I would like to expand on Josh's observations. This morning I biked to Treman. On the way I stopped to scope the GREAT HORNED OWL on its nest in Newman Golf Course. The babies remained hidden from me. Meanwhile an OSPREY hunted over Cayuga Inlet overhead and I saw a second Osprey in the background of my scope view, hovering over Fall Creek on the opposite side of the golf course. I did not notice any activity at the platform in Union Field at Cass Park or the one at the NW corner of the golf course along the Inlet near Jetty Woods, but when I got past Treman Marina I saw an Osprey alight on the platform in the field NW of Treman Marina while a second Osprey circled nearby carrying a fish. Later, while the platform remained occupied by that same bird, 2 more Ospreys hunted over the limited amount of open water along the lakeshore near the lighthouses & jetties. So there were at least 3 Ospreys present, possibly 4, 5 or 6, and at least one of the platforms has been reclaimed.
High above the occupied platform I saw what I at first thought was a swallow. I was wrong. It was a lot higher. It was a PEREGRINE FALCON that then stooped toward that same limited amount of open water which had held 13 species of ducks a short time earlier. I was no longer by the shore, so my view was then obstructed, but when I made my way back I saw the Peregrine standing on the vast expanse of ice beyond the open water, plucking then eating a substantial unidentified bird. I also noticed, much farther away on the ice, an adult BALD EAGLE, also feeding. As I was leaving Treman I met Chris Pelkie and a friend arriving, and Chris and I saw a/the Peregrine again in high flight. While following an Osprey in flight I also noticed a raptor in the distant background over Cayuga Heights: a migrating NORTHERN HARRIER. This is a tough species for me to add to my Luddite List or my Ithaca list, although I did see one as an office bird from the taxi on Sandbank Road (barely in Ithaca) on 30 March. I am enjoying migration, using my repaired scope, and the fact the we live in a prettty cool place! Other fun for me included: While locking my bike by the marina I heard an Eastern Meadowlark song. Of course my first thought was, "Is that a European Starling?" Second thought: "Will it make a fool of me by making me drop everything to find it?" Third thought, "If it is real, will it stick around and be visible for a confirmation?" Turns out it was an actual EASTERN MEADOWLARK, my first of the year, singing atop a tree at the western corner of the marina, and I got a brilliant yellow scope view through the branches. As I walked on the path around the field I encountered a silent EASTERN PHOEBE foraging low in vegetation, both weeds and tree branches at the edge and interior of the wet woods. This is just one of a rash of new phoebe reports this morning. This is the first real wave, although the first record, so far as I know, was on 22 March in Waterburg near Trumansburg, observed by Scott Sutcliffe. Finally, when I got home I had another treat. Some of you may know that most feeder birds I add to my yard list are actually poached from my much more successful next-door neighbors' feeders, which require contortions for me to view from my own windows or even my own property. This past Christmas Laurie said she wanted bird feeders, so we mounted a challenge. I bought a squirrel-proof tube for sunflower seeds. It has mainly hosted a White-breasted Nuthatch, which gets its jollies by chucking the seeds out onto the porch roof where Dark-eyed Juncos and Northern Cardinals enjoy them out of our view. We also got a small suet cage, which a couple of Downy Woodpeckers only started using in the coldest part of February. A screen tube containing nyger seeds hung untouched for over 3 months, but yesterday an American Goldfinch began using it. Perhaps this is part of a finch influx? Another American Goldfinch began using the sunflower tube. Then there was a House Finch on the sunflower tube, then two! Many of you may be thinking, "so what?" but this is a big deal for us, and in fact both were yard birds for the year. While I was inputting my eBird report from this morning I glanced up and noticed a bulkier, more notch-tailed silhouette on the sunflower tube: It was a male PURPLE FINCH. This is a first-ever yard bird, I think, as well as a year bird for me. And it was just within the minimum focal distance for my binoculars if I sat up straight. Gorgeous pink bird. Whoever is in charge of birds, thank-you. --Dave Nutter PS - To those of you who read the Cayuga Bird Club newsletter: The editors included a summary of species which arrived in the basin in March, but it was incomplete because I was delinquent and had not yet added to that list Eurasian Wigeon, of which 3 were found on the 29th. I still don't have all the info on those events. I understand that Kenneth Kemphues was first to spot the one from Ladoga Park Rd, and I gather that Jay McGowan was the finder of the one on the ice off Lake St in the Village of Cayuga, but I'd still like to credit whoever first spotted the one along Lake Rd south of Long Point State Park. On Apr 02, 2015, at 03:45 PM, Joshua Snodgrass <cedarsh...@gmail.com> wrote: -- 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/ --
