[cayugabirds-l] Summerland Farm Preserve (FLLT) in Caroline, Sat/Sun June 13-14

[Mark Chao]

This weekend, Miyoko, Tilden, and I paid our first visit to the Finger
Lakes Land Trust’s Summerland Farm Preserve in Caroline.



Dr. Anne Boyer donated these 140 acres to the Land Trust in the summer of
2019.  The preserve comprises a vast meadow of tall grass and wildflowers,
as well as deep deciduous forest.  It connects neatly into the Emerald
Necklace greenbelt and also protects a key stretch of the Finger Lakes
Trail between Potato Hill State Forest and Robinson Hollow State Forest.
The initial stretch of trail along the meadow offers tremendous long views
on a clear day.



On Saturday, I thought I heard GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS singing in the grass (a
few ticking notes, then a rough, unmusical trill, without the sad-sounding
second ending note typical of Savannah Sparrow).  I heard no typical
Savannah Sparrow songs.  On Sunday I returned alone in mid-morning, but
heard only one distant candidate for Grasshopper Sparrow, plus one
normal-sounding Savannah Sparrow.  I also saw two Savannah Sparrows
carrying food right next to the Finger Lakes Trail.



But I still think that it’s worth listening from the trail for Grasshopper
Sparrows.  I welcome other people’s reports, especially if you can get
visual confirmation.



In any case, this is also one of the best places I’ve ever seen in this
area for watching BOBOLINKS.  On Saturday, we saw at least six of them,
both males and females, and I think that there are many more breeding pairs
in the other grassy parts of the preserve not visible from the trail.   We
watched males displaying, occasionally chasing each other around, and
accompanying mates.  At one point we also saw four males roosting
peacefully for a couple of minutes in one flowering bush.  (Close
examination of photos reveals that at least one male is already starting to
molt into his brown winter plumage.)  I’m looking forward to returning
later in the season and counting the Bobolinks, including this year’s new
generation!



In the woods, we found a fine variety of breeding birds, including a few
singing BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERS, a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, a COMMON
RAVEN, and what I think was a parent and fledgling BROAD-WINGED HAWK
calling to each other.  I didn’t go into the woods on Sunday.



There is no parking lot at this preserve.  The Land Trust recommends trying
to park along the southern road shoulder near where the Finger Lakes Trail
crosses Blackman Hill Road.  On the north side of the road, there’s a
gravel area that could hold multiple cars, but as I understand it, this
seems to be a turnaround for service vehicles and should not be blocked.



(Note also that the Finger Lakes Trail was closed in the preserve during
May, because of hunting season.  That’s why I didn’t visit during this
year’s Spring Bird Quest.)



https://www.fllt.org/preserves/summerland-farm-preserve/



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] SBQ talk clarification -- pre-registration required, re-registration not

[Mark Chao]

I mistakenly typed "re-registration" instead of "pre-registration" in my
message below. If you registered before, you are set -- no need to do so
again. Sorry for the confusion.

Mark Chao

On Mon, Jun 1, 2020, 12:45 PM Mark Chao  wrote:

> Just a reminder that tomorrow evening (Tuesday, June 2 at 7:30 PM), I’ll
> be giving a Zoom presentation on some of the wonders and curiosities of
> this year’s Spring Bird Quest.  Already response has been great, but there
> is plenty of room in our virtual meeting hall for more!
>
>
>
> The event is free of charge but re-registration is required. Here are the
> key links again.
>
>
>
> Event page:
> https://www.fllt.org/events/photos-and-findings-from-spring-bird-quest-hosted-online/
>
>
>
> Zoom registration link:
> https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUldeusrTMiH9L0NLfqB_vVffg00SM6hwha
>
>
>
> This weekend, I paid two more visits to the Goetchius Wetland Preserve in
> Caroline, to close out my month-long SBQ efforts to find and document birds
> on Finger Lakes Land Trust properties.  I didn’t find anything unexpected,
> though I picked up a calling BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and eked out an EASTERN
> KINGBIRD, which I somehow missed on all my other Land Trust outings in May.
>
>
>
> In the end, my month-long Spring Bird Quest species tally reached 118,
> accumulated on 22 visits to 11 preserves.
>
>
>
> Campbell Meadow, Dryden:  3 visits, 46 species
>
> Etna Nature Preserve, Etna:  1 visit, 29 species
>
> Genung Nature Preserve, Freevillle:  5 visits, 70 species
>
> Goetchius Wetland Preserve, Caroline:  5 visits, 66 species
>
> Kingsbury Woods Conservation Area, Danby:  1 visit, 35 species
>
> Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, West Danby:  1 visit, 49 species
>
> Logan Hill Nature Preserve, Candor:  2 visits, 65 species
>
> Dorothy McIlroy Bird Sanctuary, Summerhill:  1 visit, 41 species
>
> Roy H. Park Preserve, Dryden:  1 visit, 41 species
>
> Salmon Creek Bird Sanctuary, Lansing:  1 visit, 37 species
>
> Sweedler Preserve at Lick Brook, Ithaca:  1 visit, 19 species
>
>
>
> Donations are still coming in (and are most welcome at
> https://www.fllt.org/donate/), but already I think we can project a gift
> total to the Land Trust of at least $4K, well within the usual SBQ range.
> Many thanks to all who have given, who are considering a SBQ donation now,
> and who have been supporting the Land Trust already.
>
>
>
> I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow night!
>
>
>
> Mark Chao
>
>
>
>
>

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[cayugabirds-l] Spring Bird Quest presentation reminder -- Tuesday, June 2, 7:30 PM

[Mark Chao]

Just a reminder that tomorrow evening (Tuesday, June 2 at 7:30 PM), I’ll be
giving a Zoom presentation on some of the wonders and curiosities of this
year’s Spring Bird Quest.  Already response has been great, but there is
plenty of room in our virtual meeting hall for more!



The event is free of charge but re-registration is required. Here are the
key links again.



Event page:
https://www.fllt.org/events/photos-and-findings-from-spring-bird-quest-hosted-online/



Zoom registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUldeusrTMiH9L0NLfqB_vVffg00SM6hwha



This weekend, I paid two more visits to the Goetchius Wetland Preserve in
Caroline, to close out my month-long SBQ efforts to find and document birds
on Finger Lakes Land Trust properties.  I didn’t find anything unexpected,
though I picked up a calling BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and eked out an EASTERN
KINGBIRD, which I somehow missed on all my other Land Trust outings in May.



In the end, my month-long Spring Bird Quest species tally reached 118,
accumulated on 22 visits to 11 preserves.



Campbell Meadow, Dryden:  3 visits, 46 species

Etna Nature Preserve, Etna:  1 visit, 29 species

Genung Nature Preserve, Freevillle:  5 visits, 70 species

Goetchius Wetland Preserve, Caroline:  5 visits, 66 species

Kingsbury Woods Conservation Area, Danby:  1 visit, 35 species

Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, West Danby:  1 visit, 49 species

Logan Hill Nature Preserve, Candor:  2 visits, 65 species

Dorothy McIlroy Bird Sanctuary, Summerhill:  1 visit, 41 species

Roy H. Park Preserve, Dryden:  1 visit, 41 species

Salmon Creek Bird Sanctuary, Lansing:  1 visit, 37 species

Sweedler Preserve at Lick Brook, Ithaca:  1 visit, 19 species



Donations are still coming in (and are most welcome at
https://www.fllt.org/donate/), but already I think we can project a gift
total to the Land Trust of at least $4K, well within the usual SBQ range.
Many thanks to all who have given, who are considering a SBQ donation now,
and who have been supporting the Land Trust already.



I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow night!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Invitation to virtual Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest celebration -- Tuesday, June 2

[Mark Chao]

The Finger Lakes Land Trust has invited me to deliver a Zoom presentation
next week on this year’s Spring Bird Quest.  I’ll present photos and
anecdotes from my many visits to Land Trust preserves during May, focusing
on the bird moments that were most curious, amazing, and enlightening for
me (and hopefully you too).



So if you have enjoyed our SBQ field trips in the past, or if you miss
community bird events, or if you need a break from Netflix, or if you just
want to show up to support the Land Trust, we warmly welcome you!



The event will take place on Tuesday, June 2 at 7:30 PM.  Pre-registration
is required.  Here is a link to more details:
https://www.fllt.org/events/photos-and-findings-from-spring-bird-quest-hosted-online/.
And here is the link to register on Zoom if you want to skip straight to
that step:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUldeusrTMiH9L0NLfqB_vVffg00SM6hwha



Of course, I get that dozens and dozens of you have also been visiting Land
Trust preserves in May, each with your own highlights.  If you have any
short notes or interesting photos, please feel free to send them to me.
I’ll see what I get and determine the best way to share your highlights
too, while still keeping the duration to about an hour.



Meanwhile, Land Trust staff have continued to help me to refresh the Spring
Bird Quest update page.  See https://www.fllt.org/spring-bird-quest-updates/
for some notes and new photos, through Sunday.



I also had two brief outings to Land Trust preserves on Memorial Day.  In
the late morning, Miyoko and I visited the Salmon Creek Bird Sanctuary in
Lansing, where we found the expected excellent variety of forest-edge and
forest-interior birds, including HOODED, BLUE-WINGED, and CHESTNUT-SIDED
WARBLERS, plus several YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS and many ROSE-BREASTED
GROSBEAKS and VEERIES.



Shortly after sunset, I decided to go to the Goetchius Wetland Preserve in
Caroline.  I found neither of those taxa, but I had a most excellent
consolation prize – at least five displaying AMERICAN WOODCOCKS.  I was a
bit surprised to find this species still courting with undiminished gusto,
in such good numbers. I'm aware of the potential for confusion with
Wilson’s Snipe or calling Common Nighthawks (actually my main target
species for the visit). But I got sight confirmation of one woodcock, which
I spotted flying right in front of me and followed as it rose on rapidly
whirring wings in its wheeling display flight.  This and all the other
woodcocks sounded typical -- nasal "peent" (less razzy than nighthawks),
twittering wings, and chirping descent.



(And speaking of surprising lingering nocturnal birds, the gray-morph
EASTERN SCREECH-OWL along Siena Drive has been continuing to roost in its
same cavity, including all three days of the long weekend.  This is the
latest in spring that I’ve ever seen a screech-owl lingering at a winter
roost site.  Still no obvious signs of a nest here, though.)



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Genung, McIlroy, and Logan Hill, Sat/Sun May 23-24

[Mark Chao]

So far this weekend, my family and I have continued to get more than our
share of birding joys and surprises on Finger Lakes Land Trust preserves.

On Saturday, Miyoko and I went to the Dorothy McIlroy Bird Sanctuary in
Summerhill, stopping briefly on the way at the Genung Nature Preserve.

Our first highlight was a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER singing a four-note song like
a Golden-winged Warbler, then eventually offering dazzling sight
confirmation right along the road by the Genung Nature Preserve parking
lot.

Upon our arrival at the southern border of the McIlroy Bird Sanctuary along
Peth Road, Miyoko spotted a big brown lump in the first green field.
Though it was less than ten meters away, completely out in the open, we
couldn’t figure out what it was.  A log?  A snapping turtle?  Then, the
shape burst up from the ground and with heavy flaps revealed itself as a
female WILD TURKEY (a first for my month-long Spring Bird Quest species
tally).  We think that she might have been flattening herself down over a
nest site, though we could not figure out why she would pick somewhere so
open.  Nor could we find any eggs or chicks in a quick scan.

Saturday’s other bird drama also unfolded along Peth Road, where we found
two SAVANNAH SPARROWS countersinging for several minutes in the same tree –
one sounding normal, and the other omitting the usual sad-sounding note
after his trill, rather like a Grasshopper Sparrow, but also eventually
confirmed by sight.   I kept expecting one sparrow to chase the other off,
but it seemed that they dueled to détente – each retreating to his own
field, one to the north and one to the south, with the tree itself serving
as a DMZ between them.

Then on Sunday, our son Tilden Chao joined us on a hike at the Logan Hill
Nature Preserve in Candor.  We found the expected great variety of breeding
songbirds, including fine looks at HOODED WARBLER, Chestnut-sided Warbler,
American Redstart, Blue-headed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, and others), plus a
couple of passage migrants (SWAINSON’S THRUSH and TENNESSEE WARBLER).

But the surpassing thrills of the morning came out of the blue from five
CHIMNEY SWIFTS, which first zoomed and banked in close formation and
exhilarating synchrony over the fields and across the sky, like an avian
version of the Blue Angels, then descended to the pond to drink on the
wing, skimming the surface with their little bills, all while hardly losing
any airspeed.  For a family used to watching Chimney Swifts over downtown
Ithaca but not elsewhere, it was a revelation to witness this species’
wildness up close, and to its relationship with habitat beyond our world of
metal, concrete, and glass.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Lick Brook FLLT sites, Tues 5/19 (stream-wading Swainson's Thrush, fledgling ravens, etc.)

[Mark Chao]

Yesterday I visited two Finger Lakes Land Trust sites near the Danby/Ithaca
town line.  The non-warbler passerines took an unexpected turn on center
stage, delivering charismatic, genre-bending, intimate, and utterly
endearing performances for me, a rapt human audience of one.



* WINTER WREN singing his incomparably energetic and complex song from a
surprisingly high perch right at the entrance to the Kingsbury Woods
Conservation Area.  This was a coveted first for this year’s Spring Bird
Quest.



* Downstream from the Kingsbury Woods parking area, a SWAINSON’S THRUSH
making like a Louisiana Waterthrush or an American Dipper, standing out on
rocks in the middle of Lick Brook and even wading out into the swift
current, over at least 30 minutes.  Though I know that Swainson’s Thrushes
out west favor riparian habitats, I have never seen Swainson’s Thrushes
doing anything quite like this before.  Nor have I been able to find any
literature on such behavior, even in the Birds of the World species account.



(I saw four other Swainson’s Thrushes yesterday, all behaving typically
near the ground in the shadowy forest – three in Kingsbury Woods, and one
dazzlingly close at the Sweedler Preserve at Lick Brook.)



* Fledgling COMMON RAVENS along the Lick Brook gorge at the Sweedler
Preserve.  I saw two hulking adolescents together right next to the trail,
looking almost like adults but with little remaining patches of gray natal
down and vestiges of yellow baby-gapes still at the corners of their
mouths.  I heard and saw them begging, and heard at least one more raven
nearby (probably more), but I didn’t witness any feeding.



Photos of all these birds, plus other recent highlights, are here at the
Spring Bird Quest update page:
https://www.fllt.org/spring-bird-quest-updates/. Thank you again to all of
you who have been encouraging me and especially donating to the Land Trust
this month, on your own or in connection with this SBQ.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Around Tompkins County (FLLT SBQ update), May 15-17

[Mark Chao]

I got out to five Finger Lakes Land Trust sites in Tompkins County from
Friday through Sunday, mostly with Miyoko Chu.



Highlights and selected photos are here at the Spring Bird Quest 2020
page:  https://www.fllt.org/spring-bird-quest-updates/ (updated through
Saturday).  My SBQ species tally is now somewhere around 105 species, with
more than a few expected species still left to find.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Genung Nature Preserve, Tues/Wed May 12-13

[Mark Chao]

Someone just informed me about my reply-all gaffe just now. I apologize to
Sandra, Tilden, and everyone for my error (still not sure how that
happened).

Anyway, back on topic, I'll note that on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at
the Genung Nature Preserve in Freeville, I had experiences similar to what
Dave and Suan posted -- a better-than-expected variety of songbirds finding
food and thermal gains on the sunny banks of Fall Creek, despite the
unseasonable cold. I found 12 species of warblers, almost all male and
often quite cooperative -- Wilson's, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue,
Palm, Pine, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Blue-winged, American Redstart,
Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, and Common Yellowthroat -- plus Blue-headed
Vireos, Veeries, a Spotted Sandpiper, and others.

Mark Chao

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RE: [cayugabirds-l] Magical evening at Monkey Run

[Mark Chao]

Hi Sandra,



I’m so glad to read about your evening!  You had so many high-quality
moments with exciting birds!  (I was also glad to read about that
unexpected Green Heron moment you had last week!)



I hope all is well with you.  My family and I are staying productive and
happy together and well so far, with some time for birding too, as you may
have read here on the listserv.  I will miss seeing you on the Spring Bird
Quest, but I will look forward to your further reports!

I still think of that birding walk that you and my son Tilden and I had at
Hammond Hill, especially your extremely helpful and memorable advice about
various paths one can take with a law degree.  Tilden remains very
interested in policy, especially on energy and the environment.  He seems
to be settling on economics as his major.  He also has a climate-change
policy internship this summer with an NGO in California.  Beyond that, he
hasn’t yet decided on his academic and professional directions – but he
still has lots of time to decide and even to change his mind completely
(just finished first year as an undergrad).



Stay well and stay in touch,

Mark













*From:* bounce-124630240-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:
bounce-124630240-3493...@list.cornell.edu] *On Behalf Of *Sandra Lynn
Babcock
*Sent:* Wednesday, May 13, 2020 10:34 PM
*To:* CAYUGABIRDS-L 
*Subject:* [cayugabirds-l] Magical evening at Monkey Run



I birdied Monkey Run tonight, May 13, from about 6-7:15 p.m.  It was a
lovely evening, and the trails were full of birds.  The highlights were a
veery pair and a flock of warblers, including yellow, yellow-rumped, and a
very cooperative black-throated blue (male). Great crested flycatcher,
sapsuckers galore, a pair of orioles, a chattering belted kingfisher, and
the usual repertoire of woodpeckers, catbirds, and red-winged blackbirds
rounded out the evening.  And a chorus of spring peepers to escort me back
to my car.



Sandra Babcock

slb...@cornell.edu



Sent from my Ipad

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[cayugabirds-l] Logan Hill and Campbell Meadows (FLLT SBQ), May 9-10

[Mark Chao]

I had two excellent family outings to Finger Lakes Land Trust preserves
this past weekend -- one to the Logan Hill Preserve in Candor, and one to
Campbell Meadows in Dryden (actually the Town’s property, subject to a
simple covenant with the Land Trust).



Despite challenging weather, especially on Saturday, the birding was quite
good!  We continued to rack up species steadily for my month’s Spring Bird
Quest tally.  We also had more than our share of close, high-quality
encounters and lucky surprises (including a nest-building Bald Eagle and a
Yellow Warbler looking and acting like an American Dipper in an Andy Warhol
painting).  You can find expanded accounts and photos here:



https://www.fllt.org/spring-bird-quest-updates/



Thank you very much to everyone who has been making donations
<https://www.fllt.org/donate/> and pledges in support of the SBQ.  Your
support keeps me inspired and keeps the Land Trust hard at work protecting
and maintaining these and other wonderful habitats throughout our region.



Finally, I want to share how impressed I am at how birders worldwide and
especially here in Cayugabirds-Land showed up for the Global Big Day on May
9.  Wow, there were a lot of checklists (for the first time, more than
100,000 worldwide – hooray!) and a lot of great birds in them -- including
amazing coverage of Land Trust preserves by Team Sapsucker and others
despite the day-long cold winds and occasional snow!



(If you would like to share any moments and/or photos from your own visits
to Land Trust preserves this month, please feel free to get in touch!)



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Goetchius Wetland Preserve (FLLT), Tues 5/5

[Mark Chao]

On Tuesday morning, I visited the Finger Lakes Land Trust’s Goetchius
Wetland Preserve.  I found a satisfying subset of the species that others
found this past weekend (no Sedge Wren), plus one unexpected new visitor.
Here are some highlights.



* PEREGRINE FALCON overhead, speeding northbound into the wind.  An
exciting surprise, and maybe unprecedented for the Spring Bird Quest!   My
brief view and one bad photo do not show dangling jesses, but the bird’s
feet appeared to be balled up on something.  If anyone was taking a captive
falcon out for sport around Slaterville Springs this morning, would you
please let me know?



* VIRGINIA RAIL grunting spontaneously in the middle of the southernmost
cattail patch accessible by foot from the parking area.  (Others found up
to seven Virginia Rails, three American Bitterns, and a Sora here on
Saturday and Sunday.)



* Two WILSON’S SNIPE issuing rich chirps at rest from the cattails, then
rising up and wheeling spectacularly together in the blue sky



* SOLITARY SANDPIPER in the original southern portion of the preserve, in a
close mud patch surrounded mostly by open water



* BROWN THRASHER teed up and singing a loud, varied, and wonderfully
musical song in a hedgerow in the newest part of the preserve (acquired in
January 2019) on the east side of Flatiron Road, with EASTERN BLUEBIRD,
YELLOW WARBLER, and PURPLE FINCH singing nearby



* BOBOLINK, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, SAVANNAH SPARROW, and FIELD SPARROW all
singing (though not often, except the Field Sparrows) in the northern
section



The Land Trust has painstakingly pieced the preserve together over the
years.  It made the first two acquisitions in 1995, a total of 36 acres.
Since then, via three more acquisitions, the Land Trust has acquired the
wetlands and open fields to the north (2007 and 2011) and the new wet
meadows and hedgerows to the east (January 2019).  Two more pending
acquisitions will bring the preserve to more than triple its original size!



Mark Chao



PS.  The gray-morph EASTERN SCREECH-OWL has been regularly present in its
cavity along Siena Drive in northeast Ithaca, including yesterday and today.

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[cayugabirds-l] Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest update

[Mark Chao]

Every Memorial Day weekend since 2006, I’ve led the Finger Lakes Land Trust
Spring Bird Quest (SBQ) to draw attention to the Land Trust’s role in
protecting vital habitat for the birds we love.  Over the years, hundreds
of birders have joined me on dozens of walks, raising tens of thousands of
dollars to support the Land Trust’s work.



Regrettably, the pandemic will make it impossible to hold our usual SBQ
group walks this year.  Still, I will try to go out myself and with my
family throughout the month, including Memorial Day weekend.  I hope all of
you will be able to get out on your own too, and to share your reports here
(or directly with me if you are too shy to share with the whole list).



Of course the Land Trust and I understand that we are all facing profound
new challenges in meeting the needs of our families and community in these
deeply troubled times.  Still, as I carry out my modified SBQ efforts, I
will still welcome pledges and direct donations in support of the SBQ.
Feel free to reply to me if you would like to make a pledge per bird
species I find this month on Land Trust preserves, or visit the Land
Trust’s website to donate any specific amount:  https://www.fllt.org/donate/.




Thank you very much for your consideration.  I am deeply grateful to so
many of you for your loyal support of me and the Land Trust over the years,
and also for your excellent company during our walks.  This year, even as
we keep our physical distance, I hope we can still enjoy and share the
birds and these wonderful preserves with each other.  And I hope you will
join me in remembering that the birds still depend on protected land, which
in turn depends on the Land Trust, which in turn depends on us.



With my thanks and best wishes to all,

Mark Chao







PS.  In a related development, next Saturday, May 9 is Big Day for Team
Sapsucker of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Starting at midnight on the
Big Day, the team finds as many bird species as possible in 24 hours to
raise funds in support of the Lab. This year, Team Sapsucker was planning
to split up across Nebraska and Argentina to highlight grassland bird
conservation. But because of the pandemic, Team Sapsucker decided to bring
Big Day home to the Finger Lakes.  The team will be focusing heavily on
Land Trust preserves.  Look to eBird next week to see what Team Sapsucker
finds.  (Already eBird is far busier than I’ve ever seen it in Tompkins
County, with lots of checklists and great birds at Land Trust properties.)



eBird recent visits to Tompkins County:
https://ebird.org/region/US-NY-109/activity?yr=all=

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Tues 4/14

[Mark Chao]

I saw a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER in the Fuller Wetlands in Sapsucker Woods a
little past midday on Tuesday.  I also saw a COMMON RAVEN flying by,
eastbound.  I looked for Vesper Sparrows around the far parking lot and
roadsides, but I didn’t find any.



(Over the past couple of weeks, foot traffic around Sapsucker Woods has
been much heavier than usual, especially with a lot more joggers and
families enjoying the trails.  It’s not easy to completely avoid
overlapping airspaces unless one stays along the road and parking lots.)



Mark

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[cayugabirds-l] NE Ithaca highlights since Sat 4/11

[Mark Chao]

I've had several spirit-lifting bird moments in northeast Ithaca over the
past few days.

* HERMIT THRUSH along St. Catherine's Circle on Saturday at 7 PM.  The
very occurrence of this species in our suburban neighborhood seemed
unusual enough.  This bird delivered further surprise and entertainment
with its vocalizations (a repeated, exquisitely gentle, high-pitched
*zn*, quite unlike the "chuck" or "zhraaay" call notes I've heard from
other local Hermit Thrushes) and behavior (standing with a robin right in
the middle of the road and on an open lawn, as if pretending to be another
robin or maybe an honorary pipit, plus some more typical picturesque
perching low in the shadows).

* FOX SPARROW heard singing and RUSTY BLACKBIRDS heard and seen in the
treetops at Palmer Woods on Sunday morning.

* EASTERN SCREECH-OWL continuing along Siena Drive, unexpectedly out of
view on Saturday evening and maybe equally unexpectedly in view on both
Sunday morning and Monday early afternoon.  Today the owl was sleeping
with its chin down on its chest, face and ear tufts parallel to the
ground.  (I've had no screech-owl sightings anywhere else in our
neighborhood for more than a month, and no more sightings of two together
since the encounter I posted about in February.)

* Two sightings of an adult BROAD-WINGED HAWK migrating over St. Catherine
of Siena Church at about 1 PM on Monday.

* A pair of MERLINS has been conspicuous and very vocal around our
neighborhood for the past week, ranging over several blocks, but I don't
know where they are nesting.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Palmer Woods, Sat 4/11

[Mark Chao]

On Saturday at Palmer Woods (north of A Lot on Cornell's campus), Miyoko
Chu, our son Tilden Chao, and I found some recent arrivals, including a
Blue-headed Vireo (seen also with Brad Walker), a Hermit Thrush (placidly
sharing a fruiting shrub with an unusually beautiful female Eastern
Bluebird), and several of each kinglet species.

Mark Chao

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RE: [cayugabirds-l] Ithaca airport Meadowlarks / with a warning

[Mark Chao]

Sheriff's deputies have long been vigilant about birders and especially
photographers around the airport fence, in both tense and more relaxed
times.

Twice over the past 20 years, starting at least a few years after 9/11,
sheriff's deputies have pulled me over along Snyder Road, asked me what I
was doing, and then cheerfully sent me on my way.  Once the deputy explained
that officers were watching me from the sheriff's building along Warren
Road, then decided to send someone out when they saw me taking photos [of
Vesper Sparrows].  I recall that Deputy Anderson specifically told me to
pull my car all the way off the road when stopping to bird.  I don't
remember specific instructions about not taking photos.

Still, since then I have made a point of not taking photos through the
fence.  I figure that if I ever find a Snowy Owl or something like that, I
can always call the sheriff's office to explain first.  Also, I do make a
point of calling ahead if I lead groups along Snyder Road, as I sometimes do
for the CBC on January 1.

Anyway, after that first incident, I sent a letter with my photos to Deputy
Anderson, explaining why the Vesper Sparrows, as well as woodcocks and other
airport birds, are special.  He was glad to receive the letter.

So I have always thought that the sheriff's office is striking a reasonable
balance in ensuring airport security while still being friendly and
respectful to me as a birder.  I do see that six squad cars is a whole
different level of response.  Maybe it is somehow because the officers are
more wary in these troubled times.  But given my past experience, I would
guess that it's more likely a case of Magnus having companions, and then
maybe a backup request getting out to a few on-duty officers at once.

Mark Chao




-Original Message-
From: bounce-124477674-3493...@list.cornell.edu
 On Behalf Of Kenneth V.
Rosenberg
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2020 7:13 PM
To: Marie P. Read ; Magnus Fiskesjo
; CAYUGABIRDS-L

Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ithaca airport Meadowlarks / with a warning

They did a similar thing right after 9/11, which might have been slightly
more justified than today. Many birding locations, such as sewage ponds in
Arizona, have remained closed to birders indefinitely -- for no good reason.
The "authorities" look for any chance to exude their paranoia and infringe
more and more on public rights. What possibly could photographing birds near
a municipal airport have to do with slowing a pandemic. I think we should
resist.

Ken Rosenberg
Applied Conservation Scientist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
American Bird Conservancy
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future k...@cornell.edu
Wk: 607-254-2412
Cell: 607-342-4594


On 3/19/20, 5:40 PM, "bounce-124477516-3493...@list.cornell.edu on behalf
of Marie P. Read"  wrote:

WH! Things are getting seriously weird.

Marie

Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY  13068 USA

e-mail   m...@cornell.edu
Website: http://www.marieread.com

AUTHOR of:
Mastering Bird Photography: The Art, Craft, and Technique of
Photographing Birds and Their Behavior

https://rockynook.com/shop/photography/mastering-bird-photography/?REF=101/

From: bounce-124477508-5851...@list.cornell.edu
[bounce-124477508-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Magnus Fiskesjo
[magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu]
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2020 5:36 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Ithaca airport Meadowlarks / with a warning

This afternoon, Thursday 19 March 2020, traveling along Snyder Rd. at
Ithaca Tompkins Airport to listen for meadowlarks singing.

We did hear two different singing birds, and saw one singing from the
airport fence.

Then, the airport police caught up with us and wanted to know what we
were doing! I told them we were out to listen for the beautiful song of the
meadowlark. In the end, 6 police cars showed up (airport and county
sheriff), writing down all my details and asking the same questions.

What a story.

In the end, the airport police said, if you give them a call beforehand
and tell them you are coming, you are allowed to birdwatch.

But NO cameras!

I suggested to them to add that, to the NO TRESPASSING signs.

--sincerely,

Magnus Fiskesjö, PhD

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[cayugabirds-l] NE Ithaca screech-owls, Mon 2/24/2020

[Mark Chao]

tl;dr version:

Two adult EASTERN SCREECH-OWLS seen together yesterday, but not today.
Also screech-owl sightings in two other spots nearby (including our yard)
since February 16.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/8scdkd6ARhFtKuxR8



Full story:

It’s late Monday afternoon in northeast Ithaca.  Together on our first
neighborhood walk since early January, Miyoko Chu and I casually check tree
cavities for screech-owls as usual.  We find none at first.  Then we
approach a dead tree.  I tell Miyoko how I’ve eyed this tree for years,
wishfully expecting to see someone in any of its several owl-sized holes,
but never cashing in.  We pause and look.  We each sense that the other
sees something, and then detect something ourselves, and exclaim pretty
much in the same moment… “And THERE IT IS!!” – a gray-morph screech-owl.



Miyoko remarks about the owl’s chosen hole.  I reply that I wouldn’t even
really call it a hole, but rather just the broken top of the snag.  Miyoko
gently insists that the owl is in a hole.  We both drop the subject and
marvel at the sight together.



I take out my phone for a photo.  As I compose the view, I finally see that
Miyoko and I are both right – there are *two* owls together in this dead
tree, one nestled in the broken-off top and one poking out from a cavity
about five feet below.  This is the first time either of us has ever seen
two adult screech-owls out in the open together.  It’s also the first time
that we’ve ever found any screech-owl in a natural cavity by sight only --
no nest box, no mobbing songbirds, no previous listserv posts.   Astounded
by such shared good luck, and bonded by the owls bonded to each other, we
agree that it’s one of the great moments of our birding life, or indeed our
whole life together.



And this is only the latest of several screech-owl encounters we’ve had in
our neighborhood since last week.



On the evening of February 16, we saw an Eastern Screech-Owl in a nest box
in our yard -- our first owl here since 2016, and the first one we’ve ever
seen in this particular box.  Before then, over more than a decade of
winters and early springs, various screech-owls had roosted in a drafty old
nest box on a willow tree in the yard.  That tree finally fell down last
year, and we retired the old box for good.



On that same February 16 evening, I went out to Siena Drive and saw a
second Eastern Screech-Owl in another natural cavity.



I had found an owl here in late 2016, just about when we ceased to see owls
in our yard.  I posted to the list back then, and many people saw the owl
during that winter and part of the next, up to December 2017.  At that
time, I witnessed a group of birders whom I know from eBird whistling at
the owl, inducing it to respond repeatedly.  I understand that they did the
same thing the following night.  These birders were rather young and I know
that they surely had no ill intent.  But after that second night, I didn’t
see the owl again all that winter, nor the following winter of 2018-19,
despite repeated visits during prime evening hours.



I finally found an owl at this spot again nearly two years later, in early
December 2019.  It’s been in view most nights I’ve looked since then, up
through last week, including Sunday, February 23.  But I decided not to
post about it anywhere because of that December 2017 incident, plus a
couple of cases of trespassing photographers that I also found out about.



Anyway, I checked both our nest box and the Siena Drive location last night
too, but found no owls there.  So it seems quite plausible that the two
owls that Miyoko and I found together are the same ones that roosted
separately in our yard and on Siena Drive last week.  (All owls I’ve seen
have been gray-brown.  Photos don’t really show enough to definitively
identify individuals.  See album link above.)



I also checked last night’s two-owl site again on Tuesday morning, but
found no birds.  Maybe they’re hunkered down somewhere else, out of the
light rain.  I’ll post again if there is any more news, and if the owl(s)
seem viewable by the whole community without too much disruption of the
owls’ breeding efforts and the privacy of human neighbors.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Cornell community garden plots, Sat 10/12 and Sun 10/13

[Mark Chao]

On October 12 and 13, I led morning field trips for the Cayuga Bird Club at
the Cornell community garden plots on Freese Road.   We had an impressive
turnout of at least 33 people, about evenly distributed between the two
days.



Right as people were arriving on Saturday, we got distant but satisfying
scope views of a MERLIN perched on a roadside utility wire, pulling red
strands of flesh from an unidentified songbird.  We then proceeded into the
garden plots to look for sparrows.  They were more difficult to find than
usual, I’d say, but eventually we collectively turned up seven species --
SONG, SWAMP, SAVANNAH, CHIPPING, FIELD, WHITE-CROWNED (both juvenile and
adult), and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS.  All morning long, we heard and saw a
flock of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS feeding on sunflower heads and reposing in
the trees, including many males bearing rusty-edged fall feathers with
obscured epaulets. We also saw many birds flying over, including seven
EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, three somewhat late TREE SWALLOWS, two PILEATED
WOODPECKERS, and probably two near-adult BALD EAGLES (one sighting to our
south, one later coming in from the north).



Toward the end of Saturday’s outing, we decided to cross over to the
Liddell Lab pond area.  Here we had a couple of fine capstones to the
morning – a BLUE-HEADED VIREO foraging in the trees near the lab, and a
presumed female COOPER’S HAWK heading south.



As we gathered on Sunday, it was still below 40 degrees with a pall of fog
over the plots.  Then just as we started out, the sun rose brilliantly over
the trees, the mist dissipated, and many birds woke up and got busy.



We started over at the Liddell Lab side this time.  Right on the edge of
the roadside copse, we saw perhaps the most intriguing bird of the weekend
-- a sparrow that appeared to have fine frontal streaks, buffy breastband,
and finely patterned mantle like a Lincoln’s Sparrow, but a stout grayish
bill with a rounded culmen and overall large size and long proportions of a
Song Sparrow.  Even with extended views, a good photograph by Raaj Bora,
and some helpful input from others, I’m still not sure what that bird was.



We advanced to the weedy pond edge, where we had some excellent sunlit
views of two WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and many SONG SPARROWS, plus a male
BELTED KINGFISHER that flew in with a rattle from the east and perched on a
branch hanging over the pond.



Then we crossed back to the community plots.  We found about the same mix
of sparrows as on Saturday, this time with much greater ease and
opportunity for leisurely comparison of field marks and sounds.  Our
airborne highlights were a bit different but arguably equally stirring – at
least 80 TURKEY VULTURES rising at once on the warming air to our south,
and the weekend’s only RED-TAILED HAWK, chased by two crows to the lone
tree across the road.



Leading up to both field trips, I pondered whether to take people over to
the Bluegrass Lane area, where a cattail patch in the middle of the
switchgrass field has perennially hosted sojourning Nelson’s Sparrows in
early October, including this year.  In past years, I have indeed added a
Nelson’s quest to these sparrow walks.  But alas, those repeated efforts
have led to just one fleeting sighting for one person.



I decided this year to be very direct about the low prospects for success
(and possible higher success for solo searchers or smaller groups).  On
Saturday, maybe deterred also by the light rain, we collectively decided
not to try.  But on Sunday, we had a quorum and headed over.  This time, a
few participants (not I) had a brief but definitive NELSON’S SPARROW
sighting -- and Raaj even got a good photo!



Especially at sites like the garden plots and Bluegrass Lane field, with
their narrow corridors and tall plants, birding in big groups can be a bit
of a challenge.  But not for the Cayuga Bird Club!  All weekend long,
people helped each other get onto birds, while also remaining cheerful and
optimistic even when missing birds that others saw.  I’m especially
grateful to Diane Morton and Ken Kemphues, Bob McGuire, Dave Nutter, Jody
Enck, Ann Mitchell, Ken Haas, and probably some others that I am forgetting
at the moment -- the veteran trip leaders who shared information, lugged
scopes, kept better lists than I did, and generally helped make the trips
more orderly, enlightening and fun for me and everyone.



Thanks to all for a great weekend!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club sparrow walks this weekend

[Mark Chao]

On Saturday and Sunday, I’ll be leading field trips for the Cayuga Bird
Club at the Cornell Community Garden Plots and vicinity.  Each walk will
begin at 8 AM at the parking lot for the garden plots on the east side of
Freese Road between the Dyce Lab and the Liddell Lab.



The gardens are perennially an excellent spot for diversity and numbers of
migrating sparrows in the first half of October.  Today I found eight
sparrow species there (Song, Savannah, Swamp, Field, White-crowned,
White-throated, Dark-eyed Junco, and Eastern Towhee), plus a Palm Warbler.
I also flushed up a Wilson’s Snipe (probably my first ever on this side of
Freese Road) and saw an American Mink in another.



We will be walking through a lot of tall, wet weeds in chilly weather.  I
recommend waterproof clothing and footwear.



I look forward to seeing many of you this weekend!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Spring Bird Quest -- Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve (Sun 5/26) and Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve (Mon 5/27)

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday and Monday, I led two more walks for the Finger Lakes Land Trust
Spring Bird Quest (SBQ).  Again we had essentially perfect weather,
impressively large groups of very congenial birders, and our fair share of
rewarding bird moments.





Sunday, May 26

Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve (owned by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference
subject to a conservation easement held by the Finger Lakes Land Trust)

Enfield

34 species of birds seen and/or heard

18 participants, plus me



After a surprisingly quiet walk through the old-growth woods, our patience
and persistence finally paid off when we returned to more open edge
habitat.  Here we all got fine scope views of a male SCARLET TANAGER and
male INDIGO BUNTING, plus repeated close binocular views of a
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER.  Many birds sang but remained unseen, including
HOODED WARBLER, BLACKPOLL WARBLER, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, EASTERN TOWHEE,
WOOD THRUSH, and others.



(One special aspect of this walk was the participation of my 80-year-old
mom, Johanna Chao, who is visiting this weekend from Massachusetts.  She
was very happy that I, and now she too, could connect with so many nice
people.  Thank you!)



__



Monday, May 27

Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve

West Danby

56 species of birds seen and/or heard

23-25 participants, plus me



The PRAIRIE WARBLERS, BLUE-WINGED WARBLERS, and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS
here were very vocal along several of the field edges, but alas, we got
only brief obscured views of them despite much effort.  We had similarly
fleeting viewing opportunities with a BLACKPOLL WARBLER and a BROWN
THRASHER, both down by the north pond.  Here we did have a reasonably long
open view of a WILLOW FLYCATCHER, which at one point was singing at the
same time as a nearby ALDER FLYCATCHER.  Other species, including
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER and HOODED WARBLER, sang but stayed behind a few
too many layers of branches to see.



The viewing highlight of the morning might have been a BOBOLINK that
perched and sang for a long time atop a little shrub in the first grassy
field.  Or maybe it was the GREAT BLUE HERONS at their rookery above the
wooded pond next to the West Danby Fire Department’s facility on Sylvan
Drive.  I think that there are at least 8 nests here.  I conservatively
counted at least nine adult herons and eight begging nestlings of various
ages, but I think that the actual numbers could well be a lot higher.  Here
at this pond, we also found the morning’s biggest surprise – a
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, a rare find for the SBQ.



(Special thanks to Suzanne Giffin for carrying her scope and tripod on both
of these walks, and sharing many great views with many people.  Thanks
again also to Ken Kemphues, who similarly carried and shared his scope on
yesterday’s walk, and to both him and Diane Morton for helping to guide our
large group.)

___



In the end (counting a LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH that I found on a visit to the
Land Trust’s Sweedler Preserve at Lick Brook at dawn today), my species
tally for the weekend is 82.  This year’s SBQ will again yield at least a
couple thousand dollars in donations for the Land Trust.  (Contact me or
visit www.fllt.org if you too would like to make a donation.)



Thanks to all for your participation and support!  It is just so much fun
to see all of you and to share so many bird moments with you at all these
Land Trust preserves!

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[cayugabirds-l] Goetchius Wetland Preserve and Roy H. Park Preserve (FLLT SBQ), Sat 5/25

[Mark Chao]

On Saturday morning, I led two group walks to kick off this year’s Finger
Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest (SBQ).  We had many birders and many
highlights!



Goetchius Wetland Preserve

Flatiron Road

Caroline

6:30 – 8:10 AM

40+ species of birds seen and/or heard

10 participants plus me



* An AMERICAN BITTERN pumping in the large cattail patch near the parking
area, heard by most in the group but not by me

* At least two WILSON’S SNIPE flushing up from the grass upon our approach,
issuing soft vocalizations that were unfamiliar to me.  I think these were
the first snipe I’ve ever found in 14 years of the SBQ.

* One or more BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS calling throughout the morning,
including one that Tom Hoebbel and I saw flying out of a tree at 6:10 AM,
wheeling over an open field, and finally taking cover in the shadowy crown
of a distant sapling

* The expected trifecta of grassland birds – BOBOLINKS, SAVANNAH SPARROWS,
and EASTERN MEADOWLARK.  One meadowlark perched up and sang for a long time
in the sunshine.

* Multiple WILLOW and ALDER FLYCATCHERS and one LEAST FLYCATCHER singing

* A female BALTIMORE ORIOLE deliberately picking at some buds on a tree
(not sure if she was collecting nest material or foraging)

* A female-type PURPLE FINCH repeatedly singing a short song and perching
up for some open viewing

* Many TREE SWALLOWS offering very fine views, including a pair engaged in
maybe 8 copulation attempts in about 30 seconds atop a nest box

* A male EASTERN BLUEBIRD also coming close for great views, plus a female
seen later flying with food in her bill

* A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH singing out in the middle of the dense wetland
vegetation

* Two male BLACKPOLL WARBLERS all lit up in the branches of roadside
willows, offering outstanding views for all, plus some very good photo ops
for Tom



Roy H. Park Preserve (southern portion, aka the Baldwin Tract)

Irish Settlement Road

Dryden

8:30-11:05 AM

45+ species of birds seen and/or heard

30 participants plus me



* 12 singing warbler species, including PRAIRIE, CHESTNUT-SIDED,
BLACK-THROATED GREEN, MAGNOLIA, YELLOW-RUMPED, TENNESSEE, BLUE-WINGED,
CANADA, AMERICAN REDSTART, and OVENBIRD.  A subset of us got at least brief
views of Prairie, Magnolia, Blue-winged, and Common Yellowthroat at close
range.

* A FIELD SPARROW that sang and sang its typical rising song within earshot
of practically the whole initial straightaway and across the spruce
plantation to the orange-blazed trail

* A second Field Sparrow that twice sang an unusual two-part song whose
trill was lower in pitch than the initial notes.  This song seemed
exquisitely sad and contemplative to my ears, though I am sure it is quite
rousing for other Field Sparrows.

* A male RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD perched up on a bare branch, presumably
digesting a recent guzzle of nectar

* A presumed RED-SHOULDERED HAWK calling in the woods near the shelter

* A male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER at a nest, seen by many in the group but
alas, not by me and others at the front of our long file



plus an Eastern Pine Elfin– a very beautiful butterfly and a life sighting
for me, and indeed a species I’d never previously noticed even in books.



Many thanks to all participants for a very fun morning!  I truly appreciate
everyone’s good spirits, patience, and mutual support, which were essential
for making the walk work with such a large group.  I especially thank Diane
Morton and Ken Kemphues for their help in guiding the group and sharing
their scope.



I hope to see many of you at tomorrow’s walk at the Bock-Harvey Forest
Preserve (8 AM start, Rockwell Road in Enfield).



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Th 5/16

[Mark Chao]

I walked around much of Sapsucker Woods with visiting scientist Martin
Stervander.  It was by far the best morning of the spring for me, probably
a top-ten day for me ever in the sanctuary, all the more so because we
picked up many lifers for Martin.  The treetops from Sherwood Platform past
the Charley Harper Bench all the way to the road were teeming with great
numbers of at least 19 warbler species, including CAPE MAY (4+ M, 1 F),
BAY-BREASTED (3+), TENNESSEE (3+, one confirmed by sight), BLACKBURNIAN
(8+), NORTHERN PARULA (7+), PINE (1 M, surprising to see by Fuller
Wetlands, not near any pines – confirmed by photo), BLACK-THROATED BLUE (4
M, 1 F), BLACK-THROATED GREEN (6+), CHESTNUT-SIDED (6+), NASHVILLE (2,
heard only), BLACK-AND-WHITE (1 seen, 1+ heard only), WILSON’S (seen by
Martin, missed by me), and one HOODED (heard only, but I feel sure).
Northern Waterthrush would have made 20 warbler species for the morning,
but somehow we didn’t hear any along the Woodleton Boardwalk.  We also
found a couple of YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS and BLUE-HEADED VIREOS.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Cerulean Warbler in Ithaca (?), Sat 5/11

[Mark Chao]

On Saturday afternoon at about 2:10 PM, from the new housing development at
400 Spencer Road in Ithaca, I heard what I think was a singing CERULEAN
WARBLER up the slope (along lower Stone Quarry Road).  I couldn’t confirm
this bird by sight (no binoculars, didn’t even try).  But I do feel that
Cerulean is the most likely ID, despite its local rarity and potential for
confusion with other singers.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Fri 5/10

[Mark Chao]

This morning I visited the Wilson Trail North in Sapsucker Woods between
spells of rain.   It seemed that the mix of birds has remained essentially
unchanged since Tuesday’s influx  – a female BAY-BREASTED WARBLER along the
pond edge; five or more CAPE MAY WARBLERS around the flowering trees at the
footbridge over the pond outflow; a WILSON’S WARBLER singing between this
bridge and the Sherwood Platform; plus CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER,
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, NORTHERN PARULA, BLUE-HEADED VIREO, and other
expected songbirds between the platform and the Charley Harper bench.
Also, a MARSH WREN continues to sing in the reeds out from the Ruth Davis
arbor south of the visitor center.  (To my knowledge, no one has found the
Golden-winged Warbler since Tuesday afternoon.)



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest -- four guided walks over May 25-27

[Mark Chao]

Hi everyone,

Please consider joining me over Memorial Day weekend for the Finger Lakes
Land Trust Spring Bird Quest (SBQ), a series of outings celebrating our
local birds and the Land Trust's work in protecting their vital habitats.
See below for a list of walks I'll be leading.  For full details,
including site descriptions and directions, see
https://www.fllt.org/events/.

As always, these SBQ events are free, but I will welcome donations in
support of the Land Trust.  If you care to make a pledge, as either a
fixed amount or an amount per species I find over the weekend on Land
Trust preserves, please contact me off-list.  I am very grateful even for
the smallest donations!  (I think that we've collectively raised about
$75K for the Land Trust through the SBQ since its inception in 2006.)

In addition, a week from tomorrow (Saturday, May 18), my son Tilden Chao
will be leading a free birding walk for kids (age 5 and up) at the Roy H.
Park Preserve (south), starting at 9:30 AM.  All kids must be accompanied
by a parent or other responsible adult.  More details at the link above.

I am looking forward to some great birding with many of you!

Mark Chao


___
Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest
May 25-27, 2019

Saturday, May 25
6:30 – 8:00 AM
Goetchius Wetland Preserve
Flatiron Road, Caroline

and

8:30 – 10:30 AM
Park Nature Preserve
Irish Settlement Road, Dryden

Sunday, May 26
Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve (owned by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference,
subject a conservation easement held by the Land Trust)
Rockwell Road, Enfield
Meet in the main parking lot at 8:00 AM

Monday, May 27
Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve
Routes 34 and 96, West Danby
Meet in the main parking lot at 8:00 AM

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Tues 5/7

[Mark Chao]

On Tuesday morning in Sapsucker Woods, I joined Tom Hoebbel, Holly Adams,
Diane Morton, Laurie Ray, Leigh Stivers, and several others in watching at
least one female and six male CAPE MAY WARBLERS in the flowering pear trees
at the footbridge at the western split of the Wilson Trail North.  The gray
sky and the near-constant zooming combat among the males made for
challenging viewing, but with patience, we all got extremely good looks.  I
don’t think I’d ever previously seen so many Cape May Warblers so close
together for so long.



NORTHERN PARULAS were offering excellent views here too.  Other warblers
were a bit harder to find, but collectively I think we found at least a
dozen other species, including WILSON’S, BAY-BREASTED, BLACKBURNIAN,
BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, BLUE-WINGED, BLACK-AND-WHITE,
and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Tues 4/23

[Mark Chao]

Here are some highlights from Sapsucker Woods on Tuesday morning:



* NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH seen singing for a long time from a perch along
Woodleton Boardwalk

* PINE WARBLER in pines along north edge of sanctuary, along power line cut
(ground is very wet here)

* COMMON YELLOWTHROAT singing by hidden pond under power lines

* Western PALM WARBLER with YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS along north edge of main
pond

* 30+ RUSTY BLACKBIRDS around main pond, especially near southern end of
Podell Boardwalk

* Several PURPLE FINCHES seen singing at beginning of Wilson Trail North

* Many singing RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS throughout

* Two GREEN HERONS flying together to Fuller Wetlands



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Tues 4/9

[Mark Chao]

On Tuesday morning, a VESPER SPARROW was offering very long and close views
along the far parking lot and roadside portions of the nest-box knoll in
Sapsucker Woods.  This lot is perennially an excellent location for close
viewing of this species in the second week of April (including the gravel
portions out toward Route 13, as well as the grassy edges and small nearby
trees).



I also saw a WILSON’S SNIPE in the Fuller Wetlands.  I spent a few minutes
scanning for Sunday’s woodcock near the Podell Boardwalk, but didn’t find
it.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Woodcock update

[Mark Chao]

Still present, now farther south straight out halfway to road from 5th post
of Podell Boardwalk.

Mark

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 4/7

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday morning, I had one of the better early-April birding outings I’ve
ever had in Sapsucker Woods.  Here are some highlights, which I enjoyed
with various others.



* AMERICAN WOODCOCK, found by Wee Hao Ng south of the Lab at 9:20 AM.  The
bird was foraging along the first wooded stretch of the Wilson Trail, south
of the feeder garden area, north of the Podell Boardwalk, between the trail
and the road.  We and a few passersby had very fine views of this bird
within about 20 feet from the trail and especially from the road.  It was
still there when we left at around 10:20 AM.



* At least three EASTERN MEADOWLARKS seen and heard (both fluting song and
long sparky rattling sequences, as well as electric buzzes) around the
knoll with nest boxes, and also in the airport zone east of the far parking
lot.



* NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD atop a tree north of building near pond.



* Three FOX SPARROWS together under brush at north edge of woods, where
trail connects utility corridor and Hoyt-Pileated Trail



* Two FIELD SPARROWS together along the side of the road, with Song
Sparrows.



* Male and female EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and 2+ TREE SWALLOWS on and around the
nest boxes on the knoll.



* COMMON RAVEN perched on a utility pole, before heading north.



* GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS throughout, especially along first stretch of
Wilson Trail North.



* PURPLE FINCHES singing north of Sherwood Platform; one immature confirmed
by sight.



* Six RING-NECKED DUCKS and a female HOODED MERGANSER on main pond.



* A pair of WOOD DUCKS perched in a tree near Podell Boardwalk, plus at
least one flying over.



Full eBird checklist, including some photos to be posted later, is here:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S54667204.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Mon 3/18

[Mark Chao]

Barred Owl perched low in hollow of dead tree just to west of eastern
Severinghaus/Wilson Trail node.  Wonderful views.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 2/10

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday at 9:45 AM, the BARRED OWL was sleeping in the tall pine next to
the shelter by the Wilson/Severinghaus intersection in Sapsucker Woods.
This is the fifth or sixth day out of the last seven that the owl has
roosted in this tree.



In my visits this week, this owl has shown a striking inclination to sleep
through human observation and songbird mobbing.  Certainly, just in terms
of roost choice from hour to hour and from day to day, this is by far the
most easily refindable Barred Owl I’ve ever known in our area.  All the
same, Chris Pelkie was right to warn against excessive intrusiveness –
especially because this owl’s fidelity to the tree might indicate incipient
breeding activity nearby.  I hope that the owl continues to find reason to
stay, and thus also to keep offering such fine viewing to so many of us.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Th 2/7 (Barred Owl reported again)

[Mark Chao]

Tom Schulenberg reports that the BARRED OWL has returned to the tall pine
tree by the shelter at the Wilson/Severinghaus intersection in Sapsucker
Woods on Thursday morning.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Mon 2/4

[Mark Chao]

A Barred Owl is sleeping in the lone pine by the Wilson/Severinghaus
shelter in Sapsucker Woods (Monday 12:25 pm).

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] NE Ithaca, Th 1/4/19

[Mark Chao]

There is a first-winter WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW in our yard in northeast
Ithaca this morning, along with the usual array of House Finches, juncos,
jays, a CAROLINA WREN, and others.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Evening Grosbeaks in NE Ithaca, Wed 12/5

[Mark Chao]

On Wednesday morning, eight EVENING GROSBEAKS (1 adult male) visited our
yard in northeast Ithaca.   Besides black oil sunflower seeds in our hopper
feeder, they also ate maple seeds and maybe buds or seeds of a couple other
tree species.  Mostly, they just perched quietly in the sunshine.  This is
the first time we’ve ever seen Evening Grosbeaks in our yard in our 17+
years in Ithaca.



Also this morning (9:05 AM), Wesley Hochachka saw at least two female
Evening Grosbeaks in Sapsucker Woods in an ash tree east of the building by
the north-side feeder station, but they flew off somewhere within about a
minute.



eBird shows at least a couple dozen Evening Grosbeak records around
Tompkins County since November 2018, including more than a few this week so
far, including a county high count of 44 (13+ adult males) by Jay McGowan
along Irish Settlement Road a couple of days ago.



Mark Chao

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 10/14

[Mark Chao]

MERLIN still present in same tree (just past noon -- 90 minutes and
counting!), unfazed by foot traffic right below. Also BLACK-THROATED GREEN
WARBLER seen and another WINTER WREN seen and heard (jif-jif call notes)
next to base of Woodleton Boardwalk.

Mark Chao

On Oct 14, 2018 11:02 AM, "Mark Chao"  wrote:

Extremely cooperative MERLIN perched with prey in talons for last 35+
minutes (now 11 am) right by the parking space closest to start of Wilson
Trail North and pillar marking Robert M. and Mary M. Baker Memorial
Entrance. Also singing Winter Wren at Sherwood Platform.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 10/14

[Mark Chao]

Extremely cooperative MERLIN perched with prey in talons for last 35+
minutes (now 11 am) right by the parking space closest to start of Wilson
Trail North and pillar marking Robert M. and Mary M. Baker Memorial
Entrance. Also singing Winter Wren at Sherwood Platform.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] CBC field trip to Cornell Garden Plots and Bluegrass Lane, Sat Oct 6 and Sun Oct 7

[Mark Chao]

On Saturday and Sunday, I led field trips for the Cayuga Bird Club at the
Cornell Garden Plots (known also as the Cornell Community Gardens) along
Freese Road.  On both days, the viewing met my high expectations, with
everyone getting good looks at LINCOLN’S, SWAMP, WHITE-CROWNED, and
WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS.  There were dozens of SONG SPARROWS too of course,
providing helpful visual and aural points of reference against which to
pick out the less-common birds.



The White-crowned Sparrows seem unusually abundant and easy to find this
year, with many sightings on each day, including a few of multiple
individuals in a single field of view.  Conversely, SAVANNAH SPARROWS
continue to seem relatively scarce at the site this year.  We barely
managed to see one on each day.  I also didn’t find any FIELD SPARROWS at
all in the gardens this weekend, though Ken Haas saw one on Saturday.



The most surprising and distinctive sparrow of the weekend was a female
EASTERN TOWHEE on Saturday, which perched up for us for about 20 seconds on
the fence of the Dyce Lab corral.  Sunday offered up its own special
touches, including a PALM WARBLER on the same spot on that fence, plus many
fine birds across the road on the Liddell Lab side – an EASTERN MEADOWLARK
resting in the grass, a BLUE-HEADED VIREO in a small tree near the
building, four WILD TURKEYS, a female NORTHERN HARRIER, and the first
OSPREY I’ve seen in weeks.  Ken Kemphues and Leigh Stivers also found a
MARSH WREN in the cattails around the pond.



On both days I ended the walks by offering a visit to the grassy field west
of Bluegrass Lane, north of the Equine Research Park, to try our luck
finding Nelson’s Sparrow in the hidden cattail patches.  Regrettably, a
giant bolt of lightning curtailed our effort just as it was beginning on
Saturday.  Fortunately, we all escaped incineration and even inundation, as
the torrents held off until we were already back in our cars.



On Sunday, we did manage to get out to the field, though fog and wind
hampered our viewing.  We didn’t find any birds of special note in the
grass, nor in the goldenrod and cattails.  But as we walked back along the
gravel road, we got two last highlights for the weekend.  The first was a
Lincoln’s Sparrow on a desiccated corn husk, offering close, wide-open
(albeit fog-shrouded) views for probably two full minutes.  Then we had the
weekend’s best views of Savannah Sparrow browsing the puddles and gravel at
the grass edge.



I got a lot of help on both days from the sharp eyes and insight of many
other club members, especially Ken, Leigh, Bob McGuire and Phil McNeil, as
well as sparrow scientist Zena Casteel.  My thanks to them, and to all who
came out for the walks!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Cornell Community Gardens, Fri 10/5

[Mark Chao]

On Saturday and Sunday, I’ll lead Cayuga Bird Club field trips in search of
sparrows and other field birds.  We’ll start at 8 AM on both days at the
Cornell Community Gardens along Freese Road, and then head over to the
Bluegrass Lane fields if we have time.  Come prepared to walk through mud
and tall, wet grasses and weeds.



Although the weather forecast appears a little less than ideal, I expect a
lot of fine birding.  Today, Diane Morton, Ken Kemphues, and I found a very
good variety of sparrows at the community gardens, including two LINCOLN’S
SPARROWS, at least five WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS (2+ juvenile, 3+ adult), one
or more WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, a couple of SWAMP SPARROWS, a FIELD
SPARROW, and very many SONG SPARROWS.  Later Bob McGuire and I found
several SAVANNAH SPARROWS here too, plus what I think was probably a third
Lincoln’s Sparrow.



Earlier, Diane, Ken, and I went looking for birds, especially Nelson’s
Sparrow, in the patches of cattails and goldenrod amid the sea of grass
west of Bluegrass Lane just south of Hanshaw Road.  We didn’t find
Nelson’s, but did get a nice long sunlit view of a Lincoln’s Sparrow, plus
another of a beautiful female NORTHERN HARRIER.  We also heard an AMERICAN
PIPIT or two flying overhead.



I hope to see many of you this weekend!



Mark Chao



PS.  Another highlight of the day:  two COMMON RAVENS soaring in circles
together for 5+ minutes, very high above our home on Simsbury Drive in
northeast Ithaca.  This is probably the first time I’ve ever seen multiple
ravens here at home.

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Th 9/27

[Mark Chao]

Cape May Warbler again giving tremendous open views on ground by Charley
Harper bench along Wilson Trail North in Sapsucker Woods (11:45 AM). Other
warblers around too...mostly Yellow-rumped but also N. Waterthrush, et al.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Tues 9/25

[Mark Chao]

On Tuesday morning, I went to Sapsucker Woods, thinking that last night’s
storm might have downed some boreal thrushes and other birds.  I found
almost nothing on the Wilson Trail, but eventually found a warbler flock by
the shelter on the East Trail, including an adult male CAPE MAY WARBLER and
a few BLACKPOLL WARBLERS.  I didn’t detect any Catharus species at all,
despite some effort.



Then, having seen on eBird that Ruth Bennett had found many warblers and
vireos at noon along the Wilson Trail North, I created an excuse to return
in mid-afternoon.  Where the trail enters the woods just past the Owens
Platform, I found a little flurry of songbirds -- at least two WILSON’S
WARBLERS, a BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN
WARBLER, and a BLUE-HEADED VIREO, plus a BROWN CREEPER and many chickadees.



A few quiet minutes later, I approached the Charley Harper bench.  I saw
two birds foraging on the ground.  One was a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, right
on schedule, behaving just as I had seen in past Septembers and Octobers.
But the other – what a splendid surprise!  It was another CAPE MAY
WARBLER.  This bird eventually stayed long past the Yellow-rumped, offering
me about 30 minutes of close, unobscured views and very good photo ops,
right there in front of the bench.  It was much duller than the Cape May
Warbler that I saw in the morning.  I’m still not sure, however, of the age
and sex of the afternoon bird.



Here is my afternoon eBird checklist, which contains some photos.



https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48743798



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Common Nighthawk perched in Sapsucker Woods, Sunday 9/16

[Mark Chao]

Common Nighthawk perched above base of Sherwood Platform in Sapsucker Woods
(Sun 9/16, 9:30 AM). Also many warblers, Philadelphia Vireos, et al.

To find nighthawk, walk 1/3 boardwalk length from base, turn around and
look back to trail. Find side-by-side pair of tall trees right next to
trail, left one covered w poison ivy. 2/3 of the way up, 3 o'clock.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods and Cornell Community Gardens, Tues 9/11

[Mark Chao]

On Tuesday morning, I hitched along with Gladys Birdsall and a very large
group of birders from Campus Club at Cornell on the Wilson Trail North in
Sapsucker Woods.  We found a modest scattering of warblers, including one
each of BAY-BREASTED, BLACKBURNIAN, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-AND-WHITE,
and probable TENNESSEE, as well as COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and an OVENBIRD that
Gladys scoped but I missed.  Regrettably, these birds weren’t very
cooperative for many in the group.  Then a small subset and I proceeded
over to the road and the east side of the sanctuary, but we found no
warblers at all.



Since last week, a few eBird users have reported seeing BOBOLINKS in the
Cornell Community Gardens along Freese Road.  Last week I went looking
among the plots and found only one, but today, Kevin McGowan tipped me off
that many more Bobolinks are in the uncultivated expanse south of the
parking area.  I found at least 33 of them here today, mostly staying
undercover under the waving foxtail grasses, but sometimes taking flight,
perching up on grass heads or weeds.  By walking north very slowly in the
shallow trench that bisects this field, from the southern hedgerow back to
the parking lot, I managed to see many birds at pretty close range,
sometimes many at once in one field of view.  Great birds!  Thanks for the
tip, Kevin!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sat 9/8

[Mark Chao]

I visited Sapsucker Woods twice on Saturday.  Though I found no very
unusual species, both outings stand among the most rewarding I’ve had in
recent autumns, with much frenetic migrant activity and countless excellent
views.



On my first visit, Poppy Singer, Gary Fine, and I found rather few birds on
the Wilson Trail North at around 8 AM, but about an hour later, the three
of us and Kevin Cummings ran into an impressive mixed flock by 91 Sapsucker
Woods Road (the “frog barn”).  Then, noting not only the excellent birding
but also the relative absence of mosquitoes, I went home and persuaded my
wife Miyoko Chu to return to this spot with me.  We didn’t find much
together at 11 AM.  But I stuck around alone, met Paul Anderson and Gary
Kohlenberg, widened my search, and eventually found quite a lot of birds
again, especially in a dazzling flock along the Wilson Trail North.



My warbler tally is as follows:



CANADA (1 M at western bend in pondside branch of Wilson Trail North)

BAY-BREASTED (very abundant and conspicuous -- 3 near frog barn, 7+ along
Wilson Trail North)

BLACK-THROATED BLUE (1 F along road in late morning – no sign of a white
wing spot, but I’m sure of the ID)

BLACK-THROATED GREEN (several in each of the two main flocks)

MAGNOLIA (very abundant and conspicuous – 10+ near frog barn, 7+ along
Wilson Trail North)

CHESTNUT-SIDED (only a little less abundant than Magnolia in both main
flocks)

BLACKBURNIAN (1 M along Wilson Trail North)

BLACK-AND-WHITE (1+ M, 1 F along Wilson Trail North)

TENNESSEE (2 in Fuller Wetlands, 4+ along Wilson Trail North)

NASHVILLE (1 in Fuller Wetlands)

NORTHERN PARULA (1+ in each of the main flocks)

AMERICAN REDSTART (1 in each of the main flocks)

COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (a couple near each of the main flocks)



In addition to the Orange-crowned Warbler that Laura Stenzler mentioned
earlier (great find – looking forward to the details), I also missed a CAPE
MAY WARBLER and probable YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER that Gary Kohlenberg found.
So there are probably at least 16 warbler species in Sapsucker Woods today,
comprising dozens and dozens of individual birds.



Other highlights include a bright PHILADELPHIA VIREO along the pondside
branch of the Wilson Trail North, a molting male SCARLET TANAGER feeding a
begging juvenile along the driveway to the frog barn, and a BARRED OWL that
Poppy, Gary Fine, and I heard hooting somewhere out along the East Trail.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Fri 9/7

[Mark Chao]

Excellent warbler numbers and diversity by Sherwood Platform in Sapsucker
Woods on Friday (9:30 am). Cape May (2+), Wilson's, N. Parula,
Blackburnian, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, several
Chestnut-sided, Nashville, et al. I haven't even checked the north side of
the pond yet.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Mon 8/20

[Mark Chao]

At least some of the warblers from yesterday’s impressive influx remain in
Sapsucker Woods on Monday – two BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS, at least two
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS, two juvenile CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS, and an
AMERICAN REDSTART.  I also saw a juvenile BROAD-WINGED HAWK circling over
the main pond.



On each of my three recent visits to the sanctuary, the hotspot for
warblers has been along the road and the East Trail, between the gated
trailheads and 91 Sapsucker Woods Road.  I think that the noise of teeming
family groups of titmice, chickadees, and nuthatches might be attracting
incoming migrants.  It is definitely worthwhile to follow your ears to the
flocks here.  Be ready for swarms of voracious cloth-penetrating mosquitoes.



Yesterday’s Bay-breasted Warbler got an eBird quality-control prompt, but
today’s did not.  Still, today’s birds were actually much more surprising
to me because of their plumages, which looked plainly like those of a
spring adult male (solid black face, bay crown and throat, contrasting
cream-colored neck patch) and a spring adult female (muted black face,
trace of chestnut along throat down to sides, also with contrasting pale
neck patch).  I don’t recall previously seeing Bay-breasted Warblers
looking like this in fall – especially not the one in breeding male
plumage.  Given that yesterday’s bird had the more expected greenish face
and back, I feel certain that there have been at least three individual
Bay-breasted Warblers in this area over these two days.



By the way -- since yesterday, people have collectively found at least 18
warbler species in Sapsucker Woods – Bay-breasted (1 adult M, 1 apparent
adult F, 1 first-year), Cape May (1 adult M, 1 first-year F), Blackburnian
(multiple individuals across full range of plumages, including adult males
in near-peak brightness), Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Magnolia, Black-throated
Blue, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, American Redstart,
Blue-winged, Tennessee (1 adult M, 1 first-year), Nashville, Northern
Parula, Ovenbird, Hooded, Canada (both sexes), and Common Yellowthroat.
What a great start to this season of songbird migration!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 8/19

[Mark Chao]

Fantastic flock of early migrant warblers along Sapsucker Woods Road
(Sunday 9:15 AM). Bay-breasted, Cape May, Tennessee, Canada, Hooded, 5+
Blackburnian, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided, probable Black-throated
Blue, plus a Merlin, Chimney Swifts, et al.

Wow
Mark Chao (with Wee Hao Ng)

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 8/12 (Golden-winged Warbler)

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday morning at 8:40, I found a male GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER in
Sapsucker Woods, just north of 91 Sapsucker Woods Road. This bird was in a
loose flock with many titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, Red-eyed Vireos and
others. Jay McGowan and Nancy Brooks responded to my RBA message in time to
refind the bird with me about 20 minutes later. We also found a juvenile
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER and a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER here.

Later in the power-line corridor on the Dryden side at the north edge of
the sanctuary, we again found a young Chestnut-sided Warbler and a female
Blue-winged Warbler, plus two female-type AMERICAN REDSTARTS.

Here is my eBird checklist, including a poor but definitive photo of the
Golden-winged Warbler. Jay got much better photos, which seem to confirm
the absence of hybrid field marks.

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S47800932

Mark Chao

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RE: [cayugabirds-l] Least Bittern at SSW

[Mark Chao]

Thanks for this exciting news, Ken!  eBird contains a report from Barb
Matthews from Sapsucker Woods on Sunday morning, with definitive photos of
an adult female Least Bittern:  https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46295105.
This is the fifth or sixth individual Least Bittern that I've known about
in Sapsucker Woods over the years, and definitely the only one I've heard
about this year (or indeed this past decade).



I went looking for the bittern today, but didn't find it.  My consolation
prize was a nice long view of a mother WOOD DUCK and seven ducklings.  The
babies still appeared quite small and fuzzy, but did have surprisingly long
and well-developed tail feathers.



Mark Chao



PS.  Barb, are you on this list?  Congratulations on a tremendous find!













-Original Message-
From: bounce-122617078-3493...@list.cornell.edu <
bounce-122617078-3493...@list.cornell.edu> On Behalf Of Ken Haas
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2018 2:39 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Least Bittern at SSW



Hi All,



During my beginner bird walk at Sapsucker Woods yesterday morning, I met a
woman on the trail who showed me her point and shoot camera and asked me
what bird she took a photo of just minutes earlier. It looked to me like a
Least Bittern and asked her where she saw it. My group agreed to look for
this unusual bird. She took us back to the first pond after coming over the
boardwalk from the parking lot, just before one reaches the Owens Platform.
She said it was in the reeds and cattails to the right side of the pond.
All of us looked for several minutes but didn’t see anything. I decided to
slowly sneak up the grassy path to the right of the pond hoping to find it.
It flew out of the cattails and deeper into the back of the pond and out of
sight. But we all got a look at it. After comparing it to everything else I
thought it could be (imm. Green Heron, for example) and looking again at
her picture, I can only come to the conclusion of a Least Bittern.



Has anyone else been seeing one over there?



Ken Haas



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[cayugabirds-l] Houghton Land Preserve, Sun 5/27 and Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, Mon 5/28

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday, on the third outing of this year’s Finger Lakes Land Trust
Spring Bird Quest (FLLT SBQ), the rains held off long enough for five
optimistic birders (including three of us from Ithaca and two all the way
from Canadice) to enjoy a slow walk around the new Houghton Land Preserve
in Corning.



Our first highlight was a pair of SCARLET TANAGERS, which followed each
other closely through an apparent nesting territory right next to the
trail.  We found a few more tanagers throughout the morning, along with
many OVENBIRDS, RED-EYED VIREOS, and EASTERN WOOD-PEWEES, plus a couple of
VEERIES, a WOOD THRUSH, and a GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER.  Together these
birds provided a tidy illustration of an ecological guild of birds of
mature eastern deciduous forests.  We also found a pair of HAIRY
WOODPECKERS around a nest hole.



The other highlight of the morning shouldn’t have been a surprise, because
I found it here just the other day.  But again the two-part song confused
me until we spotted the bird high above.  It was a male BLACKBURNIAN
WARBLER, the first of two we found.  We could hear this bird singing even
from 80 yards up the trail, from the corner of the big grassy field.  Here
we could also hear a lone BOBOLINK singing.   I think that this had to be
the first time I had ever simultaneously found territorial males of these
two species.



Then on Memorial Day, thirteen birders joined me for the year’s final SBQ
walk, this time at the Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve in West
Danby.  It took a lot of walking and waiting and watching, but in the end,
our work paid off with highlights filling the cup and spilling over.  Here
they are:



* Singing PRAIRIE WARBLER and BOBOLINK teed up on pine trees near the bench
atop the open slope on the blue-blazed trail – long, dazzling,
frame-filling scope views for everyone

* More long scope views of several charismatic species – INDIGO BUNTING,
BALTIMORE ORIOLE, WOOD DUCKS (9+ males on Coleman Lake), and EASTERN
KINGBIRD

* A pair of EASTERN TOWHEES together in the island of brush and trees at
the bottom of the first open field.  The female carried a very fat green
caterpillar to an unseen nest.

* A singing SCARLET TANAGER not far from here, still spectacular even in a
brief view at a great distance

* Two BROWN THRASHERS along the final stretch of blue-blazed trail before
it enters the woods on the way to the railroad tracks

* Several CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS, a few BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, and a
few AMERICAN REDSTARTS scattered throughout – the first two species only
briefly seen and the latter not at all

* A MOURNING WARBLER heard singing in the first patch of woods near the
parking lot

* A few ALDER FLYCATCHERS heard singing, including two within earshot of
each other near the northern pond complex

* The weekend’s only COMMON RAVEN, first spotted by Rick Lightbody (one of
about 20 species found today but not on the SBQ walks on Saturday and
Sunday)

* Two sightings, by just a few group members each time (not me), of
presumed YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS, plus another cuckoo heard calling.  I need
to check recordings to confirm what that one was – it was mellow and husky.

* At least six GREAT BLUE HERON nests atop the flooded snags in the pond on
Sylvan Road, including at least eight cute half-grown chicks



Even at such a great place as Lindsay-Parsons, you can’t count on so much
excellent viewing on a single outing, especially with a big group like this
one – but we got it!



I ended up with a modest 65 species for the weekend, not counting a WILD
TURKEY whose feathers we found on the trail at the High Vista Preserve, nor
a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD that others found but I missed at Coleman Lake
today.  Sorry that I didn’t get more ambitious about racking up species at
these and other preserves.  But I do think that our groups maxed out the
enjoyment of birds we did find.  So I feel very satisfied, and I hope
everyone else does too.



Thanks to all for a fantastic weekend!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] High Vista and Hinchcliff (FLLT preserves in Skaneateles Lake watershed), Sat 5/26

[Mark Chao]

This morning I led bird walks at the High Vista Preserve and the Hinchcliff
Family Preserve in southern Onondaga County up on the western slopes of
Skaneateles Lake, to kick off this year’s Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring
Bird Quest.



Our first group – comprising birders from Ithaca, Aurora, Auburn,
Skaneateles, and even all the way from California – converged at 7:30 AM at
High Vista, along Vincent Hill Road.  We found an excellent variety of
songbirds right by the parking area, including a singing MOURNING WARBLER,
at least four CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, COMMON
YELLOWTHROAT, AMERICAN REDSTART, a pair of YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS, two
INDIGO BUNTINGS, a SCARLET TANAGER, a couple of male BALTIMORE ORIOLES, and
an EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE.  The Chestnut-sided Warblers were about as
cooperative and conspicuous as I’ve ever seen, and I think most or all of
us saw the orioles and the wood-pewee.  But alas, the other birds stayed
mostly hidden, yielding views to only subsets of us, or to none of us at
all.



In the woods, which have some of the densest understory I’ve recently seen
in a local forest, we heard two more singing Mourning Warblers, plus
several HOODED WARBLERS on territory, some OVENBIRDS, VEERIES, a WOOD
THRUSH, a ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, and others.  Again, however, we didn’t
manage to see any of these birds.  Still, I think we got a sense of the
serenity and lush vitality of those woods.  And I think I had already
reached my highest single-outing Mourning Warbler count ever.



At 9:30, a spirited majority from the 7:30 walk rejoined me, plus a few new
arrivals, at the Hinchcliff Family Preserve just five minutes north along
Covey Road.  Immediately upon arrival, several of us got views of a BROWN
THRASHER that flew from the edge of the parking area back the hedgerow
along the entry road.  Then we proceeded slowly around the preserve.  We
took our time enjoying common birds such as Common Yellowthroat, Red-winged
Blackbird, and American Goldfinch, and again got a couple of nice views of
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER.  In the shady woods, cooled by breezes sweeping up
from the lake, we found more of the same forest birds as at High Vista,
including 3+ HOODED WARBLERS, SCARLET TANAGER, WOOD THRUSH, VEERY,
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, and AMERICAN REDSTARTS in the sunny patches.  But
again we whiffed on getting more than the most fleeting views.



We ended the morning with a slow walk back up the slope at the southern
edge of the big grassy field.  Here we heard BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, EASTERN
TOWHEE, and a very close but still stubbornly invisible Chestnut-sided
Warbler singing its smooth, unemphatic alternate song.  Finally, to cap off
our morning of vociferous but visually secretive birds, we got very close
to another loudly singing MOURNING WARBLER in some dense edge habitat not
far from the parking area.  This time, a couple of us at least (not I) got
a long look at the bird deep in a tangle of twigs and leaves.



So a big question for me today is whether these 4+ Mourning Warblers were
passage migrants or summer breeders on territory.  My guess is the former,
because I haven’t found these species in these preserves before, and also
because that Black-throated Green Warbler was also presumably a late
still-northbound migrant.



I’m hopeful that the weather tomorrow morning will cooperate long enough to
allow for a safe and fun (and maybe even dry) walk at the new Houghton Land
Preserve along Spencer Hill Road in Corning, starting at 8 AM.  I look
forward to seeing some of you there!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park, Sapsucker Woods, NE Ithaca Th 5/24

[Mark Chao]

I found a satisfying variety of migrants and other birds early on Thursday
morning.



Stewart Park (5:30-6:20 AM)

ORCHARD ORIOLE (one immature male singing and singing from trees near
boathouse – last year an immature male and a female offered very good
viewing here into July, nesting at least until giant music festival)

YELLOW-THROATED VIREO (sang for a long time from one perch atop a tall
cottonwood at northern base of bridge to Renwick Wildwood – beautiful to
hear, somewhat satisfying to watch despite the great height)

BLACKPOLL WARBLER (several, including one male with a surprisingly yellow
bill to go with unsurprisingly yellow legs)

ALDER FLYCATCHER (heard calling – Wee Hao Ng found this bird over on the
golf course)

BALD EAGLE (immature seen flying over near waters, eastbound)



plus fine viewing of common expected species such as Blue-gray
Gnatcatchers, Eastern Kingbirds, etc.



Sapsucker Woods (6:50-7:30 AM)

BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER (one male singing from high in an oak near 91
Sapsucker Woods Road)

BLACKPOLL WARBLER (a few singing)

EASTERN BLUEBIRD (male on wire next to knoll with Tree Swallow nest boxes –
very reliable here)

ALDER FLYCATCHER (one singing in Fuller Wetlands)

WOOD DUCK (two males together on pond)

BARRED OWL (heard hooting once, apparently from the southern part of the
Severinghaus Trail loop – not seen)



Simsbury Drive (8:20 AM)

WILSON’S WARBLER (male seen singing and catching insects – a first for our
yard)

LEAST FLYCATCHER (maybe also a first for us here at home – at least I don’t
remember any precedent).



Mark Chao



PS.   The weather forecast for this weekend’s Finger Lakes Land Trust
Spring Bird Quest is less than ideal (heat on Saturday, thunderstorms on
Sunday and Monday).  I will still plan to go to the sites at the appointed
start times no matter what the weather (well, unless there is a tornado
warning or something like that).  But I will also be ready to curtail the
walks if the conditions don’t seem safe or at all enjoyable.  I am still
optimistic that we will have a good time.  If you have any questions,
please contact me.

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[cayugabirds-l] Cooperative Barred Owl in Sapsucker Woods, Tues 5/22 11:55 AM

[Mark Chao]

There is an adult BARRED OWL out in the open right near the trail about 100
meters south of the map stand on the Wilson/Severinghaus Trail in Sapsucker
Woods (11:55 AM Tuesday).

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Houghton Land Preserve (new FLLT preserve in Corning), Mon 5/21

[Mark Chao]

On Monday morning, I decided to scout out the Houghton Land Preserve, where
I’ll lead a bird walk on Sunday for the Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird
Quest (SBQ).  Comprising 194 acres of woods and a vast grassy field, this
is the Land Trust’s newest preserve, donated to the Land Trust in 2016 by
Jamie and Maisie Houghton and then opened to the public in October 2017.



I found a pretty interesting variety of birds.   Here are some highlights.



* At least five BAY-BREASTED WARBLERS in the treetops – two adult males,
two or more pale females, and one intermediate bird with a dark face and
the apparent beginnings of a red throat.  I think that the latter bird was
a first-year male – something I’ve seen only a few times ever.  At one
point, four of the Bay-breasted Warblers were together in one tree!



* A good variety of other warblers, including BLACKBURNIAN (2 males singing
somewhat atypical two-part songs, briefly confirmed by sight); BLACKPOLL (1
silent male foraging high among oak catkins); BLACK-THROATED GREEN (1
singing male), PINE (singing in a pitch pine copse); YELLOW-RUMPED (4+
singing presumably on territories); CHESTNUT-SIDED (one heard only at edge
of woods); TENNESSEE (2+ singing typically, one or more singing more of a
two-part song but still very intense like normal Tennessee song); NASHVILLE
(heard only – I could be wrong, but this two-part song sounded typical to
me); OVENBIRD; AMERICAN REDSTART; and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.



* One singing YELLOW-THROATED VIREO and one BLUE-HEADED VIREO among many
RED-EYED VIREOS



* One YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO heard issuing its knocking call



* About half a dozen SCARLET TANAGERS, including an apparent pair together.



* One or more BOBOLINKS singing in the big grassy field.



Here is my eBird checklist with full details.



https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S45898387



I can’t promise that we will find quite so many birds on Sunday – but I
look forward to trying!  If you’re interested in joining me or otherwise
supporting the SBQ, you can check out these links:



About the Houghton Land Preserve walk:
http://www.fllt.org/events/spring-bird-quest-houghton-land-preserve/

About the whole weekend’s worth of SBQ events:
http://www.fllt.org/the-birds-are-calling-join-us-for-spring-bird-quest-2/

Link to donate:  http://www.fllt.org/donate/ (or contact me directly)



I hope to see you this weekend!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 5/13

[Mark Chao]

For the past 8 hours (since before 6 AM on Sunday), we have been seeing a
NASHVILLE WARBLER and a pair of YELLOW WARBLERS in our next-door neighbors’
flowering pear tree in northeast Ithaca.  It sure seems like the same three
individual birds, without turnover.



My expectations bolstered a little by that unexpected Nashville Warbler, I
went to Sapsucker Woods to see if any other new birds had arrived
(6:30-8:20 AM).  I did find a few candidates along the Wilson Trail North
-- female CANADA WARBLER, male MAGNOLIA WARBLER, male BLACK-THROATED BLUE
WARBLER, a singing YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, a rather cooperative LINCOLN’S
SPARROW, and a silent LEAST FLYCATCHER, plus what seemed to me to be both
territorial and sojourning AMERICAN REDSTARTS and RED-EYED VIREOS.
Otherwise, throughout the sanctuary on both sides of the road, migrants
seemed very sparse.



Mark Chao

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RE:[cayugabirds-l] Newman Municipal Golf Course (owlets have fledged), Mon 5/7

[Mark Chao]

Sorry – I posted the wrong URL for my owl photo album.  Here’s the corrected
link <https://photos.app.goo.gl/b2MsoAfjJovesix57>.



Mark Chao



*From:* Mark Chao <markc...@imt.org>
*Sent:* Monday, May 07, 2018 9:59 AM
*To:* Cayugabirds- L <Cayugabirds-L@cornell.edu>
*Subject:* Newman Municipal Golf Course (owlets have fledged), Mon 5/7



Last night I saw the two fuzzy young GREAT HORNED OWLS together at their
nest site on the Newman Municipal Golf Course in Ithaca.  One was in the
nest and one a few feet above, with no adult in sight.  But upon arriving
early on Monday morning, I saw the presumed mother owl and one owlet
together in a tree about 35 meters across open space from the nest, where
the smaller-looking owlet remained.



Then, drawn by furious cawing, I wandered over to the Jetty Woods.  Three
crows had found a second adult Great Horned Owl in the dark, dense canopy.
Despite the relentless harassment, he seemed mostly quite unstressed,
coolly eyeing the crows and feinting with his bill only a couple of times
when they drew close.



A few minutes later, a couple of these crows and I simultaneously found a
subadult BALD EAGLE at the south edge of the woods.  This time the crows
were much less aggressive, flying close a few times but not cawing, and
then leaving after about a minute.



A BROWN THRASHER seems to be establishing a territory just south of the
osprey platform at the northwest corner of the golf course.  Last night
this thrasher was moving around a lot, but this morning he tolerated my
very slow, close approach as he sang and sang in a tree above the inlet.  A
GRAY CATBIRD seems also to be setting up here too, making for quite a
motley mimid mashup of song fragments.  Surprisingly, I haven’t found any
Northern Mockingbirds on the golf course for the past few weeks, even
though they usually breed right here too.  I also didn’t find any unusual
warblers today, but I did get uncommonly good views of BLUE-GRAY
GNATCATCHERS below eye level by the graffiti-decorated building at the base
of the woods.



Before I turned to go, I looked to the owl family again.  This time I saw
all three owls together in the aforementioned tree away from the nest,
widely spaced among the branches.  Two crows came and scolded the owls,
prompting the mother to perch right up next to one owlet.  Then after a few
more seconds, the crows left quietly.  From this and from regular crow-free
viewing of the nest over the past several weeks, I surmise that crows
consider lone owls as a mortal threat, but recognize that an adult tending
young at a nest site is not cause for alarm.



Here is a photo album <https://photos.app.goo.gl/S9Ie6wyoVdaS1SiC2> of
these owls since March 22.  The images are mostly rather poor, taken at a
considerable distance with a point-and-shoot camera often in dim light, and
heavily cropped.  Still, the photos are fun and broadly illustrative of the
development of the owls, over just a few miraculous weeks, from tiny
helpless chicks to hulking young adults **who can fly ** (hooray).



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Newman Municipal Golf Course (owlets have fledged), Mon 5/7

[Mark Chao]

Last night I saw the two fuzzy young GREAT HORNED OWLS together at their
nest site on the Newman Municipal Golf Course in Ithaca.  One was in the
nest and one a few feet above, with no adult in sight.  But upon arriving
early on Monday morning, I saw the presumed mother owl and one owlet
together in a tree about 35 meters across open space from the nest, where
the smaller-looking owlet remained.



Then, drawn by furious cawing, I wandered over to the Jetty Woods.  Three
crows had found a second adult Great Horned Owl in the dark, dense canopy.
Despite the relentless harassment, he seemed mostly quite unstressed,
coolly eyeing the crows and feinting with his bill only a couple of times
when they drew close.



A few minutes later, a couple of these crows and I simultaneously found a
subadult BALD EAGLE at the south edge of the woods.  This time the crows
were much less aggressive, flying close a few times but not cawing, and
then leaving after about a minute.



A BROWN THRASHER seems to be establishing a territory just south of the
osprey platform at the northwest corner of the golf course.  Last night
this thrasher was moving around a lot, but this morning he tolerated my
very slow, close approach as he sang and sang in a tree above the inlet.  A
GRAY CATBIRD seems also to be setting up here too, making for quite a
motley mimid mashup of song fragments.  Surprisingly, I haven’t found any
Northern Mockingbirds on the golf course for the past few weeks, even
though they usually breed right here too.  I also didn’t find any unusual
warblers today, but I did get uncommonly good views of BLUE-GRAY
GNATCATCHERS below eye level by the graffiti-decorated building at the base
of the woods.



Before I turned to go, I looked to the owl family again.  This time I saw
all three owls together in the aforementioned tree away from the nest,
widely spaced among the branches.  Two crows came and scolded the owls,
prompting the mother to perch right up next to one owlet.  Then after a few
more seconds, the crows left quietly.  From this and from regular crow-free
viewing of the nest over the past several weeks, I surmise that crows
consider lone owls as a mortal threat, but recognize that an adult tending
young at a nest site is not cause for alarm.



Here is a photo album <https://photos.app.goo.gl/S9Ie6wyoVdaS1SiC2> of
these owls since March 22.  The images are mostly rather poor, taken at a
considerable distance with a point-and-shoot camera often in dim light, and
heavily cropped.  Still, the photos are fun and broadly illustrative of the
development of the owls, over just a few miraculous weeks, from tiny
helpless chicks to hulking young adults **who can fly ** (hooray).



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Newman Municipal Golf Course and Sapsucker Woods, Fri 5/4

[Mark Chao]

On Friday morning a little after 6 AM, Anne Horst and Andy Turner and I
watched the GREAT HORNED OWL family at a distance through the dissipating
fog at the Newman Municipal Golf Course.  One owlet was in the nest and one
about a three feet above.  The mother started off near the nest, but then
made a couple of short flights to nearby trees.



In the trees scattered around the course, we heard an EASTERN BLUEBIRD,
PURPLE FINCH, and many CHIPPING SPARROWS as expected, plus a WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROW singing under some cedars.  Then as we walked back to Pier Road, we
noticed the trees on both sides of the creek seething with little
songbirds.  It was very hard to identify them in the high canopy against
the gray sky, but we did see and hear a NORTHERN PARULA (both song types),
maybe six YELLOW WARBLERS, very many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and a few
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS.



Later in the morning in Sapsucker Woods, I had a similar experience of
initial seeming fallout-like abundance of Yellow-rumped Warblers (30+
between the Owens Platform and the first split in the Wilson Trail North)
but relatively little detected diversity – a few western PALM WARBLERS, a
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, a NORTHERN PARULA, a
couple of BLUE-HEADED VIREOS, and more COMMON YELLOWTHROATS and WOOD
THRUSHES than on previous mornings.



Most intriguing was a split-second sighting of what I feel nearly certain
was a very small fuzzy tan precocial chick walking quickly across the
Wilson Trail, just south of the Sherwood Platform, toward the pond side.  I
looked and looked but couldn’t refind it, nor any parent or siblings.
Still, it might be worthwhile to pay extra attention here for the
possibility of a woodcock family.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Newman Municipal Golf Course, Th 5/3

[Mark Chao]

On Thursday morning (6:15 AM), I found a heavily-marked PEREGRINE FALCON at
the base of the Jetty Woods next to the Newman Municipal Golf Course.  I
don’t have a lot of experience with different ages and populations of this
species, but it seems to me that this is an adult, maybe of a race that we
don’t commonly see around here.  Here is a checklist with some photos.  I
welcome feedback.



https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S45205836



The GREAT HORNED OWL chicks were in the nest with their mother a branch
away as usual.  Last night one owlet had branched out to perch about 3 feet
above the nest.  That was the first time I’d seen either of the young owls
completely off the nest.



There were many other recent arrivals around too this morning, including a
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, AMERICAN REDSTART, YELLOW WARBLER, a few
WARBLING VIREOS, a pair of BALTIMORE ORIOLES, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, and
others.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods and Newman Municipal Golf Course, Tues 5/1

[Mark Chao]

I had a lot of gratifying bird encounters around Ithaca on Tuesday
morning.  Here are some highlights.



* The GREAT HORNED OWL mother and her two chicks still at their nest in the
center of the Newman Municipal Golf Course (5:50 AM).  The chicks are now
about 4/5 the size of the mother, but are still covered with down.  As far
as I can tell, one owlet has essentially fully mature flight feathers,
while the other’s secondaries are still encased in their long sheaths, at
least on one wing.



Even aside from their outward physical development, it’s clear that the
owlets are very close to leaving the nest.  Maybe especially in the early
morning, they stand at the lip of the nest like little kids at the edge of
a pool, half-petrified and half-eager to take the plunge.  They stretch and
flap their new wings.  They bob their heads restlessly, side to side and
back to front to back, like Pernell Whitaker slipping punches.  They gaze
around, often straight up to the sky, evidently absorbing and mentally
mapping all the new sights and sounds around them.  It doesn’t take a lot
of imagination to see child-like wonder in their eyes at these times.



On Sunday evening, I saw the mother for the first time this spring away
from the nest, about 30 meters away in a separate patch of trees.  I don’t
know if she was encouraging the babies to branch out, or just giving
everyone a bit more space, or preparing to forage.  (I have seen the adult
male nearby a few times this spring, but not for a couple of weeks now.)



* A pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS building a nest in a box on the berm that
crosses the main pond in Sapsucker Woods.



* A pair of COMMON RAVENS flying in wide circles around the main pond,
sometimes chased by crows and once by a COOPER’S HAWK.  Prior to this year,
I had seen ravens only as solitary flyby birds, but this year many birders
have been seeing one or two every day over the past couple of weeks.  I
heard a mind-boggling rumor this morning that people have seen at least one
of these ravens taking Canada Goose eggs.  Has anyone confirmed other
behavior that would indicate or confirm breeding here?



* Two NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES countersinging across the Woodleton Boardwalk,
and another Northern Waterthrush singing at the edge of the green pond
across the trail from the Sherwood Platform.  The latter waterthrush sang a
very distinctive song that ended with a high squeak.



* One BROWN THRASHER also across the trail from the Sherwood Platform.  At
one point I had both the thrasher and the waterthrush in the same field of
view, which I think must have been a first for me.  The thrasher eventually
sang a little too.



* A dazzling BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER singing and working his way south
from near the thrasher/waterthrush area to the Charley Harper bench.



* A western PALM WARBLER also along the western pond edge.



* One BROAD-WINGED HAWK perched near the Wilson/West intersection, then
flying through the treetops to the west.  Later, I saw another Broad-winged
Hawk flying west over the Woodleton Boardwalk.  (I am looking forward to
seeing how many people count over the next few days…)



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest -- guided walks and fundraising over Memorial Day weekend

[Mark Chao]

It all seems very far away, but in less than four weeks, pretty much all of
our songbirds will be back on territories, singing and building nests and
raising their young.  So I’m pleased to announce that again this year, I’ll
be leading guided walks on Finger Lakes Land Trust properties over Memorial
Day weekend, as part of an event called the Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring
Bird Quest (SBQ).



Here’s the schedule, with links to details and directions:



Saturday, May 26, 7:30-9:10 am

High Vista Nature Preserve, town of Scott
<http://www.fllt.org/events/spring-bird-quest-high-vista-nature-preserve-3/>



Saturday, May 26, 9:30-11:30 am

Hinchcliff Family Preserve, town of Spafford
<http://www.fllt.org/events/spring-bird-quest-hinchcliff-family-preserve-2/>



Sunday, May 27, 8:00-11:00 am

Houghton Land Preserve, town of Corning
<http://www.fllt.org/events/spring-bird-quest-houghton-land-preserve/>
(the Land Trust’s newest preserve – 194 acres of meadows and forests)



Monday, May 28, 8:00-11:00 am

Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, town of West Danby
<http://www.fllt.org/events/spring-bird-quest-lindsay-parsons-biodiversity-preserve-3/>



The main purpose of the event is to enjoy and celebrate our local breeding
birds (plus maybe a few late passage migrants) and to draw attention to the
Land Trust’s work in conserving their vital habitats.  I welcome birders of
all ages and levels of experience.  I would characterize the walks as
rather long but easy to moderate in difficulty.  (The most notable physical
challenges are brief walks down and up a slope at the Hinchcliff Family
Preserve.)



These preserves may seem a bit far-flung, but I hope we will get a good mix
of near neighbors and willing travelers to each site.  If you are seeking a
ride or are willing to offer one, please let me know.  (All the preserves
are less than an hour from Ithaca.)



The other purpose of the event is to raise funds to support the Land
Trust’s work, which has led directly to the preservation of these and other
lands throughout our region – 21,000+ acres protected over the past 28
years, and continuing to the tune of about 1000 additional acres per year.
I’ll keep a tally of bird species that I find on Land Trust preserves over
the weekend, and will welcome pledges of support per species.  Fixed pledge
amounts are also welcome.  Since 2006, I believe that the SBQ has raised
over $70,000.  Maybe this year we can push the total over $75K and beyond…



To donate, please visit http://www.fllt.org/donate/, check the box to make
the gift “in honor of someone,” and enter “Spring Bird Quest” in the space
provided.  You can also make a donation by check or cash.  Please feel free
to contact me for more details.



I look forward to seeing many of you next month!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Fri 4/27

[Mark Chao]

On Friday morning in Sapsucker Woods (~8:50 AM), I saw six GREAT EGRETS fly
in together from the east, pass over the Sherwood Platform, and then
continue out to the west.  Later I heard a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT singing near
the road along the mulched spur that leads to the power lines and the
Hoyt-Pileated Trail.  Yesterday I found at least five western PALM WARBLERS
loosely together along the Wilson Trail North (others found at least one of
the eastern race), but today I found only one or two.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 4/15

[Mark Chao]

A short but slow walk in the Sapsucker Woods on Sunday (8:00-10:50 AM)
turned out to be one of the better early-spring outings I’ve ever had in
the sanctuary.  Here are some highlights, mostly shared with Suan Yong and
two other participants in Suan’s guided walk.



* 11 sparrow species, a probable site record for me, including

-- VESPER SPARROW (one at border of grit and grass along far parking
lot, in the section closest to Highway 13)

-- SAVANNAH SPARROW (two along road north of Kip’s Barn – like Vesper,
uncommon for Sapsucker Woods but probably perennial at this time of April
at these very spots)

-- FOX SPARROW (one heard along utility corridor north of Hoyt-Pileated
Trail, another later confirmed by sight by young Fenya along Wilson North)

-- FIELD SPARROW (with Savannah; also by feeder garden)\

-- plus American Tree, Chipping, Song, Swamp, White-throated, Dark-eyed
Junco, and Eastern Towhee

* WINTER WREN seen and also heard singing partial song by Sherwood Platform
(maybe two different individuals)

* 15+ RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, including a flock of 11 near the feeder garden

* At least one eastern PALM WARBLER seen and heard singing along the
pondside branch of the Wilson Trail North

* Two HERMIT THRUSHES near green pool across trail slightly north of
Sherwood Platform

* One PINE SISKIN seen and possible additional individuals heard around
feeder garden

* One NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, presumably continuing from yesterday

* COMMON RAVEN seen flying by and perching briefly atop power pole in
Fuller Wetlands; also confirmed by sound

* A pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL flying over the pond and departing to the
north, plus the continuing female REDHEAD and at least a couple of pairs of
WOOD DUCKS

* Six GREAT BLUE HERONS wheeling slowly around together and descending to
the trees around the main pond

* An OSPREY catching and deliberately consuming a fish

* An AMERICAN KESTREL by Kip’s Barn



We also enjoyed watching many active and cooperative birds of the most
expected species, including kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, flickers,
sapsuckers, and others, as well as a mink and a muskrat.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Newman Golf Course area, Mon 3/19 and Tues 3/20

[Mark Chao]

On three visits since Sunday, I’ve come various interesting birds at the
Newman Municipal Golf Course and Jetty Woods in Ithaca.  Here are some
highlights.



* GREAT HORNED OWL on an open nest atop a tree in the middle of the golf
course.  This is the very same location where two Great Horned Owls fledged
in 2015.  Twice, most recently on Sunday evening, I’ve seen a second adult
Great Horned Owl for a long time out in the open in a nearby tree, but on
Monday and Tuesday mornings, I couldn’t refind him.  The mother seems to be
sitting higher on the nest this week than last.  I conjecture hopefully
that this means the eggs have hatched and the chicks are growing.  (Many
birders have reported this owl nest on eBird since the beginning of March
or earlier.)



* Second-year BALD EAGLE flying from Fall Creek past the white lighthouse
and alighting in a tree on the Cass Park side (Tuesday).



* Female YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER along the dirty-looking drainage pool along
Pier Road near the fire training buildings (Monday and Tuesday).



* WINTER WREN seen singing a partial song in this same area (Monday).



* Multiple male PURPLE FINCHES, including one singing a distinctive,
vaguely vireo-like song with short phrases and pauses (Monday and Tuesday).



* At least three pairs of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS (Monday and Tuesday)



* Four GREAT BLUE HERONS perched about at least 50-60 feet up in
neighboring trees in the Jetty Woods, with bills tucked for heat retention,
plus one standing in Fall Creek (Tuesday).



* At least ten WOOD DUCKS, including a flock of 8 males that wheeled above
Pier Road and descended somewhere upstream on the creek (Tuesday).



Full eBird checklists are here:

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S43775545 (Monday)

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S43803161 (Tuesday)



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Lansing Center Trail, Sun 1/7 (Golden Eagle)

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday morning at 10:40 AM, I saw a juvenile GOLDEN EAGLE above the
Lansing Center Trail.  I think that crows chased it from south of Route
34B, and stopped their pursuit there.  The eagle then continued north above
the fields alone.  I saw neat white eye-shaped patches in the center of
each wing, a white tail base with a broad black terminal band, and the
overall proportions of an oversized buteo.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Red-headed Woodpecker present, Sun 12/31

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday morning at around 10:40, I saw the continuing adult RED-HEADED
WOODPECKER in Cornell’s Palmer Woods.  It was in the same location as often
reported since mid-November, in the woods along the red-blazed trail that
extends west from the large grassy clearing at the top of the slope
(approximately 42.4617N, 76.4812W).  But it wasn’t as easy to find as on my
past visits, as it mostly stayed still.



I got a nice bonus sighting as I was waiting out the woodpecker – a
PEREGRINE FALCON flying eastbound overhead, low enough that I could see its
facial pattern as well as its distinctive shape.



Also, the EASTERN SCREECH-OWL along Siena Drive has continued to appear
every day in the ~90 minutes before sunset every day I’ve looked since
early November, including today.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Siena Drive screech-owl, Th 11/9

[Mark Chao]

On Thursday afternoon at about 4:35, I saw a gray-morph EASTERN SCREECH-OWL
along Siena Drive in northeast Ithaca.  An hour later, I am still so happy
I can hardly sit still.



The owl was in the same cavity where one spent much of last winter, in a
broken-off trunk about 13 feet tall in the woodlot about 27 yards south of
the intersection with St. Catherine’s Circle, across from the mailbox for
328 Siena Drive.  The hole is on the right side of the tree facing south,
about a third of the way down from the top.



Hooray,

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] East Shore Park, Sat 11/4

[Mark Chao]

There is a distant tight flock of 17 BLACK SCOTERS plus two slightly closer
WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS out to the northwest from East Shore Park (8:40 AM
Saturday).

Mark Chao

On Nov 4, 2017 8:23 AM, "Mark Chao" <markc...@imt.org> wrote:

> I believe that I'm watching eight SURF SCOTERS and one WHITE-WINGED SCOTER
> off the east side of Stewart Park (8:20 AM, Saturday), not too far away now
> but maybe drifting north. Nice viewing too of Buffleheads, Hooded
> Mergansers, etc.
>
> Mark Chao
>

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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park, Sat 11/4

[Mark Chao]

I believe that I'm watching eight SURF SCOTERS and one WHITE-WINGED SCOTER
off the east side of Stewart Park (8:20 AM, Saturday), not too far away now
but maybe drifting north. Nice viewing too of Buffleheads, Hooded
Mergansers, etc.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Fri 10/20

[Mark Chao]

Fun birding on Friday morning in the power-line corridor between the
parking lots and the Hoyt-Pileated Trail in Sapsucker Woods. At least 20
noisy Pine Siskins (3+ different vocalizations -- chatter, smooth long
"zip," harsh riffling "krrrip"), Rusty Blackbirds, Eastern
Bluebirds, Eastern Towhees, other sparrows so far (first 15 minutes).

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 10/15

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday morning, I went looking for birds in Sapsucker Woods, mostly with a
group led by Becky Hansen. We all had very fine views of a young
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON by the Owens Platform -- a rare species for the
sanctuary. Apparently this bird has been present around both the main pond
and the Fuller Wetlands since Thursday.

Other highlights:

* two HERMIT THRUSHES together along the Wilson/Severinghaus overlap in the
woods
* five EASTERN BLUEBIRDS together around the knoll and power lines by the
second staff parking lot
* many GOLDEN-CROWNED and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, giving good views
especially by the arbor south of the feeder garden
* a BLUE-HEADED VIREO along the East Trail (one along the Hoyt-Pileated
Trail yesterday too)

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Thayer and Sweedler Preserves (FLLT), Sun 6/25

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday morning, Miyoko Chu and I visited the William and Marjory Thayer
Preserve and the Sweedler Preserve at Lick Brook, which are adjacent Finger
Lakes Land Trust properties near the Ithaca/Danby town line.  Here are some
bird highlights.



* An unseen mystery bird singing four or five very high, forced notes from
the treetops, near where the orange-blazed trail enters the Thayer Preserve
from Sandbank Road.  I heard the same song in this very spot on June 3.
That first time, I thought it was probably a Blackpoll Warbler that I
wasn’t hearing well, or maybe even a Cape May.  But now I feel that it’s
much more likely an aberrant local singer than a late passage migrant.  My
best guess is that it’s a BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER singing a partial song,
because it seems too loud and not sibilant enough for a Golden-crowned
Kinglet.  (If you confirm this bird’s identity, please let me know.)



* Another unlikely duo of neighboring bird species – a HERMIT THRUSH
singing continually in the hemlock woods and gorge, and BOBOLINKS singing
and chasing each other in the grassy field that extends to West King Road –
all witnessed from one spot on the orange-blazed trail in the Thayer
Preserve.



* Also from this same spot, RED-EYED VIREO, BLUE-HEADED VIREO, and probable
YELLOW-THROATED VIREO heard singing simultaneously, making quite a hash of
chirpy, musical, and burry phrases with pauses.  The Yellow-throated Vireo
phrases could have been part of the Blue-headed’s song, but I would guess
that it really was Yellow-throated, because the phrases sounded completely
typical.  I also heard a song of only Yellow-throated Vireo phrases nearby
on June 3.



These two preserves are the best places I’ve found this year near Ithaca
for Blue-headed Vireos.  The parking area along Town Line Road seems to be
the hotly contested boundary between two territories.



* An hour of excellent viewing of at least one adult and three fledgling
LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES along Lick Brook in the Sweedler Preserve, upstream
from the very tall waterfall.  The young waterthrushes are in their
distinctive juvenal plumage, with very subtle streaks and varying shades of
buff and white on the underparts.  One of these birds, which stayed still
in the shadows much more than its siblings, had a reduced eyebrow stripe
too.   The adult(s) stood out less by their streaks than by their redder
legs and bill, plus their wary, solicitous behavior.  Also, of course, the
difference in foraging expertise was obvious.  The adult(s) adroitly
accumulated a load of several insects every minute or two, then found a
young mouth to stuff.  The fledglings mostly just browsed and probed and
absorbed their surroundings, though one managed to snap up a white moth
that wandered practically right into its bill.



Here is our eBird checklist with photos of one or two fledglings:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37790220.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve and vicinity, Sat 6/24

[Mark Chao]

I found some interesting birds along Rockwell Road near the
Newfield/Enfield town line late on Saturday morning.



* An adult BROAD-WINGED HAWK circling over the corner of Rockwell and Hines
Roads upon my arrival at 10:15.



* At least two, probably three, male HOODED WARBLERS in the Bock-Harvey
Forest Preserve, singing often but seemingly not as loud as they did a
month ago.  I got nice views of one of these birds.  I think I also saw a
fourth Hooded Warbler flying to the ground under short dense undergrowth,
maybe to a nest.



* Two OVENBIRD families with recent fledglings in Bock-Harvey, plus several
more males singing on territories.  One short-tailed fledgling flew across
the trail near Porter Hill Road, froze in place when I refound it, and
eventually just sat down on the ground, hidden behind several layers of
vegetation but still awash in sunlight.  It was probably the first, and
certainly the best view I’ve ever had of an Ovenbird at this stage of life,
looking arguably more like a Veery in unstreaked tawny plumage with no head
stripes or eye ring.  One parent kept watch close by, but stopped chipping
right before the baby stopped moving.



My eBird checklist with photos of this Ovenbird is here:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37772108.



* A male PINE WARBLER continually singing a very fast trill at the corner
of Rockwell and Hines at 12:40.  I almost missed this bird because it’s
been so long since I’ve heard a Pine Warbler singing so fast.  But
something about the sound made me stop and look, notice the pines here, and
eventually confirm the bird’s identity by sight.  Only as I drove away
toward Route 327 did the song resolve into something slower and more
typical, but I wonder whether that actually could have been because of the
Doppler effect.



* A BROWN THRASHER, bill full of food, pausing on a low branch of a
roadside pine right in front of the Pine Warbler.  I feel certain that this
is the first time I’ve ever found these two species simultaneously in
neighboring trees.



* And to add to the unlikely juxtaposition, a CAROLINA WREN was churring at
this corner too.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park, Sat 6/17

[Mark Chao]

On Saturday morning, I saw the pair of ORCHARD ORIOLES again in the same
lone creekside willow where I reported them on Thursday, just upstream from
the boathouse in Stewart Park.  Gary Kohlenberg and I saw these orioles in
this very tree also on Friday afternoon.  The subadult male is not too hard
to locate because of his rambling song (faster and longer than a Baltimore
Oriole’s, sometimes but not always with a burry note in the middle or at
the end), but he can be hard to see in the foliage.  The female is even
easier to miss, but I’ve seen her all three days in the branches hanging
right over the creek.  (This is Fall Creek, not Cascadilla Creek as I wrote
on Thursday.  Sorry if I confused anyone.)



So breeding seems quite possible in this tree or the immediate vicinity.
But despite some close attention for half an hour this morning, I didn’t
find a nest, nor see anyone carrying food or nest material.



Here is today’s checklist with some photos.



http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37639107



(There is a half-marathon passing right through Stewart Park, indeed right
by the oriole tree, through 11:30 on Saturday morning.  The race caused me
only very minor inconvenience in terms of driving, and essentially none in
terms of watching birds.)



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park, Th 6/15

[Mark Chao]

At midday on Thursday, I saw two ORCHARD ORIOLES together near the
boathouse and Fuertes Sanctuary (swan pen) in Stewart Park.  A female
offered long views as she foraged low in the willow downstream from the
boathouse, in branches drooping right over Cascadilla Creek.  A subadult
male joined her briefly here, but mostly sang from the trees at the corner
of the big lawn.  This was my first good look at these birds, despite
several attempts and recurrent reports by others since mid-May.  I’m glad I
tried again, and especially glad that I widened my search to that willow.
(From here I also heard a YELLOW-THROATED VIREO singing in the Newman golf
course woods.)



Yesterday I decided to go look for bitterns and rails at Montezuma NWR.  I
didn’t find any, but instead I was abundantly entertained by BLACK TERNS
and families of water birds.  I even learned something kind of
mind-boggling (or maybe relearned what I knew long ago but forgot) –
AMERICAN COOT chicks have bald pink crowns, bright red bills, and wispy yet
flamboyant orange neck-ruffs, while COMMON GALLINULE chicks are similarly
homely but colorful and charming -- bare-pated with a little more yellow on
the bill.



And I got an even better consolation prize on the way up, as a BLACK-BILLED
CUCKOO paused in the open just as I was driving by.



Here are my eBird checklists with some photos:



Lake Road drive-by cuckoo:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37589052



Montezuma NWR Wildlife Drive:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37589209



Stewart Park:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37605275





Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Myers, Wed 5/31

[Mark Chao]

I am reasonably confident that there are 14 first-cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULLS off the tip of the spit at Myers Park (6 PM). There is also a RUDDY
TURNSTONE on one of the branches sticking out of the water.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Goetchius Wetland Preserve and Roy H. Park Preserve, Mon 5/29

[Mark Chao]

With only moderate rain and no lightning at all, the conditions on Monday
morning allowed us to complete our scheduled Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring
Bird Quest (SBQ) walks after all.  It got pretty cold and wet, I admit, but
maybe an optimist could consider it half-warm and half-dry.  We did get our
share of rewarding moments too.



Four optimistic and hardy participants joined me at the Goetchius Wetland
Preserve at 6:30 AM.  We had several distant views of male BOBOLINKS in the
field by the parking lot, with one close look that left me wanting more but
also somehow feeling satisfied at the same time.  We also had an excellent
close look at a pair of SAVANNAH SPARROWS.  Feathers matted by the rain,
these birds issued sharp chips, evidently out of alarm at our proximity to
their nest.



Down the road by the main wetland, Tom Hoebbel found the weekend’s only
PURPLE FINCH, an intensely dark-red male, in a bare shrub at the edge of
the pond.  To my equal surprise, we heard a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH singing
far out in the wetland, maybe all the way out in the trees on the opposite
end.  And as expected, we saw and heard both WILLOW FLYCATCHER and ALDER
FLYCATCHER from essentially the same vantage point along the road.



At the Baldwin Tract of the Roy H. Park Preserve, our group size now up to
10, our good luck with bird sightings seemed to run out.  But we did hear
many expected birds, most notably several MAGNOLIA WARBLERS, plus the
weekend’s only WINTER WREN and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, both singing
virtuosically and tirelessly at the confluence of streams below the lean-to
shelter.  We heard a few forced high notes in some spruces – a partial
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER song, I think.  I also heard one PRAIRIE WARBLER
singing once, but I think that maybe the others in the group missed it.



It was also a fine day for newts.  We saw two adult Red-spotted Newts
crossing Flatiron Road near Goetchius, and one bright Red Eft at Park.



In the end, my SBQ bird species count reached 86 – not bad given today’s
suboptimal conditions – and just as gratifying, the participant tally
nearly touched 100 if you count repeat visitors each time.  The species
tally will probably yield at least a couple thousand dollars in support of
the Land Trust’s work on protecting habitats for birds, for all wildlife,
and for us.



Thanks to all participants for your great company and support this
weekend.  What a privilege and pleasure it is to spend time in such great
places, amid so many wonderful birds, with all of you!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Bock-Harvey and Stevenson, Sun 5/28 (and weather note for Mon 5/29)

[Mark Chao]

First, here’s a note about tomorrow’s weather and scheduling.  The forecast
calls for likely thunderstorms on Monday morning, peaking just when we are
planning our two group walks for the Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird
Quest (SBQ).  I will definitely show up at the start times for both walks,
but I think curtailment or cancellation on the spot are distinctly
possible.  Please plan accordingly, especially if you have a long drive.



(If we do lose both walks, then I will hope to do an impromptu make-up
session later in the day.  Please check email around midday if you’re
interested.)



In any case, weather and everything else were ideal for today’s SBQ walks
at the Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve and the Stevenson Forest Preserve.
Again we had very strong turnout -- 25 people at Bock-Harvey, 19 people at
Stevenson.  I would guess that these were the first visits to either
preserve for almost everyone.  And again our sightings somehow defied any
expectation that too many birders might spoil the birding.  (Ken Kemphues,
Diane Morton, and Suan Yong helped enormously in co-leading both walks, as
they did yesterday.)



Our first highlight at Bock-Harvey was a female YELLOW WARBLER by the road,
pushing herself into her nearly-completed nest to custom-shape it.  There
were many other birds here as usual, including a singing CHESTNUT-SIDED
WARBLER and a pair of EASTERN WOOD-PEWEES occasionally coming very close
together to perch before the next sally.  We got to know the varied and
somewhat atypical songs of the three AMERICAN REDSTARTS in this first patch
of woods, with some sight confirmation for most of us.  Here I also heard a
YELLOW-THROATED VIREO and saw the weekend’s only YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
before everyone arrived.



Over on the yellow-blazed trail in the old-growth woods, only a small
subset of us had fleeting sightings of WOOD THRUSHES, OVENBIRD, and more
redstarts. But I believe that everyone eyewitnessed a most striking and
dramatic moment, as two male SCARLET TANAGERS silently sized up a raccoon,
deeply asnooze with belly and chin resting on a branch, arms dangling,
about 20 feet off the ground.  Some other birders saw a female tanager here
too, but I missed her.



I think only one of us saw one male HOODED WARBLER, despite a slow, quiet,
vigilant walk through areas where I’d seen them recently.  But as we tried
to wait out one Hooded Warbler (who continues to end every other song in an
unusual explosive squeak), we got the surprise of the morning – a
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO making short flights and taking long pauses in a sunny
patch in the otherwise shadowy woods.  Several of our group even got scope
views of the bird’s red orbital ring, thanks to Ken’s quick positioning.



Then we walked along the edge of the meadow up to the Locust Lean-To.  Here
we saw a male BALTIMORE ORIOLE perched within a body length or two of an
EASTERN KINGBIRD.  Suan also got many of our participants onto another male
Scarlet Tanager here.



It was harder to see birds at Stevenson, as expected, but we did all get
long scope views of an ALDER FLYCATCHER singing in the meadow overlook
area.  Many of us (not I) got good views of a VEERY along the initial
straightaway.  We heard one HOODED WARBLER across the stream, plus a couple
of BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS high in the
hemlocks.  I was glad also to pick up the weekend’s only BLUE-HEADED VIREO
so far.  (I think that my weekend species tally now stands at 78 species.)



But I think that we’d all agree that the greatest thrills came from the
butterflies in the parking lot – ten Eastern Tiger Swallowtails jostling to
collect mineral-rich moisture from a 50-square-inch patch of some
mysterious mud, heedless of our close presence for many minutes, plus an
exquisite and cooperative female Black Swallowtail.



So whatever thunderbolts and torrents we might have to dodge tomorrow, I’ll
gladly take what we got today.  Thanks to all for two great outings!



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, Sat 5/27

[Mark Chao]

We had a tremendous turnout of 35 people for today’s Finger Lakes Land
Trust Spring Bird Quest (SBQ) walk at the Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity
Preserve.  One might think that a group of this size would defeat the
purpose at some level, making it prohibitively difficult to see birds or
enjoy the setting.  But I think that we affirmed the opposite.



It helped quite a lot that I got a lot of help leading the walk from
veteran guides Suan Yong, Paul Anderson, Diane Morton, and Ken Kemphues.  I
don’t know what is the more generous act – anticipating a need and taking
it upon oneself to show up and help, or cheerfully allowing oneself to be
pressed into duty on the spot.  Whichever one it is, or both, I don’t take
any of it for granted.  Thanks, Suan, Paul, Diane, and Ken – you really
made the walk.



And really, everyone helped – with good cheer (undampened by light rain
from above and shoe-soaking seepage from below), excellent questions, a lot
of patience, and the magnified detection power of 70 eyes and 70 ears.   In
the end, we all found and even saw essentially the same variety of birds
that I found last weekend here alone.  Highlights include long views of
PRAIRIE WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, YELLOW WARBLER, male and female
INDIGO BUNTING, CEDAR WAXWING, and RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, plus a brief
but stirring view of a flock of 15+ WOOD DUCKS streaming by.  We heard but
did not manage to see a couple of BLUE-WINGED WARBLERS, several
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, a HOODED WARBLER, several ALDER FLYCATCHERS, and
some flyover BOBOLINKS.  Twice our big group heard the guttural “kewp”
calls of a cuckoo – I believe BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, as indeed a subset of
the group confirmed by sight later.



The SBQ is also a per-species fundraiser for the Land Trust, so I felt
unusually grateful for encounters with common species that have proven
difficult to find on past SBQs – SPOTTED SANDPIPER (far away at Coleman
Lake), HOODED MERGANSER (likewise), NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, CHIMNEY
SWIFTS (nice learning moments for our novice birders, as these swifts
alternated with Tree Swallows in passes through an overhead gap), a HOUSE
WREN, and a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.



Sodden but still spirited after three hours, about a third of our throng
took me up on a bonus run to the beaver pond on the other side of Routes 34
and 96, along Sylvan Drive near the West Danby Fire Station.  Here we saw
at least eight active GREAT BLUE HERON nests, with parents strikingly
standing sentinel over adorable half-pint heron chicks.  Here I also had my
day’s only sightings of RED-TAILED HAWK and AMERICAN REDSTART (thanks to
high-school senior Will for his sharp eyes), plus a molting TURKEY VULTURE,
a BROWN THRASHER, and a male CANADA WARBLER after almost everyone else had
left.  My total count reached 64 species by the time I finally went home at
noon.



I think that the SBQ head count is a record for a single walk.  I might
propose further that we consider an integrated statistical quantity.



S x B = Q



Where S = the number of bird species found on the walk

and B = the number of birders on the walk

and Q = the integrated quantity, in units of birder-species



As you see, Q is a measure of the volume of birding, in terms of both the
birds and the people.  It’s imprecise, I know, but I think it aptly
characterizes the engagement aspect of the event.



And even if we take account of lower total tallies for most people, I feel
positive that we shot through any previous single-outing ceiling for Q.
I’d guess that we reached a minimum of Q = 1500 birder-species, or quite
possibly somewhere closer to 2000.  That is what you get with a record
turnout in a vast, diverse preserve on a long morning in May!



Tomorrow I will lead two SBQ walks in Enfield – one at the Bock-Harvey
Forest Preserve starting at 8 AM, and one at the Stevenson Forest Preserve
starting at 10 AM.  I hope to see many of you there.  Let’s keep pushing Q
as high as we can!



Mark Chao



PS.  The forecast seems OK for tomorrow, but not so great for Monday’s
walks at the Goetchius Wetland Preserve and the Roy H. Park Preserve.  I
will show up to lead the walks no matter what, but may decide to cut things
short if conditions warrant.  Please be ready for anything if you do come.

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Fri 5/26

[Mark Chao]

On Friday morning, a male PINE WARBLER was singing continuously and
exclusively from tall pines on both sides of Sapsucker Woods Road, north of
the gated trailheads. I confirmed this bird by sight after much effort.  I
believe that this is not quite the latest in the season that I've ever
found this species in the sanctuary, but it's close.  This one seemed to be
acting territorial.

I also heard and saw a BLACKPOLL WARBLER on Simsbury Drive at dawn, and saw
five or six WILD TURKEYS in the field along Hanshaw Road between Freese
Road and Bluegrass Lane.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Photo challenge answer, plus Bock-Harvey and Stevenson Forest Preserves, Tues 5/23

[Mark Chao]

Thanks to all of you who sent guesses for my photo challenge.  We got
single votes for American Crow, Rusty Blackbird, Northern Cardinal, Blue
Jays, Green Heron, and a few each for starlings and Brown-headed Cowbird.
But I think that the birds in my photos this morning are COMMON GRACKLES,
about to fledge from a nest along the parking area road by the Lab of
Ornithology, with parents coming by occasionally to deliver food.



Later this morning, I went to the Bock-Harvey and Stevenson Forest
Preserves in Enfield to make sure I’d know my way around easily for
Sunday’s SBQ walks.  Highlights include:



* Two singing HOODED WARBLERS and one silent female at Bock-Harvey, plus
one heard across the stream at Stevenson

* A BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO singing percussive tripled coos near the entrance
at Bock-Harvey, then another giving a long series of decelerating kerps and
kewps, barely confirmed by sight in the canopy maybe 90 feet off the ground
in the grand old-growth woods

* Several unseen BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS and three BLACKBURNIAN
WARBLERS at Stevenson – Blackburnians also extremely high in old-growth
(hemlocks maybe 100 feet tall), barely visible here, but much more obliging
next to parking area



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Lindsay-Parsons and Bock-Harvey, Sun 5/21

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday morning, I visited two of the sites where I’ll lead walks next
weekend for the Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest (SBQ).  Here are
some highlights.



1.  Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve (7:55-9:45 AM):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37037806



* A subset of the expected breeding warblers of the preserve -- several
PRAIRIE and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS, and a couple each of HOODED,
BLUE-WINGED, and BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS – plus one WILSON’S WARBLER
(singing and confirmed by sight along western edge of small triangular
meadow) and one BLACKPOLL WARBLER.



* At least 31 WOOD DUCKS, including 30 males (!!) in the southern section
of Coleman Lake, plus a female flying into the deadwood swamp to the
north.  This count elicited the coveted eBird confirm prompt.



* The usual fine views of INDIGO BUNTINGS, FIELD SPARROWS, and EASTERN
KINGBIRDS in the first meadow, plus a surprising PILEATED WOODPECKER flying
across.



(I looked and listened for a long time for the Yellow-breasted Chat that
Annie and Tony found the other day.  I heard some random notes from the
southeastern hedgerow along the same small triangular meadow north of
Coleman Lake, but nothing strongly indicative.  To my knowledge, one person
had a similar, maybe more suggestive encounter the other day, but also
didn’t see the bird.  Otherwise, I have no new reports.)



2.  Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve (10:25-11:50 AM):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37038077



* Dazzling eye-level views of three HOODED WARBLERS – two singing males and
one female.  One male sang a typical song with an emphatic ending.  The
other sang with faster initial syllables than usual, alternating endings
between an explosive squeak and a descending flourish.  I thought at first
that this bird was an anomalous Louisiana Waterthrush because the first
song type ended so high and so explosively.  The female collected moss from
a tree trunk, hovering and fanning her tail, and then descended to the
ground.  Collectively, all this was maybe the most satisfying Hooded
Warbler viewing I’ve ever had (though my amateurish photos don’t really
show it).



* A MOURNING WARBLER singing right by the parking area, along with some
AMERICAN REDSTARTS, a very cooperative CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, and a
YELLOW-THROATED VIREO.



* A silent SWAINSON’S THRUSH along the white-blazed trail at the preserve’s
southern border – the only one of the season for me so far.



I hope to see many of you next weekend as I lead SBQ walks at these and
three other Finger Lakes Land Trust preserves.  I can’t promise views of
three Hooded Warblers – but I guarantee that we will give it a really good
try!  And it’s still not too late to pledge a donation to the Land Trust in
association with my weekend bird species tally on Land Trust preserves.
See below for details.  Thank you.



Mark Chao









Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest

Scheduled Walks

2017



Saturday, May 27

Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve

Routes 34 and 96, West Danby

Meet in the main parking lot at 8:00 AM



Sunday, May 28

Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve (owned by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference,
subject a conservation easement held by the Land Trust)

Rockwell Road, Enfield

Meet in the main parking lot at 8:00 AM



Stevenson Forest Preserve

Trumbull Corners Road, Enfield

Meet along the road at the preserve at 10:00 AM



Monday, May 29

Goetchius Wetland Preserve

Flatiron Road, Caroline

Meet in the parking area at 6:30 AM



Roy H. Park Preserve

Irish Settlement Road, Dryden

Meet in the south parking area between Goodband Road and Midline Road (not
the lot north of Goodband) at 8:30 AM



For more information, see http://www.fllt.org/spring-bird-quest/.  All of
the walks are free, but as usual I will count all the bird species that I
find on the preserves throughout the weekend, and will raise money for the
Land Trust from pledges.  Since 2006 I think we have raised at least
$65,000 for the Land Trust in this way.  If you’d like to make a pledge,
please contact me or visit http://www.fllt.org/donate/.  (If you do donate
online, please check the box to mark the gift “in honor of someone” and
type in “Spring Bird Quest.”)

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sat 5/20

[Mark Chao]

Someone is persistently singing a three-syllable song very much like that
of a Golden-winged Warbler, in the power-line corridor north of the Wilson
Trail North this morning. This is pretty typical Blue-winged Warbler
habitat, so I expect a Blue-winged or a hybrid. I haven't seen the bird
despite a lot of waiting and searching.

Willow and Alder Flycatchers also here, plus the usual expected breeding
species.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Yellow-breasted Chat reported at Lindsay-Parsons, Wed 5/17

[Mark Chao]

In the Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve on Wednesday morning at about
7:30 AM, Annie Wexler and Tony Gaenslen found a bird that we all believe
was a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.  Annie provided the following details to me by
phone.



The bird was in the island of brush and trees at the bottom of the long
slope that crosses the first meadow, where the blue-blazed trail goes
through a gap with this island to the left and the turn to Coleman Lake on
the right.  They had a close look for about five minutes, right there by
this gap, as the bird sat still and silent, low in the vegetation.  The
bird had a bright yellow throat and breast contrasting with a white belly
and tan upperparts.  Annie notes emphatically that the bird was quite
large, larger than any warbler.  She notes her conviction that it was not a
Yellow-throated Vireo because of size and overall appearance, which closely
matches the chat but not other birds in her field guide.



Mark Chao

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Wed 5/17

[Mark Chao]

Sorry for not catching the annoying auto-correct in my last message -- I
meant Yellow-rumped Warblers, not more interesting yellow-billed birds.

It is still beautiful here, with several singing Scarlet Tanagers, more
Veeries than I've found previously, and my first Eastern Wood-Pewee of the
spring. Just not a lot of sojourning boreal birds that I've found.

Mark


On May 17, 2017 7:35 AM, "Mark Chao" <markc...@imt.org> wrote:

Birding has been very slow for me in Sapsucker Woods so far on Wednesday.
Despite my usual rather wide coverage, I've found about one-tenth of the
volume and diversity of yesterday's passage migrants --today, only one
Rusty Blackbird, a couple of Yellow-billed Warblers, a female
Black-throated Blue, a silent male Magnolia, and a subadult male American
Redstart, plus some "dzzt" notes moving overhead. I hope others find what
I've been missing...

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Wed 5/17

[Mark Chao]

Birding has been very slow for me in Sapsucker Woods so far on Wednesday.
Despite my usual rather wide coverage, I've found about one-tenth of the
volume and diversity of yesterday's passage migrants --today, only one
Rusty Blackbird, a couple of Yellow-billed Warblers, a female
Black-throated Blue, a silent male Magnolia, and a subadult male American
Redstart, plus some "dzzt" notes moving overhead. I hope others find what
I've been missing...

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Tues 5/16

[Mark Chao]

Many migrants on Wilson Trail North this morning. Bay-breasted, Cape May,
Tennessee, Wilson's, N. Parula, good numbers of other more common species.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest: May 27-29

[Mark Chao]

As we do on every year, the Finger Lakes Land Trust and I are offering a
series of bird walks over Memorial Day weekend.  We call the event the
Spring Bird Quest (SBQ).  It is a great way for birders of all levels to
get to know our local breeding birds in a variety of wonderful habitats.
The SBQ also shines a light on the Land Trust’s role in preserving these
places in perpetuity for us and the birds we love.



This year, there will be five walks.



Saturday,  May 27

Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve

Routes 34 and 96, West Danby

Meet in the main parking lot at 8:00 AM



Sunday, May 28

Bock-Harvey Forest Preserve (owned by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference,
subject a conservation easement held by the Land Trust)

Rockwell Road, Enfield

Meet in the main parking lot at 8:00 AM



Stevenson Forest Preserve

Trumbull Corners Road, Enfield

Meet along the road at the preserve at 10:00 AM



Monday, May 29

Goetchius Wetland Preserve

Flatiron Road, Caroline

Meet in the parking area at 6:30 AM



Roy H. Park Preserve

Irish Settlement Road, Dryden

Meet in the south parking area between Goodband Road and Midline Road (not
the lot north of Goodband) at 8:30 AM



For more information, see http://www.fllt.org/spring-bird-quest/.



All of the walks are free, but as usual I will count all the bird species
that I find on the preserves throughout the weekend, and will raise money
for the Land Trust from pledges.  Since 2006 I think we have raised at
least $65,000 for the Land Trust in this way.  If you’d like to make a
pledge, please contact me or visit http://www.fllt.org/donate/.  (If you do
donate online, please check the box to mark the gift “in honor of someone”
and type in “Spring Bird Quest.”)



I hope to see many of you out on the trails over Memorial Day weekend!



Mark Chao

Ithaca

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Tues 4/25

[Mark Chao]

Two Barred Owls together along Severinghaus Trail, in first tall pine south
of Dayhoff Boardwalk. Two crows just chased one owl into center of woods,
but one owl remains in the pine.

At least one Northern Waterthrush is singing along the Woodleton Boardwalk
this morning too.

Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Tues 4/18

[Mark Chao]

On Tuesday morning, I watched 14 American Crows trying to persuade a GREAT
HORNED OWL to volunteer to give up its perch in the hemlocks by the East
Trail gate.  Eventually, the crows re-accommodated the owl to another dense
hemlock stand in the center of the East Trail loop.  Alas, they were now so
far from the trail that I could hardly see the crows, let alone the owl.
But probably anyone on the whole east side of the sanctuary could have
heard the crows continuing relentlessly to blame the owl for at least half
an hour.



This was the first Great Horned Owl that I’ve found by day on any of my
countless trips to Sapsucker Woods.  The owl’s first perch was also
probably the lowest I’ve ever seen for this species – probably only about
6-8 feet off the ground.



Other highlights include a bright yellow BLUE-HEADED VIREO singing by the
Severinghaus Trail gate and a HERMIT THRUSH near the shelter on the East
Trail.



For at least a couple of weeks, one AMERICAN WOODCOCK has been displaying
in the weedy field north of the overflow parking lot of the YMCA in south
Lansing, near Ciao! and BJ’s.  I find that this bird is a little easier to
spot during takeoff and descent than usual, maybe because of the lighting
or the small size of the plot.  But you’ll probably need your binoculars if
you want to watch the whole display flight against the dark sky.  Most
nights, I hear just one woodcock here, but last night I heard a second far
to the north, plus this first woodcock’s echo against the wall of the Y.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods and Edwards Lake Cliff Preserve, Sat 4/15 and Sun 4/16

[Mark Chao]

I found a couple of target birds this weekend (BROWN THRASHER at entrance
of Edwards Lake Cliff Preserve on Sunday, three HERMIT THRUSHES along the
East Trail in Sapsucker Woods on Saturday).   But the best moments came
from common species doing uncommon things.



* Along the Woodleton Boardwalk on Saturday, I watched a female American
Robin repeatedly issuing an unfamiliar  * kh *.  Later I found a
study saying that robins make this sound specifically when they see aerial
predators.  This surprised me because I felt certain that I had triggered
the call, given how this bird and her mate fixed their gaze on me the whole
time.  I flatter myself that a bird might think I’m a predator, but I am
100 percent sure that no one would ever mistake me as aerial.  So maybe the
paper’s conclusion is wrong.  Or maybe there was a hawk or owl perched
nearby, seen by the birds but not by me.



It was all very mysterious and enlightening.  But mainly that sound was
just beautiful – long, luminous, extremely high, exquisitely pianissimo.
It was as if she were a violinist coaxing a pristine final note out of her
E string, fragile and tender and masterly, while I listened from my seat in
a hushed concert hall.



* Several of the eponymous Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers of Sapsucker Woods
have found fantastic resonant substrates to bang on.  Maybe the best is a
hollow cylinder of a former tree near the East Trail gate.  Today a male
had been knocking loudly here for a while, when a white-throated sapsucker
with a brownish back flew in to the top of the trunk, about six feet
above.  The white-throated bird double-tapped, paused for a long time, then
double-tapped again.  The red-throated male stayed silent and still, eyeing
the bird above, then let out another full stuttering, slowing cadence.  The
white-throated bird responded with a full decelerating phrase.  Then the
first bird chased the second one out of view.



At the time I wasn’t sure what all this meant. I knew that female
sapsuckers have white throats, but I didn’t remember whether first-spring
male sapsuckers ever also have white throats.  I also wasn’t sure if female
sapsuckers ever drum.  As I watched, I thought that maybe the red-throated
male might be similarly confused.  Was this a rival male, not yet in his
full colors?  Or was it an interested potential mate?



A little research reveals that the most likely answer is neither.
Apparently the white throat does definitively indicate a female.  Females
do sometimes drum.  So when this female flew in, the male was probably
thinking, “Either she wants me, or she wants this drumming surface for
herself.”  Too bad for him this time.



* The green pond by the shelter on the East Trail always seems to have Wood
Ducks in it.  Today I managed to approach very slowly without flushing one
female.  She drifted in the open water, issuing single “hwaak” notes.
Eventually she flew up to a branch, where she bowed forward a few times and
issued an unfamiliar, more forced sound.  More reading indicates that these
vocalizations signal availability to potential mates.  She did seem a
little lonely.



Finally, an off-topic note – the trails of the Edwards Lake Cliff Preserve
were rife with big beautiful snails on Sunday morning.  Miyoko and I found
more than 150 of them without even looking very widely or carefully.  As
Miyoko said, it was like an Easter egg hunt, but even better.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] NE Ithaca, Fri 4/7

[Mark Chao]

This morning, I saw a BROWN THRASHER singing in our yard in suburban
northeast Ithaca.  I think it was the first thrasher I’ve ever found on our
street.



Not far away in the yard, a pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS has started to build
a nest in the same box where a pair successfully raised four young last
year.  Last weekend, the male was cleaning out pieces of last year’s nest.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the female made several trips to the nest with
new material.  She seemed to waste a lot of energy trying to jam very long
stiff twigs crosswise through the box opening.  But a few did bend enough
to get through.



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Woods, Sun 3/19

[Mark Chao]

Highlights from Sapsucker Woods on Sunday morning (8:45-10:15 AM):



* A marvelous and mystifying creature out on the tallest snag in the main
pond.  At first I thought it was an alien robot pod because its tapered
shape and face panel seemed superficially similar to those of EVE from
WALL-E.  But then, from a better angle, I realized that it was more likely
an actual alien LIFE FORM (!), not a mere robot – and indeed probably an
intelligent one because it was wearing a thick, shaggy gray shawl.  (Of
course one can also infer its intelligence simply because it somehow got
here from wherever it is from.  But I did not find any signs of a
spacecraft.)



Animal taxonomy on this creature’s planet is evidently nothing like ours,
but from its various features, one can see analogies to our lepidopterans
(a pair of droopy antennae on a tiny black head), our macaques (a white
mane/beard), and even our birds (one long leg, not two, but with a
bird-like foot at the end).  I know it is a little reckless to
anthropomorphize, but the white beard and contemplative hunched posture
make me think it could be a wise elder or even a royal figure in its
society.



I got a couple of photographs.



https://goo.gl/photos/UUcGZgv96hEu4yLK8

https://goo.gl/photos/Z7hHAvTakYqVHvyXA



This snag is where a pair of GREAT BLUE HERONS, including a male with a
missing toe, nested a few years ago.  The nest fell in high winds around
2014, but the male returned in 2015 and 2016 during the day in spring and
summer to forage.  Coincidentally, one of my photos shows the alien
creature with three toes on its bird-like foot, just like that male heron.
But my other photo shows four toes.



This post isn’t entirely OT (or ET)…I had some nice bird moments too.



* A male WOOD DUCK in the outlet stream along the Wilson Trail North. (I
was hoping to find a woodcock, but alas, the snow still extended all the
way to the edge of the stream, with no exposed ground anywhere.)



* A FOX SPARROW in the feeder garden, among many American Tree Sparrows,
one Song Sparrow, and one White-throated Sparrow.



* Marie Read’s photo exhibit in the Visitor Center’s auditorium.  It is a
truly stirring and revelatory collection.  Congratulations and many thanks,
Marie!



* Encounters with a couple of moms and precocious young kids building bonds
and sharing learning moments over birds by the feeder garden.  After
picking through several species with his mother and sister, one boy
exclaimed that he saw a “penguin bird.”  His mom patiently tried to divert
the conversation back to the real birds before us, including Red-winged
Blackbirds and a male Northern Cardinal.  But the boy continued,
insistently, “I saw a penguin bird!  It had a black head, and its back was
all black too, and it was all white here [pointing to his own belly]!”
 Another glance at the garden, and I understood.  If you squint and free
your imagination, Dark-eyed Juncos DO look a little like puny penguin-birds
on the deep snow…



Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Siena Drive screech-owl continues

[Mark Chao]

The gray-morph EASTERN SCREECH-OWL has continued to roost throughout
January along Siena Drive in northeast Ithaca in the same dead tree trunk
as reported in November.  It seems to stay in view by day quite often now,
mostly asleep but sometimes waking to keep an eye on squirrels snuffling in
the leaf litter below.  But the likelihood of seeing the owl is still
highest in the late afternoon.




Mark Chao

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[cayugabirds-l] Siena Drive screech-owl, Wed 11/23

[Mark Chao]

The gray-morph EASTERN SCREECH-OWL is back in view in its cavity on Siena
Drive in northeast Ithaca (Wednesday, 2:10 PM).   Yesterday’s directions
still apply (the right side of the fresher-looking one of two broken-off
trunks about 13 feet tall, near the road in the woodlot about 27 yards
south of the intersection of St. Catherine’s Circle and Siena Drive).  But
someone asked me for even more details, so here they are.



* This location is across from the mailbox for 328 Siena Drive.

* The owl is about four feet from the top of this dead trunk.

* Here is a new checklist with a photo of the whole tree:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32681829

* Yesterday, I returned and watched the owl fly out of the cavity at 5:03
PM.



Mark Chao

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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RE:[cayugabirds-l] Siena Drive screech-owl, Tues 11/22

[Mark Chao]

Here is my eBird checklist with some photos of the owl.



http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32669870



I am going back there within the next five minutes or so.  I’d be glad to
see you and help you find the cavity.



Mark Chao





*From:* Mark Chao [mailto:markc...@imt.org]
*Sent:* Tuesday, November 22, 2016 3:48 PM
*To:* Cayugabirds- L
*Subject:* Siena Drive screech-owl, Tues 11/22



A gray-morph EASTERN SCREECH-OWL is roosting in view in a natural cavity
along Siena Drive in the woodlot at the southern corner where Siena
intersects with St. Catherine's Circle in Northeast Ithaca (Tuesday, 3:40
pm). Look for two broken-off trunks about 13 feet tall, close to the road
about 25 meters south of the corner of the intersection. The owl is in the
fresher-looking one, on the right side. This is the same cavity where
Tilden and I found an owl last February.

Mark Chao

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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[cayugabirds-l] Siena Drive screech-owl, Tues 11/22

[Mark Chao]

A gray-morph EASTERN SCREECH-OWL is roosting in view in a natural cavity
along Siena Drive in the woodlot at the southern corner where Siena
intersects with St. Catherine's Circle in Northeast Ithaca (Tuesday, 3:40
pm). Look for two broken-off trunks about 13 feet tall, close to the road
about 25 meters south of the corner of the intersection. The owl is in the
fresher-looking one, on the right side. This is the same cavity where
Tilden and I found an owl last February.

Mark Chao

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park, Fri 11/18

[Mark Chao]

I believe that I found four gull species, including a LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULL apparently entering its second winter, all conveniently lined up in
order of size on a log just off shore near the Fuertes Sanctuary (swan pen)
in Stewart Park on Friday afternoon.  Here’s my eBird checklist with some
photos.



http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32611892



(If you think that I have somehow botched the ID of this bird, please let
me know.)



Mark Chao

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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[cayugabirds-l] Myers Park, Sat 11/5

[Mark Chao]

There are five SNOW BUNTINGS on the beach at Myers Park in Lansing (11 AM,
Saturday).

Mark Chao

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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--