Rare Bird Alert!
by Barbara Michelin

February 2002
  

The weather for January has been unusually warm with a few days of 60 degrees. Lakes and ponds are half frozen and many of the same ducks we found on our waterfowl count in January are still present as of this writing on February 9th. The two male Pintails and eight Wood Ducks are still present at Wappingers Lake on the east side of Rt. 9. Ruddy Ducks, Coots, Hooded and Common Mergansers and Ring-necked Ducks are present at Sylvan Lake. Hunn's Lake has a few Snow Geese with the many Canada Geese, and a male Canvasback has been seen at Lake Oniad. Round Pond is worth checking, as well as Abel's pond and Upper Kay's pond.

On Monday, January 28th, Chet Vincent found a smaller goose among the Canada Geese that had flown into Waryas Park, while he was checking to see if two Peregrine Falcons were on the old railroad bridge. (He has been lucky to view one to two Peregrine Falcons most times he goes there.) He made some phone calls and, with Ken & Carol Fredericks' and Rosa Corbeels' help, it was decided this smaller goose was a Cackling Goose - a subspecies of the Canada Goose. Thanks Ken for taking some pictures of this goose. We had one other record of this bird by Mary & Jim Key. Mary wrote in a Wings article, "On Sunday afternoon, March 27th, 1977, we received a call from Thelma Haight.....Thelma told us Jesse Bontecou had a very small Canada Goose with his regular Canada Geese. It was the size of a mallard and had a high-pitched call. It is sometimes called "Cackling Canada Goose" for that very reason. This goose breeds north of Hudson Bay and migrates through the western prairie states to the coast of Texas and southwest Louisiana. Why was it here? That is always a good question!"

On Saturday, February 2nd, Nat Donson called to report a Merlin checking his feeders at his home in Pine Plains. During the walk on Wednesday at Thompson Pond I spoke with Theresa Robinson about the Merlin. She, along with the Donson's, were fortunate to have close views of this rare visitor to feeders. Barbara Butler told me there are a few mild-winter sightings but normally we see Merlin's during spring and fall migration.

Two Golden Eagles were seen at Thompson Pond on Wednesday, February 6th. Bald Eagles were seen at Norrie Point on January 30th, and other sightings have been reported also.

We may still get snowstorms and cold temperatures before winter is done. So far we have been lucky, but we do need the water to alleviate the dry conditions we are in. So keep the feeders filled and an eye out for birds coming to your yard.

Wings Over Dutchess, February 2002

Read Other Stories