Saturday morning (30 March) I biked to East Shore Park in an unsuccessful quest for the Common Loons and Red-necked Grebe that Tim Lenz had reported. There were many small boats of anglers on the lake, perhaps accounting for some of the local bird scarcity, and the warm air over the still-cold water reduced visibility. Far to the north were a few unresolvable blobs. So I continued on E Shore Dr to the base of the hill, where there’s a nice stretch of unobstructed guardrail to sit on. Two of those blobs became breeding plumage Common Loons hanging out together, another was a lonesome male Red-breasted Merganser, and a group of 5 former specks turned into Horned Grebes, again more in breeding plumage than not. My previous Horned Grebe sighting on the 25th was of 12 in winter plumage plus a possible transition bird which was harder to see at dusk.
Having traveled so far, it seemed a shame to turn back, to I continued to Burdick Hill Rd where I saw at least 3 Eastern Meadowlarks in view at once, and heard their songs from 2 directions. On the way up the hill I heard my first Eastern Phoebe of Spring singing somewhere in the woods above 1261 E Shore Dr. It wasn’t near an obvious stream, so my guess is that the house has some nice ledges for nesting. It was a joy to hear, not just because of the bird, and the new season, but just to be able to hear it, particularly over the traffic noise. Having climbed to Burdick Hill Rd, why not continue to Sapsucker Woods? That’s birding logic. At the Fuller Wetlands another Eastern Phoebe was singing, this time in plain sight, and it obligingly flew briefly into Dryden so I could add it to that list. This was not my first sighting of the species for the year though. There were a couple of Eastern Phoebes which attempted to overwinter, one in Allan H Treman State Marine Park, and one near Six-mile Creek and the West End’s former “Jungle”. I had seen each in December, and again in January, when I photographed them on the 8th & 19th respectively. That last date was just before the big storm with deep snow & bitter cold. Stuart Krasnoff saw the Treman bird on the 16th as well, but I don’t think anyone found either of them after that. So it’s also a joy now to find Eastern Phoebes with better prospects for survival. Also on the north side of the Lab was one female-type Purple Finch at the feeders, and a flock of 7 Icterids, five of which I got a scope view to ID as Rusty Blackbirds. - - Dave Nutter > On Mar 30, 2019, at 2:06 PM, Donna Lee Scott <d...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > I heard "my" Phoebe today, as well as one by Sarah B's house. > Also saw 22 elegant Red-breasted Mergansers with some of the males > displaying, 1 male Common Merg, a Horned Grebe in breeding plumage, & a > couple Golden Eye, out on the lake. > C. Loons calling ! > > Donna Scott > Lansing/Cayuga L. > > On Mar 30, 2019, at 9:33 AM, Robyn Bailey <rb...@cornell.edu> wrote: > >> I awoke to the sound of “my” Eastern Phoebe calling. Every year one nests on >> my house. I recall last year it was April 1 when I first heard the phoebe at >> home. >> >> Robyn Bailey >> > -- 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/ --
