In hopes that the severe weather might have downed some birds, I went to Myers Park on Sunday morning. I found no extreme birds, but I did find extreme birder Jay McGowan, some COMMON TERNS, a SNOW GOOSE (smaller than Canada Geese, typical structure and grin patch -- not a white domestic goose), an ORCHARD ORIOLE singing near the entrance, and a SCARLET TANAGER in the trees around the private marina. I missed a BRANT that Jay found north of the spit.
Then I joined a public walk led by Linda Orkin in Sapsucker Woods. We found quite a nice variety of birds on the Wilson Trail, mostly in a loose mixed flock by the lone bench south of the Sherwood Platform, during a brief appearance by the sun. (The east-facing edge here is perhaps the best of several excellent spots in Sapsucker Woods for finding concentrations of insectivorous birds on cold but sunlit mornings.) This flock included BAY-BREASTED WARBLER and BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER perched in the same binocular view and offering a nice comparison of songs; MAGNOLIA WARBLER; CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER (2 males), AMERICAN REDSTART, NASHVILLE WARBLER, CANADA WARBLER, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, plus a few Yellow Warblers and many Yellow-rumped Warblers. I also saw a PALM WARBLER before the first fork in the Wilson Trail North and heard a EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE singing somewhere near the sharp bend after the small footbridge. Even aside from the warblers, a visit to Sapsucker Woods is plenty enjoyable just for the sight of Great Blue Herons on their nests and the noisy spectacle of Baltimore Orioles everywhere gathering nest material and defending territories. Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
