As summer ticks towards autumn, the flow of birds heading south for the winter grows in volume until it becomes a rushing torrent of migrants in September and into October. Millions of birds – hundreds of millions, in fact – will pass through the Northeast’s airspace during this time, as species that bred up north head to warmer locations. But this southbound river of migrating birds all began with a few drops as far back as early July, when a handful of shorebirds from northern arctic and subarctic regions started heading south. [Read more…] about Encountering Solitary Sandpipers On Their Way South
New York's Bogs
Because New York's bogs are located in the northernmost range of some species, and the southernmost range of others, they have unique varieties of plants and animals, many of which are threatened by Climate Change.
Boggy Beauty: White-Fringed Bog-Orchids
Along the edge of a remote pond, among a spongy carpet of interlaced vegetation, an orchid of graceful and gossamer beauty rises.
Its mass of exquisite white flowers, perched atop a slender stalk, resembles at one glance a medieval mace, at another a bog-wandering spirit in its torn, ghostly shawl. [Read more…] about Boggy Beauty: White-Fringed Bog-Orchids
After NY Wetlands Rules Struck Down, DEC Plans Webinar Tuesday
In April, Albany County Supreme Court issued a decision in Chautauqua Lake Prop. Owners Assn., Inc. v State of New York annulling the recently revised 6 NYCRR Part 664 freshwater wetlands regulations in their entirety.
The court said the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) failed to comply with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) during the adoption process. [Read more…] about After NY Wetlands Rules Struck Down, DEC Plans Webinar Tuesday
Rare and Fragile Floating Bogs and Fens
New York State is home to several rare and fragile floating bogs and fens. These unique ecosystems feature mats of sphagnum moss and vegetation that actually float over water.
Bogs and fens are both peatlands (wetlands that build up deposits of dead plant matter called peat). The primary difference is their water source: bogs are largely by nutrient-poor rainwater, making them highly acidic. Fens are fed by mineral-rich groundwater, making them alkaline or neutral. [Read more…] about Rare and Fragile Floating Bogs and Fens
Final Recreation Plans Announced for Hamilton County Easement Tracts
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the final Recreation Management Plan (RMP) for the Speculator Tree Farm, Perkins Clearing and Burnham Mountain Conservation Easement Tracts in the Adirondack Park.
The RMP was developed in partnership with Lyme Adirondack Forest Company, the landowner. [Read more…] about Final Recreation Plans Announced for Hamilton County Easement Tracts
River Ice: Seeds, Frazil, and Flocs
Mile-long Trout Brook cuts downhill through heavily bouldered glacial moraine. Like any woodland brook, it features waterfalls, cascades, pools, and coves.
By mid-December it is usually frozen over, with audible water running under the ice and snow. Only a mile from my home, I often visit this brook from mid-November until late March to see the splash-enhanced bulbous icicles and frozen foam.
During some recent winters, however, climate change has brought unseasonably warm spells, incomplete ice covers, decreased water levels, and insignificant snowfall, all of which expose ice formations normally unseen. [Read more…] about River Ice: Seeds, Frazil, and Flocs
Great Gray Owls: Phantoms of the North
The great gray owl (Strix nebulosa) is a northern raptor that only occasionally graces our northeastern states. Also called the phantom of the north, these owls have large facial discs with alternating areas of light and dark gray, creating a concentric ring pattern around their yellow eyes.
Beneath their face is a white “bowtie.” Despite this dapper feature, the owl’s luminous eyes, impressive size, and large talons give it a fierce appearance. [Read more…] about Great Gray Owls: Phantoms of the North
Native Hollies Offer More than Holiday Cheer
Few plants evoke winter holidays in the north more dependably than the Christmas holly (Ilex aquifolium). The plant’s handsome evergreen leaves and red berries have enjoyed a sacred place in European cultures, from the British Isles to the Mediterranean, since classical antiquity.
Today, it remains the member of the holly family (Aquifoliaceae) most likely to festoon mantels and doorways in celebration of the season. But while Christmas holly originates across the Atlantic, our region has two native holly species of which to boast – and they do much more on the landscape than brighten homes and spirits at yuletide. [Read more…] about Native Hollies Offer More than Holiday Cheer
The Quiet Persistence of Clubmosses
Walking in our woods in early winter, I notice dense patches of clubmoss that lend a welcome splash of green to the forest floor. Some of these evergreen plants resemble miniature Christmas trees; others have fuzzy runners that creep across the ground. Despite their name, clubmosses are not true mosses.
They are the oldest group of vascular plants, which have specialized tissue called xylem that transports water and nutrients. Clubmosses evolved 410 million years ago and dominated the forests of the Carboniferous Period (roughly 350 to 300 million years ago), when they could grow up to 100 feet tall. Coal deposits contain the remains of these ancient clubmosses. [Read more…] about The Quiet Persistence of Clubmosses
The Hidden World of Carnivorous Fungi
In darkness, a wormlike creature squirms. A tiny nematode weaves its way between grains of rock and particles of organic matter, through inverted forests of tree roots. It follows what it thinks is a pheromone trail, pausing to inspect a droplet poised on the tip of a pale, nondescript strand of fungus.
A moment later, its body begins to seize up. The chemical signals that control its muscles have been hijacked, and within seconds it is completely paralyzed. [Read more…] about The Hidden World of Carnivorous Fungi
In the Footsteps of a Chipmunk
As autumn nears, I find myself returning to botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer’s line in Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses where she describes ecological succession as “a tale of the interwoven fates of mosses, fungi, and the footfall of chipmunks.”
The phrase evokes the quiet, entangled choreography of life in transition. Since first reading it, I’ve become more attuned to the subtleties of that unfolding. [Read more…] about In the Footsteps of a Chipmunk
New York State Birding Trail Adds 12 Locations
Twelve new locations have been added to the New York State Birding Trail. The new additions, in Central New York and Hudson River Valley, provide affordable opportunities for quality birding experiences.
The new additions provide a diversity of habitats that include forests, meadows, vernal pools, streams, and peat bogs. Although habitats vary across the locations, these sites offer great opportunities to observe seasonal migrating birds such as woodland warblers and flycatchers. [Read more…] about New York State Birding Trail Adds 12 Locations
Goodbye Wilderness: Whitney Park To Be Developed
Adirondack Explorer’s writer Jim Odato recently reported a pending sale of 36,000-acre Whitney Industries lands and waters in Long Lake in the Adirondack Park to a Texas developer named Shawn Todd, known for constructing “high-end housing, golf courses, and resorts.”
Given its private land classification, any subdivision and development of Whitney’s current ownership, or their successor’s, will require a permit from the Adirondack Park Agency, or APA. [Read more…] about Goodbye Wilderness: Whitney Park To Be Developed
State Finalizes Regulations to Protect Freshwater Wetlands
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently updated regulations to protect freshwater wetlands across New York State. The regulations implement new statutory requirements under the State’s Freshwater Wetlands Act that are hoped to safeguard an estimated one million additional acres of wetland habitat. [Read more…] about State Finalizes Regulations to Protect Freshwater Wetlands
The Evergreen Christmas Fern
Tromping through our woods in December in search of a Christmas tree, I often notice an evergreen fern, one of the few green plants on the forest floor this time of year, other than young conifers. An easy fern to identify, it grows in fountain-like clumps and has glossy, dark green leaflets, or pinnae.
This is Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), named for its evergreen habit and the shape of its leaflets. [Read more…] about The Evergreen Christmas Fern
Watchable Wildlife: Paul Smith’s College Visitors Interpretive Center
The 3,000-acre Paul Smith’s College Visitors Interpretive Center (VIC), in Paul Smiths (in the Adirondacks about 12 miles from Saranac Lake), has 25 miles of trails for three-season walking, strolling, and nature watching (through November).
There are also six miles of interpretive trails that showcase the natural beauty of the Adirondack Mountains and provide unparalleled opportunities to view, hear, photograph, and enjoy nature. [Read more…] about Watchable Wildlife: Paul Smith’s College Visitors Interpretive Center
Adirondack Crews Restore Portage, Enhance Campsites, Water Access Points
A popular canoe carry and several campsites are the beneficiaries of stewardship work performed by the Northern Forest Canoe Trail’s crew of professional staff and volunteers.
Work was completed on the Lower Locks portage trail that connects Lower Saranac Lake to Oseetah Pond, thanks to a partnership between the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and local trail stewards. [Read more…] about Adirondack Crews Restore Portage, Enhance Campsites, Water Access Points
Hooker’s Flapwort: A Rare Plant with Ancient Botanical Ties
A long time ago, not so far away, freshwater plants partnered with fungi and moved onto land from lake and river shores. Since that time, land plants have evolved many sophisticated strategies for terrestrial life. Yet to this day, growing in damp forests and on foggy mountainsides, are plants that embody ancient botanical history. [Read more…] about Hooker’s Flapwort: A Rare Plant with Ancient Botanical Ties
Waterthrushes: Winged Kings of the Bog and Stream
If you’re looking for warblers on a walk in the summer woods, your first instinct might be to look toward the canopy. But two closely related warbler species forgo those elevated environs for the eddies and banks of forested streams and wetlands. These specialists of sylvan waters are a treat for any birder – and offer a challenging exercise in avian identification.
The northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) and Louisiana waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) are mid-sized, vocal warblers that breed in Northern New England and New York. Both forage in still and moving water. [Read more…] about Waterthrushes: Winged Kings of the Bog and Stream
May is National Wetlands Month
May is National Wetlands Month. These unique ecosystems play a vital role in the diverse landscape of New York State, providing a haven for a wide variety of fish and marine wildlife. As we celebrate the beauty and importance of wetlands, it is crucial to recognize the need for their preservation and the role they play in maintaining the ecological balance of our state. [Read more…] about May is National Wetlands Month