I walked Renwick Woods, across the golf course, through Jetty woods and looped around the golf course to the bird feeder at the marina.
The forest seemed especially vibrant, busy, joyfully noisy, and alive this morning: starlings and grackles in and out of holes in trees, Common Mergansers dashing here, there, everywhere over water, through the forest, pausing in a tree(?) It was rush hour for birding parents. Many flycatchers, warblers, vireos. Such a contrast to winter. I got close views and long serenade this morning by a WOOD THRUSH in Renwick Woods. As I walked across the golf course, I saw 2 then 3 adult KILLDEER and 3 baby chicks. I was concerned because the mower was out and then the golf carts. Should the bird club ask them to slow down or hold off during 5/14-20? I found half of an egg shell on 5/14 in the taller grass. It was all white with black splotches, like a sea bird. Now, I realize it was a Kildeer egg. The shell was gone today. But there was another half egg shell today in the tall grass: very small, a bit smaller than a robin egg, and all white. In Jetty Woods; the owlets were back, three SPOTTED SANDPIPERS on the jetty again. They let me get within five feet of them. On the way back out of the woods, I saw a RED FOX lurking behind a fallen tree on the bank. As I move onward, I heard chirping and turned around. It was a female HUMMER. She grabbed some of the old nest in a tree and hummed off. The nest she visited was a very small nest that was dangling from a tree (reusing?). On the way back on the inlet side of the golf course, I caught a glimpse of a sleek black mammal carrying a kit in its mouth. My first thought was MINK, then fisher, then marten. And then I started to doubt myself and thought strange stray cat? As I paused, it came back out of its den on the bank and under the willow and just stared at me. It must have been mammal day because a moment later I noticed a GROUND HOG watching me and then a CHIPMUNK ran by! I got some great pictures today! -- 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/ --
