Despite the cold and rain today, I decided to walk all over town in search of birds. Birds were very active all morning, so it was definitely worth it.
Sapsucker Woods this morning in between the bouts of rain (7:30am): 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk getting mobbed by jays and crows Flock of 7 Wood Duck flying away from the main pond 1 Tennessee Warbler 3 Myrtle Warbler 1 Black-throated Green Warbler In the Hanshaw Road fields southwest of the intersection with Sapsucker Woods Rd: 42 Killdeer plus plenty of Mallard, Canada Geese, and Ring-billed Gulls 1 Turkey Vulture, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and 1 Kestrel overhead Walking down the northern half of Bluegrass Lane (the gravel track from the Equine Facility north to Hanshaw), there was an abundance of sparrows (probably ~50 in total), flushing off the road and flying around in the tall grass field on the west side of the road. Since there were no hard exposed perches in the field, it was almost impossible to see any of the sparrows except in flight. I only ID'd Song, Savannah, and Chipping. Along the hedgerow at the south end of that field, there was a small mixed flock with ~10 Chipping Sparrows, 2 Magnolia Warblers, 1 Nashville and 1 Yellowthroat. The paved portion of Bluegrass Lane was just teeming with activity everywhere. Highlights: Phoebe - 2 Blue-headed Vireo - 1 Philadelphia Vireo - 1, eBird says this is late for this species Red-eyed Vireo - 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 Gray Catbird - 7 Nashville Warbler - 1 Common Yellowthroat - 4 Magnolia Warbler - 2 Black-throated Green Warbler - 1 White-throated Sparrow - 4 White-crowned Sparrow - 1, a juvenile, the first fall record for Tompkins County this year - has anyone been seeing these yet? After lunch at the Farmer's Market downtown, I walked the weedy undeveloped footpath (future waterfront trail) that starts near the southwest edge of the Market and winds south along the edge of the Inlet. Here I had 1 Tennessee, 1 Magnolia, and 1 very bright immature Yellow Warbler, another late find according to ebird. I also had 2 Mockingbirds in the community gardens just around the corner from the Farmer's Market. I then went to Hogs Hole where I caught Dave Nutter just as he was leaving, and he showed me the four Brant. I had much the same birds as reported by others for this spot today, including 9+ Palm Warblers. Good birding, Nick -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
