[cayugabirds-l] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ithaca Christmas Bird Count unofficial summary
Meena & all,
To clarify, I hope:
The summary I wrote *is* of the Ithaca Christmas Bird Count ("Count"). The vast
majority of information in that email refers to the Count. The Count is a
census of numbers of individuals of as many species of birds as can be found
during 24 hours within a 15-mile diameter circle, plus noting the presence of
any additional species within that circle during the 3 days before and after,
known as Count Week.
I also tried to show how the Count relates to the 2015 First Records list for
the Cayuga Lake Basin ("Basin"). The Basin is a much larger area, and the First
Records list can grow throughout 2015. The Count almost, but not quite,
completely within the Basin. The Count, which is conveniently on New Year's
Day, is the traditional start for the year's Basin records as well. Perhaps
some people will be interested in both. References to the Basin in my previous
email occur in 3 places:
(1) in the sentence in the introduction containing the word "also" to indicate
that the Basin is *not* the main topic,
(2) in a few parenthetical comments about species not found on Count Day for
the Count but that I was aware were already found in the Basin outside the
Count circle (I expect there are also additional such species which I did not
mention), and
(3) in notes on 3 unusual birds for winter (Gray Catbird, Eastern Towhee, and
Field Sparrow) found near the south edge of the Count, which is also very near
the edge of the Basin. As it turns out, these 3 finds are within the Basin, so
they will be considered first 2015 Basin records along with the others.
Sorry if my writing was or is confusing. Perhaps it was/is too much information
for one email. I thought my previous message was pretty good, considering how
late and hurriedly I wrote it after such a full day. I'm not so confident about
the clarity or utility of *this* late message after another long day.
Saturday and Sunday are opportunities to pad the Count with additional Count
Week species if any can be found within the circle. I hope to see birders and
birds out there!
--Dave Nutter
On Jan 02, 2015, at 08:43 AM, Meena Madhav Haribal wrote:
> Dave,
> You seem to have unofficially expanded Ithaca CBC to CLB. Dave Nicosia' s
> most of birds don't count in Ithaca CBC circle. So it is not summary of ICBC.
>
> Cheers
> PS:Good to be back home!
>
> Meena
> Ithaca
>
> Dave Nutter wrote:
>
> These are preliminary records. Some may be adjusted. There may be errors.
> Maybe you can add to the count week list by adding species on Jan 2, 3, or 4
> withing the Count Circle (7.5 miles from the intersection of Mt Pleasant &
> Turkey Hill Rds, also shown on Cayuga Bird Club web site through resources
> page). Some additions may also be new for 2015 for the Cayuga Lake Basin,
> while others have already been found outside the count circle. Please report
> errors, adjustments, or additions.
>
> Of the species which have been found on the Ithaca Christmas Bird Count in
> the past...
>
> These species were missed, but at least 4 are Count Week birds so far:
>
> Greater White-fronted Goose
> Ross' Goose
> Brant
> Mute Swan
> Tundra Swan
> Wood Duck
> GADWALL (good chance to find in circle; found at Factory St pond Union
> Springs by David Nicosia)
> American Wigeon (reported Count Week, but 2014)
> Blue-winged Teal
> Northern Shoveler
> King Eider
> Surf Scoter
> White-winged Scoter
> Long-tailed Duck (reported Count Week, but 2014)
> Northern Bobwhite
> Ring-necked Pheasant (reported Count Week, but 2014)
> Red-throated Loon
> Horned Grebe (reported Count Week in 2014; found today in Aurora Bay by David
> Nicosia)
> Green Heron
> Black Vulture
> Osprey
> Northern Goshawk
> Red-shouldered Hawk
> Golden Eagle
> Killdeer
> Wilson's Snipe
> Bonaparte's Gull (1 at Frontenac Park in Union Springs found by David Nicosia)
> Snowy Owl (reported recently on Seyboldt Rd near Canoga)
> BARRED OWL (let's hope someone is finding one right now as I write!)
> Long-eared Owl
> Red-headed Woodpecker
> American Three-toed Woodpecker
> Eastern Phoebe
> Boreal Chickadee
> House Wren
> Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
> Brown Thrasher
> American Pipit
> Bohemian Waxwing
> Lapland Longspur
> Snow Bunting (Mt Pleasant or Irish Settlement Rd, maybe?)
> Ovenbird
> Common Yellowthroat
> Yellow Warbler
> Pine Warbler
> Yellow-rumped Warbler
> Green-tailed Towhee
> Chipping Sparrow
> Grasshopper Sparrow
> Fox Sparrow
> Harris' Sparrow
> Rose-breasted Grosbeak
> Dickcissel
> Red-winged Blackbird
> Eastern Meadowlark
> Rusty Blackbird
> Common Grackle
> Baltimore Oriole
> Pine Grosbeak
> Red Crossbill
> White-winged Crossbill
> Hoary Redpoll
> Pine Siskin
> Evening Grosbeak
>
> These species were found:
>
> Snow Goose
> Cackling Goose (2 at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg)
> Canada Goose
> American Black Duck
> Mallard
> 5
> Northern Pintail (new high of 18)
> Green-winged Teal (high of 2 tied)
> Canvasback
> Redhead
> Ring-necked Duck
> 10
> G
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Belle School Rd - CL Basin or Not?
Bob, I have always understood that the divide between the Susquehanna and St. Lawrence basins (The Cayuga Lake Basin is part of the St. Lawrence drainage) was "somewhere between Belle School Rd and Ridgeway Road." So, you have forced me to actually look at the maps. Check out this link: http://www.tompkins-co.org/gis/physical.html Here you can download the following: (1) Town of Caroline--Tompkins County (the physical map) Then scroll down to Environmental Maps and download: (2) Watersheds of Tompkins County (3) Danby Watershed The most useful comparison is then to look at the Danby map vs the Town of Caroline, where you can see from the Danby map that they draw the divide mostly right along Belle School Road. Right around the road there it is quite flat and there is marsh on both sides. It is probably hard to tell exactly what water flows which way right there without testing it. You can see, however, that the watershed line (pink) bows away from the road on the south side in one spot fairly close to White Church Rd. The catbird was sitting in a bush along the road right about where that bows out (I am not making this up), so I think we're safe to say that when we saw it, it was in the basin!! The Towhee was on the north side of Belle School Road, right where the blue dotted line goes under the road (a culvert)--so definitely at least a few feet into the basin!! That stream definitely flows north between Coddington and White Church, and there is detectable flow at least 300' in, and probably sooner, but I can't remember seeing whether water flows under the road in one direction or the other. The Field Sparrows were farther in, so not even debatable. Enjoy, Sandy At 10:21 AM 1/2/2015, bob mcguire wrote: >Congratulations to Bill Podulka & friends for finding Catbird, >Towhee, and Field Sparrow on (?) Belle School Rd for the Christmas >count. Dave Nutter raised the question of whether they are in or out >of the Cayuga Lake basin (for the few of us who really care!) >Looking at the aerial photo on Google maps, I'd say that the road >itself IS the boundary. So, depending on exactly the birds were >seen, they could be in or out. BIll, can you add anything here? > >Bob McGuire >-- > >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/ > >-- -- 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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ithaca Christmas Bird Count unofficial summary
Question: does the Barred Owl sighting fall within Area VIII (west of Sapsucker Wood Road) or Area II (east)? Never mind. I just found out it was seen on the East side. -Paul -- Paul Anderson, VP of Engineering, GrammaTech, Inc. 531 Esty St., Ithaca, NY 14850 Tel: +1 607 273-7340 x118; http://www.grammatech.com -- 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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ithaca Christmas Bird Count unofficial summary
Dave: The discrepancy between your count (96) and mine (97) appears to be because my spreadsheet has the hybrid Great Black-backed/Herring Gull as the single entry in the "Gull sp." category. I believe that this would NOT count against our official species count, so your total is correct, except that the Barred Owl now bumps it to 97. Question: does the Barred Owl sighting fall within Area VIII (west of Sapsucker Wood Road) or Area II (east)? Paul On 1/1/2015 11:06 PM, Dave Nutter wrote: > These are preliminary records. Some may be adjusted. There may be > errors. Maybe you can add to the count week list by adding species on > Jan 2, 3, or 4 withing the Count Circle (7.5 miles from the > intersection of Mt Pleasant & Turkey Hill Rds, also shown on Cayuga > Bird Club web site through resources page). Some additions may also be > new for 2015 for the Cayuga Lake Basin, while others have already been > found outside the count circle. Please report errors, adjustments, or > additions. > > Of the species which have been found on the Ithaca Christmas Bird > Count in the past... > > These species were missed, but at least 4 are Count Week birds so far: > > Greater White-fronted Goose > Ross' Goose > Brant > Mute Swan > Tundra Swan > Wood Duck > GADWALL (good chance to find in circle; found at Factory St pond Union > Springs by David Nicosia) > American Wigeon (reported Count Week, but 2014) > Blue-winged Teal > Northern Shoveler > King Eider > Surf Scoter > White-winged Scoter > Long-tailed Duck (reported Count Week, but 2014) > Northern Bobwhite > Ring-necked Pheasant (reported Count Week, but 2014) > Red-throated Loon > Horned Grebe (reported Count Week in 2014; found today in Aurora Bay > by David Nicosia) > Green Heron > Black Vulture > Osprey > Northern Goshawk > Red-shouldered Hawk > Golden Eagle > Killdeer > Wilson's Snipe > Bonaparte's Gull (1 at Frontenac Park in Union Springs found by David > Nicosia) > Snowy Owl (reported recently on Seyboldt Rd near Canoga) > BARRED OWL (let's hope someone is finding one right now as I write!) > Long-eared Owl > Red-headed Woodpecker > American Three-toed Woodpecker > Eastern Phoebe > Boreal Chickadee > House Wren > Blue-gray Gnatcatcher > Brown Thrasher > American Pipit > Bohemian Waxwing > Lapland Longspur > Snow Bunting (Mt Pleasant or Irish Settlement Rd, maybe?) > Ovenbird > Common Yellowthroat > Yellow Warbler > Pine Warbler > Yellow-rumped Warbler > Green-tailed Towhee > Chipping Sparrow > Grasshopper Sparrow > Fox Sparrow > Harris' Sparrow > Rose-breasted Grosbeak > Dickcissel > Red-winged Blackbird > Eastern Meadowlark > Rusty Blackbird > Common Grackle > Baltimore Oriole > Pine Grosbeak > Red Crossbill > White-winged Crossbill > Hoary Redpoll > Pine Siskin > Evening Grosbeak > > These species were found: > > Snow Goose > Cackling Goose (2 at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg) > Canada Goose > American Black Duck > Mallard > 5 > Northern Pintail (new high of 18) > Green-winged Teal (high of 2 tied) > Canvasback > Redhead > Ring-necked Duck > 10 > Greater Scaup > Lesser Scaup > Black Scoter (1 at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg) > Bufflehead > Common Goldeneye > 15 > Hooded Merganser > Common Merganser > Red-breasted Merganser (only Area 7: single observer & location?) > Ruddy Duck (41, likely to be adjusted, but possible new high) > Ruffed Grouse > 20 > Wild Turkey > Common Loon (single finder & location?) > Pied-billed Grebe > Red-necked Grebe (1 - finder & location in Area 8?) > Double-crested Cormorant (6 on west side of Cayuga Lake, finder? site?) > 25 > Great Blue Heron > Turkey Vulture > Bald Eagle (8, may be adjusted, possible new high) > Northern Harrier (1 by airport found by Jason Harrington) > Sharp-shinned Hawk > 30 > Cooper's Hawk > Red-tailed Hawk > Rough-legged Hawk > American Kestrel > Merlin > 35 > Peregrine Falcon (1 adult at Cornell compost piles, found by Anne Clark) > American Coot > Ring-billed Gull > Herring Gull > Iceland Gull (1 immature at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg) > 40 > Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 at Cornell compost piles, found by Anne Clark) > Glaucous Gull (1 adult at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg) > Great Black-backed Gull > Rock Pigeon > Mourning Dove > 45 > Eastern Screech-Owl > Great Horned Owl > Short-eared Owl (1 on Buck Rd near Scofield Rd in Lansing heard by > Donna Scott) > Northern Saw-whet Owl (1 in Monkey Run south heard by Gary Kohlenberg) > Belted Kingfisher > 50 > Red-bellied Woodpecker > Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (2, of which I found 1 on Elm St on West Hill > in Ithaca) > Downy Woodpecker > Hairy Woodpecker > Northern Flicker > 55 > Pileated Woodpecker > Northern Shrike (1 found by Steve Fast on Irish Settlement Rd) > BLUE-HEADED VIREO (new for count, 1 found by Bob McGuire at 1950 > Hanshaw Rd) > Blue Jay > American Crow > 60 > Fish Crow > Common Raven (new high of 38 subject to adjustment) > Horned Lark (6 found by Donna Scott on Buck Rd in Lansing) > Black-capped C
[cayugabirds-l] Inside the circle, outside the basin
Today (Jan 2, 1520h) for the first time in weeks, had a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds in our woodsy patch S of our house/feeders at 147 Hile School Road, Freeville. Never saw them at the feeders earlier in the day. Anne -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Belle School Rd - CL Basin or Not?
Congratulations to Bill Podulka & friends for finding Catbird, Towhee, and Field Sparrow on (?) Belle School Rd for the Christmas count. Dave Nutter raised the question of whether they are in or out of the Cayuga Lake basin (for the few of us who really care!) Looking at the aerial photo on Google maps, I'd say that the road itself IS the boundary. So, depending on exactly the birds were seen, they could be in or out. BIll, can you add anything here? Bob McGuire -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Yard Red-Tail
A RED-TAILED HAWK is sitting on a post at the corner of our garden, about 15' from our kitchen window. I'm guessing its looking to take one of our many squirrels. I recently put up a metal squirrel decoration on our dead tree out front (a Xmas present from our daughter). Maybe the bird took it to be an invitation to come in and dine at our "restaurant"! Larry -- W. Larry Hymes 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu -- 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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ithaca Christmas Bird Count unofficial summary
Dave, You seem to have unofficially expanded Ithaca CBC to CLB. Dave Nicosia' s most of birds don't count in Ithaca CBC circle. So it is not summary of ICBC. Cheers PS:Good to be back home! Meena Ithaca Dave Nutter wrote: These are preliminary records. Some may be adjusted. There may be errors. Maybe you can add to the count week list by adding species on Jan 2, 3, or 4 withing the Count Circle (7.5 miles from the intersection of Mt Pleasant & Turkey Hill Rds, also shown on Cayuga Bird Club web site through resources page). Some additions may also be new for 2015 for the Cayuga Lake Basin, while others have already been found outside the count circle. Please report errors, adjustments, or additions. Of the species which have been found on the Ithaca Christmas Bird Count in the past... These species were missed, but at least 4 are Count Week birds so far: Greater White-fronted Goose Ross' Goose Brant Mute Swan Tundra Swan Wood Duck GADWALL (good chance to find in circle; found at Factory St pond Union Springs by David Nicosia) American Wigeon (reported Count Week, but 2014) Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler King Eider Surf Scoter White-winged Scoter Long-tailed Duck (reported Count Week, but 2014) Northern Bobwhite Ring-necked Pheasant (reported Count Week, but 2014) Red-throated Loon Horned Grebe (reported Count Week in 2014; found today in Aurora Bay by David Nicosia) Green Heron Black Vulture Osprey Northern Goshawk Red-shouldered Hawk Golden Eagle Killdeer Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull (1 at Frontenac Park in Union Springs found by David Nicosia) Snowy Owl (reported recently on Seyboldt Rd near Canoga) BARRED OWL (let's hope someone is finding one right now as I write!) Long-eared Owl Red-headed Woodpecker American Three-toed Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Boreal Chickadee House Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Brown Thrasher American Pipit Bohemian Waxwing Lapland Longspur Snow Bunting (Mt Pleasant or Irish Settlement Rd, maybe?) Ovenbird Common Yellowthroat Yellow Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Green-tailed Towhee Chipping Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow Fox Sparrow Harris' Sparrow Rose-breasted Grosbeak Dickcissel Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Rusty Blackbird Common Grackle Baltimore Oriole Pine Grosbeak Red Crossbill White-winged Crossbill Hoary Redpoll Pine Siskin Evening Grosbeak These species were found: Snow Goose Cackling Goose (2 at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg) Canada Goose American Black Duck Mallard 5 Northern Pintail (new high of 18) Green-winged Teal (high of 2 tied) Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck 10 Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Black Scoter (1 at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg) Bufflehead Common Goldeneye 15 Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser (only Area 7: single observer & location?) Ruddy Duck (41, likely to be adjusted, but possible new high) Ruffed Grouse 20 Wild Turkey Common Loon (single finder & location?) Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Grebe (1 - finder & location in Area 8?) Double-crested Cormorant (6 on west side of Cayuga Lake, finder? site?) 25 Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle (8, may be adjusted, possible new high) Northern Harrier (1 by airport found by Jason Harrington) Sharp-shinned Hawk 30 Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk American Kestrel Merlin 35 Peregrine Falcon (1 adult at Cornell compost piles, found by Anne Clark) American Coot Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Iceland Gull (1 immature at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg) 40 Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 at Cornell compost piles, found by Anne Clark) Glaucous Gull (1 adult at Stewart Park found by Ken Rosenberg) Great Black-backed Gull Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove 45 Eastern Screech-Owl Great Horned Owl Short-eared Owl (1 on Buck Rd near Scofield Rd in Lansing heard by Donna Scott) Northern Saw-whet Owl (1 in Monkey Run south heard by Gary Kohlenberg) Belted Kingfisher 50 Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (2, of which I found 1 on Elm St on West Hill in Ithaca) Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker 55 Pileated Woodpecker Northern Shrike (1 found by Steve Fast on Irish Settlement Rd) BLUE-HEADED VIREO (new for count, 1 found by Bob McGuire at 1950 Hanshaw Rd) Blue Jay American Crow 60 Fish Crow Common Raven (new high of 38 subject to adjustment) Horned Lark (6 found by Donna Scott on Buck Rd in Lansing) Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse 65 Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Carolina Wren (new high of 84) Winter Wren 70 Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1 found by Kevin McGowan at Portland Point, Lansing) Eastern Bluebird Hermit Thrush (1 found by Gary Kohlenberg at Monkey Run south) American Robin 75 Gray Catbird (1 found by Bill Podulka on RR grade by Belle School Rd in Caroline. Is this in Cayuga Lake Basin?) Northern Mockingbird European Starling Cedar Waxwing Orange-crowned Warbler (1, life bird for Paul Anderson along railroad south of Fish Ladder in Ithac
