On Sunday evening, my daughter and I found a big mixed flock of songbirds by the gate for the East Trail in Sapsucker Woods. Almost all these birds stayed in the treetops, making for difficult viewing, but I managed to identify a few MAGNOLIA WARBLERS, a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, a BLACKPOLL WARBLER, and a BLUE-HEADED VIREO. One female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER paused before us almost at eye level, close but still difficult to identify in the dank shadows. Then the bird issued its telltale dull call note, sounding like one of the hundreds of raindrops falling on heavily on leaves all around.
On Saturday, our whole family took a short hike on the Cayuga Trail above the Fall Creek ravine. Starting from the Freese Road gardens, we walked straight through the northern half and saw only a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW besides the usual Song Sparrows and goldfinches. On the orange-blazed trail itself, I saw a SWAINSON'S THRUSH poised in a hemlock right above the trail, but alas, an eager dog charged through, owner in tow, before I could get my family a look at the bird. On Friday evening, I walked for 20 minutes around our neighborhood in northeast Ithaca and heard maybe a dozen Swainson's Thrushes and a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH passing over, sounding clear and close despite the cloudless conditions. Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
