Places to live to see wildlife

[mahuja]

Hi,

I have a few weekends in october that I will be visiting adirondack region from Texas.

I would normally hang around and read daily postings and get a better idea, but at this moment I am gonna jump the gun and ask what I am looking for and then follow it up with readings with the new info I get from the forum members..

I am hoping to photograph wild animals and pretty scenery. (17mm to 400mm)

I drove by from watertown to Lake placid a few weeks ago. Although only explored touristy stuff. I would prefer to get away from that and possibly live in a cabin with decent bathroom facilities ( Clean and bare minimum will do ). With fall around the corner anything yall can recommend.. More wildlife and birds I can spot and trails I can take from the cabin, the better it is..

Saw lots of woodpeckers, sapsuckers on last trip. Also saw a kingfisher on 3 east going towards watertown. We hung around for a while and he came back. Was getting dark and no room to setup tripod. But hopefully will go by there again this time as well.

Appreciate it..
-Manish

[kurtteej]

I just spent a couple of nights in the High Peaks wilderness and was really surprised at how few critters I saw and heard. Granted, I didnt spend all that much time sitting doing nothing but there was very little fluttering around. The things that I saw were different from what I see at home, so that was nice.

In the 2 nights that I was there i saw a couple of dozen frogs, a bunch of chipmunks, a bunch of ground squirrels, a group of 6 ducks at an out of the way miniature lake, lots of bugs and a couple of varieties of birds. I saw very little that differentiated this area from home and the quantity was considerably less than home.

On a totally positive note -- For the first time I concerned myself not with a goal, but with enjoying 'the place'. 'The place' that I was in was so beautiful that I want to head back today (even being a 5 to 6 hour trek).

Next time I will spend much more time in the same place -- but not before I check more locals for the best places to go to critter watch. [I like landscape photos, but I love taking wildlife photos.]

Kurt

[AdkWiley]

Wednesday afternoon i was Paddeling down teh upper osgood river. When we were at the mouth where it meets meacham lake and saw a huge bald eagle. He flew back and sat in a white pine looking at us it was quite cool. Also saw a few blue herring and lots of moose tracks on a sandy shore. it was a good 4 hour paddel. and to think, i have to do this stuff for class!

[kurtteej]

Wednesday afternoon i was Paddeling down teh upper osgood river. When we were at the mouth where it meets meacham lake and saw a huge bald eagle. He flew back and sat in a white pine looking at us it was quite cool. Also saw a few blue herring and lots of moose tracks on a sandy shore. it was a good 4 hour paddel. and to think, i have to do this stuff for class!

Oh that's great. I'll have to put that in my journal for future reference. What class are you taking?

[redhawk]

I live in Wells. On a regular basis I see whitetail deer, turkey, grouse. On a less then regular basis, Black bear, Pine Marten, Beaver, Otter, Fisher, muskrat and fox. On rarer occasions I see moose, coyote and lynx. I have also sighted Cougar once and wolf tracks after Manitowah said she saw a wolf on the lake.

Assorted birds: downy, pilated, hairy, and red headed woodpeckers. Blue heron, Bald eagle, One Golden Eagle, Osprey, Loon, Mallard, Common and Hooded Meganser, Wood duck, black duck, Canada Goose, raven, crow, purple martin, white breasted sparow, Eastern bluebird, blue jay,Gray Jay, barn swallow, tree swallow, Eastern meadowlark, Horned Lark, Red Winged Blackbird, Cowbird, Grackle, American Tree; chipping; fox; house; song; white throated; and white crowned sparrow, cardinal, junco, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, assorted grosbeaks, Scarlet tanagerm Blue-Winged Teal, Brown thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Ring Tailed Pheasant, killdeer, Barred; Eastern Screech and great Horned Owl, Northern Mockingbird and then of course the Raptors: Redtailed; Sharp-shinned; Coopers; Broad Winged; Hawks, American Kestral, Perrigine falcon. Northern Harrier.

There are others but those are what I have seen in the Southern dacks near Wells.

[poconoron]

The High Peaks is probably the LAST place to go for seeing wildlife, for 2 basic reasons- crowds and a more harsh terrain and habitat for wildlife.

Generally the lower elevation ADKs such as Moose River Plains, Siamese Ponds, Ferris Lake wild forest areas are more hospitable for most wildlife. Areas around and near water such as lakes and ponds are perhaps best. Dawn and near dusk are probably the best times. But I wouldn't expect to see as much wildlife in the more "mature forests" of the ADKs as compared to some other areas where controlled timber harvesting has opened up the understory. On a "per square mile" basis, these other areas (like the Pocono region where I live) have alot more wildlife generally, even if moose and loons, for example, may be missing.

[Adk Keith]

blue herring and to think, i have to do this stuff for class!

Hope its not a wildlife class

[AdkWiley]

Oh that's great. I'll have to put that in my journal for future reference. What class are you taking?

That one class is outdoor recreation.

[AdkWiley]

Hope its not a wildlife class

Just as long as it's not a spelling class

[mahuja]

Lovely, I was kind of disheartend to see no responses the first few days and am thrilled to see so much acitivity now..

So any suggestions on any cabins around these places.

Is there a website that has a list ??

Thanks..

[AdkWiley]

Lovely, I was kind of disheartend to see no responses the first few days and am thrilled to see so much acitivity now..

So any suggestions on any cabins around these places.

Is there a website that has a list ??

Thanks..

well i dont know about cabins but if your looking for a place around meacham lake there is a campground right there if you want to tent. But im not so sure if thats what your looking for. You can find out the camps by looking on the dec website or jsut google campgrounds in the adirondacks