Good morning all,
I’ve been away from Montezuma since last Friday, so I haven’t been able to keep
up personally with where the Snow Geese and other waterfowl have been hanging
out over the weekend. I did a quick drive around to some of the hot spots, and
I’ll detail my observations below:
-“Route 31 Muck”: this is where all the action has been the last week!
REMINDER: This is private land. The little pull off areas are on private land.
Please be respectful if you visit, and stay in the pull off area, do not go
walking out into the fields even if there is a “road”. I’ve seen people doing
this to get better pictures, but it isn’t necessary as the birds have been
pretty cooperative. Also, this is considered trespassing. Also, please do not
stop on Route 31/walk along the road, especially where there are guard rails!
This is a 55mph zone, and tractor trailers and other large vehicles travel this
route, and will not be able to stop or swerve if there are cars along the side
of the road (or even IN the road stopped). There was an estimated 600,000+ Snow
Geese on these flooded fields last week. Sunday 3/6 weather brought them in in
droves. It was very mild and there was a strong SW wind that they took
advantage of. As we know, this past weekend’s weather was quite the opposite (I
❤ NY). I drove through the flats this morning around 9 am, and there were much
fewer geese, and most were on the western edge of the fields. It was still a
sizeable group of thousands, but maybe not even 10,000. I don’t know yet if the
bulk of the birds have already passed through, and are continuing north, or if
they were just all split up in maybe down on Cayuga Lake, or in various ag
fields. I would expect we’ll figure that out in the next day or so if they do
or do not return in the masses to the muck flats. There were also Tundras,
Canadas, and a some ducks here and there. A Tundra Bean-Goose was sighted here
last week amongst all the Snow Geese. This is considered a mega rarity, as
their native range is in Europe and Asia
The other thing that is happening, is that many of the marshes are opening up
and the ice is melting. So some of these birds may be spread out amongst
wetlands rather than consolidated to just the muck flats.
-Knox Marsellus Marsh on East Road: The marsh is about half covered with ice,
and I didn’t see any significant here, but I didn’t spend a lot of time either.
-Montezuma NWR: The wildlife drive and visitor center are not open (no
restrooms either) until April 1. You are still allowed to visit the visitor
center and bird from there, as the pool in front can be good birding. The
entrance is off of Route 5/20 in Seneca Falls.
-Van Dyne Spoor Rd, Savannah: I haven’t been down here yet, because the roads
have been a mess. If you have a more rugged vehicle, you could attempt driving
down. It does turn into a seasonal road, and with all the snow and
freezing/thawing, I don’t know what condition it is in. Probably pretty muddy
and many potholes. The wetlands along the end of the road though could be good
birding and there could be Sandhill Cranes and other waterfowl hiding down
there.
-Morgan Road, Savannah: This is a dead end, and ends at the DEC field office.
Feel free to park here. You are able to walk out on the berms on state land, so
feel free to do that. There are no public facilities here, FYI. This had some
good birding on Friday! We saw about 10 Bald Eagles of varying ages hanging out
along the river. The marshes there are probably thawing out, and when they do
there will be ducks, swans, etc coming to use them. Sandhill Cranes continue to
be seen along Morgan Road. A particular spot I look for cranes is a short walk.
Park in the parking area, and you’ll see the barns. Between the huge red barn
and the pond, there is an access road. Don’t drive it, but walk down there and
you’ll see a little “parking” area/circle. This is a good vantage point, and
I’ve been seeing cranes tucked back into an agriculture field from here. It’s
hard to explain, but if you walk out to this spot (it’s like 1/8 mi if not
less) take a look and listen, and you may find them. But also the cranes are
being seeing in the ag fields along the road itself before you get to the end.
-Montezuma Audubon Center: We are open Tues-Sat, 10 am – 4 pm. See the address
in my signature below. Feel free to stop in and pick up a map for $1 and we can
point you in the right direction. We are seeing cranes here as well, although
it is hit or miss.
Other birds of interest: Killdeer have returned! I hear them calling and
courting. Song Sparrows are singing, as well as Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted
Titmice, Northern Cardinals, etc. I personally am waiting to hear Eastern
Meadowlarks and Spring Peepers- THEN it will feel like truly spring for me! The
honking geese, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Common Grackles are definitely the
kick-off, and they’ve been around for weeks now.
Unfortunately
