Thanks for the details. I had a few thoughts about your report:
1) Anyone who is still at work after 5:30, who sees something wished-for but wildly unlikely which no one else has seen and which mysteriously disappears the moment they glance away... maaaaybe that person has been working too hard.
2) Every serious birder should have a buddy on speed-dial who they can call without even looking at their phone so the buddy can report the rare bird to everyone else, while the observer continues observing until someone else arrives. I lost track of the Tufted Duck while texting, and I've heard others' similar stories.
3) The Lab needs to put a few of its high-quality cameras on the building facing out to verify some of these crazy reports, such as fly-by Little Blue Herons.
Congratulation, Ken, and I hope someone re-finds the birds (it will restore faith in your sanity).
--Dave Nutter
On Apr 03, 2013, at 12:21 AM, "Kenneth V. Rosenberg" <k...@cornell.edu> wrote:
Hi,Here are a few more details on my hard-to-believe sighting of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS at Sapsucker Woods.I noticed a flock of birds dropping into a bare treetop outside my office window — raising my binoculars I saw that they were waxwings and counted 16. Although they were facing away against the gray sky, what was most noticeable was the bold white linear patch on every birds' wing. This was perplexing at first, as the overall coloration of the birds did not strike me as odd, and they all appeared the same size (so had to be Cedars. Right?). I struggled to make out color on the under tail coverts and finally one bird turned and showed its dark red under tail. At this point I knew they were BOHEMIANS (this all took just a few seconds), so my next instinct was to get a photo, which would mean using my iPhone through the binoculars. I reached down for the phone, began to set it up to take the pictures, but when I glanced up the flock of birds was gone. I did not see whether they flew away or dropped down, or what direction they might have gone. They initial had come in from the south or southeast, from over the building or from the parking lots.I hope they stick around and someone can relocate them Sapsucker Woods tomorrow. I have not noticed ANY fruits around except for some withered black privets, but in the spring I have seen waxwings feeding on flower buds and petals. It is also interesting that Bohemians, even during flight years, tend to show up very late in the winter (March, April), even though they really don'e penetrate much to the south of us in these winters.Good luck to all who search for these gorgeous birds!KENKen RosenbergConservation Science ProgramCornell Lab of Ornithology159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.Ithaca, NY 14850(wk) 607-254-2412(cell) 607-342-4594k...@cornell.eduFrom: Ken Rosenberg <k...@cornell.edu>
Reply-To: Ken Rosenberg <k...@cornell.edu>
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2013 21:54:29 +0000
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu>
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS at Sapsucker WoodsA flock of 16 — all BOHEMIANS — outside my office window 3 minutes ago. May have dropped down into trees or shrubs near the beginning of the Wilson Trail on north side of Cornell Lab building. I reached for my phone to try to get at picture and they were gone.KENKen RosenbergConservation Science ProgramCornell Lab of Ornithology159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.Ithaca, NY 14850(wk) 607-254-2412(cell) 607-342-4594--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Archives:Please submit your observations to eBird!----Cayugabirds-L List Info:Archives:Please submit your observations to eBird!--
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
Archives:
Please submit your observations to eBird!
--
