Just last weekend during the GBBC, a spark dormant for 11 years went off and my son Tilden's birding interest roared to life - turning him from nonchalant bystander to new eBird enrollee to faithful checklister to bona fide fanatic. (He says he likes birding "because it's competitive.")
So he and I went birding part of the way up the east side of Cayuga Lake late on Saturday afternoon. Here are some highlights. * NORTHERN SHRIKE on Cayuga Vista Drive. This was Tilden's second-ever sighting of the species; the first was at the same spot on Monday. * Three AMERICAN PIPITS on the beach at Myers Park. We think that this was a life bird for Tilden. * Many coots, geese, and ducks at Myers and vicinity, including 32 GADWALLS that paddled from the private marina into the open cove to the south. This was Tilden's first experience getting the coveted eBird "need details" prompt. In fact, unless something has changed since the last database update, this is the highest eBird Gadwall count ever in Tompkins County! * No field birds despite slow drives down Lansingville Road and Center Road, with its cruciferous, ferociously odiferous crop residues. Tilden did pick up his first American Robin of the year by the King Ferry Winery. * No grebes at the Wells College boathouse, but a mighty flock of SNOW GEESE arriving from the north and settling far out in the middle of the lake. Tilden says aptly that they were like a train pulling into a station. The usual impressive numbers of Canada Geese and AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS were here too. * No Short-eared Owls around Lake Road and Rafferty Road just before dusk. We are looking forward today's Cayuga Bird Club field trip report! Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
