This morning Wes and I led the 5:30 group to Braddock Bay. A cold
morning and light winds from the north foreshadowed a slow morning at
the banding station. We were treated with a close encounter of a
Peregrine in hot pursuit of an unidentified bird just over the car
while cruising on the throughway and after the required stop at Tim
Hortons, we reached the Banding Station. The morning was indeed slow
though Ruby-crowned Kinglets were in abundance in the woods and the
group also got to see a netted House Wren and Swamp Sparrow. A
single large flock of Blue Jays was migrating very high above the
station but in general migrants were sparse with only a handful of
raptors. Several Sharp-shinned Hawks, a couple Cooper's Hawks, a
single Broad-winged, several Turkey vultures and the highlight of the
trip, at least for me, was a BLACK VULTURE seen from the hawkwatch at
Braddock Bay State Park. I first saw the bird just after we stepped
from the cars, low and heading east and several folks were able to get
brief looks. A few minutes later, i spotted the same? bird higher and
to the south, heading south-west. Keep an eye out tomorrow.
Other good sightings were a breeding plumage Horned Grebe, several
Long-tailed Ducks and a number of Red-breasted Mergansers.
All in all a good day considering the cold weather.
Cheers,
Jeff
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Jeff Gerbracht
Lead Application Developer
Neotropical Birds, Breeding Bird Atlas, eBird
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2117
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