Hummingbird Happiness

Ed Frampton Hummingbird Photo

In the next few months, our area will have a number of visitors known as Leaf Peepers who come to see the spectacular colors of autumn as our trees prepare for winter. However, those who visit Mountaindale now will be in for a very special treat. Our resident ruby throated hummingbirds LOVE their neighborhood, with the numerous hummingbird feeders on Main Street and hummingbird attracting flowers in town,

This month, the 'hummingbird ballet' will particularly delight our Hummingbird Hailers because the immature babies that hatched this summer are now able to seek their own food, and are doing it in droves. Certain feeders in town are especially popular and it's possible to see several feeding simultaneously while others are chirping, hovering and jockeying for position. A deliveryman who was visiting Eddie's Mountaindale Inn was quite impressed recently and remarked that Mountaindale seems to have more hummingbirds than he sees anywhere else on his Mid Hudson route. The other day at Upstate Karate of Mountaindale, a child exclaimed, "I see hummingbirds!" His mother replied, "Yes, Dear," in that mommy way. So I explained that her child REALLY was seeing hummingbirds so they sat for a bit on the karate school porch to watch the acrobatic antics.

Now that our community has a new business, Mountain Charm Market Cafe & Deli, you can now pick up a delicious cup of steaming coffee or tea, and even a sandwich while you relax and watch the non-stop entertainment provided all day by these ruby throated jewels. The cafe also offers free WiFi to customers so you can even enjoy nature outside while you work comfortably on your laptop. We hope to see you in town to enjoy our wonderful hummingbirds before they start their big trip down South in early October. Then you can come back and enjoy our fall foliage,

Garden Club Tour

Shawangunk Garden Club at Railway Station

Many green thumbs were united today as members of the Shawangunk Garden Club visited Mountaindale today for a tour of the numerous beautiful plantings around our community. The tour was hosted by members of the Mountaindale Action Committee and the Mountaindale Community Development Project (MCDP) and coordinated by neighbor, Susan Cioffi. Susan has been an area resident for several decades and was looking forward to proudly sharing her town with her friends.



Hummingbird Feeders, Hanging Baskets &
Planter Boxes on Main Street



We began bright and early at the Mountaindale Railway Station for a closer look at the beautiful landscaping outside and the unique historical photographs inside, We then walked over to the Hummingbird Garden to see the hummingbirds, butterflies and swallows flying acrobatically overhead. The tour continued as a leisurely stroll down Post Hill Road and Main Street to admire our train themed new banners and colorful planters, planted by local girl scouts & karate school families, as well as the rock garden maintained by Hospitality Green. We continued on to the Firehouse to admire the lovely flower garden that the Mountaindale Action Committee planted along the inner courtyard of the building, which leads to stairs to the gateway to the O&W Rails to Trails.

We admired a few more of their berm gardens and then headed to their other flower gardens at Quiat Road and Hatt Road. Everyone was given one of the new Town of Fallsburg O&W Rail Trail brochures to get a better understanding of how these locations fit into the original railway track line. At Quiat Road, our guests enjoyed seeing the historical Signal House and  one of the newly installed interpretive signs. A total of 4 interpretive signs were designed by the O&W Rails to Trails Committee and paid for in part, by a grant from Parks & Trails NY. A lot of the labor for the sign installation was an in kind donation from Bugsy Bennett, but more on that in the future.

The club members enjoyed a delicious lunch at Uccelli Restaurant. We all had a wonderful time together. The best part was learning from each other as many gardening tips were shared. If I can speak for the Action Committee members, I think it's also very gratifying to have new visitors express their appreciation for all that is done to make Mountaindale one of the more attractive communities around. The Shawangunk Garden Club invited everyone to a public reception for their Photo Flower Show on Saturday, August 18th from noon to 3PM in the Gallery of the Ellenville Public Library at 40 Center Street in Ellenville. All are welcome.

Birding by Ear

Edward Frampton photo

You can tell it's May in Mountaindale because the hummingbird feeders have begun to go up along Main Street. The little shimmering green Ruby Throated Hummingbirds began finding them immediately. All are encouraged to take a stroll along Main Street to watch their amazing antics. It's the best entertainment 1/4 cup of sugar can buy! It gets especially exciting as the young begin hatching & fledging and start visiting our feeders en masse during the summer months.

Sometimes, the first indication you might have that a tiny hummingbird is nearby is that you hear them. You might hear a buzzing, humming sound - hence, the name. Or you you might hear them chirping as they come in for a landing or fuss with each other for control of their favorite feeder perch.

This 'listening' for bird sounds is known as Birding by Ear. It has been especially useful this past week when the bleak, drizzly mornings have made it more difficult to spot our feathered friends in the neighborhood. Mountaindale offers a lovely quiet serenity that allows us to put the hustle and bustle of everyday life on pause and just stop and LISTEN to the nature sounds around us. If you learn what a cardinal sounds like, it might alert you to where you might look to be treated to a bit of scarlet up high on a tree limb. You might hear a Phoebe saying his own name. Nowadays there are fun Bird Call Identificiation Apps to help. Another great resource is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which can also help you learn to memorize certain songs and calls as you build up your mental library. Please come to see and hear the wide variety of birds on Main Street, in the Sandburg Creek RiverWalk Park and on the Rails to Trails.