Outdoor Adventures with Gary Lee - Vol. 354

March is normal as it snows one day and then rains the next day. The last rain took away about a foot of snow which got washed down into the valleys. With all the freezing weather we had for much of the winter there was a lot of ice on the rivers and during the rain and thaws some of that ice piled up in the usual places. One place along the River Road before the Hudson River gets to Warrensburg where it piled high up onto the highway as the river waterway plugged with all the ice coming downstream. The rain coming later today could cause a bigger problem in that area. The ice also piled up in the river and the Moose River Road just below McKeever Bridge.

This storm system is also packing high winds of fifty miles an hour and more, which will put out power in many places. The temperature never went below freezing last night and the six inches of snow that was in the driveway went down to about an inch overnight. The frost that was in the driveway went out in the last warm spell, so it melted from both the top and the bottom. This is what we call mud season. If it keeps this up the blackflies will get restless as the streams warm up, can’t wait right!

I get to miss some of that time of the year with the flies as there are no blackflies at Crown Point, no streams for them to hatch out of. You don’t have to go to far west of Port Henry and you will find plenty. The mosquitoes come out around dark and even during the day in the swampy areas, but the swallows and fly catchers keep them at bay. We even had a few bats around last year which can eat their share.

With this warmer weather some birds have moved northward. I had a few Common Grackles, Juncos, and an American Tree Sparrow over the weekend. The big flock of Evening Grosbeaks has been cut in half in the last week. I did have a Sharp-shinned Hawk make a pass through the feeders last week, but it came up empty. It sat on a branch flicking its tail waiting for some birds to return but they stayed away until it left. I’m sure it has had dinner here a few times with all the birds around the feeders this winter. The strings on my big windows and the hawk silhouettes in the other big windows have cut down on the window hits. I only have five dead birds in the freezer where last year I had twenty. With 150 Evening Grosbeaks around each day, it sure had an influence with them being so spooky. They are in and out of the feeders in full flight.

I just finished writing this above and a car came down the driveway and they were looking at the birds at the feeders. I cranked open a window and asked if I could help them. They said they were just going to look at the birds as they had seen them reported on E-Bird as being here the Evening Grosbeaks. I said it would be nice if you had knocked on my door and asked. The young lady in the car got out and took a few pictures, I told her they wouldn’t come to the feeders with you standing there. She said I took some photos and again I said it would be nice if you asked. She got in the car and drove away. Just because birds are reported on E-birds it doesn’t give you the right to go to that location, especially a private home, and take photos or watch them without permission.

Out in Yellowstone Park we did see lots of wildlife, but the scenery was also fantastic for photos, both sunrises, sunsets, and the full moon going down over the snow-covered mountains was super. The shadows on the snow when the sun gets low with a stream running through it or animal tracks weaving through the open meadows. Tree shadows as the sun goes down stretch way across these meadows and the hoar frost on them many mornings.

Maple syrup makers are in full swing making their product and I hope it doesn’t all go up the trees in a brief time with the warmer weather but that’s another story. See ya.

Photo above: Morning geyser