I figured it was a female on a nest. Approx. location of begging calls: to the NW of the large parking lot at the top of Hammond Hill Rd. There is a private driveway which you encounter, on the left, as you come up Hammond Hill Rd. The driveway is about 30 yds. before you come to the parking lot. There is a large stand of Norway spruce on the west side of this driveway. The calls came from within this stand. As the begging calls were going on, another crow flew out of this stand, heading SW and calling. It crossed H. H. Rd., lit in a tree, and continued calling. There were 3-4 other crows also occasionally calling from the spruces downhill from the single calling crow (male?) It appeared a discussion of some sort was going on; it did not appear heated, nor was there any sign of a hawk, etc.
For reference, the loop I walk starts at the base of Star Stanton Hill Rd., about 100' from Irish Settlement Rd., goes up S. S. Hill Rd. to the top of the hill (abandoned section), then south on a woods road (extension of Canaan Rd.) to the junction with Trail Y-1, down Y-1 to the Hammond Hill parking lot, then west to the start. _____ From: Kevin J. McGowan [mailto:k...@cornell.edu] Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2011 10:30 AM To: Susan Fast; CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Hammond Hill SF Steve, what is the loop you walk? Just to clarify, crow begging right now indicates a breeding female on a nest, not fledged young. A couple of our nests should have hatched this weekend, but they were early and most of the 60+ nests we're following are on a later schedule, with fledging in late May or June. Best, Kevin From: bounce-18840425-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-18840425-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Susan Fast Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2011 9:57 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Hammond Hill SF I took my usual loop walk around Star Stanton and Hammond Hills early this morning. High winds and occasional snow flurries. Very few birds. But a couple highlights: a male PURPLE FINCH sang from the top of a spruce. It sang a continuous odd jumble of notes and short phrases, quite unlike the more "typical" song. Suddenly the clouds opened and a brilliant blue sky dawned; the effect was more amazing than a Marie Read photo. At the large blow-down area along Trail Y-1, I loitered, hoping for to see my favorite bird. He did not disappoint, as, close by, he woke up, blasted out a complete song, then went back to bed. Hint: WINTER WREN. Lastly, I heard the plaintive begging calls of an AMER CROW from a spruce stand. I thought this was a bit early for up there, but I guess not. Steve Fast Brooktondale -- 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/ --
