[cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club Sodus Bay Trip

[Gladys Birdsall]

Yesterday, 1/16, 10 hearty people joined me for a birding trip to the Sodus bay 
area.  Our first stop was at the south end of the Sodus Bay.  We parked by the 
Bay Bridge Sport Shop off Rt. 143.  The bay was mostly iced over here but there 
were Mute Swans and juveniles, Trumpeter Swans and several gull species 
including two Bonapartes Gulls, Ringed-billed and Herring  Gulls sitting on the 
ice.  There were also Mallards and Black Ducks.  We continued on and drove 
around Shaker Tract Rd. looking for the Shrike that had recently been reported 
but struck out, just seeing Blue Jays.
Traveling on towards Sodus Point we stopped by Arney's Marina and Katlynn 
Marine looking for the Snowy Owl, but it was not around.  Arriving at the Sodus 
Bay Point park, another birder was just leaving and told us the Snowy Owl was 
there.  It had just flown to the east pier from the top of the light house.  
This was a life bird for Roberta, and it made her day.  The owl sat there the 
whole time we were at the point, and all enjoyed long looks through the scopes.
There was a BRISK west wind and very choppy waves but we were able to enjoy a 
variety of ducks here at the point.  A group of Long-tailed ducks hung out 
between the piers for excellent views.   Wes counted 187 Long-tailed ducks from 
this spot, and as we scanned back into the Bay and across the piers looking 
east.  Other birds we saw here were Scaup species, Bufflehead, Common 
Goldeneyes, White-winged Scoters, Common Loons (Meena had a count of 12), 
Mallards, Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Cormorants, Canada Geese, and Great 
Black-backed Gulls.
From there we drove to another street where we were able to view between 
houses, a nice raft of ducks, with many others in close view out on the bay.   
The raft included both Greater and Lesser Scaup, Redheads, a Canvasback male 
and 2 females. There were several White-winged Scoters  in this area and we had 
really nice views of them.  Other birds here included a Red-necked Grebe, 
Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, and Common Loons.
We then drove west on Lake Rd. to check out Beechwood State Park.  We walked 
back through a wooded area to an overlook to Lake Ontario.  On the walk we had 
White-breasted Nuthatches, a Downey Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, 
Chickadee and Blue Jay.  There was a  primitive camping area we passed and at 
the overlook we saw Buffleheads, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Loon, and a 
female Common Goldeneye.  Again, the water was extremely choppy.
We continued west to Pultenyville, but did not find any new species of ducks.  
We found in and around a marina, mallards and a female Hooded Merganser and 
female Common Merganser.
On our travels we passed many apple and other fruit orchards.  We saw American 
Robins among some trees that still had fruit on them.
Other birds seen going to and from Sodus Bay, flocks of Snow Geese (overhead 
while we were at the intersection of Rts. 318 and 414) , Red-tailed Hawks, 
starlings, Cooper's Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, and Rock Pigeons.

Given the wind, and choppy waves, but no rain (!), we had a nice variety of 
ducks, and  good looks at some beautiful birds.  It was fun exploring new 
areas.  Thanks to all who came along !

Good Birding,

Gladys Birdsall

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[cayugabirds-l] after CBC Sodus Bay Trip

[Donna Lee Scott]

Late in the afternoon, after the excellent field trip to Sodus Bay area (where 
at Beechwood State Park we also saw a ruin of an interesting, small, 
red-sandstone cobblestone cottage, close up), one carload of us (Jae Sullivan, 
who drove, Becky Hansen, Donna Scott and Roberta __) went first to the Mill 
Pond on Rt. 90 In Union Springs, then to the Long Pt. State Park Road by the 
winery. From Rt. 90 on the way, we saw the 100s of swans and other birds near 
Mud Lock, but did not have time to stop and look carefully  (Area: Cayuga 
County, east side Cayuga Lake)

At the Mill pond we found the female NORTHERN SHOVELER, several GREEN WINGED 
TEALS and GADWALLS, and some AMERICAN WIGEONS, REDHEADS, and BUFFLEHEADS.

At Long Point Road we looked for but did not see any Short-eared Owls, but in 
the approaching dark we did see two different hawk spp, one on either side of 
the road and in the distance. Each was initially in a tree and then flew down 
as if to catch prey and we didn’t see them again. I thought one of them might 
have been a female Northern Harrier and the other a Red Tail, but it was hard 
to see due to the failing light. Not enough time to scope them before they each 
flew.

We all appreciated the planning and scouting that Gladys Birdsall and Meena 
Haribal did to make the field trip fun and successful.

Donna Scott
Lansing, NY

From: bounce-120062232-15001...@list.cornell.edu 
[mailto:bounce-120062232-15001...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Gladys Birdsall
Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2016 1:51 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club Sodus Bay Trip

Yesterday, 1/16, 10 hearty people joined me for a birding trip to the Sodus bay 
area.  Our first stop was at the south end of the Sodus Bay.  We parked by the 
Bay Bridge Sport Shop off Rt. 143.  The bay was mostly iced over here but there 
were Mute Swans and juveniles, Trumpeter Swans and several gull species 
including two Bonapartes Gulls, Ringed-billed and Herring  Gulls sitting on the 
ice.  There were also Mallards and Black Ducks.  We continued on and drove 
around Shaker Tract Rd. looking for the Shrike that had recently been reported 
but struck out, just seeing Blue Jays.
Traveling on towards Sodus Point we stopped by Arney's Marina and Katlynn 
Marine looking for the Snowy Owl, but it was not around.  Arriving at the Sodus 
Bay Point park, another birder was just leaving and told us the Snowy Owl was 
there.  It had just flown to the east pier from the top of the light house.  
This was a life bird for Roberta, and it made her day.  The owl sat there the 
whole time we were at the point, and all enjoyed long looks through the scopes.
There was a BRISK west wind and very choppy waves but we were able to enjoy a 
variety of ducks here at the point.  A group of Long-tailed ducks hung out 
between the piers for excellent views.   Wes counted 187 Long-tailed ducks from 
this spot, and as we scanned back into the Bay and across the piers looking 
east.  Other birds we saw here were Scaup species, Bufflehead, Common 
Goldeneyes, White-winged Scoters, Common Loons (Meena had a count of 12), 
Mallards, Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Cormorants, Canada Geese, and Great 
Black-backed Gulls.
From there we drove to another street where we were able to view between 
houses, a nice raft of ducks, with many others in close view out on the bay.   
The raft included both Greater and Lesser Scaup, Redheads, a Canvasback male 
and 2 females. There were several White-winged Scoters  in this area and we had 
really nice views of them.  Other birds here included a Red-necked Grebe, 
Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, and Common Loons.
We then drove west on Lake Rd. to check out Beechwood State Park.  We walked 
back through a wooded area to an overlook to Lake Ontario.  On the walk we had 
White-breasted Nuthatches, a Downey Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, 
Chickadee and Blue Jay.  There was a  primitive camping area we passed and at 
the overlook we saw Buffleheads, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Loon, and a 
female Common Goldeneye.  Again, the water was extremely choppy.
We continued west to Pultenyville, but did not find any new species of ducks.  
We found in and around a marina, mallards and a female Hooded Merganser and 
female Common Merganser.
On our travels we passed many apple and other fruit orchards.  We saw American 
Robins among some trees that still had fruit on them.
Other birds seen going to and from Sodus Bay, flocks of Snow Geese (overhead 
while we were at the intersection of Rts. 318 and 414) , Red-tailed Hawks, 
starlings, Cooper's Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, and Rock Pigeons.

Given the wind, and choppy waves, but no rain (!), we had a nice variety of 
ducks, and  good looks at some beautiful birds.  It was fun exploring new 
areas.  Thanks to all who came along !

Good Birding,

Gladys Birdsall
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
Welcome and 

[cayugabirds-l] White Pelican

[Diana]

Hi All, 
 I went today to look for the White Pelican. I got there at about 7:15 and left 
a cold five hours later. Unfortunately, this bird is not eating at all, and I 
wonder if perhaps the water is too deep there for it to be successful. I 
noticed that it would follow the cormorants around. I think it was hoping to 
steal a meal as it never seemed to be making any attempt at 'fishing'. I stayed 
really to try and figure out if it was eating, but had to leave at 12:15. I 
feel kind of sad looking at the weather forecast. I wonder if this bird has the 
strength to fly more than the short flights I saw. Photos after my camera warms 
up and can out of the bag.

Diana Whiting
dianawhitingphotography.com
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[cayugabirds-l] White Pelican

[joe & Diana]

 Hi All, 

I would like to add for those of us who might not know, that after a little 
research, I found that the White Pelican co-operatively feeds with the 
cormorant because when the cormorant dives, it stirs up the fish to the top of 
the water where the pelican can  then scoop up the fish. Even so, the strategy 
did not seem to be working. That would explain why the pelican is following 
them. Here are a few shots, nothing spectacular because the light really 
dwindled, but for the record.

http://www.dianawhitingphotography.com/Galleries/Birds/Central-New-York-Rarities/
Diana Whiting
http://www.dianawhitingphotography.com/


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[cayugabirds-l] Red-winged Blackbird

[Annette Nadeau]

I was surprised just now to see a male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD on my deck
under the feeders here in Brooktondale. Wish he'd made an appearance the
day of the count.

Annette
-- from my phone

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Tufted Duck, northern Cayuga Lake

[Jay McGowan]

Mark Miller just called to say he has the TUFTED DUCK now in a big Aythya
flock off of the north end of Kozy Kove Road where we had it yesterday.
On Jan 16, 2016 9:51 PM, "Jay McGowan"  wrote:

> Early this afternoon, Ken Rosenberg, Alex Lees, Nárgila Moura, and Tom
> Auer found a male TUFTED DUCK in a large, Redhead-based Aythya flock off of
> Twin Oaks Campground on northern Cayuga Lake just north of Union Springs.
> The flock shifted when an eagle came over and some birds moved south to off
> of Kozy Kove Road, where Ken's group obligingly refound the bird shortly
> thereafter. The flocks continued to shift, and we lost the bird around 1:30
> when most of the flock flew back north, perhaps to the Twin Oaks area
> again. List with photos here:
> http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26937243
>
> Ken's group also found two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE in the bay south of
> Hibiscus Harbor just north of Union Springs, as well as a SNOW x CANADA
> GOOSE hybrid. Photos here:
> http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26933763
>
> Before this excitement, Livia and I were birding in Lansing. In addition
> to continuing AMERICAN PIPITS and KILLDEER on the shores of Salt Point, we
> found a GRAY CATBIRD along Portland Point Road, along with some impressive
> numbers of AMERICAN ROBINS and CEDAR WAXWINGS.
> http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26925025
>
>
> --
> Jay McGowan
> Ithaca, NY
> jw...@cornell.edu
>

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[cayugabirds-l] Fox Sparrow

[bob mcguire]

January is only half over and already several people are in the running for 
having seen 100 CL Basin birds before the end of the month. Admittedly it’s a 
silly game, but then it is a great reason to get outside and enjoy the weather! 

One hundred birds in January is not impossible, but it requires finding just 
about every bird that normally winters here as well as chasing (or being the 
first to find) the so-called “half-hardies” and any unexpected incidentals. 
That was the goal of a group of us who drove around the lake yesterday. We were 
successful at finding the Killdeer and American Pipits at Myers and the Gray 
Catbird (first reported by Jay McGowan) at Portland Point. We were fortunate to 
be in the area when the report of Tufted Duck came in (found by Ken Rosenberg’s 
Waterfowl Count group) and subsequently found the two Greater White-fronted 
Geese just north of Union Springs. We found a trio of Trumpeter Swans at Mud 
Lock and later had four more fly over, calling, on Armitage Road. 

On the other hand, we did not re-find the Shrike on Carncross Road or the 
reported (somewhat questionable as to how long ago) Cranes on Van Dyne Spoor 
Road. Likewise, we did not find any Snowy Owls along Seybolt Road or the 
usually reliable Lesser Black-backed Gull at Dean’s Cove. 

This morning, with a couple of birds to go to get to 100, I stopped by the 
Liddell Lab on Freese Road, the location of a Fox Sparrow first reported by Tom 
Schulenberg on the Christmas Bird Count. The feeders, which during the week are 
kept full, were empty of seed and birds. I walked around a bit and returned to 
the feeder area, attracted by some Cardinal calls. There was motion on the 
ground under one of the feeders that quickly came into focus as a pair of 
White-throated Sparrows and - the Fox Sparrow!

Now the question is - head for Aurora to try for the mythical Eared Grebe or 
Long-tailed Duck (the latter reported there yesterday) - or Lake Como and the 
McIlroy Preserve for Ruffed Grouse (I had tracks there Friday but couldn’t find 
the bird) - or drive around Cayuga County looking for a flock of Horned 
Larks/Snow Buntings with a Lapland Longspur thrown in. Really hard to decide. I 
think it’s time for a nap!

Bob McGuire
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[cayugabirds-l] Lapland Longspurs

[Ann Mitchell]

Seen in a flock of 40 Horned Larks at the southwest corner of Connors and Webb 
Road north of rte 326, town of Springport.
Ann

Sent from my iPhone
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