[cayugabirds-l] Where are there binoculars to try?

[tess]

Hi,

We are going away at the end of the month and want to upgrade our 
ancient and beat up Nikon binoculars. With the Visitor Center and Wild 
Birds Unlimited still closed, can anyone recommend a place that carries 
several different brands to try? Ideally one with inventory that 
includes higher end models?


Pls reply privately since this isn't about birds.  Thanks.

Alicia

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[cayugabirds-l] People to thank

[tess]

On 4/15/2024 5:15 PM, Rachel Hogancamp wrote:
> That's fabulous news!!  It's a wonderful comment on our community.
>
> If you want a direct contact for Visit Ithaca, Peggy Coleman is the 
> head of that side of the organization.
> Peggy Coleman - pe...@visitithaca.com

Also ...


Jennifer Tavares, Chamber of Commerce 

Fred Bonn, Regional Director State Parks 

Josh Teeter, State Parks 


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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Falls light show?

[tess]

Yay!!!  Thank you Tim & Geo for getting this the attention it deserved, 
and Rachel and others for using their contacts!  Several people have 
been mentioned as possibly having had some influence on the light show.  
The emails I've seen on other list messages are below for anyone who 
wants to send them thanks for doing a 180 on such short notice.

Jennifer Tavares, Chamber of Commerce 
Fred Bonn, Regional Director State Parks 
Josh Teeter, State Parks 
Visit Ithaca - see no email address, but all the usual social media 
spots are linked to their webpage https://www.visitithaca.com/ if you 
want to comment that way



On 4/15/2024 4:29 PM, Tim Gallagher wrote:
> Here’s some great news. The Taughannock light show has been cancelled. 
> They’re rescheduling it for the fall.
> new-york-state-parks-recreation-and-historic-preservation-1.jpg
> Update: Hike and illumination at Taughannock Falls canceled 
> 
> mytwintiers.com 
> 
>
> 
>
>
>> On Apr 15, 2024, at 1:47 PM, sarah fern  wrote:
>>
>> 
>> My understanding is that all NYS park rangers have degrees in 
>> forestry. So I think they should know better about protecting 
>> wildlife. (Although I did watch a park ranger carry a mushroom-laden 
>> log out of a wildlife preserve and haul it away in his truck.)
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 15, 2024, 1:24 PM Richard Guthrie 
>>  wrote:
>>
>> Parks and Recreation - and DEC - are concerned about the
>> resources that they are charged with protecting - if it is not
>> inconvenient and/or if they can get some good publicity.
>> Otherwise they will find a way around whatever the “problem” is.
>> Look at Upland Sandpipers v. solar farms, or Cerulean Warblers v.
>> parking lot. The enablers have a thesaurus full of workaround
>> words to justify their schemes.
>>
>>> On Apr 15, 2024, at 12:33 PM, Deb Grantham  wrote:
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>> I’ve sent a message to Visit Ithaca so far.
>>>
>>> Deb
>>>
>>> *From:* bounce-128145756-83565...@list.cornell.edu
>>>  *On Behalf Of *Dave
>>> Nutter
>>> *Sent:* Sunday, April 14, 2024 4:20 PM
>>> *To:* Geo Kloppel 
>>> *Cc:* CAYUGABIRDS-L 
>>> *Subject:* Re: [cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Falls light show?
>>>
>>> I went to the websites for State Parks (NYSOPRHP), Tompkins
>>> County Chamber of Commerce, and Visit Ithaca, used the Contact
>>> Us feature of each, and briefly asked them to please not do a
>>> light show in the gorge due to potential disturbance of the
>>> Peregrines and Ravens nesting there.
>>>
>>> - - Dave Nutter
>>>
>>>
>>> On Apr 14, 2024, at 12:06 PM, Geo Kloppel 
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Below is the press release for the evening light shows at
>>> the great falls in Taughannock Falls State Park later this
>>> week, which have potential to disturb the Peregrine Falcons
>>> and Ravens that are currently on nests there).
>>>
>>> Note that the event is jointly hosted by NYS Parks, Visit
>>> Ithaca, and also the Tompkins Chamber, which is handling
>>> online registration for after-dark hikes up the gorge trail
>>> to the lighted falls.
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>> Go for a hike and view the lights to celebrate 100 years of
>>> NYS Parks at Taughannock Falls
>>> 
>>> 
>>>
>>> mytwintiers.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Apr 14, 2024, at 10:16 AM, Tim Gallagher
>>>  wrote:
>>>
>>> I heard some disturbing news last night. Apparently
>>> Taughannock Falls will be brightly illuminated from 8:30
>>> to 10:00 this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
>>> night (April 18, 19, and 20). I guess it’s some kind of
>>> PR stunt to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the New
>>> York State Park Service, but it couldn’t possibly come
>>> at a worse time, with the eggs just about to hatch in
>>> the Peregrine Falcon eyrie and a pair of Ravens nesting
>>> right beside the falls—not mention all the other
>>> wildlife in the park. There certainly should be other,
>>> less potentially harmful, ways to celebrate the Park
>>> Service. You 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Falls light show?

[tess]

Thank you for reaching out to them, Rachel, sounds like you had a good 
conversation. We'll all keep our fingers crossed!

Alicia

On 4/15/2024 12:09 PM, Rachel Hogancamp wrote:
> Good morning, all -
>
> I've been in touch with Jennifer Tavares at Tompkins Chamber and Fred 
> Bonn of the Parks Services. Jennifer let me know they have received 
> feedback from a number of people and are considering what may be 
> possible at this point. I imagine they will send a notice out to all 
> but if I hear anything definitive I will be sure to let you know.
>
> Thanks,
> Rachel
>
> On Mon, Apr 15, 2024 at 12:00 PM Regi Teasley  wrote:
>
> Astrid,
>    Thank you for your comments.
>     But I think compromise isn’t our answer here. In my view, this
> issue has developed because human beings see Nature as an
> afterthought.  Humans see their own goals and actions as primary
> and, if they care at all, they might try to “minimize” their
> impact.  God forbid they could reschedule or reconsider this project.
>    As long as we don’t understand that Nature is not under our
> dominion, we will be unable to solve our environmental and climate
> problems.  We are watching and participating in the 6th Great
> Extinction; but apparently that hasn’t sunk in yet.
>
> Regi
> 
> Creativity is the heart of adaptive evolution.
> Terry Tempest Williams
>
>
>
>> On Apr 15, 2024, at 10:27 AM, Astrid Jirka
>>  wrote:
>>
>> 
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I appreciate the care and attention being given to the peregrines
>> and the ravens in light of the lightshow being planned this
>> weekend, as I've seen expressed through the Cayuga Bird Listserve.
>> I also appreciate NYS Parks for all they do to promote recreation
>> and conservation of our natural resources.
>> And I appreciate the Chamber and Visit Ithaca for all they do to
>> promote tourism in our area which is so crucial to our local
>> economy.
>> It is understandable to me that there is an interest in a
>> celebration and that Tgnk Falls should be (literally) highlighted
>> due to its beauty and its attraction to locals and visitors alike.
>>
>> *Could one of the birders please explain exactly what they think
>> the repercussions would be to the bird nests that are of concern?
>> * Are the females likely to abandon their nests, eggs or chicks,
>> and never return?
>>
>> It is nice to see a community caring so much for our natural
>> resources in so many ways. Let's do our best to make it work for
>> the birds and the humans and all involved!
>>
>> Take care,
>>
>> Astrid Jirka
>> Director of Tourism Initiatives
>> Discover Cayuga Lake
>>
>> -- Forwarded message -
>> From: 
>> Date: Sun, Apr 14, 2024 at 4:25 PM
>> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Falls light show?
>> To: Geo Kloppel , CAYUGABIRDS-L
>> 
>>
>>
>> Sounds like there is a lot of momentum behind this and it might
>> be easier to deflect than to stop unless the weather is like
>> today. Celebrating the 100th probably is a huge deal for the
>> agency, which certainly have manages a lot of great habitat for
>> birds.  And they people behind this particular event have put
>> time, money, and effort into planning and executing it and
>> probably will be reluctant to abandon it.
>>
>> Is there a way this could be done and disturbance minimized? 
>> What if they lit up the falls from right below so the gorge
>> itself wasn't illuminated, and instead of hiking up the gorge
>> they centered the celebration on the overlook rather than hiking
>> the gorge hike? Maybe there's a local bird-loving food truck or
>> caterer who would be willing to offer food at a discount to the
>> parks for the three nights up at the visitor center by the overlook?
>>
>> Is there someone on the list with contacts at the Regional State
>> Park office or at the Chamber who could sound them out on whether
>> they are open to alternatives?  Does the bird club have any
>> programming it runs in partnership with any of the local state
>> parks?  We could try to shut this down but there's a good chance
>> that would fail and, whether or not it did, trying to shut it
>> down entirely will piss off a lot people which might not be good
>> for birds (or even birders) in the long run.  Note the Chamber of
>> Commerce seems to be running the hikes so anyone on the list who
>> is a member might want to gently explain the issue to Jennifer
>> Tavares, who seems like a decent person.  Not sure if Fred Bonn
>> is still the Regional Director of State Parks but he has been
>> flexible in the past when approached given actual evidence and
>> alternatives - but whoever approaches him should be prepared with
>> published evidence or personal 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Falls light show?

[tess]

Sounds like there is a lot of momentum behind this and it might be 
easier to deflect than to stop unless the weather is like today. 
Celebrating the 100th probably is a huge deal for the agency, which 
certainly have manages a lot of great habitat for birds.  And they 
people behind this particular event have put time, money, and effort 
into planning and executing it and probably will be reluctant to abandon it.

Is there a way this could be done and disturbance minimized?  What if 
they lit up the falls from right below so the gorge itself wasn't 
illuminated, and instead of hiking up the gorge they centered the 
celebration on the overlook rather than hiking the gorge hike? Maybe 
there's a local bird-loving food truck or caterer who would be willing 
to offer food at a discount to the parks for the three nights up at the 
visitor center by the overlook?

Is there someone on the list with contacts at the Regional State Park 
office or at the Chamber who could sound them out on whether they are 
open to alternatives?  Does the bird club have any programming it runs 
in partnership with any of the local state parks?  We could try to shut 
this down but there's a good chance that would fail and, whether or not 
it did, trying to shut it down entirely will piss off a lot people which 
might not be good for birds (or even birders) in the long run.  Note the 
Chamber of Commerce seems to be running the hikes so anyone on the list 
who is a member might want to gently explain the issue to Jennifer 
Tavares, who seems like a decent person.  Not sure if Fred Bonn is still 
the Regional Director of State Parks but he has been flexible in the 
past when approached given actual evidence and alternatives - but 
whoever approaches him should be prepared with published evidence or 
personal reports by someone (maybe Tim G) who is an acknowledged expert 
on peregrines and can show that the light show is going to disturb the 
peregrines.  Keep in mind that these folks know peregrines nest on urban 
bridges and buildings that are lit at night so they will need to know 
why this is different.


On 4/14/2024 12:06 PM, Geo Kloppel wrote:
> Below is the press release for the evening light shows at the great 
> falls in Taughannock Falls State Park later this week, which have 
> potential to disturb the Peregrine Falcons and Ravens that are 
> currently on nests there).
>
> Note that the event is jointly hosted by NYS Parks, Visit Ithaca, and 
> also the Tompkins Chamber, which is handling online registration for 
> after-dark hikes up the gorge trail to the lighted falls.
>
> new-york-state-parks-recreation-and-historic-preservation-1.jpg
> Go for a hike and view the lights to celebrate 100 years of NYS Parks 
> at Taughannock Falls 
> 
> mytwintiers.com 
> 
>
> 
>
>
>> On Apr 14, 2024, at 10:16 AM, Tim Gallagher  wrote:
>>
>> I heard some disturbing news last night. Apparently Taughannock 
>> Falls will be brightly illuminated from 8:30 to 10:00 this coming 
>> Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night (April 18, 19, and 20). I guess 
>> it’s some kind of PR stunt to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 
>> New York State Park Service, but it couldn’t possibly come at a worse 
>> time, with the eggs just about to hatch in the Peregrine Falcon eyrie 
>> and a pair of Ravens nesting right beside the falls—not mention all 
>> the other wildlife in the park. There certainly should be other, less 
>> potentially harmful, ways to celebrate the Park Service. You can 
>> contact the Taughannock Park office at (607) 387-7041. (Photo by 
>> Arthur A. Allen)
>>
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Black vultures

[tess]

Could be these are bonded birds hanging out together but actual 
courtship seems to be more active and to involve display, or at least 
the male lifting & holding his wings over his head - see Birds by Bent 
.  (Note that 
the months given in that account might not apply now - at the time it 
was written, Black Vultures were only in the south, plus and it was 
colder everywhere in February and March than it is now.)

On 3/7/2024 10:20 AM, Dave Nutter wrote:
> I just spent a little over an hour watching a pair of Black Vultures 
> atop the concrete smokestack low on South Hill in the City of Ithaca. 
> That’s at the old Morse Chain / Emerson Power Transmission factory. I 
> can scope it from my house, and it’s probably visible from numerous 
> locations around the City. I use the term “pair” intentionally, 
> because they seemed very comfortable and friendly with each other, 
> each almost touching the other with its bill on several occasions, 
> although most of the time there was very little happening. I don’t 
> know what constitutes courtship among Black Vultures, but this seemed 
> to be more than the coincidental convenience of a place to rest. When 
> they took flight, they flew together, mostly staying within the same 
> scope view. Unlike last fall when I often saw Black Vultures fly well 
> above downtown on their way NE toward trees in Collegetown, today they 
> glided N, descending slowly, in front of the taller buildings near the 
> Commons (i.e. lower than them) and down toward treetop level. When I 
> lost view of them due to closer obstructions, they were due E of me, 
> which is the latitude of Cascadilla St & Farm St. I don’t know whether 
> there is some food source or nest site in the N half of downtown 
> Ithaca, but that would be my guess, unless they have some other 
> destination and it’s worth flying so low just to avoid fighting 
> today’s 10mph NW wind. Anyway, for those interested in where the Black 
> Vultures nest this year, I think we have a pair in the City of Ithaca, 
> it wouldn’t surprise me if they nest here, and it wouldn’t surprise me 
> if their courtship is carried out on top of that smokestack.
>
> - - Dave Nutter
>
> On Mar 6, 2024, at 9:53 AM, Dave Nutter  wrote:
>
>> The barn is between Freeville & McLean, more specifically along the 
>> SE side of Fall Creek Rd between Red Mill Rd & Malloryville Rd. 
>> Google maps shows a building complex associated with a closed farm 
>> stand. Below is the eBird rare bird report which I saved. The record 
>> doesn’t show up in the eBird database if you search Black Vulture, 
>> but I am still able to access it from this link, so it hasn’t been 
>> deleted, revised, or hidden, I guess just not confirmed.
>>
>>>
>>> Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) (2)
>>> - Reported Feb 16, 2024 11:34 by Paul Rodewald
>>> - 340–350 Fall Creek Rd, Freeville US-NY (42.5289,-76.3158), 
>>> Tompkins, New York
>>> - Map: 
>>> http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8=p=13=42.528927,-76.315839=42.528927,-76.315839
>>>  
>>> 
>>> - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S162563609
>>> - Comments: "Two BLVUs flying from barn at this location.  Seems 
>>> early for northern limit of breeding range, but appeared to be 
>>> inspecting a potential or prior nest location."
>>>
>> - - Dave Nutter
>>
>> On Mar 5, 2024, at 10:53 PM, anneb.cl...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>> Seems to me unlikely that many black vultures are nesting north of 
>>> us. We should see more incl juveniles in fall.  Maybe I haven’t been 
>>> on top of the observations, but doesn’t match my memory. So 
>>> migrating through
>>>
>>> Where’s this barn?  Near McLean  or Lime Hollow?
>>>
>>> I will say that I haven’t seen them overhead here just outside of 
>>> Freeville but I am completely capable of missing birds, even big 
>>> black ones I should be noticing. 
>>>
>>> Anne
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
 On Mar 5, 2024, at 12:14 AM, Dave Nutter  wrote:

  Paul Rodewald said a pair of Black Vultures seemed to be 
 prospecting a barn recently between Freeville & Cortland.

 Last year the number of sightings over downtown Ithaca & lower S 
 Hill, & near Titus Flats/ Wegmans/ the Elmira Rd strip seemed like 
 some affinity - maybe nesting nearby? Or is it just that there are 
 lots of potential observers, and they are conspicuous so they get 
 reported more here even though they travel widely? Anyway it seems 
 to be continuing. Is there a food source for them in the 
 neighborhood? Or did they nest here?

 I wonder how many pairs we are dealing with, how many birds are 
 local, and how many of the birds seen recently have been migrating 
 through.

 - - Dave Nutter

 On Mar 4, 2024, at 5:07 PM, anneb.cl...@gmail.com wrote:

> Let’s try to figure out where they nest this 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] English bird names

[tess]

Initially I was confused by Ken's link ,but starting at 9:40 if becomes 
relevant and funny.

Alicia


On 11/6/2023 11:10 AM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote:
> At least topic is getting some attention!
>
> Ken
>
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ0nVxD2Nck
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 6, 2023, at 10:09 AM, Alicia Plotkin  wrote:
>>
>>  The full Committee Report with its recommendations here 
>> .
>>   
>> It's easy to read & has some interesting material not included in the 
>> public statement put up on the web page.
>>
>> The Committee seems not to have considered the question of costs that 
>> individual birders might bear, but for the AOS itself it found (pp 
>> 25-26):
>>> Administrative support for this step will not be trivial. For the 
>>> public comment period, interactive
>>> platform(s) will need to be set up in order to moderate and accept 
>>> the desired input. For
>>> broadcasting new names and general publicity, substantial investment 
>>> will likely need to be
>>> made for setting up workflows to track and manage web and social 
>>> media communications,
>>> publish press releases, and handle media relations. ...
>>> We recognize this process is potentially costly. If the cost is 
>>> prohibitive, then partnerships with
>>> other bird-focused organizations may be a step to consider. 
>>> Different organizations could pool
>>> resources to implement each step of the public engagement process 
>>> and take ownership of
>>> different steps in the workflow. This collaboration will add another 
>>> layer of complexity in project
>>> management and require time for strategic planning discussions 
>>> (e.g., reconciling institutional
>>> priorities, actively facilitating dynamics to ensure different 
>>> groups do not feel differently treated
>>> because of what they might be able to contribute).
>>
>> In answer to John's other question, the committee recommended as 
>> follows on pp 9-10:
>>> The committee is also not making recommendations on scientific 
>>> names. As in all of
>>> zoology, avian scientific naming procedures follow the International 
>>> Code of Zoological
>>> Nomenclature (ICZN), which is beyond the purview of the AOS. The 
>>> International
>>> Commission on Zoological Nomenclature recently established its 
>>> position opposing the
>>> use of ethical reasons alone to justify the renaming of scientific 
>>> Latin names of taxa.
>> So if this is indeed how it play's out, /wilsonii /can continue as a 
>> species name for the Cuban Kite (so long as it survives) and Wilson's 
>> Plover.  However the genus /Wilsonii/ disappeared when based on 
>> genetic studies, Hooded Warbler was moved to /Setophaga/ and Wilson's 
>> & Canada were placed in /Cardellina/ in 2011.
>>
>> Alicia
>>
>> On 11/6/2023 7:45 AM, John Gregoire wrote:
>>> Thanks for that. A couple of issues. One is the resulting heavy cost 
>>> of change, Think checklists,alphanumeric codes, field guides are 
>>> three that immediately come to mind. When we did the second printing 
>>> of the National Geo guide, we opted to new editions and not an 
>>> errata list of changes. My plant guides are already full of 
>>> redactions and pen/ink changes.
>>> Second is the question of not changing scientific names. Does this 
>>> mean that the Wilsonia will remain intact?
>>> John
>>>
>>> On Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 7:12 AM Linda Orkin  
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Very interesting Irene. Thank you for providing this document!
>>>
>>> Linda Orkin
>>>
 On Nov 5, 2023, at 2:04 PM, Irene Liu  wrote:

 
 Hi everyone, I was a member of the ad hoc English Bird Names
 committee. Great to read everyone's comments and to know that
 people are reflecting on the recommendations we wrote. I
 encourage those wondering about why we endorsed removing all
 eponyms, including eponyms honoring people who made important
 contributions to ornithology, to read our justification for
 that particular recommendation here: here:
 
 https://americanornithology.org/about/english-bird-names-project/english-bird-names-committee-recommendations/#justification

 Apologies if I'm duplicating anyone else's response. I receive
 the digest and so am not reading messages in real time.

 Cheers,
 Irene Liu
 Ithaca, NY
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fwd: [The Washington Post] Dozens of bird names honoring enslavers and racists will be changed

[tess]

To respond to a few things Carl raised:

  * Relatively few of these birds were named for the white people who
first described them.  In most cases the describer named them to
honor someone else - Henslow's Sparrow, for example, was named by
Audubon in honor of Rev. John Henslow, who was a botanist and also a
mentor to Charles Darwin.
  * The American Ornithological Society report says they are not
recommending changes to the Latin scientific names unless/until
there is evidence that makes the present name incorrect
scientifically (splitting, lumping, new DNA findings showing the
genus is wrong, etc.).
  * Other misleading or unhelpful names will not be reviewed.  We still
will have Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Tree Sparrows, Evening Grosbeaks,
and Ring-Necked Ducks, as well as Nashville, Connecticut, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Palm, and Cape May Warblers..
  * Baltimore Oriole will be unchanged.  The AOS has ruled that the bird
was named not in honor of Lord Baltimore, but after the colors in
his coat of arms.  Never mind that the colors in his actual coat of
arms, which you can see on the Maryland State flag & license plate -
or in wikipedia - actually were black & /yellow/, not black &
orange.  Possibly this exception has more to do with the Baltimore
Oriole being the best known of the birds involved and the one whose
name change would be least likely to be accepted by the non-birding
public, including ticket holders at Camden Yards?  The AOS may also
remember how little success they had with "Northern Oriole" a few
years back.

The AOS Committee was directed to “develop a process that will allow the 
[AOS] to change harmful and exclusionary English bird names in a 
thoughtful and proactive way for species within AOS’s purview."  But 
instead of developing a thoughtful process, the majority of its members 
endorsed wholesale elimination of all honorary names. 'Wilson's Warbler' 
would have survived had they respected their original charge: Wilson was 
a penniless immigrant, a self-taught naturalist who always was 
scrounging for money to pay for his materials and treks, and who died 
of  "dysentery, overwork, and chronic poverty."  When he went looking 
for birds in the southern states he found the area disagreeable and 
deplored what he saw of slavery there.   He also was really interesting 
& worth reading up on.  He left Scotland in 1794 after he had been fined 
and jailed for publishing poems that sympathized with the conditions 
suffered by mill workers and satirized the mill owners.  In America in 
1804 he walked 1300 miles from Philadelphia to Niagara Falls and wrote a 
long, detailed report about it - in verse!  In over 80 pages and 2200 
lines of poetry, with an additional 24 pages of footnotes, he describes 
what he encountered along the way, including what he found in what now 
is the Catherine Valley, Watkins Glen, and Ovid.  And he was the first 
person to try to formally describe and illustrate all the birds of North 
American, collecting 268 species in his nine-volume /American 
Ornithology /(1808-1814) which was incomplete when he died at age 47.

When you have learned more about Wilson, check out Georg Wilhelm 
Steller, another early ornithologist whose life would be unlikely to be 
seen as harmful or exclusionary but whose adventures led to increased 
knowledge of the peoples, birds, fish, plants, and sea mammals found on 
both sides of the Bering Sea.

I only know about these men because of the various birds named for 
Wilson, and the Steller's Sea Eagle who has been wandering around the 
northeastern part of our continent for the past two years - the names of 
those birds prompted me to learn more about the people behind the 
names.  It is a shame that now the stories of both men are destined to 
fall even further beneath the radar.  They were courageous and even 
inspirational naturalists.

Alicia

P.S. If Google translate is to be trusted, the name for Steller's Sea 
Eagle in Japanese, オオワシ, translates as "Wow Eagle."  If it can't be 
Steller's, I hereby nominate Wow Eagle as its new common name.


On 11/4/2023 4:43 PM, Carl Steckler wrote:
>
> I agree Dave, but I feel it is the right decision for the wrong 
> reasons. Changing the names to better describe the bird, good.
>
> Changing the name because of what someone did in the past is wrong.
>
> you really have to look at the person in the context of their time, 
> their morals and their laws.
>
> If the bird was named for someone other than the discoverer, then by 
> all means change it.
>
> But if it is named after the person who discovered the bird you really 
> have to consider the contributions made by this person and ask do they 
> outweigh the faults?
>
> And what about the Latin names. A lot of them are named for people. 
> Are we going to change those also?
>
> Again while I am in favor of changing the names to better describe the 
> birds, let 

[cayugabirds-l] Possible new birding spot in Ovid?

[tess]

Hi,

Until recently the NYS Department of Corrections ran a shock 
incarceration camp on the grounds of the former Willard Psychiatric 
facility.  NYS has closed the shock incarceration camp and Seneca County 
is now trying to identify the best use of this land for he future.  Last 
month the County IDA and its consultant held a public open house where 
they solicited ideas.  Sarah Davis, the IDA Executive Director, asked 
for additional public comment to be emailed to her.

A follow up email from Ms. Davis stated in part:
> Before finalizing the concept site plan, we will host another workshop 
> to present some initial concepts and make sure that we understood and 
> incorporated your feedback accurately. We will send you another email 
> to let you know the date once it is finalized. In the meantime, the 
> materials from the first workshop have been posted to the Seneca 
> County IDA website: 
> https://www.senecacountyida.org/highest-best-use-study. You can find 
> the information sheets, boards, and maps there, as well as more 
> information about the consulting team working with us on the plan.
As the linked maps show, this is a very large parcel of land that 
includes a long stretch of lakefront - at the meeting they said there 
was a mile of lakefront.  There are many buildings on the property, most 
of which have not been maintained and will have to be torn down, 
although it might be possible to save a few.  A large part of the 
property has been pretty much untouched for 100 years. All of this land 
has been off limits to the public for decades and exactly what birds 
might be there is not known, but it includes a deep forested ravine, 
very similar to the ravine just south of there where Louisiana 
Waterthrush are heard, and a mixed upland forest that likely hosts both 
migrating and nesting passerines.  There also is a small wetland.  A 40+ 
acre portion on the east side of the county road has a half-dozen 
buildings in two clusters and some woodland, but much of it is grassland.

The people running the meeting in July seemed to expect that the land to 
be divided up among several things.  Why not set aside some of it for a 
bird sanctuary with a birding trail?  There is state land close by - 
Sampson SP, Bonavista Golf Course, and Willard Wildlife Management Area 
- but none of these is managed for birding, or is particularly 
birder-friendly.  Sampson, for example, recently was put under private 
management and a great deal of edge habitat was destroyed immediately 
after that.

The disposition of the Willard land is a situation where relatively few 
voices can have a large impact.  If you think that setting aside some of 
this parcel for birds and birding is a good idea, you might want to send 
an email to Ms. Davis mailto:%22Sarah%20Davis%22%20>> .  If you 
live in Seneca County it would be good to mention that but it also is 
helpful for her to hear from others in the region who would make use of 
this property if it were birder-friendly. Somewhat to my surprise, it 
doesn't sound like the County is hoping the land will all be converted 
to expensive housing and businesses, but they need public comment to 
demonstrate that there is interest in other uses.  Comments need not be 
formal or lengthy, but it would be helpful to say what you would like to 
see done with part of the property and how you would make use of that part.

Alicia Plotkin

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[cayugabirds-l] Question about Merlin behavior (the falcon, not the app)

[tess]

On Saturday in the early evening, at the gate of the Grassroots festival 
as crowds of people were streaming in, a Merlin started calling 
continuously for many seconds - 10? 15?  It came into view from the west 
and was chasing a crow and diving at it.  They were maybe 30' above the 
tree tops and I had no binoculars but they were easy to see, passing 
directly overhead.  The crow was twisting and dodging, flying evasively 
- one of the crow's tail feathers came loose & floated away so 
presumably the merlin was grabbing at it.  I don't remember hearing the 
crow vocalize but the merlin never stopped.  They passed over Smith 
Woods and then the merlin turned off to the north.  My impression was 
extreme aggression by the merlin and retreat by the crow but I only saw 
them for maybe 5 seconds, it was pretty quick.


Anyone know if this is territorial defense or something else?  Does the 
merlin defend territory after its young have fledged?  Is it some form 
of very rough inter-species play?  I found this report in Bent:


... Mr. Brewster (1925) witnessed the following peculiar behavior of a 
pigeon hawk:


He was either playing or fighting with a Crow, the former I thought, 
for although the behavior of both birds was rough and aggressive, it 
seemed to represent mutual participation in a sportive game curiously 
regulated and much enjoyed. Thus the successive lungings and chasings 
were not either one-sided or haphazard, but so conducted that each 
bird alternately took the part of pursuer and pursued, and when 
enacting the latter role gave way at once, or after the merest 
pretense of restance, to flee as if for its life, dodging and 
twisting; yet it was prompt enough to rejoin the other bird at the end 
of such a bout, when the two would rest awhile on the same stub, 
perching only a few feet apart and facing one another, perhaps not 
without some mutual distrust. During these aerial evolutions the Hawk 
screamed and the Crow uttered a rolling croak, almost incessantly. 
They separated and flew off in different directions when my presence 
was finally discovered.


Has anyone else witnessed 'play' like this?  Alternatively do merlins 
continue to attack crows after their young fledge?


Alicia



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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Red-headed Woodpeckers

[tess]

Several years ago we were taking a break while driving back to NY and 
went for a walk in Brigham County Park, in Dane County, Wisconsin.  
There were nesting RH Woodpeckers, an adult feeding nestlings, and this 
is part of the note I entered into eBird:
> the color of the adult: it was as though the entire bird had been 
> dipped in strong tea for a couple of hours. The white parts were 
> sepia, the red head was duller (but did not appear to have any black 
> feathers - the feathers were all just reddish with a distinct brownish 
> tint) and even the black seemed dulled with an overlay of brown. 
> Didn't think to notice what kind of tree was hosting the nest - maybe 
> one that can leach a brown color from interior wood?




On 7/6/2023 7:42 PM, Kevin J. McGowan wrote:
>
> No, and no. :^(
>
> The sexes in Red-headed Woodpeckers are not distinguishable by 
> plumage. The difference in staining could very well be the consequence 
> of one bird being in the nest cavity more than the other, but it is 
> usually the male that does more incubation and brooding than the 
> female, as in most(?) woodpeckers.
>
> Described copulation displays, fide Birds of the World, do not 
> indicate any nape-grabbing like waterfowl or cats. Instead, there 
> seems to be switching of who’s on top, and back and forth, and other 
> moves. So, I would say feather loss on the back of the head is due to 
> something else, like earlier onset of molt than the other bird, or 
> something.
>
> Best,
>
> Kevin
>
> *From:* bounce-127549365-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
>  *On Behalf Of *Dave Nutter
> *Sent:* Thursday, July 6, 2023 4:51 PM
> *To:* CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> *Subject:* [cayugabirds-l] Red-headed Woodpeckers
>
> This morning I biked up to the east edge of the Town of Ithaca on a 
> successful quest to see the Red-headed Woodpeckers whose nest with 
> young was located by Tom Schulenberg over 2 1/2 weeks ago. I was able 
> to scope and photograph through a small gap in foliage at a respectful 
> enough distance that: the adults came to the nest hole several times 
> to feed one or more unseen nestlings; one adult went entirely inside 
> the cavity at least twice; for awhile in between feedings a large 
> nestling peered out of the cavity, appearing well-feathered on its 
> head and seeming large enough to be ready to fledge soon. The feedings 
> were frequent enough that I think the adults were only feeding at the 
> cavity, but once I located the cavity, I was not looking around to see 
> if they were also feeding any fledglings. Tom has noted plumage 
> differences between the two adults when they visit his feeders. I 
> noticed that one of the adults appeared immaculate, with bright white 
> secondaries and a solid crimson crown. The other adult had a slight 
> rusty tinge on the secondaries, several brown stains on the lower 
> breast plumage, and a patch of feathers apparently missing from the 
> rear of its crown; this was the adult who went inside the cavity each 
> of the two times I was able to tell.
>
> My question, for those of you more knowledgeable or research-oriented, 
> is this: Does the difference in plumage I noticed indicate who is 
> which sex? For instance, does the female spend a lot more time in the 
> nest cavity than the male, thus become more likely to get stained? 
> Does missing feathers on the back of the head indicate a female? That 
> is, do mating male woodpeckers grab the back of the head of females, 
> similar to mating ducks? Or is this patch of apparent missing feathers 
> due to something else?
>
> A link to my eBird checklist, with photos, is below.
>
> - - Dave Nutter
>
> - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S143727178
>
> --
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Conservation vs Ecology

[tess]

Hi Carl,

I see no need for any fire storm, but I do disagree with your premise.  
I want to be a climate activist precisely /because/ I want to be a 
conservationist preserving what we have locally on the planet as a 
whole. Unless we can reduce climate change, it will wipe out many many 
more plants and animals - it already is doing that.  The weather 
patterns that result, including extreme droughts and resulting 
wildfires, increased summer heat in many areas, warming oceans that 
increase the frequency and severity of coastal storms, sea level rise, 
more intense inland storms due to warmer air holding more moisture - all 
these factors lead to the destruction of plant and animal life with 
dramatic effectiveness.  As you point out, even though some animals can 
move (assuming there is time and opportunity for them in a particular 
situation, and they have habitat to support them in a different area), 
plants often can't.

That doesn't mean that putting a wind turbine in the middle of a known 
migration route and running it during migration is a good decision IMO.  
Similarly, building solar projects without considering the overall needs 
of grassland birds is not good conservation (although at least where I 
live the grasslands are being gobbled up by new vineyards and new 
housing and parking areas rather than solar projects).  People like you 
who see value in conserving what is here can look at the options and 
help ensure that green energy projects are designed and & sited in ways 
that protect as much of the existing ecology as possible.  Only if 
people who care & are knowledgeable about the damage that can be done by 
poor design or location speak up during the permitting process, and also 
are willing to comment during the regulatory process so that better 
regulations guide green energy projects, only then will those projects 
be undertaken in ways that minimize the effects on the local habitat.  
This doesn't mean that every grassland can be protected, but it could 
mean that there is protection for enough grasslands in enough different 
areas to ensure plenty of nesting space available.

I hope you will take another look at this and see if maybe you don't see 
a role for yourself in ensuring that the long term survival of the 
plants and animals you clearly are devoted to is protected, and that 
projects are designed and sited with sensitivity to the local ecology.

Best wishes -

Alicia Plotkin


On 6/3/2023 5:05 PM, Carl Steckler wrote:
> Well, let me state right out front that I am about to ignite a fire 
> storm.
>
> Are we conservationists or are we ecologists? Hope to instruct things 
> like green energy and the impact on wildlife.
>
> For the ecologists among you, you place a high value on green, 
> renewable energy, but at the same time you are ignoring the fact that 
> green energy is detrimental to wildlife and plant life
>
> Wind, turbines, kill hundreds of birds and bats every year. Both of 
> these activities are illegal but the fact that it is green energy 
> seems to overlook the fact that we’re destroying what we seek to keep.
>
> More and more grassland is disappearing under the covering of silicon, 
> solar panels not only are the wildlife dispossessed, but so too is the 
> flora. Wildlife can relocate, although it may not be to a suitable 
> habitat, but the plants cannot relocate and often end up dying, 
> because the sun that gives them nourishment is now blocked by solar panels
>
> Unfortunately, the argument about green energy global warming has 
> become more political than environmental
> The science of green energy global warming climate change whatever you 
> want to call it is flawed
> Some like to say that global warming climate change is caused by 
> humans. Well, I’ve seen many studies that support that and many 
> studies that disprove that.
> what I haven’t seen yet is a good scientific reason why the earth goes 
> into an Ice Age and why the earth comes out of an Ice Age
> And yet again, there are many theories, but they are just that theories
> Without knowing the causes of an ice age or the causes of an ice age 
> ending, we are missing a big chunk of cause-and-effect
>
> Does anyone disagree that when an ice age ends it gets warmer? 
> Conversely, when an ice age starts, it gets colder and it has been 
> doing that for a lot longer time than humans have been on this earth.
>
> So think about it do we want to be climate activist or do we want to 
> be conservationist preserving what we have on this planet preserving 
> the ecosystem that the animals and plants of this planet so 
> desperately need
>
> I am not arguing, one way or another I have my beliefs, and you 
> probably have yours. My purpose is to take a good look at the 
> differences between conservation and ecology.
> Carl Steckler
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[cayugabirds-l] Ruby-Throated Hummer

[tess]

Visited a friend in downtown Ithaca this afternoon and she reported she 
had seen her FOY hummer.  Last summer she had a window-mounted feeder 
and on Monday a Ruby Throated Hummingbird came to that window looking 
for a meal, but she hadn't put her feeder out yet. Sometimes the early 
bird gets zilch.


I guess it's time to sterilize the feeder and get it outside.


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Re: [nysbirds-l] 22 (yes, twenty-two) Anhingas - Rome NY

[tess]

eBird report with photos here 


On 4/22/2023 8:00 PM, Ryan Zucker wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Haven’t seen this posted here yet - Matthew Voelker found and photographed a 
> flock of at least 22 ANHINGAS this evening on the canal along Muck Rd in 
> Rome, NY (Oneida County). The 22 he reported are still present in the fading 
> light roosting in the trees across the canal, but further searching and 
> careful counting could easily turn the count higher.
>
> The exact location is ~1500ft east of the fishing dock at the end of S 
> Madison St, approximately here (43.2025474, -75.4708929).
>
> Good birding!
>
> Ryan Zucker
> NYC / Ithaca, NY
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[cayugabirds-l] Ospreys Everywhere All at Once!

[tess]

Including one back beside the nest that is atop the cellphone tower 
south of Covert ~ 4:45pm today.  For the first time in three years the 
nest had not been removed from the tower, so it was there to welcome the 
osprey back to its summer home.  An hour earlier presumably the same 
bird was perched on a phone pole 1/4 mile away, picking at a fish in its 
talons.


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[cayugabirds-l] OOB: Steller's Sea Eagle back in Maine

[tess]

In case anyone has regrets about not chasing it last year, this 
afternoon the Sea Eagle has been seen by several people in in the same 
area it frequented in late February/early March last year.


 Forwarded Message 
Subject:[eBird Alert] Sagadahoc County Rare Bird Alert 
Date:   Sat, 4 Feb 2023 21:26:16 +
From:   ebird-al...@birds.cornell.edu



*** Species Summary:

- Golden Eagle (1 report)
- Steller's Sea-Eagle (2 reports)

-
Thank you for subscribing to the  Sagadahoc County Rare Bird 
Alert. The report below shows observations of rare birds in Sagadahoc 
County. View or unsubscribe to this alert at 
https://ebird.org/alert/summary?sid=SN37212
NOTE: all sightings are UNCONFIRMED unless indicated.

eBird encourages our users to bird safely, responsibly, and mindfully. 
Please follow the recommendations of your local health authorities and 
respect any active travel restrictions in your area. For more 
information visit: https://ebird.org/news/please-bird-mindfully

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) (1)
- Reported Feb 04, 2023 15:20 by MacKenzie McKnight
- Five Islands Rd Bridge, Georgetown US-ME, Sagadahoc, Maine
- Map: 
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8=p=13=43.851735,-69.772025=43.851735,-69.772025
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127610871
- Comments: "Seen from the bridge through binocs in a tree way back near 
the river bend. Too far for my camera."

Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) (1)
- Reported Feb 04, 2023 14:30 by Ingrid Whitaker
- 67 Indian Rest Rd, Arrowsic US-ME 43.85142, -69.77295, Sagadahoc, Maine
- Map: 
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8=p=13=43.851416,-69.772951=43.851416,-69.772951
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127607324
- Comments: "He’s back! Distant views through scope from bridge. Yellow 
bill clearly visible on occasion. Black with prominent white wing 
patches. Initially reported by Stacy Hildreth. 43.858, -69.769"

Steller's Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) (1)
- Reported Feb 04, 2023 15:20 by MacKenzie McKnight
- Five Islands Rd Bridge, Georgetown US-ME, Sagadahoc, Maine
- Map: 
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8=p=13=43.851735,-69.772025=43.851735,-69.772025
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S127610871
- Comments: "Seen in same tree beneath the golden. Many others watched 
this eagle fly from the river into the tree. He was visible via scope, 
with occasional movements to show off his white wing patches."

***

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Sagadahoc County Rare Bird Alert

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Black bear killed on Refuge

[tess]

Birders often buy a duck stamp, too.  According to Ducks Unlimited, 
"Each year, about 25 percent of all duck stamps are purchased by 
individuals who do not hunt waterfowl that particular year. Many of 
these stamps are bought by collectors and avid conservationists who 
support habitat programs funded by duck stamp sales."  My husband & I 
don't hunt but we get one at the Post Office each year, every Post 
Office carries them.  This year the Duck Stamp feature a pair of 
Redheads and cost $25, 98% of which goes directly to help acquire and 
protect wetland habitat and purchase conservation easements for the 
National Wildlife Refuge System.

Question to folks who have experience with bears: wasn't that bear 
pretty small?  Seems like the ones I have seen in the wild (always 
running away from us so not ideal views) were larger, but maybe that's 
just the way the photo was taken?

Alicia

On 12/8/2022 5:05 PM, Alyssa Johnson wrote:
>
> This is going to be long; I apologize in advance! But as a huge 
> advocate for hunting, a former colleague of MNWR, and a bear lover, I 
> wanted to share my perspective. Something I discovered while working 
> out at Montezuma Audubon was the general public’s misconception about 
> what a "wildlife refuge" is, and its purpose. The following was taken 
> from the National Wildlife Refuge System website 
> :
>
> About Us: The National Wildlife Refuge System lands and waters serve a 
> purpose distinct from that of other U.S. public lands: Wildlife 
> conservation drives everything on national wildlife refuges, from the 
> purposes for which each refuge was established to the recreational 
> activities offered, to the resource management tools used.
>
> The mission of the refuge system is "To administer a national network 
> of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where 
> appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife, and plant resources and 
> their habitats within the United States for the benefit of the present 
> and future generations of Americans."
>
>
> I'd like to focus on the highlighted sections and in particular the 
> word "conservation". At its very simplest, conservation means "wise 
> use", and in this case, the wise use of natural resources which 
> includes fish, wildlife, and plants. Preservation is the word that 
> implies "no use", but that is not used here. Legally huntable wildlife 
> species, in accordance with NYS and Federal law, can be hunted in the 
> National Wildlife Refuges, including Montezuma. In fact, without 
> hunting, much of the land within Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, 
> would not be under their ownership and management. When hunting for 
> migratory bird species (which is defined as waterfowl and gallinule at 
> Montezuma NWR) you must have a "Duck Stamp" on your person while 
> hunting. Hunters 16 years of age or older are required to purchase 
> them, and the stamps are considered "conservation revenue stamps; 98 
> percent of the purchase prices goes directly to help acquire and 
> protect wetland habitat and purchase conservation easements for the 
> National Wildlife Refuge System. Wetlands acquired with Duck Stamp 
> dollars help purify water, aid in flood control, reduce soil erosion 
> and sedimentation, and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities." (FWS 
> Duck Stamps ) I can’t 
> remember the exact percentage, but something like 89%? (don’t quote 
> me, and maybe someone from the Refuge will jump in), but a majority of 
> the Refuge lands has been acquired using Duck Stamp funds. Without 
> hunting, which is considered a mechanism of conservation and wildlife 
> management, we would likely would not have the wildlife drive, Knox 
> Marsellus Marsh, Tschache Pool, Wil-Goose, etc. to enjoy. Hunters have 
> no choice if they want to purchase that stamp or not, no stamp, no 
> hunting. But birders and other “non consumptive” users of the land are 
> by and large, NOT contributing financially. I know some people are 
> donors, but I’d guess most people who visit the drive, are not, and 
> get to enjoy that beautiful place for free. A current Federal Duck 
> Stamp is also a free pass into any national wildlife refuge that 
> charges an entry fee (some do). Because nearly all of the proceeds are 
> used to conserve habitat for birds and other wildlife, birders, nature 
> photographers and other outdoor enthusiasts buy Duck Stamps to help 
> ensure that they can always see wildlife at their favorite outdoor 
> spots. No hunting =  less publicly accessible Federal lands.
>
> That being said- this situation with the bear shooting was unethical, 
> irresponsible, and illegal. According to Montezuma NWR’s Hunt/Fish 
> Plan 
> , 
> black bears are NOT a huntable species on refuge lands. So even though 
> they are in season in that local zone 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cardinals still nesting.

[tess]

A pair of cardinals currently is feeding young in a large spirea bush 
just outside our kitchen window.  Nest construction began 8/5, completed 
8/6, incubation underway by 8/10.  At least one nestling had hatched by 
last Tuesday (8/23) when at different times each parent was observed 
feeding it/them over the course of the day. Nest is quite well built & 
sturdy and they seem to be diligent parents.  The nest is so close to 
the window (maybe 2' away, at eye level) that we try to stay away and 
not watch them too closely - plus nest unusually has high sides and we 
can't see what's inside yet anyway.

According to Birds of the World, nestlings generally fledge at 9 or 10 
days, and can "fly strongly" a week after that but still depend on their 
parents for help with food.  They  "attain independence from parental 
feeding 25–56 days after fledging."  Since they don't migrate, perhaps 
they don't need to mature as early in the season - they don't need to 
bulk up for a long flight, just learn how to find food so they can get 
through the winter and whatever they might learn in summer won't do them 
that much good come November or January anyway.

The current Breeding Bird Atlas Breeding Guidelines Bar Graph 

 
lists N. Cardinals are "B" (Breeding) through mid-August and "E" (either 
migration or breeding, which in their case presumably means either 
dispersal or breeding) through the end of October.


On 8/28/2022 10:05 PM, Dave Nutter wrote:
> Twice this afternoon a female Northern Cardinal flew toward my 
> birdfeeder carrying a substantial white object in her bill. Both times 
> the cargo was a fecal sac, which she dropped where I could see it 
> clearly when she perched a couple feet away from the feeder before she 
> perched on the feeder and fed briefly on sunflower seeds. Probably 
> there are folks reading this who know better than I, and I’m 
> interested in your opinions, but it seems to me that August 28 is 
> pretty late to have nestlings, which is what her activity indicated. 
> Late or normal, it was cool to witness.
>
> - - Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Questions re (1) Scarlet Tanager, and (2) Juvenile Peregrine (not together)

[tess]

Hi,

(1) Scarlet Tanager: for over 4 hours this afternoon, a female scarlet 
tanager chick-burred continuously (at least for the 90% of the time I 
was outside) 20-25 times/minute, while actively (and successfully) 
feeding and resting in small trees and shrubs.  A few times I thought I 
might have heard a second distant bird but am not certain, and no other 
tanager came close./

/Why would she behave so persistently in a way that would be so 
attractive to potential predators?  Scarlet tanagers breed here 
regularly but I don't remember seeing/hearing this before.

(2) Peregrine: at 7 pm this evening, a dozen barn swallows started 
twittering loudly and persistently over a specific spot I couldn't 
really see, and soon 7 crows noisily came in from the south in 
response.  At that point a juvenile peregrine flew overhead with the 
crows close behind.  The falcon flew beautifully and easily could evade 
them aerially, and threaten them when they got too close, but eventually 
it landed in the top of a dead cottonwood tree.  The tree was at the 
bottom of a 60' cliff and I happened to be watching from the top, so the 
bird was opposite me, maybe 40' away.  At first it appeared not to see 
me and even when it did, it showed no concern. It stood there for ~30 
seconds surveying the area, back horizontal, teetering in the gusty 
wind, and then seemed to slip sideways.  It used its wings and tail to 
somewhat stabilize itself but then awkwardly slipped down to a slightly 
lower branch.  It lowered its head and seemed to grasp something with 
its beak - a toe? something on the branch? - but slipped off that 
branch, too, and repeated the exercise including the mouthing toward its 
feet on a third much smaller branch.  When it slipped/got blown off that 
branch, it circled around toward the crows, who had sat quietly watching 
all this on a second bare tree close by, and the entire company flew off 
around the point, and so I couldn't see them anymore.  The contrast 
between its ease in the air and its clumsiness in the tree was striking.

Ideas on what was happening?  Is the peregrine ill-suited to perching on 
branches and the young bird was learning that?  Had it injured it's 
foot?  And why did it fly toward rather than away from the crows?

Many thanks for your insights!  Feel free to write to me and not the 
entire list.

Best -

Alicia



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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Polyamorous Raptors (was Polygamous Osprey)

[tess]

For a dozen years, starting in the late 1980s, there were three Bald 
Eagles at Montezuma, two males and one female, who all stayed there year 
round.  They nested as a trio and successfully fledged young several 
years in a row.   If memory serves, only one of the males was ever 
observed copulating with the female, but all three shared in incubation 
and feeding the young.  Both of the male birds had been hacked so it 
wasn't an issue of a young bird hanging around to help a parent.

There weren't a lot of bald eagles in 1987, could be that initially 
there wasn't another available female, but the bond persisted for over a 
decade even after other female eagles came to live on the refuge.

Alicia



On 5/9/2022 4:49 PM, Nancy Cusumano wrote:
> There's a nest box in Hellgate, MT 
> https://www.facebook.com/Montana-Osprey-Cams-165072613556909 with a 
> similar story, two females, two nests, one male.
> Iris, one of the females is an eldery mom but has raised many healthy 
> babies over the years. Her mate Louis is also mated to Star at another 
> nest a few miles away. He couplates with Iris and she usually lays a 
> clutch of eggs but Louis does not bring her fish, only to Star. This 
> forces Iris to leave her eggs to fish. The last couple years her eggs 
> were predated and she abandoned them. It's sad, but nature. Star and 
> Louis continue to raise chicks.
> There's a lot of anthropomorphising about this and how people should 
> interfere. I disagree...and Dr. Erik Green of Montana Osprey Project, 
> who manages the nest and camera feels the same. But lots of drama out 
> in MT for sure. Dr Greene has some thoughts he posted recenlty about 
> why males are scarce and it boils down to climate change and poor 
> fishing. Check it out if interested.
>
> Always something to learn in the world of nature!
>
> Nancy
>
> On Mon, May 9, 2022 at 4:34 PM Candace E. Cornell  
> wrote:
>
> Orpheus is a serial polygamist—who knew Ospreys could have such a
> colorful sex life? This is the third year the Ospreys at Salt
> Point, Lansing, have been involved in a polygamous relationship.
> Read about it at:
> _https://www.lansingrec.com/images/Blog__387_One_bird_too_many.pdf_. 
> Luckily
> the breeding pair was able to lay three lovely eggs before the
> confusion started.
>
> When Osprey platforms are placed too close together, their mating
> systems get perturbed. However, if the Ospreys chose to nest near
> one another, such as on Rt. 5/20 (/Osprey Alley/) by Montezuma
> National Wildlife Refuge, then the birds can live peacefully.
>
> Eyes to the sky!
> Candace
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[cayugabirds-l] Make that two Baltimore Orioles

[tess]

There has been a male Baltimore Oriole at our feeders in SW Ovid off and 
on since Sunday morning.  This morning briefly there were two. Given the 
strong NW winds last night, seems less likely that a new one came in 
than that there have been two birds for at least 24 hrs. There 
frequently are two or three nests within 150 feet of our house but 
obviously this is very early & no way to know if these intend to stay, 
although at least one has been singing, in spite of the bitter weather.


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[cayugabirds-l] Baltimore Oriole

[tess]

Male was singing here in SW Ovid (Seneca Basin) at 7:30 am, it or 
another one was eating sunflower seeds (and ignoring the adjacent suet, 
which is what they normally prefer) on our feeder at 11:45.


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[cayugabirds-l] Lone osprey on communication tower in Covert

[tess]

On Route 96, north of Trumansburg, one osprey was perched today at 11:25 
am on the superstructure of the tower where they have nested for at 
least three years.  Someone (presumably whoever owns the tower) tore the 
2021 nest down last summer pretty much the moment the nestling fledged, 
giving it no chance to return there for post-fledge parental handouts.  
Don't know if a pair will try to rebuild again - last spring they also 
had to start over after the successful 2020 next was removed very early 
in 2021.


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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Song Sparrow and Tree Sparrow

[tess]

We do the same thing, but only put out white millet there. The squirrels 
are more interested in scavenging under the sunflower seed feeders, and 
the doves also prefer the sunflower seed, so the juncos & other sparrows 
mostly get the area under the picnic table to themselves.

On 3/13/2022 8:16 PM, Kevin J. McGowan wrote:
>
> Several years ago I started putting seed under the picnic table on my 
> deck. I don’t have a covered platform feeder because my plague of 
> squirrels is too bad. The protected space was very appreciated by lots 
> of birds and squirrels. The wooden table disintegrated and I had to 
> let it go. But, I kept a couple of benches that I now link together 
> and use as cover for the “ground seed” I put out for the juncos and 
> doves. That was heavily used this weekend!
>
> Kevin
>
> *From:* bounce-126400750-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
>  *On Behalf Of *Dave Nutter
> *Sent:* Saturday, March 12, 2022 7:31 PM
> *To:* Poppy Singer 
> *Cc:* CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> *Subject:* Re: [cayugabirds-l] Song Sparrow and Tree Sparrow
>
> …Meanwhile I was having trouble keeping the seeds accessible. The snow 
> would cover it faster than the birds would venture forth after I put 
> it out…
>
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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Overwintering Red-headed Woodpeckers generally

[tess]

Not in the basin, but several years ago one overwintered in Lodi, and 
pre-eBird we had one at our feeder in Ovid very early one year - I can't 
find the date for that right now but at that time we only put feed out 
in winter and very early spring, generally not after mid-March.

Migration may be linked to food abundance. Bent reports in his species 
summary 
 
(keep in mind this reflects ornithological practices of 120 yrs ago):
> Winter: The red-headed woodpecker is generally considered to be a 
> migratory species throughout the northern portion of its breeding 
> range, but its movements seem to depend almost entirely on the 
> abundance or scarcity of its winter food supply, mainly acorns and 
> beechnuts; when these nuts are available in considerable quantities, 
> this woodpecker is to be found in reasonable numbers within its summer 
> range in the northern States. When Dr. C. Hart Merriam (1878) referred 
> to it as remaining occasionally in northern New York, Lewis County, in 
> winter, some of his ornithological friends were skeptical. He says:
>
> I therefore wrote to my friend, Mr. C. L. Bngg, asking him to send
> me a lot of red-headed woodpeckers as soon as possible, and in a
> week's time received a box containing over twenty specimens,: all
> killed in Lewis County and when the snow was three feet deep! This
> was proof positive. Notes kept by Mr. Bagg and myself during the
> past six years show that they were abundant here during the
> winters 1871: 72, 1873: 74, 1875: TO, and 1877: 78; while they
> were rare or did not occur at all during the winters of 1872: 73
> and 1876: 77. Their absence was in no way governed by the severity
> of the winters, hut entirely dependent upon the absence of the
> usual supply of beechnuts. While the greater portion of nuts fall
> to the ground and are buried beneath the snow far beyond the reach
> of the woodpeckers, yet enough remain on the trees all winter to
> furnish abundant subsistence for those species which feed on them.
>
At least for us (Ovid, Seneca Basin), this was an average even below 
average year for acorns, after a couple of years that were insanely 
productive.  Our few beech trees seemed also to be average at best. 
Would be interesting to know if that was different in the area around 
Elm Street extension.

On 3/1/2022 9:45 AM, Dave Nutter wrote:
> During the Great Backyard Bird Count an eBird report was submitted for 
> a Red-headed Woodpecker visiting a feeder on West Hill in the Town of 
> Ithaca. It’s a rare species, and fortunately the observer included a 
> brief but adequate identifying description. Jay McGowan also 
> personally verified the report on Sunday, as did I yesterday. This is 
> an area which has had Red-headed Woodpeckers reported in past years 
> from the southern part of Poole Rd, and from Elm St Extension east of 
> the Coy Glen Gorge, so I think there must be some attractive 
> habitat. I heard a “wheer“ call yesterday from woods on the N side of 
> Elm St Extension in that area. I also heard rattle calls when the bird 
> was at or near the feeder.
>
> The feeder is at the corner of Elm St Extension (a narrow road with 
> rather fast traffic), and Valley View Rd (a one block long residential 
> street). If you decide to drive there, I would recommend staying in 
> your car with it stopped on the end of Valley View Rd near the 
> intersection with Elm St Extension. I think there’s room for a single 
> car on Valley View not to block traffic, the feeders are visible from 
> there without staring at anyone’s house, and I think a stopped car 
> with no one getting out would not disturb the bird. The owner of the 
> house with the feeders is aware that people might stop by and is okay 
> with that providing it doesn’t disturb the bird.
>
> For those of you who consider the carbon footprint of birding, I’m not 
> sure whether driving to this location would be better than cruising 
> out to Trumansburg or stopping there on the way to someplace else when 
> those birds return, because Elm Street is a long steep ascent from 
> downtown Ithaca. It is a pleasant walk though.
>
> As I said, Red-headed Woodpecker is rare in our area, but it is even 
> more rare in winter. The other interesting bit of info provided on the 
> original eBird report was that the Red-headed Woodpecker has been 
> regularly seen at this feeder since 20 December. Most winter reports 
> that I’ve seen have been unique or sporadic, but I believe this would 
> be only the second documentation of Red-headed Woodpecker 
> overwintering at one location in the basin. The first was several 
> years ago in Cornell’s Parker Woods in Cayuga Heights next to North 
> Campus. That bird had cached acorns into bark crevices. Presumably 
> this bird has some additional food source than this suet feeder as well.
>
> The observer 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Not birds but.....

[tess]

Three options (at least):

(1) Peter's resource is great because it seems like at least initially, 
the government will have kits on hand to send out.

(2) But /in addition/_,_ for those who can find at-home tests for sale, 
anyone with health insurance /also/ can get 8 free tests/month.  So if 
you are a family of 3, your family can get up to 24 tests every month 
for free.  Each insurer will have it's own procedure so you may need to 
go online to find out if you can just show your card at the pharmacy to 
get them for free or if you will have to pay upfront and submit a claim 
to be reimbursed.  Right now at-home testing kits are hard to find but 
in a few weeks that should improve.

(3) If you want to be tested and can't find a kit, Tompkins & Cortland 
County residents still can get free drive through testing by appointment 
- more info here .  Others also may be 
able to get free tests by appointment if there is a need (they have 
symptoms, upcoming medical procedure, etc) or if their insurance or 
employer has an agreement with CMC - info here 
.

You can do any or all of these, choosing one doesn't mean you can't do 
the others.

And Birding Content: 3 snowy owls close by the Martin Rd. pull off 
yesterday afternoon, and roughly a zillion swans at the ice edge near 
the south end of Lower Lake Rd (where it meets Rte 89, south of Cayuga 
Lake SP).



On 1/15/2022 9:56 AM, Peter Saracino wrote:
> Free at home Covid19 rapid test availability starting Wednesday at 
> covidtests.gov . you can get 4 tests per 
> household shipped to your home.
> Sar
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Suet question

[tess]

I love Pine Tree Farms - nice people, good prices - and we get all our 
seed and suet there, but have never seen any suet there that didn't have 
seeds or peanuts in it.  You could try calling first - 607-532-4311. 
They also might have ideas for where to get some.  In decades of bird 
feeding, I don't think I've ever encountered it myself.

Good luck -

Alicia


Or you could make your own with a

On 1/9/2022 9:49 AM, Nancy Cusumano wrote:
> Don't know if they will have what you are looking for, but you could 
> try Pine Tree Farms in Interlaken, where they make suet blocks, logs 
> etc. You have to go during business hours but they are usually very 
> helpful.
>
> On Sun, Jan 9, 2022 at 9:39 AM Peter Saracino 
>  wrote:
>
>
> Folks im looking for a suet log/cylinder for a suet holder I have.
> Just suetno embedded seeds. At least 6-7" high and a few
> inches in diameter. Any ideas where I can buy some. No luck at
> Tractor Supply, Running, Country Max or Wild Birds Unlimited,
> Amazon
> Thanks.
> Pete Sar
>
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[cayugabirds-l] Seneca Falls Snowies - WARNING

[tess]

Hi,

At 11:30 this morning there were two Snowy Owls at the airport.  One 
heavily bared bird was nestled against a runway light southeast of and 
not far from the main terminal building. A lighter individual was 
hunkered down farther away, on a ridge almost due east of the building.  
Eight or ten people were on the tarmac getting great views with binos 
and scopes.


The warning is this: according to the person on duty in the terminal 
building, they have had unusual problems this month with birders not 
respecting the limits they set for access, and further incidents will 
result in ending public access to the tarmac for viewing the owls.  In 
three cases this month, birders who had specifically been told how far 
they could go past the terminal ignored the limits in order to get much 
closer to the owls.  I was told that when Dave Haimes, the airport 
manager, went after one photographer who had gone far beyond the 
boundary pointed out to him, that photographer became verbally abusive 
and was escorted from the property and told not to return.


It would be a shame to lose this access. You might want to spread the 
word and try to gently educate folks who seem to be pushing or exceeding 
the limits.


Alicia

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Heat Pumps// A great read for birders to consider

[tess]

Hi Reggie,

This isn't a hot water system heat pump, but we are very happy with the 
performance of the heat pump we tied into our forced air ventilation 
this summer.  It now is our heating source on days when it is above 25 
or 30 degrees outside, and has the additional benefit that it can be 
used to cool the house several degrees on the hottest summer days at 
relatively low financial and environmental cost. Heat pumps are less 
efficient at cold temperatures, and this one has to work harder when the 
temperature drops below freezing, but so far we haven't had to switch to 
our propane furnace although we will when it gets very cold.  Brian did 
a lot of research before selecting one and the one he chose seems to be 
well-made - it runs quietly and effectively.  (Note this is /not/ a 
'split' system, this is a whole-house system.)

There probably are better and worse choices of make and model for all 
heat pumps, and there also are shortages right now because people have 
been doing pandemic renovations at the same time that there are supply 
chain problems, so the best ones may be backordered.  But if you read up 
on the options & if necessary are willing to wait for the right one to 
come into stock, there are good heat pumps available, although they may 
cost more initially. Probably the same is true for hot water heat pumps.

Another thought: tankless 'on demand' hot water systems save energy 
because they don't maintain a tank of water at temperature and also they 
don't waste energy heating long pipes that would otherwise lead from a 
tank to the place the water is needed.  They aren't heat pumps but you 
can get an electric one, and that might be a different way to more 
efficiently meet your hot water needs if you are worried about the 
viability of a heat pump.  In our house, the layout happens to allow for 
a single unit to be installed within less than 10' of all our hot water 
demand points, so we're going to try that. So far as I know, only the 
$300 STAR credit is available for these units, though.

Good luck!

Alicia

P.S. Easily our most energy efficient change was the electric car Brian 
pushed for us to get three years ago.  While electricity is only 
relatively carbon free right now, and the grid is going to have to get 
significantly more robust as more people use electricity for their cars 
and heating sources, I still feel a lot less guilt when we go anywhere.  
In addition to being much cheaper to 'fuel' it has the additional 
benefit of requiring far less maintenance.  Tax rebates put the price 
roughly in the ballpark of our non-electric car choices.  I am super 
happy we got it - anyone who will be buying a car soon might want to 
check out electric cars, especially since several models with 150+ mile 
battery life already are on the market and 250+ miles are due next 
year.  (I'm not including Teslas, Jaguars & Mercedes - we're not in the 
that financial bracket!)




On 12/11/2021 11:27 AM, Regi Teasley wrote:
> Dave,
>    Judy and I are about to install one of the very items: a hot water 
> heat pump.  We’re hoping it’s going to work but appreciate your 
> warning.  I would encourage you to share your experience with Heat 
> Smart Tompkins so they are aware of this.  They are doing all they can 
> to make this transition work.
>    **I want to second your point about reducing personal energy use. 
>  Since we are having trouble getting the government to respond 
> effectively, it’s one thing we can do right now to make a difference. 
>  Besides, I can still hear my mother saying, as she turned off the 
> lights in an empty room, “Do you think we work for Idaho Power?”  Our 
> parents know a thing or two about conserving energy.
>
> Regi
>
> 
> /“If we surrendered to the earth’s intelligence, we could rise up 
> rooted, like trees.” Rainer Maria Rilke/
>
>
>> On Dec 11, 2021, at 11:02 AM, jasaul...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>> *From:* bounce-126142461-89496...@list.cornell.edu 
>>  *On Behalf Of *Dave Nutter
>> *Sent:* Saturday, December 11, 2021 10:15 AM
>> *To:* Hurf Sheldon 
>> *Cc:* CAYUGABIRDS-L 
>> *Subject:* Re: [cayugabirds-l] A great read for birders to consider 
>> by Bryan Pfeiffer
>>
>> My wife and I want to minimize both our energy use and our fossil 
>> fuel use. Because of our modest income, we qualified for a subsidy 
>> through this exact fund to get a hybrid electric water heater last 
>> year. It uses an air source heat pump, which chills the basement, as 
>> well as the standard much-less-energy-efficient electric resistance 
>> heating as a backup. After we got this water heater, a representative 
>> of Halco, who bought out the smaller local company which installed 
>> the water heater, told us that all appliances these days are not 
>> built to last, and urged us to buy a maintenance package with a 
>> yearly fee which would have eaten up our monetary savings on 
>> energy. This morning we are having Halco come look at the water 
>> 

[cayugabirds-l] Tim Gallagher's article on Taughannock Peregrines wins first place for nature writing

[tess]

This may be old news to many, but Audubon just sent out an email out 
noting this award!  Link to the excellent story included in the quote 
below.
> Three Award-Winning Stories from /Audubon/ Magazine 
> 
>  
> Last year, a pair of *Peregrine Falcons returned* 
> 
>  
> to nest in New York’s Taughannock Gorge—a beloved destination for 
> falcon aficionados and site of the first attempt to reintroduce the 
> species—for the first time since 1946. For /Audubon/ magazine, Tim 
> Gallagher traces the history of the Peregrine’s decline and recovery 
> from DDT and what it’s like to finally witness its return to this 
> hallowed ground—a story that the Outdoor Writers Association of 
> America awarded first place in its competition for conservation and 
> nature writing.  . . .

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[cayugabirds-l] Loon party on Seneca Lake

[tess]

There presently are at least 22 loons in a loose group, relatively close 
to the west shore midway down Seneca Lake.  None of them shows a trace 
of adult plumage so am guessing it's a group of juveniles who might be 
migrating together.  Lots of calling, some bathing and feeding 
activity.  Two more flew in low from the south as I watched, assume they 
were slightly further down the lake and were attracted by all the noise.


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[cayugabirds-l] Fwd: [nysbirds-l] Swallow-tailed Kite continuing at location below, Yates Co., Penn Yan

[tess]

Haven't seen this on the list, in case anyone wants to head out to Penn 
Yan.  I have no info after this email about whether the bird still is 
being seen.


 Forwarded Message 
Subject:[nysbirds-l] Swallow-tailed Kite continuing at location below, 
Yates Co., Penn Yan
Date:   Wed, 25 Aug 2021 10:41:51 -0400
From:   Mike Scheibel 
Reply-To:   Mike Scheibel 
To: NYSBIRDS-L 




Mike & Lynne Scheibel
Brookhaven, NY
*Marked Location*

View on Apple Maps 



Sent from my iPhone
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[cayugabirds-l] missing buteo?

[tess]

Hi,

I think we may have spotted someone's hawk gone astray.  At 7:05 pm, we 
saw what we took to be a Red-Tailed Hawk on top of a utility pole.  It 
was standing in an odd position, almost like it was mantling something 
there.  We turned back, concerned that it's wing might be caught in a 
loop of wire at the top of the pole but fortunately that wasn't the 
case.  It flew off and then we could see it seemed to have jesses 
dangling from its legs.  It landed on a utility wire close by, teetering 
and appearing to lack experience with phone poles and wires.


Initially I assumed it was a red-tail, and it may well have been, but 
the lighting wasn't great & I was concentrating at first on whether the 
wing was caught and then on the jesses, not on making an ID.  All I can 
say for sure was it was the size & shape of a red-tail but could have 
been some other buteo.


This was at the intersection of Seneca County Rte 131 and Combs Road, in 
the southwestern part of the Town of Ovid.  When we came back past at 
8:15 we didn't see it but it was getting quite dark, it could still be 
in that area.


Alicia

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RE: [cayugabirds-l] Seneca County Redpolls

[tess]

They were there this morning at 8:30 AM, feeding briefly on the standing
(weed?) stalks and then flying up and moving 25 or 50 feet and settling
down to feed briefly again, all the while calling continuously.  At times
they were right next to the road. I would have guessed 250 birds based on
my attempts to count by 10s but they are very hard to count.

Alicia



> Mary Jean and I drove through there this afternoon between 3:30 and 4pm
> and did not see the Redpolls.   --Marty
> ===
> Marty Schlabach   m...@cornell.edu
> 8407 Powell Rd. home  607-532-3467
> Interlaken, NY 14847   cell315-521-4315
> ===
>
>
>
> From: bounce-123259224-3494...@list.cornell.edu
>  On Behalf Of Dave Nutter
> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2019 10:35 AM
> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Seneca County Redpolls
>
> Reuben Stoltzfus reports that the flock of about 200 Common Redpolls has
> returned to the north side of the Ovid-Lodi Town Line Rd about a half mile
> east of NYS-414, and they are easy to see as they perch on the snow and on
> the weeds.
> - - Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Eagle and Turkey Vulture southwest of Interlaken

[tess]

 Apparently there is a sizeable carcass of something in the middle of
a field on the south side of Kellys Corners Road, maybe 1/4 mile west
of Tunison.  At 1:00 pm this afternoon, a vulture was feeding on it
and an adult Bald Eagle was standing 3-4 feet away, watching.  The
instantaneous impression was that somehow the vulture had intimidated
the eagle although surely the eagle already had eaten its fill and was
permitting the vulture to have at it.  But why did the eagle stick
around to watch?!


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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cedar Waxwings!

[tess]

I had a flock of 40 or more last week all afternoon and spent some
time looking at them since they are such cool birds.  Oddly, not one
had even a drop of red "wax" on its wings.  I know juveniles don't
always show the red, so maybe the juvies flock up as a group and that
was what these were, but still no red whatsoever was surprising.  Did
you happen to notice if your birds had waxed wings?

Alicia 

- Original Message -
From: Donna Lee Scott 
To:"CAYUGABIRDS-L" 
Cc:
Sent:Wed, 4 Apr 2018 12:45:38 +
Subject:[cayugabirds-l] Cedar Waxwings!

 Big flock, 60-70 or more zooming around from tree to tree in my
Lansing Station rd yard. Visiting several cedar trees & nibbling on
berries that are left from last fall's voluminous crop. 
 I almost didn't look too closely because at first I thought they
were Starlings. 

 Donna Scott
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Where are all my feeder birds

[tess]

Our (mostly red) oak trees had a huge mast year two years ago, but
last year and this year the acorns have been at more normal
production levels. Red oaks have a two year cycle for acorn
production - the flowers from this year are next year's acorns - so
it could be that 2018 will be another big year for acorns in our
woods.

Cones & other nuts do seem abundant wherever we look, but I assumed
it was because this has been the first year in several that we didn't
have an ill-timed cold snap or drought during a crucial part of the
growing season.  On our property we had almost no walnuts last year
& I am certain that was b/c of a bad cold snap just after pollination
that seemed to kill most of the tiny fruit, followed by an extended
period without rain later in the growing season.  There have been a
couple of cold/warm/cold/warm periods in early spring during the past
five years and several kinds of fruit and nut trees were affected.
Perhaps the trees have energy on hand from those years when they
couldn't develop fruit, and can pour that energy into extra
production this year?  

While cold snaps background:rgb(228,228,228);">From: Betsy Darlington

To:"Marc Devokaitis" 
Cc:"Barbara B. Eden" , "CAYUGABIRDS-L" 
Sent:Wed, 25 Oct 2017 12:47:44 -0400
Subject:Re: [cayugabirds-l] Where are all my feeder birds

I wonder if all these trees are putting out "stress cones/seeds,"
caused by the accelerating warming.  Or do they just like being so
warm?Betsy

On Wed, Oct 25, 2017 at 11:54 AM, Marc Devokaitis  wrote:
Hi All,
Re-opening this thread--I thought I'd share with the list a comment
from Donald Leopold, Chair of the Department of Environmental and
Forest Biology at SUNY-ESF (I was asking him about something else,
but this came up.)

"Not only are conifers producing an extraordinary abundance of cones
but I have never seen such an abundance of walnuts, hickories, oak
acorns, sugar maple and white ash samaras, and other tree fruits and
seeds. Interestingly, I’ve seen this above average production
across the Northeast."

Hopefully this goes a long way to explaining the increase in
decreases this year.

Marc Devokaitis

On Wed, Oct 18, 2017 at 12:46 PM, Barbara B. Eden  wrote:
  For the past 2 months the resident birds that I daily feed have
dropped in population This is the first time this has happened and
even those pesky squirrels have left I live in Cayuga Heights and my
backyard is a bird friendly habitat
 Any thoughts would be appreciated 
 Thanks
 Barbara Eden

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[cayugabirds-l] OT: anyone get a photo of the raccoon at Bock-Harvey on Sunday?

[tess]

I did not, and would love to have one if you are willing to share!
 Pls pm any reply since attachments are verboten on this list.
Thanks -
Alicia  

- Original Message -
From: Mark Chao 
To:"Cayugabirds- L" 
Cc:
Sent:Sun, 28 May 2017 17:34:33 -0400
Subject:[cayugabirds-l] Bock-Harvey and Stevenson, Sun 5/28 (and
weather note for Mon 5/29)

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] Provisioned by an eagle

[tess]

In Bangladesh trained otters herd fish into fishing nets, and in Japan 
cormorants involuntarily fish for their owners, so maybe having fresh 
fish caught and delivered by an eagle isn't as special as I think but it 
was cool.  Earlier today I was returning to our house after an hour of 
spectacularly fruitless birding and stopped dead when I saw a 13" long, 
1 lb 9 oz bass, lying in the middle of the driveway.  She was not moving 
at all but her eye was clear and she seemed extremely fresh.  When I 
turned her over I found a talon mark and also realized she had been 
laying eggs when she was nabbed or else desperately tried to release 
them in response, largely unsuccessfully.  At that moment I heard the 
beating of large wings and looked up to see an immature eagle taking off 
and heading across the lake, with purpose - it had been screened by a 
spruce tree but apparently had been watching from the top of a nearby 
tree, only about 30' away.


Looks like bass filets for dinner.  Anyone ever tried to cook bass roe, 
or any roe no longer contained in its sac?


Alicia

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] flock o' warblers - corection

[tess]

Apparently I got too excited: I meant *Golden-_Winged_ Warbler,* which I 
think is warbler species 26 for our yard. (It's golden crown made a big 
impression on me ... .)

Thanks, Janet -

Alicia

On 5/2/2017 11:52 AM, Janet Akin wrote:
> Golden Crowned Warbler?
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 2, 2017, at 11:15 AM, > 
> > wrote:
>
>> This morning saw a wee bump in migrants to our yard (southwest town 
>> of Ovid).  In addition to the small flocks of YR Warblers, RC 
>> Kinglets, and WT Sparrows that have dominated the soundscape here for 
>> the past several days today we found 2-3 *RB Grosbeaks,* 2-4 
>> *Orioles*, and some smaller birds that have been gleaning the oak 
>> tassles & apple blossoms: 1 *BH Vireo*, 2 *BG Gnatcatchers*;2 *BT 
>> Green*, 1 *Yellow*, 1 *Nashville*, and 1 *Chestnut-Sided Warblers* - 
>> and briefly (15 seconds) but vividly and very well seen, a new 
>> yardbird: a beautiful, silent male *Golden Crowned Warbler*.  The GC 
>> Warbler was below the birds in the oak trees, about 6' up in an apple 
>> sapling that was in bloom, checking out the blossoms for something, 
>> and obligingly stayed in full view until a male cardinal flew in next 
>> to him and the warbler darted away.
>>
>> It was pretty birdy here this for such a cool, damp, overcast & windy 
>> day, but we often have good birds after thunderstorms pass through 
>> since (I think?) birds get spun off Seneca Lake and need a place to 
>> touch down.
>>
>> Alicia
>>
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] URGENT ALERT: Dodge Rd Spruce Woods may be cut down for massive Solar Farm on Dodge rd, STARTING in APRIL !!

[tess]

Well, we always turn off lights not being used - and more importantly we 
have switched over to LED lights pretty much all through the house.  We 
hang almost all of our laundry up to dry.  We keep our thermostat very 
/very/ low all winter and do not have air conditioning.  We have no 
'instant on' energy vampires (hey, Martha, you forgot that one!).  Can I 
chime in now?

Nari said the spruces are being chopped down because they will shade 
some of the panels.  I'm wondering how many spruces need to be 
sacrificed if that is the reason.  Couldn't the westernmost 50' of 
panels be omitted, or only the spruce trees necessary to minimize the 
most damaging shade be cut?  I'm not familiar with the lay of the land 
there but why is this an all or nothing proposition?
Plus, if existing grasslands are being converted to solar panel use, is 
this an opportunity to get Cornell to commit to managing a different 
tract that they own so as to maximize its attractiveness to Bobolinks, 
Meadowlarks, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Harriers?
Wind farms and solar farms need large tracts of undeveloped land. So do 
many species of animals, including birds, and undeveloped land presently 
used by these species always will be the cheapest & easiest place to 
site clean energy projects.  It is irresponsible to say that all large 
tracts should be protected as habitat but it is equally irresponsible 
not to look for ways to preserve what we can of existing habitat within 
these projects, and even insist on the creation of new habitat nearby 
when that is impossible, including habitat for non-endangered species 
(also known as pre-endangered species).  If _we_ don't ask for 
modifications to be put in place to preserve habitat then who will?

Alicia



On 3/20/2017 11:55 AM, Martha Fischer wrote:
> Dear All -
>
> Please make a commitment to USE LESS ENERGY.
>
>   Turn off lights that are not being used.
>
>   Reduce your use of the clothes dryer and other conveniences.
>
>   Accept inconvenience.
>
> And then let¹s have this discussion.
>
> Take care,
>
> Martha Fischer
> Town of Enfield
>
> On 3/20/17, 9:48 AM,"bounce-121351030-3494...@list.cornell.edu on behalf of 
> Nari Mistry"   n...@cornell.edu>  wrote:
>
>> There is urgent need for lovers of birds and wildlife along Dodge Rd. to
>> be aware of imminent developments along Dodge Rd.
>>
>> The massive industrial scale solar farm proposed in all the Cornell
>> owned fields along Dodge Rd and Stevenson Rd (as well as Turkey Hill
>> Rd.) is planning to start construction in a few weeks.  There was a
>> hearing in Dryden last Thursday at which many residents spoke out
>> against the massive scale of the project which will devastate wildlife
>> habitat.
>>
>> We have just learned this morning from a member of the Dryden
>> Conservation Board that they are proposing to cut down the Spruce Woods
>> bordering the WEST side of Dodge Rd. because they will shadow the panels
>> slated to go right along the very edge of Dodge R. next to a
>> (barbed-wire topped) fence!
>>
>> If you are concerned about this assault and the effect of replacing all
>> the grassland in the fields with sod under the panels (and
>> herbicides???), please write immediately to the Dryden Town Board and
>> ATTEND THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING  scheduled on THIS Thursday March 23,
>> at 7pm at the Dryden Town Hall on Main Street.
>>
>> Please express your opinion that may help reduce the scale of this
>> commercial operation that will devastate wildlife in this favorite
>> location for viewing wildlife!
>>
>>   Nari & Gin Mistry
>>
>>   Ellis Hollow rd.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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[cayugabirds-l] Snowy Owl, Ovid

[tess]

At 8:25 am today, an unusually white Snowy Owl was near the corner
of Wycoff Road and Cty Rte 129 in the Town of Ovid.  It was about .2
mile south of the intersection, on the west side of 129, about 150'
from the road on a small rise.  A female harrier was hunting in the
same large field further south.

Alicia

P.S.  I was thinking about Marty Schlaback and how he spotted a
Snowy Owl in a tree in the same area a few years ago, and wondering
why none were in the area now, when I spotted it - thanks, Marty! 



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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Snow Geese

[tess]

At 8 am this morning, there were several thousand snow geese flying over 
and browsing in stubble in the northwest corner of Covert & 
south-central portion of the town of Ovid. All the flying geese were 
headed south, some funneling into the fields and the rest only 
moderately high up, looking like they more likely were headed for 
breakfast locally than a trip to Pennsylvania. Alicia



On 12/6/2016 5:43 PM, Marty Schlabach wrote:
>
> A small flock of about 30 snow geese flew over our house near 
> Interlaken on Monday.  Today a flock of several thousand flew over.  
> Both were heading north.
>
> -Marty
>
> ===
>
> Marty Schlabach m...@cornell.edu
>
> 8407 Powell Rd. home  607-532-3467
>
> Interlaken, NY 14847   cell315-521-4315
>
> ===
>
> *From:*bounce-121061241-3494...@list.cornell.edu 
> [mailto:bounce-121061241-3494...@list.cornell.edu] *On Behalf Of 
> *Donna Lee Scott
> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 6, 2016 9:39 AM
> *To:* CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> *Subject:* [cayugabirds-l] Snow Geese
>
> A small flock of calling SNOW GEESE flew over my house heading NW 
> about 8:30 am.
>
>
> Donna Scott
>
> Lansing by Cayuga Lake
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
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[cayugabirds-l] Flicker

[tess]

YS Flicker on our suet in Ovid.  Only other winter flicker we have seen 
in 20+ yrs here was a sad pile of feathers under a cedar tree found in 
February 2012.


Also have now been able to see both 2 male and 2 female redpolls 
simultaneously, so definitely have at least 4, am guessing between 4-8 
total, but really hard to count among the shifting flock of finches  
juncos.  Nothing like the numbers of 2 yrs ago, regardless, and still no 
siskins.


Alicia



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[cayugabirds-l] Snow Buntings Horned Larks

[tess]

A mixed flock of 200-300 snow buntings and horned larks was on Munson 
Road across from Countryside Market in Ovid at 2:00 and still at 3:30.  
Had no time to stop and check for longspurs or other more sought after 
birds.  They were covering strips of bare ground where the snow had been 
blown away, many quite close to the road, and did not fly away as 
traffic went by.


Alicia

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[cayugabirds-l] Wood duck family (OOB?)

[tess]

Hi,

   Was traveling between Interlaken and Lodi on Rte 96-A when a wood 
duck family scurried across the highway, the tiny ducklings strung so 
close together behind their mother that momentarily it looked like a 
strange long-tailed wood duck!  Traffic on both sides hit the brakes and 
the family made it safely across.  I neglected to see exactly where this 
was, so not sure if this was in the basin or not, but it was definitely 
very cute and seemed a bit early for wood ducklings - the ones on the 
pond near our house are still courting.


   Then later watched a definitely OOB Mourning Warbler closer to home, 
a silent female that popped up in a pile of brush by the road while I 
was looking at something else entirely.  Lots of other warblers, vireos 
 migratory thrushes out and about as well.  Beautiful day out there!


Alicia

  


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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk

[tess]

Hi,

   For over a decade there has been a white, but not albino, red tail 
on the west side of the town of Lodi, hanging around near Shaw Road.  I 
have heard it is there year round but we don't drive by often enough in 
daylight in winter to confirm that it overwinters there.  We have, 
however, seen it often in the spring/summer/fall.  It has a dark eyes, 
dark beak, and yellow legs, but other than that it appears to be all 
white.  According to a landowner there, as of this past October:
The white hawk is fine, we see it  and it's normally colored offspring 
regularly. I'm not sure about the lifespan of a redtail, but this one 
is at least 11 years old.
   Assuming it is still there as usual, that makes a 5th completely 
white one in the area.  When we first saw it a nearly a decade ago, I 
googled around and found several reports  photos of leucistic red-tails 
all over the country, so they were not unknown even then, but it does 
seem like a lot have popped up locally.  Maybe it is a recessive genetic 
trait and there are enough genes floating around in the local gene pool 
that they are more common locally, like black squirrels in New England?  
Would there be any evolutionary pressure against a white red tail?  
There might not be any reason for them to be selected out of the 
population - the one in Lodi seems to have no trouble coming up with 
mates  successfully fledging young.


   Alicia

John and Sue Gregoire wrote:

While birding for the GBBC this weekend, we found another completely white 
leucitic
Red-tailed Hawk on Black Rd, Town of Hector. This makes the 4th completely white
red-tail this winter that we have found or know of. Others were an albino near 
the
race track (Watkins Glen), one leucistic bird in Candor, one in Whitney point 
and
this latest one a few miles from home.

We worked with   eagles and other raptors in the Chesapeake Bay area and banded
thousands at Cape May for several years before arriving here in 1986 and had 
never
seen such white raptors. In fact, the only leucistic bird in our memory was  a
partial on a cardinal in Maryland. Since then, we had seen only a few partially
leucistic passerines in this area and one other leucistic hawk (the Ithaca 
Red-tail
of a few years ago). Now in one season here are 4! Couple that with the several
reports of leucism in passerines and one begins to wonder...

We also had a rare pheasant yesterday, a Bald Eagle adult over Ed Gates' farm in
Burdett Saturday afternoon and 190 Snow Buntings on Bergen Rd which is about a 
mile
from here. During our road trip we also found some 2,900 Redheads and 99 Horned
Larks among the many other excellent birds..

Best,
John and Sue
--
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Road
Burdett,NY 14818-9626
 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
Conserve and Create Habitat




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