Common loon on Gun Harbor

The eight-day epic trek through the heart of the Five Ponds Wilderness from Wanakena to Stillwater Reservoir and back via Cranberry Lake yielded a total of 62 confirmable bird species. The high number of avian species was most likely due to the great diversity of habitat encountered including a couple large lakes, many small glacial lakes, numerous beaver ponds, vlys, wetlands and a variety of forest types from hardwood to coniferous.

The total number of species was slightly higher than the results of any of the Birdathons that I have participated in the past. Previous trips in the area during Birdathons in mid-May have only yielded 59, 57 and 44 species in 1999, 2000 and 2001. These Birdathon results were for single days only and covered a more restricted area centered on the trail system.

There were nine common species encountered during my trip. Common species were defined as those species encountered on at least seven of the eight days and typically numerous times on most of those days. The common species were blue-headed vireo, red-eyed vireo, winter wren, yellow-rumped warbler, magnolia warbler, black-throated green warbler, ovenbird, common yellowthroat, and white-throated sparrow.

There were no surprises included in these common species as the nine species are typically those most abundant in northeastern forests of the United States. The common yellowthroat was located either near water or in open areas such as beaver vlys. But all the other species were commonly located in forests or in multiple habitats.

There were fourteen rare species. Rare species were defined as those encountered on only a single occasion during the eight-day trip. Most of these species are not regionally rare but either have sparse populations with large home ranges, or restricted habitats, which I encountered infrequently. The rare species on this trip were American bittern, wood duck, American black duck, common merganser, northern goshawk, herring gull, belted kingfisher, pileated woodpecker, gray jay, common raven, veery, black-and-white warbler, Canada warbler and red-winged blackbird.

Some of the species on the rare list are surprising. The belted kingfisher was only encountered once on the final day when I was heading to Wanakena from Dead Creek Flow on Cranberry Lake. The infrequency of observing the belted kingfisher was surprising since this species has been encountered at Big Shallow, Wolf Pond, Stillwater Reservoir and Cranberry Lake in the past.

Red-winged blackbirds were only encountered near Wolf Pond in a single location where I have encountered them in the past. They were not in any of the beaver vlys or grassy places that I traveled through despite what seemed like adequate habitat.

Given all the pockets of blow down I traveled through it was shocking to have only encountered a single Canada Warbler. These colorful and active little birds appear to prefer areas with many downed trees and dense second growth. These birds are quite secretive and their song can easily be overlooked. Perhaps my struggle through these areas drowned out their song and I merely overlooked them.

There were numerous avian highlights on this trip.

Being dive-bombed by a northern goshawk soon after leaving Wanakena was an exhilarating experience. The only reason for such behavior would be that I passed too closely to its nest. Since I was just hiking along the trail I wonder how many other hikers have had similar confrontations with this bird.

Ovenbird nest

Hearing an American bittern is always a treat and a fairly consistent occurrence at Wolf Pond. I have heard an American bittern there almost every year I have visited this large pond going back as far as 1997. During some of those previous trips the calls came from the southern shore and other times from the swamp land along the east shore around the inlet. It was from the swamp land around the inlet on the eastern shore where these bittern calls came from on this occasion.

Seeing a gray jay is always a treat and this time was no different. For the first time ever a meltdown actually produced something positive when it attracted this interesting bird. The fact that he stuck around for a while watching me was a joy. Too bad only a single one showed up, perhaps next time I will have to scream louder to try to attract more of these birds.

Hearing the call of a northern saw-whet owl is always welcome on a long trip where I rarely stay up late at night after a grueling day of bushwhacking. To hear this owl species in two different locations on a single trip was something unprecedented. Unfortunately, I did not get to actually see one of them.

Below is the full list of each bird species observed during my epic eight-day hike from Stillwater Reservoir to Cranberry Lake:

1. Common loon
2. American bittern
3. Wood duck
4. American black duck
5. Common goldeneye
6. Common merganser
7. Hooded merganser
8. Northern goshawk
9. Ruffed grouse
10. Herring gull
11. Barred owl
12. Northern saw-whet owl
13. Belted kingfisher
14. Northern flicker
15. Yellow-bellied sapsucker
16. Hairy woodpecker
17. Pileated woodpecker
18. Olive-sided flycatcher
19. Yellow-bellied flycatcher
20. Least flycatcher
21. Blue-headed vireo
22. Red-eyed vireo
23. Blue jay
24. Gray jay
25. Common raven
26. Tree swallow
27. Black-capped chickadee
28. Brown creeper
29. Red-breasted nuthatch
30. Winter wren
31. Golden-crowned kinglet
32. Veery
33. Swainson’s thrush
34. Hermit thrush
35. American robin
36. Cedar waxwing
37. Nashville warbler
38. Northern parula
39. Chestnut-sided warbler
40. Magnolia warbler
41. Yellow-rumped warbler
42. Black-and-white warbler
43. Black-throated blue warbler
44. Blackburnian warbler
45. Black-throated green warbler
46. Pine warbler
47. Canada warbler
48. Ovenbird
49. Northern waterthrush
50. Common yellowthroat
51. American redstart
52. Scarlet tanager
53. Chipping sparrow
54. Lincoln’s sparrow
55. Song sparrow
56. Swamp sparrow
57. White-throated sparrow
58. Dark-eyed junco
59. Red-winged blackbird
60. Common grackle
61. Rusty blackbird
62. Purple finch

This concludes my coverage of my backpack/bushwhack trip from Stillwater Reservoir to Cranberry Lake. It was a challenging and rewarding trek through one of the more fascinating and remote areas in the Adirondacks.

I am already in the planning stage for a return trip to the area. This trip will include exploring around the intriguingly-shaped Oven Lake, and the surrounding water bodies of Grassy Pond, Hitchins Pond, Hyde Pond, Gull Lake and Little Duck Pond. That would be followed by heading north to explore Cracker, Gal and West Ponds, blow-downs permitting.

Keep watching here for further information on my trip plan for this adventure.