It doesn't look like this ever got posted on this list. This morning, Saturday, 18 June 2016, Stacy Robinson was looking for the Garganey at Knox-Marsellus and found a Black-necked Stilt instead!!! Although the Garganey remained elusive and had not been seen by the time I left this afternoon, the stilt was seen throughout the day. When I was there just past noon, the looks were horrible because of the distance and heat shimmer. But, fortunately, a stilt is a giant shorebird that is boldly patterned in simple black and white, and so is easily identified with confidence from a great distance.
Although Black-necked Stilt is an expected vagrant along the New York coast, it is rare in the state even there. I haven't done the research, but I believe this may be the third upstate record of the species in New York and the first for the Cayuga Lake Basin. It certainly was a new state bird for me! Kevin -- 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/ --
