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
Keep at least six (6) feet of distance between you and others.
Wear a cloth face covering in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
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
Being the nesting season, there was a focus on “nests” this week: eagles, owls, osprey, great blue herons, mute swans, foxes, and turtles. The Esopus Creek harbor seal’s stay was now more than eight months long. And, in the forests, spring color was arriving.
Highlight of the Week
 4/10 – Minerva: On a birding road trip, we spotted something dark on the ice covering a small pond near Minerva. We investigated and discovered a family of river otters feeding and playing around the plethora of holes they had kept open in the ice. We felt like we were watching a game of "Duck and Seek" as they took turns popping up and popping down in the ice holes. We were even treated to some belly slides across the ice on the pond. These were amazing creatures! (Photo of river otter courtesy of Scott Varney)
- Scott Varney, Heidi Nicholson
Natural History Entries
 4/4 – Fort Edward, HRM 202: While birding near Ford Edward, I came upon a pair of nesting mallards and two painted turtles sharing a deadfall–two great signs of spring on the water. (Photo of mallards and turtles courtesy of Brian Teague)
- Brian Teague
[In response to our March 31 painted turtle entry (Betty Boomer), we received two interesting comments.
Hatchling eastern painted turtles are known to sometimes (often) winter in the nest and emerge the following spring. I would bet Betty’s sighting is one that did just that and was on its way from the nest to the water. They are able to survive freezing by utilizing glucose as a cryoprotectant or by supercooling, or perhaps a combination of both. I believe they are one of the very few terrestrial vertebrates that have this ability, but they lose it as they get older. I haven’t reviewed the literature on this in a while so perhaps there have been further discoveries on the mechanism they use. But whatever it is, it is pretty interesting and unique. Kevin Hynes]
[I saw Betty Boomer’s observation in the Hudson River Almanac. I agree with you that it was a turtle that wintered on land, as most painted turtles do after hatching. The term “hatchling” is appropriate because this turtle was still not a year-old and had not yet put on any growth. I would use the term “hatchling” for any painted turtle that hatched from 2019 eggs until June when most of the 2019 nests have vacated and the 2020 nests are starting to develop. The 2020 hatchlings should begin to appear in September. Patrick Baker] (Photo of painted turtle courtesy of Ann Marie Daloia)
4/4 – Ulster County: Looking at some photos we had taken from an appropriate distance, it certainly looked as though there were two nestlings in bald eagle nest NY142. The adults have been hauling some big American eels to the nest and tearing them up for the nestlings.
- Mario Meier
For information on viewing bald eagles, visit DEC’s website:
https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/9378.html
 4/4 – Hyde Park, HRM 82: I knew the season was early for fishing and the river was still relatively cold, but I made the effort to cast from the shore with my artificial lures. Before long I was into a nice fish that turned out to be an 18-inch chain pickerel. After admiring the fish, taking a couple of photos, we released it back into the Hudson unharmed. [Chain pickerel season opens May 2.] (Photo of chain pickerel courtesy of Bill Ring)
- Bill Ring
4/4 – Town of Wappinger: As I watched bald eagle nest NY459 from an appropriate distance, one of the adults brought a duck in from the river. The duck had a white wing with black edging [drake common merganser?]. Afterward, they made a changeover of nest duty.
- Judy Winter
[“Eagle food!” Diving ducks, such as mergansers, are more common targets of eagles than marsh ducks. While mallards, black ducks, teal, wigeon, pintails, and wood ducks spring straight up from the water, diving ducks, such as mergansers, require a “runway” to get airborne providing an easier target for eagles in a stoop. Tom Lake]
4/5 – Minerva, HRM 284: We had a first this afternoon: an eastern phoebe calling in the woods. I could find no activity as yet for the osprey pair on Minerva Lake. However, there was a pair of common goldeneye cruising around in a small patch of open water–the lake was still ninety-five percent socked-in with ice.
- Mike Corey
 4/5 – Ulster County: Two weeks days ago, we photographed two tiny great horned owlets in a large twig nest high in a black oak on the edge of a nearby swampland. Today, it was amazing to see how they had grown, from fluff balls with beaks, in just two weeks. I studied their amazingly intense yellow eyes today and watched gravity free baby fluff and have it float off on the spring breeze. (Photo of great horned owl courtesy of Mario Meier)
- Mario Meier
4/5 – New Paltz, HRM 78: American toads began their extended trills last evening as well as this morning under a cloudy sky in the town of New Paltz. Air temperatures in the upper 50’s was likely one of the factors.
- Roland Bahret
4/5 – Kerhonkson, HRM 76: I was sitting in the sun in my backyard when the soft whoosh of light feathers passed my ear. Right behind my head I felt tiny feet hop across the top of the chair. Then, the lightest of bird weight landed on a fold on my left sleeve. I still had no view but, oh, how I wished I was holding a handful of sunflowers seeds. I held my breath. Then, in an instant fast flit, she flew over my head and landed center right. In a second the tufted titmouse split.
- Betty Boomer
4/5 – Buchanan, HRM 42: Lake Meahagh was looking far better than it did last fall when it was clogged with uncontrolled vegetation. The surface was calm this morning with small ripples throughout. Eighteen mute swans (Cygnus olor) floated around in the center of the lake flanked by Canada geese. They will be nesting soon.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson
4/5 – Croton-on-Hudson, HRM 35: Two weeks ago, we spotted an adult red fox in our yard and saw fox kits in a den in the roots of a tree in a ravine behind our house. After that, we didn't see them for a while. But today, the kits were there again wrestling and playing outside their den.
- Ricki Goe
4/5 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We counted 58 migrating raptors today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. High count was osprey with 15. Falcons were well represented with fifteen birds: American kestrel (9), peregrine falcon (3), and merlin (3). Sharp-shinned (12) and Cooper’s hawks (11) also showed well.
- Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony, Peter Nixon
4/6 – Milan, HRM 90: I re-sighted the crested caracara (Caracara cheriwayis) this morning, first spotted three days ago in Kingston by Ryan MacLean. I had a close view as it flew right overhead, all black bird, white head and neck, with deeply decurved wings and a slow steady flight, headed south.
- Susan Joseph
4/6 – Saugerties, HRM 102: Some of us have begun referring to our long-time harbor seal visitor–this was Day 246–as “Sopy,” a reference to the Esopus Creek where he spends much time cruising the mile-and-a quarter tidewater reach. Today, he was upstream by a sunken barge off Cantine's Island.
- Patrick Landewe
[Marine mammals began visiting the Hudson River estuary following the Ice Age about 13,000 years ago. With lower sea levels, it took a while for the ocean waters to find the lower river but, by the time the first of us arrived, about 12,000 years ago, marine mammals were likely quite common.
[The list of Hudson River Estuary marine mammals (10) documented in the Hudson River Almanac across the last 26 years includes:
- harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)
- hooded seal (Cystophora cristata)
- gray seal (Halichoerus grypus)
- harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) 
- common (harbor) porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
- Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus)
- bottlenose (common) dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
- Florida manatee-2006 (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
- minke whale-2007 (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
- humpback whale-2016 (Megaptera novaeangliae).
(Photo of humpback whale courtesy of Bjoern Kils)
4/6 – Newburgh, HRM 61: The nestlings in bald eagle nest NY488 were getting louder and much more demanding each day. The adults have been very busy ferrying fish and gathering replacement twigs for the nest.
- Nancy Thomas
 4/6 – Little Stony Point, HRM 55: This was an idyllic spring day on the river. Just being on the beach at Little Stony Point was reward enough for the hike down to the river. We laid out our 85-footer with few expectations given the early spring and a 51 degrees Fahrenheit (F) chill in the water. Hauling with the current, the seine slipped through the water time and again with nothing to show. However, as often happens if persistence is applied, on our final haul, we corralled a school of spottail shiners, all glittery in the sunlight as we beached the net up on the sand. These are a native fish that no doubt witnessed the first of us to arrive here 12,000 years ago. It felt good to have a full net and we measured every last one before letting them go (83-112 millimeters (mm)). (Photo of spottail shiner courtesy of Tom Lake)
- Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake
(One inch = 25.4 millimeters)
[Spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius) a native Hudson River fish, is one of 32 species of carps and minnows (Cyprinidae) the largest family of fishes in the watershed. Spottail shiner was described to science by DeWitt Clinton in 1824, between his two terms as the sixth and eighth governor of New York State (1817-1822, 1825-1828).
Clinton's very detailed description of the fish was submitted to the forerunner of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature in 1824 with a proposed name of Clupea hudsonius. (Clupea is Latin for herring-like fish.) Over the next 69 years, other scientific names were offered with varying evidence for change, but ichthyologists settled on Notropis hudsonius. The spottail type site location is the Hudson River, making the species a true Hudson River fish. However, the type specimen (by which others are systemically compared) was lost in 1866 when a fire destroyed the Lyceum of Natural History (now The New York Academy of Sciences), in Manhattan.
Spottail shiner is found across a wide swath of North America from far west Canada through the American Midwest, the Great Lakes, through our area, and then south along the coast to Georgia. They are common throughout our watershed from ponds, lakes, and rivers, even venturing into the tidal brackish water of the lower estuary.
- Tom Lake
 4/7 – Staatsburg, HRM 86: It was a beautiful day for a spring wildflower walk through the Norrie Point portion of Mills-Norrie State Park. Hepaticas were at their height of bloom and Dutchmen's breeches and bloodroot were up and blooming in profusion. We also came upon the earliest anemones, trout lilies, and a few early saxifrage and rock cress. As an added bonus, we spotted our first warblers of the year, three palm warblers. (Photo of hepatica courtesy of David Lund)
- David Lund, Linda Lund
4/7 – Norrie Point, HRM 85: Later, as we were walking home along the Enderkill, we saw six fish seemingly feeding on the bottom. The fish looked to be about a foot-long and three of them had pink stripes down their sides. The other three had stripes, but they were not as obviously pink. [These were male white suckers. See Fish-of-the-Week below.]
- Linda Lund, David Lund
4/7 – Town of Poughkeepsie: After much observation of bald eagle nest NY62, and more than a little speculation, we have decided that there is but one nestling this season. The confusing factor is the volume of food that is coming to the nest. Some days we see three fish deliveries.
- Bob Rightmyer
4/7 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We counted only six migrating raptors today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. Osprey was high count with four. The other two were Cooper’s hawk. Notable non-migratory birds included adult bald eagle (6), turkey vulture (6), black vulture (3), and red-tailed hawk (5).
- Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
4/8 – Minerva, HRM 284: We heard spring peepers this evening. They were scattered, a bit hesitant, but still out there peeping.
- Mike Corey
 4/8 – Rhinecliff, HRM 89: We found a number of migrating waterfowl near the Rhinecliff Train Station this morning, including two white-winged scoters along with flocks of horned grebe, red necked grebe, and long-tail duck. (Photo of white-winged scoter courtesy of Margaret Beam)
- Susan Joseph, Kyle Bardwell, Debbie van Zyl (Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club)
[Scoters are “sea ducks,” Arctic breeders that are primarily found as spring and fall migrants in the estuary. The white-winged scoter (Melanitta deglandi) is the largest of our three species of scoter. The genus translates from Greek as “black duck.” Our other scoters are black scoter (M. americana), and surf scoter (M. perspicillata). The latter have white bills and a white patch on the back of their heads. When seen through binoculars in the dim light of dawn, bobbing between swells, they look like “double-faced” ducks. The presence of scoters reminds us how faraway places are connected by the Hudson River flyway. Tom Lake]
4/8 – Verplanck, HRM 40.5: What began as a rainy morning turned into a lovely sunny afternoon. We were happy to see that the osprey had returned to the nest atop the channel marker near the Veterans Memorial at the Verplanck waterfront. Farther down the road, we were even more delighted to see a beautiful snow goose sitting at the edge of the little beach in the company of a few mallard ducks and Canada geese.
- Dorothy Ferguson, Bob Ferguson
[Similarly, a single snow goose among Canada geese, showed up here and stayed quite a while in November 2017. Dianne Picciano]
4/8 – Bedford, HRM 35: The incubation period continued at the great blue heron rookery. At one point, a heron stood up to tend to the eggs and then settled back down. Another nest had a heron standing guard on a nearby branch while its mate sat on the eggs. I estimated that in two weeks we will see signs that hatching has begun.
- Jim Steck
*** Fish of the Week ***
 4/9 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 66 is the white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) number 68 (of 230) on our watershed list of fishes. If you would like a copy of watershed list of fishes, e-mail - trlake7@aol.com.
The white sucker, a freshwater species, is one of seven members of its family (Catostomidae) in the watershed. Four are native, including the white sucker, and three are canal immigrants from the Great Lakes.
Suckers, in general, are elongate and terete in cross-section. They have what ichthyologists refer to as an “inferior mouth,” in that it is angled downward. This adaptation allows suckers to efficiently feed off the bottom where they find a broad variety of insect larvae and small invertebrates such as amphipods. With a snorkel mask you can watch them inhale a mouthful of bottom sand and sediment, sort out the edibles, and then exhale the rest.
In spring, adult male white suckers have a broad red stripe (breeding colors) on each side of its body and many tiny bumps (breeding tubercles) on its anal fin and caudal (tail) fin. Breeding tubercles are thought to aid the males in maintaining contact with females. From Colonial times through the mid-20th century, there was a cottage industry in the Hudson Valley for smoking and pickling white suckers. They are a delightful fish! (Photo of white sucker courtesy of Brian Gratwicke)
- Tom Lake
4/9 – Hudson Valley: One of the joys of spring is watching the forests and fields come alive with color. We began this week to be treated to a soft, hazy white glow in the woods–shadbush (Amelanchier sp.). This native species has been, at least colloquially on the East Coast, considered a harbinger for the arrival of American shad from the sea. Native people knew it was time to set their fish weirs when shadbush began to bloom. There is an ecological timing between those two events: Shadbush blooms when the soil warms in late March at the same time the river reaches a temperature that signals the start of fish migration.
Magnolia and forsythia were in bloom for more than a week already along much of the tidewater Hudson. Blooming moves north in an orderly manner from magnolia to forsythia to shadbush to flowering dogwood, with lilac being the final signal that spring is ready for summer. This process is called phenology, the study of nature through the appearance of seasonal phenomena. The word comes from the Greek word “phaino,” meaning “to appear,” or the Latin “phenomenon,” meaning “appearance, happening, display, or event.” - Tom Lake
4/9 – Highland Falls, HRM 50: Pickerel frogs (Rana palustris) began calling from the wetlands and small ponds near my house in Highland Falls in the last week. - Patrick Baker
 4/10 – Ulster County: On our Good Friday walk this morning, we heard a muffled slow tap, tap and finally figured out that it came from inside a hole in a dead ash. Our patience paid off as out popped the head of a pileated woodpecker. Then, at a rate of a chip every five seconds he popped in and out unloading the cavity. This species is common in our woods, yet they are always amazing to see up close–a truly regal bird. (Photo of pileated woodpecker courtesy of Mario Meier)
- Mario Meier
4/10 – Town of Wappinger: An icy north wind and a strong snow squall made my trek up a hilly trail through a heavily wooded area a challenge. A pair of pileated woodpeckers kept pace from a distance, one on either side, hop-scotching tree-to-tree. In the subdued light, their red-white-black colors glowed in brilliant contrast to the drab forest. If I squinted really hard, I could make them out to be pterodactyls.
The trail passed reasonably close to a bald eagle nest. Because bald eagles are federally protected, such approaches are inappropriate unless precautions are taken. Hikers frequently pass near, even under a bald eagle without their notice. However, the eagles always see. Whenever we pass near an eagle or an eagle nest, a stealth-approach is absolutely essential: We never look up, never make eye-beak contact, and move as silently as possible. We never stop for a photo–modern optics can get us virtually “into” the nest from an appropriate distance.
Directly under the diagonal branch of an eighty–foot-high black locust overlooking tidewater, I found the fore and aft ends of a channel catfish, the two diagnostic points for identification. They were ten feet apart but appeared to be a fit. However, lacking the mid-section (the eagle’s most desirable part), it was not possible to conclude these were from the same fish.
- Tom Lake
[Channel catfish are a favorite, perhaps due to ease of acquiring by the eagles. Other fishes on their typical menu include, striped bass, white perch, various sunfishes, American eel, goldfish, brown bullheads, river herring, small American shad, gizzard shad, small common carp, freshwater drum, white sucker, and chain pickerel. This selection is often augmented with waterfowl, gray squirrel, muskrat, turtle, small woodchucks, and the occasional skunk. They eat well. Tom Lake]
4/10 – Orange County, HRM 58: During tough times it pays to look up. When I did, I saw a pair of northbound sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) over the New York State Thruway near Moodna Creek. Sandhill cranes have nested in New York State since 2003 beginning near Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge in Seneca County. Since then, sightings across the state have increased slowly in number and distribution.
- Stephen Seymour
4/10 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: We had a large spring count of 102 migrating raptors today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch. Broad-winged hawk was high count with 83. Those that were low enough to age, were all adults.
Notable non-migratory birds included adult bald eagle (4) to the west south-west, three adults, one immature, red-tailed hawk (2), peregrine falcon (2), one of which took a swipe at a red-tailed hawk as their paths crossed, turkey vulture (4), and black vulture (3).
For most of the day the raptors were seen already to the Northeast, behind the watch. We have noted this in previous spring watches where we do not see any raptors to the southeast, over the Hudson River, or low over Nyack.
- Ajit I. Antony, Liza Antony
 4/10 – Bronx, New York City: I’ve been trying to verify alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) presence this spring in the Hutchinson River near Mt. Vernon. These are river herring in from the sea to spawn. So far, using a basket trap with a double funnel facing downstream, I have trapped only a single female (266 mm) a half-mile upstream from tidewater just below the Pelham Lake Dam. (Photo of Hutchinson River courtesy of Gareth Hougham)
- Gareth Hougham
[The Hutchinson River is a small Westchester stream that just makes it to the Bronx and then becomes an estuary that flows into Eastchester Bay in Western Long Island Sound. The Hutchinson River is relevant to the Hudson River as it is biologically connected to the watershed by way of the East River. Their alewives are essentially our alewives. This catch may be the first in a very long time. Forty years ago, I spotted alewives at the head of the estuary, but I am not aware of any since. John Waldman]
New York City Parks has stocked adult alewives in the Bronx River, a sister estuarine watershed to the Hutchinson, annually since 2017. The alewives are transported from Brides Brook in Connecticut by staff from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The stocking effort is a partnership with New York City Parks, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Bronx River Alliance. The goal is to jump-start a native population that will be able to use an engineered fishway, installed at the downstream East 182nd Street dam in 2015, to migrate to upstream spawning grounds.
The concept is that the adult alewives may not return to the Bronx River, but that their young-of-year will have imprinted on the place where they were born and will return to their natal stream when sexually mature in 3-5 years. Katie Friedman]
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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