Correction: period five should be:
7:35-7:50: 8 southbound, 3 northbound
Suan
On Sun, Nov 10, 2019 at 8:06 PM Suan Hsi Yong wrote:
> For my first Loon Watch at Taughannock this morning, I had no idea what
> turnout to expect. 0 seemed an understandable likelihood. Instead, about 20
> people showed up, including some "civilians" who saw this announced in the
> Ithaca Times calendar.
>
> Air temp was around freezing, winds were moderate from the south,
> 10-15mph. The good news: the hills shadowed us from the wind, so it was
> relatively comfortable. The bad news, this was headwind for the southbound
> loons, so the loon count was low. My tally of migrating loons is as follows:
>
> 6:35-6:50: 1
> 6:50-7:05: 7
> 7:05-7:20: 0
> 7:20-7:35: 1 southbound, 1 northbound
> 7:35-7:50: 3 southbound, 3 northbound
> 7:50-8:05: 4 southbound, 2 northbound, 1 u-turning back north
> 8:05-8:20: 4 southbound
>
> This count does not include about 5 loons fishing in the nearby waters,
> including one working very close giving good naked-eye looks. Almost all
> southbound loons flew low, almost skimming the surface of the water,
> presumably to minimize headwind, while those flying back north flew higher.
> Most flew individually, with a few loose pairs.
>
> An early highlight was an adult bald eagle that flew in and perched up
> close, triggering some nervous quacks from the mallards in the stream.
> Later we watched a young herring gull with a fish being chased and
> harassed by an adult herring gull, soon joined by a ring-billed, while a
> loon on the water seemed to follow along, perhaps hoping to pick up a
> dropped quarry. A rattling kingfisher, a flock of cedar waxwings, and a
> red-tailed hawk harassed by crow and gull rounded out the morning's
> sightings. Here's the e-bird list maintained by Jody:
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S61345988
>
> Thanks to all who showed up, especially those with scopes willing to share
> as mine gets repaired in the shop.
>
> Suan
>
>
>
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