Thanks to all who responded to my query. I actually knew the area I wanted to bird, but I did not know what - if any- public trails were available. So if you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it. It is the GRAND LAKE RESERVE in Jefferson County, Redwood, NY ( far away from the St. Lawrence tourist craziness). I found a wonderful farm house to stay in, called "Better Farm," listed on Airbnb and is an artist colony/sustainability education center in Redwood, NY. I decided to bird the property from the front and back porches of the main house and the porch of the art barn, and I mapped everything, which I will post on Facebook Cayuga Bird Club. The map will be used by Better Farms to educate their visitors and maybe inspire some art! I took a few hours to explore nearby trails and lakes, but they were insanely buggy.
Here is what I saw/heard on the 65 acre farm: July 4, 7pm-8:30pm (arrival) CATBIRD HOUSE WREN CEDAR WAXWINGS WOODTHRUSH (back woods) WHIPOORWILL (all around the art barn, came on porch, but I missed it!) AMERICAN ROBIN VEERY (heard across the road) CHIPPING SPARROW JULY 5, 5:15AM EASTERN PHOEBE CALLING JULY 5, 8AM-8PM CHIPPING SPARROW RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD CATBIRD HOUSE WREN YELLOW WARBLER 2 BARN SWALLOWS, JUV (MOULTING? LOOKED ROUGH) PILEATED WOODPECKER DRUMMING (slows at the end?) PHEASANT CALLING FROM FAR OFF (RUFFED GROUSE?) CROWS IMMATURE AND MATURE TURKEY VULTURES SITTING ON SNAG 6 CEDAR WAXWING FAMILY FLYCATCHER JUV. (DARK PINK BILL, MATCHING FEET, SOME YELLOW ON BELLY, STREAKS ON CHEST, GREY HEAD) INDIGO BUNTING TREE SPARROW REDWINGED BLACKBIRD AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER (MY FIRST!) TURKEY VULTURES SOARING (a guest showed me a picture of what looked to be 30-50 vultures sitting on the posts at the vineyard down the road two days before- incredible!) HAWK (probably Red-tailed) HIGHLIGHTS for me: Black and White Warbler and the juvenile LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER I saw perched on a telephone wire at the intersection of Rte 37 and 411 (grass fields), as I drove home. I took pictures and video taped its "keek keek" call. It fell asleep at one point, then it was spooked and flew to another wire. I saw a yellow bill, bill about 2x bigger than head, white on belly, collar had a necklace of spots. Sounds like short-billed, but the call matched the long-billed. MONTEZUMA HIGHLIGHTS, today, July 6, 1pm-4pm VISITOR CENTER: PURPLE MARTINS were so busy feeding their young. I found the behaviors curious: the females seemed most aggressive and sometimes pushed a male off the platform as if to say, "don't stand there, go get more food." Then it appeared as if the females would stand in front of the baby they just fed as if to wait for the male to return and feed the other one. When he did not come, she started looking up and around to other platforms, as if to say , "where the heck is he??? did he go to the wrong platform?" and off she'd go to get more insects. Then he'd show up and feed the baby that just got fed!!! there were multiple scuffles int he half hour I watched. the scuffles seemed to be a pushing away of a male, but then after a hostile scuffle, the female would jump to another platform. One time, it appeared that a juvenile came out and one of the adults was trying to shove it back in the hole? There seem to be two babies per hole, and they are adorable!!! WILDLIFE DRIVE: COMMON YELLOW THROAT (male and female feeding young), KINGBIRD? fledglings perched on snag in shrub ( saw pure white chest, white tips on tail, harsh kip sound) TREE SWALLOW was nearby, but the tail tip told me the four juveniles were Kingbird. IMMATURE BALD EAGLES in tree top, another one soaring calmly and suddenly did a 360 degree turn! I was shocked. It was not 180, but 360. I did not blink during the turn. I so enjoyed watching so many bird families out today, including the BARN SWALLOW family at the edge of road. 1 BANK SWALLOW, 6 BLACK TERNS, 1 COOT EATON MARSH MARSH WRENS (saw one, heard many calling); CLAY COLORED SPARROW? it was very small,had a dark cheek spot and white patch on its side flank) and was poking around on the side of the road going in and out of the grasses there, juv. PIED BILLED GREBE, UFO Hawk...and around the final stretch of Wildlife Drive, I saw a NORTHERN HARRIER (white rump) flying low from the water's edge over the grasses. -- 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/ --
