I did a quick birding run around Dryden this afternoon. Dryden Lake is completely frozen, so nothing there. The only waterfowl I saw were 100 Canada Geese and 6 Mallards in an unfrozen puddle on West Lake Road. Also about 20 SNOW BUNTINGS there. Cornell Lane had 30 Horned Larks along the road near the cow barns, one of which had large white patches on the wings and back. I didn't get a good look, but it could suggest Snow Bunting with only a glimpse.
As I hit the frozen-tundra-zone of Ferguson Rd coming out of Dryden toward Irish Settlement Rd, I was thinking Snowy Owl. Instead I saw a large broad-winged raptor flying along the tree line up hill. I figured it was a Red-tailed Hawk, but then noticed the upward dihedral of the wings and thought Turkey Vulture. When the crows came up out of the trees to mob it I realized it wasn't a vulture, but a GOLDEN EAGLE. After making sure I was off the road and not a tundra road hazard, I snapped a couple (hundred) photos. They confirm the ID, showing the white at the base of the inner secondaries and the base of the tail feathers of a juvenile Golden Eagle. It kept moving west toward Irish Settlement Rd, but disappeared into the clouds hanging below the tops of the hills. I hoped it would hang along the treeline of the ridge and turn up at my house on Yellow Barn. But, it never showed. :^( Kevin -- 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/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/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/ --
