[at-l] Questions for you experts

[papa_bear_nyc@yahoo.com (Papa Bear)]

Hello all

As I noted yesterday, I put up a trip report on a hike I did Thursday in =
the Hudson Highlands.  I am excerpting several pieces which are really =
questions to the group.  I would love to have more information or =
answers to these questions.

If you are interested in the whole thing with pictures, its here:

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2h6gy/papabear/shakedown_hudsonhighla=
nds.html


So here goes:

1) Question about a bird:

"The top of Sugarloaf,  ... Suddenly I spotted a large brown raptor just =
off the crest at eye level. It was certainly not a Red Wing or similar =
hawk, and judging by the size of the beak in relation to it's head (and =
it's overall size) I'd say it was an Eagle. Either a Golden or immature =
Bald. I would go with calling it a Golden by the yellow of its beak, but =
to be honest, it wasn't a clear identification. Naturally, I could not =
get either my binocs or camera on it, so let's just say it was "a =
probable Eagle, possibly a
Golden".

Q: Well I know you weren't there, but based on season and locale, would =
any bird expert hazard a comment "It couldn't have been ... because ..." =
or "It must have been ... because ..."?



2) Misplaced trail marker:

About a mile before hitting the AT, I saw a very curious thing. In the =
middle of the Osborn Loop Trail was a metal surveying marker with the AT =
symbol. The inscription said "Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Trail =
Marker. Do Not Remove." This surrounded the AT symbol in a circular =
fashion.

Around the two sides of the "A" in the symbol it said "222 NY 104 E" =
with the "222" on the left side of the "A", the "NY" at the point of the =
"A", and the "104 E" on the right side. I should have taken a picture. =
Sorry. Anyone know what this is and what it is doing there quite a ways =
off the AT?

Q: Well, what was it doing there?  An old relocation?  The boundary of =
the AT corridor?



3) Pagoda in the middle of nowhere:

"A little before getting to Sugarloaf (on the Osborn Loop) a curious =
structure appeared. The pagoda shown here was obviously only a few =
decades old, but was evidently built on some larger estate and was all =
that remained. The road at this point resembled nothing so much as an =
old driveway."

Q: There must be a story here.  Anyone know what's with this pagoda?



4) Tree blight.  I posted this query before and got a few answers.  But =
it looks serious enough to ask again in case you missed my post (on =
Thursday night):

"When I had got nearly to the end of the trail, I noticed something I =
had missed coming in: 10 or 15 trees seemed to have some kind of blight. =
The bark was turning red and flaking off. Some trees were dead; all =
seemed to be dying. They were generally tall mature pines.  Take a look =
at these two pictures and notice the symptoms. Does anyone know what is =
attacking theses trees?"

The url for the tree pictures is:

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2h6gy/papabear/shakedown_hudsonhighla=
nds.html#trees

Q: If you know about tree diseases please look at this.


Thanks
Pb





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