The bleak season has begun at my place because the Flood Control Channel has finally frozen solid. Yesterday there was just a thin layer of slush on top in the morning moving slowly, but a few Canada Geese swam right through it, and later it broke up and cleared away in the warmer afternoon. I may not see many waterfowl flying, swimming, diving, displaying & mating as long as for awhile, although today there are still a few gulls flying around. The Rock pigeons still are resting on the high-tension wires over the ice, and maybe they will continue to display atop the pylon which I can see better from my house.
I’m keeping my deck and its railing cleared of snow so that birds can access the sunflower seeds I put out, and every morning I hang a tube feeder of sunflower seeds. So far I’ve been visited by a flock of 5 American Goldfinches and a flock of 16 Mourning Doves, both high counts at the feeder for this young year, plus I’ve seen 2 other species (White-throated Sparrow and Downy Woodpecker) at or headed toward my neighbors’ clearly better feeding operation. My writing was interrupted in the middle of the above paragraph by a surprise new yard species. The first small flock of Canada Geese I saw this morning at 0845, which I wasn’t sure would happen at all due to the frozen water and some snow on the grass, included the Ross’s Goose which has been seen since at least 5 January on the ice at Stewart Park and in the lake off Allan Treman State Marine Park. This morning the Ross’s Goose had been reported among Canada Geese resting on the frozen Cayuga Inlet between Cass Park and Newman Golf Course. As it flew past my windows just above eye-level in bright sun, I saw that this white goose with black wing-tips not only was small, it also had a very short, very thick neck and a very small, stubby, all-pink triangular bill. I expect it is grazing on the lawns along the the water between the State Street bridge and the Fish Ladder east of NYS-13A (Floral Avenue/Five Mile Drive), and I don’t know, maybe there is even some open water for the geese along there. - - Dave Nutter > On Jan 8, 2022, at 8:00 AM, Donna Lee Scott <d...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > Many of us have been concerned about what seems to be low bird numbers in > past weeks. > But yesterday & today I have ~ 48 Mourning Doves eating bird food in my back > yard! > Also 2 regular Carolina Wrens, along with other usual suspects at feeding > areas. > & I picked up a third Crow out back. > > Donna Scott > Lansing > Sent from my iPhone > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- 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/ --
