Hi all, Livia, Brad, and I went up the lake yesterday. We didn't see too much that others haven't reported. Shorebird numbers are way down, with no godwit, phalaropes, or new arrivals. WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS are still making a good showing however, with 14 at Benning Marsh and at least 8 at Towpath. A single BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER was in the field at the end of Towpath as well. One of the only CERULEAN WARBLERS we heard was along the treeline on the west side of east road (across from Knox-Marcellus, audible across the farm fields), a location I haven't heard them before. They seem in good numbers on Towpath Road this year as well, with several along the road and even more along the road to the fishing access at the end of Towpath.
We took a long walk around the Seneca Meadows Wetland Preserve off Black Brook Road in Seneca Falls. Highlights here were two LEAST BITTERNS. The first was singing spontaneously from the marsh along the Oak Tree Pass trail, and we saw it well in flight a few minutes later. The second was along the northern edge of the marsh circled by Blue Heron Loop, which flew towards us and landed quite close in the reeds, then flew to a perch low in the cattails where we were able to watch it for a few minutes. AMERICAN BITTERNS were also around, with two circling overhead for a while, calling to each other. Other highlights were a singing ORCHARD ORIOLE at the south end (the ORCHARD ORIOLE near shorebird flats on the wildlife drive was also singing yesterday) and hundreds and hundreds of SONG and SAVANNAH SPARROWS, but sadly, no Sedge Wrens or other rare birds, though this seems like a great spot for a lot of things. I tried for Virginia Rail in all the marshy areas as well, and was surprised not to hear any, as I had quite a few here last year. We also check twice for the Clay-colored Sparrow on King Road next door without success, and also missed the RED-HEADED WOODPECKER that Chris Wood and company found there a couple hours later. Around midday today we stopped at Stewart Park here in Ithaca and were treated to what must have been the most CHIMNEY SWIFTS I have ever seen in one place anywhere. I noticed a couple days ago that Barn and Bank swallows were in large numbers out on the lake, and today was the same, except Chimney Swifts outnumbered the swallows by a large margin. I conservatively estimated almost 300, and I think there may well have been many more. Really an amazing concentration, I wonder where all these birds came from. Not much else of note, a lingering Common Loon was close offshore and a Red-breasted Merganser was reported by others. Finally, one of the coolest animal sightings yesterday was a dark-morph RED FOX on Lake Road at the Aurora Bluffs. Photo here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111137855303614931880/Spring2012#5750241872317107730 -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology [email protected] -- 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/ --
