Kirkland Bird Club

Sorry i have not posted anything or responded to any messages but facebook is not working on my computer at this time.

A couple of days ago we were treated to watching at least 50 (probably much more than that) Blue Jays feeding in a large Oak Tree. They would swoop in grab an acorn, swallow it whole or fly off with it in their beak. Occasionally they would drop to the ground to get acorns that had fallen. And of course if it involves food, a couple of squirrels showed up. We watched this activity for almost an hour. We have never seen so many Blue Jays in one place.

There hasn't been much to see except for the backyard birds but on today's kayak trip I saw a lot of Common Mergansers, adults young and much younger. They were splashing around in the water. The youngest did not partake in the splashing but seemed content to just watch. Lots of boats on the lake so the loons were nowhere to be seen.

Today I caught the very end of the Channel 2 news about an infestation of Gypsy Months in North Utica. Well we have had a lot of moths in our yard and they turned out to be Gypsy Moths. They said if you have oak or willow trees you should check them for moths and eggs. They will look like this, a white moth (female) and brown eggs. I removed at least 25 today.

On my way home from today's kayaking trip, I saw a grouse on the side of the road. It quickly ran into the woods but I noticed 4 more. They were under the roots of an overturned tree. I pulled over, made sure I was well off the road and started snapping pictures as fast as I could before they all ran off.