Got the TUFTED DUCK on my second trip to south end of Cayuga lake. Tried and failed Wednesday. Anyway, bird was first seen by the buoy with Mark Miller and then we lost it for a bit. It reappeared by the docks off rte 89 as seen from Hog Hole. There were plenty of scaup sp and REDHEAD flying back and forth between the buoy and the docks. My first glimpse revealed a small bunch of feathers behind the head as the bird looked away from me. The bird when it was near the buoy was actively diving so the white contrast between the sides and the black on the back was most obvious. Near the docks the bird was not diving and I actually saw the tuft along with a better view of its striking plumage. Both views were rather distant and I needed to zoom way in on scope. Earlier in the morning I heard the bird was closer to shore. I lost the bird again and could not re-located for a while. It was cold, windy and there was some wave action on the lake. So I started back and ran into Jeff Gerbacht. We looked by the docks for a bit and Jeff re-located it near the docks.
After this, I headed to the compost piles on Stevenson Road and looked at the gulls. I could not find any Iceland gulls or Thayer's. I have never seen a Thayer's before so I probably wouldn't know the difference from an Iceland!! Anyway, I did not see any bird that looked like an Iceland to me. I did find the GLAUCOUS GULL that I believe I found on Wednesday from Stewart park. This also likely is the bird Jay had earlier on Wednesday from East Shore Park. Anyway, it was very white with pale gray wings. Pinkish bill with a dark tip. I got some photos....see below. I imagine this is a 3rd year bird. https://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/15736190054/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/16357747802/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/16172417719/in/photostream/ Dave Nicosia -- 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/ --
