Adirondack Outdoors magazine hits stands and web week of April 1

Winter hangs on for another week as it only got above freezing one day and snowed the other six. That damn groundhog is to blame for sure. We have to blame it on something.

While we’re fighting the cold weather the folks near Fort Collins, CO were battling a forest fire.

There is a ban on outdoor burning here in New York. This time of the year most forest fires are caused by people burning brush and the fires get away from them.

Since the spring burning ban has been in place for the last few years the amount of forest fires has gone down considerably.

Many of the locals have taken off for the south lands over the spring school break.

Many are hoping the snow will be gone when they return, but I don’t think that’s going to happen this year.

There should be a good run-off and the lakes should be full long before the tourists arrive this year.

I shoveled a couple camp roofs this weekend but others seem to only have a foot or so of snow on them.

Those two warm spells we had midwinter knocked down the snow totals on them, or they slid off if they were tin.

I shoveled out for my bird blind down by the pond. There was over two feet of snow there—a foot of fluff on top and a foot of packed crust on the bottom.

The blind has not provided any good eagle shots yet. I had a Golden Eagle on Tuesday, two Bald Eagles during the week and a Red-tailed Hawk has been a regular visitor.

I photographed them from the house before I got the blind up.

Peg Flora of Okara Lake has had a Barred Owl visiting her feeder this week, checking for small critters that come out for seed under it.

She said he isn’t camera shy and she got some great photos of it right off the porch.

Some of the birds didn’t get the weather forecast and came north anyway. I saw a Killdeer on the ice at Fifth Lake and a Song Sparrow looking for something to eat around the shoreline there.

There were over 150 Common Redpolls all around the feeders yesterday (3/24) so I put up the net for a couple hours and banded 80 of them and one Chickadee.

I did not see any Hoary Redpolls among the group. Usually you can find a couple when there are that many Redpolls around.

One day during the week I banded about 50 more Redpolls, a dozen Chickadees and three Hairy Woodpeckers.

I recaptured a couple Chickadees that I had banded in ‘09 and my one lone Brown Tree Creeper that has been around for two winters now.

The first issue of the new Adirondack Outdoors Magazine will be online at www.adirondackoutdoorsmagazine.com during the first week of April. Check it out.

The Ravens were all over my pond feeder last week stocking up for their breeding season which is about now.

The nest on the ledge at the top of the summit is all built but I haven’t seen any adults sitting yet.

They might be able to hide down in that big nest. I have seen the adults flying around the site several times while on the way to Old Forge.

There is also a tree nester on Bolder Point on Limekiln Lake that has been there for four years.

Last year the Merlins used that nest and raised a family after the Ravens had fledged.

Here in the north country the Ravens are usually out of the nest by Memorial Day.

Little bugs that hatch out of the snow, but that’s another story. See ya.