Motivated mostly by a desire to check in on the breeding Blue-headed Vireos, I visited the East Trail in Sapsucker Woods again on Wednesday morning. I found neither bird of that pair, but did hear a singing BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO.
I also watched a VEERY collecting nest material – several leaves as long and broad as itself, at least one long dry stalk more than twice as long as itself, and some small twigs. The nest must be quite a wild and impressive feat of art and engineering. Alas, it is totally invisible from the trail, hidden on the ground under a blanket of ferns and other plants. My full checklist and some photos are here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29897567 I am looking forward to seeing many of you on the Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest (SBQ) walks this weekend. Please note the new slate of sites, highlighting some of the Land Trust’s big recent acquisitions. The list of destinations is below. For directions and parking instructions, please visit http://www.fllt.org/events/. (Come prepared for warm weather and possible showers. I will show up to lead the walks rain or shine, but will be ready to curtail them on the spot if needed.) Thank you to all of you who have pledged donations to the Land Trust in association with the SBQ. If you would like to pledge per species, please contact me, or visit http://www.fllt.org/donate/ to pledge a flat amount, noting SBQ in the “in honor of” field. Mark Chao _______________________ Saturday, May 28 8:00 AM High Vista Nature Preserve Village of Scott Woods and streams near Skaneateles Lake. Breeding Hooded Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush have all been found here in recent years. Former spot for Cerulean Warbler. __________________ Saturday, May 28 10:00 AM Hinchcliff Family Preserve Town of Spafford 206 acres of fields and mixed hardwoods, with sweeping views of Skaneateles Lake. I’ve never birded here in spring, but I am optimistic that we will find a lot of charismatic species. This preserve is just a few miles up the road from the High Vista Nature Preserve. ___________________ Sunday, May 29 8:00 AM Logan Hill Nature Preserve Town of Candor Mixed woods and fields filled with birds and butterflies. On May 29, 2015, Betsy Darlington and I found Hooded and Prairie Warblers among 48 bird species. No promises, but this is the best place I know in the area for finding American Woodcocks on the ground by day. ____________________ Monday, May 30 8:30 AM VanRiper Conservation Area Town of Romulus A steep walk down to 1400 feet of lake shore, plus early successional upland woods. I think that Prairie and Blue-winged Warblers breed here, and possibly Hooded too. -- 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/ --
