Guys which bridge on 89? Traveling to the Lab of O tomorrow and would love to see them! Sar
On Fri, Nov 22, 2024, 8:13 PM Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> wrote: > About 2:30 this afternoon while glancing out my kitchen window I saw what > I thought at first was a European Starling: a medium sized passerine, dark > as seen from above and at a distance, with a tail shorter than Red-winged > Blackbird or American Robin, and with wings that were broad-based yet > pointed. But the behavior was wrong: it flew in a big circle near treetop > level over two of my neighbors’ yard & my yard coming very close to the > crowns of trees but not perching. Its wingbeats and path were slow and > irregular. It acted like a foraging swallow. I last saw it flying east > over the cul-de-sac of Park Road toward the Flood Control Channel near the > NYS-89 bridge. This was a rare moment when I did not have binoculars handy, > so I didn’t see enough details to get a positive species ID. (Note to self: > when coming home from errands, remember to bring the binocular in with the > groceries.) > > I fetched the binoculars and went to where I had last seen it, but saw no > birds. I considered frantically combing the neighborhood or heading toward > Allan Treman or Stewart Park where I would expect swallows. But that bird > looked like it was on a circuit. Maybe it would return. I decided to wait > indoors by my windows. An hour later I was rewarded. A definite swallow was > flying over my neighbor’s yard. Binoculars showed it to have a tail which > was square when closed but rounded when spread, a pale gray belly, a buffy > throat. It was generally dark above (not tan like a Northern Rough-winged > Swallow), except some white streaks on the back and a peach-colored rump: a > Cave Swallow. > > Cave Swallows’ range extends north into much of Texas during the breeding > season, after which they retreat to Mexico. But some years, when there are > strong southwest winds during migration, as happened this year, a rare few > Cave Swallows end up along the south shore of Lake Ontario. Even more rare > are those seen in Tompkins County. This is generally happens long after our > usual swallow species have all flown south. This was a big deal for me. Not > only had I found a rarity that local birders had been hoping for, it was a > new yard bird! > > I readied my phone for taking photos, affixed the adapter on my phone case > onto the right eyepiece of my binoculars, and stepped out onto my deck to > aim by looking with my right eye through the left eyepiece. Amazingly, I > was able to get a couple of identifying pictures of a poorly lit Cave > Swallow in flight. And as I took the binoculars down to re-aim between > photos, I was further surprised to see there were 2 such swallows. No, > there were 3! > > I put out a rare bird alert, and within minutes over a dozen birders > converged. The swallows came and went several times, and I think everyone > at least saw them, although the light constantly worsened. And the angle > from the ground to see details of backlit birds was not as good as from my > raised deck, where I had been above the swallows at times. I invited folks > to join me. The birds then spent less time over the yards, but I had > another surprise. For a long time the swallows foraged among the crowns of > trees within the woods north of my house. That’s not where I would’ve > searched for them! Now you know. > > We left the deck, and although many folks, well-satisfied, drove off, I > joined the latecomers and diehards on the Cayuga Waterfront Trail near the > end of Park Road. I learned that one or more of the swallows had explored a > square culvert below NYS-89 south of the Children’s Garden, and one had > been seen by the north tip of Inlet Island by the Boatyard Grille. Then we > moved nearer the NYS-89 bridge. At one time all 3 Cave Swallows had flown > up among the complex girders of the bridge, but then they flew out again. > Several more times at least 1 of them flew up and back or alongside the > bridge, and 2 flew together across the water toward Island Health & Fitness > Center on Inlet Island. I had sightings until at least 4:48 p.m., several > minutes after sunset. It’s quite possible the Cave Swallows roosted below > this bridge or one of the other big bridges nearby. And with luck they will > survive the night and be foraging in the area again tomorrow. > > - - Dave Nutter > > On Nov 22, 2024, at 4:00 PM, Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> wrote: > > Seen from my yard, 156 Park Rd, the end of 1-block dead end off bottom of > Cliff Street, Ithaca, still being seen 4pm > > - - Dave Nutter > > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME.htm> > Rules and Information > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES.htm> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > ABA <https://www.aba.org/birding-news/> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- > -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") 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