[nysbirds-l] Snow Buntings (+++) Coxsackie; +
I came across an enormous flock of SNOW BUNTINGS on River Road (Co. Rt 61) just north of the Village of Coxsackie, Greene County. Getting a number on the size of this swarm was difficult because they were so flighty. But I'd put a conservative estimate at around 600. They just kept flowing onto the road surface and shoulders until the next vehicle went by. Then they'd flow out as a black and white ribbon cloud rising and dipping across the fields. There were a few HORNED LARKS mixed in, but no Lapland Longspurs that I could pick out. There were, however, several LAPLAND LONGSPURS on Flint Mine Road again today (behind the prison). The very dark SAVANNAH SPARROWS were there as well. Doing a little research on that species leaves me to believe these birds might be from the north-eastern Canada population - or from the Hudson Bay/Manitoba populations, known respectively as "Labrador" Savannah Sparrow and "Churchill" Savannah Sparrow. I'll post a representative photo of them on the HM Birds Yahoo site. Please understand that the pictures were taken against a strong backlit snowy setting and through a car windshield. I'll also put up a photo of a "typical" Savannah Sparrow taken at the nearby Coxsackie Grasslands during the nesting season. Rich Guthrie New Baltimore The Greene County gael...@capital.net -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Snow Buntings (+++) Coxsackie; +
I came across an enormous flock of SNOW BUNTINGS on River Road (Co. Rt 61) just north of the Village of Coxsackie, Greene County. Getting a number on the size of this swarm was difficult because they were so flighty. But I'd put a conservative estimate at around 600. They just kept flowing onto the road surface and shoulders until the next vehicle went by. Then they'd flow out as a black and white ribbon cloud rising and dipping across the fields. There were a few HORNED LARKS mixed in, but no Lapland Longspurs that I could pick out. There were, however, several LAPLAND LONGSPURS on Flint Mine Road again today (behind the prison). The very dark SAVANNAH SPARROWS were there as well. Doing a little research on that species leaves me to believe these birds might be from the north-eastern Canada population - or from the Hudson Bay/Manitoba populations, known respectively as Labrador Savannah Sparrow and Churchill Savannah Sparrow. I'll post a representative photo of them on the HM Birds Yahoo site. Please understand that the pictures were taken against a strong backlit snowy setting and through a car windshield. I'll also put up a photo of a typical Savannah Sparrow taken at the nearby Coxsackie Grasslands during the nesting season. Rich Guthrie New Baltimore The Greene County gael...@capital.net -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
