January is only half over and already several people are in the running for having seen 100 CL Basin birds before the end of the month. Admittedly it’s a silly game, but then it is a great reason to get outside and enjoy the weather!
One hundred birds in January is not impossible, but it requires finding just about every bird that normally winters here as well as chasing (or being the first to find) the so-called “half-hardies” and any unexpected incidentals. That was the goal of a group of us who drove around the lake yesterday. We were successful at finding the Killdeer and American Pipits at Myers and the Gray Catbird (first reported by Jay McGowan) at Portland Point. We were fortunate to be in the area when the report of Tufted Duck came in (found by Ken Rosenberg’s Waterfowl Count group) and subsequently found the two Greater White-fronted Geese just north of Union Springs. We found a trio of Trumpeter Swans at Mud Lock and later had four more fly over, calling, on Armitage Road. On the other hand, we did not re-find the Shrike on Carncross Road or the reported (somewhat questionable as to how long ago) Cranes on Van Dyne Spoor Road. Likewise, we did not find any Snowy Owls along Seybolt Road or the usually reliable Lesser Black-backed Gull at Dean’s Cove. This morning, with a couple of birds to go to get to 100, I stopped by the Liddell Lab on Freese Road, the location of a Fox Sparrow first reported by Tom Schulenberg on the Christmas Bird Count. The feeders, which during the week are kept full, were empty of seed and birds. I walked around a bit and returned to the feeder area, attracted by some Cardinal calls. There was motion on the ground under one of the feeders that quickly came into focus as a pair of White-throated Sparrows and - the Fox Sparrow! Now the question is - head for Aurora to try for the mythical Eared Grebe or Long-tailed Duck (the latter reported there yesterday) - or Lake Como and the McIlroy Preserve for Ruffed Grouse (I had tracks there Friday but couldn’t find the bird) - or drive around Cayuga County looking for a flock of Horned Larks/Snow Buntings with a Lapland Longspur thrown in. Really hard to decide. I think it’s time for a nap! Bob McGuire -- 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/ --
