tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37402060775988475232024-03-05T07:12:43.106-08:00Adirondack Naturalistplants, animals, habitats and geology of the Adirondack Mountains in Northern New YorkThe Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-59631902305594414132023-10-13T06:41:00.005-07:002023-10-13T06:41:41.935-07:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMC57BmWu06HX0Zxomt4o2Zm_8KS_C3EkqO2lB8AcMPuvmRIBvhUuJtUr4aYd4ha-l-Vp0vfuTfgajrbUzHd32Q7VQ3dAKSjRzUZz4v56iCRcqVKeg8LUeu6T45N6MK3y7PFOgzf8wFwVypSvt2GmOHewFGsDFYkgcq5garZqG9dk6IOpP0EUC8jvMiFu/s640/D075319Fb_Cucumber-root,Indian_%C2%A9DaveSpier_Oct8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="427" height="644" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMC57BmWu06HX0Zxomt4o2Zm_8KS_C3EkqO2lB8AcMPuvmRIBvhUuJtUr4aYd4ha-l-Vp0vfuTfgajrbUzHd32Q7VQ3dAKSjRzUZz4v56iCRcqVKeg8LUeu6T45N6MK3y7PFOgzf8wFwVypSvt2GmOHewFGsDFYkgcq5garZqG9dk6IOpP0EUC8jvMiFu/w430-h644/D075319Fb_Cucumber-root,Indian_%C2%A9DaveSpier_Oct8.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><br /><b>Indian Cucumber-root</b> (<i>Medeola virginiana</i>), in the Lily family, is an eastern species, growing primarily up through the Appalachians, the mountains of New York and New England, and north into Canada. This one was found at <b>Cranberry Lake</b>, in the northern NY Adirondacks, on October 8th (from my archives). It's a forest wildflower with edible rhizomes that resemble the taste and odor of cucumbers. The Iroquois also used it medicinally. Sometimes mice eat the seeds and berries. <p></p><p>[Canon digital Rebel, EF 18-200mm zoom at 50mm, 1/125 sec., f/11, ISO 200, electronic flash, Center-weighted Average metering.] Ref. # D075319</p>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-32885546226762331702013-09-09T18:26:00.000-07:002014-03-19T11:41:01.952-07:00Dunning Brook<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">[if photo fails to load, try refreshing the page]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Canon full-frame 5D + EF 17-40mm f/4L wide-angle lens at 17mm + polarizer, exposure 30 seconds, f/19 at ISO 100, then using DPP's "white-point" to correct the greenish-cast from light filtering through the leaves on the overcast day... 12 MP original uncropped but resolution reduced for web use... A higher resolution version is found on <i>National Geographic's</i> "<a href="http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/1904841/">Your Shot</a>" page. (© Dave Spier - photo ref. # D078825)</span></td></tr>
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Dunning Brook, a.k.a. Dunning Creek</h3>
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By Dave Spier and Donna Mason-Spier</div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">Dunning Brook</b><span style="font-family: inherit;">, often marked as Dunning Creek on maps and trail guides, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">descends the west slope of the Sacandaga River Valley north of Wells, New York in the Adirondack Mountains. (Park on the shoulder of Route 30 about 0.6 mile south of the junction with Route 8.) A trail leads uphill from Route 30 to Dunning Pond. The boulders in the stream bed are metamorphic rock from the Grenville Orogeny, roughly 1.1 billion years ago (bya). These photos were taken September 22, 2012, when we hiked part way up the hill. In late September, 2013, we hiked further up the hill. A trail description can be found starting on page 134 of the <i>Guide to Adirondack Trails 7, Southern Region</i>, 2nd edition, 1994 by Linda Laing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a> or connect through Dave's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist">Facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996">photo page</a>. There is a separate community-type page for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist">The Northeast Naturalist</a>. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/">Northeast Naturalist</a> and <a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/">Heading Out</a> with Dave and Donna.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09158702196202339219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-80905248085173260482013-06-27T09:20:00.000-07:002013-06-27T10:36:20.450-07:00Grass-pink (Calopogon)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Grass Pink -- </b><span lang="">© Dave Spier</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Grass-pink (<i>Calopogon tuberosus</i>) has a misleading name due to its single, grass-like leaf that arises near the base and partially sheathes the stem. It's actually a native eastern orchid with an upside-down flower. The yellow-crested lip (called the Labellum) is uppermost. The University of Wisconsin provides an interesting <a href="http://www.botany.wisc.edu/orchids/Calopogon.html" target="_blank"><strong>description</strong></a> of how this works to achieve pollination. "The brush of hairs on the lip apparently serves as a "pseudopollen" lure, attracting naive, recently emerged bumblebees. The bees, expecting a reward of nectar and/or pollen, land on the hairs. At this point, the hinged labellum swings down under the weight of the bee and positions the bee on the column, where pollen can be placed on its back. If the bee already carries a load of pollen, it will contact the stigma and thus pollinate the plant. (Thien & Marcks, 1972)"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Calopogon is found in wet, acidic bogs, peat meadows and swamps from Minnesota to Newfoundland and south to the Gulf coast. (There's a <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CATUT" target="_blank"><strong>range map</strong></a> on the USDA Plants Database, under <i>Calopogon tuberosus</i>.) It does occur locally, but since New York lists it as "exploitably vulnerable," I'll leave it at that.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The genera name is a contraction of the Greek "kalos" and "pogon" meaning "beautiful beard." The specific name is Latin for "tuberous," referring to the tuberous corm growing in the substrate (typically <i>Sphagnum </i>moss). Most older field guides list this species as <i>Calopogon pulchellus</i>, now considered a synonym for this species.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Michael Kudish, in his book <i>Adirondack Upland Flora </i>(1992), gives the flowering date as beginning July 1 with median date July 13 (subject to global warming and annual climate fluctuation) within a 30-mile radius of Paul Smiths. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at </span><a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></span></span></u></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> or connect through my </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Facebook page</span></span></span></u></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">photo page</span></span></span></u></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. There is a separate community-type page for </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">The Northeast Naturalist</span></span></span></u></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs </span><a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Northeast Naturalist</span></span></span></u></i></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i>and </span><a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Heading Out</span></span></span></u></i></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div>
The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-16582380654887346682013-05-30T13:38:00.000-07:002013-06-08T13:46:04.120-07:00Brook Trout<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brook Trout in an aquarium at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">New Record Brook Trout</span> -- © Dave Spier</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The D.E.C. announced a new state record <b>Brook Trout </b>(<i>Salvelinus fontinalis</i>) caught by Rick Beauchamp, who's from Mayfield, Fulton County, while he was fishing in Silver Lake, part of the Silver Lake Wilderness in Hamilton County, on May 16. The six-pound trout was 22.5 inches long.<br />
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The news release also stated that this "<b>brook trout </b>... reflects the ongoing recovery of Adirondack lakes from the effects of acid rain. Until a few years ago, Silver Lake was too acidified to support a trout population. In 1969 the lake was determined to be fishless and in 1976 it had a pH of 5.0 which is too acidic for brook trout to thrive. After water chemistry samples indicated the pH of lake had risen to almost 6.0, DEC began an experimental stocking program for brook trout in 2002. Currently DEC stocks Windfall strain native brook trout in Silver Lake and brook trout are the only fish species known to be present."<br />
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The Brook Trout, actually a variety of char in the Salmonidae family, is New York's state fish. It eats smaller fish, crustaceans, frogs, other amphibians, insects, mollusks and an occasional aquatic vole.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></span></u></a> or connect through my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Facebook page</span></span></u></a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">photo page</span></span></u></a>. There is a separate community-type page for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">The Northeast Naturalist</span></span></u></a>. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Northeast Naturalist</span></span></u></i></a><i> </i>and <a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;">Heading Out</span></span></u></i></a>.</span></div>
The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-20535823598548627162013-05-16T08:52:00.000-07:002013-05-16T08:52:13.444-07:00Goldthread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Threeleaf Goldthread</strong> (<i>Coptis trifolia</i>, synonym <i>Coptis groenlandica</i>) is a small woodland wildflower of cool bogs, swamps, and mixed coniferous-hardwood forests in the north. Its distribution includes Alaska, most of Canada, Greenland and the Northeast U.S. The descriptor "threeleaf" is somewhat misleading because each evergreen blade is deeply three-lobed, or compound in effect. The common name "goldthread" refers to the long, underground rhizome that is bright golden yellow. Another common name for this species is "yellow root."</span></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Each flower has five to seven white sepals that can be mistaken for petals. The actual petals are yellow-tipped, club-like and smaller than the numerous male stamens. Three long, green, bulb-tipped, female pistils alternate with the petals. Goldthread is a member of the Ranunculaceae or Buttercup (Crowfoot) family which is characterized by numerous stamens forming a button or bushy cluster in the center of the regular [radially symetrical] flower.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goldthread is an evergreen herb, an adaptation allowing it to take advantage of additional sunlight in early spring and late fall whenever temperatures are above freezing an when any deciduous trees are leafless. That's not much help where it grows under coniferous canopies, though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Additional information can be found on pages 108-109 in the book <i>Adirondack Upland Flora</i> by Michael Kudish. The median flowering date in the Adirondacks is/was May 20 (subject to change in response to global warming). The plant can be found at a wide range of elevations and often near bogs or other cool, moist habitats with acidic soil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at </span><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or connect through my </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Facebook page</span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">photo page</span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. There is a separate community-type page for </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Northeast Naturalist</span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs </span><a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Northeast Naturalist</span></span></u></i><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> </i>and </span><a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heading Out</span></span></u></i><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. (If you noticed, the font-size button is not working correctly and I can't make all of the text the same size.)</span></div>
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The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-30015679319978825702012-12-15T03:46:00.000-08:002012-12-15T03:48:34.832-08:00Taylor Pond<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpF7qWTojfs6o-SNte8lMu8YB7EP1IDBrK0c307MuBPuVzoOxaeQjDDRaFeH7ofR8g7V6QgMdTVHUY1bYpPDOIgp0hedjgr7yqwnyYapPriDvHhaO9BDFunCOi_rqVn851rx2g2Q_3SKw/s1600/TaylorPond,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D051963Fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpF7qWTojfs6o-SNte8lMu8YB7EP1IDBrK0c307MuBPuVzoOxaeQjDDRaFeH7ofR8g7V6QgMdTVHUY1bYpPDOIgp0hedjgr7yqwnyYapPriDvHhaO9BDFunCOi_rqVn851rx2g2Q_3SKw/s400/TaylorPond,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D051963Fb.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor Pond, autumn shot, afternoon from near the dam - © Dave Spier</td></tr>
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The Taylor Pond Wild Forest Unit Management Plan Final Draft has been released. A copy of the draft plan can be found on the D.E.C. <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/75834.html" target="_blank">website</a>. A discussion of the final draft and it's key points can be found on <i>The Adirondack Almanack </i><a href="http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2012/12/final-draft-of-taylor-pond-wild-forest-ump-released.html?utm_source=Adirondack+Explorer+%26+Adirondack+Almanack&utm_campaign=060246ad78-Adirondack_Almanack_RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">website</a>.<br />
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Taylor Pond is north of Whiteface and Wilmington in the southwest corner of Clinton County. It can be accessed from County Road 1 (Silver Lake Road) between Hawkeye and Black Brook. A dirt road leads in to a seasonal state campground and boat launch near the dammed outlet. The water flows to Black Brook and then to the West Branch of the Ausable River.<br />
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The orientation of Taylor Pond is SW to NE, typical of many Adirondack waterways that follow fault zones. The lake is moderately forked with an arm extending east and then northeast to the dam. On an aerial photo, the "pond" resembles a one-armed lobster on a long-walk (24 miles) to Plattsburgh.<br />
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For birders, there is an eBird hotspot at the state campground, but so far there are only 30 species from three checklists (June and two in October) on the <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?step=saveChoices&getLocations=hotspots&parentState=US-NY&bMonth=01&bYear=1900&eMonth=12&eYear=2012&reportType=location&hotspots=L849149&continue.x=49&continue.y=9" target="_blank">bar chart</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4wc-DP_8Dk/UMxStdw_bxI/AAAAAAAAFNI/vHZU7fI0iag/s1600/TaylorPond,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D062512blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J4wc-DP_8Dk/UMxStdw_bxI/AAAAAAAAFNI/vHZU7fI0iag/s400/TaylorPond,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D062512blog.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor Pond, autumn shot, seen from the point about a mile west of the campground where the lake forks. From the air, the lake resembles a one-armed lobster. - © Dave Spier</td></tr>
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Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><u><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a> or connect through my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">photo page</a>. There is a separate community-type page for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist" target="_blank">The Northeast Naturalist</a>. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs <i><a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Northeast Naturalist</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Heading Out</a></i>.</div>
The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-83430319817175411462012-10-24T17:28:00.000-07:002012-10-24T17:28:29.568-07:00Ravens<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ccsGBVtZYM4/UIh__eJRJ_I/AAAAAAAAFJg/Zrv7SMCGLp4/s1600/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D079302blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ccsGBVtZYM4/UIh__eJRJ_I/AAAAAAAAFJg/Zrv7SMCGLp4/s1600/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D079302blog.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Raven over Copper Rock Rapids (Grass River), 10/1/12 - © Dave Spier</td></tr>
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Here's a bird for Halloween. It was made famous as a symbol of death by Edgar Allen's poem.<br />
<br />Found completely circling the northern hemisphere, the <b>Common Raven</b> (<i>Corvus corax</i>) is one of the most widespread bird species in the world. Across North America, they occupy a wide swath from Central America to Alaska and east across most of Canada to the Atlantic, northern New England, and the Adirondacks, then south through a disjointed narrow band marked by the Appalachian Highlands. This range covers a great variety of climates and wild habitats, and sometimes they can be found near rural settlements and towns. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71JOV2ClaxhwTGdsKzyM-2F3I-pbDmmMuyyoFYDS7UAAuGz6tKk75kxPkCAP6YgVQAPQ1COK2fyq8IwRSz23B2-Uwbgh5R1tfvkb9SZR8CLx5EHRrDOel28maEDbatH7isW1z4ErDRe8/s1600/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D036336-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71JOV2ClaxhwTGdsKzyM-2F3I-pbDmmMuyyoFYDS7UAAuGz6tKk75kxPkCAP6YgVQAPQ1COK2fyq8IwRSz23B2-Uwbgh5R1tfvkb9SZR8CLx5EHRrDOel28maEDbatH7isW1z4ErDRe8/s400/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D036336-blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ravens are larger than crows, but it's hard to judge size at a distance. In flight, ravens can be mistaken for hawks until they're overhead. Note the raven's long neck and long tail that ends in what's described as a "wedge" shape (meaning it's longer toward the middle of the tail). They are all black, but several hawk species have dark-phase members, which can be misleading. Like hawks, ravens also alternate flapping and gliding, unlike crows that have a steadier flight. When perched, ravens have shaggy throat feathers and long feathers covering their nostrils and the base of their heavy, thick bills (likened to a "Roman" nose because of the downward curve).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bzg1imfVjFM/UIiBrum5WWI/AAAAAAAAFJw/rwVK94guUCI/s1600/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D012251-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bzg1imfVjFM/UIiBrum5WWI/AAAAAAAAFJw/rwVK94guUCI/s400/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D012251-blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Raven eating a roadkill, Rts. 8/30 south of Speculator - © Dave Spier</td></tr>
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The raven's diet is omnivorous; it eats anything edible. As scavengers, they can be found feeding on carrion beside country roads (in areas where they are common). I've heard people talk about ravens flying down the middle of a road as they search for new roadkills. You're less likely to actually see them when they're catching insects and rodents or eating eggs, birds, seeds, grain, berries, acorns and buds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nDqFWvs3-ZM/UIiE0NEenvI/AAAAAAAAFKI/yPHiyMDq8cA/s1600/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D022886-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nDqFWvs3-ZM/UIiE0NEenvI/AAAAAAAAFKI/yPHiyMDq8cA/s400/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D022886-blog.jpg" width="337" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">raven above DeGrasse, St. Lawrence County, NY</td></tr>
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Ravens generally make croaking sounds, sometimes written "cr-r-ruck," plus gurgling and snoring sounds and woodpecker-like knocking calls. It's hard to realize they are actually songbirds (technically, passerines, or perching birds) obviously related to crows but also to jays, all in the Corvid family, and all can be year-round residents of their chosen locations. <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/sounds" target="_blank">All About Birds</a> has several recordings for your listening enjoyment. (There's also a <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2501" target="_blank">page</a> to help you ID and separate the crow/raven corvids.)<br />
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Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a> or connect on my Facebook pages including <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">Dave Spier (photographic naturalist)</a> or my personal page, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">Dave Spier</a> with the profile photo, birding through a spotting scope. There is now a community page for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist" target="_blank">The Northeast Naturalist</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gPUbG0G74ig/UIiDpFheFNI/AAAAAAAAFKA/pnJANz5xkgk/s1600/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D039169-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gPUbG0G74ig/UIiDpFheFNI/AAAAAAAAFKA/pnJANz5xkgk/s400/Raven_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D039169-blog.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Please report your sightings to <a href="http://ebird.org/content/ebird/" target="_blank">eBird</a>. </div>
The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-8129284746508684042012-10-13T07:52:00.000-07:002012-10-13T07:52:50.524-07:00Red-shouldered Hawk<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SKoE314hzVI/UHl44vyy93I/AAAAAAAAFIo/V8bmLQdmc08/s1600/Hawk,Red-shouldered_DeGrasse_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D022888blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SKoE314hzVI/UHl44vyy93I/AAAAAAAAFIo/V8bmLQdmc08/s400/Hawk,Red-shouldered_DeGrasse_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D022888blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Red-shouldered Hawk circling above DeGrasse on October 21, 2006 (note the wing tips pushed slightly forward, a typical soaring aspect for this species) - </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">© Dave Spier</span></td></tr>
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<b>Red-shouldered Hawks</b> (<i>Buteo lineatus</i>) can be expected anytime from mid-March through early November in the Adirondacks, based on the combined eBird <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?step=saveChoices&getLocations=counties&parentState=US-NY&bMonth=01&bYear=1900&eMonth=12&eYear=2012&reportType=location&counties=US-NY-031&counties=US-NY-033&counties=US-NY-041&counties=US-NY-089&continue.x=50&continue.y=13" target="_blank"><b>bar chart</b></a> for four northern New York counties. More of the reports come from St. Lawrence and Franklin, with few from Hamilton and a moderate number from Essex. The red-shoulder is considered a woodland species associated with mature deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests and likely to be found near rivers, streams, ponds and swamps. It typically avoids pure-conifer stands and it may hold to this pattern during migration.<br />
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Their primary diet is rodents followed by frogs and snakes. (A Michigan study placed small birds a close second behind mice.) It was getting late in the season for reptiles and amphibians when I found a red-shoulder soaring near DeGrasse in St. Lawrence County one October 21st.<br />
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Red-shouldered Hawks <b><a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/bba/bbaMaps.cfm?bndcode=RSHA&order=1&year=2000&comp=1" target="_blank">breed</a> </b>across the entire state of New York, with heavier nesting concentrations in southwestern NY, the Tug Hill Plateau and the Catskill Mountains. Slightly lower densities occur across south-central NY and the Taconics. There is a scattering of possible, probable and confirmed nest records across the Adirondacks with Essex County having the highest number of confirmed blocks at six. (Each Breeding Bird Atlas block is 5 x 5 km or roughly nine square miles.) Overall, nesting activity has increased statewide since the initial 1980-85 Atlas, although it may have declined slightly in the Adirondacks.<br />
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Rather than re-invent the wheel, so to speak, you can learn more about Red-shouldered Hawks at the <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/id" target="_blank"><b>All About Birds</b></a> website along with a variety of photos. If you have <i>The Sibley Guide to Birds</i>, the species is illustrated on page 117. (There's a smaller Eastern version of Sibley's which I don't own.)<br />
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For a list of birds in St. Lawrence County and their seasonal abundance, I've linked to that eBird <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?step=saveChoices&getLocations=counties&parentState=US-NY&bMonth=01&bYear=1900&eMonth=12&eYear=2012&reportType=location&counties=US-NY-089&continue.x=14&continue.y=7" target="_blank"><b>bar chart</b></a> too.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at </span><a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com" style="text-align: center;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a><span style="text-align: center;"> or connect through my </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">Facebook page</a><span style="text-align: center;"> and </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">photo page</a><span style="text-align: center;">. There is a separate Fb page for </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">The Northeast Naturalist</a><span style="text-align: center;">. Other nature topics can be found on the parallel blog </span><a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">Northeast Naturalist</a><span style="text-align: center;">.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-25410870206436737762012-09-17T10:27:00.000-07:002012-09-17T15:02:50.315-07:00Austin Falls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFiJL7qWjntSIosbaMup-aCrqGTThpiGFI9gR3P_vRSaY2qOMoiKSnl4rUPlPu11L746olChiyT9Y-6Q86CC99cL90GqKKOjHBsXwoB9txCfOWcoLAERIuzhCHUT0ZNnSVidWTxIclkQ/s1600/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D034513blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFiJL7qWjntSIosbaMup-aCrqGTThpiGFI9gR3P_vRSaY2qOMoiKSnl4rUPlPu11L746olChiyT9Y-6Q86CC99cL90GqKKOjHBsXwoB9txCfOWcoLAERIuzhCHUT0ZNnSVidWTxIclkQ/s400/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D034513blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Austin Falls is on the Sacandaga River between Speculator and Wells in Hamilton County. Use Old State Rt. 8/30, which has vehicle access only at it's north end. The old bridge at the south end has been closed for a long time.
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mwta0yA_3Do/UFdRG6IkICI/AAAAAAAAFHQ/rvld3YsjEfI/s1600/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DonnaMason-Spier_D078280blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mwta0yA_3Do/UFdRG6IkICI/AAAAAAAAFHQ/rvld3YsjEfI/s400/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DonnaMason-Spier_D078280blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u>Directions from the north</u>: (distances may vary due to differences in odometer calibration) From the Speculator Community Park (and River Walk Trail) next to the Sacandaga River outlet from Lake Pleasant (south of Speculator's four-corners), drive south on Rts. 8/30. To give you an idea of my odometer calibration, at 1.35 miles, pass the south end of Downey Ave. At 2.8 miles, look for the "Town of Wells" sign and turn left onto Old State Rt. 8/30 and within 1/10th mile, cross a one-lane bridge over the Sacandaga River. Reset your trip odometer to 0. (Portions of Old Rt. 8/30 are rough and bumpy, especially where the old pavement has buckled.) At 1.1 mile from the bridge, pass by Fly Creek Rd. (dirt) which goes left. At 1.9 miles, pass Robbs Creek. At 2.1 miles, cross a narrow, one-lane bridge over a tributary stream. Again, reset to 0.0 and at 0.4 mile beyond this second bridge, watch for a flat-water stretch of the Sacandaga on your right (west); this is just above the Austin Falls narrows. At 0.7 mile beyond the 2nd bridge, look for an inconspicuous pull-off on the right. If you get out of your vehicle, you should be looking down a short hill to the river at the base of the falls, which is actually more of a long sluice or channel with a short drop at the end. Total driving distance from NY 8/30 was 2.8 miles on my truck's odometer, but the ADK <i>Guide to Adirondack Trails 3</i> lists it as 2.6 miles. The <i>Adirondack Waterfall Guide</i> says 2.7 miles. Take your pick.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yYfZyXEn8jI/UFdRh7cn_AI/AAAAAAAAFHY/Rdvo1u86n9o/s1600/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D034509blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yYfZyXEn8jI/UFdRh7cn_AI/AAAAAAAAFHY/Rdvo1u86n9o/s400/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D034509blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">blocks of granite gneiss created by sets of parallel joints (vertical cracks)</span></span>
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<u>Directions from the south</u>: according to the ADK Guide to Adirondack Trails 3, it is 6.5 miles from the junction of Rts. 8 and 30 (north of Wells) to Old Rt. 8/30, which is a right turn from the south. Proceed as above.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMfszeTsFBBACThMRrNV_wJL5UynuArXVRsn2rocfstBWmqw6O5i-JfQRoJ0nZd28CazNlSmcAqN6DGfcR6mhASUdZRNGNdtFCE8r65vW7LBXZfdQLsTCjg0C1tD_h6HDSCzg7OWIeFo/s1600/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D034533blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMfszeTsFBBACThMRrNV_wJL5UynuArXVRsn2rocfstBWmqw6O5i-JfQRoJ0nZd28CazNlSmcAqN6DGfcR6mhASUdZRNGNdtFCE8r65vW7LBXZfdQLsTCjg0C1tD_h6HDSCzg7OWIeFo/s400/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D034533blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After parking, a short walk downhill leads to the river and lower falls where layers of (what is likely) granite gneiss are broken into blocks by intersecting joints (vertical cracks). From the base of the falls, look upstream (northward) and it's obvious the metamorphic rock layers dip to the west. Climb around these on the right and walk on the sloping rock surface to head upstream on the right side of the rushing river channel which is working its way down a resistant layer and cutting into overlying strata. Interesting geological features include potholes "drilled" into the gneiss, glacial striations (according to one guidebook), and further upstream, a very rippled rock surface (which is what I suspect the book referred to as "ocean-bottom evidence"), although I suspect the river could be entirely responsible (see the last photo).</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--KQNWwpK7Io/UFdSHak5icI/AAAAAAAAFHo/6_Vt24em9Mw/s1600/AustinFalls,NY_pothole_%C2%A9DonnaMason-Spier_D078271blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--KQNWwpK7Io/UFdSHak5icI/AAAAAAAAFHo/6_Vt24em9Mw/s400/AustinFalls,NY_pothole_%C2%A9DonnaMason-Spier_D078271blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donna's photos taken 8/25/12; this image at 1:45 pm (when the river channel was in deep shade)</td></tr>
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<u>Photography notes</u>: On sunny days, there is a narrow window of opportunity in the middle of the day when the sunlight reaches the water. By early afternoon, the water is in deep shade while the sun still hits the sloping rock shelf and trees on the east side. This makes the lighting very harsh and nearly impossible to balance without special software. Later in the afternoon, the entire scene is back in shade and light is more balanced for landscapes. Clouds also will even the light. If you shoot RAW, it's easier to adjust the white balance or use the white-point tool on whitewater (although I prefer to push the balance toward the warmer tones). If you have High Dynamic Range (HDR) software, you can shoot several different exposures and combine them, or create several pseudo-exposures from one RAW capture.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPCfUaeKFp87ulj_LQ8Yf5qiVynzAQ0A6MYqPHcsBhCv2PfcRc-FhC3ojbk50XcHZ9YBgWSHJl78i0TtWhdcHbnn2aV8d1rYFFeYtgIxCtSF3B20xYK0eaHLEGCUKaylLywzBvvhInF4/s1600/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D034548blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPCfUaeKFp87ulj_LQ8Yf5qiVynzAQ0A6MYqPHcsBhCv2PfcRc-FhC3ojbk50XcHZ9YBgWSHJl78i0TtWhdcHbnn2aV8d1rYFFeYtgIxCtSF3B20xYK0eaHLEGCUKaylLywzBvvhInF4/s400/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D034548blog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">17mm wideangle on full-frame body, exp. 0.7" at f/22, ISO 100, shade white balance; most photos from 9/22/07</td></tr>
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My basic landscape camera is a full-frame digital body with a 17-40mm zoom, all mounted on a tripod. This permits high depth of field (small aperature) which necessitates slower shutter speeds to compensate. If you don't have a remote-release cable or trigger, you can use the self-timer.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jRovVNdPano/UFdVMGF2tZI/AAAAAAAAFH4/pNns6E6nzJI/s1600/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D012369ablog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jRovVNdPano/UFdVMGF2tZI/AAAAAAAAFH4/pNns6E6nzJI/s400/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D012369ablog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even though the white balance was set to shade, I further reduced the blue cast on the rocks using the RGB adjustment. (This image was shot 9/10/05 before RAW became my default format.) Exposure was 1 sec. at f/16.</td></tr>
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<u>References</u></div>
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<i>Adirondack Waterfall Guide</i>, by Russell Dunn (© 2004), published by Black Dome Press</div>
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<i>Guide to Adirondack Trails: 3 - Central Region</i>, by Bruce Wadsworth (© 1994, reprinted with revisions 2000), published by the Adirondack Mountain Club</div>
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<i>New York State Atlas & Gazetteer</i>, published by DeLorme Mapping Co.</div>
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<i>Roadside Geology of New York</i>, by Bradford VanDiver, PhD (© 1985/reprinted 2003), published by Mountain Press<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H6sqOWZVt_I/UFeFBePwDAI/AAAAAAAAFIM/AKn_trNA1yg/s1600/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D012363blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H6sqOWZVt_I/UFeFBePwDAI/AAAAAAAAFIM/AKn_trNA1yg/s400/AustinFalls,NY_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D012363blog.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
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Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a> or connect through my Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">page</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">photo page</a>. There is a separate Fb page for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist" target="_blank">The Northeast Naturalist</a>. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Northeast Naturalist</a> and <a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Heading Out</a>. </div>
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The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-15448076340965245692012-09-01T16:06:00.000-07:002012-09-01T16:06:39.636-07:00Milky Way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRyA1yLkA97euiebwVbMOpZ1b9L1OXcTuN_gui4UrtGV3WMo92hJu2RkqrCGQZh3B62aTBxATV3UZgGIlzUgC7uD7V_VOlmkWLpwGkpDcPG2enSmZlHSMczUE7PzN-ITzghRNVrLy2Wg/s1600/MilkyWay_NicksLk_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D061494blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRyA1yLkA97euiebwVbMOpZ1b9L1OXcTuN_gui4UrtGV3WMo92hJu2RkqrCGQZh3B62aTBxATV3UZgGIlzUgC7uD7V_VOlmkWLpwGkpDcPG2enSmZlHSMczUE7PzN-ITzghRNVrLy2Wg/s1600/MilkyWay_NicksLk_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D061494blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Milky Way </b>-- © Dave Spier</div>
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Okay, something a little different, something out of this world. It's the <b>Milky Way</b>, our home galaxy, from Nick's Lake campground on September 20, 2009. This part of the <b>Milky Way</b> is in the "summer triangle," formed by the three brightest (alpha) stars in the constellations Cygnus (the swan), Lyra (the lyre, or small harp) and Aquila (the eagle). I've marked them on the photo, which is repeated below. Deneb is the tail star in Cygnus, a.k.a. the northern cross, which flies down the Milky Way. Vega is a very bright star located in Lyra, and Altair is the eye of the eagle flying up the Milky Way. You can download a free star chart for September (or any month) at <a href="http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html">skymaps.com</a> to help you locate constellations and stars in the night sky<span id="goog_1600367450"></span><span id="goog_1600367451"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a>. The dark, irregular band through the middle of the Milky Way is an absorption nebula, a cloud of interstellar gas and dust between us and the concentration of stars beyond as we look edge-wise across the galactic plane. The center of our galaxy in the constellation Sagittarius, visible during the summer, is now below the horizon.<br />
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A love of stars goes back to my days as an amateur astronomer. At the time I could have lived in the Adirondacks for no other reason than the dark skies, but no memory tops an October(?) camping trip to Meacham Lake. On a dry, moonless night, we could see every star visible to the human eye, right down to the southern horizon, but what made it special was the perfect reflection of every star on an unusually dead-calm water surface. We had walked to the edge of the lake from our campsite in the woods, but alas, had taken no camera (and therefore no tripod either). It would have been interesting to shoot star trails with their perfect reflections, so there's a suggestion if you ever encounter that situation..<br />
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<b><u>Photo notes</u></b>: The four-minute (240 second) exposure started at 8:36 pm. I was using a 17-40mm L zoom lens wide-open at f/4 on a full-frame body. For landscape photography, I need depth of field and small f-stops, so I no longer own a fast wideangle lens, but it leaves me at a disadvantage on these rare occasions. To compensate, I shot at ISO 800 with long-exposure noise reduction and then further processed the image using Levels. The camera was strapped to a small refractor used as a guide scope on an equatorial mount aligned to the North Star. The blur on the trees at bottom results from tracking the stars as the Earth rotates, rather than using a fixed-mount tripod.
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Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a> or connect through my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">photo page</a>. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs <i><b><a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Northeast Naturalist</a></b></i> and <b><i><a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Heading Out</a></i></b>.</div>
The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-1479296304430321732012-08-16T13:06:00.000-07:002012-09-05T12:30:13.550-07:00Poke-O-Moonshine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Drive north on I-87 from Albany toward Canada and you pass through a long stretch of the eastern Adirondacks. Toward the north end of the park, between exits 32 and 33 (south of <b>Keeseville</b>), watch for the long, glacially-polished cliff of <b>Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain</b> on the left (west) side. It's nearly a thousand feet high and a favorite of rock climbers. You can get closer views by taking exit 33 and driving south on <b>Route 9</b>. The mountain's name is derived from the Algonquin words for <i>broken </i>and <i>smooth</i>.<br />
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The north-south cliff is an up-thrown block of <b>granitic gneiss</b> along a fault line [a huge crack where there is enough pressure to shift the rocks out of alignment], while Route 9 traverses a down-dropped block of gneiss interfingered with <b>anorthosite </b>(very similar to Moon rocks) east of the cliff. The term "block" may be misleading as these are large-scale structures with horizontal dimensions measured in miles. North-northeast of the mountain and continuing over halfway to Keeseville, Route 9 crosses the west edge of anorthosite mixed with metasedimentary rock (the green area on the geology map).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LfrtWtu1Tfo/UDQ55KRQcjI/AAAAAAAAFAg/iwlnATrCUAk/s1600/D078222blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LfrtWtu1Tfo/UDQ55KRQcjI/AAAAAAAAFAg/iwlnATrCUAk/s400/D078222blog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Geologic Map of New York - Adirondack Sheet<br />
yellow is an extension of the Marcy massif, lavendar-pink is gneiss,<br />
and green is a hybrid anorthosite mixed with metasedimentaries</td></tr>
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Weathering of the cliff [a fault scarp, or escarpment] has obscured thick bands of darker rock, loosely classified as "metagabbro" (without knowing its original nature, either gabbro or basalt/diabase). Although somewhat horizontal, the major rock layers have a gradual rise to the north (right). In several locations, the bands are offset by vertical faults. Also difficult to discern are thinner bands of dark diabase or basalt that intruded as molten <b>sills </b>between the bedded layers.<br />
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Like the core of the Adirondacks (actually a southeastward extension of the ancient <b>Canadian Shield</b>), the original sedimentary rocks of Poke-O-Moonshine were metamorphosed [transformed by intense heat and pressure just short of complete melting] during the <b>Precambrian Grenville collision</b> of pre-North America and pre-Europe/Africa around 1.1 billion years ago. The name is taken from Grenville, Quebec. The scarp's <b>granitic gneiss</b> is a strongly-banded and coarse-grained rock similar in composition to granite with feldspar, quartz and the dark minerals pyroxene, hornblende and biotite mica. The darker bands of "metagabbro" [a.k.a. <b>amphibolite</b>, a dark rock composed of hornblende and plagioclase with smaller amounts of biotite mica and/or dark-green pyroxene] were also metmorphosed by the end of the Grenville Orogeny [mountain-building episode] that completed the assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia at that time. The thinner diabase <b>sills </b>were injected as hot, molten magma at a later date, likely after one of at least four collisions of North America and Europe when the continents were again separating and stretching the tectonic plates (which causes vertical cracks that allow magma to rise and then spread horizontally between bedded rock layers). Just south of the Adirondacks, in the Mohawk Valley, the diabase dikes [that cross-cut the older Precambrian rock layers] and the sills [that flowed between the layers] are also found in Cambrian and Ordivician rocks, but not the younger Devonian or Silurian deposits, so it's implied that they rose after the Taconic Orogeny when the continents began separating at the end of the Ordovician Period.<br />
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The <b>anorthosite </b>is related to the <b>Marcy massif</b>, a huge pool of crystalline rock under the High Peaks that entered (intruded) the surrounding Grenville rocks as a molten plume through cracks, spread laterally and then slowly cooled. It can be likened to a geological breast implant. Uplift and erosion has stripped more-recent rocks off the dome to expose the anorthosite. A deeper hot spot is theorized to be fueling the continued rise in the Adirondack dome at the rate of three millimeters per year. You may have heard the expression "new mountains from old rock."<br />
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The mineral composition of <b>anorthosite </b>rock is 90% <b>plagioclase feldspar</b> which forms under extreme heat and pressure at great depth (likely 15 miles, give or take a few) and can be termed Plutonic rock. Plagioclase is a group of silicate minerals built around one silicon atom bonded with four oxygen atoms or three silicons plus eight oxygens. These molecules combine with various amounts of sodium and/or calcium or potassium plus aluminum to form one of the minerals in the feldspar series. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glacially-polished cliff face catches the morning sun, August 10, 2007.</td></tr>
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The <b>Grenville Province</b> is a long band of rock stretching from the southern Appalachians north-northeastward through southern Ontario Province to the Laurentian Highlands of Quebec. It's now moslty basement rock with narrow exposures in places like the Blue Ridge (NC/VA), South Mtn. (PA), the Hudson Highlands (NY), the Berkshires (MA), and the Green Mtns. (VT). Also exposed are the Adirondack dome and the Frontenac Arc (across the Thousand Islands in the upper St. Lawrence River) which connects the Adirondacks to Ontario. The Grenville rocks were originally sediments, volcanics and plutonic (deep) intrusions that were metamorphosed (i.e., transformed or recycled by heat and pressure at great depth) during the Grenville Orogeny between 1.2 and 1.0 billion years ago in a process that resets the rock's "geological clock." The Grenville collision completed the assembly of the Rodinia supercontinent.<br />
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Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a> or connect through my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> or my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">photo page</a>. Other outdoor topics can be found on the parallel blog <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/">http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com</a></div>
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<u>References</u><br />
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2 books by Bradford VanDiver, PhD: <i>Rocks and Routes of the North Country</i> (1976) and <i>Roadside Geology of New York</i> (1985/2003)<br />
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<i>Geology of New York</i>, NYS Museum (1966/1976)<br />
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<i>Geology of the Adirondack High Peaks Region</i>, Howard & Elizabeth Jaffe, 1986, is not directly relevant to Poke-O-Moonshine, but has a good overview with diagrams in the "Introduction and Geologic History." Their dates for Grenville events are slightly older.<br />
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[also several general rock and mineral guides]The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-34899609392847774242012-08-11T18:10:00.002-07:002014-01-16T03:45:02.499-08:00Narrowleaf? Gentian<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CeWYV_GoW2U/UCcAFKcYdeI/AAAAAAAAEzI/L8I-LHHv2wg/s1600/Gentian,Narrow-leaved_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D001262+txt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CeWYV_GoW2U/UCcAFKcYdeI/AAAAAAAAEzI/L8I-LHHv2wg/s1600/Gentian,Narrow-leaved_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D001262+txt.jpg" kda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Narrow-leaved Gentian on Whiteface - © Dave Spier</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gentian on Whiteface</span> -- © Dave Spier</div>
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For some reason, gentians have always fascinated me. Maybe it's because I usually come across one of the closed or bottle-type gentians and wonder how it gets pollinated. Such is the case with a tentatively-identified <b>Narrow-leaved Gentian</b> (<i>Gentiana linearis</i>), a.k.a. Narrowleaf Gentian, beside the Memorial Highway on Whiteface (Mountain) above Wilmington. It has showy violet-blue flowers, but the tips of the five lobes ("petals") bend in at the top and meet. [ I found one source claiming it has four petals, but it's my personal policy to not disturb native wild flowers and I didn't think to count the lobes at the time. Fringed gentians have four obvious petals, so that's likely where the confusion lies.] Soapwort Gentian (<em>Gentiana saponaria</em>), generally a more southerly species,* is another possible ID, but its flowers tend to be slightly open at the top and fringed between the lobes.</div>
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I imagine insects force their way in to reach the gentian's nectary glands. Apparently this perennial is of special benefit to bumble bees, and I assume they're the ones strong enough to part the tips. Sorry, I didn't stay around long enough to find out.</div>
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On <em>G. linearis</em>, the lance-shaped leaves are opposite on a single stalk, and the sepals (modified leaves) at the base of the flowers are a similar shape. By comparison, the leaves of Soapwort Gentian are slightly wider with a broader point at the tip.</div>
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Narrow-leaved Gentian is found from Manitoba to Maine and south in the mountains to Tennessee. The USDA Plants Database <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=NewYork&statefips=36&symbol=GELI3" target="_blank">map</a> for New York shows its range spread around the Adirondacks plus one county in the Catskills, indicating it's a higher-elevation species. *Several similar species of the blue closed/bottle gentians have more southerly ranges. Red species of gentians are dominant in the Andes where they are more dependent on pollination by birds.</div>
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Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a> or connect through my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> or my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">photo page</a>. Other nature topics can be found on the parallel blog <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/">http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com</a><br />
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<u>References</u></div>
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<i>Newcomb's Wildflower Guide</i>, by Lawrence Newcomb and Gordon Morrison (© 1977), published by Little, Brown & Co. -- see page 252<br />
USDA Plants Database at <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=GELI3">http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=GELI3</a><br />
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center at <a href="http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GELI3">http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GELI3</a></div>
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The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-11918827772613647562012-08-10T18:11:00.000-07:002012-08-10T18:11:03.431-07:00Jewelweeds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First off, they're not weeds. They're attractive native wildflowers. Second, and this is unfortunate, they are not jewels. The name comes from water's inability to wet the leaves, so after a rain or morning dew, beads of water rest on the surface and scatter light like diamonds. The plant's alternate name, touch-me-not, refers to the small seed pods that spring open and eject its seeds if you touch them when plump and ripe.<br />
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There are two species based on color. The orange species, a.k.a. Spotted Touch-me-not (<i>Impatiens capensis</i>) is speckled with reddish-brown and its long tail spur curls underneath the back end of the irregular blossom. It prefers wet ground and I've found it in places like the soggy edges of Middle Pond near Saranac Inn. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds love this plant.<br />
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The dangling, one-inch flowers [roughly the length and width] of the yellow version, also called Pale Touch-me-not (<i>Impatiens pallida</i>) have a tail-spur that points down. It's mostly found in limestone regions with alkaline soils and prefers damp locations like wooded flood plains and shady ravines with a steady supply of moisture. I'd look for it in the marble (metamorphosed limestone) belts of St. Lawrence County and the limestone bands on the edge of the Adirondacks.<br />
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Impatiens are succulents with translucent green stems. The crushed leaves and stem juice (particularly from the Orange Jewelweed) are folk remedies for poison ivy rash, insect bites, nettles, minor burns and cuts.<br />
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Young shoots in spring and the stems and leaves in summer can be eaten as cooked greens. Boil in two changes of water and discard the water.<br />
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Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a> or connect through my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> or my Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">photo page</a>. </div>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-82988243504896834242012-08-03T18:21:00.000-07:002012-08-03T18:21:34.731-07:00Cardinal-flower<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vGNRi6d8SFk/UBx0eXA7ioI/AAAAAAAAEv8/DAGUaem6MtM/s1600/Cardinal-flower_MooseR_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D070417sp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vGNRi6d8SFk/UBx0eXA7ioI/AAAAAAAAEv8/DAGUaem6MtM/s1600/Cardinal-flower_MooseR_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D070417sp.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cardinal-flower beside the Moose River in the Nelson Lake vicinity, August, 2010</td></tr>
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Cardinal-flower -- <span lang="">© Dave Spier</span></div>
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This native perennial grows wild along streambanks and in swamps and other wet places up and down the eastern half of the U.S., northeast into Canada and south to Columbia. I've found it in places like Copper Rock Falls on the Grass River (St. Lawrence County) and beside the Moose River (Herkimer County). The plant can reach two or three feet in height, making it a nice addition to any garden if you want it closer to home.</div>
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The Cardinal-flower (<i>Lobelia cardinalis</i>) gets its name from the bright-red blossoms hugging the upper stem. (Although sometimes called a spike, it is technically a raceme because of short flower stalks called pedicels.) Look closely at an individual corolla [flower] and you’ll notice three wide lobes forming a lower lip while two narrow lobes extend to the sides like arms. The male and female parts, also scarlet colored, form a narrow projection emerging like a crane above the petals. The base of the flower is a tube that seems perfectly made for hummingbird beaks.<br />
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Leaves are lance-shaped, long-pointed and serrated or toothed on the edges and they alternate on a single, main stalk.<br />
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Cardinal-flower contains alkaloids and should be considered toxic, as are other members of the genus Lobelia. In spite of this, Native Americans used root and leaf teas for various ailments.<br />
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Cardinal-flower and its relative, the blue-violet Great Lobelia (another moist-ground species) belong to the Lobelia subfamily of the Bluebell family.<br />
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<a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="EN">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><span lang="EN"> Now you can connect through my Facebook photo page at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">Dave Spier (photographic naturalist)</a></span><span lang="EN"> or my personal page, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">Dave Spier, northeast naturalist</a>.</span></div>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-1266726688459347322012-07-18T06:16:00.001-07:002012-07-18T06:16:44.874-07:00Pickerelweed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Pickerelweed -- <span lang="">© Dave Spier</span></div>
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In the world of emergent, aquatic plants, Pickerelweed (<i>Pontederia cordata</i>) is similar in size and habitat to the Arrowheads and Arrow Arum, but instead of having arrowhead-shaped leaves with pointed lobes, it has leaves more like an upside-down heart. These are held erect above the water by stiff stems. The leaf veins are linear (non-feathery and non-branching) and generally follow the outline shape of the leaf. In the spring, young curled leaves can be collected and added to salads or boiled for 10 minutes and eaten like a cooked green.<br />
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Pickerelweed (named for the pickerel fish which frequents the same habitats and sometimes hides under the plants in some locations) is common along sunny, shallow margins of rivers, streams and ponds in much of the eastern half of North America. Even though the plant can reach a height of three feet or more, some of that is underwater. A thick pad of fibrous roots anchors the colonies in the mud. Pickerelweed is intolerant of shade so you’re unlikely to find it in wooded swamps.<br />
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The showy blue to blue-violet flowers are arranged in distinctive clusters called spikes at the top of thick, fleshy stalks. Use binoculars to look at the individual flowers if you don’t want to get your feet wet (and don’t have waders or a canoe/kayak at the moment). Each blossom is 2 lipped, and each lip has three lobes for a total of six "petals." Most wildflowers have golden anthers that produce yellow pollen, but the Pickerelweed has dark blue anthers. Instead, a double yellow spot on the top-center "petal" serves as a guide for bees and insects to reach the nectar. Pickerelweed is popular for water gardening because of the attractive blue-violet flowers.<br />
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Seeds produced by cross-fertilization are sometimes eaten by Black Ducks and Wood Ducks. Muskrats may also eat a few seeds as well as some of the foliage, and deer feed on the plant. The nutritious, starchy seeds can be eaten like nuts or added to granola, but they are small. It takes roughly 5000 seeds to weigh a pound. They can also be roasted and ground into flour. <br />
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The perennial Pickerelweed is a monocot, meaning that each seed produces a new sprout with one (mono) seed leaf, just like cattails, lilies and irises (all plants with parallel-veined leaves). Another similarity with lilies is the trumpet-shaped flowers with six fused petals. <br />
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The shed nymph cases of dragonflies and mayflies may sometimes be found clinging to the plant stems. The previous occupants, after spending their youth underwater, climbed into the air, split the shells and emerged to spend the remainder of their lives above water.<br />
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Corrections and questions are always welcome at <u><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span> You also can connect with me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm=1#!/northeastnaturalist" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and through my new <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996" target="_blank">photo page</a>.</div>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-49551057587467563602012-07-05T14:35:00.000-07:002012-07-05T14:35:49.654-07:00Bunchberry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bunchberry</span> -- © Dave Spier</div>
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Bunchberry (<i>Cornus canadensis</i>, subgenus <i>Chamaepericlymenum</i>) is essentially a miniature Flowering Dogwood, hence its nickname, Dwarf Dogwood or Dwarf Cornel.<br />
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What look like white petals are actually bud scales or bracts. They surround a dense cluster of tiny flowers, each with its own set of four yellow petals that nearly require a magnifying glass. What's unusual is the speed with which each flower opens. The highly-elastic petals snap back to release spring-loaded stamens which then catapult the pollen into the air. The plant generally blossoms in June, but sometimes later. <br />
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The flowers and later the fruits are held on a stem above a whorl of generally six strongly-veined leaves (two large plus four smaller ones growing from the axils). The leaf veins converge again toward the pointed tips in typical dogwood fashion. Unlike its woody relatives, the herbaceous Bunchberry dies back to its roots and rhizomes at the end of the growing season.<br />
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Bunchberry prospers in acidic soils over an extremely wide elevation range from low swamps through moist, intermediate forests to high alpine zones on Mt. Marcy. It has a wide geographic range across Alaska, all of Canada, the northern states and down through the Rockies, but it doesn't stop there. Bunchberry is also found in the montane and boreal zones of China, Russia and Japan<br />
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Look for its clusters of bright scarlet-red "berries" (actually drupes) from mid-August through September. They are edible, but considered tasteless. Eat them raw or cook like a pudding or make the fruits into jelly. Birds (grouse, veery, vireos, etc.) also eat the fruits and deer browse the perennial plants that often grow in clonal colonies. <br />
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Of all the native orchids in the Northeast, I've encountered the <b>Pink Lady’s-slipper</b> or Moccasin Flower (<i>Cypripedium acaule</i>) more often than other species. In addition to bog edges, it can survive in drier pine woods. Acidic soil seems to be the common denominator.<br />
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The bottom petal, inflated into a hollow pouch, is longitudinally cleft almost the entire length, providing access to larger insects like bumblebees in search of nectar, although smaller bees in the family Andrenidae are the major pollinators. Charles Darwin observed that once inside, the smooth, “slippery” pouch interior and incurved edges of the main opening force the bees to leave by a smaller opening where they first brush against the (female) stigma which dislodges any pollen and then the bees pass the (male) anthers where they pick up new pollen that could be carried to the next lady’s-slipper. After successful pollination the blossoms quickly discard their beauty as the top (dorsal) sepal drops down to seal the opening.<br />
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Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><u><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a> or connect through my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;">Facebook page</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996"><u><span style="color: blue;">photo page</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a>. There is a separate community-type page for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;">The Northeast Naturalist</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a>. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;">Northeast Naturalist</span></u></i><u><span style="color: blue;"></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><i> </i>and <a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;">Heading Out</span></u></i><u><span style="color: blue;"></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a>. </div>
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The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-40197411110970915742012-06-03T16:16:00.000-07:002012-06-03T16:21:13.891-07:00Cinnamon Ferns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Cinnamon Ferns</span> --</strong> © Dave Spier</div>
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The Cinnamon Fern is a large, coarse and attractive plant usually found in shaded to partly-shaded bog edges, swampy areas, streambanks and similar moist woodlands often in association with sphagnum moss. The green, vegetative leaves (fronds) grow in circular, vase-like clusters reaching a height of three feet or more. Around the end of May or early June, the separate, fertile fronds rising in the center ripen into bright, rusty-red (cinnamon-colored) stalks in preparation for releasing their spores.<br />
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The generally accepted scientific name, <i>Osmunda cinnamomea</i>, refers to the Saxon god, Osmunder, who supposedly hid his family from danger in a large colony of these ferns. In addition to creating new plants from spores, Cinnamon Ferns can form these widespread, monotypical stands by extending the heavy, hairy rootstocks. New plants are added at the front while the oldest bases eventually wither and decay. Theoretically, a single plant can continue to grow "forever" in this fashion.<br />
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Cinnamon Fern belongs to the Royal Fern Family (Osmundaceae), sometimes called the "Flowering Ferns" which is totally misleading since ferns are primitive predecessors to true flowering plants and to seed plants in general (Spermatophyta). In fact, the Osmunda's are among the most primitive of ferns based on the fossil record. The Cinnamon's relationship to other members of the genus is now a subject of debate. Recent genetic studies suggest it should be moved to its own (new) genus, <i>Osmundastrum</i>, (partly borne out by its apparent inability to hybridize), but that would have no effect on our enjoyment of the fern's symmetrical beauty and color. It makes an attractive ornamental if you have a shady, moist spot with acidic soil - and it's deer-proof!<br />
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Cinnamon Fern leaves taper to a point at the tip, but only semi-taper toward the base, meaning the narrowing ends abruptly. [For those needing additional identification details, the fronds are "twice-cut," i.e. the leaves are divided into pointed leaflets (called pinnae) which are then deeply lobed but not quite divided into blunt-pointed subleaflets (normally called pinnules). Look for small woolly tufts where the leaflets attach to the main leaf stalk (called the axis or rachis). Technically the stem or stalk (a.k.a. stipe) is the portion between the lowest leaflets and the ground.] <br />
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Cinnamon Ferns can be found throughout the eastern portion of the northern hemisphere and its range continues south as far as Paraguay. Surprisingly, it also occurs in eastern Asia from Siberia to Vietnam, but this is considered a separate subspecies. <br />
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The local variety is noted on several plant lists from the Adirondacks, such as the Moose River Plains, but I'd be interested in hearing about other locations where you've found it. I have some photos of the fronds turning yellow and then bronze in the fall, and if I remember to locate one of these (from Cranberry Lake? or another location), I'll post it at the end of summer.<br />
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Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome by emailing<br />
<a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span lang="EN">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><span lang="EN"> </span>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-21866950493584853142012-05-26T17:00:00.000-07:002013-05-14T06:31:44.009-07:00Painted Trilliums<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="">© Dave Spier</span></span></div>
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My first encounter with a <strong>Painted Trillium</strong> (<i>Trillium undulatum</i>) was Memorial Day weekend, 1971, on a canoe trip up the Oswegatchie River from Inlet to High Falls. I have since found this species in Finger Lakes bogs which harbor a number of Adirondack-like plants. Its natural range is Canada south to Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and it continues south in the Appalachians as far as Georgia.</div>
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Crimson veining marks the base of each wavy, white petal in contrast to the surrounding three green sepals and three leaves making the <strong>Painted Trillium</strong> a spectacular woodland wildflower. It tolerates shade and is generally found on well-drained, but moist, acidic soils. Cool, deep humus is ideal. Memorial Day is actually getting late to find it still blooming; the peak is earlier in the month, but higher elevations will delay its blooming. The one in the photo was growing in Zurich Bog, along with Yellow Lady's-slippers, on May 15. The Painted tends to bloom after the Red Trillium found in late April and the Large-flowered (White) Trillium that blooms earlier in May, but these impressions span many years and I'm sure weather influences the relative timing.<br />
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I think of the word "trillium" as a contraction of tri-lilium, meaning a member of the Lily Family with all parts in three's or multiples of three. Three leaves, three sepals, three petals, three-parted (female) stigma and six (male) stamens...<br />
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Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><u><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a> or connect through my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/northeastnaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;">Facebook page</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Spier-photographic-naturalist/457719854240996"><u><span style="color: blue;">photo page</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a>. There is a separate community-type page for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheNortheastNaturalist"><u><span style="color: blue;">The Northeast Naturalist</span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a>. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;">Northeast Naturalist</span></u></i><u><span style="color: blue;"></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><i> </i>and <a href="http://headingoutwithdave.wordpress.com/"><i><u><span style="color: blue;">Heading Out</span></u></i><u><span style="color: blue;"></span></u><span style="color: blue;"></span></a>.<br />
<span lang="EN"> </span>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-24801210057000855812012-05-08T14:03:00.000-07:002012-05-10T04:11:56.420-07:00Eastern Hemlocks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong>Eastern Hemlocks --</strong> <span style="font-size: small;">© Dave Spier</span></div>
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Of all the trees in New York, the Eastern or Canadian Hemlock (<i>Tsuga canadensis</i>) is probably my favorite. In old growth forests it is capable of living more than half a millennium. It’s a chief component of the climax forests found in the Adirondacks (generally at lower elevations below 2500'), the Catskills, the Lake Ontario shoreline, bog edges, the glens of the Finger Lakes Region and down across the Allegheny Plateau and Appalachian Mountains. In Pennsylvania, it is the state tree.<br />
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Eastern Hemlocks occur naturally from Wisconsin and Michigan eastward to the Canadian Maritimes and south through New England and the Mid-Atlantic states to the Appalachians of Tennessee and North Carolina where it is under attack by the wooly adelgid bug. When we re-visited Shenandoah National Park, it was sad to see the mighty groves of old-growth hemlocks reduced to skeletons and dead logs. <br />
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<i></i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laricobius_nigrinus&action=edit&redlink=1//oLaricobius nigrinus (page does not exist)"><i><span lang="" style="color: black;">Laricobius nigrinus</span></i></a><span lang=""> beetles, which are native to the Pacific Northwest, prey on the hemlock wooly adelgid, but I have not kept up on efforts to use them in the fight against the infestation. Cornell was involved with a test in the Finger Lakes region, where the problem is still minor. Cold winters work against the adelgid, but global warming could change that.</span><br />
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At their northern limit, hemlocks can grow at sea level, but the farther south one travels, the higher its preferred elevation. It is essentially a cool-climate evergreen that does better in areas with extra moisture or humidity. Annual precipitation ranges from 30 inches in the north to 60 inches in the south.<br />
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Like the Sugar Maple and American Beech, the hemlock grows well in the shade of other trees and, like its associates, it can reach heights of 100 feet. Under the right conditions, it has reached a record height of 173 feet in the South. The trunk of old trees can reach a diameter of five feet at chest height, and the record is six feet. The bark is dark brown and rough, often fissured with age, and was once a source of tannin used in tanning leather. The lumber was used for railroad ties.<br />
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For a tree that can grow to such large size, its cones are remarkably tiny and may barely reach an inch in length. Its needles also are small. Unlike pines and spruces, hemlock "needles" are flat, rounded at the tips and they line both sides of the flexible twigs. This is an advantage in shedding snow before the twigs and branchlets break. The undersides of the needles are whitened with two stomatal bands that allow the exchange of gases with the air. The half-inch long needles are attached to twigs by slender stalks, unlike Balsam Fir needles which are flat but attach directly with circular bases. The needles of all conifers can be used to make a tea rich in vitamin C.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4zUNlroJH_E/T6mDiaKbmgI/AAAAAAAAEdA/avVdGE2LOlw/s1600/Hemlock,Eastern_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D033837p.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4zUNlroJH_E/T6mDiaKbmgI/AAAAAAAAEdA/avVdGE2LOlw/s400/Hemlock,Eastern_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D033837p.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The undersides of hemlock needles -- <span lang="">© Dave Spier</span></td></tr>
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Incidentally, hemlocks make poor Christmas trees because the needles fall as soon as they dry. It’s best to leave them growing because the seeds and needles provide food for Ruffed Grouse and twigs are eaten by deer, Red Squirrels and even cottontail rabbits.<br />
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In early spring, before the deciduous trees leaf out, the hemlocks add a welcome touch of green along with mosses, a few evergreen ferns and Skunk-cabbage leaves. On a clear morning, enjoy the sunlight streaming through the evergreens.<br />
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Questions, additions and corrections may be sent to <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com" target="_blank">The Northeast Naturalist</a>.<span lang="EN"> There is a discussion of hemlocks in Michael Kudish's book, <em><strong>Adirondack Upland Flora</strong></em>.</span>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-4872279996713867062012-03-28T17:45:00.003-07:002012-05-08T16:37:37.068-07:00Ferd's Bog<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--rqj1ebQ0Lk/T3Nz2WDL-6I/AAAAAAAADYI/4FL2oolHcIU/s1600/Ferd'sBog_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D061375sp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--rqj1ebQ0Lk/T3Nz2WDL-6I/AAAAAAAADYI/4FL2oolHcIU/s400/Ferd'sBog_%C2%A9DaveSpier_D061375sp.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donna at the end of the Ferd's Bog boardwalk (Sept. 20 photo) -- © Dave Spier</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Ferd's Bog</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">© Dave Spier<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anders Peltomaa recently posted a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/landp/6876391912/in/photostream" target="_blank">link</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>on the group, Northern New York Birds, to a photograph of a Black-backed Woodpecker perched in a tree along with a Gray Jay near the Ferd's Bog boardwalk. This Black Spruce bog, stream and bog pond are roughly 50 acres of wetlands surrounded by another 50 acres of boreal forest. The Central New York Hiking<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.cnyhiking.com/FerdsBogTrail.htm" target="_blank">website</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>lists the site as 170 acres, but that likely includes the upland forest between Uncas Road and the boreal forest.</div>
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Ferd's Bog is in the Pigeon Lake Wilderness of west-central Hamilton County. The<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://ebird.org/" target="_blank">eBird</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>hotspot coordinates are 43.788692, -74.74973. If you use eBird and zoom in using satellite view, you'll see that point next to the boardwalk, the end of which is a mere 0.3 mile north of Uncas (Brown's Tract) Road.</div>
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The Adirondack Experience<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.adirondackexperience.com/recreation/birding/ferds-bog" target="_blank">website</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>has a Ferd's Bog page with an interactive Google map. The page also contains a list of birds and when they can be expected, based on information taken from or used by the Hamilton County Birding Trail Map. Directions indicate the tiny parking area is about 3.5 miles east-northeast of Route 28 after they split east of Eagle Bay. However, the CNY-Hiking site gives the distance as 3.2 miles. I've never had the foresight to record my odometer readings, so I'm no help on that point. There's a small D.E.C. sign, usually in the shadows, so it can be hard to find. A search of the D.E.C. website came up empty-handed.</div>
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Questions and corrections may be sent to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Transition from boreal forest to open bog (Sept. 23 photo) -- © Dave Spier</span></td></tr>
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More photos from Ferd's Bog:<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/113480357145545980499/AdksFerdSBog?authuser=0&feat=directlink">http://picasaweb.google.com/113480357145545980499/AdksFerdSBog?authuser=0&feat=directlink</a><br />
Alternate link to Picasa Web album:<br />
<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/113480357145545980499/albums/5725120738014783569?banner=pwa">https://plus.google.com/photos/113480357145545980499/albums/5725120738014783569?banner=pwa</a> <br />
Other links used in this blog:<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/landp/6876391912/in/photostream">http://www.flickr.com/photos/landp/6876391912/in/photostream</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.adirondackexperience.com/recreation/birding/ferds-bog">http://www.adirondackexperience.com/recreation/birding/ferds-bog</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.cnyhiking.com/FerdsBogTrail.htm">http://www.cnyhiking.com/FerdsBogTrail.htm</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://ebird.org/">http://ebird.org</a></span>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-87046865223970381992011-12-28T14:52:00.000-08:002012-05-08T16:39:29.339-07:00Tree of Peace<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpxUY6jOjJk/TvuYRDWEesI/AAAAAAAADLY/suIZltYibFw/s1600/Pine%252CWhite_%25C2%25A9DaveSpier_D075869rp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZpxUY6jOjJk/TvuYRDWEesI/AAAAAAAADLY/suIZltYibFw/s400/Pine%252CWhite_%25C2%25A9DaveSpier_D075869rp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Bundles of Eastern White Pine needles surround next-spring's bud at the tip of a twig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: #03FF;">© Dave Spier<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>[1-5X macro lens at 2X on full-frame sensor + twin macro flash]</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Tree of Peace</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: #03FF;">© Dave Spier<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">To the Iroquois, the Eastern White Pine (<i>Pinus strobus</i>) was known as the "Tree of Peace" and it symbolized the Great Law of Peace that united five tribes into one confederacy or league, thus ending decades, and probably centuries, of conflict between these groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The date is unknown, but precedes white settlement of Upstate New York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Estimates range from 1100 A.D. to somewhere in the 1500's.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Iroquois called themselves Haudenosaunee, or People of the Longhouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name "Iroquois" is a French transliteration from derogatory terms used by the Hurons (in Canada) and Algonquins (from New England to the mid-Atlantic), both enemies of the Haudenosaunee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">All pines have leaves that grow in bundles of two, three or five needles bound together by a sheath where they emerge from the twig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>White pines have clumps of five needles, and to the Iroquois Confederacy, these symbolized the original Five Nations: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is now the Adirondacks was divided by the Oneidas to the west and the Mohawks to the east.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Tuscaroras, after being displaced from North Carolina, were eventually admitted to the Confederacy and merged with the Onondagas and Oneidas in central New York.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">White pine needles, generally three inches long, are thin, soft and flexible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's easy to "shake hands" with a white pine (whereas many other pines have stiff, prickly needles).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name of this species comes from fine, whitish stripes along the length of the green needles, but you'll probably need a magnifying glass to see them clearly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During their second year of growth, the needles turn yellow and fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Cones are generally six inches long and easy to handle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many pines have shorter, compact cones with prickles at the tips of their scales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">White pines can reach great age and size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many old pines that survived logging in the Adirondacks are over 300 years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One near Syracuse was dated at 458 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mature trees easily tower over their deciduous compatriots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In pre-colonial America, specimens were reported at 230 feet high and these were later reserved by the king to become ship masts in the British Royal Navy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The current Eastern White Pine record holder in the Great Smokies reaches 188 feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It was 207 feet high before a hurricane took off the top.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Corrections and questions may be sent to <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></a></span></div>
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</tbody></table>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-50656584875060737602011-12-16T10:18:00.000-08:002012-05-08T16:41:03.577-07:00Christmas Bird Count<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-8zBGhptsfpSAqzdzB7P_1febVY81eWUkHG9t3n_XBbVaky4wNO7ILqOHDBxY5eTddOCeDiANsO9UKLXR17lTxEZxgjcuBEjp9CoABBlnISz0bxPUSitc0p753Yn1Kz01xhLV0bUmVM/s1600/Loon%252CCommon_%25C2%25A9DaveSpier_D054012p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-8zBGhptsfpSAqzdzB7P_1febVY81eWUkHG9t3n_XBbVaky4wNO7ILqOHDBxY5eTddOCeDiANsO9UKLXR17lTxEZxgjcuBEjp9CoABBlnISz0bxPUSitc0p753Yn1Kz01xhLV0bUmVM/s400/Loon%252CCommon_%25C2%25A9DaveSpier_D054012p.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Two Common Loons were seen on Bolton Landing’s 2010-2011 CBC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One was seen on the Old Forge count, which is unusual for the time of year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This winter-plumage COLO was photographed in early January.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(© Dave Spier)</span></td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Christmas Bird Count</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> -- © Dave Spier<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">It's time again for the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that it actually occurs on Christmas Day anymore, but now it can be any day from December 14 through January 5 (i.e., 11 days before and after Christmas).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The CBC was invented in 1900 as an alternative to the Christmas side hunt in which teams of men went out and shot everything in sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The biggest pile of feathered and furred animals won.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More of the history can be found on the <a href="http://birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count"><span style="color: blue;">Audubon website</span></a>. You also can follow links to individual counts and past results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Christmas Bird Count is an annual citizen-science project now in its 112th year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such a long-term perspective allows ornithologists to monitor population trends - some good, some bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please consider joining one of the five local counts inside the Adirondack Blue Line [note: the Ferrisburg, VT CBC circle extends west across Lake Champlain into the Adirondacks], or one of the many peripheral counts in New York if you can make it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you lack confidence, it's often possible to be paired with an experienced observer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Counts inside the Blue Line</span></u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Bolton Landing - code NYBL</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Elizabethtown - code NYEZ (Sun., Dec. 18)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">[Ferrisburg, VT - code VTFE (Sat., Dec. 17)]</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Old Forge - code NYOF</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Saranac Lake - code NYSL (Sun., Jan. 1)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Closest peripheral counts</span></u><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Fort Plain (Fri., Dec. 30)</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Massena-Cornwall - code NYMC (Tue., Dec. 27)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Plattsburgh - code NYPL (Sun., Dec. 18)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Saratoga Spa - code NYSS</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Thousand Islands - code ONTI</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Watertown - code NYWA</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Wilson-Lake Plains - code NYWL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Counts are conducted in predetermined 15-mile diameter circles during a 24-hour period (midnight to midnight).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact you can start at midnight by listening for owls! (but most people wait till at least dawn).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For easier coverage, the circles are divided into sectors (sections) and participants can bird as long (or short) as desired, but time and any mileage must be recorded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To cover administrative costs and keep the count going there is a $5 participation fee for anyone over 18. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">If you live within the 15-mile diameter circle of a particular count, you also can choose to stay home and just watch your feeders and count all the yard-birds including any fly-overs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All species count.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep track of the maximum number of individual birds of each species seen and the length of time you spend watching for birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contact the compiler in advance so he/she knows to expect your data; final results can be phoned in the evening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(Most) counts are followed by a compilation dinner or meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, the E-town </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">post-count meeting will be at the Deers Head Inn Restaurant (<span class="yshortcuts"><span id="lw_1324057822_0">7552 Court Street) in Elizabethtown, NY</span></span> around 5:00 pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contact <a href="mailto:cdemers@frontiernet.net"><span style="color: blue;">Charlotte Demers</span></a> in advance. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For the Massena-Cornwall CBC, contact <a href="mailto:eiwheeler@yahoo.com"><span style="color: blue;">Eileen Wheeler</span></a>. For Fort Plain, it's <a href="mailto:tomsalo@localnet.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Tom Salo</span></a>. For Saranac Lake, <a href="mailto:lawrencemaster@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Larry Master</span></a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Regarding this blog, contact me at <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></a> and visit our parallel blog at <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/</span></a></span>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-48052463444260186852011-12-11T07:09:00.000-08:002012-05-08T16:42:10.431-07:00Crossbills<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabHt5e5u6qOT00GXAPBH9WnchJm7XJgHaqu6y3bCgfqIhywQ6gkLT4n3Xg3DqJfKy9bvwveCzwFszEQLj0RyEWneYnAdkByHOcL4xPGWugUZJy4stWrolYuf6PH2fMf-yPsH21NjJMIk/s1600/Crossbill%252CWhite-winged_%25C2%25A9DaveSpier_D054805p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabHt5e5u6qOT00GXAPBH9WnchJm7XJgHaqu6y3bCgfqIhywQ6gkLT4n3Xg3DqJfKy9bvwveCzwFszEQLj0RyEWneYnAdkByHOcL4xPGWugUZJy4stWrolYuf6PH2fMf-yPsH21NjJMIk/s400/Crossbill%252CWhite-winged_%25C2%25A9DaveSpier_D054805p.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: #03FF;">Male White-winged Crossbill in ornamental Douglas Fir --</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: #03FF;">© Dave Spier</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: #03FF; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Crossbills</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"> -- </span></strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: #03FF; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">© Dave Spier</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> White-winged Crossbills, an irruptive species in winter, are frequently reported on NNY Birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their traditional diet of Canadian spruce seeds sometimes runs low and once exhausted, the birds head south in higher numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The birds' small, thin bills, which are crossed at the tips, allow them to specialize on the small, soft cones of Spruces (White, Black, and Red), larch, Eastern Hemlock, Northern White Cedar and Red Cedar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The White Pine, unlike other eastern pines, has soft cones that can be utilized by crossbills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also use Douglas Fir and Blue Spruce, introduced species in the east.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> White-winged Crossbills (<i>Loxia leucoptera</i>) are medium-sized finches with a year-round range from Alaska eastward through the boreal forest zone to the Canadian Maritimes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a fair number of <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/bba/bbaMaps.cfm?bndcode=WWCR&order=1&year=2000&comp=0"><span style="color: blue;">breeding reports</span></a> from around the Adirondacks with a concentration of confirmed sightings in northern Herkimer County and adjacent Hamilton County.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">In the winter, </span>they migrate erratically into the northern states with sporadic reports from the central states.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adult males are dull red with black wings and two prominent white wingbars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Females are yellowish gray with similar wings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Juveniles are heavily streaked and somewhat resemble Pine Siskins, another winter visitor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Europe the white-winged is called the Two-barred Crossbill. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another species, the Red Crossbill (<i>Loxia curvirostra</i>) is similar, but has a heavier bill and lacks the white wing bars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[In rare cases, a variant of the first-year male can display weak wingbars.]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span>There are nine recognized "types" (similar to subspecies) of Red Crossbills and some of these may be evolving into separate species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The specially adapted beaks are pointed and crossed at the tips, but the size and exact structure varies among the different types depending on the species of cone they are best adapted to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The heavier bill allows Red Crossbills to pry out seeds from heavy pine cones in addition to spruce and fir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An individual crossbill can extract and eat 3000 conifer seeds in one day, which probably explains why they keep moving in search of new food sources.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Send comments, questions, and corrections to <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can also ask for hyperlinks to my other blog and photo websites</span>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740206077598847523.post-79922163950183108062011-12-08T16:44:00.000-08:002012-05-08T16:43:12.985-07:00Pine Siskins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmY06qNeFA2ay7nFMMzvc9vNDYhdOqWn5JZ52LWKcSlDQXS0FoQyGWP1sFvVgR86IXXYoZolv4cbEH5jR0Ap0M9saZTvZei_jB1Jl6drlco6hAIKGtghtvjN5Su-qY02xRyAkJRDc7bYs/s1600/Siskin%252CPine_MAC_%25C2%25A9DaveSpier_D054695p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmY06qNeFA2ay7nFMMzvc9vNDYhdOqWn5JZ52LWKcSlDQXS0FoQyGWP1sFvVgR86IXXYoZolv4cbEH5jR0Ap0M9saZTvZei_jB1Jl6drlco6hAIKGtghtvjN5Su-qY02xRyAkJRDc7bYs/s400/Siskin%252CPine_MAC_%25C2%25A9DaveSpier_D054695p.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Siskins -- </span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: #03FF;">© Dave Spier<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Pine Siskins (<i>Spinus pinus</i>) are heavily streaked with yellow feather edges on the wings and yellow patches on the inner tail sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The amount of yellow varies with less on young birds and more on adult males.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since this gregarious bird tends to travel in flocks, at least some members will show varying amounts of yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are also two buffy wing bars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Siskins also hang with goldfinches; both are members of the same family and about the same size and once shared the same genus (<i>Carduelis</i>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Female House Finches are similar, but larger with lower-contrast streaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Siskins also resemble redpolls, another finch, but redpolls have a red cap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Siskins have notched tail ends, but so do female Purple Finches which have high-contrast streaking, a plumper build and heavier bills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re having trouble, the best bet is to take a photo and send it to <a href="mailto:northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com"><span style="color: blue;">northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">When winter food supplies are short in their Canadian boreal homeland, siskins wander south, showing up first in similar forested habitats in the Adirondacks where significant flocks have been reported throughout October and November.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Details can be found on the Google group, <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Northern_NY_Birds/"><span style="color: blue;">Northern New York Birds</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There's also a link in the right sidebar.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recent reports [Nov. 29] have come from <a href="http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Joan Collins</span></a> at Sabattis Bog, Little Tupper Lake, several locations on Rt. 28N including flocks totalling 200 in Minerva, and the Roosevelt Truck Trail with 150 siskins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joan's more recent posts [Dec. 4] from Horseshoe Lake and Low's Ridge-Upper Dam Trail have reported smaller numbers in these locations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Pine Siskins are one of several kinds of birds referred to as “irruptive species,” meaning they can show up unexpectedly anywhere in the lower 48, and the pattern changes from year to year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few birds may linger into the spring and act as though they will nest locally, which they do in New York State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The heaviest concentration of <a href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/bba/bbaMaps.cfm?bndcode=PISI&order=1&year=2000&comp=0"><span style="color: blue;">nesting records</span></a> occurs in three clumps from roughly Norwich to Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Siskins are seed eaters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They prefer conifers [spruce, pine, cedar and hemlock], but also eat seeds from deciduous trees [especially birch], shrubs [particularly alder], flowers [weeds] and grasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They readily come to thistle-seed feeders, sometimes in large flocks, but also eat sunflower seeds – basically the same diet as goldfinches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the way, goldfinches and siskins can feed upside down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Special feeders are made with the seed holes below the perches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case of siskins the skill is useful in extracting seeds from conifer cones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Questions, comments and corrections are welcomed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of my other nature columns [more relevant to the Adirondack perimeter and New York lowlands] can be found on <a href="http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue;">http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com</span></a></span></div>The Northeast Naturalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17377595627240668560noreply@blogger.com0