Warblers on a trip to the Finger Lakes

Blue winged Warbler, Burdett, NY, Jul 18, 2021

Common Yellowthroat, Burdett, NY, Jul 18, 2021

Yellow Warbler, Burdett, NY, Jul 18, 2021

Just back from a short trip out to the Finger Lakes region of New York.  We drove out there on Sunday and returned home on Wednesday.  It was not a birding trip but I did get out a little each morning with the main focus being on finding warblers I have not yet had in New York state and at least somewhat possible in the location we would be staying in.  I had a total of eight new species I had a chance of finding and found seven of them (only missed Hooded Warbler but none had been seen lately in any of the areas I visited so not too surprised on that miss).  We arrived at our lodging in Burdett along Seneca Lake in the middle of the afternoon after a long, rainy trip out. The sun was actually starting to poke through late in the day and with the exception of a quick shower it stayed relatively dry. I walked around a bit at the house we rented and turned up a few species and my list there turned out to be a milestone list in eBird for me with my 35,000th complete list (it was pointed out to me by a friend that the total ranks me as 15th in the world for submitted lists…who would have thought?). The yard turned up three species of warbler for the trip with Blue winged Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow Warbler. 

Common Yellowthroat, Potomac Road, Finger Lakes NF, Hector, NY, Jul 19, 2021

Ovenbird, Potomac Road, Finger Lakes NF, Hector, NY, Jul 19, 2021

Chestnut sided Warbler, Potomac Road, Finger Lakes NF, Hector, NY, Jul 19, 2021

American Redstart, Potomac Road, Finger Lakes NF, Hector, NY, Jul 19, 2021

Pine Warbler, Potomac Road, Finger Lakes NF, Hector, NY, Jul 19, 2021

On Monday morning I headed out early to the nearby Finger Lakes National Forest. My original plan was to walk the Backbone Trail but when I arrived the area was way too muddy with the footwear I had so I ditched that plan and headed a bit further north to try my luck along the Interloken Trail. This trail also turned too muddy to continue down but I did manage to track down a few Ovenbirds.  With the trails all muddy due to all the recent rains I decided to head to the gravel covered Potomac Road, which turned out to be much easier area to traverse. I walked for about a mile along the road and added a few more target species for the trip. I was actually surprised at the amount of song from a number of species.  Despite not having great trail conditions due to mud I still managed to track down three of my target warbler species for the trip in the morning in the Finger Lakes National Forest including Ovenbird, Pine Warbler and Northern Waterthrush.  Total warblers for the morning on Monday came to seven species.

Northern Waterthrush, Armitage Rd, Galen, NY, Jul 20, 2021

Cerulean Warbler, Armitage Rd, Galen, NY, Jul 20, 2021

On the morning of Tuesday the 20th I headed out before dawn to make the trip north to the area of Montezuma NWR with my main target being Prothonotary Warbler and hopefully Cerulean Warbler. I arrived at a known spot for the above mentioned species around 5:40 and almost immediately had at least two Cerulean Warblers singing. I then spent the next couple hours walking back and forth between the two bridges along Armitage Road. I heard a partial song from a Prothonotary Warbler a few times but I was unable to chase it down (recent rains had flooded the entire area off the road so I had to be happy with heard only). I eventually turned up at least four Cerulean Warblers along the road and a couple close encounters with Northern Waterthruhes.   I headed back south around eight to get back to our lodging around nine to continue the remainder of the day visiting wineries plus making a few mile walk at Keuka Lake Outlet Trail late morning.   The day was very hazy due to smoke from wildfires in the west and the day ended with a few strong storms rolling through.  

Common Yellowthroat, Texas Hollow State Forest, Odessa, NY, Jul 21, 2021

On the finally day of the short trip I went to nearby Texas Hollow State Forest and walked mainly along the road as the trails were a bit overgrown and wet. It was fairly active despite the gloomy conditions with a couple more target warblers present with the sighting of Blackburnian Warblers and Black throated Blue Warblers. The weather was overcast and slightly cool with some drizzle as I ended my walk and returned to pack up to head home. 

Overall I had 15 species of warbler for the trip with seven of those new for me in New York.  I have now seen a total of 19 species of warblers for the state.