After a very nice walk with Mark's large birding group at Lindsay Parsons I
decided to climb the ridge in Danby State Forest. Following in the footsteps of
Dave, Susan and Ann I had hopes of hearing or seeing Worm-eating Warblers. I
wasn't disappointed. Sitting, ( or more accurately bracing myself ), on the 75
degree ridge enjoying the view I had two Worm-eating Warblers feeding around me
at very close distance. I had exceptional views as they caught spiders,
caterpillars and other morsels. By far my best encounter for this species. I
was able to hear their trilling song and call/chip notes.
It's always fun to join Mark's FLLT bird walks as the birding is good, but more
for the great diversity of birders. I'd like to second Mark's kind remarks
about Courtney. This was my second time birding with Courtney and, as the
first, it was delightful. In the future when I blame my lack of a correct ID on
poor binocular views I will feel a twinge of consciousness.
Happy Memorial Day,
Gary
From: bounce-5965928-3493...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-5965928-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Mark Chao
Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2010 4:03 PM
To: Cayugabirds-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Lindsay-Parsons (FLLT SBQ), Sun 5/30
I spent all of Sunday morning looking for birds at the Lindsay-Parsons
Biodiversity Preserve in West Danby. I spent the first couple of hours with
Bob McGuire, Tom Hoebbel, and Sydney Penner, trying to find species and boost
my weekend total for the Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest (SBQ).
Then, starting at 8 AM, Bob and I led a group of at least 25 birders (!) around
the preserve.
By my count, including various parties separate from ours, people have
collectively found at least 79 bird species in Lindsay-Parsons today. My own
total was about 70, leaving me with a running weekend tally of 85 species found
on Land Trust properties. This number is modest compared with previous
second-day totals, but I don't feel even the slightest disappointment. The
birding and the company have been as good as ever all weekend. See below for
details.
Mark Chao
__
Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve
Routes 34/96, West Danby
6:00-11:00 AM
70+ species, including GREEN HERON, HOODED MERGANSER, COOPER'S HAWK,
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, ALDER FLYCATCHER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER,
BLUE-HEADED VIREO, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, WINTER WREN, BROWN THRASHER,
BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER,
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, HOODED
WARBLER, and BOBOLINK
Bob, Tom, Sydney, and I started by standing on the gravel piles by the West
Danby Fire Station and scanning the swampy pond. We found the weekend's first
Hooded Merganser (a female perched for a long time on a nest box), and
uncannily, within a second or two of Bob's first mentioning the possibility, a
Pileated Woodpecker calling from the slope. Then from the old railroad bed on
the east side, we found Hooded, Mourning, and Magnolia Warbler, plus our first
SBQ Blue-headed Vireo this year.
Then we searched the hemlock woods along Station Road, a tract that the Land
Trust acquired just a few years ago. Here, we found a couple of countersinging
Acadian Flycatchers at their customary location along the stream (salutations
to Ryan Douglas from afar), and a couple of Blackburnian Warblers that sang
obscured in the treetops and eventually chased each other right along the road.
On our group outing, we had almost too many highlights to count. We had
glimpses of Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Brown Thrasher; scope views of
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Indigo Bunting, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Alder
Flycatcher; repeated instructive looks at a circling Cooper's Hawk; a long
encounter with a male Black-throated Green Warbler that sang on a low branch
right over the trail, then flew off with food in his bill; and even apart from
birding, sightings of two very obliging White Admirals, many Northern Bluets,
and a Black Rat Snake in repose under a hot tin roof in an old shed.
Maybe the most heartening and amazing thing part of our walk was the
opportunity to witness the field skills of an eleven-year-old girl named
Courtney, who was visiting from out of town. Throughout the morning, she was a
step or two ahead of all of us in finding and identifying birds by sound and
sight. She birded with no optics except a camera with a long lens, with which
she snapped off photos of many birds, including the cuckoo. Apparently
Courtney has photographed many cuckoos before, including FIVE IN ONE TREE
TOGETHER (both species) in Sapsucker Woods a couple of weeks ago. Later she
showed us more of her bird photos, which were beautiful and action-packed and
sharp, despite the lack of an image stabilizer on her camera. In our community
we are perennially blessed to have many young people with prodigious skill and
great passion