A Project of the Hudson River Estuary Program
Compiled by Tom Lake, Consulting Naturalist
While enjoying outdoor spaces, please continue to follow the CDC/NYSDOH guidelines for preventing the spread of colds, flu, and COVID-19. To find out more about enjoying DEC lands and New York's State Parks, visit DEC's website #Recreate Local; https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/119881.html
Try to keep at least six (6) feet of distance between you and others.
Avoid close contact, such as shaking hands, hugging, and kissing.
Wash hands often or use a hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
Avoid surfaces that are touched often, such as doorknobs, handrails, and playground equipment.
DEC recommends avoiding busy trailheads. Find the trails less traveled and visit when trails may not be as busy during daylight hours.
Overview
It has been both reassuring and comforting to know that despite the COVID-19 coronavirus, we are having an on-time arrival of spring in our watershed. Eagles and great horned owls have nestlings; osprey and great blue herons are on eggs. While the High Peaks of the Adirondacks were trying to shake off winter, summer shorebirds were coming back to the New York Bight.
Highlight of the Week
 3/21– Queens, New York City: We needed a break from the anxiety of the times, so we went for a drive and ended up at Beach 67 on the ocean at Rockaway Beach. We quickly noticed four birds calling incessantly and repeatedly flying in formation in swooping arcs. They were American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus). They would land on the beach, walk and squawk, and then take off again. This went on for a half-hour. The four became three, then two, and eventually they were all out of our view. Since daffodils, forsythia, Callery pears, and magnolias have all come early this season, it was no surprise these birds had as well. They were a joy to watch and a reminder that nature can ground us in challenging times. (Photo of American oystercatcher courtesy of David Disher)
- Scottie Twine, Jeff Twine
[The American oystercatcher’s genus, Haematopus, translates from Greek as “red-footed bird,” which seems a weak description for their pinkish legs. More apt might be something like Rostro rubrum, Latin for red bill – their major feature is a long, straight red bill. They were given its common name in 1731 by a naturalist who observed them eating oysters – their large, red, heavy beak is used to pry open bivalve mollusks. They are found on the Atlantic coast of North America from New England to northern Florida, along the Gulf coast, and south to Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Tom Lake]
Natural History Entries
 3/20 – Town of Wappinger, HRM 68: A female summer tanager (Piranga rubra), first spotted at our seed feeders on January 15, was still there this morning on Day 66. For Dutchess County, there are only three previous records of a summer tanager, and none in winter. (Photo of summer tanager courtesy of David Fischer)
- Melissa Fischer, Stephen Fischer (Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club)
[This was the last day that we saw the female summer tanager at our feeders. It was sad to look out during the day and not see her. But she is likely off to find a male summer tanager, so we wish her well. It was my pleasure and such a privilege that she shared her winter with us. Melissa Fischer]
 3/21– Saugerties, HRM 102: In mid-morning, I spotted the harbor seal frolicking, with occasional leaps out of the water, to the south and east of channel marker #93. The seal stayed around for twenty minutes at the end of the south dike near the mouth of Esopus Creek. This was Day 230 for the seal in Saugerties. (Photo of yellow perch courtesy of Tom Lake)
- Patrick Landewe
3/21– Saugerties, HRM 102: It was midday, and the harbor seal that Patrick Landewe had seen hours earlier was hiding somewhere. Anglers along the south breakwater of Esopus Creek were catching jumbo yellow perch. There is little wonder that a seal would find Hudson River tidewater tributaries, such as Esopus Creek, very attractive. The rather short distance (1.25 miles) from the falls in the Village of Saugerties to the Hudson River has a robust fish population, soon to be augmented by spawning river herring from the sea.
- Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake
[Several anglers have expressed their belief that there are two seals in Esopus Creek. They describe one as being “very dark” and the other as “very light.” This was not beyond the realm of possibility. However, no one had seen the two seals at the same time. A possible explanation lies in their fur or pelage. When a harbor seal is in the water, totally wet, its fur is quite dark. But, when they haul out onto rip-rap or a sandbar, their fur dries and become quite light. Thus, two different looks for the same animal. Tom Lake]
3/21 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We counted 13 raptors today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. High count was four each, shared by Cooper’s hawk and sharp-shinned hawk. Among the non-migratory birds were turkey vultures (16) and black vultures (8), as well as five bald eagles, three of which were adults. We spotted two common ravens. One attacked a red-tailed hawk, and they both dropped entangled.
- Ajit I. Antony, Felicia Napier, Philip Ribolow
3/22 – Newcomb, HRM 302: Fresh white-tailed deer tracks indicated that they were starting to move back from winter range. Four adult bald eagles were feeding on a deer carcass on Rich Lake; it wasn't a good trip back to summer range for one deer.
- Charlotte Demers
 3/22 – Ulster County: In February, high in a black oak on the edge of a nearby swampland, a large twig nest appeared. From a distance one could see the distinctive spiked head of a great horned owl. We had heard them calling – "Who's awake? Me too?" – but did we have a breeding pair? Weeks passed and the female was sitting tight. Today, two baby owlets appeared above the nest edge, fluff balls with beaks! (Photo of great horned owlets courtesy of Mario Meier)
- Mario Meier
 3/22– Town of Poughkeepsie: Yesterday I watched one of the adults at bald eagle nest NY62 bring a squirrel to the nest. This suggested the possibility that there was now a third mouth to feed. And, today’s delivery of a channel catfish and subsequent feeding behavior, confirmed there had been a hatch. (Photo of bald eagle courtesy of Bob Rightmyer)
- Bob Rightmyer
[Based on the start of incubation for NY62, Bob Rightmyer’s estimate for a hatch, March 19-22 (32-35 days), was right on the mark. Tom Lake]
*** Fish of the Week ***
 3/23 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 64 is the brown trout (Salmo trutta) number 97 (of 230) on our watershed list of fishes. If you would like a copy of our list, e-mail - trlake7@aol.com.
Brown trout is one of ten members of its family (Salmonidae) in the watershed. Six of these are native species classified as “periglacial” owing to their post-glacial presence at the dawn of the watershed. Four others have been introduced, including the brown trout.
Brown trout are native to Europe, from the Arctic fjords of Scandinavia eastward to the Hindu Kush at the foot of the Himalayas. They are now found on every continent on earth except for Antarctica. Brown trout were introduced into New York State in February 1883 from a population from the Black Forest of Germany. In 1884, another introduction came from a population at Loch Leven, Scotland. The two varieties have since blended into one.
Brown trout may be the most famous freshwater game fish in the world. For many young anglers, they have achieved almost mythical status. They first appear in the literature when described by third-century A.D. Roman naturalist Claudius Aelianus as “the fish with speckled skin.” Legendary seventeenth century angler Izaak Walton simply called them “The Trout.” Cecil Heacox describes them as “... a delight to the eye, exciting to the mind, and stimulating to the spirit.” Austrian composer Franz Schubert’s classic Die Forelle (The Trout) was inspired by the brown trout.
Brown trout are primarily found in streams, but also live in ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. They are brown with black and often red spots on the sides. However, in large bodies of water, fish tend to be silvery with scattered black spots. Their ability to tolerate warmer water than New York State's native trout has allowed them to do well in waters otherwise unable to support trout. The New York State angling record for brown trout is 33.2 pounds from Lake Ontario, Oswego County (1997).
The classic book on trout is Ray Bergman’s Trout (1938). Another favorite is The Complete Brown Trout by Cecil Heacox (1974). (Photo of brown trout courtesy of Ryan Coulter)
- Tom Lake
3/23 – Saugerties, HRM 102: This morning an osprey returned to channel marker #93 at the mouth of the Esopus Creek and immediately began collecting sticks for a nest. Last year was the first successful nest at this location, and we’ve been hoping the pair would come back.
- Patrick Landewe
3/24 – Newcomb, HR 302: A fresh eight-inches of snow reminded us that although the calendar may say Spring, we still had a little more winter to get through here in the North Country.
- Charlotte Demers
3/24 – Minerva, HRM 284: Although we got a full ten-inches of snow yesterday, robins abound!
- Mike Corey
 3/24 – Town of Poughkeepsie: We were on a hill with great vantage of bald eagle nest NY62. We watched the adults bring two fish to the nest, perch on the rim, and then look down inside. One of them tore off a bit of fish and lowered it into the nest. We assumed they were feeding a nestling. (Photo of bald eagle courtesy of Bob Rightmyer)
- Bob Rightmyer, John Badura
3/24 – Yonkers, HRM 18: Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, our Center for the Urban River at Beczak staff had to remove our glass eel fyke net. On our final day, we caught 31 glass eels. Despite our abbreviated sampling, our count for the season was 1,485 eels, second high all-time for our site.
- Jason Muller
3/24 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We counted five raptors today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. High count was two each, shared by bald eagle and Cooper’s hawk. The other was a red-shouldered hawk. We saw a very distant pair of adult bald eagles to the southwest over Newark, New Jersey. After a while, they were south of the watch and then over the Hudson River where they dropped very low behind the ridge to the east of the watch. After a while, we saw them together to the northeast, and we could finally count them as migrants.
- Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
3/25 – Saugerties, HRM 102: Yesterday, an osprey returned to channel marker #93 at the mouth of the Esopus Creek. The other osprey, its mate, appeared this morning. Now the pair is together on the channel marker.
- Patrick Landewe
3/25 – Bedford, HRM 35: On today’s visit to the great blue heron rookery, I found eight herons settled down in their nests sitting on eggs. There was one heron standing on the edge of its nest possibly guarding its mate. At one point, another heron stood up and reached down into the bottom of the nest, most likely turning the eggs. This is done several times a day and is necessary for the proper development of the embryo within the egg. There also were two herons in a tree with one standing on what appeared to be the beginning of a new nest. At this point the nest was too small to be used. Last year there were thirteen occupied nests. The rookery is losing nests as the winter storms take down the trees holding the nests.
- Jim Steck
[I want to make notice of, and give credit to, both Jim Steck and Rick Stafford for their years of dedicated monitoring at the great blue heron rookery in Bedford. Both their detailed reports and their exquisite photography have shined a light on this important reproducing community of beautiful wading birds. Tom Lake]
3/26 – Town of Bethlehem, HRM 135: What do dog walkers and anglers have in common? Each subscribe to a six-foot social distancing measure: a dog leash and a fishing pole. The chilly wind at the river at Henry Hudson Park did not deter shoreline anglers. The bald eagle nest on the east side of the river (NY81) had some action with the adults taking turns with reconnaissance missions.
- Fran Martino
 3/26 – Town of Poughkeepsie: We visited a narrow sandy bench, crisscrossed by tree trunks and roots, overlooking the Hudson River. After a storm, Indian artifacts frequently erode out of the dirt. Almost all of them are tiny “micro-liths” (small stones) or lithic “debitage” (waste flakes), the product of an ancient workshop where prehistoric flint-knappers (possibly ancestral Mohicans) fashioned stone tools from native stone such as quartz, slate, and chert.
Years of study by our Dutchess Community College archeology students, at sites like this one, has revealed our occupation along the river in Dutchess County that began no less than 10,000 years ago and continued until seventeenth-century European contact. Subsequently, the development of Colonial villages in the Hudson Valley, often on the very same sites, destroyed significant evidence of our prehistory. (Photo of lithic debitage courtesy of Tom Lake)
- Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake
[In the interest of preservation, we try to never give exact locations. Tom Lake]
3/26 – Rockland County, HRM 33: I visited bald eagle nest NY336 today to see how the pair was doing. As I approached, I heard a high-pitched call coming from the general direction of the nest – it was an adult calling in my direction. Behind me, the other adult was coming to the nest with what appeared to be a duck (species unknown). The meal was passed off, and both eagles perched along the rim of the nest. Another visitor told me that he had earlier seen a small head pop up. It was very exciting to see the food delivery, and now I believe we have a nestling!
- Chris Galligan
3/26 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: It was a slow day at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. We counted just four migrating raptors, three Cooper’s hawks and one sharp-shinned hawk. Four turkey vultures were also noted to be migrating. Non-migrating birds of note included turkey vultures (13), black vultures (8), red-tailed hawks (4), and one adult bald eagle. We also saw our first pine warbler of the season.
- Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
 3/27 – Ford Edward, HRM 202: I had a beautiful hike into a wilderness of solitude today along the Grasslands Trail on Blackhouse Road in Fort Edward. Birds were sparse, but I took time to enjoy an eastern phoebe's songs, a continual influx of turkey vultures in drift-mode, a family of song sparrows making their “chimp” sounds, a northern harrier drifting across the grasslands in search of prey, a pair of vesper sparrows near the outer platform, and my first beetles of the season. It was so peaceful! The day was topped off with a true avian hint of the season, a solitary eastern meadowlark in full-on song. (Photo of eastern meadowlark courtesy of John Badura)
- Scott Varney (Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club)
3/27 – Saugerties, HRM 102: Our harbor seal was here again today, on its Day 236. We spotted it at sunrise on the north side of the Saugerties Lighthouse and then later in Esopus Creek along the north dike.
- Patrick Landewe
Spring 2020 Natural History Programs
DEC advises New Yorkers to take measures to reduce bear conflicts
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos reminds New Yorkers to take steps to reduce conflicts with bears. Feeding bears either intentionally, which is illegal, or unintentionally through careless practices around properties, has consequences for entire communities. DEC advises everyone who lives in or visits bear habitat, which is much of Upstate New York, to remove items that are attractive to bears. People should take down bird feeders by April 1, store garbage inside secure buildings, and feed pets indoors. These actions are necessary to live responsibly with black bears, protect people, property, and bears.
For more information about how to reduce human/bear conflicts, visit DEC's website.
Guidelines on how to avoid problems with black bears: http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/113258.html
DEC Announces Changes to 2020 Striped Bass Fishing Regulations
State Adopts New Recreational and Commercial Slot Size Limits
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has adopted new regulations for recreational and commercial fishing for Atlantic striped bass. These regulations, which take effect immediately, are to reduce state commercial and recreational harvests by 18 percent as required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Recreational striped bass seasons start on April 1 in the Hudson River and tributaries and on April 15 in marine waters. Anglers are encouraged to use circle hooks in 2020 when using bait.
For more information on fishing, visit DEC’s website: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/fishing.html
DEC reminds anglers to practice social distancing to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.
2020 Striped Bass Recreational Regulations:
In marine waters:
• Slot size limit: 28" - 35" total length
(No fish smaller than 28" or greater than 35" may be kept)
• Season date: April 15 - December 15
• Daily possession limit of 1 fish/angler
In the Hudson River and its tributaries:
• Slot size limit: 18"- 28" total length
(No fish smaller than 18" or greater than 28" may be kept)
• Season date: April 1 - November 30
• Daily possession limit of 1 fish/angler
DEC Seeks Birdwatchers to contribute to 2020 Breeding Bird Atlas
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos has announced a call for citizen-science volunteers to help in the development of a comprehensive, statewide survey that takes place every two decades to detail New York’s breeding bird distribution. Starting in 2020, five years of field surveys will be conducted by volunteers and project partners to provide the data that will be analyzed to create the third New York State Breeding Bird Atlas.
“Just as New Yorkers are embarking on the 2020 Census to track human populations and trends, DEC and our partners track our natural populations to evaluate the effectiveness of New York’s programs and initiatives to promote diverse and healthy wildlife,” Commissioner Seggos said. “The Breeding Bird Atlas is a valuable tool to help protect birds and habitat, and I encourage all New Yorkers to get outdoors safely and responsibly and participate in this year’s survey while practicing social distancing.”
DEC is partnering with the New York Natural Heritage Program, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), Audubon New York, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, New York State Ornithological Association, and New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit on this project. When complete, the atlas will provide species-specific details about distribution, maps, and illustrations.
The last atlas was published in 2008, with information on its results available on DEC’s website. Five years of fieldwork by more than 1,200 contributors provided the data for the second addition to New York’s understanding of the state’s avifauna (birds). This substantial book revealed striking changes in the distributions of many of our breeding birds since New York's first Breeding Bird Atlas was published in 1988. Data showed that half of New York’s 253 species showed a significant change in their distribution, with 70 species showing increases and 58 species showing declines. A comparison study between the first two atlases showed that the distribution of 129 species moved northward an average of 3.58 kilometers due to climate change. The 2020 atlas will provide further data on this shift and climate change’s potential impact on wildlife.
To participate, volunteers can make a free eBird account and submit data online through the atlas website (ebird.org/atlasny) or via the eBird mobile app. Simply record the species and any breeding behaviors observed. All sightings can count. As observations are reported, data can be viewed here: https://ebird.org/atlasny/state/US-NY.
Hudson River Miles
The Hudson is measured north from Hudson River Mile 0 at the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge is at HRM 12, the Tappan Zee 28, Bear Mountain 47, Beacon-Newburgh 62, Mid-Hudson 75, Kingston-Rhinecliff 95, Rip Van Winkle 114, and the Federal Dam at Troy, the head of tidewater, at 153. The tidal section of the Hudson constitutes a bit less than half the total distance – 315 miles – from Lake Tear of the Clouds to the Battery. Entries from points east and west in the watershed reference the corresponding river mile on the mainstem.
To Contribute Your Observations or to Subscribe
The Hudson River Almanac is compiled and edited by Tom Lake and emailed weekly by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. Share your observations by e-mailing them to trlake7@aol.com.
To subscribe to the Almanac (or to unsubscribe), use the links on DEC's Hudson River Almanac or DEC Delivers web pages.
Discover New York State
The Conservationist, the award-winning, advertisement-free magazine focusing on New York State's great outdoors and natural resources. The Conservationist features stunning photography, informative articles and around-the-state coverage. Visit The Conservationist webpage for more information.
Useful Links
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration online tide and tidal current predictions are invaluable when planning Hudson River field trips.
For real-time information on Hudson River tides, weather and water conditions from sixteen monitoring stations, visit the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System website.
DEC's Smartphone app for iPhone and Android is now available at: New York Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife App.
NY's Outdoors Are Open
#RecreateLocal-- Safely and Responsibly
DEC and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) are encouraging New Yorkers to engage in responsible recreation during the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis. DEC and State Parks recommendations incorporate guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health for reducing the spread of infectious diseases and encourage New Yorkers to recreate locally, practice physical distancing, and use common sense to protect themselves and others. In addition, DEC and State Parks launched a new hashtag-#RecreateLocal-and encourage New Yorkers to get outside and discover open spaces and parks close to home.
Information about the Hudson River Estuary Program is available on DEC's website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4920.html.
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