11/17 Long-tailed Duck (Sylvan Lake); Red-headed Woodpeckers (near Hopeland Sanctuary)
(1) Carena Pooth reports ” I found a Long-tailed Duck on Sylvan Lake around 2:40 this afternoon (11/17). I saw it from the DEC boat launch. It was near the Circle Lodge dock but swam to the far shore while I was watching it. Not sure about the gender or age. The plumage was different from the one we saw on the Mills Mansion field trip. It had white flanks, a dark back, dark crown & dark back of neck. The face looked white but it was quite distant so I can’t say if there was any tan or gray on the face. It looked like one of the TINY birds in Crossley. After counting 210 Ruddy Ducks and 25 American Coots (and not finding any scoters), I could not relocate the Long-tailed Duck and left around 3:15″.
(1) Red-headed Woodpeckers – First found by Susan Rogers and Christina Baal on 11/15, Deb Tracy-Kral was able to find them through the drizzle and mist 11/17 in a stand of old locusts on the right side of Old Post Road heading south towards Mills Mansion in the driveway just past Hopeland Sanctuary. They were foraging in a large oak and were located by their vocalizations. I lost them when they flew further down the (private?) road.
UPDATE: 11/21 The Red-headed Woodpeckers continue to be seen in the trees on the west side of Old Post Road between the two dirt driveways between Mills Mansion and Hopeland Sanctuary.
