Regarding the fish-eating mammal observations, I asked my friend who studied mink in grad school (now he works for USFWS), and he says it's most likely a mink. He says mink will often start at the tail end.
Robyn Bailey Ithaca, NY PS- This is my first post, so "Hello!" from a new subscriber. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Susan Fast Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 8:41 PM To: 'Susan Fast'; CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Montezuma: shrike, yellowlegs I went to the noted area to maybe observe crane behavior; but no cranes were about. The area north of Carncross Rd., to the dike, is flooded and had a skin of clear ice this morning. There are scattered goldenrod/aster stalks sticking up, but it's pretty desolate-looking. However, from the road, I noticed a N. SHRIKE flying from stalk to stalk. I saw no small birds there, and the water precluded small mammals (I was wrong here, as somewhat later a STAR-NOSED MOLE swam right in front of me, under the ice. It swam well, and disappeared into a hole in the bank). The shrike appeared to be hunting, but what? I was finally able to see that it was after inch long, cream-colored larvae that were on, not in, the stalks. Occasionally the larvae would fall to the ice, where the shrike would land and gobble. I saw it strike only one larva against a stalk, the rest (about 6) where quickly swallowed. It wiped its bill after each successful capture. The guides say that shrikes do eat insects; I haven't been aware of this before as all the shrikes I seen have been in the winter when insects are scarce. Finally, I heard an odd call. It was hard to distinguish at first as BLUEBIRDS and RING-BILLED GULLS were singing and making lots of racket. I located the source-the shrike was near the top of one of the few trees, and singing! Certainly not melodious, but then crows and jays aren't either (my opinion). Another interesting observation involved fish and a mammal. I walked out on one of the dikes at Martens Tract, and in one particular area, maybe 50' long, found dozens of dead fish, either on the bank or at the water's edge. 90% of the fish were bullheads (3" to 10" long), with a few panfish, and maybe a small carp or two. Most interesting to me was a 12" whole BOWFIN. This is only the second of this species I've ever seen in the wild. Anyway, most of the fish had been partially eaten. My experience with mustelids is that they generally start on the head end, but none of the bullhead front parts were eaten, just the tail end and guts. It appears that either an OTTER or MINK spent the winter in a bank hole here. I could find no evidence to indicate which of the two species it was. Any ideas? Steve Fast Brooktondale ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Susan Fast Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 4:32 PM To: 'Cauyga Birds' Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Montezuma: shrike, yellowlegs I spent the morning and part of the afternoon at the Carncross/Martens Tract area. NORTHERN SHRIKE at Carncross with interesting feeding behavior which I may post later. Also a GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the Visitor Center. Steve Fast Brooktondale -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/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/ --
