Birding at The Stone House

       Male Wood Duck, photo Wikimedia Commons

Today one of our visitors spotted two male Wood Ducks on the Esopus Creek in our backyard. These very beautiful ducks are amongst the most colorful in North America. We were reminded what a great spot this is for birding. Three smaller streams come together into one great pool and this place on the creek has a special, rather magical quality, surrounded by woods, adjacent to the Hurley Flats and with the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in the distance. We heard our Pileated Woodpecker moving around all day, jackhammering the older trees. Sometimes guests have reported seeing or hearing up to 20 species of birds here at one time. We've even seen Bald Eagles cruising down the Esopus. Here are some great birding sites nearby listed by the John Burroughs Natural History Society http://www.jbnhs.org/birding-in-the-hudson-valley.html .