Iona and Silvermine
Greater Yellowlegs - Iona Island - 4/28/26
Having just returned to the north country from our Florida abode, I wanted to get out to two of my favorite birding haunts, Iona Island and Silvermine Lake. Not only are these two locations quite good birding locales, they are also located within 10 minutes of my home. First stop today…Iona Island. Generally, I’m looking for early migrating songbirds at Iona. The site does provide excellent possibilities for waders and shorebirds, but often the flats are pretty quiet. I was pleased then to find a nice Greater Yellowlegs patrolling the mudflats along the entrance causeway. As I followed the yellowlegs, I noticed another denizen of Iona’s shallows, the Common snapping turtle.
The Yellowlegs was heading due east and the snapper, due west. Snapping turtles will basically eat anything that moves and happens to wander into their path. I wondered what the outcome of this encounter might be, but the bird was far too wary and even though the turtle had quietly submerged beneath the shallow water, the yellowlegs was quick to feel the impending danger and suddenly took flight with the loud refrain of an alarm call. No meal for the snapper on this venture.
I continued to drive out onto the island and pulled off at my favorite spot where warblers and other songbirds are often found in spring. Warblers were not to be found today, however. I heard one Northern Yellow warbler’s distinctive song, but could not locate the bird. A Chipping sparrow was considerably more cooperative and drew near as it searched for grasshoppers, beetles, or even spiders along the ground. Oblivious to me in my usual “blind”, (my SUV), the sparrow came close enough to allow me to get some nice shots as it emerged from behind the blades of grass and twigs.
Chipping sparrow - Iona Island - 4/28/26
Blue-gray gnatchers were heard by my Merlin App, so I knew to start checking out the nearby trees. Soon the bird appeared hopping from branch to branch in search of insects on the outer limbs.
Blue-gray gnatcatcher - Iona Island - 4/28/26
Time to take a quick ride out to Silvermine and see what that habitat has to offer today. At the lake edge, I was happy to find a female or possibly an immature Hooded merganser. I normally find mergs in pairs so I’ll lean towards this being an immature bird. Several mallards swam by in close proximity which not seem to be of any concern to the merganser.
Immature Hooded merganser - Silvermine Lake - 4/28/26
Further out on the lake, a pair of Wood ducks were swimming out away from the shore. I was hoping they might come closer for a better photo op, but instead they continued to move off further away until finally taking flight and disappearing around the bend.
Pair of distant Wood ducks - Silvermine Lake - 5-28-26
At the far end of the parking lot, I often find good numbers of songbirds. And so, I head over to see what if anything is stirring. Yellow warblers, another Blue-gray gnatcatcher, a Red-eyed vireo and a towhee are heard, but only the towhee makes itself visible.
Eastern towhee - Silvermine Lake - 4/28/26
Of interest in this shot is the comparison of this northeastern bird compared to the image of the same species from April 19. In that post from Canaveral National Seashore, you will notice the iris of the bird is very light yellow compared to this bird’s dark eye. I will repost the photo from the Florida bird below for comparison.
Eastern towhee - Florida race - Canaveral National Seashore - 4/19/26
And so, as we enter into May, the season of warbler migration is about to begin and more and more opportunities for rewarding visits to warbler magnets like the Bashakill, Doodletown, and Minnewaska will be on the calendar for sure.
