Back to the Catskills!!
Catskill Mountains, NY
Wednesday 5 June 2024
70 °F
SUNDAY, MAY 12:
Today, I took the train to Schenectady, NY to spend the night with my herping friend Will M…
MONDAY, MAY 13:
…so that we could herp the Catskill Mountains! We returned to our favorite snake den for Timbers at Copperheads and also hoped to find more denning sites further up the mountain from the known site. The drive down from Schenectady, as always, was beautiful as we moved from partly sunny clouds through dense fog, and back to a beautifully sunny day:
You know you’re in for a great day out in nature when you drive down a road that looks this!
And here is where we parked for the day, a beautiful meadow nestled in the Catskill Mountains:
CHIPPING SPARROW started off the day:
At the first denning rocks closest to the road we had a Timber Rattlesnake that was tucked way back in a crevice and didn’t allow for photographs, but we also had beautiful looks at this Northern Black Racer, a harmless snake, out in the open!
Denning rocks on a south-facing slope:
Probably my favorite view in New York State — this is from a ledge above the lower den that overlooks the Showangunk Mountains, the ridgeline shown here:
The upper part of the den is always reliable for Timber Rattlesnakes and they didn’t disappoint today!!! We counted eight here, if I remember correctly.
Then, on our way to explore what from google maps appeared to be another denning site further up the mountain, Will pointed out an AMERICAN WOODCOCK that I actually stepped right over, believe it or not! It was a mother faithfully sitting on her nest on the ground, which is ironic because last year at this very same location we found a nesting female Eastern Whip-poor-will on the ground too. Very cool!!!
Northern Dusky Salamander at a stream we crossed:
And before we knew it, we had arrived to the next possible denning site.
I found a beautiful Eastern Ratsnake, the third snake species of the day, here:
As well as the ninth Timber Rattlesnake of the day, proving this to be a den site after all — so cool to discover one previously-unknown site of these rare creatures! It is an endangered species in New York State.
The slog along the ridge after this was the hardest part of the day, but there were a few warblers around including my favorite — the HOODED:
BLACK-AND-WHITE:
And OVENBIRD:
After finding a few open spots that didn’t look as good for snake denning sites as they did on google maps, we continued downhill to the road in the valley below — but not before stumbling on the fourth snake species of the day, a beautiful adult Eastern Milksnake! Cool!
As you can see, it had quite a temper and started chewing on me right where the Eastern Rat tagged me earlier today which was moderately painful, but more humorous than anything as these harmless snakes have a tendency to just stay clamped on.
Grr! So angry!
On the walk back to the car I had a heard-only CERULEAN WARBLER along the river, my first of the year.
It was great to catch up with Will, revisit a productive snake den, and discover a new one! We ended the day with 9 Timber Rattlesnakes, 1 Northern Black Racer, 1 Eastern Ratsnake, and 1 Eastern Milksnake. Now, it was time for him to drop me off at the Metro North in Poughkeepsie to take me into NYC! The ride along this train ride is one of the most scenic in the country:
Back to the city! After getting off at Grand Central, it was time for a quick crosstown commute to Times Square and a bit of a walk to meet one of my friends Evan.
And we enjoyed a delicious dinner and dessert at Pio Pio! I highly recommend that restaurant for a delicious meal. I apologized for my smell after the full day of hiking and herping 
Bird-of-the-day to the female American Woodcock and runner-up to the male Hooded Warbler. A fun day in the field!
Happy birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1303 Species
I like rattlesnakes because they are so polite and warn a person that they are there. Sorry to hear one type is endangered (or threatened). I came to like the pink rattlesnakes in Grand Canyon. Great photos of the Woodcock. Very cool!
by MaryMcCutchan