Puddler and Knox-Marsellus were much revitalized by the rain. There was a short period of excellent visibility, followed by diffuse sun, followed by fog.
Visitor Center: water level good; 6 dowitchers - took photos but didn't look all that carefully at them in the field; 2 Great Egret Seneca Spillway: water level ok, a few shorebirds Wildlife Dr flats: water level ok, a few shorebirds Benning Marsh: no shorebirds (water is the enemy here); 1 Great Egret Tschache: Larue & Jackie's survey sheet from 8/5 shows 29 Great Egret at a start time of 5:55 am. I assume that the habitat for these must be out of sight of the tower. Mays Point: still looking good for shorebirds, but number there way down vs last visit. Area to the left and far, and to the right/center and closer (relative to the birder's corral) are the spots. Area to the right/center has potential for good looks and has grown in size a lot. 59 Great Egrets spread about at 6:45 pm. Puddler: needed a dose of water. Lots of peeps (mostly Semi-P, several Western candidates) but fog had rolled in, needs a more comprehensive check. 14 Stilt Sandpiper including juveniles, 11 dowitchers. Knox-Marsellus: Rain really revitalized it in a big way, with "fingers" of water loaded with shorebirds. Foggy but estimated about 1000 birds (many peeps, LeYe, plus who-knows-what). Needs proper survey under better visibility, pronto. -Dave W. & Michele Neligan Montezuma NWR--Visitor Center, Seneca, US-NY Aug 7, 2011 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Protocol: Stationary 24 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose X American Black Duck 1 Mallard 10 Blue-winged Teal 1 Northern Pintail 1 Hooded Merganser 3 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 2 Osprey 1 Killdeer 2 Greater Yellowlegs 7 Lesser Yellowlegs X Least Sandpiper 1 Pectoral Sandpiper 3 Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher 6 Short on time, didn't look at them carefully; photographed Ring-billed Gull 6 Caspian Tern 12 Mourning Dove 2 Belted Kingfisher 1 American Crow 1 Barn Swallow 1 European Starling X Swamp Sparrow 1 Red-winged Blackbird 1 American Goldfinch X Montezuma NWR--Auto Loop, Seneca, US-NY Aug 7, 2011 6:00 PM - 6:20 PM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 17 species Canada Goose X Wood Duck X Mallard X Great Blue Heron X Great Egret 1 Osprey 1 Bald Eagle 1 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Solitary Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs 8 Lesser Yellowlegs 22 Pectoral Sandpiper 1 American Crow 1 Song Sparrow 2 Indigo Bunting 1 Red-winged Blackbird X American Goldfinch X Montezuma NWR--Mays Point Pool, Seneca, US-NY Aug 7, 2011 6:30 PM - 6:50 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: Shorebird numbers down 15 species Canada Goose X Trumpeter Swan X Wood Duck X Mallard X Great Blue Heron X Great Egret 59 Osprey 1 Bald Eagle 4 Common Moorhen 1 Semipalmated Plover 10 Greater Yellowlegs 1 Lesser Yellowlegs X Semipalmated Sandpiper 1 Least Sandpiper 12 Pectoral Sandpiper 1 Montezuma NWR--Puddler Marsh, Seneca, US-NY Aug 7, 2011 7:15 PM - 7:40 PM Protocol: Traveling 0.5 mile(s) Comments: Fog and fading light; incomplete survey 19 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose X Great Blue Heron X Green Heron 1 Semipalmated Plover X Killdeer X Spotted Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs X Lesser Yellowlegs X Semipalmated Sandpiper 200 Least Sandpiper X Pectoral Sandpiper X Stilt Sandpiper 14 roughly half were juveniles Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher 11 fog and fading light; didn't look carefully at any of them Ring-billed Gull X Herring Gull 1 Caspian Tern X Belted Kingfisher 1 Gray Catbird 1 Common Yellowthroat 1 Song Sparrow 1 Montezuma NWR--Knox-Marcellus Marsh, Seneca, US-NY Aug 7, 2011 7:45 PM - 8:00 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: Foggy, fading light, incomplete survey 4 species (+2 other taxa) Canada Goose X Great Blue Heron X Bald Eagle 1 Lesser Yellowlegs 200 very rough estimate, foggy peep sp. 600 foggy, rough estimate only shorebird sp. 100 certainly other stuff mixed in but foggy -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
