Re: [cayugabirds-l] white-winged, but not a scoter, poor thing
I'll echo Dave's observations. My impressions of this distant Scoter were long, low, heavy bodied bird. The head shape not as upright and rounded and the white wing patch more of a horizontal stripe than vertical. Kevin's good photos will keep me on higher alert this week, if she lasts that long. Gary On Jan 5, 2013, at 10:45 PM, nutter.d...@me.commailto:nutter.d...@me.com wrote: The bird which I counted as a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER at East Shore Park today was initially on the water far to the northwest. Bob McGuire had been watching it and thought that's what it was, although I was initially unsatisfied with the view. About 9am it flew much farther north low over the lake showing a very dark (black) body and wings except each wing showed a prominent long rectangular white patch in the trailing edge in the secondaries. The bird was shaped and flew like a robust duck, not a coot nor a grebe (other local birds with some non-rectangular white in the trailing edge of the secondaries), and the white patches were the right shape and size for a White-winged Scoter, not a Gadwall. I did not see the injured Lesser Scaup. --Dave Nutter On Jan 05, 2013, at 04:47 PM, Kevin J. McGowan k...@cornell.edumailto:k...@cornell.edu wrote: I stopped at East Shore Park today in hopes of seeing the reported White-winged Scoter. Instead, I found a lone female Lesser Scaup with a fishing lure in her mouth and apparently fishing line wrapped around her wing exposing the white at the bases of her secondaries. I have put a few photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/KevinJ.McGowan/Winter20122013#5830074707828587666 and the following images. I don’t know if this is the same bird that has been reported as a White-winged Scoter, but I wouldn’t be surprised. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basicshttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME Rules and Informationhttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Subscribe, Configuration and Leavehttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm Archives: The Mail Archivehttp://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html Surfbirdshttp://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds BirdingOnThe.Nethttp://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBirdhttp://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/ --
RE: [cayugabirds-l] (Long comment) Exempt part of Cayuga Lake from hunting diving ducks
Hello all, There are several of us in the local birding community who are working on issues like this -- interactions between birders and hunters. Indeed, several of us have been involved at various scales (local, state, national) for many years. These are complicated issues, and good reasons (for birders, and for waterfowl conservation) actually exist to maintain waterfowl hunting on Cayuga Lake. I think it makes wonderful sense to have these conversations locally, and the Cayuga Bird Club is a great platform. The discussions likely will require quite a bit of discussion in small to medium-sized groups (rather than on a listserve), although some kind of mechanism probably will need to be identified to allow input from folks who are not Bird Club members or who do not live close enough to meet regularly but want to participate in the discussion. Like I said, something like this may seem like a worthy cause on the surface, but greater benefit for people and bird conservation might come out of some kind of effort at birders and hunters working together rather than as antagonizers. Thanks for listening. Jody Jody W. Enck, PhD Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Cornell Lab of Ornithology From: Sandy Podulka Sent: January 5, 2013 8:51 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] (Long comment) Exempt part of Cayuga Lake from hunting diving ducks This would be a great project for the CBC and John has made thoughtful, thorough points. It will be a tough sell to DEC, though, as in my experience, many people at DEC (but hopefully not all) view wildlife only as stuff to hunt. --Sandy Podulka At 09:29 AM 1/5/2013, Linda Orkin wrote: Hello All, Yes, I think this could be a project of the bird club with this input and support from people like John and Bill and their extensive knowledge and experience with authorities. Let us pursue this worthy goal. What would be a good next step? Should those of us interested get together? John's points are so well presented and thought out it seems to be the perfect starting place. Linda Orkin On Sat, Jan 5, 2013 at 9:02 AM, Meena Haribal m...@cornell.edumailto:m...@cornell.edu wrote: Hi all, I think this would be great conservation project for CBC to take up, with inputs from Bill and John and anyone else to be part of it. Cheers Meena Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 http://haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ From: bounce-72558715-3493...@list.cornell.edumailto:bounce-72558715-3493...@list.cornell.edu [ bounce-72558715-3493...@list.cornell.edumailto:bounce-72558715-3493...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Bill Evans [ wrev...@clarityconnect.commailto:wrev...@clarityconnect.com] Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2013 8:52 AM To: John Confer; CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] (Long comment) Exempt part of Cayuga Lake from hunting diving ducks This would be a nice accomplishment that is long overdue. I’ve thought that the “few individuals...greatly reducing the pleasure of many” angle should be enough to produce such an exemption, but your approach of population analysis and presenting a scientific case for the exemption might help facilitate the change for DEC. Certainly the issue of hunting in such close proximity to a population center seems like it could be a driver – besides the safety issue, the sound of gunshots can be quite unnerving for some in our society. From the birding and environmental education perspective, it would be wonderful to enjoy viewing large rafts of Aythya ducks and their cohorts on a more consistent basis. Nearly 20 years ago Common Council voted to ban hunting in Allan Treman Marine Park – apparently the City of Ithaca had allowed hunting there after it was purchased by the state in 1976. Hunting currently occurs in the water offshore, and I’m not clear on jurisdiction involved. Bill E From: John Confermailto:con...@ithaca.edu Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 2:55 PM To: Cayuga Bird Listmailto:Cayugabirds-L@cornell.edu ; Confer, Karenmailto:confergoldw...@aol.com ; j...@cornell.edumailto:j...@cornell.edu Subject: [cayugabirds-l] (Long comment) Exempt part of Cayuga Lake from hunting diving ducks Hi Folks, CBC are always fun for many reasons. It tickles the grey cells to think about population trends and regulatory factors. I shared a fun discussion about the impact of hunting on waterfowl on the south end and the rest of Cayuga Lake and we discussed if there were objective data on population abundance to justify preventing such hunting. This got me thinking. The Fish and Wildlife spends an immense amount of effort to census waterfowl every year: extensive aerial surveys that criss-cross the prairie potholes and elsewhere and Hudson Bay coast, really extensive banding efforts, and hundreds of hours of ground surveys, etc. All of this provides an estimate of pop abundance for each species. This
Re: Re:[cayugabirds-l] (Long comment) Exempt part of Cayuga Lake from hunting diving ducks
I agree with John Confer and others. I think his arguments should be more clearly and succinctly stated in order to be clear to others and effective to those who make decisions. I'm not volunteering or attempting to do so here, just adding some observations.The number and variety of waterfowl throughout Cayuga Lake in the winter are directly and obviously related to when the ponds at the adjacent Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge are frozen. Large numbers of birds rely on the lake as they do on the refuge.Duck shooting still occurs along the shore of Treman Marine Park despite bans by the City and/or the park. The loophole is that firing initially happens from a shallow-draft boat, while chairs,supplies,and carcasses are piled a few feet away on the shore. Gunners step into the ankle-deep water or wade up to their knees to shoot repeatedly at wounded birds. It's surprising how many shots it takes to kill a sitting duck.Yesterday morning a large raft of Redheads was in the southeast corner of the lake. Two guys from near Treman in the southwest corner of the lake, where we had heard gunfire, drove over in their boat, flushed the raft, and returned to the southwest corner. It looked like a deliberate disturbance of the birds in hopes that they would settle near the ambush. Thousands of Redheads flew north instead, but maybe some did settle in the southwest and get shot. I have also seen this practice of flushing birds on the water within the southwest part of the lake when birds are settled outside the range of their guns.I would prefer not to hear gunshots, as I did throughout my New Year's Day walk all over the streets of West Hill in the City of Ithaca. Rather than see birds being harassed, maimed, and killed by guys with guns and big motor boats, I would prefer to watch the birds feeding, courting, preening, and resting. Truly the bird life on Cayuga Lake is a spectacle worth publicizing and promoting.--Dave Nutter -- 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] OOB GBH and kingfishers
Went x-country skiing tofay at Hickories Park in Owego and spotted a Great Blue Heron on a branch over a creek as well as 2 chattering Belted Kingfishers. Also many UFDs (unidentified flying ducks). Where did the sun go? -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding, Ithaca to Union Springs
Some friends and I had a great day of birding yesterday. Our itinerary included Stewart Park, East Shore Park, a shrike search, Ladoga and Myers point, a quest for winter field birds, the Wells College boathouse and the bluffs to the south, the ponds and Frontenac Park in Union Springs, and watching for Short-eared Owls on our way home. Highlights:SNOW GOOSE - 2 among Canadas from bluffs south of Aurora; 1 among Canadas from Frontenac ParkCACKLING GOOSE - 1 among Canadas at Stewart ParkTUNDRA SWAN - 1 near on ice edge at Stewart Park; dozens flying in distance from Frontenac ParkGADWALL - several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union SpringsAMERICAN WIGEON- several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union SpringsNORTHERN PINTAIL - 1 male among Mallards at Ladoga south of Myers Point, an area with many gunners, so look quickGREEN-WINGED TEAL - 1 or 2 males on Mill Pond in Union SpringsREDHEADS - raft off Stewart Park ousted by guys in a boat; small numbers various places on lake; best seen on Union Springs pondsCANVASBACK - one male among RedheadsWHITE-WINGED SCOTER - 1 distantly viewed from East Shore ParkBUFFLEHEAD - several places on the lake including Stewart ParkCOMMON GOLDENEYE - most places on the lake but numerous and seen best at Stewart ParkHOODED MERGANSER -a few,best seen at Stewart ParkCOMMON MERGANSER -a few,best seen at Stewart ParkRUDDY DUCK - a few, best seen at Stewart Park and East Shore Park*RING-NECKED PHEASANT - 1 male at Atwater Rd NYS-34B by old Agway, town of Genoa. First 2013 report in Cayuga Lake Basin and it's not even within sight of the game farm!WILD TURKEY - 30+ in field near hundreds of Canada Geese on Fenner Rd in Lansing a short distance east of NYS-34BCOMMON LOONS - small numbers several places on Cayuga LakePIED-BILLED GREBE - 4 together from East Shore ParkHORNED GREBE - 2 from East Shore Park, 11 from Wells College boathouse including a group of 8; 3 from Frontenac ParkRED-NECKED GREBE - 1 continuing at Stewart Park and East Shore ParkDOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT -- 1 seen distantly from East Shore ParkGREAT BLUE HERON - 1 flying west fairly low just offshore at Stewart ParkTURKEY VULTURE - several in the South Lansing areaROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - 1 light morph atop the lone oak south of Burdick Hill Rd in LansingAMERICAN COOT - large flocks south of Finger Lakes Marine (south of Myers Point Park) and off Frontenac ParkNORTHERN FLICKER - flew to distant tree viewed from Cayuga Vista DriveNORTHERN SHRIKE - still cooperative on wires and hedgerow along Cayuga Vista Drive off East Shore Drive (NYS-34), Lansing. We were unsuccessful by Equine Drug Testing building by the airport and on Sheldon and Scofield RoadsAMERICAN CROW - individual with strange gray dewlap-like growths on chin at #278 Davis Rd, LansingEASTERN BLUEBIRD - 1 male trying to feed on sumac on Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, LansingNORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD - 1 in hedgerow along Cayuga Vista; 3 on Cherry Road, 1 defending sumac on Lansingville Rd south of Davis Rd, all in LansingAMERICAN TREE SPARROW - feeders and rural Lansing roadsides, largest groupon Fenner Rd west of Davis RdWHITE-THROATED SPARROW - among many American Tree Sparrows Dark-eyed Juncos on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, LansingWHITE-CROWNED SPARROW - among a fewAmerican Tree Sparrowson Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, LansingDARK-EYED JUNCO - feeders andrural roadsides, largest groupon Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, LansingHOUSE SPARROW - several atop spruces on Myers Rd north of Salmon Creek, year bird for Ann Mitchell who was sick on New Year's Day--Dave Nutter -- 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! --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding, Ithaca to Union Springs
A couple of additions to Dave's list of Saturday birding: LAPLAND LONGSPUR (seen by a few - not all - of us) in a flock of some 200 Snow Buntings/ Horned Larks at the corner of Davis Jerry Smith Rds, lansing. SNOW BUNTING several flocks. one along Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd. another on a manure spread just south of the old Triangle Diner. SONG SPARROW half a dozen along Davis Rd, south of J. Smith Rd. And I just came home from a walk on the E Ithaca Recreation Way. No Screech-Owl, but two calling CAROLINA WRENS between the nut grove the fish lab. Bob McGuire On Jan 6, 2013, at 2:05 PM, nutter.d...@me.com nutter.d...@me.com wrote: Some friends and I had a great day of birding yesterday. Our itinerary included Stewart Park, East Shore Park, a shrike search, Ladoga and Myers point, a quest for winter field birds, the Wells College boathouse and the bluffs to the south, the ponds and Frontenac Park in Union Springs, and watching for Short-eared Owls on our way home. Highlights: SNOW GOOSE - 2 among Canadas from bluffs south of Aurora; 1 among Canadas from Frontenac Park CACKLING GOOSE - 1 among Canadas at Stewart Park TUNDRA SWAN - 1 near on ice edge at Stewart Park; dozens flying in distance from Frontenac Park GADWALL - several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union Springs AMERICAN WIGEON - several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union Springs NORTHERN PINTAIL - 1 male among Mallards at Ladoga south of Myers Point, an area with many gunners, so look quick GREEN-WINGED TEAL - 1 or 2 males on Mill Pond in Union Springs REDHEADS - raft off Stewart Park ousted by guys in a boat; small numbers various places on lake; best seen on Union Springs ponds CANVASBACK - one male among Redheads WHITE-WINGED SCOTER - 1 distantly viewed from East Shore Park BUFFLEHEAD - several places on the lake including Stewart Park COMMON GOLDENEYE - most places on the lake but numerous and seen best at Stewart Park HOODED MERGANSER - a few, best seen at Stewart Park COMMON MERGANSER - a few, best seen at Stewart Park RUDDY DUCK - a few, best seen at Stewart Park and East Shore Park *RING-NECKED PHEASANT - 1 male at Atwater Rd NYS-34B by old Agway, town of Genoa. First 2013 report in Cayuga Lake Basin and it's not even within sight of the game farm! WILD TURKEY - 30+ in field near hundreds of Canada Geese on Fenner Rd in Lansing a short distance east of NYS-34B COMMON LOONS - small numbers several places on Cayuga Lake PIED-BILLED GREBE - 4 together from East Shore Park HORNED GREBE - 2 from East Shore Park, 11 from Wells College boathouse including a group of 8; 3 from Frontenac Park RED-NECKED GREBE - 1 continuing at Stewart Park and East Shore Park DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT -- 1 seen distantly from East Shore Park GREAT BLUE HERON - 1 flying west fairly low just offshore at Stewart Park TURKEY VULTURE - several in the South Lansing area ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - 1 light morph atop the lone oak south of Burdick Hill Rd in Lansing AMERICAN COOT - large flocks south of Finger Lakes Marine (south of Myers Point Park) and off Frontenac Park NORTHERN FLICKER - flew to distant tree viewed from Cayuga Vista Drive NORTHERN SHRIKE - still cooperative on wires and hedgerow along Cayuga Vista Drive off East Shore Drive (NYS-34), Lansing. We were unsuccessful by Equine Drug Testing building by the airport and on Sheldon and Scofield Roads AMERICAN CROW - individual with strange gray dewlap-like growths on chin at #278 Davis Rd, Lansing EASTERN BLUEBIRD - 1 male trying to feed on sumac on Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, Lansing NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD - 1 in hedgerow along Cayuga Vista; 3 on Cherry Road, 1 defending sumac on Lansingville Rd south of Davis Rd, all in Lansing AMERICAN TREE SPARROW - feeders and rural Lansing roadsides, largest group on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd WHITE-THROATED SPARROW - among many American Tree Sparrows Dark- eyed Juncos on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, Lansing WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW - among a few American Tree Sparrows on Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, Lansing DARK-EYED JUNCO - feeders and rural roadsides, largest group on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, Lansing HOUSE SPARROW - several atop spruces on Myers Rd north of Salmon Creek, year bird for Ann Mitchell who was sick on New Year's Day --Dave Nutter -- 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)
Re: [cayugabirds-l] (Long comment) Exempt part of Cayuga Lake from hunting diving ducks
Hi all, This discussion threatens to escalate quickly and I hesitate to weigh in but here are a few comments for everyone to consider: 1. One of John Confer's main points is that making the direct connection between hunting pressure on Cayuga Lake and overall waterfowl populations is extremely difficult or impossible. This is true, so we need to be very careful not to then turn around and claim that local hunting is detrimental to duck populations. The truth is that waterfowl populations are managed and monitored at continental scales and factors such as rainfall on the breeding grounds and invasions of zebra mussels have a far greater effect on overall numbers and distributions than local hunting pressure. Most duck species (including Redhead) have long-term stable or increasing populations, primarily due to successful hunting-based waterfowl and wetland management in North America over the past 30 years. I have not looked at our local (or statewide) waterfowl survey data (coming from the counts we do in late January after hunting has stopped), but I believe that many duck species, and especially Redhead, have continued to increase as wintering birds on Cayuga Lake. The massive flocks of diving ducks have become and continue to be a spectacle to enjoy on many parts of the lake in mid- and late winter – i.e. the birds are not driven from vital feeding and resting areas long-term by hunting. In short, I would be very surprised if a biological argument could be made against legal and regulated hunting on any part of Cayuga Lake. 2. So that leaves the societal issues, which John and Dave and others have alluded to at the end of their posts: I would prefer not to hear gunshots I would prefer to watch the birds feeding, courting, preening, and resting. These of course are valid concerns, but I think we need to very careful to separate these personal-choice and societal issues from the biological. It may indeed be time to have a conversation about the justification for allowing hunting along the populated and popular shoreline within the Town of Ithaca -- but this is primarily a conversation about human conflict of interest and not biology. Like all human-conflict issues, it promises to be complex, contentious, and even potentially nasty. 3. I urge everyone to carefully consider Jody Enck's remarks, in light of our big-picture goals -- i.e. keeping bird and wildlife populations healthy and stemming the cancer of rampant development and habitat loss. if Birders and Hunters cannot reconcile our relatively minor differences to present a unified front against the much-larger forces threatening our shared resource, the future for birds and their habitats will be much dimmer. KEN Ken Rosenberg Conservation Science Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 607-254-2412 607-342-4594 (cell) k...@cornell.edumailto:k...@cornell.edu On Jan 6, 2013, at 11:24 AM, nutter.d...@me.commailto:nutter.d...@me.com nutter.d...@me.commailto:nutter.d...@me.com wrote: I agree with John Confer and others. I think his arguments should be more clearly and succinctly stated in order to be clear to others and effective to those who make decisions. I'm not volunteering or attempting to do so here, just adding some observations. The number and variety of waterfowl throughout Cayuga Lake in the winter are directly and obviously related to when the ponds at the adjacent Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge are frozen. Large numbers of birds rely on the lake as they do on the refuge. Duck shooting still occurs along the shore of Treman Marine Park despite bans by the City and/or the park. The loophole is that firing initially happens from a shallow-draft boat, while chairs, supplies, and carcasses are piled a few feet away on the shore. Gunners step into the ankle-deep water or wade up to their knees to shoot repeatedly at wounded birds. It's surprising how many shots it takes to kill a sitting duck. Yesterday morning a large raft of Redheads was in the southeast corner of the lake. Two guys from near Treman in the southwest corner of the lake, where we had heard gunfire, drove over in their boat, flushed the raft, and returned to the southwest corner. It looked like a deliberate disturbance of the birds in hopes that they would settle near the ambush. Thousands of Redheads flew north instead, but maybe some did settle in the southwest and get shot. I have also seen this practice of flushing birds on the water within the southwest part of the lake when birds are settled outside the range of their guns. I would prefer not to hear gunshots, as I did throughout my New Year's Day walk all over the streets of West Hill in the City of Ithaca. Rather than see birds being harassed, maimed, and killed by guys with guns and big motor boats, I would prefer to watch the birds feeding, courting, preening, and resting. Truly the bird life on Cayuga Lake is a spectacle worth publicizing and
[cayugabirds-l] Bluegrass Lane Sunday - Killdeer and Snow Buntings
A very out-of-season Killdeer was flying around and calling above the parking lot at the Equine Research Park on Bluegrass Lane this afternoon. Also: our dog flushed a flock of five Snow Buntings along the path just east of the parking area where they then sat calmly on the fence bordering one of the horse pastures. -Scott -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Ithaca, Dryden, Lansing birding totals
I made tables to be filled in with birders' yearly species totals for the Town ( City) of Ithaca, the Town of Dryden, and the Town of Lansing. As Kevin McGowan noted, he could not find these for 2012, which was because I hadn't created the tables. Now I have, and while I was at it, I started tables for 2013:http://cayugabirds.pbworks.com/w/page/6630191/Town%20listsAnyone who is confused or interested in participating, please write me.--Dave Nutter -- 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! --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding, Ithaca to Union Springs
It should be noted that a hunt club in the King Ferry area gets released pheasants. Several yrs. ago I found one with a cheepie leg band that had been hit killed by a car. I took it to a conservation office in Cortland was told Cornell provided the birds for the club. Fritzie From: bob mcguire *RING-NECKED PHEASANT - 1 male at Atwater Rd NYS-34B by old Agway, town of Genoa. First 2013 report in Cayuga Lake Basin and it's not even within sight of the game farm! -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Crows coming in to roost
A few minutes ago hundreds of crows flew over east hill heading from the direction of the compost piles to find roosts. It looked as though some headed towards downtown and others headed more towards campus. Kevin, are crows faithful to a roost, or do they decide on the spur of the moment where they would like to go. I got the impression that many of the birds couldn't make up their minds and kept wavering back and forth. They kept calling incessantly, as though having a heated discussion as to which way to go on this particular night. Larry -- W. Larry Hymes 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 (H) 607-277-0759, w...@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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Snow Buntings, Longspurs
With this list, and the CBC, threatening to turn into a anti-hunting forum I'd thought I would mention a few bird sightings instead. I went looking for close up Longspurs today in Groton as the one we found yesterday was very unsatisfying. Salt Road has some nice fresh manure / bedding spreads in several areas. Most of them are so new they didn't hold anything except crows. I did find a nice mixed flock of 160 Snow Buntings, 2 Lapland Longspurs, 40 Horned Larks and 10+ calling Wild Turkeys at the intersection of Salt Rd. and Clark Street Ext. in Groton. This spot is good because the spread is relatively flat and closely parallels the road making viewing easy. The Buntings were spending lots of time on the road shoulder and I had stellar looks at the Longspurs. At Lake Como I searched for Evening Grosbeaks without success. Nick's feeders on the lake are positively mobbed by Common Redpolls. I estimated about 250, but it was hard with all the movement. I think the number is much higher still. He must be spending a fortune on Niger seed ! I couldn't find a Hoary Redpoll in the mob, but I can't believe there isn't one there. I didn't have enough time to scan all the birds before they were chased off by an unseen Raptor. If anyone is up that way you should certainly stop by. Happy birding, Gary -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park Iceland Gulls
2 1st year Iceland Gulls were flying and feeding directly off Stewart Park a= round 4 this afternoon -- Jeff Gerbracht Lead Application Developer Neotropical Birds, Breeding Bird Atlas, eBird Cornell Lab of Ornithology 607-254-2117 -- 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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Crows coming in to roost
Larry, North Campus is hosting many crows, what looks to be 1000+ . Most of them are in the trees by Robert Purcell Community Center, Appel Commons and the Observatory. I was surprised by them on the Christmas Bird Count as I hadn't been up there at dusk. Gary On Jan 6, 2013, at 4:36 PM, W. Larry Hymes wrote: A few minutes ago hundreds of crows flew over east hill heading from the direction of the compost piles to find roosts. It looked as though some headed towards downtown and others headed more towards campus. Kevin, are crows faithful to a roost, or do they decide on the spur of the moment where they would like to go. I got the impression that many of the birds couldn't make up their minds and kept wavering back and forth. They kept calling incessantly, as though having a heated discussion as to which way to go on this particular night. Larry -- W. Larry Hymes 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 (H) 607-277-0759, w...@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/ -- -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] The Cup updated
The site for the David Cup now starts witha table for the Cayuga Lake Basin for 2013, below which is the CLB table for 2012, and below that there arenow tables for counties for 2012:http://cayugabirds.pbworks.com/w/page/6630177/FrontPageSeveral of these tables should be sorted onto different pages - all the 2011 stuff on its own new page, all the 2012 stuff on its own new page, current town stuff on the Towns page, and current county tables on a page which isn't labeled 2011. If someone gets inspired to do this before me, that's okay.--Dave Nutter -- 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] Lansing Center Trail, Sun 1/6
On Sunday afternoon along the Lansing Center Trail, six curious snowmobilers and I witnessed a spectacular show by a dark-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. For more than 45 minutes, we watched this bird kiting, hovering, and occasionally perching with improbable equipoise on tiny treetop twigs. A couple of times, the Rough-legged Hawk, upon hearing the cry of a Red-tailed Hawk nearby, turned its head and glanced over in mid-hover, momentarily revealing the stunning contrast of yellow cere, black head and bill, and pearly gray sky. Then in an instant, the Rough-legged Hawk resumed the search for prey on the ground as if its attention had never been broken. It was probably my most gratifying encounter ever with this species. I feel I gained insight about why people commonly note the exquisite beauty of dark-morph Rough-legged Hawks, but don't give nearly such recognition to Turkey Vultures. I think the difference lies mostly with proportion, balance, and grace of movement, and to a lesser extent, color and details of pattern, especially the framing effect of dark-tipped flight feathers. It occurred to me that similarly subtle criteria may apply to prevailing aesthetic standards for cars, as most arbiters of taste would favor a charcoal-black Porsche over a dark-brown Ford Granada. And as if the hawk alone weren't enough, I also saw an adult NORTHERN SHRIKE speeding between hedgerows and perching up for a long time at pretty close range. My shrike sighting was about half a mile northeast of Cayuga Vista Road, where at 4:45 PM I found no shrike but did see a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD bullying an AMERICAN ROBIN, a species arguably rarer than shrikes so far in 2013 in Lansing. (By the way, on Saturday I did see an adult shrike just north of the intersection of Scofield Road and Route 34B, near the bank of mailboxes for the apartment complex. Thanks, Stuart!) As Jay McGowan mentioned a couple of times this fall, the Lansing Center Trail is actually a network of paths along hedgerows and open weedy fields. It is accessible via a well-marked parking area along Route 34/34B, just west of the intersection with North Triphammer Road. Mark Chao -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Sunday birding, Stewart to Myers
Jacob Drucker and I checked areas along the southeast corner of the lake today, from Stewart Park up to Myers, in late morning and early afternoon. Viewing conditions were great (little to wind, no waves), but Aythya were amazingly scarce, and we saw no scaup at all. Among the birds of interest were Northern Pintail - 1 female at Stewart, 1 male at Myers Redhead - only 1! female on the ice at Stewart Ring-necked Duck - 1 at Stewart, shortly thereafter seen entering a Great Black-backed Gull Pied-billed Grebe - several, Myers Horned Grebe - distant, Stewart Red-necked Grebe - TWO - one close at Stewart, another (seen at the same time,) close to shore to the north of East Shore Park Rough-legged Hawk - Burdick Hill Road KILLDEER - 1 at the base of the spit at Myers. So the Bluegrass Lane bird is not the only one around! Northern Shrike - Cayuga Vista Drive, very cooperative -- Thomas S. Schulenberg Research Associate Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca NY 14850 http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/home http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist voice: 607.254.1113 email: ts...@cornell.edu, tschulenb...@gmail.com -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Raptor Love is in the Air
Yesterday about 5 pm I heard two Great Horned Owls dueting close by while the dogs and I were out stretching our legs. After several minutes the duet changed to a single 'hoot' that was repeated over 30 times evenly on one pitch, then a short pause, then another set of 37 hoots, then back to duets. According to the Owl CDs put out by the Lab several years ago, this is a 'copulation call.' Also saw two Red Tailed Hawks flying together on Friday afternoon, so close that their wing tips nearly touched, then they landed high up in a bare tree and sat together quietly side by side, still there without changing their position when I had to leave after 5 minutes. Alicia Plotkin Ovid -- 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/ --
