Kayaking and Camping on the Osgood River

One of the best short trips that I have taken in the Adirondacks was a solo kayak-camping trip up the Osgood River. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I only camped for one night, but that was perfect. This relatively short trip includes some excellent paddling through boreal forests and a beautiful camp site. The route I took began by launching in to Osgood Pond which is right off route 86 near Paul Smith’s College. The first leg of the journey requires a fairly lengthy paddle across open water to reach the Osgood, which flows out of the other side of Osgood Pond. This can be a very tough paddle if the wind is strong!

Looking toward the entrance to the Osgood River © John Wojcikiewicz

Once you reach the river, the wind dies down and the current is behind you. From the entrance, the river winds slowly through thick groves of fir and spruce, providing an excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing.

© John Wojcikiewicz

After about two miles, the river begins to open up…

Paddling down the Osgood River © John Wojcikiewicz

There is a really good camping spot on the right side of the river after about 2.5 miles. It is slightly raised from the river’s edge and the ground is covered in soft pine needles. There is plenty of room to pitch a tent and build a small fire. I arrived after a leisurely four-hour paddle, but it can be done much more quickly if you keep your head down.

Campsite on the Osgood River © John Wojcikiewicz

Looking back out to the river from the campsite provides a spectacular view! There is no better place to watch the sunset that I have found…

Sunset from the Osgood River campsite © John Wojcikiewicz

This is such a great two-day trip for anyone who wants immerse themselves in wilderness but doesn’t have the time or energy for a bigger multi-night endeavor.

A Walk Through the Woods… What You’ll See and Hear

A walk through an Adirondack forest is a feast of sights, sounds, and smells. Whether you are going for a stroll, climbing a high peak, or birding, you are bound to come across some interesting wildlife on your way. Of course, some creatures can be hard to find, but many can be found by simply looking down. Still others, like the winter wren and white-throated sparrow, fill the forest with a melodious cacophony that is hard to miss. In this post I have included some wildlife that does not require much searching to find. Most of the pictures were taken right off the Jackrabbit trail between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. Enjoy!

© John Wojcikiewicz

Perhaps one of the most colorful animals that you might spot on the forest floor is the juvenile eastern newt. This stage of the newt life cycle is often referred to as a red eft. These newts hatch as larvae in an aquatic environment but eventually loose their gills, leave the water, and become terrestrial red efts. The bright orange color is a warning to predators that they are toxic, and not pleasant to eat. It is thought that this terrestrial stage allows the newts to disperse to new habitats, thus increasing genetic diversity and survival. After this stage in development, the red eft will change to greenish color, develop gills, and return to the water to breed as a mature adult.

---

© John Wojcikiewicz

Of all the tree species that can be found in the Adirondacks, the yellow birch is easily my favorite. While not uncommon, this species specializes on germinating in unusual places. The above picture perfectly demonstrates this, as a large glacial boulder appears to be being swallowed up the roots a yellow birch.

---

White-throated sparrow © John Wojcikiewicz

A winter wren perching on a stump and singing a long, melodious song © John Wojcikiewicz

Perhaps the two most distinguishable bird songs that you can hear in the Adirondack forests are that of the winter wren and the white-throated sparrow. Both of these small birds are capable of producing a ridiculous amount of noise. The white-throated sparrow, with its high-pitched, long whistles “oh-sweet-canada-canada” is recognizable to many who live in this region. You can often spot white-throated sparrows perching high to sing their song or quickly moving through coniferous underbrush where they breed.

The winter wren is a much different bird and more easily heard than seen. It sings a very long and note-filled song, that carries a surprisingly long distance in the forest. These birds generally stay close to the ground, and they like to nest in downed logs or upturned root masses.

---

© John Wojcikiewicz

No hike in the Adirondacks would be complete without an assortment of biting flies to keep you company. This is especially true during spring and early summer, when the black flies are at their peak. As much as I loath black flies, I disdain mosquitoes even more, and there are places where they can be almost as numerous. I took the above picture on Mount Baker in Saranac Lake. It is rare to have a day where I wish I was inside instead of out, but this was one of them.

---

Mushrooms

The Adirondacks host a great diversity of mushrooms, and there are many great places to hunt for them. Some mushrooms are edible and some are definitely not, so be careful! Below are some mushrooms that I was able to identify along the Jackrabbit trail near Saranac Lake. The painted bolete is the only one that is edible, and it is actually pretty pleasant. The others will most likely land you a trip to the hospital…

Amanita muscaria © John Wojcikiewicz

Lobster Mushroom © John Wojcikiewicz

Painted Bolete © John Wojcikiewicz

Painted Bolet © John Wojcikiewicz

Russula mushroom © John Wojcikiewicz

Shiny cinnamon polypore @ John Wojcikiewicz

Yellow-tipped Coral Mushroom © John Wojcikiewicz

The Life of a Ground Nesting Bird

Ground nesting birds are unusual in the forest because they have evolved to nest on the ground instead of in trees or shrubs (hey, everybody needs a niche). In the Adirondacks, the most prolific forest ground nesters are the ovenbird, hermit thrush, black-and-white warbler, and dark-eyed junco. There are also a few other species that will occasionally nest on the ground, but these are the main ones.

Building a nest on the ground exposes the eggs and young to a large set of potential nest predators, and as consequence, the nests need to be extremely well disguised or hidden. A large component of the study that I am currently working on involves measuring the reproductive success of these birds, and I can tell you that the success rate of ground nests is depressingly low. For example, ovenbirds can have up to three broods in a season, and it is not uncommon for all of them to be predated! Interestingly, there is evidence to show that the more experienced a bird is (2nd or 3rd year etc.) the less likely the nest is to be predated. Perhaps because the female learns to construct a better nest that is more well hidden.

There is a surprisingly wide array of animals that will eat the eggs or even live young from a ground nest. In the Adirondacks, we have observed raccoons, red squirrels, chipmunks, martens, and even white tailed deer predating nests. As you can see, the odds are really stacked against these birds! Amazingly however, many ground nesters do successfully rear their young, something that is extremely rewarding to see.

Below are some of the birds and their nests that we have come across this season….

This is the ovenbird, which is actually a warbler. The ovenbird got its name because the nest it builds supposedly resembles an old-fashioned outdoor oven. The call of the ovenbird is very distinct, and if you have walked through the forest you have almost certainly heard its loud “tea-cher tea-cher tea-cher” call emanating from the understory.

Ovenbird © John Wojcikiewicz

Here is an ovenbird nest I found with 4 speckled eggs. Note how the nest is constructed with a protective dome of twigs and leaves. This makes the nest virtually impossible to see!

Ovenbird nest with eggs © John Wojcikiewicz

We went back to check the nest 7 days later and the eggs had hatched! Here you can see two of the nestlings being as still as possible in the hopes that I might not eat them…

Ovenbird nest with hatchlings © John Wojcikiewicz

Below is a hermit thrush nest. While hermit thrushes also nest on the ground, they do not build a protective structure over the nest and instead rely on natural features such as club moss or a tuft of grass for cover. The hermit thrush is closely related to the robin, as the blue eggs indicate.

Hermit Thrush Nest With Eggs © John Wojcikiewicz

Sadly, this female wasn’t as lucky as the ovenbird, and the nest was predated only a few days after we found it. It is unusual for a nest predator to leave the egg shells in the nest like this, and we are not totally sure who the culprit is in this case.

© John Wojcikiewicz

The female will almost certainly re-nest, and will hopefully choose a better location this time!

Finally, we have the dark-eyed junco. This is a common bird around feeders and houses, but few people realize that it is also a ground nester. However, unlike ovenbirds and thrushes, juncos generally do not build their nests in the middle of the forest floor. Instead they usually hide their nests in dense clumps of vegetation, often on a slope or around a rocky outcrop.

Dark-eyed Junco © John Wojcikiewicz

Here is a junco nest that we found along the side of a road.

Dark-eyed Junco Nest © John Wojcikiewicz

When we returned a few days later, the young were in the middle of hatching! You can see two freshly hatched nestlings and two remaining eggs. Lets hope mom built her nest in a safe place!

Dark-eyed Junco Nest with hatchlings © John Wojcikiewicz

All photos by John Wojcikiewicz