Chirps and Cheeps

My son, Tom, and I took a couple of days to hike through some of the Adirondacks this past weekend. What a great way to spend Mother's Day for me! The beauty and serenity of the mountains and lakes up there are something I wish I could indulge in every single day. I want to go back. Now.

Near the cottage we stayed at, we found lots of warblers. I wasn't sure the migration was as far along as it is here in Western New York - but it definitely was. The surprise bird was a Wilson's Warbler, who only arrived in WNY this past week. Hiking along some of the mountain trails, we were amazed to find the numbers of Black-throated Blue and Black-throated Green warblers. I didn't make it quite to the summit of Snowy Mountain - but Tom did and, even in the snow (yes, SNOW!), he said both the Black-throated species were all the way up to the top of the mountain. Wow!

We looked hard for the hoped-for boreal species: Three-toed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Boreal Chickadee, Gray Jay, and Bicknell's Thrush - but no luck. We're going back to try again, though!

Not all birds, but a few photos from the trip are below...