At the beginning of last week someone said it was a tad dry. Well, that sure changed with over three inches of rain and not much sunshine the rest of the week.
Some of my loon nests went under as the water rose six to eight inches in some places. The trail camera that I had on a nest went part way under water, which doesn’t do much for the camera.
A couple of my platform loons are still high and dry and at the end of their ropes, so to speak, but still afloat.
It’s early yet so most of these birds will hopefully pick a new spot and try again.
This will be tough on the ducks and other small birds that nest close to the water. I saw several ducks get off their nests this week.
A wood duck was crossing Route 28 with eight young going in the opposite direction of the lake.
Maybe she knows of a little pond that I don’t know about. After the rain she could have found a pond most anywhere.
A mallard with three little ones in tow was crossing 28 at the corner last night. Another mallard had nine young in Twin Pond.
While watching the loons on Limekiln I saw a big battle between the outlet pair and a family of common mergansers.
Actually there were two pairs of mergansers with young, one had eight and one had nine.
The loons attacked the adult from one family. She lost several feathers but got away with her life and family. The fight broke up when I got close.
One merganser family went in one direction and the other one went the opposite way.
The loons just continued fishing among the strewn merganser feathers as if nothing had happened.
Loons are very protective of their fishing rights, even on a big lake such as Limekiln. The mergansers will find a different place to fish and steer clear of the loons.
The mergansers can walk on land and get away from them as loons don’t walk on land.
It may be their only safe haven.
I’ve seen a few turkey families this week also. This wet weather is tough on the babies—same goes for grouse young.
The young develop a foot rot when the weather is wet that is fatal much of the time.
It is also harder for mom to keep them warm when it’s so wet. I saw one turkey with nine young huddled under her in the pouring rain. Her wings were spread out like an umbrella to protect them.
All birds are born cold blooded. That’s why mom has to set on the nest and brood the young for the first few days until they get some feathers to keep them warm.
Also, it’s the reason baby chicks or ducks are put under a heat light for their first few days when they don’t have a mom to keep them warm.
I had three bog hikes over the weekend that went well. Only one was in the rain, but what does that matter when you are in a bog?
If you get a chance to get to Ferd’s Bog, the pitcher plants—about two thousand of them—are in full bloom to the right of the boardwalk. The Labrador Tea bushes with white flowers are also in full bloom along the boardwalk.
The bog birds all came out except the black backed woodpecker. The showy lady slippers near Remsen were out again on Father’s Day.
They haven’t failed to bloom for me in over thirty years.
I thought they might this year as I checked them last week and they were only up about a foot. The heat this week must have pushed them out.
There are many more to come as they are still in bud.
There were 1,358 bears taken last fall making it the second highest bear harvest on record in New York State. The take in the Adirondacks was 380 bears.
In the west-central area 342 bears were harvested making it the second highest take in that area.
In the southeastern part of the state, 636 bears were harvested making it a record for that area.
With the abundant nut and berry crop last fall it kept the bears out during all of the regular gun hunting season which probably added to the numbers.
Many bears that were taken weighed in at over 500 pounds dressed.
The state-wide deer take was approximately 243,550 deer, which was about a 1,000 more than taken last season. You can go online and get county-take numbers.
Of the total, 114,716 were males, 128,851 were anterless and 88,634 were females.
Bow take was up for the season and muzzleloader take was slightly down for the season. The youth hunt was slightly down this year.
Weather may have had an affect on all of these hunts. Biologists still think the take should be kept at these levels or higher to maintain a healthy deer population statewide.
Give the loons a break, but that another story. See ya.