What are some Count Week analogies? Doing stretches before a Marathon. Tailgating before a football game. A 3-day end-of-year party before the ball drops, plus, after the 24-hour Count itself, another 3-day effort to get the New Year going.
Anyway, thanks for the reminder. Everyone: please post here on CayugaBirds-L as well as to eBird any unusual birds within or alongside the Ithaca Count Circle https://sites.google.com/site/cbc14850/resources/christmas-bird-count found December 29, 39, & 31 with a description of exactly where it was, so that everyone who is going to be looking for them on the count can know where to make an extra-special effort. On January 2, 3, & 4 there may be other species missed on the Count to seek and report. For myself, I saw a SONG SPARROW today below the weeds along the paved trail on the north side of Treman Marina. I hope others will find this species this mild winter, but it’s the first I’ve encountered in awhile, so I’m putting it out there. RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS have been reported so much around the south end of Cayuga Lake recently that I predict this seasonal rarity will have a record high on the Count, but just in case, note that Diane Morton & Ken Kemphues reported it today in trees along the trails at Allan Treman State Marine Park. As Ken noted, a seasonally rare NORTHERN PARULA was reported to eBird this afternoon by Eric Mueller, complete with an excellent description of field marks seen and a promise of photos, in berry bushes in the Ithaca Farmers’ Market parking lot. Today John Garrett heard and saw an EASTERN TOWHEE in the NW corner of the Pleasant Grove Cemetery near the Carriage House Apartments which is near Community Corners. Today Adriaan Dokter and Jillian Ditner, on a stationary count from Ladoga Park (the pin was at the rough gravel boat launch) saw the continuing TRUMPETER SWAN duo “foraging at the docks of Ladoga” so they are close to the circle. As of Christmas Day there was a TUFTED DUCK in an Aythya raft off Stewart Park and CACKLING GEESE among a large Canada Goose flock. I didn’t check on the 26th, BUT both those rafts were cleared out on the 27th & 28th, and as of this afternoon only about a hundred Aythya had returned. If hunters are as vigorous on New Year’s Day as I have sometimes seen them, deliberately using boats to flush the rafts toward hunting blinds, then not just the above rarities but ANY DIVING DUCK SPECIES might be missed on the count. The 50 or so AMERICAN COOTS also seem to have vacated. For the record, scoping eastward today from Allan Treman, I saw REDHEAD, GREATER SCAUP, and LESSER SCAUP; I saw a pair of RUDDY DUCKS off the Treman lakeshore; and Diane & Ken reported a single COMMON GOLDENEYE from Treman. I also saw typical numbers of some species which are less disturbed by hunters, including DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, COMMON LOONS, and (in a tree crown in Jetty Woods) GREAT BLUE HERONS. I expect BALD EAGLE to be on the count, but just in case, I saw an adult over Cayuga Lake near the west shore, plus a MERLIN in a tree along the east side of the marina. Have a great time birding, and share your news! - - Dave Nutter > On Dec 29, 2023, at 6:34 PM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg <k...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > Thanks for this reminder, Kevin. Perhaps the most extraordinary count-week > find has just come in on the Tompkins County eBird alert – a Northern Parula > seen today at the Ithaca Farmers Market! > > As others have noted, there are many late-lingering birds around this year, > as well as an unprecedented number of western vagrants scattered across the > Northeast, including a Townsend’s Warbler in Elmira, “Audubon’s” > Yellow-rumped Warbler also at the Farmers Market, Say’s Phoebe near Cortland, > not to mention the continuing Red-flanked Bluetail in the middle of nowhere > in central New Jersey. So nearly anything is possible! > > Finding these rarities and strays may require a shift in Christmas counting > strategy, as these birds will be hiding in patches of remaining greenery, > fruiting shrubs or trees, and wet thickets, and possibly more likely around > town in urban and suburban neighborhoods than in the forested hinterlands > (but not necessarily around feeders). Paying close attention to any chickadee > or sparrow/junco flock that might have attending small birds, and liberal use > of owl-mobbing playback to get close looks at every bird, should yield some > interesting finds – as well as large numbers of common species. > > Good luck out there! > > Ken > > Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his) > Applied Conservation Scientist, Retired > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > k...@cornell.edu > Cell: 607-342-4594 > > > From: bounce-127957289-3493...@list.cornell.edu > <bounce-127957289-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Kevin J. McGowan > <k...@cornell.edu> > Date: Friday, December 29, 2023 at 6:12 PM > To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> > Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Count Week!!! > > Today was the first day of COUNT WEEK for the Ithaca Christmas Bird Count, > being held on Monday, January first. That means, any rare birds you see in > the count circle today through January 4th get onto the count, even if we > don’t see them on the actual count day. > > It’s a little bit like the saying, “kissing your sister” to get count week > (CW) birds that are missed on the real count day. But, it’s still important > to log them in the official CBC database. > > Unfortunately, I don’t have anything fun to add to the CW list from today > myself. But, I hope people are keeping track and thinking about it. Towhees, > kinglets, catbirds, Tufted Ducks are around and could be missed on Monday. > > Dave Nutter! You’re the king of Count Week. You’re always out there scouring > the reeds for CW birds. What do you have to report? ;^) > > Here is another thing to keep track of. Those Trumpeter Swans hanging around > Myers Point would be a new species for the Ithaca count IF they ever made it > into the count circle. Myers Point is NOT in the circle! They would need to > be seen over near the shore of Portland Point by the Cargill mine. I don’t > know if they have ever been seen that far south. I will be checking the > waters along Portland Point from Myers on the count. (It’s actually > frustrating to see things like coot and Great Blue Herons at Myers and not be > able to count them for the Ithaca CBC.) But if people are around Myers during > the day, look south and see if you ever see those swans wander to the far > shore and into the Ithaca CBC circle! > > Oh, going to quote a departed wonderful birding friend, Bard Prentiss – Bird > Hard! > > Kevin > > > > > > Kevin J. McGowan, Ph.D. > Senior Course Developer and Instructor > Bird Academy > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > 159 Sapsucker Woods Road > Ithaca, NY 14850 > k...@cornell.edu > 607-254-2452 > > > > Do you know about our other distance-learning opportunities? Visit Bird > Academy, https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/courses/ to see our list of > courses. > > > > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > ABA > 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 > ABA > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") 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