First Chipping Sparrow for me was 13 April, both in my yard by the south end of Cass Park in Ithaca and the same day at Allan H Treman State Marine Park, which is a bit later than many folks but still exciting for me - very handsome little bird.
First record for the Cayuga Lake Basin this year currently is 31 March, photographed by Dave Kennedy in his yard in Seneca Falls, also reported to eBird. Earlier reports were not adequately distinguished by description or photo from similar but more likely sparrows, such as American Tree Sparrow, but rarely Chipping Sparrow does show up in winter and often at feeders when it does. Thank you for using eBird, which makes monitoring first arrivals easier for me, and where reports of rare birds (those which are out of range or out of season) get reviewed by an expert, such as Jay McGowan. It’s always good to include a photo of any surprisingly early bird if you can, even a not-too-pretty photo from a hand-held phone, which can help pin down the ID, and to note the things about the bird which said to you what species it was, especially if eBird says it is rare. Reports to eBird, even if they are not THE first local arrival, go into the database which gives a bigger and richer picture for researchers. Also, I find that eBird is a great way for me to keep track of my own observations & lists, so I recommend eBird generally. Also I enjoy all the reports on CayugaBirds-L of arrivals. Some species seem to arrive only a few at a time, other species arrive on south winds in a big wave at many places the same morning. Some species seem to push up against the Cayuga Lake Basin in places like Shindagin Hollow before spilling over. And some species I suspect circle around, arriving via the Ohio Valley and the Lake Ontario Plain, or maybe the Mohawk Valley, rather than crossing the Appalachians. - - Dave Nutter > On Apr 13, 2022, at 1:38 PM, Kate T. Finn <midwif...@gmail.com> wrote: > > We had a chipping sparrow downtown on April 7. I ebirded it, for those who > monitor first arrivals. > > Regards, > > Kate > > >> On Wed, Apr 13, 2022, 12:15 PM Sigrid Connors <sigatel...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Hello all, >> >> My FOY Chipping Sparrow arrived yesterday too. We live in Northwest Groton. >> >> >> >> >> Sigrid Larsen Connors >> >> >>> On Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 11:57 AM John Gregoire >>> <johnandsuegrego...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> Arrived here yesterday. Tree Sparrows also shrill with us but expect the >>> turnover to be soon. >>> John >>> Kestrel Haven Wildlife Sanctuary in the SW corner of the CLB. >>> -- >>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>> Welcome and Basics >>> Rules and Information >>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >>> Archives: >>> The Mail Archive >>> Surfbirds >>> BirdingOnThe.Net >>> Please submit your observations to eBird! >>> -- >> >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> Rules and Information >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> Surfbirds >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to 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/ --
