Ascent of Blue Mountain - 14 June 2007 - Part II

Bicknell’s thrush is a habitat specialist. It nests in spruce fir forests near the top of mountains in the Northeastern United States. The species is fairly secretive, preferring dense conifer foliage. It sings infrequently and then again only in the early morning hours. Today was no different than my two previous early morning trips up Blue Mountain in 2005 and 2006. No singing Bicknell’s. We did hear four birds calling to one another from a short line of firs. Their gentle “breeer” notes varied slightly in frequency, but they were clearly the Bicknell call. Tom watched patiently for several minutes, but no bird showed itself. Thirty seconds of calling was all we earned on June 14.

Before our descent, we studied the chain of lakes in front of us from Blue Mountain, Utowana, Raquette and Eighth lakes. Each tells a different story of geological and human history. Raquette bears the scars of a glacial ice scour that moved from the northeast to the southwest creating the lake basin many millennia ago. Changes in Adirondack lake chemistry have followed the industrial revolution which deposited acidic aerosols and heavy metals on northeastern mountains. Changes in soil and water chemistry forms a powerful selective force and is currently at work on the algae, fish, bird, tree, and insect populations of the Adirondacks.

Solar light illuminated our path down the mountain. Swainson’s thrush, blackpoll warbler, winter wren and white-throated sparrow blessed the mountain air that was full of fresh balsam. Bunchberry, blue bead, and starflower were in full bloom near the top. I relished this observation as I usually see the fruits during my three week August stint at Raquette Lake.
As we end our first Adirondack excursion as a team, the songs of the early morning birds have been replaced with black-throated blue warblers, red-eyed vireo, and American robin. The dull roar of automobiles traveling at double nickel speed signals the end of the trail. It is 7:30 A.M., time for breakfast and a shower. In three hours of hiking, I have begun the outline for the scientific issues that are shaped by the unique features of the Adirondacks: geological history, ecology, and the human environment. Adventure one is complete.