Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cass Park Ospreys, Tanager

[Candace Cornell]

Thanks for the report on the Os. They are still using the nest in that they
occasionally add to it and sit on it—and nothing is more important to an
osprey than his nest. His mate rates second. Most unsuccessful pairs leave
on migration a bit early—probably in early August. I'd like to know the
dates they leave so keep please observing them when you can.

It takes some young birds several years to get their acts together and this
pair has all the makings of success—next year.

Candace


On Fri, Jul 25, 2014 at 10:01 PM, Dave Nutter  wrote:

> The OSPREY pair continues at Union Field in Cass Park. This evening they
> were perched at opposite ends of a crossbar of lights on a different pole
> than the moved and since-unused nest. Their fidelity to the site and each
> other, despite not following through with nesting this year, is impressive.
> Next year.
>
> When Laurie & I stopped to rest on a bench west of the Children's Garden
> we saw activity and heard unusual bird noises high in an adjacent pine
> tree. A male SCARLET TANAGER with all of his red except 2 small patches of
> green on the breast was feeding a young BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD slightly
> bigger than himself.
>
> --Dave Nutter
>
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[cayugabirds-l] Hotspot name for Monk Parakeet nest site

[Pat Martin]

When I reported the Monk Parakeets to ebird a couple of days ago, I suggested their location as a hotspot. The name of the hotspot is West Ridge Plaza (Town of Greece). Ben Cacace, the ebird hotspot person, asked me to pass this information on to other birders who might be visiting the site. Below are the steps you can take to merge your personal locations with the hotspot.Pat Martinemartin...@earthlink.netThanks for submitting an eBird birding hotspot.

The hotspot "West Ridge Plaza (Town of Greece)" was created based on your personal location. I waited for it to be generated by the system which took less than 12 hours.

You can view the marker here: West Ridge Plaza (Town of Greece)
If you're using BirdsEye™ BirdLog on your smartphone to submit sightings please use "Choose A Location From Map" instead of "Choose A Recent Location" as the recently created hotspot may not be on that list.

Please let us know if you see any issues with the location or your checklists.When you contact the list you might want to let people know they can merge their personal locations with the hotspot by following these steps:

To merge your personal location with an existing hotspot here are the steps:

— Sign into eBird.org— Go to "My eBird" & select "Manage My Locations" in the right panel— Select your personal location (shows the letter "P" under Type) & click "Edit"

— Select the "Merge" button and you'll see all nearby hotspots as red icons - Click the marker that best fits your location (You'll see the hotspot description above the red 'Merge' button)

— Click on the button "Merge # Checklists with [hotspot description selected]"— Make sure to keep "Delete after merging" selected

— Answer Yes to the 'Yes or No' queryAll checklists for that personal location will be combined with the hotspot with this process.

Thanks again for suggesting the hotspot.Ben CacaceManhattan, NYC
bcac...@gmail.com

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[cayugabirds-l] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Lake bird sightings while kayaking

[Dave Nutter]

1) It's common for duckling families to get mixed up or combined. After all, 
the parents don't feed the young, the mothers mainly guide them to feeding and 
sheltering areas and warn them of danger. Any mother duck can do that, even a 
different species. In some species several females seem to deliberately combine 
their broods into what is called a creche. And I think sometimes a female will 
deliberately recruit another female's young, although sometimes a stray 
youngster will also be rejected. I don't know why. So, yes, your group of 32 
youngsters likely has multiple mothers. By the way, some ducks are also known 
for laying some eggs in other females' nests, not necessarily of the same 
species. So a female may even start out with more than her own brood in tow.

2) I have heard of Bald Eagles or Ospreys accidentally dropping a fish on land, 
but not retrieving it. Yes Bald Eagles eat carrion, including fish, but I think 
the choice is highly influenced by laziness. Is it really easy to just fly out, 
rake your feet in the water and grab fresh food? Probably yes, for that adult. 
But maybe if you're a youngster and not very good at hunting, the easiest way 
to get fed is to dig into a washed up carcass.

3) I don't know if Turkey Vultures would be curious about a zucchini, but I 
doubt they'd mistake it for carrion. I think the term "kettle" refers to a 
group of raptors circling to gether in a thermal because of the similarity to 
the boiling motion of water.

Corrections welcome.

--Dave Nutter


On Jul 26, 2014, at 01:09 PM, John Dennis  wrote:

> On 23 July while kayaking on Cayuga Lake, my bird sightings included a Bald 
> Eagle, several ospreys, some double-breasted cormorants, a kettle of TVs 
> perched at the waters edge, and what appeared to be a single adult female 
> Common Merganser with a brood of 32 chicks in tow. One disadvantage of solo 
> birding is there is no one available to answer simple questions such as: 
>
> 1) According to allaboutbirds.org, Common Merganser clutch size is "6-17 
> eggs".  Are Common Merganser females known to combine broods and "work in 
> shifts"? 
>
> 2) Would a Bald Eagle that is disturbed during breakfast and drops its fish 
> from a tree and flies off, come back later to continue its meal? (I see at 
> www.baldeagleinfo.com/ that they also eat carrion, so I suppose coming back 
> to retrieve a recently caught fish would not be an indignity.) 
>
> 3) Would a kettle of Turkey Vultures be intrigued by a large zucchini bobbing 
> in the lake water a few feet from shore, wondering (from a distance at least) 
> if perhaps if it was a dead animal? (And does "kettle" refer only to the 
> airborne formation of TVs or can it also be used to describe a group of TVs 
> that is perching?  
>
> Apologies for such simple questions,John
>
> P.S. At the risk of being long-winded, here are a few more details regarding 
> the location and details of my sightings: 
>
> I departed from Myers Point at about 7:30am, went a bit north of Atwater, 
> crossed over and kayaked down the west shore until Taughannock Park where I 
> followed a heading directly back to Myers Point, arriving there about 4pm.  
> There was a mild tail wind going north and a dramatic tailwind from abreast 
> of Milliken Station all the way back to Myers Point.   
>
> On the northerly, east coast leg of the journey, I spotted a Bald Eagle 
> perched in a tree perhaps 1.5 miles north of Myers Point. I watched it fly 
> out over the lake and dive close to the water and then circle back to the 
> same tree.  Having never seen a Bald Eagle fishing before, I assumed it had 
> missed its target when I saw no spray come up at the end of its dive.  By 
> that time I had my bins on the bird, but movement of the kayak prevented me 
> from seeing it well. Only when it was back perched in a tree and later 
> dropped its fish upon my approach did I realize it had caught one.
>
> Rounding a point about half a mile south of Milliken Station, I was startled 
> as a TV look wing from about the water level and landed in a tree where two 
> or three other TVs were perched.  I believe there was at least one more 
> circling overhead.  On reaching a willow tree that was partly in the water 
> and where it seemed the TV had departed from, I found no carrion that could 
> have been of interest to the TVs, but there was a 16" long, 4" diameter 
> zucchini that was bobbing in the water a few feet from shore.  There were a 
> couple of half-inch nicks in the skin of the zucchini, but none seemed deep 
> enough to been the result of TV beak-work. 
>
> As I recall the larger Merganser brood was between Cuddeback Point on the 
> Bell Station parcel and the Atwater/Nut Ridge Road area.  
>
>
> Cell: 1-607-227-5172
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RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Lake bird sightings while kayaking

[Bill Ostrander]

Dennis,
 
We had a similar sized group of Common Mergansers on the Chemung River in
Elmira several years ago.  When I first saw them in early summer, the young
all appeared to be the same very small size.  At the end of summer, when the
young were nearly full grown, the count was the same.  The literature that I
read at that time referred to such a group as an amalgamated family with one
adult female and lots of young.  While my source stated that multiple
females may lay eggs in a single nest, it did not seem to attribute the
amalgamation to that, and considered the mechanism by which the amalgamation
developed to be unknown.  I think that the young associate with just one
adult female.
 
-- Bill Ostander

  _  

From: bounce-117656961-56173...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-117656961-56173...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of John Dennis
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2014 1:09 PM
To: cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Lake bird sightings while kayaking


On 23 July while kayaking on Cayuga Lake, my bird sightings included a Bald
Eagle, several ospreys, some double-breasted cormorants, a kettle of TVs
perched at the waters edge, and what appeared to be a single adult female
Common Merganser with a brood of 32 chicks in tow. One disadvantage of solo
birding is there is no one available to answer simple questions such as:  

1) According to allaboutbirds.org, Common Merganser clutch size is "6-17
eggs".  Are Common Merganser females known to combine broods and "work in
shifts"? 

2) Would a Bald Eagle that is disturbed during breakfast and drops its fish
from a tree and flies off, come back later to continue its meal? (I see at
www.baldeagleinfo.com/ that they also eat carrion, so I suppose coming back
to retrieve a recently caught fish would not be an indignity.) 

3) Would a kettle of Turkey Vultures be intrigued by a large zucchini
bobbing in the lake water a few feet from shore, wondering (from a distance
at least) if perhaps if it was a dead animal? (And does "kettle" refer only
to the airborne formation of TVs or can it also be used to describe a group
of TVs that is perching?  

Apologies for such simple questions,John

P.S. At the risk of being long-winded, here are a few more details regarding
the location and details of my sightings: 

I departed from Myers Point at about 7:30am, went a bit north of Atwater,
crossed over and kayaked down the west shore until Taughannock Park where I
followed a heading directly back to Myers Point, arriving there about 4pm.
There was a mild tail wind going north and a dramatic tailwind from abreast
of Milliken Station all the way back to Myers Point.

On the northerly, east coast leg of the journey, I spotted a Bald Eagle
perched in a tree perhaps 1.5 miles north of Myers Point. I watched it fly
out over the lake and dive close to the water and then circle back to the
same tree.  Having never seen a Bald Eagle fishing before, I assumed it had
missed its target when I saw no spray come up at the end of its dive.  By
that time I had my bins on the bird, but movement of the kayak prevented me
from seeing it well. Only when it was back perched in a tree and later
dropped its fish upon my approach did I realize it had caught one.

Rounding a point about half a mile south of Milliken Station, I was startled
as a TV look wing from about the water level and landed in a tree where two
or three other TVs were perched.  I believe there was at least one more
circling overhead.  On reaching a willow tree that was partly in the water
and where it seemed the TV had departed from, I found no carrion that could
have been of interest to the TVs, but there was a 16" long, 4" diameter
zucchini that was bobbing in the water a few feet from shore.  There were a
couple of half-inch nicks in the skin of the zucchini, but none seemed deep
enough to been the result of TV beak-work. 

As I recall the larger Merganser brood was between Cuddeback Point on the
Bell Station parcel and the Atwater/Nut Ridge Road area.  



Cell: 1-607-227-5172


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[cayugabirds-l] More info about avoiding Rte. 90

[job121830]

I'm sitting in HOT, HUMID, flat Corpus Christie, TX . NOT a pleasant place to spend our 61st wedding anniv. (today) but family death/settling estate, brings us away from our wonderful NYS. Many thanks to Kathy Strickland for getting our flights  & wheelchairs at each airport! A Godsend!An addenda to Donna's routing away from Cayuga via 34B. Begin looking for Ridge Rd. after you pass 3 or 4 blue Harvestore silos. Past them you'll see Walter Rd. & Mosher Rds. on the right & soon to the curve at the big white Scipioville Bapt. church ... be careful of oncoming traffic as you veer left (before entering the curve) at the Y onto Ridge, a really straight rd. to where you turn right off Ridge Rd. onto Rte. 326 which goes to Half Acre (& then right on  into Auburn.) Go straight ahead there for maybe 3/4 mi. & you go directly to Rtes. 5 & 20 where you turn left /west & on to Rte. 90 & to familiar territory. It's easier than going left (west) on Genesee & trying to decide which side rd. gets you to 5 & 20. Hope you aren't t confused . BUT .. unless you LOVE yard sales & dangerous congestion where numbskulls think nothing of parking right in the lane of traffic, you'll avoid all of Rte. 90.Enjoy your cooler weather for us. It's Fritzie  On 07/26/14, Donna Scott wrote: > Marie Read noted that this weekend the huge Rt 90 yard sale is stalling traffic up the lake on  rt 90 to Rt 20 & MNWR. Here us an alt.  route. Take 34B from Lansing to Ridge rd turn-off N of Scipioville, (~1.5 mi after Empire Fence sign) , at curve go left onto Ridge Rd.  if you pass Scipioville Baptist church U have gone past it.  then take third left to meet Rt. 326. Turn right to go north on 326. After this I am not sure, but where 326 runs into what I think is Genesee St, turn left off 326 onto Gen st. ( 326 curves east to go to Auburn there someplace. )Then soon, take a country road Right to reach US 20. Use your phone map. Avoid village of Cayuga this way since that is one of most congested spots. Donna Scott

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[cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Lake bird sightings while kayaking

[John Dennis]

On 23 July while kayaking on Cayuga Lake, my bird sightings included a Bald
Eagle, several ospreys, some double-breasted cormorants, a kettle of TVs
perched at the waters edge, and what appeared to be a single adult female
Common Merganser with a brood of 32 chicks in tow. One disadvantage of solo
birding is there is no one available to answer simple questions such as:

1) According to allaboutbirds.org, Common Merganser clutch size is "6-17
eggs".  Are Common Merganser females known to combine broods and "work in
shifts"?

2) Would a Bald Eagle that is disturbed during breakfast and drops its fish
from a tree and flies off, come back later to continue its meal? (I see at
www.baldeagleinfo.com/ that they also eat carrion, so I suppose coming back
to retrieve a recently caught fish would not be an indignity.)

3) Would a kettle of Turkey Vultures be intrigued by a large zucchini
bobbing in the lake water a few feet from shore, wondering (from a distance
at least) if perhaps if it was a dead animal? (And does "kettle" refer only
to the airborne formation of TVs or can it also be used to describe a group
of TVs that is perching?

Apologies for such simple questions,John

P.S. At the risk of being long-winded, here are a few more details
regarding the location and details of my sightings:

I departed from Myers Point at about 7:30am, went a bit north of Atwater,
crossed over and kayaked down the west shore until Taughannock Park where I
followed a heading directly back to Myers Point, arriving there about 4pm.
 There was a mild tail wind going north and a dramatic tailwind from
abreast of Milliken Station all the way back to Myers Point.

On the northerly, east coast leg of the journey, I spotted a Bald Eagle
perched in a tree perhaps 1.5 miles north of Myers Point. I watched it fly
out over the lake and dive close to the water and then circle back to the
same tree.  Having never seen a Bald Eagle fishing before, I assumed it had
missed its target when I saw no spray come up at the end of its dive.  By
that time I had my bins on the bird, but movement of the kayak prevented me
from seeing it well. Only when it was back perched in a tree and later
dropped its fish upon my approach did I realize it had caught one.

Rounding a point about half a mile south of Milliken Station, I was
startled as a TV look wing from about the water level and landed in a tree
where two or three other TVs were perched.  I believe there was at least
one more circling overhead.  On reaching a willow tree that was partly in
the water and where it seemed the TV had departed from, I found no carrion
that could have been of interest to the TVs, but there was a 16" long, 4"
diameter zucchini that was bobbing in the water a few feet from shore.
 There were a couple of half-inch nicks in the skin of the zucchini, but
none seemed deep enough to been the result of TV beak-work.

As I recall the larger Merganser brood was between Cuddeback Point on the
Bell Station parcel and the Atwater/Nut Ridge Road area.


Cell: 1-607-227-5172

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[cayugabirds-l] Avoid Rt 90, take 34B to Rt 20

[Donna Scott]

> Marie Read noted that this weekend the huge Rt 90 yard sale is stalling 
> traffic up the lake on  rt 90 to Rt 20 & MNWR. 
Here us an alt.  route. 
Take 34B to Ridge rd turn-off N of Scipioville, (~1.5 mi after Empire Fence 
sign) , at curve go left onto Ridge Rd. 
 if you pass Scipioville Baptist church U have gone past it. 

 then take third left to meet Rt. 326. Turn right to go north on 326. 
After this I am not sure, but where 326 runs into what I think is Genesee St, 
turn left off 326 onto Gen st. ( 326 curves east to go to Auburn there 
someplace. )
Then soon, take a country road Right to reach US 20. Use your phone map. 

Avoid village of Cayuga this way since that is one of most congested spots. 
Donna Scott
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> Donna Scott

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[cayugabirds-l] Montezuma

[Carol Keeler]

I can add to Marie's observations with a few more species.  There was a flyover 
Green Heron.  Marsh Wrens were everywhere and in one case were feeding babies.  
There were several GB Herons with trying to swallow a large bullhead. There was 
a family of Coots, and some very small ducklings ( maybe Wood Ducks) with no 
parents visible. Out on the muskrat lodges were a number of Cormorants. 
At the shorebird area before Benning, there were both Yellowlegs, a Semi 
palmated Plover, Killdeer, and a Solitary Sandpiper.
I was very pleased to see the first new pool along the Thruway being used by 
the Black Terns and later on, a lone Great Egret.   After the work area were 
the two injured Snow Geese.

Sent from my iPad
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