Great observations Dave. Thanks for sharing. Seems we are the beneficiaries of a young bird testing its wings......and the joy these creatures bring. Pete Sar
On Mon, Jul 12, 2021, 12:16 AM Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> wrote: > The Roseate Spoonbill at Montezuma NWR remained all afternoon today (11 > July) and was seen well by many people from the Wildlife Drive. While I was > there (twice around the drive) it was in one of the pools alongside the > Thruway near the large Bald Eagle sculpture. It spent its time standing on > a log resting, preening, and sometimes wading either to wet its bill for > preening or to feed. At one point I saw it catch and eat a fish that was > longer than the widest part of its bill. During most of the time, no other > large waders were in that pool, although there was a Great Blue Heron > visible around the bend in the next pool. Some time after 5pm a Great Egret > dropped gently from the sky and alit close to the Roseate Spoonbill. They > tolerated each other well enough, often standing only a few feet apart, and > the egret walked directly through a video I took of the spoonbill feeding. > At 5:45pm the Roseate Spoonbill took flight as did the Great Egret (I think > the spoonbill took off first but I’m open to correction on this point). > Both flew NW over the Thruway staying fairly close to each other even > though the spoonbill’s flight wandered left & right quite a bit more from > my vantage as they got farther away. Last I saw them at about 5:48 they > were descending toward what I believe was the northeastern part of Tschache > Pool. About 15 minutes later I tried looking from the Tschache tower along > NYS-89 near I-90 but could only discern a few Great Blue Herons in that > area. My guess is that the spoonbill is spending the night roosting > wherever the Great Egrets roost, and that there’s a good chance it will be > somewhere around the Montezuma Wetlands Complex tomorrow. > > This is a lovely bird. As Kevin mentioned it’s a juvenile, which means > just a couple months ago it was a nestling, probably in south Florida > although they also breed along the gulf coast of Louisiana & Texas. This > bird lacks the bare gray & black crown that forms by their second year, and > it lacks the bold rose areas on the wings and the orange tail of the > adults. Instead it is fully feathered white on the head & neck and evenly > pale pink on the body & wings. The long flat bill is a fantastic thing, > gray on the basal half and along the midline, but pink on the distal half, > especially on the margins around the very broad tip. The upper bill is > slightly broader and longer than the lower bill. The upper legs are pink, > the ankle joint is gray, and the lower legs are pink in front and gray > behind. Each foot has 4 toes, gray (at least below), with no webbing. The > most contrasting part of the bird is in the outer primaries which are > mainly pale pink but which also have a narrow edge of bold black, visible > both when it preened and when it flew. > > I hope it gets refound. Very cool bird, a first for the Cayuga Lake > Basin, and tied for first in upstate NY according to eBird. > > - - Dave Nutter > > On Jul 11, 2021, at 4:19 PM, Kevin J. McGowan <k...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > Timing of surge of spoonbills out of the south over the last month doesn’t > fit with the storm. > > > > Here are ebird reports for June: > > > https://ebird.org/map/rosspo1?neg=true&env.minX=-100.76926532551144&env.minY=31.833515337185677&env.maxX=-64.20676532551144&env.maxY=45.82328941682119&zh=true&gp=true&ev=Z&mr=on&bmo=6&emo=6&yr=cur&byr=2021&eyr=2021 > > > > You can see a movement already. > > > > Here are ebird reports for July: > > > https://ebird.org/map/rosspo1?neg=true&env.minX=-130.14670673176144&env.minY=23.68895634547458&env.maxX=-57.02170673176145&env.maxY=51.648127862764916&zh=true&gp=true&ev=Z&mr=on&bmo=7&emo=7&yr=cur&byr=2021&eyr=2021 > > > > Look at that straight line of reports from Florida to New York! Amazing. > > > > Pennsylvania had 4 spoonbills this week, 3 in one spot. > > > > Was this just a really good year for spoonbill breeding in the southeast? > And maybe for wading birds in general? The juvenile Yellow-crowned > Night-Heron in Tompkins Co this month seems more than coincidental. > Juvenile wading birds (egrets, herons, storks, etc) are known to wander > widely in summer after they reach independence. I don’t know of any > theories about what influences these movements. But, it is logical that the > more young produced, perhaps above an average number (?), the more likely > it would be for strays to end up in the north. > > > > Amazing to have a juvenile Roseate Spoonbill at Montezuma NWR and Chenango > River State Park in the same day! Both an hour from Ithaca. I was already > committed to going south when the Montezuma report came in and didn’t have > enough stamina to go see both. > > > > > > > > Kevin > > > > Kevin McGowan > > Freeville > > > > *From:* bounce-125763042-3493...@list.cornell.edu < > bounce-125763042-3493...@list.cornell.edu> *On Behalf Of *Asher Hockett > *Sent:* Sunday, July 11, 2021 3:42 PM > *To:* Donna Lee Scott <d...@cornell.edu> > *Cc:* Dave K <fishwatch...@hotmail.com>; CAYUGABIRDS-L < > cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> > *Subject:* Re: [cayugabirds-l] Spoonbill Montezuma's Thruway Pool > > > > Wondering from our here in NM, diid these spoonbills get pushed to upstate > by Elsa? > > > > On Sun, Jul 11, 2021, 11:42 AM Donna Lee Scott <d...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > Still here by eagle sculpture. > > Perched on big fallen tree. Easy to see. > > Donna Scott > > Lansing > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > On Jul 11, 2021, at 1:02 PM, Dave K <fishwatch...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > 1 PM.......feeding mid pool. Pond East of Eagle platform......has flown to > Eaton Marsh and back again > > > > Get Outlook for Android <https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> > > -- > > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > > *Archives:* > > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > > -- > > -- > > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > > *Archives:* > > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > > -- > > -- > > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > > *Archives:* > > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > > -- > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- > > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <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/ --
