We decided to take advantage of the sunny day and do some birding around
the lake--going up West side (destination Sauders Market in Seneca
Falls) and back down East. Of course this latter choice made it
difficult to get good looks at some birds due to lighting, but we did
the best we could. We really didn't turn up any rarities. We were
amazed at the great number of CANADA GEESE at every stop we made.
MALLARDS were plentiful as were CANVASBACK and REDHEADS. At Kidder's
Landing we spotted PINTAIL, GREATER SCAUP, COOTS, and a flock of 50 SNOW
GEESE in middle of lake as well as GOLDENEYE and BUFFLEHEADS. A little
further up the road were a couple of COMMON MERGANSERS and the first
BLACK DUCKS that we had seen. Heading back down the East side of the
lake our first stop was Mudlock where we could see an EAGLE on the
nest--but no sight of partner in nearby tree. Also absent was the
beautiful BEAVER we saw on the edge of the shore on Sunday. TUNDRA
SWANS and MUTE SWANS were visible from the Park in Cayuga, as well as
HOODED MERGANSER, RING-NECKED DUCK and LESSER SCAUP. Union Springs Pond
did not turn up anything different so we went to check on the SCHREECH
OWL on Factory Street. We were not disappointed and found Screechie
stufffed in the box. We also spotted a female NORTHERN SHOVELER there.
Our next stop was at the Wells College boathouse where we got great
looks at a pair of LONG-TAILED DUCKS. We also saw three HORNED GREBES.
We saw numerous RED-TAILED HAWKS on our trek, and two AMERICAN KESTREL
as well. While we stopped to view a NORTHERN HARRIER cruising over Rt.
90 at Lake Road, we suddenly were astounded by the number of
WHITE-TAILED DEER in one particular field--and stopped to count--65 was
our tally!! Then at the Rafferty Road junction we were astounded to see
a massive flock of TURKEY feeding just off Rt. 90. While we turned
around to count this huge flock, other cars seemed to pass, totally
oblivious to the 57 which we ended up counting!! While we didn't find
any unusual birds, we had a great day.
--
Sara Jane and Larry Hymes
--
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