Tilden and I went looking for owls and other birds on Sunday morning. We found no unusual birds at all on two passes along Snyder and Neimi Road behind the Ithaca airport, nor at the intersection of Scofield and Buck Roads near the Dryden/Groton town line, nor anywhere in between.
The highlight of our outing was a fine conversation with Mr. Griffin, the owner of the Christmas tree farm on Buck Road, where Short-eared Owls have roosted in past winters. Mr. Griffin says that he hasn't seen any owls there this year, while also noting how conspicuous the owls have been when present. He observes in general how the abundance of insects and birds seems to have declined steeply since his youth, when kids needed to look out for grasshoppers lest one collide painfully with an eye. Mr. Griffin also regaled us about how he and his friend David Allen (son of Lab founder Arthur) made a trip through Aurora many years ago. They saw a Gyrfalcon stooping on a flock of crows! Mark Chao --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com -- 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/ --
