Sydney Penner and I made a morning foray to Montezuma NWR on Tuesday morning. Sydney found two BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS in the new shorebird habitat past the photo blind on the Wildlife Drive. These birds were mostly pretty difficult to see at the far edge, often walking behind hummocks. It was much easier to find them when they took flight, looking distinctively patternless. Once, one bird alighted much closer to the road, offering very good views. We also saw two AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS within a few meters of the road just past the photo-blind turnoff.
We also stopped East Road and Towpath Road. Pressed for time, we gave up after only about 15 minutes at each spot, without finding any rarities. As others have mentioned, it's hard to identify and enjoy birds here because they are so far away from viewing spots. Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
