Schodack Island 5/22/20

Date: 5/22/20
Time: 6:45am - 12:00pm
Location: Schodack Island State Park
Weather: warm and sunny
Habitat: Island in the Hudson River. There were some boat docks and a large parking lot, and the tide was quite low so there was a lot of exposed mud along the shores. The interior if the island was covered in a dense under-story with lots of invasive species like honeysuckle and bittersweet mixed with cottonwood and oak trees, among others.

Today's birding trip ended this week on a high note. About an hour in I found myself walking in the same direction as another birder, and over the next four hours we helped each other spot birds and identify calls. He was only a little more skilled than me so it was a good partnership, and by the end of the day we were friends. The highlights of the day were seeing a black-and-white warbler for the first time (my favorite warbler), seeing two pairs of nesting eastern bluebirds, watching a juvenile bald eagle take off from a perch only about 40 feet above my head, and spotting a yellow-billed cuckoo (which I didn't even realize lived on this continent before yesterday).

Posted on May 22, 2020 10:17 PM by natalya-h