I did a little wandering birding today, from Dryden to Lansing, to Ithaca, and back again to Dryden.
Highlights included 2 immature SNOW GEESE at Myers Point, grazing around the basketball court. Their messy white-with-bits-of-gray plumage made great camouflage in the broken snow of the lawn. Very cute together. Despite a full kellingsworth of Canada Geese on the lawn at Stewart Park, I couldn't find anything unusual in the flock. A pair of NORTHERN PINTAIL were close in shore with Mallards at Stewart Park. One male and one female RING-NECKED DUCK were under the docks at East Shore boat house and to the north (not together). At least one pair of LESSER SCAUP with a big, distant flock in the shimmer west of the marina at Myers Point. No other Aythya diving ducks seen. 2 PIED-BILLED GREBES and 1 HORNED GREBE north of East Shore Park. 1 young GREAT BLUE HERON on the Great Black-backed Gull snag off Stewart Park shore. Single TURKEY VULTURES soaring here and there; probably 6 seen total. No unusual gulls. A BELTED KINGFISHER at Myers. A single calling AMERICAN PIPIT at Myers Point, moving from the point to upstream. No warm-weather sparrows; just a few American Tree Sparrows here and there, but fewer than I'd hoped. I have no redpolls at my house on Yellow Barn Rd, but I did hear some at Myers Point. 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/ --
