Hi all, Apologies for the day-late posting. At 4:30 yesterday afternoon (Friday, 03 February) I stopped by Stewart Park in Ithaca with hopes of spotting the WESTERN GREBE that Bob, Gary, and Jay reported a few hours earlier from Hog's Hole. My third attempt was the charm: viewing conditions were excellent and it was fairly easy to pick it out to the north of the red lighthouse. Like others have reported, it was actively diving but tended to resurface not too far from where it dove. While I watched it stayed solitary, not in the neighborhood of the scaup (farther south) or goldeneye (farther north). There was a DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT perched on a large log in the vicinity.
Much farther north was the RED-THROATED LOON that Bob also reported. When I left at 4:45 both birds were still visible. Finally, at 5:30 on Veteran Hill Road (Chemung County, about a half mile north of Sutton Rd) I noticed a strange bump on a large roll of hay that isn't usually there, a benefit of driving the same way to work every day. Having my fingers crossed for a Snowy Owl I turned around but the lump had disappeared -- only to be refound much closer, just about 25 meters from the road. By far the best looks at a SHORT-EARED OWL I've had in recent memory. The "ears" weren't visible as it actively scanned the field, eventually flying across the road right in front of me, dropping into an adjacent field where it sat for a few moments, then crossing back and disappearing. Best commute home I've had in a long, long time! Good birding, Mike -- Mike Powers Horseheads, NY -- 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/ --
