A gray bird with an orange breast is foraging on the grass. This is an American Robin. They are a year-round resident in the Adirondacks, but we see very few of them in the winter months in the interior of the Adirondack Park. In March and April, they return in large numbers, heralding the end of what is almost always a cold and lengthy winter.

The alt #BirdOfTheDay Theme is #Robins. Here’s a nice American Robin foraging in the grass. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#Americanrobin #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

Two large black and white birds with black-and-white striped collars and checkerboard backs are floating in a slow-moving stream. These are Common Loons, photographed on the Black Pond Trail at the Paul Smith’s College VIC in the Adirondack Mountains. These birds are powerful, agile divers that catch small fish in fast underwater chases, often disappearing under the surface for what seems like hours and popping up on the other side of the lake. They are medium-distance migrants, that usually arrive in the Adirondacks in April.

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme #Reflections, I offer these two Common Loons. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#loons #commonloon #commonloons #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #nature #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

A brown bird with olive-brown upper parts, white underparts with bold, blackish-streaked spots, and a prominent white eye ring is perched on a branch. This is an Ovenbird, the largest of our Adirondack warblers. Ovenbirds are more often heard than seen. Male Ovenbirds belt out a loud, repetitive series of about 8-12 two-parted notes from a mid-level perch: “tea-Cher, tea-Cher, tea-CHER, Tea-CHER, TEA-CHER.” The song generally rises in both volume and pitch.

The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #JKLMNOP. Here’s an Ovenbird, making a lot of noise. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#Warblers #AdirondackWarblers #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

A gray and white bird is walking along a sandy beach. This is a Ring-billed Gull. I took this photograph in early November on the beach at Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York, before the lake froze over. The Ring-billed Gull is the most common gull regularly seen in New York State. It is one of two gulls that breed in the Adirondack Park, the other being the Herring Gull. The Ring-billed Gull is a partial, mid- to long-distance migrant. Most individuals depart their breeding regions in late summer and early fall to winter in warmer areas. As lakes freeze over in the Adirondack interior, these gulls (which are frequently seen throughout the Adirondacks during the warmer months) gradually disappear in search of open water. Winter birders in the Adirondacks can find Ring-billed Gulls, along with a host of other gulls and waterfowl, along the Lake Champlain coast.

The alt #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Gulls. Here’s a nice Ring-billed Gull by Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#ringbilledgull #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

The image shows a long-distance shot of two Canada Geese swimming on an oxbow of the Ausable River in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. This photograph was taken two days ago. Yesterday, the female was on her nest in a small vegetation island in the oxbow, and the male was nearby keeping watch. I have been monitoring this site for several years, and every year a pair of Canada Geese nests here in the same small vegetation island in the oxbow. Canada Geese mate for life, so this is very likely the same pair I have been following in previous years.

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme #LongNecks: a pair of Canada Geese. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-s...

#CanadaGoose #CanadaGeese #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

A plump, brown bird is perched on a branch, belting out a very loud, long song. The bird has a short, stubby tail that he is holding up. His plumage is rather nondescript; he’s basically a brown bird with some barring on his belly, wings, and tail. He has his beak opened in loud, jubilant song, showing off his bright yellow and orange mouth. This is a Winter Wren, a tiny bird with a big voice. This one is making a home in our backyard near Lake Placid, in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.

For Jane’s @javajanegallery.co.uk #smallbirdsaturday theme: a Winter Wren, a little bird making a lot of noise. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#WinterWren #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

A large brown bird is walking on the grass in a meadow in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. This is a Wild Turkey, a bird that doesn’t get enough appreciation. Wild Turkeys can fly, but they spend most of their time on the ground, so they are very wary. When you see a bunch of Wild Turkeys in a field, they are usually hustling away from you, so you don’t get to appreciate how handsome they really are, with bronze-green iridescent plumage.

For the alt #BirdOfTheDay theme #Grass, I offer this proud Wild Turkey. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#WIldTurkey #turkeys #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds #nature #AdirondackNature

A blue-gray bird with bright yellow markings on its rump is sitting on a branch. This is the Yellow-rumped Warbler. It’s a short to long-distance migrant that arrives in the Adirondack Mountains in April. Birders affectionately call it Butterbutt. This photo was taken at the Paul Smith’s College VIC – a nature preserve in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. The VIC has a 25-mile trail system, including six miles of interpretive trails that wind through a variety of habitats. It’s a great place to go to learn about and experience nature in the Adirondacks.

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BirdButt. Here's a Yellow-rumped Warbler, nicknamed “ButterButt.” wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#YellowRumpedWarbler #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #Adirondackbirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds #nature

An attractive brown a white throat is sitting on a branch. This is a White-throated Sparrow, photographed in our backyard near Lake Placid, in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. A short-distance migrant, a few White-throated Sparrows are seen throughout the winter inside the Adirondack Park Blue Line. However, most of the White-throated Sparrows we see in spring and summer in the Adirondack Park winter in the southern parts of the US and return to their breeding ranges in northern New York, New England, and Canada when snow melt exposes portions of the forest floor.

For the alt #birdoftheday theme #naturalperch, I submit this dapper White-throated Sparrow. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#whitethroatedsparrow #sparrows #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

A bird with raspberry red coloration on his upperparts, neck, head, and sides is perched on a pole, waiting for his turn at the sunflower seeds. This is a Purple Finch. The Purple Finch is a year-round resident for us, breeding mainly in conifer or mixed forests, the edges of bogs, and riparian corridors.

Today’s #birdoftheday theme is #manmadeperch. So here’s a male Purple Finch on a pole. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#PurpleFinch #Finch #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

A gray bird with a dark gray cap is perched on a branch. This is a Gray Catbird. Gray Catbirds are gray birds with a neat black cap and rusty feathers under its tail. These medium-sized, slender songbirds have a long, rounded, black tail and a narrow, straight bill. Catbirds are fairly long legged and have broad, rounded wings. Their name captures both their color (gray) and the fact they make a nasal mew that sounds like a cat.

The Alt #BirdOfTheDay Theme is #Grey. Here’s a Gray Catbird, a bird which is both well-named and undeniably gray. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#GrayCatbird #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

A black bird with light yellow on the back of his head is sitting on top of a shrub. This is a male Bobolink, photographed at Heaven Hill in Lake Placid. Heaven Hill is owned and managed by the Uihlein Foundation. The Foundation has been working with the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College to study how grassland and other bird species respond to hayfield management. I am a volunteer “Bobolink Counter. I visit the hay meadow nearly every day in the breeding season to document behavior.

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme #BlackHeads, I submit this fine-looking male Bobolink on the hay meadow at Heaven Hill. wildadirondacks.org/heaven-hill-...

#eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #NewYorkBirds

A bluish-green bird with a chestnut chest is seated on a branch at a Great Blue Heron rookery near Elizabethtown in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. This is a Green Heron (although it doesn’t look very green to me). Apparently, these birds are fairly common outside the Adirondack Park, according to data from the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas III. But we rarely see them here in the Adirondacks; there was only one confirmed breeding pair sighted during the five-year period of the atlas. Green Herons are said to sometimes nest near Great Blue Heron colonies, which is what this bird was doing.

For the alt #BirdOfTheDay theme #RareEncounters, I offer this #GreenHeron, seen for the first and only time at a Great Blue Heron rookery. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#Herons #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK

A small and rather chunky, short-tailed warbler with extensively streaked underparts is perched on the branch of a conifer. This is a Cape May Warbler. Cape May Warblers breed in the Adirondack Mountains and other northern habitats in spring and summer and migrate south to warmer areas in the winter. Cape May Warblers appear to spend most of their time, at least in their breeding grounds, in the upper most branches of tall evergreens, particularly spruces, which is where I usually find them. This photo was taken on the John Brown Farm Trails near Lake Placid, in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. I don’t get to see Cape Mays very often, so when I do, it’s a real treat.

The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #Warblers. How about this lovely Cape May Warbler? wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#capemaywarbler #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #AdirondackWarblers

A stocky bird with glossy black feathers and vivid red shoulder patches edged in yellow is perched on some marsh vegetation near a heron rookery in the Adirondack Mountains for upstate New York. The Red-winged Blackbirds that breed in the Adirondacks are short distance migrants who winter south of us and return to our wetlands in the spring. Red-winged Blackbirds migrate in flocks during the day, with males migrating before females.

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme #Black&Red, I submit this attractive Red-winged Blackbird. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-s...

#redwingedblackbird #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #wetlands #AdirondackWetlands

Two gray and brown birds are perched on a branch in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. These birds are year-round residents of our region, but I see them most often during the winter months, when they sometimes come to our feeders. In summer, I rarely see them, but I often hear their lovely coo around our property, which makes me hope that perhaps a pair are nesting nearby.

The Alt #BirdOfTheDay Theme is #Pigeons&Doves. Here’s a Mourning Dove pair outside my window. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#mourningdove #doves #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK

A red bird with a crossed bill is standing on a road in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. This is a Red Crossbill. Red Crossbills are medium-sized, full-bodied finches with a distinctive crisscrossed bill, designed to break into unopened cones. Males are a deep reddish orange overall, with darker brownish wings. Females are mostly yellowish with dark, unmarked wings. You often see them on roadways consuming small bits of gravel from the road. This “gritting” behavior is said to aid in the digestion of their seed-based diet. The grit helps to mechanically grind hard food items like seeds and nuts.

For the Alt #BirdOfTheDay Theme #Finches, I submit this Red Crossbill, gritting on a road. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#RedCrossbill #Crossbills #Birds #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #AdirondackBirding

A blue bird with a white chest and belly and perky blue crest is perched on a branch in a snow storm. This is a Blue Jay, a year-round resident in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Blue Jays are omnivores. They consume arthropods, acorns, soft fruits, seeds, birds’ eggs, nestlings, and small vertebrates. These birds are among our most faithful customers at winter feeders. This one was waiting for me to refill the feeders.

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #weather, I submit this woe-begone Blue Jay in the snow.
wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#BlueJay #Birds #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #snow

A group of white birds is gathered on the shore of Lake Champlain in upstate New York. This photo was taken in February, after the gulls in the interior of the Adirondack Park had left for open water. Some of them migrate to the warmer Champlain Valley – a center for cold-weather birding in the Adirondack Park. Lake Champlain remains open for much of the winter, so it attracts a large number of ducks and other aquatic birds that had abandoned their breeding territories in the Adirondack interior earlier in the fall. The term “squabble” – as I was told by the Wise Ones of Google AI – can be used to describe a group of gulls, referring to the noisy, argumentative nature of these birds.

The Alt Theme for #BirdOfTheDay is #Gulls. Here’s a squabble of Ring-billed Gulls on Lake Champlain in upstate New York. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#gull #gulls #ringbilledgulls #AdirondackBirding #ADK #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #LakeChamplain

A large bluish gray bird is flying over a marsh in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. This is a Great Blue Heron, a large, long-legged wading bird that often nests in colonies called rookeries. When in flight, Great Blue Herons (like the Great Egret) pull their necks back into an "S" shape. This is helpful for the birder since it separates these birds from cranes and storks, which fly with necks extended.

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme #LargeBirdsInFlight, I submit this Great Blue Heron. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#GreatBlueHeron #Herons #Birds #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #Adirondackbirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK

A handsome gray and white bird is perched on a branch, with snow-covered conifers in the background. The upper parts are charcoal gray. The belly is snow white. The bird has dark eyes, a small, pale bill, and a very long tail. This is a Dark-eyed Junco, part of the sparrow family. This species has been nicknamed a "snowbird" due to its presence in the U.S. during winter. This bird mostly feeds on the ground, which doesn’t always make for a nice background, so I was lucky to get him on a tree.

For the #BirdOfTheDay theme #BestOfTheMonth, here's a Dark-eyed Junco, fluffed up on a snowy morning. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #darkeyedjunco #winterbirds

A black and white bird with a large, chisel-like bill is perched on a suet feeder. This is a female Hairy Woodpecker. We know it’s a female because the bird is lacking the red patch on the back of the head which males have. Hairy Woodpeckers are among the most commonly observed woodpecker species in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. The name derives from the long, white feathers in the center of its back. Hairy Woodpeckers are found in all seasons throughout New York State, including the Adirondacks.

For the alt #birdoftheday theme #gardenfeeder, I submit this female #HairyWoodpecker, enjoying breakfast in the snow. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding
#AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #woodpeckers

A gray duck with a reddish-brown head and a shaggy crest is perched on a rock on the shore of a lake. This is a female Common Merganser. This photo was taken at the Adirondack Interpretive Center in Newcomb, New York. The Adirondack Interpretive Center offers 3.6 miles of interpretive nature trails and a variety of educational programs on Adirondack natural history.

Today’s #birdoftheday theme is #RuffledFeathers. Here’s a #CommonMerganser, with a crest blowing in the wind. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #ducks #AdirondackDucks

The image shows a female Ring-necked Duck with five ducklings swimming in a marsh in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Ring-necked Ducks are among the boreal birds who make their homes on marshland. These ducks winter inland along the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coasts. They depart from their wintering sites in February and can usually be found throughout the Adirondacks from mid- to late April on.

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #AdulsWithChicks. Here’s a Ring-necked Duck with her family of five #ducklings. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#Adultswithchicks #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK

A stunning yellow bird with chestnut stripes on his breast is perched on some vegetation in a wetland. This is a male Yellow Warbler. I photographed this bird in mid-June at Cemetery Road Wetlands, which is a marsh in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. The Yellow Warbler is a long-distance migrant that spends its winter in Central America and northern South America. It begins arriving in our area in late April; most will have left by the end of September.

For the alt #BirdOfTheDay theme #stripes, I offer this lovely Yellow Warbler, showing off the chestnut streaking on his breast. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #ADK #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK

A lovely blue bird is perched on the top branch of an apple tree in bloom. This is the Indigo Bunting, a species sometimes nicknamed "blue canaries," because these birds sing from dawn to dusk, often atop the tallest perch they can find. These favored singing sites are maintained throughout the breeding season and often from year to year, so a birder intent on capturing Indigo Bunting songs can listen for the birds singing from the same perch for many years.

The #BirdOfTheDay theme for today is #blue. How about this #IndigoBunting, showing off his bright blue plumage on a spring morning? wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #adk #AdirondackMountains #ECK

The image shows a small brown bird with a bit of yellow on the throat and white wing bars. This is an American Goldfinch, a small finch that we see year-round here in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. The American Goldfinch diet is dominated by seeds, including those from thistle, sunflowers, asters, grasses, and trees. It generally forages while perched on the plant and will hang upside down from branches or thistle heads to reach seeds. American Goldfinches readily come to winter feeders, where they are sometimes seen of flocks of 200 or more. They come to most kinds of feeders (including hopper, platform, and hanging feeders) and are also seen feeding on the ground below feeders.

The Alt #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Eating. How about this #AmericanGoldfinch eating sunflower seeds on our deck? wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#finch #goldfinch #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK

A large grey-blue bird is sitting on a nest on one leg. This is a Great Blue Heron. They nest in colonies. Males arrive at the colony first and settle on nest sites; from there, they court passing females. Colonies can consist of 500 or more individual nests, with multiple nests per tree built 100 or more feet off the ground. This colony, which was on the edge of a small pond, had 14 nests.

For the alt #birdoftheday theme #oneleg, I offer this Great Blue Heron. Essex County, New York (9 April 2023) wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#GreatBlueHeron #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #Herons

A gray and white bird with a black band encircling its yellow bill is perched on a rock near the banks of Lake Champlain in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. The Champlain Valley is a center for cold-weather birding in the Adirondack Park. Lake Champlain remains open for much of the winter, so it attracts a large number of ducks and other aquatic birds that had abandoned their breeding territories in the Adirondack interior earlier in the fall. The Ring-billed Gull is a partial, mid- to long-distance migrant. Most individuals depart their breeding regions in late summer and early fall to winter in warmer areas. As lakes freeze over in the Adirondack interior, these gulls (which are frequently seen throughout the Adirondacks during the warmer months) gradually disappear in search of open water.

The Alt #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Gulls. Here’s a Ring-billed Gull on the edge of Lake Champlain in upstate New York. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-w...

#RingBilledGull #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #ADK #AdirondackBirds #birding #AdirondackBirding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK

An olive-green and white bird with a red iris and gray crown is perched on a branch singing. This bird is known for its tireless, persistent, and very loud singing, which often drowns out the more melodious songs of neighboring birds. This is a summer bird for us. It’s a long-distance migrant, spending its winters in the Amazon basin of South America.

For today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme #OpenBeak, I offer this Red-eyed Vireo, showing off his signature red eye. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...

#RedEyedVireo #Adirondackbirding #eastcoastkin #Adirondacks #AdirondackBirds #birding #birds #nature #wildlife #AdirondackMountains #ECK #ADK