[cayugabirds-l] Tufted Duck today NO!
I would Love to know if anyone saw the Tufted today. I arrived before the sun came up and stayed until 4PM (my second attempt at this precious bird). About every 2 hours I froze nearly solid and walked back to my car to thaw out. When the snow storm came, I did drive up to the compost pits in hopes of seeing a gull with white-wing-tips. Dipped on those birds too but did catch up with Dr. Anne Clark! The best bird of the day was a single Ruddy Duck somewhat near the red lighthouse. Glenn Wilson Endicott, NY -- 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] hybrid ducks; Glaucous Gull
All, I still have not succeeded in crossing paths with the Redhead x Ring-necked Duck hybrid floating around in the Aythya flocks at the south end (although Chris and Jessie saw it briefly off East Shore yesterday morning), but I did finally see not one but two different Ring-necked Duck x scaup hybrids near the Tufted Duck on Friday: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S21503642 As well as a Redhead x scaup hybrid that had not been reported previously, to my knowledge, yesterday near the ice edge at the southwest corner: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S21522340 This bird is very similar looking to the presumed Redhead x scaup hybrid Livia and I found last winter: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17493677 And here is another list from Friday with a few more Tufted Duck photos, though sadly no hybrids: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S21507613 It does have some photos of the continuing Black Scoter, however. I was puzzled last week by my observation that this bird had some dark on the cheek, which made me wonder (from a distance) whether it might have been an aberrant Surf Scoter or something. Now that I have seen it closer, I'm guessing it's a young male, with some orange developing on the bill and some dark on the cheek. On Wed, Jan 21, 2015 at 10:36 AM, Jay McGowan jw...@cornell.edu wrote: We also checked for the Tufted Duck this morning but were rebuffed by the misty, shimmery lake. The female BLACK SCOTER was visible out with the mergansers in the southwest corner of the lake, but the Aythya flocks were too distant to scan with much confidence. Aythya watchers looking for the Tufted Duck should also be on the lookout for two cool hybrids seen recently, a Redhead x Ring-necked Duck and a Ring-necked Duck x scaup sp.: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S21400518 Sightings of either of these birds should be reported here as both are extremely rare. The gull assemblage off East Shore Park this morning yielded a single GLAUCOUS GULL (probably a third-cycle: gray back, white wing coverts and wingtips, pink-and-black bill), as well as one and possibly two adult ICELAND GULLS. Apparently the same Glaucous Gull was subsequently present at the compost around 9:30 this morning. -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology jw...@cornell.edu -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology jw...@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] Aythya winter diet in Cayuga - what are they eating?
Hello all, Alexa and I had the good fortune to watch the Tufted Duck for an hour or so on Saturday morning. It was diving actively the entire time, which made it tough to find (and difficult to show to others in the scope). Which got me thinking: What are the various Aythya eating? The Tufted Duck was clearly associating with scaup on Saturday that were actively feeding. Also present were several big flocks of Redhead (all loafing around), and a decently big group of Canvasback (also loafing). A quick search informs me that Aythya eat gastropods, mussels and aquatic vegetation among other things, and that the relative proportion of animal food in their diet varies seasonally. Does anyone know what they are eating in Cayuga in winter? Must be a fair bit of food to support so many birds for several months... Do different species of Aythya eat different things? Can you tell when Aythya are eating gastropods/molluscs/animal food vs plants based on their diving behavior? Looking forward to learning what these ducks are up to, Ben -- Benjamin Freeman Ph.D. candidate Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca, NY, USA benjamingfreeman.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] NE Ithaca screech-owl (RIP), Sun 1/25
This afternoon, our neighbor Beverly Way called Miyoko and me over to Siena Drive, where she had found an EASTERN SCREECH-OWL on the ground. The owl was outwardly unscathed, free of snow despite a dusting on the ground, and facing the late-afternoon sun with closed eyes as if basking. But my hope dimmed with every step closer. I bent and took the owl in my hands. It remained inert, stiff, literally frozen in its final pose of life. Beverly, her kids, and a couple of other young neighbors joined us in examining the dead owl up close. The bird's feet were all knobby bulges (muscles or tubercles, I'm not sure), covered with pale, pink, finely pebbled skin and tipped with exquisitely curved, deadly sharp half-inch black talons. Each feather of the ear tufts had two completely different halves (vanes) separated by the central shaft - one vane white with black stripes and the other black with little orange rings, a ridiculously stark contrast made somehow all the more astonishingly beautiful by the improbability of the pairing. I had seen before that screech-owl ear tufts are two-toned, white on the inner half and dark on the outer, but never had I thought that one single feather could be so different on each side like that! Mostly, though, I think the lasting impression for all of us was of the whole bird - so much the image of its living self even in death, so immediately present before our eyes and yet gone too, filling us with joy and sorrow all at once. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114049026073343451957/albums/529196326235 0115713/6108406609704333906?pid=6108406609704333906 https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114049026073343451957/albums/52919632623 50115713/6108406609704333906?pid=6108406609704333906oid=1140490260733434519 57 oid=114049026073343451957 https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114049026073343451957/albums/529196326235 0115713/6108406643766178946?pid=6108406643766178946 https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114049026073343451957/albums/52919632623 50115713/6108406643766178946?pid=6108406643766178946oid=1140490260733434519 57 oid=114049026073343451957 This discovery, only about 500 feet from our property, may explain the absence since Wednesday of any screech-owl from the box in our yard. The dead owl appears browner in the photos than the one recently in our box, but I think that camera distance, lighting, and feather positions could make the same bird appear very different. Mark Chao PS. I saw the two PEREGRINE FALCONS today at 4:30 on separate ledges on the west side of Bradfield Hall along Tower Road on Cornell's campus. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Aythya winter diet in Cayuga - what are they eating?
My understanding is that the large flocks of Aythya ducks are related to the proliferation of exotic zebra mussels in the Finger Lakes- but I have to admit that I don't know the details or whether the different species feed on them to a different extent. Ken Sent from my iPhone On Jan 25, 2015, at 8:55 PM, Brad Walker bm...@cornell.edumailto:bm...@cornell.edu wrote: Hi all, It's only one species, but last year I prepared round skin of a REDHEAD that had been found dead on Cayuga Lake, off of Hog Hole. It's stomach was filled with an assortment of small mussels. I took a few photos of them if anyone is interested. - Brad Brad Walker Media Specialist Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 607-254-2168 On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 8:47 PM, Benjamin Freeman bg...@cornell.edumailto:bg...@cornell.edu wrote: Hello all, Alexa and I had the good fortune to watch the Tufted Duck for an hour or so on Saturday morning. It was diving actively the entire time, which made it tough to find (and difficult to show to others in the scope). Which got me thinking: What are the various Aythya eating? The Tufted Duck was clearly associating with scaup on Saturday that were actively feeding. Also present were several big flocks of Redhead (all loafing around), and a decently big group of Canvasback (also loafing). A quick search informs me that Aythya eat gastropods, mussels and aquatic vegetation among other things, and that the relative proportion of animal food in their diet varies seasonally. Does anyone know what they are eating in Cayuga in winter? Must be a fair bit of food to support so many birds for several months... Do different species of Aythya eat different things? Can you tell when Aythya are eating gastropods/molluscs/animal food vs plants based on their diving behavior? Looking forward to learning what these ducks are up to, Ben -- Benjamin Freeman Ph.D. candidate Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca, NY, USA benjamingfreeman.comhttp://benjamingfreeman.com -- 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: 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] Aythya winter diet in Cayuga - what are they eating?
Hi all, It's only one species, but last year I prepared round skin of a REDHEAD that had been found dead on Cayuga Lake, off of Hog Hole. It's stomach was filled with an assortment of small mussels. I took a few photos of them if anyone is interested. - Brad Brad Walker Media Specialist Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 607-254-2168 On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 8:47 PM, Benjamin Freeman bg...@cornell.edu wrote: Hello all, Alexa and I had the good fortune to watch the Tufted Duck for an hour or so on Saturday morning. It was diving actively the entire time, which made it tough to find (and difficult to show to others in the scope). Which got me thinking: What are the various Aythya eating? The Tufted Duck was clearly associating with scaup on Saturday that were actively feeding. Also present were several big flocks of Redhead (all loafing around), and a decently big group of Canvasback (also loafing). A quick search informs me that Aythya eat gastropods, mussels and aquatic vegetation among other things, and that the relative proportion of animal food in their diet varies seasonally. Does anyone know what they are eating in Cayuga in winter? Must be a fair bit of food to support so many birds for several months... Do different species of Aythya eat different things? Can you tell when Aythya are eating gastropods/molluscs/animal food vs plants based on their diving behavior? Looking forward to learning what these ducks are up to, Ben -- Benjamin Freeman Ph.D. candidate Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca, NY, USA benjamingfreeman.com -- *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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Aythya winter diet in Cayuga - what are they eating?
I can observe the rafts of Aythyas in the lake here by Lansing Station Rd. from the railroad track cliff top areas overlooking the water. I am 18-20 feet above them and that seems not to disturb them so they stay fairly close to shore. Where they often dive the water is about 9-13 feet deep this time of year. (The NYS Canal Corporation lowers Cayuga lake about 3 feet in winter). The water a fair ways out from shore down by Stewart Park in summer is only 12 feet deep. I can see the birds here surface with pieces of plant material in their bills. Once while attempting to watch the Tufted Duck Sunday, i saw another duck with a lumpy thing in its beak, probably a mussel or little crayfish. Due to over a decade of Zebra mussel growth in the lake, the water has become quite clear. This allows a lot of weed growth, so presumably this provides a lot of food for the ducks. In summer my friend who lives on the south shallow end of the lake has massive amounts of lake weeds to contend with. Here weeds grow almost to the surface by August at depths of 4 to 12 feet. If they eat Zebra Mussels there are zillions of those in the shallow zones 4-12 feet deep. Sent from my iPhone Donna Scott On Jan 25, 2015, at 8:47 PM, Benjamin Freeman bg...@cornell.edu wrote: Hello all, Alexa and I had the good fortune to watch the Tufted Duck for an hour or so on Saturday morning. It was diving actively the entire time, which made it tough to find (and difficult to show to others in the scope). Which got me thinking: What are the various Aythya eating? The Tufted Duck was clearly associating with scaup on Saturday that were actively feeding. Also present were several big flocks of Redhead (all loafing around), and a decently big group of Canvasback (also loafing). A quick search informs me that Aythya eat gastropods, mussels and aquatic vegetation among other things, and that the relative proportion of animal food in their diet varies seasonally. Does anyone know what they are eating in Cayuga in winter? Must be a fair bit of food to support so many birds for several months... Do different species of Aythya eat different things? Can you tell when Aythya are eating gastropods/molluscs/animal food vs plants based on their diving behavior? Looking forward to learning what these ducks are up to, Ben -- Benjamin Freeman Ph.D. candidate Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca, NY, USA benjamingfreeman.com -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Aythya winter diet in Cayuga - what are they eating?
I recall large rafts of Redheads in winter along the cottages north of East Shore Park in the mid-1980s, and I think that was before the Zebra Mussel invasion which began in the Great Lakes in 1988. I wasn't counting numbers then (nor am I much good at it now), but that was my first experience with such extensive and densely packed duck rafts. The Aythya numbers could well have increased significantly since Zebra Mussels changed the ecology. --Dave Nutter On Jan 25, 2015, at 09:14 PM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg k...@cornell.edu wrote: My understanding is that the large flocks of Aythya ducks are related to the proliferation of exotic zebra mussels in the Finger Lakes- but I have to admit that I don't know the details or whether the different species feed on them to a different extent. Ken Sent from my iPhone On Jan 25, 2015, at 8:55 PM, Brad Walker bm...@cornell.edu wrote: Hi all, It's only one species, but last year I prepared round skin of a REDHEAD that had been found dead on Cayuga Lake, off of Hog Hole. It's stomach was filled with an assortment of small mussels. I took a few photos of them if anyone is interested. - Brad Brad Walker Media Specialist Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 607-254-2168 On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 8:47 PM, Benjamin Freeman bg...@cornell.edu wrote: Hello all, Alexa and I had the good fortune to watch the Tufted Duck for an hour or so on Saturday morning. It was diving actively the entire time, which made it tough to find (and difficult to show to others in the scope). Which got me thinking: What are the various Aythya eating? The Tufted Duck was clearly associating with scaup on Saturday that were actively feeding. Also present were several big flocks of Redhead (all loafing around), and a decently big group of Canvasback (also loafing). A quick search informs me that Aythya eat gastropods, mussels and aquatic vegetation among other things, and that the relative proportion of animal food in their diet varies seasonally. Does anyone know what they are eating in Cayuga in winter? Must be a fair bit of food to support so many birds for several months... Do different species of Aythya eat different things? Can you tell when Aythya are eating gastropods/molluscs/animal food vs plants based on their diving behavior? Looking forward to learning what these ducks are up to, Ben -- Benjamin Freeman Ph.D. candidate Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca, NY, USA benjamingfreeman.com -- 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/ --
