4 Merlin: How nice it is to see two pair of Merlin in downtown Ithaca this morning! One pair in the block NW of N Titus and Plain Sts, and another between Cascadilla Creek-Court St.-Tioga St. in "backyard" of Finger Lakes Land Trust office. FISH CROW: There is a tall White Pine just off S. Titus to the east of what was A Taste of Thai. For a couple weeks there has been a lot of Fish Crow activity in that tree, including two flying into the tree almost at once this morning and then staying there.
Ramble I would like to monitor the nesting success of urban raptors, i.e., how long the birds incubate successfully and how long the pair feed nestlings, but I'm being befuddled by the nests of the Merlins. This is complicated by not wanting to walk into someone's backyard with a telescope and binoculars at 6:30 in the morning. So far, the residents on this block I have encountered include the former director of Env. Studies at IC, a former employee at the Lab, an environmental studies graduate, and a former instructor on environmental energy policies at IC, which was all well and good, until I met a woman whose house was robbed a couple weeks ago. I am not uniformly welcome. It is awkward trying to get a good view of potential nests but avoiding wandering around outside someone's bedroom window. Bob first posted about hearing a Merlin in the block to the NE of Court and Tioga Streets. This morning, ~7:15, a male Merlin flew in with a House Sparrow in its talons, landed in a non-leafed out deciduous tree providing a great view and proceeded to pluck it. In about two minutes it was joined by the female and I thought how nice it would be if they shared. No such thing. The male flew off NE and appeared to circle to the north. I found the marvelous walkway along Cascadilla Creek and walked along it continually looking back southward where I lost sight of the male until I glanced almost overhead looking northward. Just across the creek the pair of Merlin were sitting on a branch with the male carrying the prey with joggers going by nearly underneath. Again I thought what a nice pair-bonding experience it would be to share. The male then proceeded to fly away to the west carrying all of the pretty much plucked clean prey and the female sat in the tree for several minutes for as long as I had patience. I expect the FLLT staff to eat lunch on the delightful walkway adjacent to the creek about a half-block from their office and report back about finding the nest. The pair in the block NW of N. Titus and Plain Sts. continues to defy me about where their nest is. I saw both members of the pair again in the same block this morning. Cheers, John Confer -- 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/ --
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