Kevin and I went around the lake today as well. I don't have much to add to Bob's report, but we did see a couple of different things.
First, I should note that the EURASIAN WIGEON present at Tschache Pool straight out from the tower was an atypical bird. It had a paler orange face than most Eurasians, with a paler than normal forehead stripe (buffy white instead of yellowish buff). Additionally, the salmon breast coloration extended on to the shoulders more than normal. These features initially made me think it might be an American x Eurasian hybrid (such as this one I photographed at Stewart Park a few years ago: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Cq_PldQvCC2-Jac2Ri94uA?feat=directlink), but it showed no sign (that I could tell, it was relatively distant of a face mask or brown tones on the back or flanks, so it was probably just an odd Eurasian. As Bob noted, one GREATER and one LESSER YELLOWLEGS were also at Tschache Pool, as well as 3 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS. These included one fairly normal adult (no head streaking, typical of a spring bird), one extremely pale-backed individual (intermediate between normal Lesser and Herring back shades), which turned out to be a 3rd cycle (with some brownish in the wings in flight), and one 1st cycle bird. While we were watching the SANDHILL CRANES at East Road, Kevin and I saw and heard a flock of 17 LAPLAND LONGSPURS fly overhead from the east (mucklands area) and proceed to the west/southwest. No good looks, which is unfortunate considering they were probably in excellent breeding plumage by now. Also on the Knox-Marsellus impoundment were at least 40 Ruddy Ducks and a male COMMON GOLDENEYE. Van Dyne Spoor Road was pretty uninteresting, with no ducks or shorebirds of note. I did have a RUFFED GROUSE fly over the road in the wooded area, though. No sign of the Common Teal at the visitor center when we were there. On the way up the lake, we found several flocks of Long-tailed Ducks, including some off Myers Point, Long Point State Park, Aurora, and Cayuga Lake State Park (on the west side). No luck with Eared Grebe among the many (~23) Horned Grebes at Aurora, but we did see and hear a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER in the cedars on the bluffs overlooking the bay. Lots of sparrows were back today, including SWAMP SPARROWS at Dryden Lake and all over the Montezuma complex, CHIPPING SPARROWS on Sweazey Road in Lansing and in Aurora, and SAVANNAH SPARROWS in Ledyard and at Montezuma. This morning Dryden Lake had a single RUDDY DUCK and lots of mergansers of all three species. And yes Fritzie, lots of Ospreys and Bald Eagles all over Montezuma, but nothing out of the ordinary. I ended with 96 species for the day. Good birding, Jay McGowan Dryden, NY -- 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/ --
