CHILLY & FOG
0.5 Mile Walk at Braddock Bay Park
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
TURTLES & FROGS
0.5 Mile Walk at Greece Canal Park
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Ann and I grabbed some sandwiches and salad and headed toward the lake to enjoy a gorgeous day. Our first stop was the Greece Canal Park, where four years ago we saw dozen of woodpeckers at the end of March... no such luck this time around, though we did see quite a few fish, a lot of frogs, and several turtles enjoying the warm sunshine. The peepers and wood frogs were also singing up a storm - quite the show for the middle of March!
JMH
0.5 Mile Walk at Greece Canal Park
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Ann and I grabbed some sandwiches and salad and headed toward the lake to enjoy a gorgeous day. Our first stop was the Greece Canal Park, where four years ago we saw dozen of woodpeckers at the end of March... no such luck this time around, though we did see quite a few fish, a lot of frogs, and several turtles enjoying the warm sunshine. The peepers and wood frogs were also singing up a storm - quite the show for the middle of March!
JMH
Friday, March 16, 2012
CHILLY & GREY
12.5 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Friday, March 16, 2012
Seemed like it took forever to get ready to head west, and in the end I decided it made more sense to ride than run, so I stopped at the Rotterdam Kiwanis Park and headed east on the bike path. Not much to see on the Old Erie Canal - a few geese, muskrat, and a pair of common mergansers. I would have liked to continue on past Scrafford Lane to the path on the west side of Rotterdam Junction, but it was getting late enough and dusk enough that I didn't feel like riding on route 5S - instead, I headed back east.
On my way back to the car I heard the distinctive "peeent... peeent... peeent..." of a woodcock, so I stopped and spent a little while listening to him, especially once he started making his courtship flights. With the cloud cover I was even able to make him out circling far, far above me a couple of times. The video I shot was OK, but the almost constant traffic on 5S behind me is distracting and more than a bit annoying. Hopefully tomorrow night Ann and I will have better luck and a quieter location.
JMH
12.5 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Friday, March 16, 2012
Seemed like it took forever to get ready to head west, and in the end I decided it made more sense to ride than run, so I stopped at the Rotterdam Kiwanis Park and headed east on the bike path. Not much to see on the Old Erie Canal - a few geese, muskrat, and a pair of common mergansers. I would have liked to continue on past Scrafford Lane to the path on the west side of Rotterdam Junction, but it was getting late enough and dusk enough that I didn't feel like riding on route 5S - instead, I headed back east.
On my way back to the car I heard the distinctive "peeent... peeent... peeent..." of a woodcock, so I stopped and spent a little while listening to him, especially once he started making his courtship flights. With the cloud cover I was even able to make him out circling far, far above me a couple of times. The video I shot was OK, but the almost constant traffic on 5S behind me is distracting and more than a bit annoying. Hopefully tomorrow night Ann and I will have better luck and a quieter location.
JMH
Thursday, March 15, 2012
COLD & WET
12.5 Mile Ride in the Corning Preserve
Thursday, March 15, 2012
After a frustrating morning involving a variety of screw-ups while trying to get my all-season tires put back on the car and an early afternoon spent napping after finding myself dozing off during lunch - I headed out for a ride. I'd been planning to ride the path west of Schenectady, but given the dark clouds off to the west I decided to go down to the Corning Preserve instead. Unfortunately, the rain arrived before I got there... but I couldn't see wasting the trip, so I pulled on a jacket and set off into the rain for my ride.
I'm not crazy about riding in the rain in the summer, but at least then it can be a nice break from the heat. Today was just cold and uncomfortable, and since I wasn't wearing a rain jacket I was soaked pretty quickly. I stuck it out for about an hour - toward the end the rain even died down. But it was still a real pleasure to finish up and head home to wash the mud off and warm up with a hot shower.
JMH
12.5 Mile Ride in the Corning Preserve
Thursday, March 15, 2012
After a frustrating morning involving a variety of screw-ups while trying to get my all-season tires put back on the car and an early afternoon spent napping after finding myself dozing off during lunch - I headed out for a ride. I'd been planning to ride the path west of Schenectady, but given the dark clouds off to the west I decided to go down to the Corning Preserve instead. Unfortunately, the rain arrived before I got there... but I couldn't see wasting the trip, so I pulled on a jacket and set off into the rain for my ride.
I'm not crazy about riding in the rain in the summer, but at least then it can be a nice break from the heat. Today was just cold and uncomfortable, and since I wasn't wearing a rain jacket I was soaked pretty quickly. I stuck it out for about an hour - toward the end the rain even died down. But it was still a real pleasure to finish up and head home to wash the mud off and warm up with a hot shower.
JMH
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
2.2 Mile Walk at the RamsHorn Livingston Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2012
My last stop before heading to Connecticut was the RamsHorn Livingston Sanctuary, another Scenic Hudson property with an extensive system of trails - and a very cool observation tower. I ended up walking the trail around the perimeter of the sanctuary, and while I didn't see anything spectacular, this was probably one of the most productive stops of the afternoon - many red-winged blackbirds in the wetlands, and I'm pretty sure I heard both a blue heron and a grebe somewhere out of sight down the creek. I also spotted what looked like a very large nest in the woods - probably just a squirrel's nest, but possibly a much more interesting hawk or owl nest. I also got to hear the first stirrings (to me, at least) of spring peepers off in the wetlands. A bit early, calendar-wise, but not that surprising, given the warm weather we've had recently.
Best of all, I had a really nice walk to wrap up the day, before heading to my plush accomodations at the Danbury-Bethel Days Inn...
JMH
2.2 Mile Walk at the RamsHorn Livingston Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2012
My last stop before heading to Connecticut was the RamsHorn Livingston Sanctuary, another Scenic Hudson property with an extensive system of trails - and a very cool observation tower. I ended up walking the trail around the perimeter of the sanctuary, and while I didn't see anything spectacular, this was probably one of the most productive stops of the afternoon - many red-winged blackbirds in the wetlands, and I'm pretty sure I heard both a blue heron and a grebe somewhere out of sight down the creek. I also spotted what looked like a very large nest in the woods - probably just a squirrel's nest, but possibly a much more interesting hawk or owl nest. I also got to hear the first stirrings (to me, at least) of spring peepers off in the wetlands. A bit early, calendar-wise, but not that surprising, given the warm weather we've had recently.
Best of all, I had a really nice walk to wrap up the day, before heading to my plush accomodations at the Danbury-Bethel Days Inn...
JMH
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
A Brief Visit to the Athens Riverfront Park
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Stopped briefy at the Athen Riverfront Park. Saw a few gulls out on the water and had a nice view of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse out on the river. The lighthouse is owned by the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society, which focuses on restoring and maintaining the lighthouse (which dates back to 1874.)
JMH
A Brief Visit to the Athens Riverfront Park
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Stopped briefy at the Athen Riverfront Park. Saw a few gulls out on the water and had a nice view of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse out on the river. The lighthouse is owned by the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society, which focuses on restoring and maintaining the lighthouse (which dates back to 1874.)
JMH
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
0.6 Mile Walk at Vosburgh Swamp Natural Area
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Just down the road from Four Mile Point is the Vosburgh Swamp Natural Area, a less developed Scenic Hudson property. I stopped there mostly because of a post from earlier this week on the 10000 Birds site, showing a screech owl peeking out of a nesting box. Found the nesting box, but the owl wasn't nearly as cooperative... all in all, another site where I didn't see much beyond some nice scenery.
But do check out the screech owl photo I linked to - as some of my students would say, "it's sooooooo cute."
JMH
0.6 Mile Walk at Vosburgh Swamp Natural Area
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Just down the road from Four Mile Point is the Vosburgh Swamp Natural Area, a less developed Scenic Hudson property. I stopped there mostly because of a post from earlier this week on the 10000 Birds site, showing a screech owl peeking out of a nesting box. Found the nesting box, but the owl wasn't nearly as cooperative... all in all, another site where I didn't see much beyond some nice scenery.
But do check out the screech owl photo I linked to - as some of my students would say, "it's sooooooo cute."
JMH
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
0.5 Mile Walk at the Four Mile Point Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2012
On my way south I had hoped to stop at Sickles Creek, where there's a hemlock grove that sometimes contains owls - but between not being entirely sure where it was and the pull-off next to the creek being a muddy mess, I decided to pass and kept on the Scenic Hudson's Four Mile Point Preserve in Coxsackie. Four Mile Point is a fairly small preserve, with a platform for viewing a small pond/wetlands, a short uphill walk to an overlook, and a downhill path to a picnic area with views up and down the river.
The pond didn't offer much to see, though I did hear birds calling off in the surrounding trees. The uphill hike was a bit more reqarding - a Coopers Hawk was perched on the railing around the overlook, though he didn't stick around long. Down along the river, I had some nice views of the water - but again no wildlife.
JMH
0.5 Mile Walk at the Four Mile Point Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2012
On my way south I had hoped to stop at Sickles Creek, where there's a hemlock grove that sometimes contains owls - but between not being entirely sure where it was and the pull-off next to the creek being a muddy mess, I decided to pass and kept on the Scenic Hudson's Four Mile Point Preserve in Coxsackie. Four Mile Point is a fairly small preserve, with a platform for viewing a small pond/wetlands, a short uphill walk to an overlook, and a downhill path to a picnic area with views up and down the river.
The pond didn't offer much to see, though I did hear birds calling off in the surrounding trees. The uphill hike was a bit more reqarding - a Coopers Hawk was perched on the railing around the overlook, though he didn't stick around long. Down along the river, I had some nice views of the water - but again no wildlife.
JMH
HEADING SOUTH ALONG THE HUDSON
1 Mile Walk at the Hannacroix Creek Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2011
Had a tough time summoning motivation to run today, so instead I decided to stop at several sites along the western shore of the Hudson River and see what I could see. It's a bit early for the usual migrating birds - but the unusually warm weather seems to have a few moving through the area early, so it was worth a look. (Special thanks go to the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club and their excellent guide, Birding New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region, for suggesting an absolutely incredible number of places between Albany and Catskill to stop and look for birds.)
My first stop was at the Hannacroix Creek Preserve in Coeymans. Given that Schodack Island is across the river, there's always the possibility of spotting an eagle - in fact, the first time I stopped there, one took off from a tree right over my head. Guess I used up the eagle whammy, because all I saw today were a couple of gulls and the usual woodpeckers and chickadees. There weren't even any ducks in the tidal pool - of course, it was low tide, so there wasn't much water in the tidal pool, either.
I briefly considered hiking out to the waterfall, but I'd gotten a late start today and wanted to have time to walk the trails at the RamsHorn Livingston Sanctuary before dark... so once I got back to the parking lot it was time to keep heading south.
JMH
1 Mile Walk at the Hannacroix Creek Preserve
Saturday, March 10, 2011
Had a tough time summoning motivation to run today, so instead I decided to stop at several sites along the western shore of the Hudson River and see what I could see. It's a bit early for the usual migrating birds - but the unusually warm weather seems to have a few moving through the area early, so it was worth a look. (Special thanks go to the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club and their excellent guide, Birding New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region, for suggesting an absolutely incredible number of places between Albany and Catskill to stop and look for birds.)
My first stop was at the Hannacroix Creek Preserve in Coeymans. Given that Schodack Island is across the river, there's always the possibility of spotting an eagle - in fact, the first time I stopped there, one took off from a tree right over my head. Guess I used up the eagle whammy, because all I saw today were a couple of gulls and the usual woodpeckers and chickadees. There weren't even any ducks in the tidal pool - of course, it was low tide, so there wasn't much water in the tidal pool, either.
I briefly considered hiking out to the waterfall, but I'd gotten a late start today and wanted to have time to walk the trails at the RamsHorn Livingston Sanctuary before dark... so once I got back to the parking lot it was time to keep heading south.
JMH
Friday, March 09, 2012
2.1 Mile Walk at Buckingham Lake
Friday, March 9, 2012
I had originally thought to go for a short run or a ride after work, but ended up dozong off on the couch instead - which might have been just as well, since at some point while I was dozing there was a brief snow squall.
Despite the cold weather yesterday and today, Buckingham Lake was clear of ice and the ducks were back in force, squawking away at each other. I spent a few minutes tossing them some cracked corn, then walked around the lake. Since I was wearing my mud boots, at the far end I followed one of the unofficial paths into the woods, thinking it would take me past the overflow pond to the next street. Instead, I found that it climbed a wooded hill to a spot with a nice view of the surrounding homes - a little bit of wild in the midst of the Albany suburbs.
The sky over the lake was very busy while I was there, with groups of ducks taking off and coming in to land. The ducks on the water were very vocal (much like the geese last night) - I wonder if that has something to do with the rapidly approaching breeding seasons.
JMH
Friday, March 9, 2012
I had originally thought to go for a short run or a ride after work, but ended up dozong off on the couch instead - which might have been just as well, since at some point while I was dozing there was a brief snow squall.
Despite the cold weather yesterday and today, Buckingham Lake was clear of ice and the ducks were back in force, squawking away at each other. I spent a few minutes tossing them some cracked corn, then walked around the lake. Since I was wearing my mud boots, at the far end I followed one of the unofficial paths into the woods, thinking it would take me past the overflow pond to the next street. Instead, I found that it climbed a wooded hill to a spot with a nice view of the surrounding homes - a little bit of wild in the midst of the Albany suburbs.
The sky over the lake was very busy while I was there, with groups of ducks taking off and coming in to land. The ducks on the water were very vocal (much like the geese last night) - I wonder if that has something to do with the rapidly approaching breeding seasons.
JMH
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