Discovering the Watkins Glen Gorge

 

The entrance to Watkins Glen State Park has recently improved with a new welcome center and expanded parking, and the welcome given the first time visitor has not diminished.  Local people just love the Glen.  After decades of visiting the gorge, this summer I attempted to put myself back into the mindset of my first visit.  Actually, I just stood back and observed newbies and did some listening. It refreshed my perspective.

The glass facades maintain a connection to the gorge itself.  Then, as the visitors approach the start of the gorge, the new landscaping has beds of summer flowers with a background of the first gorge walls. Stately  pink cone flowers towards the north wall are complemented by native bee balm in other areas.  

One enters the gorge through a tunnel and into a grand view up the gorge with the Glen Creek, weaving its way towards the valley.  Ahead is the first big "gotcha" at Cavern Cascade.  The fascination for first time visitors is seeing the path go behind the Glen Creek. 

This is a great place to observe visitors' reactions.  First, they want a picture and then they want another with a companion in it.  (I can't remember how many times visitors have asked me to take their picture on their phone.)  Next, as they walk under the water, many want to look back for a much different view.  Roughly one in ten reaches out to touch the falling water.   It gets really crowded under the stream at times.  Magical, I'd say.

After passing under the falling water, the trail enters a spiral tunnel leading up to a long stretch of sinuous channels carved over a ten thousand year post-glacial period.  Its easy to lose sight of many small features.  It follows the idea that many look, but few actually see.  Here's a delicious spinning eddy below a minor drop in the stream.  With normal rainfall, this would be covered by fast flowing waves. 

On my recent hike through the Glen Cathedral, there was  Purple Loose-strife blooming in spare rocky debris.  Most overlook it.  Just a weed, and considered an invasive specie in New York.

Continuing up the gorge, one reaches what many consider the most captivating part of the glen, falling from the south wall, an overhanging spring drops a veil of water over the path.  I call it the Bridal Veil.  Beyond it is a beautiful bridge where many pause to take in the beauty below them.

In early August 2022, the drought has reduced it to a gentle thread of water. Still beautiful to see.  That can change.  On July 25 of 2018,  the Glen Creek presented a different personality for the Bridal Veil. 

At the top on the Rainbow Bridge, I note a person watching under a large umbrella.  The gorge has many versions.  This one was a powerful one.  These different faces are what draw people back for additional visits.  Watkins Glen is truly a gem.

Paul

The Mystery Bird

I went to a nearby state park this morning looking for warblers with my friend Ray.  On arrival, the woods were alive with bird calls. There was this one rather large warbler that was always deep in the bushes and looked like nothing I could recall.  I kept referring to my condensed warbler guide and there was always one or two small details that did not fit. Could it be a Nashville Warbler?  Not with the yellow wing bars. 
 

So it went with this mysterious little bird.  I soon moved my attention to the large number of American Redstarts that were swirling about and engaging in dogfights among themselves. They were more cooperative than any previous times that I can recall.   They are a brilliantly feathered bird.

I forgot about the mystery bird until I spotted one perched at eye level on our return towards the car. Unlike earlier, this one was in a more exposed location.

But wait! Look at that tail and compare it with the American Redstart above it.  It's not a warbler, it is a female American Redstart.  And,... what is in its beak?  Nest material, likely.  Follow what happened next.

She flies to the crotch in a small tree, maybe a Hawthorn.

It is nest building time.  We've come upon an eye-level nest on a park service road. As the tree leafs out, she will have a nice hidden nest in a tree with serious thorns.  So cool!

 

Now, I understand why the male American Redstarts were so active. This is a nesting area and the females are preparing the nests before laying eggs.

It will be interesting to follow this location. I am curious if the male will participate in feeding the young. So many such nests are extremely high and impossible to see. With care, the nest can be observed.  

Not a mystery warbler anymore, but a female that looks markedly different from the male.

Paul