On Friday morning, April 28, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was reported to the Cayuga RBA GroupMe Rare Bird Alert and photos were later posted on the Cayuga Bird Club’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/cayugabirdclub/posts/6160452230659207/) with this excellent summary comment by Jody Enck:
See description in original post by Cayuga Bird Club member, Dave Nicosia, about this Scissor-tailed Flycatcher being found in Tioga County yesterday on the Troyer family farm. Many members of the Amish Community in Tioga County are top-notch and welcoming birders who deserve our gratitude and more. This family is a role model for creating organic, insect-rich, super-birdy habitat, and for welcoming the broader birding community. This is the 203rd species of bird they have recorded on their farm in the five years they have lived there. In recent years, they have found, and graciously allowed dozens of others to observe: Say's Phoebe, Yellow Rail (two years in a row), Western Kingbird, this bird, and many more. We in the birding community would do well to emulate their connection to the land and their welcoming spirit, and to offer our assistance if and when they could use an extra hand with their farming operation. They give us so much, it would be great if we can all find a way to give back to this family. I made my first-ever visit to the Troyer Farm this morning, May 1. Both Rufus Troyer and his son Adam Troyer were incredibly gracious in their time and accommodating, taking me and other birders up to see the flycatcher actively foraging and flying between the various cow pastures uphill to the north of their main farm. The Troyer’s are superbly knowledgeable birders and are very welcoming of other birders who are as passionate about wildlife and birds as they are. Rufus Troyer has given me permission to share this information here on Cayugabirds-L. Please be respectful and understand that this is a working farm. On dairy pickup days (Tuesday), the large tractor trailer needs to pull in and turn around. If there are multiple visitors, please do not block the main farm access road or their driveway. You can park on the right-hand side of the road at the top of the dead-end Tomak Road where the road makes a sharp left-hand bend—near where the logged trees are stacked. Rufus told me he would probably place a welcome sign in that area. If you walk uphill and behind the carriage barns, you can walk the access road uphill to the north a short ways. The flycatcher has been frequenting the fields on both sides of the road. Some of the electric fences are hot, so don’t touch them. There is a sign-in notebook—please sign it. If you see Adam or Rufus, they will more than likely walk you into the cow pasture for a better view, or will at least know where the bird was last seen. Given the current weather system, it seems plausible this bird could stick around for another day or two. These usually don’t stick around very long. Here’s a link to the map location of the upper bend in Tomak Road: https://goo.gl/maps/oHW1VGSu9ADtyv7eA Good luck and good birding! Sincerely, Chris T-H -- Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes — Field Applications Engineer K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA Work: +1 607-254-2418 Mobile: +1 607-351-5740 FAX: +1 607-254-1132 https://bioacoustics.cornell.edu -- 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/ --
