You forgot the Carolina Wren singing to us at East Shore Park. Stephanie Greenwood Sent from my iPad
> On Dec 1, 2013, at 7:41 PM, bob mcguire <bmcgu...@clarityconnect.com> wrote: > > Seven folks joined me for a run up the east side of the lake today. It was > warmer than any of the last few days, but with the south breeze off the > water, it still felt cold. > > We began at Stewart Park, picking through the groups of waterfowl. Dave > Nutter noted a Blue-winged Teal before we even got there - and we never did > re-find it. In addition to the usuals, we spotted a distant female > Red-breasted Merganser, 7 Scoters, most of which were White-winged, three > Double-crested Cormorants on the jetty, the ongoing Ruddy Duck flock, and the > beginnings of an aythya raft that seemed to consist solely of Redheads. > > We then got closer looks at the scoters from East Shore Park and then headed > up to Myers, checking Drake and Portland Point Roads on the way. The Salt > Point duck hunter was just packing up, leaving a large flock of Mallards > safely offshore. While were scanning the lake a single American Pipit flew in > the the spit, remained long enough for a couple of us to get looks, then flew > off. > > The next stop was Center Road for great looks at a small Horned Lark/Snow > Bunting flock, then on to Lake Road and Long Point SP. Nearly at the bottom > of Lake Road we ran into a large flock of Robins/Starlings/Cedar Waxwings > consuming cedar berries. Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a Northern Flicker > called from the woods. And a pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers ignored us for > the poison ivy berries right along the road. At Long Point we spotted a > couple of Common Loons and one Horned Grebe, as well as a vocal > Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging in one of the cedars. A digression here: the > ground around the bathrooms was littered with hickory nuts - thousands. Where > are the squirrels? > > From the Aurora boathouse we were able to find a total of eight Horned > Grebes, couple of Loons, and several groups of Buffleheads. At the end of a > distant line of Mallards were three Ring-necked Ducks and one more that, we > finally concluded, must have been a Scaup-Ring-necked cross. The bird had a > rounded head (lacking the "crest" at the back of a Ring-neck's head), a much > paler and less-distinct white finger on the front of the flank, and an > overall browner color of wing and body. > > We got as far as Union Springs before heading home. Factory Street pond was > nearly empty, except for a single Green-winged Teal, a Mallard, several > Gadwall, and two female Northern Pintail. One of the Pintails had a couple of > unusual, diagonal, white stripes on the folded wing (on the right side > only!). Mill Pond was unremarkable, with the resident Redhead and several > Gadwall. Perhaps the best stop was our last, at Frontenac Park. Again, the > duck hunters had just finished up so there was not much on the water - except > for a couple more Horned Grebes, three distant Bonaparte's Gulls, and both > male and female Norther Harriers flying down the lake towards Farley's Point. > What were they doing out over the water? > > I took no notes and am writing this from memory. So chime in, anyone, and add > to/correct my comments. > > Bob McGuire > > -- > > 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/ > > -- > -- 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/ --
