Alexa and I stopped by Lindsay-Parsons today midday to investigate the wetlands. We were curious to see if the drained beaver pond held shorebirds, and if water levels had dropped in the larger lake (Coleman Lake).
We were successful on both counts -- a group of Killdeer & Least Sandpipers were on the drained beaver pond, while Coleman Lake was drastically lower, nearly completely drained itself. The receding water has uncovered a jungle-gym of stumps and snags and left large expanses of mud around the edges. Solitary Sandpipers were numerous & active, and we scoped a single snipe foraged. Perhaps the most interesting bird phenomenon was the collection of fish & frog eaters that were actively working the shallow waters -- Green Herons & Great Blue Herons dotted the exposed lake, and I've never seen so many kingfishers in such a small area. Fun spot! The cause of the mud is that multiple beaver dams by the railroad tracks have failed; without these dams, the (unnamed?) pond & Coleman Lake are no longer impounded. We didn't walk into the woods, but did run into a few migrants near the parking area as well. http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24719489 Best, Ben -- Benjamin Freeman Ph.D. candidate Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca, NY, USA benjamingfreeman.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/ --
