Adirondack Vacation 2016

When it rains it pours, here’s my fourth post in as many days. Tricia and I spent a week in the Adirondacks on a family vacation with both of her brothers, her nephew, and her cousin and his family. We stayed at a great place, White Pine Camp in Paul Smiths, New York. I would certainly recommend it to anyone planning to head up to the Adirondacks and we will surely go back.

So, while it was not a birding trip, almost all of our time was spent outdoors. We did a lot of canoeing and kayaking (we did one epic day of 9 lakes in 8 hours in a canoe). And, I did get out and do some birding on my own, checking out some of the local hotspots, including Bigelow Road and Bloomingdale Bog (both the north end and the south end). Unfortunately, it was pretty quiet on the birding front. I did manage to see Gray Jays in 2 locations, and I had a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at Bigelow Road. On one paddling trip, Tricia’s brother Kevin located a young Red-bellied Woodpecker, which was a bird I wasn’t expecting to see for some reason. I came up empty in regards to Boreal Chickadees and Black-backed Woodpeckers, which was disappointing. For the week I had just over 40 species. Anyway, it was a great time and I hope you enjoy my vacation photos.

COMMON LOONS 

I’ve always enjoyed photographing the Common Loons up in the Adirondacks. In the past I have had some great experiences where the loons were as curious about me as I was about them. They would pop up right next to my kayak and provide for extraordinary photo ops. This time around, I found that the loons were not quite as curious. I’m pretty sure it had to do with the adults tending to and protecting their young, which were still staying very close to their parents and sometimes still being fed. That being said, the birds were still quite confiding and while I did not spend as much time shooting them as I have in the past, I was able to get some decent shots: