[cayugabirds-l] KING EIDER
Bob McGuire and I are looking at an adult male KING EIDER at myers point right now. It us with a flock of mallards off the point. Chris Wood Ithaca, New York http://ebird.org -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Myers, Wed 11/24 10:30 AM (King Eider)
The adult male KING EIDER was still present on Cayuga Lake just north of the spit at Myers Park in Lansing at 10:30 AM on Wednesday. Congratulations to Bob McGuire on a fantastic find, and many thanks to Bob and Chris Wood for getting the word out. Also present were a flock of about 15 SNOW BUNTINGS, which flew north toward Salt Point, and at least one LONG-TAILED DUCK. An EASTERN SCREECH-OWL has roosted in our nest box on Simsbury Drive in northeast Ithaca probably daily since November 6. Mark Chao -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] King Eider photos (bad)
I put a few photos of the King Eider male at Myers Point this morning at the bottom of this page: http://picasaweb.google.com/KevinJ.McGowan/Birds2010. The distance and choppy water made it difficult to get much of anything, and I didn't manage to get much of anything. But, there they are. Kevin -- 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/ --
Re: RE:[cayugabirds-l] King Eider photos (bad)
This is the first breeding plumage male King Eider for me. I expected a beautiful bird like in the books, but it looked odd. I was not able to stay long to watch it as it swam in the chop, but I did not notice pink on the breast. I saw darker lines on a slightly gray head (including a line down the midline of the nape) not the pale blue head as in the books. The bill was not bright orange but a bit washed out. The head did not have the shape the books show, and the bill was not as bulbous. (But there was no doubt of ID - all the marks and patterns were there.) Some of the differences I noticed might be due to lighting, some to variations in the way the feathers were held. But I figured some might be that it was still changing. Sibley shows the nonbreeding adult male from July through November with a brown head and breast and the bill shaped like today's bird at Myer's Point. From December through June it should show the breeding pattern that I (mostly) saw today, plus have the bulbous top of the bill which it lacked. Does the bill shape change back and forth each year (as Sibley seemed to imply by not calling that picture a *second* summer male), and if so does the bill shrink or does part drop off? Or does it just grow once, making this the only time in this bird's life that it will have the breeding plumage feathers but not yet have the bulbous bill? --Dave NutterOn Nov 24, 2010, at 10:08 AM, "Kevin J. McGowan" k...@cornell.edu wrote: After looking at my photos I am guessing the Myers Point King Eider is a second-year male, based on the rather small orange swellings at the base of the bill. In older males they should be big and rounded on top. Our guy doesn’t look at all like that. Kevin From: bounce-7433660-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-7433660-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Kevin J. McGowan Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 12:51 PM To: CayugaBirds Subject: [cayugabirds-l] King Eider photos (bad) I put a few photos of the King Eider male at Myers Point this morning at the bottom of this page: http://picasaweb.google.com/KevinJ.McGowan/Birds2010. The distance and choppy water made it difficult to get much of anything, and I didn’t manage to get much of anything. But, there they are. Kevin
