddled smoothly along the glassy surface adding species like Palm, Nashville, and Magnolia Warblers, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Parula, and Common Yellowthroat.

Great Boreal Birding

I heard a Northern Waterthrush sing from a stretch of boreal habitat and we poked our bows along shore in the hopes that we could find it. It only sang a couple times and stayed distant, but we were compensated handsomely by a brilliant Magnolia Warbler, which hopped about feeding right along the water. Suddenly an Olive-sided Flycatcher sang from just beyond our view, and to our excitement it came out calling and sitting on the tops of the nearby snags - in full sunlight. It was a stunning view of a bird which is not always easy to find. Eventually it flew back away from the water and we paddled on, trying a few times in vain to find Yellow-bellied Flycatchers in the same way. We had to be content with hearing them calling chi-lik from the dense areas along the river.

We had better luck with a few other species though, getting quick looks of a furtive Winter Wren, spotting multiple Nashville and Magnolia Warblers, listening to the high-pitched twitters of Golden-crowned Kinglets, and seeing a few Belted Kingfishers overhead. The warming sun also began to create thermals and we had to keep our eyes open for distant raptors - spotting a Bald Eagle and a Broad-winged Hawk in the process.

But our focus on the Osgood was directed to boreal birds, and we finally heard a few Gray Jays chattering along the banks of the river. They initially were somewhat tricky to see as they remained beyond the first couple lines of trees, but a short way further downriver we found a young bird harassing a few older birds for food - chasing them through the trees. We stopped and watched the family quarrel as an adult bird perched obligingly for us, perhaps checking us out to see if we had any food to offer it. Maybe it was wondering if it could pawn the hungry youngster off on us. Seeing no food it and the other jays moved off, and we continued downstream a little further. We were getting hungry ourselves and we knew we needed to turn around soon to score some lunch, which was waiting back at the VIC for us.

Before we turned we found our first Canada Warbler of the day and managed a few decent looks at it flitting in the thickets along the stream. There was also a Swamp Sparrow and a Black-throated Blue Warbler in the area which may have felt slighted because we didn't pay them a lot of attention. We turned and reversed our course, once again spotting the Gray Jays and the same list of warblers which we had seen on the way in. We managed distant views of the Olive-sided Flycatcher on the return, and the bird was still hanging out in the same location - offering birders a good place to look for it in the coming weeks.

A slight breeze was growing on the pond when we reached it but we had no difficulty in crossing the open water, listening to a Scarlet Tanager sing from the neighboring woods as we did. We were soon back at the put-in and a short drive later we were back at the VIC where we enjoyed a delicious lunch, swapping birding stories with other GABC participants who were returning from their own trips. Good birds and good food called for seconds, and I later staggered from the lunch table full of potato salad.  

Now is a great time to plan your Adirondack birding and paddling trip! Check out our birding and paddling pages today!