Unlike previous years, John & I found no sign of any geese, snows or Canadas, anywhere around the Sherwood Rd. farm pond. We stopped to talk to the Cox's just beyond the pond & to their dismay & ours, apparently hunters had been allowed in the area for the first time ever. Mrs. Cox said soon as she heard gun shots the SNOWS were in pandemonium, wildly flying every which way. She is just heartsick because she has enjoyed them for so many years ....... BUT the farmers still (!!!!) had corn to harvest, ... what was left by the Canadas, racoons, crows, 'possums, mice, etc.. Snows not welcome.
I had forgotten all about the NY special, late hunting season for snows which began 11 March & runs 'til 15 April, with bag limits of 15 per day. If I remember correctly, last year New Jersey had a "take all you can" limit due to the over-population of snows & said for hunters to bury what they couldn't use or put them in trash bags & put them in a dumpster! Some hunters think snows are good to eat while others think they taste terrible. I'm not about to find out. We drove on over to Owasco Lake, hoping to find the flocks on the water but saw nothing but one gull. Sooo, whether the snows will return this evening remains to be seen. Previously they have stayed until about the 10th of April. We saw a Kestral near Sherwood. Here at the house we have Cardinals, Mockers, RWBBs gobbling sunflower seeds, Song, Tree, & house sparrows, a WB Nuthatch, House Finches, TVs, etc.. No Screechie for a couple wks. BUT skunks are digging grubs from the lawn. Makes a messy lawn but fewer Jap & alfalfa beetles & June bugs later on. Remember, if your dog gets sprayed, gallons of tomato juice won't do a bit of good. The best thing is a mixture of: 1 qt. of 3% hydrogen peroxide 1/4 cup baking soda 1 tsp. liquid soap Rub the mixture into the fur, leave on for about 15 min. then be sure to rinse & be sure not to get it in the eyes. If the dog is tolerant you can then re-wash with regular shampoo or soap then rinse. I didn't get all the solution off our black cat & her fur turned orange! Our son can vouch for this formula because several yrs. ago he was sprayed while trying to release a skunk from a live trap. I had told him about this formula & fortunately he had just bought the ingredients, & esp. so because he had to go to work. He used it on himself & because his sinuses were full of the odor he was sure he was smelling terrible. When he got to work & apologized, no one could even detect any odor. This formula has been recommended by sports magazines. This is the 1st day of spring so tonight we're back to cool weather & my crocuses will hide their sunny faces. Fritzie -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
