At about 11:30AM Sue and I found a Pink-footed Goose at the Sunken Meadow State Park (SMSP) athletic fields. After making the requisite phone calls Shai Mitra and Pat Lindsay arrived and in addition to the Pink-footed Goose, found a Barnacle Goose in the flock of approx. 125 Canada Geese. SMSP is located at the northern terminus of the Sunken Meadow Parkway. Upon entering the park go through the toll booths and, driving downhill, proceed over the bridge that spans Sunken Meadow Creek. Make your first right after crossing the bridge. The ballfields are located on the north side of the road between two parking fields. At this point you can either proceed to the eastern-most parking field and walk west to see the geese or, skipping the first right hand turn after the bridge, make the second right into the main parking field, parking at the eastern end of the lot, and walk east (you can also just pull off the road when you see the geese but I am not sure the State Park Police would appreciate that). If the geese are spooked they may fly into Sunken Meadow Creek so check the creek if you do not see the birds. The fields where the geese are feeding is the starting point for the numerous high school cross-country races that are run at SMSP this time of year. Try to arrive at the park before 2:00PM. Good luck if you go!
Ken Feustel -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
