Babe Webster and I did a trip to Ferd's Bog in northeastern New York state. On Friday, we made the 5-hour, 280-mile drive up to the Adirondacks region and spent the night at the North Star Motel in the town of Inlet.
Saturday, May 7th
We got up early and drove over and parked at a spot along Uncas Road. From there, we hiked the trail into Ferd's Bog. A Barred Owl was heard calling nearby. After walking through the spruces, we arrived at the bog.
After we were there for a while, we heard tapping coming from the taller part of the forest on the far side of the bog.
We followed the tapping into the woods and, after a lot of careful searching, found our 'life' Black-backed Woodpecker hammering one of the thicker trunks. We got great looks at it while it worked over the tree, but we were blown away when a second woodpecker flew in on the oppsite side of the same trunk, and this one was a Northern Three-toed Woodpecker! The two chased each other, spiraling around the trunk while I stood there totally amazed at our luck! We had both seen the Northern Three-toed before in Colorado, but both species on the same tree was one we won't forget.
Other birds noted at the bog included Red-shouldered Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Tree Swallow, Gray Jay, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Nashville, Blackburnian, and Yellow-rumped Warbler, Purple Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, and Swamp, Lincoln's, and White-throated Sparrow.
Along the way out to the car, we found my 'life' Boreal Chickadee in one of the spruces. I ended up getting both life birds we were looking for, so it was a very successful overnight trip.
