[cayugabirds-l] Peregrine viewing on Memorial Day Weekend

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Hi local birders,

The Cayuga Bird Club is looking to host a Peregrine watching event at
Taughannock Falls on Memorial Day Weekend. The idea is to have
volunteers with scopes pointing at the peregrines to share with
passers by, with some explanation of the history of Peregrines at
Taughannock.

We're looking at a 10am-3pm window from Saturday May 25 through
Monday, May 27, though the exact days and times are not yet finalized.
We could do just one day, two days, or all three days, and may shorten
the viewing window, depending on availability of volunteers.

If you would like to volunteer for this, please fill this form:

  https://forms.gle/nRvqxp4yJX7By5JFA

or email me your availability, whichever is more convenient (e.g., if
the answer is simply "I can be there the whole time" :-).

Thanks.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Breeding Bird Atlas talk

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Julie Hart's presentation about this final year of the
NYS Breeding Bird Atlas III at Monday's Cayuga Bird Club meeting is
now available at:

  https://youtu.be/vQr_-i47Cl0

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Peregrine Outreach

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Hello birders,

I was thinking it might be a good outreach opportunity to educate the
public park-goers about the Taughannock Peregrines by scheduling some
viewings, say on weekends when the fledglings are most likely to be
active, which I believe would be May 18-19, May 25-26, June 1-2
(please correct me if you think other dates are better). The idea
would be to have one or two people with scopes pointed at the nest to
show passers by and share information about the bird, the history, and
a bit of "here's why we thought lighting the falls was a bad idea in
late April".

If you would like to volunteer, please let me know. Maybe say which of
the above weekends you would be willing to be present, and approximate
time of day. If there are enough volunteers, we could work out a
schedule of 1-2 hour shifts or something. We could then talk to the
parks and chamber of commerce people to publicize it. I know that
whenever I was there with my scope, the few passers-by on that lightly
used trail were always appreciative when we shared scope views and
information. And I believe that by now the birds are used to us
distant scopers from across the gorge that this should not be a
disturbance to them - but do let me know if you think this is a bad
idea.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Woodcocks and Owls

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Hello listserv,

The Cayuga Bird Club will be leading a woodcock and owling trip this
Saturday evening, with Stephanie and I as leaders. Alas, I won't have
much time to do any scouting. If anyone has intel on how well the
airport woodcocks are performing this season, or if you know of any
particularly cooperative woodcocks - who start dancing while it's
still relatively light out, and are reasonably viewable, I would
appreciate it.

Also any suggestions for owling would be useful, else we'll just defer
to picking a suitable habitat and trying.

Thanks.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Merlin(s) @ Commonland

[Suan Hsi Yong]

This evening at 5:30 I heard and saw a Merlin here at Commonland,
directly behind and above my unit. One bird was circling lazily with
occasional flutters, while I heard calling from I think a different
bird perched somewhere nearby unseen. When I walked to where I thought
that call was coming from, the calling stopped, but the first bird
continued circling overhead.

I briefly heard a Merlin call here a few days ago, but didn't have
time to track it down.

John, I can let you know if this persists and if I can locate a nest.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] FOY Eastern Phoebe in Newfield

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Just heard my FOY Phoebe outside also. Strong south winds blowing
yesterday, so many new arrivals are likely today.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Cass Ospreys, FLNF broadwing??

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Around 4:30 today, there was one osprey occupying the nest north of
Hangar Theatre, and another osprey occupying the nest at Union Fields.

I was coming back from FLNF Parmenter Road trailheads where I heard
the squeal of a Broad-winged Hawk, followed by a few squeaks that
Merlin identified as Harris' Hawk :-). Given the time of year, my
guess would be that it was the work of a Blue Jay, but I heard no
further vocalization to confirm one way or another. Soon after a
Common Raven flew by carrying a reddish something and upon alighting
clicked a little. This fly-by did not trigger any vocalization or
visible movement of any bird that might have been the source of the
broadwing squeal.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] how to subscribe to list?

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A link at the bottom of each message brings you to this page:
http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

Suan

On Mon, Mar 18, 2024 at 9:36 AM Deb Grantham  wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I gave instructions to a friend on how to subscribe but apparently don’t
> know what I’m talking about.
>
> Can anyone give me the correct instructions?
>
> Thanks, Deb
>
>
>
> Deborah G. Grantham
> Director, Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center
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> Faculty Fellow, Cornell Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future Cornell
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> York.
> *Cornell University sits on the traditional homelands of the Cayuga Nation*
> .
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[cayugabirds-l] Recording: Montezuma Wetland Management by Linda Ziemba

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of last night's Cayuga Bird Club meeting presentation by
Linda Ziemba on Wetland Management at Montezuma NWR is now available:

  https://youtu.be/oXeN4o9hwoQ

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Montezeuma

[Suan Hsi Yong]

The Visitor Center has been hosting a dozen or more Sandhill Cranes, plus a
good assortment of ducks. The wildlife drive does not open until April 1,
so besides a short walk to the lookout platform, there's not much else to
check out in the main entrance area. Other sites may be worth exploring
(Esker Brook Trail, Tschache Pool, May's Point, Knox-Marsellus/East Road,
and points northward), though I have not heard of any special sightings
lately. Of course, you never know what may pop up from one day to the next
during migration season.

Down in the Cayuga Lake State Park parking lot, you can look for the
Red-headed Woodpecker that has been hanging out all winter in the trees
along the main road.

Suan


On Mon, Mar 11, 2024 at 5:09 PM James Gaffney  wrote:

> I was thinking of going to montezeuma this week. Any input from the group
> would be appreciated
> Jim
> Sent from my iPhone
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>

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[cayugabirds-l] Youth Birding Programs

[Suan Hsi Yong]

The Cayuga Bird Club and Cornell Cooperative Extension / Rural Youth
Services will have three youth birding programs this Winter, with the
first one this Sunday. For more information and registration, see:

  https://cayugabirdclub.org/youth

Please pass this onto any parents/guardians of young birders.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Share Your Photos Night

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Monday's Share Your Photos Night is now available at:

  https://youtu.be/pXfqMrzKz80

Enjoy!

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Snow Geese in Lansing

[Suan Hsi Yong]

My friend who lives on Waterwagon Road in Lansing, between East Shore
and Tripphammer, just reported a bunch of snow geese landing in the
farm field just south of their subdivision.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Mystery Hoots at Six-mile Creek

[Suan Hsi Yong]

This would be a count week bird, as that was recorded 1/3.
I'd been hearing it every few days, but have not been keeping track of
which days.

Suan

On Fri, Jan 5, 2024 at 7:27 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg  wrote:
>
> Wow sure sounds like Long-eared Owl to me.
>
> Ken
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jan 5, 2024, at 5:37 PM, Suan Hsi Yong  wrote:
> >
> > I have been hearing some mystery hoots from the woods of Six-mile
> > Creek off of Commonland. Can anyone identify the source? Dare I wonder
> > if it might be a Long-eared Owl?
> >
> >  https://youtu.be/0byLaJ5eks0
> >
> > These occurred as single hoots, with gaps of 12-20 seconds between them.
> > The recordings were made around 4am with my iPhone, and amplified
> > slightly with Audacity. I can supply the original WAVs if anyone wants
> > them.
> >
> > Suan
> >
> > --
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[cayugabirds-l] Mystery Hoots at Six-mile Creek

[Suan Hsi Yong]

I have been hearing some mystery hoots from the woods of Six-mile
Creek off of Commonland. Can anyone identify the source? Dare I wonder
if it might be a Long-eared Owl?

  https://youtu.be/0byLaJ5eks0

These occurred as single hoots, with gaps of 12-20 seconds between them.
The recordings were made around 4am with my iPhone, and amplified
slightly with Audacity. I can supply the original WAVs if anyone wants
them.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Dead sharpie for donation

[Suan Hsi Yong]

With the Lab of O visitor center closed for renovations (until June),
there is no front desk to drop things off at, at least, not until June
:-).

Suan

On Wed, Jan 3, 2024 at 8:43 AM Robin Cisne  wrote:
>
> I've always frozen them, and then just dropped them off at the front desk.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 2, 2024 at 5:31 PM Peter Saracino  wrote:
>>
>> My friend has  a window strike victim in the form of a Sharpe-shinned hawk 
>> (I think, vs Coopers). He'd like to see it get used for educational or 
>> research purposes. Any thoughts of a good contact person at the lab or 
>> somewhere else? He can transport it. Just needs a destination.
>> Many thanks.
>> Sar
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[cayugabirds-l] Snow Geese on Cayuga Lake Saturday

[Suan Hsi Yong]

I got some drone footage of the large raft of Snow Geese on Cayuga
Lake last Saturday, about 3km northeast of Dean's Cove:

  https://youtu.be/DIebjfls_a4

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] CBC Madagascar presentation recording

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Monday's CBC presentation by Ton Schat, "Madagascar:
Birds, lemurs, chameleons, and other amazing critters", is now
available at:

  https://youtu.be/_KOzWYfEFbU

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Winter atlasing

[Suan Hsi Yong]

by Jane Graves,
Regional Coordinator for Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego,
Seneca, Wayne, and Yates counties.

To all the folks who have contributed to the NY Breeding Bird Atlas – THANK YOU!

As we head into the final field season of NYSBBAIII, I encourage
atlasers to go beyond their local birding sites and visit incomplete
priority blocks. While owl observations are no longer required to
complete a priority block, they are desired. The majority of Atlas
priority blocks do not have owl reports.

If you find owls while participating in Christmas Bird Counts, please
submit them through the Atlas portal even if they occur in
non-priority blocks.

As a reminder, Great Horned Owls start nesting in late January, and
are engaged in courtship activities for several weeks before that;
Eastern Screech-Owls and Barred Owls typically begin to nest in
mid-to-late March; Northern Saw-whet Owls breed somewhat later,
beginning in early April.

The following is a county-by-county list of incomplete priority blocks
in which no owls have been reported.

You can view these blocks on Google Map at:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1HxU7WHOiLEGxgkK3WiDB1MmGA-G7s3c=sharing

Cayuga: Auburn CE; Cato NW; Genoa CE; Owasco NW; Scipio Center CE;
Scipio Center NW; Sempronius NW; Skaneateles NW; Victory CE.

Cortland: Truxton CE.

Onondaga: Brewerton CE; Camillus CE; Cicero CE; DeRuyter NW; Jordan
CE; Marcellus CE; Otisco Valley CE; Otisco Valley NW; South Onondaga
CE; South Onondaga NW; Spafford CE; Syracuse East NW; Syracuse West
CE; Tully NW.

Ontario: Bristol Center NW; Canandaigua CE; Canandaigua Lake NW;
Canandaigua NW; Clifton Springs CE; Clifton Springs NW; Geneva North
NW; Honeoye Falls CE; Naples NW; Phelps CE; Rushville CE; Rushville
NW; Stanley NW.

Oswego: Dugway NW; Fulton NW; Hannibal CE; Hannibal NW; Mexico CE;
Mexico NW; New Haven NW; Orwell CE; Orwell NW; Oswego East CE; Oswego
East NW; Richland CE; Richland NW; Worth Center CE.

Seneca: Geneva North CE; Seneca Falls NW.

Wayne: Lyons NW; Macedon CE; Montezuma NW; Newark CE; Newark NW;
Palmyra CE; Palmyra NW; Rose CE; Savannah CE; Savannah NW; Sodus CE;
Sodus NW; Victory NW; Williamson CE; Williamson NW.

Yates: Dresden NW; Dundee CE; Dundee NW; Keuka Park NW; Penn Yan CE; Potter CE

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Montezuma NWR Snowy Egret - RFI

[Suan Hsi Yong]

I should follow up and say that that Facebook group has become
immensely popular, currently with 11.4K members, and may well have the
broadest reach of any electronic group related to birds in the basin
(though they still lose out to "Bald Eagles of Onondaga Lake" with
18.8K members), and may well be "required reading" (or viewing) for
those wanting to keep tabs on sightings at the MNWR.

Suan


On Wed, Nov 15, 2023 at 10:57 AM Suan Hsi Yong  wrote:
>
> Photos were posted to the Facebook group "Birds of Montezuma National
> Wildlife Refuge" by Bob and Diane Slater on Monday, November 13, at
> 6:30pm. A comment says "it flew in front of us around 4:30 pm, in the
> dead tree near the Eagle tree".
>
> The post URL is
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/172217523476266/posts/1688992451798758/
> but I think it's only visible to members of that group.
>
> Suan
>
>

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Montezuma NWR Snowy Egret - RFI

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Photos were posted to the Facebook group "Birds of Montezuma National
Wildlife Refuge" by Bob and Diane Slater on Monday, November 13, at
6:30pm. A comment says "it flew in front of us around 4:30 pm, in the
dead tree near the Eagle tree".

The post URL is
https://www.facebook.com/groups/172217523476266/posts/1688992451798758/
but I think it's only visible to members of that group.

Suan


On Tue, Nov 14, 2023 at 9:16 PM Dave Nutter  wrote:
>
> Today I learned of - and eventually saw - a regionally rare Snowy Egret along 
> the Wildlife Drive at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
>
> I first learned of it from a text rare bird alert from Mark Miller at 10:25am 
> that it was “last seen at Seneca Flats,” but I wondered about Mark’s use of 
> passive voice and the lack of any picture from this avid photographer. As I 
> prepared to look for the bird there was not yet any eBird report from Mark 
> either.
>
> But there was an eBird report from earlier this morning by David Kennedy, who 
> takes gorgeous photos and seems to either find, re-find, or document most of 
> the rarities around Montezuma. He included 5 pictures with the comment that 
> it was “Feeding along east shore of Seneca Flats,” and in this case it was a 
> re-find because he said it was “seen and photographed by Bob S. yesterday.”
>
> This appears to be the first documented record of Snowy Egret in the Cayuga 
> Lake Basin this year, and as I try to maintain First Records records list, 
> I’m looking for some help. Who is Bob S? Can I find the photo and record of 
> his sighting? Where did he see it? At this point I’m not trying to verify the 
> ID, I’m just looking for the standard information and credit that I include 
> on the list.
>
> Today, thanks to text rare bird alert messages, several additional people saw 
> this small, active egret at various places along the Wildlife Drive’s first 
> straightaway, and the adjacent Seneca River. Generally it progressed north 
> from Seneca Flats. It’s hard to say where it will be tomorrow, but I hope 
> that, if it sticks around in publicly accessible places, folks continue to 
> share its whereabouts so others can see this beautiful bird.
>
> - - Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Meena's Presentation

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Meena's presentation at Monday's Cayuga Bird Club
meeting about desert birds in Rajasthan and Ladakh in India is now
available at:

  https://youtu.be/axM99jFngWQ

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Saturday Field Trip

[Suan Hsi Yong]

*Field Trip around the Cayuga Lake and Montezuma Wildlife Refuge looking
for waterfowl and **other birds*

*Saturday, November 4, 8 am–3 or 4 pm*
*Trip leader: Steve Kress*
Meet at Stewart park at 8.00 am. First parking lot on the right as soon as
you enter the park towards northeastern side. Here is a map link

*. *

*Gorup Size: 12 Register with m...@cornell.edu *

It is fall migration time for waterbirds! Expect to see lots of migrating
waterfowl along the lake and MNWR wildlife drive. Plus, there may be a few
lingering shorebirds and birds like American Pipits and Horned Larks. If
you are lucky you may encounter Cave Swallows. Dress for cold weather in
layers, bring gloves and hats. Bring scope if you have and/or binoculars.
Carry water and hot drinks, plus snacks and a lunch. We will stop on the
way at Aurora or some location for food and bathroom.

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[cayugabirds-l] Beginner Bird Walk Time Change

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Hello all,

For the next five months, from November through March, the start time
for the Beginner Bird Walks that occur every Saturday and Sunday at Sapsucker
Woods will start at 9:30am instead of 8:30am. These walks take place
in pretty much any weather, unless snow or ice makes for hazardous
driving conditions, so we encourage everyone regardless of birding
level to join us. This later start time also works well with the bus
schedule, so we hope this will invite wider participation.

Yesterday was another example of great birding in bad weather, with a
cooperatively perched Cooper's Hawk, both male and female Wood Ducks,
good close looks at Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers plus nuthatches,
chickadees, juncos and cardinals all foraging quite close. Admittedly,
many of these had to be admired through foggy wet optics, but all 8
participants had a great time.

We will be looking to recruit more walk leaders in the coming spring.
If you are interested, please email me at suan.y...@gmail.com, or
attend attend a few (or many, if you'd like) walks to get a feel for
the experience, and ask questions from any of our wonderful walk
leaders.

Thanks.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Marie Read presentation

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Monday's presentation by Marie Read on backyard bird
photography is now available at

  https://youtu.be/rCYgzW-0DOY

Thanks, Marie, for stepping up at the last minute to present this at
the club meeting.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] American Bittern video

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Here's a video I took earlier this month of an American Bittern at the
wildlife drive. An exciting sighting to be sure, but watching it just stand
there can be like watching paint dry, so I fast forwarded through parts of
it. But I did catch some interesting action, including swaying with the
wind:

  https://youtu.be/h6OW8x6UQfA

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Mystery Duck

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Any thoughts on this dabbler I photographed at Marten's Tract
(Northern Montezuma) on August 2?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/cayugabirdclub/permalink/6656477501056675/

You should be able to view the photos without a FB account - just hit
"X" in the upper-right corner when it asks you to log in or sign up.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] CBC recording: Chickadee Hybridization

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Monday's Cayuga Bird Club meeting presentation, "A tale
of two cities: cryptic chickadee hybridization in an urban world," by
Kathryn Grabenstein, is now available at:

  https://youtu.be/V8PZO9RPDk0

Enjoy!

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Broad-winged Hawk

[Suan Hsi Yong]

On Saturday, I trudged around Sugar Hill State Forest just west of
Watkins Glen. As my hike was about to end around noon, a Broad-winged
Hawk flew to a roadside snag close to where I'd parked, and despite my
initial worry that it would flush as soon as I emerged from the trees,
it sat on that perch for a good half hour as I was able to set up a
tripod to get video footage and watched it while eating my lunch. Here
are a few scenes; see if you can identify the other sounds in the
video:

  https://youtu.be/LJRi1od0qdY

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Can you identify this bird call?

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Can you identify this bird call, from Sugar Hill State Forest west of
Watkins Glen last weekend:

  https://youtu.be/rX3hxj_k8n8

Suan

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Genoa Mystery Bird Sound

[Suan Hsi Yong]

FYI, the consensus on the mystery calls below is begging calls from
Baltimore Oriole.
In fact, I just heard some at Sapsucker Woods this afternoon by the
parking lot, along with a short adult whistle.

Suan

PS. Also heard a Black-throated Green Warbler at Myers Park today at
noon, in the trees across the channel south of the lighthouse, at the
end of the Lansing Harbor marina. Seemed an odd place to hear one,
especially in late June.



On Mon, Jun 26, 2023 at 7:48 PM Suan Hsi Yong  wrote:
>
> Can you identify the series of four-note calls in this recording?
>
>   https://www.facebook.com/1172377296/videos/3450678755246533/
>
> You don't need a FB account to listen - just "x" the first dialog box.
>
> This was in Genoa NY, in a yard with big trees between a forested
> valley and open fields - so basically, almost any habitat.
>
> Melissa Penta has posted an answer, but I thought I'd share here to
> give others a chance to figure it out, or maybe suggest a different
> answer.
>
> Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Genoa Mystery Bird Sound

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Can you identify the series of four-note calls in this recording?

  https://www.facebook.com/1172377296/videos/3450678755246533/

You don't need a FB account to listen - just "x" the first dialog box.

This was in Genoa NY, in a yard with big trees between a forested
valley and open fields - so basically, almost any habitat.

Melissa Penta has posted an answer, but I thought I'd share here to
give others a chance to figure it out, or maybe suggest a different
answer.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] June is a great time to participate in the Breeding Bird Atlas!

[Suan Hsi Yong]

FYI, I created this google map with priority blocks in an area west of
Watkins Glen, the vast majority of which have very low coverage:


https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1BMjfDvMd1paOaVFckK0ClHu2D5ALxk8=sharing

This is also now linked from
https://cayugabirdclub.org/resources/breeding-bird-atlas (under Priority
Blocks in Google Maps, "West of Seneca Lake").

Suan

On Tue, Jun 13, 2023 at 8:42 PM Matthew Medler 
wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> Now that spring migration is over, it's time for breeding birds to take
> center stage! This year is the fourth year of NYS Breeding Bird Atlas III,
> and June is the peak breeding season in our area. I'm writing now to share
> some Atlas updates and also encourage people to get out to enjoy this
> special type of birding.
>
> Local birders have done an amazing job of Atlasing in Ithaca and
> throughout Tompkins County. This Atlas Effort Map shows the abundance of
> well-covered (dark blue) and completed (black) priority blocks in the
> Ithaca area: https://ebird.org/atlasny/effortmap
>
> And there's good news: it's now much easier to complete a priority Atlas
> block! A block can now be considered Completed when 45 species (or 67% of
> reported species) are marked as Probable or Confirmed. (Previously the
> requirement was 50% of all species had to be Confirmed.) Additionally, the
> two-hour nocturnal effort requirement has been changed to a recommendation.
> These two changes make it much easier to finish a block in one season of
> focused Atlasing!
>
> Although Ithaca and environs are well-covered for this third Atlas, there
> are many areas to our west that are in need of significant coverage.
> Looking at the Effort Map (https://ebird.org/atlasny/effortmap), all of
> the blocks shaded in light yellow and surrounded by a thick black border
> are priority blocks that currently have 0-5 hours of coverage. There are
> 20+ priority blocks just waiting to be explored to our west!
>
> So if you have the interest and ability to get out and explore, I'd
> encourage you to head west and spend some quality time in one or more of
> these blocks. Atlasing is a very satisfying type of birding that emphasizes
> careful observation of birds and an understanding of behaviors and habitat.
>
> Not sure where to get started? Here are a few priority blocks with at
> least some state land that currently have 0-5 hours of coverage (the goal
> for completion is 20 hours of coverage):
> Bradford CE  (Schuyler Co.):
> about half of this block is covered by state forests (Coon Hollow, Sugar
> Hill, and Goundry Hill)
> Bradford NW  (Schuyler and
> Steuben Counties): this block contains small pieces of both Sugar Hill and
> Birdseye Hollow State Forests, as well as several county roads that are
> likely lightly traveled
> Cameron CE  (Steuben Co.):
> this block contains a parcel of Cameron Mills State Forest
> Corning NW  (Steuben Co.):
> about 1/4 of this block is covered by West Hill State Forest, which
> includes a road called Woodcock Road
> Savona NW  (Steuben Co): Mt.
> Washington Multiple Use Area is located in the NW corner of this block
>
> If you have any Atlas questions for our area, please let me know.
>
> Good birding,
> Matt Medler
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[cayugabirds-l] Mystery Bird Song

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Can you identify this chipping bird song from Danby State Forest
(Michigan Hollow, near Diane's Crossing), recorded last week?

  https://youtu.be/h0WtyA0751A

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Breeding Bird Atlas Blocks in Google Maps

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Hi all,

For those doing the BBA, I've found their web presence to be utterly
confusing and impossible to navigate so I created the following page
on the CBC website with three quick links I'm always looking for:

  https://cayugabirdclub.org/resources/breeding-bird-atlas

Number two is actually something I adapted to let one view the atlas
block boundaries on a smartphone's Google Map (tested on iOS, haven't
tried on Android), which some may find useful.

This adaptation includes only blocks "around" Cayuga Lake (from Geneva
to Newark Valley). The full kml of all blocks (available from a BBA
article somewhere) tends to slow down Google Maps more than I like, so
I wrote a quick Python script to fish out a subset. If anyone wants a
subset of blocks elsewhere in the state, let me know and I should be
able to generate it for you with relative ease.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Psychology study

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Jim Tanaka, a psychology researcher in Canada, asked if our members
could help with some cognitive research he's doing. Some of you may
remember an earlier research he asked us to do back in 2021. From that
first experiment he learned more about flaws of the survey design (too
complex and time consuming), and so this time is trying a simpler
experiment. See below for how to participate.

Suan

--

Birdwatchers!

We need your help for a psychology study examining the visual
strategies of birders

We are psychologists from the University of Victoria, British
Columbia, Canada. We are conducting an international study examining
the visual perceptions of bird watchers. In our study, you will be
shown images of common species of birds and asked to judge their
similarity.

Some key information about the study:

• Completely online, and conducted in the browser
• Approximately 30 minutes in length
• Study opens May 8th, 2023, and ends on July 1st, 2023.
• At the end of the study, three lucky participants will be awarded a
prize in a random lottery

Please help us understand the perceptual expertise of birding by
participating in this scientific project.
To participate in the study, please go to:

  https://embedding-collection.herokuapp.com/

This research is conducted by Dr. Jim Tanaka (jtan...@uvic.ca),
Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada and approved by the Human Ethics Committee, Protocol #20-0520.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pCtZxREMCiBtmaTyTBlHQrrxKN6o_4Xy/view?usp=share_link

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[cayugabirds-l] CBC recording: Kenya Birding Safari by Cliff Hodge

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording from Monday's CBC meeting presentation, "Out of Africa:
Kenya Wildlife and Bird Safari," by Cliff Hodge, is now available at:

  https://youtu.be/-ksSQzl7yG4

Like, subscribe, enjoy. :-)

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Peregrines?

[Suan Hsi Yong]

On Thu, May 4, 2023 at 9:19 AM Geo Kloppel  wrote:
>
> I’d guess the chicks are going on two weeks old, so four more weeks to go on 
> the ledge…?

Two years ago they fledged June 11 or June 12.

Suan

PS. Had a FOY American Redstart this morning at Sapsucker Woods,
foraging low and close and excitedly identified by the kids as an
Oriole. I almost didn't want to spoil the excitement with its correct
ID :-).

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[cayugabirds-l] Recording of Meena's Talk

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Meena's presentation at Monday's Cayuga Bird Club
meeting, on Alfred Russel Wallace and the Birds of Paradise in
Indonesian Papua province, is now available at:

  https://youtu.be/7vuSh797Hhc

For those in attendance who may not have had a great view of the small
screen, you may want to view the video portion starting at 32:56, also
accessible via this link:

  https://youtu.be/7vuSh797Hhc=1976s

Thanks, Meena, for the great talk, and for everyone who helped
overcome the technical difficulties.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] All male Ospreys now?

[Suan Hsi Yong]

This morning at Salt Point one bird was atop the platform at the point,
making frequent forays to collect sticks - fun to watch it grab at branches
while flying past a tree but fail to snap it off. After a break, it flew in
the direction of the railway bridge over Salmon Creek, and when I walked
down in that direction, one osprey (A) was sitting atop a utility pole with
a sizeable fish, while another osprey (B) was on the platform close to the
railway bridge. I _think_ B was the first bird I'd been observing on the
point platform, but am not sure. Anyhow, B flew to land on that same
utility pole alongside A, seemingly expecting A to share some of the fish,
with no sign of aggression between the two birds as far as I could tell.
But A did not want to share and unceremoniously flew off with the fish,
while B sat there for a while before flying back to the platform at the
point, making a failed grab at a tree branch along the way.

I have photos of both birds, but don't have enough experience with the
necklaces to discern male vs. female.

Suan


>

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[cayugabirds-l] CBC Meeting Recording: Merlin Sound ID

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Monday's Cayuga Bird Club meeting presentation by Alli
Smith, "Behind the Scenes of Merlin Sound ID," is now available at:

  https://youtu.be/Xmmck1VrA7U

You can find recordings of past presentations on the club's YouTube channel:

  https://www.youtube.com/@cayugabirdclub

Feel free to "like, subscribe, notify", per the mantra of content creators :-).
Thanks to Muhammad Arif for preparing this and the previous recording.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Friday Aurora Snow Geese

[Suan Hsi Yong]

As I'd reported earlier, on Friday I could barely make out from Aurora a
distant raft of Snow Geese, which I considered "small" with a guesstimate
of 1000-2000 geese. Turns out I was off by an order of magnitude: there
were 10,298 geese. Probably still "small" compared to the "big" gathering.

How did I get so precise a count? See this:

  https://youtu.be/apmQ7iIOYtM

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] CBC Recording: A Birding Tour of Morocco

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Monday's Cayuga Bird Club presentation, A Birding Tour
of Morocco, by Ken Rosenberg, Diane Morton, and Ken Kemphues, has been
posted here:

  https://youtu.be/Cu7Y0GqKTbc

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] CBC presentation recording (Ian Owens)

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Hi all,

A recording of the presentation by Ian Owens at the December Cayuga
Bird Club meeting is now available for viewing at:

  https://youtu.be/Rq592m2n8Kw

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club recording available: Ecuador Trip

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of last Monday's presentation on the Cayuga Bird Club's
trip to southern Ecuador by Jody Enck, Stephanie Herrick, and Robyn
Bailey is now available at:

https://youtu.be/G4EO-WO3A7I

Thanks, Matt, for the recording.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] CBC recording: Birding South Texas

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Monday's CBC presentation by Suan Yong (yes, me) on Birding
South Texas is now available at:

  https://youtu.be/3l8rutMk_o0

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Youth Birding Fall Meetings (First one this weekend!)

[Suan Hsi Yong]

*REGISTRATION LINK BELOW, THANKS!*

*Feel free to share with local families with youth interested in birds ages
10+*


*Youth Birding*

*with focus on programming for young people ages 10 and up*

The Joint Youth Commission (JYC) and Rural Youth Services(RYS)/4-H Programs
are teaming up to offer a Youth Birder Program!

Youth should expect to learn about bird ID, natural history, behavior, and
more from local educators, birders and each other. The group will meet at
various locations. Youth will also have a chance to meet local scientists,
photographers and sound recordists. Youth interest will also guide this
program.

In the spring many field trips will be offered, including a youth overnight
to the Rochester area (Montezuma, Mendon Ponds and Braddock Bay).



 Transportation is generally not offered, although contact Beth for
possible transportation/car-pooling information.

Youth should bring water bottles and snacks to programs. For outdoor
programs, please be prepared for any weather. Thanks!


FALL PROGRAMS



Saturday October 15 9:30-11:30 at Stewart Park Boathouse

Saturday November 5 9:30-11:30 at CCETC or TBA

Sunday December 11 9:30-11:30 at CCETC or TBA

Please register here, thanks

https://reg.cce.cornell.edu/JYCfall22youthbirding-2_250


Beth Bannister
Joint Youth Commission Program Educator
4-H Youth Development
Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County
615 Willow Ave
Ithaca, NY 14850
ba...@cornell.edu
607-272-2292 ext 229

http://ccetompkins.org/4-h-youth/rural-youth-services/rys-program-sites/joint-youth-commission


“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of
difference you want to make.”
― Jane Goodall

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[cayugabirds-l] Ithaca Young Birder Program

[Suan Hsi Yong]

The Cayuga Bird Club is collaborating with Cornell Cooperative
Extension Tompkins County (CCETC) to start a Young Birder program this
Fall. Our first event will be a Youth Bird Walk on Sunday, October 2,
2022, from 10am to 11:30am at Sapsucker Woods, with Beth Bannister and
Suan Yong. We invite young birders and their families to join us for
this walk, meeting outside the Visitor Center entrance. Loaner
binoculars are available, but bring your own if you have them. No
registration is required for this event.

Subsequent events will be under the CCETC. The programs will be free,
with a suggested donation, and registration will be required. Dates
and details will be announced later.

If you are interested in young birder programming in the Ithaca area,
please fill out this interest form at https://cayugabirdclub.org/youth

For more information about this walk or the young birders program,
contact Beth Bannister at ba...@cornell.edu

Please share this with any youths in the area who may be interested.

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[cayugabirds-l] Jennifer Fee's talk

[Suan Hsi Yong]

The Cayuga Bird Club's presentation last night by Jennifer Fee titled
"Through the Lens of Birds: Connecting Kids to Nature" was recorded
and is now available at:

  https://youtu.be/tPZw_qgv_8Q

Enjoy!

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Questions re (1) Scarlet Tanager, and (2) Juvenile Peregrine (not together)

[Suan Hsi Yong]

I know that Scarlet Tanagers use chick-burr as an alarm call, though
that may not be the only purpose of that call. Four hours of alarms
seems excessive, though I suppose there could've been a hawk or owl
snoozing nearby.
Last year when the Taughannock peregrines just fledged, they landed
pretty close to the trail and allowed fantastic eye-level views. Seems
like they had not yet learned to be afraid of humans, and possibly
yours was similar. When it flew towards the crow, perhaps it was just
a function of the prevailing wind rather than an intentional
direction.

Suan

On Tue, Aug 2, 2022 at 8:02 PM  wrote:
>
> 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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[cayugabirds-l] Downy or Hairy?

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Look at these photos from a nest found in Genoa (in a low-coverage
priority block):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/cayugabirdclub/permalink/5287965897907849/

The bill says (to me) Hairy, yet the outer tail feather has spots, and
the red at the back of the head is not split. I know the latter two
field marks are "usually"s, but I thought this was interesting.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Jetty Woods Cormorants (was Re: Frontenac Island in Cayuga Lake)

[Suan Hsi Yong]

On Mon, Jul 11, 2022 at 6:38 PM bob mcguire  wrote:
>
> Come stand sometime under the cormorant colony at Jetty Woods - in the 
> spring. (Wear a hat with a broad brim!) Listen to the croaks of the adults 
> and the barks of the young. You might grimace. It makes me smile!!

Only the colony isn't there this year!
They were there at the start of the season in May: during one of the
CAC's earlier projects at Jetty Woods, there were plenty of occupied
nests and double-crests and courtship displays etc. A couple weeks
later from Stewart Park, all but two of the nests seemed abandoned.
Shortly after that, none of the nests were occupied.
Has anyone been observing regularly or keeping tabs, and therefore
have any idea of what might have happened?

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Blackpoll

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Heard a Blackpoll Warbler at 4-H Acres today around noon, adding to
the chorus of resident redstart, chestnut-sided, yellowthroat, scarlet
tanager, wood thrush, baltimore oriole, and chipping sparrow. Also a
one-time cackling of a cuckoo, yellow-billed, I think. Tons of spongy
moth caterpillars everywhere.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] First black-billed cuckoo

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Saw a silent Yellow-billed Cuckoo around noon today at Hawthorn
Orchard, at the northwest corner in the clearing near the recway. That
and five silent relatively-photogenic Scarlet Tanagers (three males,
two females) were the highlights of my brief late-morning visit there.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Red headed woodpecker

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Yesterday while volunteering with 5th graders at the Lab of O, I saw a
bluejay-like bird but with all-white secondaries against an otherwise
dark wing. I didn't have binoculars on me and was soon distracted by
other stuff. But on further reflection, Red-headed Woodpecker is the
only bird I can think of with that wing pattern. (That and gadwall,
which this was not :-). I don't suppose anyone at the lab has seen
one.

Suan


On Wed, May 11, 2022 at 4:40 PM Regi Teasley  wrote:
>
> Just saw a Red-headed woodpecker at the suet.
> West Hill in the city.  Hard to believe.
> Regi
> 201 cliff Park Rd
>
> 
> “There is a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future on 
> the planet.” Hans-Otto Partner, co-chair, 2022 IPCC working group
>

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[cayugabirds-l] Osprey webinar recording

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of yesterday's Cayuga Bird Club webinar is now available at:

  https://tinyurl.com/cbc-2022-05-ospreys

Ospreys and Overheads: Working Together to Build and Rebuild
by Paul Paradine.

Recording will be available for about a month (until around June 9, 2022).

Thanks Paul for an informative talk and the work he's doing to help
not just ospreys but other wildlife in our area that are facing
population declines.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club May 2022 meeting

[Suan Hsi Yong]

This is just a reminder to join us for tomorrow's Cayuga Bird Club
webinar, where Paul Paradine and Kraig Senter will describe their work
with NYSEG installing Osprey nest platforms.

Register free for the Zoom meeting at: https://tinyurl.com/cbc2022-05

More details below.

This will be our last webinar for the season.

Suan

---

The Cayuga Bird Club’s next monthly meeting will be Monday, May 9,
2022 at 7:30pm.

Our speakers, Paul Paradine and Kraig Senter, will be presenting:
“Ospreys and Overheads: Working Together to Build and Rebuild”

Register free for Zoom meeting at: https://tinyurl.com/cbc2022-05

Prior to the 1990's, there were very few Osprey nests left in the
Finger Lakes Region. Environmental pollutants and habitat loss had
significantly impacted their historic populations. Today, there are
over 140 nests in the Finger Lakes Area with many more throughout the
State of New York. The vast majority of these nests are on built
structures such as utility or light poles, cellular and steel towers.

Paul Paradine and Kraig Senter, along with the invaluable support of
their colleagues at Avangrid, have been working on the restoration of
Ospreys in the Finger Lakes Region to their historic population
estimates for well over a decade. Balancing the need for safe nesting
locations for Osprey with the need for safe and reliable power and
critical infrastructure is challenging yet extremely rewarding - the
result has been an extremely successful reestablishment of a healthy
Osprey population in the Finger Lakes and across New York where they
now coexist harmoniously with the needs of the public for reliable
electric power transmission.

In this presentation, they describe the design of nest platforms as
well as efforts to make them safe for the Ospreys and the workers who
install and maintain the platforms. With the success of nest platforms
to increase osprey populations and with the support of NYSEG, they are
working to expand the geographic range of this project to other
regions in New York state and to develop standardized installation,
maintenance and nest data collection activities.

They also continue to look for opportunities to partner with other
groups and organizations to look for collaborations that will increase
the positive synchronization between utility providers and wildlife
conservation and management - an endeavor that benefits both.

About Our Speakers:
Paul Paradine is the Senior Vegetation Manager for New York State
Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RGE).
Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, he has worked with Wildlife and
Forest Conservation Projects across the United States and Canada. He
began his career with the United States Park Service and the United
States Forest Service, working as a Backcountry Biologist and
Technician and eventually becoming passionately involved with
Endangered Spotted Owl populations in Northern California. He
continues to promote Raptor Conservation through successful Osprey
Initiatives in NY, Maine and Connecticut.

Kraig Senter is a Division Forester and Arborist at New York State
Electric & Gas (NYSEG). He began his career with New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation working with forest health
issues under an Early Detection Rapid Response program that located
exotic and invasive plants and insects. Later, he began marking
commercial timber sales on state land and worked closely with wildlife
biologists to create new, early successional habitat. Today, he enjoys
volunteering on Out-of-State wildfire assignments and helping to
advance an established osprey nest program at NYSEG

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[cayugabirds-l] Fwd: [eatonbirdingsociety] [GeneseeBirds-L] Bird of Prey Days at Braddock Bay - Raptor Research Talks This Weekend!

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Bird of Prey Days this weekend near Rochester, more information below.
Moderate south winds in this weekend's forecast might make for decent hawk
migration, with air temps getting warm and not so "BBRR" :-).

Suan


Begin forwarded message:

*From: *Daena Ford 
*Subject: **[GeneseeBirds-L] Bird of Prey Days at Braddock Bay - Raptor
Research Talks This Weekend!*
*Date: *April 21, 2022 at 9:15:06 AM EDT
*To: *geneseebird...@geneseo.edu, geneseebirds-googlegr...@geneseo.edu

Good morning!
This weekend, April 22-24, Braddock Bay Raptor Research will be holding its
annual Bird of Prey Days event.  We are hosting in person events, both
indoors and out.  Not only is it a chance for families to come out and
learn more about raptors and birding in our community, but also a chance to
learn about current research projects that BBRR is involved in.  Just
wanted to highlight a few presentations that may be of particular interest
to the birding community.

First, you can find the complete schedule of events at
https://www.bbrr.org/bird-of-prey-days-2022/.  While there you can also
check out the link to our online auction which will raise funds for our
work.  https://www.myminiauction.com/braddockbayraptorresearchauction

Saturday, 4/23 :
8:00 am Morning Bird Walk at Braddock Bay, hosted by Genesee Valley Audubon
Society
11:00 am Discovering Emerging Disease in Sharp-shinned Hawks -
https://www.bbrr.org/events/discovering-emerging-disease-in-sharp-shinned-hawks/
2:00 pm Red-tailed Hawk Banding Research: Developing Nutritional Treatment
for Hospitalized Red-tailed Hawks -
https://www.bbrr.org/events/red-tailed-hawk-banding-research/

Sunday. 4/24:
12:00 pm - Rochester's Peregrine Falcons -
https://www.bbrr.org/events/rochester-peregrine-falcons/
2:00 pm - Snowy Owl ROCstars - the latest news about this winter's
Rochester based snowy owls -
https://www.bbrr.org/events/snowy-owl-roc-stars/

Of course, the hawkwatch will be going with David Brown on duty as our head
counter, but also with some of the BBRR volunteers there as interpreters to
help people spot birds and learn about hawkwatching.  Hope you see many of
you out and about!

Good Birding!
Daena Ford
Braddock Bay Raptor Research
df...@bbrr.org

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[cayugabirds-l] Snow Geese Video

[Suan Hsi Yong]

If you missed the snow goose spectacle earlier this month, I put
together a video:

  https://youtu.be/rOWvblegw1Y

It sounds like the mucklands flock may have left? But conceivably some
on Cayuga Lake may still be around?

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Beginner Bird Walks, Saturdays @ CLO

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Beginner Bird Walks are restarting this month, every Saturday 8:30am-10:00am.
Meet at the Lab of O main entrance. These 90-minute walks, led by
Cayuga Bird Club volunteers, are targeted toward beginners, but all
levels are welcome. Binoculars are available for loan. We ask that you
adhere to Cornell’s COVID-19 policy: when outdoors, everyone should
wear a mask when physical distancing is not possible. Please dress for
the weather.

The Visitor Center is closed this Saturday, but will open on
subsequent Saturdays at 10am. No bathrooms are available when the
Visitor Center is closed.

Hope to see some of you out on the trails.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club - January meeting 1/10/21 7:30 pm TONIGHT!

[Suan Hsi Yong]

On Mon, Jan 10, 2022 at 12:47 PM Donna Lee Scott  wrote:
>
> Link to register not working…

Try this: https://tinyurl.com/cbc2022-01

Suan


> On Jan 10, 2022, at 12:44 PM, Laura Stenzler  wrote:
>
> 
> It's time for one of the Cayuga Bird Club's favorite meetings - Monday, 
> January 10th @ 7:30, TONIGHT!
>
> SHARE  YOUR  PHOTOS  NIGHT !
>
> Club members  will share a maximum of five photos during the 3 minutes they 
> will have to take the stage. But EVERYONE is invited to watch!
>
> Kevin McGowan will once again host this meeting
>
> Register in advance for the Zoom meeting link: https://tinyurl.com/cbc2022-01
>
> Looking forward to seeing photos from many of you!
>
> Colleen Richards and Laura Stenzler
> Cayuga Bird Club
> --
>

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[cayugabirds-l] Bufflehead and Snowy Owl Videos

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Given the clear weather on Friday before this messier weekend weather,
I took the afternoon off driving around the lake, and got some nice
video footage. First are buffleheads with the male's head feathers
iridescing in the sun at Union Spring's factory pond (a good spot for
pretty close views of bufflehead, gadwall, and green-winged teal).
Next are three Snowy Owls at the Finger Lakes Airport just chillin'
near the tarmac:

  Buffleheads: https://youtu.be/cHsvDj5j7Io
  Snowy Owls: https://youtu.be/T7kcEs1kmuQ

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] A great read for birders to consider by Bryan Pfeiffer

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Very engaging discussion about emission-awareness while birding. Let me throw 
in a few cents.

Broadening the scope of an outing to include more than birds is definitely a 
good idea. In past years, the Lab of O has collaborated with the Botanic 
Gardens to have bird walks at the Arboretum and plant walks at Sapsucker Woods, 
which I've always tried to attend (so I can learn what to tell people during 
bird walks when there are no birds :-). I've also joined various walks hosted 
mainly by the FLLT in the past to learn about tree identification (from Akiva 
Silver, https://www.fllt.org/profiles/akiva-silver/), animal tracking (from 
Linda Spielman, https://lindajspielman.com/), etc. We could try to organize 
"birding plus" walks and invite leaders from other disciplines. Otherwise, as 
an individual, iNaturalist and Google Lens are resources that can let one 
identify and learn on their own about what they're seeing.

Encouraging field trip participants to donate to FLLT or SPCA is an interesting 
idea. We might get into a question of which of the many worthy causes we decide 
to endorse. As club president, I'd rather not make top-down endorsements; 
instead, we could let each field trip leader decide, since they are after all 
the ones volunteering to lead.

Carbon offsetting via https://www.fingerlakesclimatefund.org/ is also an 
interesting idea. In fact, I can imagine a feature like this being incorporated 
into eBird: if on a given day you submit checklists from Myers, Long Point, 
Montezuma, and Dean's Cove, there's enough information there for the software 
to estimate the distance traveled, and thus the emission cost of that outing. 
For club Field Trips, we could also make it a conscious step to compute this, 
either estimate before or consciously check the odometer afterwards, and tell 
the participants. Much like how calorie counts are becoming commonplace on 
menus, perhaps our field trip descriptions should include an estimated carbon 
cost in dollars per vehicle.

The Christmas Bird Count is IMO the wrong thing to focus on when it comes to 
reducing driving. The count at least has a survey goal, and unless birders' 
homes happen to coincide with a decent statistical cover of the circle, 
non-local movement will be necessary. We could aim to encourage biking, but 
that requires infrastructure investments, especially in winter, and is thus a 
long term goal. The best we can do, I think, is to minimize the 
frequent-stop-and-go driving style, e.g., using Dave's leap-frogging idea when 
possible. This would apply to Atlas surveys also the rest of the year.

Chasing rarities and non-local hotspots (like Montezuma) are bigger problems, 
IMO. Unless one makes a conscious decision not to chase, carpooling is probably 
the best mitigating solution. Unfortunately, COVID is forcing us to discourage 
carpooling. To encourage birding more locally, there's the notion of adopting a 
local patch and birding it year round to see what changes, and maybe learn more 
about the rest of its non-avian biology if the birding is quiet. Or make your 
yard its own hotspot by creating habitat, planting native plants, etc.

I've been thinking of having more single-destination field trips, as opposed to 
trips that drive to multiple places. Last weekend's morning at Stewart park was 
one such trip, which turned out remarkably productive. Unfortunately, there 
aren't many good single destinations for birding in the winter months, but 
Spring would be a time to try more of this.

Suan

---

Birdwatching’s Carbon Problem | Bryan Pfeiffer
https://bryanpfeiffer.com/2021/12/02/birdwatchings-carbon-problem/

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fwd: GOVERNOR HOCHUL ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO PROTECT PRISTINE CAYUGA LAKE WATERFRONT PROPERTY

[Suan Hsi Yong]

The current purchase is by the FLLT, which plans to sell it to the DEC
within a year or so. My understanding is that the state machinery for such
land acquisition is a slow process, which is why the FLLT is stepping in as
an intermediary, being more agile in its ability to make such purchases.

Suan

On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 10:06 PM madonna stallmann <
madonnaoftheprai...@gmail.com> wrote:

> See the link below for more information about the deal.
>
> I'm confused, (and I know I risk displaying how completely ignorant I am
> about how these deals work) why does the FLLT have to raise $500,000 for
> land that New York bought from NYSEG? Why is FLLT still having to deal with
> NYSEG?
>
>
> https://ithacavoice.com/2021/12/nyseg-finger-lakes-land-trust-finalize-bell-station-land-deal/
>
> Madonna Stallmann
>
> On Wed, Dec 1, 2021, 4:47 PM Suan Hsi Yong  wrote:
>
>>
>> https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-agreement-protect-pristine-cayuga-lake-waterfront-property
>>
>>
>>
>> *For Immediate Release:* 12/1/2021
>>
>> *GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *GOVERNOR HOCHUL ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO PROTECT PRISTINE CAYUGA LAKE
>> WATERFRONT PROPERTY*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Governor Announces Agreement Between Finger Lakes Land Trust and New
>> York State Electric & Gas*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Agreement Secures Future Protection of the Largest Privately-Owned
>> Shoreline Parcel along Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Finger Lakes Land Trust Will Acquire 470-Acre Bell Station Parcel*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Photo Available **Here*
>> <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.governor.ny.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F2021-11%2FBell_Station.pdf=04%7C01%7Cjames.denn%40dps.ny.gov%7C59a76d554c474896f1b008d9b4f80823%7Cf46cb8ea79004d108ceb80e8c1c81ee7%7C0%7C0%7C637739799645488193%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000=hpMikhf4mgZmTuzJUOa%2BzV7WwN8GVLGrRDfIjS14fmk%3D=0>
>>
>>
>>
>> Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a land purchase agreement has been
>> reached between the Finger Lakes Land Trust and New York State Electric &
>> Gas Corp. for the 470-Acre Bell Station, the largest privately-owned
>> undeveloped lake shoreline in the Finger Lakes. Governor Hochul in
>> September announced that NYSEG had canceled the auction of land known as
>> Bell Station with 3,400 feet of pristine shoreline on the east side of
>> Cayuga Lake in Tompkins County, and that three state agencies would
>> facilitate permanent protection of this parcel and maximize public access.
>>
>>
>>
>> "The purchase of this land will guarantee its protection and preservation
>> for future generations - making environmentally conscious decisions like
>> this allow us peace of mind knowing our children and their children will
>> have access to green space and a beautiful lakeview in the Finger Lakes," 
>> *Governor
>> Hochul said.* "I am proud of the hard work and collaboration between our
>> state agencies, NYSEG, and the Finger Lakes Land Trust to quickly move
>> ahead with the sale agreement that will pave the way for the transfer of
>> ownership of Bell Station."
>>
>>
>>
>> DEC and the Finger Lakes Land Trust will create a public wildlife
>> management area on the lakeshore portion of the property. Bell Station is
>> recognized as a priority project in New York State's Open Space Plan and
>> designated as future public access conservation land in the Town of Lansing
>> Comprehensive Plan. The property sale does not require further review or
>> approval by the Public Service Commission.
>>
>>
>>
>> Cayuga Lake is a critical resource for drinking water, tourism, and
>> recreation in the region. Preserving Bell Station will help protect
>> critical habitat for plants and wildlife, and greatly enhance public
>> recreation opportunities by providing direct shoreline access to the east
>> side of Cayuga Lake, which is 90 percent privately-owned. The lake supports
>> incredible sport fisheries, including largemouth bass, chain pickerel,
>> northern pike, crappie, yellow perch, sunfish, gar, and bowfin. It is
>> intended that the easternmost portion of the property will be utilized for
>> the production of renewable solar energy.
>>
>>
>>
>> Cayuga Lake is also designated as an important bird area by New York
>> Audubon and supports a large and diverse population of waterfowl and other
>> 

[cayugabirds-l] Fwd: GOVERNOR HOCHUL ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO PROTECT PRISTINE CAYUGA LAKE WATERFRONT PROPERTY

[Suan Hsi Yong]

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-agreement-protect-pristine-cayuga-lake-waterfront-property



*For Immediate Release:* 12/1/2021

*GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL*





*GOVERNOR HOCHUL ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO PROTECT PRISTINE CAYUGA LAKE
WATERFRONT PROPERTY*



*Governor Announces Agreement Between Finger Lakes Land Trust and New York
State Electric & Gas*



*Agreement Secures Future Protection of the Largest Privately-Owned
Shoreline Parcel along Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes*



*Finger Lakes Land Trust Will Acquire 470-Acre Bell Station Parcel*



*Photo Available **Here*




Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a land purchase agreement has been
reached between the Finger Lakes Land Trust and New York State Electric &
Gas Corp. for the 470-Acre Bell Station, the largest privately-owned
undeveloped lake shoreline in the Finger Lakes. Governor Hochul in
September announced that NYSEG had canceled the auction of land known as
Bell Station with 3,400 feet of pristine shoreline on the east side of
Cayuga Lake in Tompkins County, and that three state agencies would
facilitate permanent protection of this parcel and maximize public access.



"The purchase of this land will guarantee its protection and preservation
for future generations - making environmentally conscious decisions like
this allow us peace of mind knowing our children and their children will
have access to green space and a beautiful lakeview in the Finger
Lakes," *Governor
Hochul said.* "I am proud of the hard work and collaboration between our
state agencies, NYSEG, and the Finger Lakes Land Trust to quickly move
ahead with the sale agreement that will pave the way for the transfer of
ownership of Bell Station."



DEC and the Finger Lakes Land Trust will create a public wildlife
management area on the lakeshore portion of the property. Bell Station is
recognized as a priority project in New York State's Open Space Plan and
designated as future public access conservation land in the Town of Lansing
Comprehensive Plan. The property sale does not require further review or
approval by the Public Service Commission.



Cayuga Lake is a critical resource for drinking water, tourism, and
recreation in the region. Preserving Bell Station will help protect
critical habitat for plants and wildlife, and greatly enhance public
recreation opportunities by providing direct shoreline access to the east
side of Cayuga Lake, which is 90 percent privately-owned. The lake supports
incredible sport fisheries, including largemouth bass, chain pickerel,
northern pike, crappie, yellow perch, sunfish, gar, and bowfin. It is
intended that the easternmost portion of the property will be utilized for
the production of renewable solar energy.



Cayuga Lake is also designated as an important bird area by New York
Audubon and supports a large and diverse population of waterfowl and other
birds, particularly during migration and winter. Increased access to unique
areas like this provides important economic opportunities to local
communities to capitalize on the growing popularity of outdoor recreation,
while also protecting the natural buffers that protect water quality.
Protecting the lake from lakeshore development and erosion will protect
water quality in a public drinking water supply and help reduce the threat
of harmful algal blooms.



*Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said,*
"The land purchase agreement between the Finger Lakes Land Trust and NYSEG
to preserve the environmentally sensitive 470-acre Bell Station property is
a major victory for conservation efforts in the Finger Lakes region and an
example of Governor Hochul's commitment to the environment. Preserving Bell
Station will help protect critical habitat and ecosystems that support
water quality in Cayuga Lake and promote recreational opportunities that
support the local economy. DEC is grateful to the Governor for her
leadership in securing this agreement and thankful to NYSEG for recognizing
the environmental value in protecting this property. We look forward to
working with the Finger Lakes Land Trust to conserve this unique parcel on
the lakefront for future generations of visitors to experience and enjoy."



*State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said,* "Bell Station is across
Cayuga Lake to the north from Taughannock State Park. Under the leadership
of Governor Hochul, this acquisition will both protect that lakeview, as
well as the water quality of the creeks and streams that flow from Bell
Station into the lake. We look 

[cayugabirds-l] Crow and Harrier

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Around midday today I pulled over somewhere east of Aurora to watch a
Northern Harrier eating something in the middle of a field, with an
American Crow standing about ten feet away. Nothing too unusual so far.
Presently a second Northern Harrier approaching from afar, and when it got
closer, guess what happened? The crow started harassing the second Harrier
and shooed it away.

My interpretation: the crow was defending its dibs on leftovers.

Before long the first harrier flew off, and after a respectful pause, the
crew flew to the spot the first harrier had occupied. I couldn't tell if it
picked up anything.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] More loon migration

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Bill Evans made similar observations on Facebook yesterday:

11/23, 8:43am:
Huge flotilla of 800+ loons aborted southbound flight due to lake
effect snow and are headed back toward Cayuga Lake over 96b valley in
Danby.

11/23 10:07am:
Follow up: As the dense lake effect band moved south of Danby and
split into multiple NW-SE running bands, the mass of loons came back
south in a more protracted flight. I counted over 900 southbound loons
from ~8:40-9:30 over the rte. 96B valley (over the Danby hamlet).
These birds are well into PA by now.

--

This coming Friday and Saturday look to have similar north-westerly
wind patterns, so could be worth checking out. Watching from the west
side of the lake (hog's hole or Taughannock) will probably be more
pleasant for the human; if watching from Myers or East Shore, expect
the bitter wind to be blowing in your face :-).



Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club Meeting

[Suan Hsi Yong]

If you missed last night's webinar on female songsters, a recording is
available here (until next month's meeting):

  https://tinyurl.com/cbc-2021-11-Odom

For those asking for a list of North American birds with known female
songs, see Appendix Table 5 in this Auk article from 2018:

  
https://bioone.org/journals/the-auk/volume-135/issue-2/AUK-17-183.1/A-call-to-document-female-bird-songs--Applications-for/10.1642/AUK-17-183.1.full#i0004-8038-135-2-314-t05

Suan


On Mon, Nov 8, 2021 at 5:11 PM Laura Stenzler  wrote:
>
> Listening to Nature’s Divas: what female songsters have to tell us
> Speaker:  Dr. Karan Odom
>
> Monday, November 8, 2021, 7:30pm EDT
> Free and open to the public!
>
> Most bird enthusiasts are familiar with the intricate, beautiful songs of 
> male songbirds. However, it is less well known that females of many bird 
> species also sing. While male songbirds sing to attract mates or defend 
> territories, the reasons that females sing can be much broader, including 
> competing for year-round resources for herself and her young. However, there 
> is still a lot to learn about the extent of differences between male and 
> female songs, the reasons that female songbirds sing, and the evolutionary 
> pressures that led female songbirds to sing in the first place. Dr. Karan 
> Odom will provide a glimpse of the world’s diversity of female bird songs and 
> explain what these natural divas have to tell us.
>
> About the Speaker: Dr. Karan Odom is a behavioral ecologist interested in how 
> animals evolved their often complex behaviors. She is especially interested 
> in the evolution of elaborate bird songs in female as well as male songbirds. 
> She combines phylogenetic comparative methods with field studies in order to 
> tease apart the evolutionary processes responsible for the biogeographical 
> patterns we see in female and male song today. Karan is currently a 
> postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, and 
> recently completed a postdoc at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Karan 
> received her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) 
> studying male and female song in troupials, a tropical oriole in Puerto Rico, 
> and her masters at the University of Windsor in Ontario studying the function 
> and geographic variation in Barred Owl duets. Karan also runs a citizen 
> science project (the Female Bird Song Project – www.femalebirdsong.org), 
> encouraging wildlife enthusiasts to help document the understudied singing 
> behaviors of female songbirds.
>
> Dr. Karan Odom with a Troupial.
> --
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>
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> --
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[cayugabirds-l] Saturday Beginner Bird Walks at Sapsucker Woods

[Suan Hsi Yong]

The Cayuga Bird Club will be restarting beginner bird walks at
Sapsucker Woods, every Saturday starting at 8:30am, beginning with
this coming Saturday, October 2. The Visitor Center will be closed
October 2, but will be open from 10am-4pm starting the following
Saturday, October 9. These walks are targeted towards beginning
birders, but we welcome people of all skill levels. Binoculars are
available for loan. Walks take approximately 90 minutes and are led by
Cayuga Bird Club volunteers. Visitors must adhere to Cornell’s
COVID-19 policy which states that masks must be worn outdoors when
physical distancing cannot be maintained.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club Webinar recording

[Suan Hsi Yong]

FYI, the recording from Monday's Cayuga Bird Club webinar - "Northern
Cardinal Urban Ecology" by Dan Baldassarre, is available here:

  https://tinyurl.com/cbc2021baldassarre

The recording will be available until next month's webinar.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] FLLT Bell Station Webpage

[Suan Hsi Yong]

The FLLT just put up this webpage about the Bell Station issue:

  https://www.fllt.org/savebellstation

If you haven't already, signing this change.org petition (
https://chng.it/yQdP6g8PyT ) is something you can do quickly; there
are plans for the NYS senator and assemblyperson to send the list of
signatories to the governor's office:

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Bell Station In Lansing Up For Auction

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Towards the northwest corner of the Town of Lansing is a parcel of
lakeshore property known as Bell Station, located between Nut Ridge
Road and the former Cayuga Operating Company Power Plant. This
approximately-471-acre parcel, owned by New York State Electric and
Gas Co. (NYSEG), remains mostly wooded and has 3400 feet (over ½ mile)
of undeveloped shoreline, a rare feature in the 11 Finger Lakes, let
alone on Cayuga Lake.

Much of the property has been designated by Tompkins County as a
Unique Natural Area. The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) has been
working in good faith for many years to secure this land as a
conservation area at a fair price, with full support of the Lansing
Town Board and Conservation Advisory Council, and the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation.

Last week we learned that NYSEG intends to auction off the property to
the highest bidder. The FLLT is unlikely to win an open auction, and
the most likely outcome is the development of the shoreline for
private homes or other projects. We understand that this decision came
from corporate, and not from the local NYSEG offices who have been
very helpful with installing Osprey platforms, among other
conservation efforts.

The auction is slated for October 11-13. The listing can be found at
https://tinyurl.com/bellstn-auction

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP TAKE BELL STATION OFF THE AUCTION BLOCK?

Strong local action is needed immediately to try to stop the auction.

Signing this change.org petition could be a start: https://chng.it/yQdP6g8PyT

Letters by individuals may be sent to towncl...@lansingtown.com

Send a letter to NY Senator Helming. She is very supportive and wants
letters and messages to show others.

Contact information for public officials and other people to contact,
including Senator Helming, can be found at
https://www.cayugabirdclub.org/bell-station

(Compiled by Donna Scott and Suan Yong)

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cedar waxwings fly catching?

[Suan Hsi Yong]

I've seen waxwings passing fruit among themselves in the spring several
times, but was luck to capture this photo once of a pair exchanging
crabapples: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQmq_i-tfWo/

Suan


On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 9:24 PM Richard Guthrie 
wrote:

> The Stokes' on Cedar Waxwings passing fruit amongst their neighbors: Years
> ago at a NYS Federation annual meeting (now NYS Ornithological Association)
> I attended a presentation by Don and Lilian Stokes and there they did a
> little enactment of waxwings sharing cherries with one another - including
> a few little side-stepping hops to illustrate the behavior. It was cute
> (yeah, a little hokey). But it suggested to me that they were conveying
> that behavior as fact.
>
> And, yes, I've seen waxwings flycatching many times. I think it's an
> opportunistic reaction to an aquatic insect hatch.
>
> Rich Guthrie
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 13, 2021 at 7:13 PM Linda Orkin  wrote:
>
>> I have seen Cedar Waxwings do this quite a few times also. At beebe lake
>> and flat rock. I was also surprised the first time. Very cool to  feel like
>> you discover this yourself by keen observation. I also saw them one time in
>> my black cherry passing cherries along the branch to each other. Which
>> Donald and Lillian Stokes say is just a myth but I saw it with my own eyes.
>>
>> Linda Orkin
>> Ithaca, NY
>>
>>
>>
>

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[cayugabirds-l] Fwd: Golden Eagle Dryden

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Forwarding a Golden Eagle sighting in Dryden, see below, in case
anyone in the area wants to look up.

Suan

-- Forwarded message -
From: Kevin Jones
Date: Thu, Jul 22, 2021 at 6:16 PM
Subject: Golden Eagle Dryden

Hello Kevin and Susan:

We have not met but I am reaching out to the both of you because of a
possible Golden Eagle sighting in Dryden today at about 5 p.m.  The
bird was soaring/kiting North of Ferguson Road and East of Irish
Settlement Road.  I would state with 90% plus certainty that my
identification was correct.  I was drawn to the bird because of it’s
Eagle like appearance and pulled over to view with my binoculars. I
couldn’t ID it as a mature or immature Bald Eagle, but there was a
distinctive brownish/golden color on the back of it’s head and some
white in it’s tail, hence, my Golden Eagle ID.

I was formerly an avid birder (pre-kids) and have previously observed
Golden Eagles in NY and NJ on four occasions and have had innumerable
immature and mature Bald Eagle sightings over the years.  Hence my
confidence in my identification.

I hope this is of interest to you and other more skilled bird
watchers, if interested, can find the bird again and confirm my
identification.  Please let me know if they do.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Kevin A. Jones

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Suan Hsi Yong]

On Sun, Jun 20, 2021 at 6:38 PM Nancy Cusumano 
wrote:

> I have been thinking about this too. And to me the issue is, what is in it
> for the farmer? If we are going to ask them to cut their fields up to go
> around nesting sites, is the bird conservation issue enough for them? What
> is the carrot, I guess is my question. I don't know the answer.
>

The carrot question is a challenging one, and not one I'm prepared to
address, but I think of it as an independent problem.

I'm working on the assumption that some farmers, either via some form of
persuasion or just from their own love of nature, would be interested in
not killing nestlings. We've heard allusion to at least two such farmers in
recent posts. But as of today, these farmers do not have any workable
solution other than a loosy-goosy guideline of "wait til July to mow"
which, as others have explained, is often not compatible with their harvest
constraints. The volunteer surveyor's corps, if it can be successfully
materialized, would be an option for those farmers to try something
different. The idea would not be for the corps to go around trying to
convince farmers to do this or that, but to be available as a resource for
those who desire it.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Thanks, Dave.

As Cayuga Bird Club I've been wondering what, if anything, we could do
about the situation. One dimension would be outreach and education and
increasing general awareness, for which CAC chair Jody has stepped up to
solicit volunteers, thanks! But I'd also toyed with a pipedream idea of
whether the club could establish a corps of volunteer surveyors who, upon
request by any interested farmer, would go to a field and try to map out
nest sites and mark off sub-sections of the field that the farmer may be
willing to leave alone for the sake of the birds.

I've never tried finding nest sites of field birds before; I suspect it can
be hard. I'd be interested to hear of any work or techniques that can be
workable to "an average volunteer". Perhaps Reuben has some hints or
suggestions. I know that Reuben is a very acute observer of birds, and
would place his skills at above average; ideally, we would like to
establish some methodology that can be effectively applied by one of
"average" observational skills.

Just spitballing, I imagine a workable technique would involve first
installing flags to establish a grid over the field, then having at least
two observers situated on orthogonal axes communicating with walkie-talkies
to triangulate the grid location of an observed bird flying into or out of
a likely nest. Flag installation should probably happen a day or two in
advance, and could conceivably be done by the farmer ahead of time. Flag
installation may also flush birds from potential nest sites, and notes on
such observations should be taken as well. The flags will need to be marked
such that they can be read from both axes, and be easy to interpolate.
Using letters and numbers is the obvious choice, but the markings would
have to be on stiff cards facing both axes. Another option is to use color
coded flags, but interpolation may be tricky, as one needs to be able to
quickly locate the grid "between the green and blue flags", say. Something
involving two digits of rainbow colors could be workable, but it gets
complicated fast with two axes to label.

If anyone is interested in volunteering for such a survey, please email me.
I don't know if this idea will go anywhere, but having a sense of potential
interest could be a starting point. Also, if any farmers are willing to let
us test out techniques, email me as well. I suspect we won't be able to do
anything this season, but if the stars align (enough volunteers sign up and
a farmer offers a field to test) we could potentially try doing something
within the next week or two of peak nesting. More likely is to think about
possibly doing something next season, perhaps on one of Cornell's
agricultural fields that started this thread?

Curious to hear people's thoughts.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Peregrines

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Two Thursdays ago (June 10) I happened to be up in T'burg, so stopped by to
check out the Taughannock Peregrines. I found three nestlings in their
eyrie playing with their food and flapping their wings as if ready to
fledge. Two days later, on Saturday June 12, I ran across Mark Chao and
Miyoku in T'burg, and together we went looking only to find the ledge
empty. After some waiting we saw one then several peregrines soaring around
the gorge, including the fledglings. Two of them eventually perched on a
snag on the same side of the gorge as we were, and through a window in the
foliage we were afforded some fantastic naked-eye views as they sat and
preened. Below are two videos I took, first of the nestlings on Thursday,
then of a fledgling on Saturday:

  https://youtu.be/YvQaS-PHFbo
  https://youtu.be/8RAOCeBO49I

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Binocular eyepiece covers

[Suan Hsi Yong]

If you lost your binocular eyepiece covers at Myers Park (at last night's
Cayuga Bird Club picnic), let me know.

Suan

PS. It was fun seeings nests of both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, but the
Red-Headed Woodpecker did not show, though a couple of Red-Bellied
Woodpeckers did hang out high above the cavities.

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[cayugabirds-l] Lindsay Parson Pileated nest cavity

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Earlier in the spring I had spied a Pileated Woodpecker entering a
nest cavity near Celia's Cup at Lindsay-Parsons. Last weekend I got a
chance to revisit the hole, and got video of three feeding sessions:

  https://youtu.be/9bPgYmgk7q0

I debated whether to share its location, but sorta procrastinated and
forgot, and just got around to editing the video today. Anyhow, if
people want to see it, the nestlings may still be there, but if they
are they likely won't be there for much longer.

On the trail to Celia's cup, after crossing the railway tracks and
climbing up the small hill, turn right onto the purple trail. After a
short distance you will pass a series of fallen logs, then a second
set of fallen logs. This second set of logs points eastward in the
direction of the nest cavity, which is about 40-50 yards away in an
aspen tree about 15-20 feet high - i.e., not too high. The cavity more
or less faces you.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Big Atlas Weekend June 25-27

[Suan Hsi Yong]

FMI: https://ebird.org/atlasny/news/big-atlas-weekend-june-25-27

-- Forwarded message -


The New York State Atlas team is planning an exciting new event for this
June: the first-ever Big Atlas Weekend
!
This event will be a fun way for birders across the state to focus on
breeding birds, build birding skills, and come together as a birding
community. There will also be a chance to win prizes in different Atlas
categories.

If you’re missing the big day competitions or you just love to bird with a
purpose, this is the event for you!

You don’t have to be an expert to participate. We have designed challenges
and prizes (free courses of your choosing from Cornell’s Bird Academy) for
birders of all skill levels designed to focus your atlasing where we need
it most.

Plus, there will be a friendly competition between four states that are
currently conducting atlases: Maine, Maryland-DC, New York, and North
Carolina.

*Mark your calendar and plan to go atlasing between June 25 and June 27 so
New York can claim bragging rights for the inaugural Big Atlas Weekend!*

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[cayugabirds-l] YB Cuckoo

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Just heard the repeated single calls of a yellow-billed cuckoo outside
my home / office. Coupled with the BBCU from last month, that's both
cuckoos as new yard birds for me this season! Again, once I got
outside it stopped calling and could not be found.

Is it just me, or have the black-billed cuckoos, who seemed to be
singing everywhere earlier in the season, been replaced by
yellow-billed cuckoos lately? We had looks and calls from
yellow-billed cuckoos on our Connecticut Hill field trip last Sunday.
I also heard then saw one that afternoon at Lindsay-Parsons

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] YT Vireo, Sw Thrush

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A yellow-throated vireo, new yard bird for me, is singing outside my
house right now.

A couple days ago, while walking around the six-mile creek area, I
heard a Swainson's Thrush singing from some hemlocks, my first time
hearing this song in the area (I'd only ever heard it in the pacific
northwest before).

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Jeff Well's presentation

[Suan Hsi Yong]

A recording of Jeff Well's presentation last night for the Cayuga Bird
Club meeting, "The Biggest Bird Conservation Story You’ve Never Heard
- the Boreal Forest of North America", is now available here:

  https://tinyurl.com/cbc2021jeffwells

The links he provided at the end of his talk is also available towards
the bottom of our webinar's page:

  http://www.cayugabirdclub.org/webinars

Thanks for all who attended, and for a great webinar season.

Suan

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Orange Crowned @ Hawthorn

[Suan Hsi Yong]

As pointed out by several people, I meant of course Orange-Crowned Warbler.
That's what happens when trying to type on your phone while walking
down the recway, I guess.
(Hard to blame auto-correct for this one, though.)

Meanwhile, it's interesting that the OCWA did not fire off an ebird
alert as I would've expected. Does that feel like something that needs
fixing?
(In contrast, the ebird alerts about red-eyed vireos, while a little
noisy, are at least understandable for seasonality reasons.)

Suan


On Fri, May 7, 2021 at 9:11 AM Suan Yong  wrote:
>
> Like yesterday hawthorn orchard was again relatively quiet today, nashville 
> warblers continuing to be the dominant singer, with a good number of white 
> crowned sparrows singing and foraging in the freshly and messily mown grass, 
> joining a seemingly diminishing number of white throated sparrows.
>
> Then Ken Kemphues chased me down to tell me that he'd just seen an 
> orange-crowned sparrow after following an unfamiliar trill, and together we 
> were able to relocate it. (So FOY credit goes to him.) The trill fits in the 
> junco-chipping range, but doesn't stay in the same pitch like those songs, 
> varying and slowly descending towards the end. At times it seemed to have an 
> edge, and was somewhat reminiscent of a female cowbird's chatter.
>
> Suan
> _
> Composed by thumb and autocorrect.

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[cayugabirds-l] Zoom Social Tomorrow

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Hi all,

This is a reminder that the Cayuga Bird Club will have a Zoom Social
Hour tomorrow (Monday) at 7:30pm, to informally socialize and chat
about sightings or anything else. Register in advance here:
https://tinyurl.com/cbc202105social

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] GBH fishing show

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Along the Montezuma wildlife drive yesterday morning, I was most
captivated by the fishing show put on by the Great Blue Herons. Here's
one of many video clips I took (the rest I probably won't have time to
edit til -- who knows when?):

  https://www.facebook.com/suan.yong/videos/10226398830855078

The GBH didn't seem to need a break between fishes, catching as many
as it could swallow. When one bird had a string of consecutive
catches, it would draw the attention of other GBHs who would fly in to
join the cluster. They always maintained respectful social distancing,
never trying to steal from each other like other species might. I got
the impression that only a couple of the birds were proficient at
fishing, able to pick out multiple fishes at a time, while others
seemed less successful (this is unconfirmed observation as my camera
was always focused on one individual at a time). Every now and then a
GBH would mildly shoo away another, which didn't seem any closer to
the flock than others. I got the impression that there were tribes, or
perhaps family groups, which did not enjoy the presence of outsiders
as much.

At one point a couple ospreys came soaring by, and casually dropped in
to pick up a snack. I caught the tail end of one such dive, but it was
out of focus.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Pine Warbler

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Just had a surprise new yard bird: a pine warbler checking out my
small garden bed right outside my picture window not five feet away,
here in Commonland by Six-Mile Creek. The view out that window is
towards a grove of pines and spruces, from which trills are frequently
heard, but which I'd always assumed were just juncos. I may have to
invest some warbler-necking time to see if there might not be some
pine warblers nesting up there.

Suan

PS, the same garden bed was visited by a fox last week:
https://www.facebook.com/suan.yong/videos/10226372622839894

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[cayugabirds-l] Lo. Waterthrush @ Six-Mile Creek

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Louisiana Waterthrush is back singing here along Six-Mile Creek upstream
from the second dam reservoir. Also here is a Winter Wren singing for at
least a few days if not weeks, who I was finally able to see.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Snow Goose Takeoff Protocol

[Suan Hsi Yong]

So during last month's Snow Goose gathering at Cayuga Lake State Park,
I took a number of videos, and this one in particular showing the
explosive takeoffs, repeated in slow motion, I found particularly
interesting:

  https://youtu.be/3hRIJEPQ7qM

When the geese on the far side first take off, you'll notice that the
geese on water all turn around almost in unison to face away from the
takeoff and orient themselves more or less in the direction of flight.
They are also adhering to a strict protocol of not taking off early
before their turn (there is some flapping by one closer bird, but it
does not take off), as they wait patiently for their immediate
neighbors to take off before they do so themselves. After the initial
re-orientation, some geese do move around a bit, perhaps to make some
more space for a safer takeoff, or perhaps just a little impatient and
getting a better look at the oncoming wave of takeoffs?

In all these mass tight-flying birds (snow geese, starlings, various
shorebirds), it always seems incredible how they are able to stay so
tight without bumping into each other. This seems only possible with
what we might characterize as protocols or rules. This video shows a
glimpse of something like this happening for takeoffs; no doubt some
more complex protocol is happening mid-flight that's hard for us to
discern watching from the ground.

By the way, it has always been hard to capture the initiation of these
takeoffs, because they usually happen seemingly without warning. In
this instance, however, I'd noticed the approaching fishing boat and,
anticipating the flush, pointed my camera in that direction and hit
record.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Zoom Social Hour

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Join us Monday, April 5, at 7:30pm for the Cayuga Bird Club's monthly
Zoom social hour, as we chat informally about birds, sightings, and
anything else we want to talk about. All are welcome.

Register at: https://tinyurl.com/cbc202104social

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Lo. Waterthrush? @ Mulholland

[Suan Hsi Yong]

In my evening jog around Mulholland Wildflower Preserve, I saw a
songbird foraging under the waterfall opposite the creek at the inner
loop trail. I didn't have binoculars, so could only make out brown
upperparts and light underparts, showing almost white at one point. I
couldn't make out any overt tail wagging, and the bird neither sang
nor called. The foraging behavior seemed consistent with a Louisiana
Waterthrush, but it could also have been an Eastern Phoebe (posture
didn't look upright while on the ground, and I didn't see it fly to a
perch), Song Sparrow (didn't seem to have the reddish color or long
tail), or a female Junco. If anyone is out there with binoculars, keep
an eye out.

Meanwhile, in my morning walk to enjoy the fresh snowscape, I heard
the plaintive song of a Fox Sparrow from the overlook of the Second
Dam reservoir. I'm pretty sure it was the deeper song of a Fox Sparrow
rather than the higher-pitched American Tree Sparrow, though I
wondered which species was more likely to want to sing in the cold
snowy morning.

Suan

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] A song ID quiz

[Suan Hsi Yong]

On Fri, Mar 26, 2021 at 12:13 PM Suan Hsi Yong  wrote:
>
> This song was heard in a nearby yard here at Commonland, near the
> woods of the Six-Mile Creek natural area. Can you identify the singer?
>
>   https://www.facebook.com/suan.yong/videos/10226149699586952

Answer: Dark-Eyed Junco. Not a "song" I remember having heard before.
Sibley's says they "sing quiet, varied warbling phrases in early
spring." There is also a question of whether to call this a "song", as
that word is typically used to refer to a species' territorial song
(which for the junco is the familiar trill), and it's unclear (to me)
what role this catbird-like rambling plays.

Thanks for playing. A good number of people got it right, and roughly
the same number of guessers didn't.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Merlin reports

[Suan Hsi Yong]

FWIW, last weekend while driving up the lake, I spied a brownish falcon
hunting the field immediately south of the King Ferry winery. When I pulled
over to check it out it flew away to the east and I could never get a
binoculared look to ID it, but I think it was a merlin.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] A song ID quiz

[Suan Hsi Yong]

This song was heard in a nearby yard here at Commonland, near the
woods of the Six-Mile Creek natural area. Can you identify the singer?

  https://www.facebook.com/suan.yong/videos/10226149699586952

I'll post the answer in a day or two after giving people a chance to guess.

Suan

PS, if you can't access the video above, the audio file is also here:
http://suan-yong.com/sound/2021-03-26-6mc-mixed-song.wav

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Yesterday's Snow Geese

[Suan Hsi Yong]

I meant Cayuga Lake State Park (in Seneca Falls), not Seneca Lake
State Park (where a handful of snow geese have been residing year
round).

Suan


On Mon, Mar 22, 2021 at 11:21 PM Suan Hsi Yong  wrote:
>
> Yesterday afternoon the snow geese hung out on the shore of some
> houses between Seneca Lake State Park and Wolffy's. Many visitors got
> to see them, though parking on lawns became a problem which prompted
> the police to come by to remind people to stay off private property.
>
> I was there a couple hours waiting for an eruption which didn't
> happen. The geese were remarkably tame - some of them anyways - as
> they came ashore to forage on the lawns sometimes quite close to
> people. This contradicts my assumption that they were always wary of
> people, in the past preferring places like Knox-Marsellus or the
> middle of the lake far enough away from people.
>
> At around 5pm, a three gunshots fired, which sent the flock into the
> sky - the eruption I had been waiting for - but relative to other
> eruptions I've seen in the past they seemed to resettle fairly quickly
> in my opinion, and if anything they came in closer to shore, just
> repositioned a little farther away from the hunters on the boat to the
> south. I think they only picked up 2 or 3. Not a bad day's harvest, I
> suppose, but certainly not a high percentage :-), and barely putting a
> dent in the overpopulation problem. In the next ten minutes or so two
> single shots were fired -- on both occasions, the goose cacophony
> would pause for a full second of silence before continuing, and to my
> surprise, on both occasions no geese took flight. It was as if the
> geese had figured out that if they stayed in close to the houses they
> would be safe from the hunters!
>
> Less conspicuously though no less remarkable, IMO, was a scattering of
> ducks offshore from the geese -- some pepper to complement the heavy
> dose of salt. They were mostly Aythyas off all kinds, and did not raft
> tightly like the redheads like to do. On several occasions a passing
> boat would send large numbers of them into the sky as they circled
> back and forth before resettling.
>
> Here's a video of the snow geese: https://youtu.be/r2GdMs7Lvzs
>
> Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Field Trip this coming Sunday

[Suan Hsi Yong]

This coming Sunday, March 28, I will be leading a Cayuga Bird Club field trip.

We will meet at Stewart Park, east end, at 8:00 am.

Please register in advance with me (suan.y...@gmail.com). There is a
limit of six cars.

We will drive up the east shore of the lake, stopping at various
points along the way mostly to view birds on the lake. Bring a scope
if you have one. The trip will officially stop around 11am at the
north end of the lake, allowing people to return to Ithaca by noon.
However, if the snow geese are around, I will personally stay at the
north end of the lake to look for them. Participants are welcome to
tag along to do that if they want.

Note: with the TC Covid numbers trending upwards, this trip may be
cancelled, and registrants notified by Friday. Registrants should also
feel no qualms about cancelling if they have concerns; just notify me
so I know not to expect you.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Yesterday's Snow Geese

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Yesterday afternoon the snow geese hung out on the shore of some
houses between Seneca Lake State Park and Wolffy's. Many visitors got
to see them, though parking on lawns became a problem which prompted
the police to come by to remind people to stay off private property.

I was there a couple hours waiting for an eruption which didn't
happen. The geese were remarkably tame - some of them anyways - as
they came ashore to forage on the lawns sometimes quite close to
people. This contradicts my assumption that they were always wary of
people, in the past preferring places like Knox-Marsellus or the
middle of the lake far enough away from people.

At around 5pm, a three gunshots fired, which sent the flock into the
sky - the eruption I had been waiting for - but relative to other
eruptions I've seen in the past they seemed to resettle fairly quickly
in my opinion, and if anything they came in closer to shore, just
repositioned a little farther away from the hunters on the boat to the
south. I think they only picked up 2 or 3. Not a bad day's harvest, I
suppose, but certainly not a high percentage :-), and barely putting a
dent in the overpopulation problem. In the next ten minutes or so two
single shots were fired -- on both occasions, the goose cacophony
would pause for a full second of silence before continuing, and to my
surprise, on both occasions no geese took flight. It was as if the
geese had figured out that if they stayed in close to the houses they
would be safe from the hunters!

Less conspicuously though no less remarkable, IMO, was a scattering of
ducks offshore from the geese -- some pepper to complement the heavy
dose of salt. They were mostly Aythyas off all kinds, and did not raft
tightly like the redheads like to do. On several occasions a passing
boat would send large numbers of them into the sky as they circled
back and forth before resettling.

Here's a video of the snow geese: https://youtu.be/r2GdMs7Lvzs

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] 50 Robins

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Just had at least 50 American Robins fly into the trees outside my
window here in Commonland on East Hill / Six-Mile Creek. They hung out
in the trees for about a minute before flying off. 50 is a
conservative lower-bound count of what I could see. When they
departed, there were small waves flying by from out of view, so there
could well have been 100.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Field Birds

[Suan Hsi Yong]

With the sunny weather I decided to take the afternoon off and drive
around north of Lansing looking for field birds. With the high snow
depth they were pretty easy to encounter, foraging by roadsides and
flushing on approach. Those wanting to look for them, just drive
slowly along any of the less-traveled roads between big fields.

I stopped to photograph three main groups with different dynamics. The
first had about a dozen each of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings, and
they tended to hang out with their own species but loosely associated
with each other. This was somewhere along Conlon Road, I think (I need
to take better mental notes). Also had a Common Redpoll flock of about
a dozen somewhere here. The second group along Indian Field Road just
north of 90 was smaller, about a dozen Horned Larks with 3-4 Snow
Buntings and two Lapland Longspurs (lifers for me, actually). I'm
guessing because the Snow Bunting number was smaller, the group tended
to stay together more as one group. Before I left a lone Common
Redpoll also joined this group. The third group was a very large flock
of 100+ snow buntings around Fennel and Snushal Roads, big enough to
murmurate like starlings.

An interesting observation was that the smaller groups were more
approachable than the large flock. The common redpoll flock was most
approachable, while the smaller field bird flocks were a close second.
I'm guessing that the flushing dynamic of these flocks relates to a
single individual sounding an alarm that triggers the flush, and that
the large flock was more likely to have the one jumpy individual to
sound the alarm to trigger the flock to flush, but this is just
conjecture. Also, flushing behavior on foot vs. by car was noticeably
different: on foot they tended to fly farther away while in the car
they seemed to only flush a shorter distance. When the birds were
backlit I actually had trouble driving to the other side of the flock,
as I just kept pushing them down the road bit by bit -- I might have
had better luck if I drove by fast.

Finally, at Salt Point I flushed a/the continuing Killdeer from the beach.

Suan

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[cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club Zoom Social Monday 7:30pm

[Suan Hsi Yong]

The Cayuga Bird Club will be having its monthly Zoom Social Hour this
Monday (February 1) at 7:30pm. This is an informal get-together to see
each other and share our sightings or chat about anything we want. All
are welcome. Register ahead of time at
https://tinyurl.com/cbc202102social

Thanks.

Suan

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