I arrived at Myers about 6:30 AM to find.... The park closed -- high water has covered the spit and parts of the marina, and apparently they were unable to keep cars from driving off the roadways and ruining the lawns. May be closed for the next few days at least. I got close to the shore and found 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS among the ratty-looking gulls at the base of the spit. 3 female RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS and a female BUFFLEHEAD were close to the shore. Nothing came by or flew up the lake in the 30 minutes I watched.
The spruces and other trees near the entrance to the park were active, with sev. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, singing NASHVILLE WARBLER, BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, SCARLET TANAGER, ORCHARD ORIOLE, WARBLING VIREOS, and a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. A GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER was new in the back yard this morning. As we note the high migrant activity in spruce groves this spring, I remember another year (about 10 years ago?) when a similar pattern of events occurred -- an early push of migrants before most leaf-out, followed by prolonged cool and wet weather, further delaying leaf-out. That year, migrants were everywhere in spruce trees around Ithaca, including Dodge Rd. and on "Spruce Lane" off Triphammer Rd. That same year, all the migrants we could find in New Jersey, scouting for the World Series of Birding, were in spruce groves. That pattern does not hold up in most recent years, though, when migrants seem to concentrate in areas with newly leafing oaks and other trees. Will be interesting to see how things progress this year -- still lots of migrants to come! KEN Ken Rosenberg Director of Conservation Science Cornell Lab of Ornithology 607-254-2412 607-342-4594 (cell) k...@cornell.edu -- 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/ --
