Several items in reverse chronological order, none of which alone seemed to warrant posting.
Does collecting them here make them worthwhile, or does it make them a more certain
waste of time? Anyway:
Around 4pm today looking SSE from Freese Road I saw 2 kettles totalling ~35 TURKEY VULTURES
Waterfowl noted on a brief swing through Stewart Park today included 2 female WOOD DUCKS,
2 female/young/non-breeding HOODED MERGANSERS, 13 female/non-breeding COMMON
MERGANSERS, and 1 PIED-BILLED GREBE.
Shortly after 5am today in Six-mile Creek between Plain & Fair Streets in Ithaca I saw an adult
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, first seen in silhouette against reflected streetlights,
then seen in ghostly shades of gray through binoculars in the predawn darkness.
Yesterday between rainshowers on a brief walk around the Freese Road community gardens:
1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW, 1 female type INDIGO BUNTING, several SAVANNAH SPARROWS,
several AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, and a variety of SONG SPARROWS.
Day before yesterday (15 Sept) at Stewart Park I saw a MERLIN fly in and perch on a dead
branch. The lump it carried had bird feet.
Last Sunday afternoon (12 Sept) I spent some time in Lansing near the corner of Cayuga Vista
and Woodsedge, the opposite corner of the block with Rogue's Harbor and the Town Hall.
Among my sightings was a/the BROWN AMERICAN CROW flying northeast. Also seen:
1 PALM WARBLER. Going back to Ithaca on East Shore Drive, my son questioned stopping near
Drake Road, but I explained that you don't often see a Ring-necked Pheasant around there.
In fact I still haven't. On closer inspection it turned out to be a/the BROWN AMERICAN CROW.
It had quite a bit of white on the neck which I did not recall from previous sightings. Of course
I wondered whether it was the same bird from several years ago, perhaps having changed a bit.
It was walking on the lawn behind the car wash, certainly the same home range.
--Dave Nutter
Does collecting them here make them worthwhile, or does it make them a more certain
waste of time? Anyway:
Around 4pm today looking SSE from Freese Road I saw 2 kettles totalling ~35 TURKEY VULTURES
Waterfowl noted on a brief swing through Stewart Park today included 2 female WOOD DUCKS,
2 female/young/non-breeding HOODED MERGANSERS, 13 female/non-breeding COMMON
MERGANSERS, and 1 PIED-BILLED GREBE.
Shortly after 5am today in Six-mile Creek between Plain & Fair Streets in Ithaca I saw an adult
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, first seen in silhouette against reflected streetlights,
then seen in ghostly shades of gray through binoculars in the predawn darkness.
Yesterday between rainshowers on a brief walk around the Freese Road community gardens:
1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW, 1 female type INDIGO BUNTING, several SAVANNAH SPARROWS,
several AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, and a variety of SONG SPARROWS.
Day before yesterday (15 Sept) at Stewart Park I saw a MERLIN fly in and perch on a dead
branch. The lump it carried had bird feet.
Last Sunday afternoon (12 Sept) I spent some time in Lansing near the corner of Cayuga Vista
and Woodsedge, the opposite corner of the block with Rogue's Harbor and the Town Hall.
Among my sightings was a/the BROWN AMERICAN CROW flying northeast. Also seen:
1 PALM WARBLER. Going back to Ithaca on East Shore Drive, my son questioned stopping near
Drake Road, but I explained that you don't often see a Ring-necked Pheasant around there.
In fact I still haven't. On closer inspection it turned out to be a/the BROWN AMERICAN CROW.
It had quite a bit of white on the neck which I did not recall from previous sightings. Of course
I wondered whether it was the same bird from several years ago, perhaps having changed a bit.
It was walking on the lawn behind the car wash, certainly the same home range.
--Dave Nutter
