[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding
A small group of interested birders, including a youngster less than 10 years-old, joined me for a beginner bird walks this morning down at Stewart Park. By good fortune, we ran into Chris Tessaglia-Hymes who joined us for the whole hour. I really appreciated his extra eyes and ears. Overall, bird diversity and abundance was generally lower compared to two weeks ago when I last led a group down there. Still, it is always interesting when first an immature Bald Eagle cruises by and lands in a tree across Fall Creek only to be spotted by an adult eagle. The adult chased the younger bird from the tree and both grappled a bit before the adult seemingly settled the matter. Later as we were ending, three Osprey came by and tried to harass the now perched adult eagle, but to little avail. Driving home I saw the intrepid Tom Schullenburg looking for migrants high and low in the sky from the end of his driveway along Hanshaw road. I’ll let him post his highlights if he is so moved. In early afternoon, I did a half-hour stationary count in the woods beside my house and spotted a first-of-the-year-for-me Blue-headed Vireo hawking for insects. If you are sitting inside reading this, you really should get outside and enjoy the day! Jody Jody W. Enck, PhD Public Engagement in Science Cornell Lab of Ornithology -- 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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Saturday Birding
I wonder if when the half of the duck’s brain is sleeping the opposite foot is kicking randomly like my sleeping dog does (and maybe I do it too!). Or maybe this is akin to a screensaver: the duck keeps one leg kicking so it doesn’t freeze in place! Just some random theories…. ChrisP __ Chris Pelkie Information/Data Manager; IT Support Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 On Mar 8, 2015, at 08:11, Meena Madhav Haribal m...@cornell.edumailto:m...@cornell.edu wrote: Hi all, Yesterday , I too went looking for birds at IYC, but my goal was to observe behaviors. I arrived there and got out and from the top parking area I looked at the ducks in the bay and first thing I saw was T What intrigued me most is how the ducks, geese and swans sleep. Some of them sleep with their eyes tucked inside the feathers and others with, only beak tucked inside the feathers and eyes outside. I saw several hundreds of them asleep in the water. But many of them were spinning around. Something similar I watched on Seneca River too where the sleeping mergansers were spinning around. They remained almost in the same location in spite of river flowing. So how do they do it? At least mergansers I could see they were paddling slowly in spite of sleeping. My conclusion was probably they paddle with one feet and thus they rotate round and round. Same thing happens if we paddle in one direction only in a canoe or kayak. Anybody has any insight about the mechanism? It would be cool to learn. Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 42.429007,-76.47111 http://www.haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ Ithaca area moths: https://plus.google.com/118047473426099383469/posts Dragonfly book sample pages: http://www.haribal.org/dragonflies/samplebook.pdf -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basicshttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME Rules and Informationhttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Subscribe, Configuration and Leavehttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm Archives: The Mail Archivehttp://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html Surfbirdshttp://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds BirdingOnThe.Nethttp://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBirdhttp://ebird.org/content/ebird/! -- -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday Birding
Hi all, Yesterday , I too went looking for birds at IYC, but my goal was to observe behaviors. I arrived there and got out and from the top parking area I looked at the ducks in the bay and first thing I saw was TUFTED DUCK through binoculars. I spent some time watching it and as there was no else and I could hear the ducks calling, I decided I want to record them. So I was getting ready with the equipment, when I saw a huge van with lots of stickers of Ibird and eBird and full of Cornellites pulled ahead of me as I was still trying to get my recorder out. One by one all jumped out of the van some with large lenses and scopes, they all looked very professional. So my chance of quiet recording was foiled. So I decided I will stop by on the way back. I headed up north. On the whim, I decided to go look at the Upper Taughannock Falls. And I was happy I did. It was an impressive sight with large pile of snow ice build up and a tiny bit of water still flowing and making loud noise. I spent some time enjoying the view and was wondering how it would be when the snow melts! Then, I headed to Sheldrake. Sheldrake shore was littered with birds. It seems that the large raft of Athya ducks have split into smaller groups all the way up to Varick where the ice edge is in the north. I could see some were displaying, some sleeping, some diving actively and others doing nothing. Also, there were lots of swans all along the edges and hundreds of Mergansers mostly Red-breasted and some Common. I was looking for Red-necked Grebes and scoters. I think I saw one Red-necked Grebe, which dove as soon as I saw it and then disappeared into water and I did not relocate it again. I also saw a CACKLING GOOSE among the Canada. Then I headed to Seybolt Road in the hopes of relocating some winter rarities. I found several paired Horned Larks and several groups of Horned Larks feeding along the road. At Cayuga lake State park, I found a Merlin sitting as I passed by. I could not stop as another car was behind me. So I turned at a convenient location and headed back to get a better look at the Merlin. By the time I returned it was gone or I missed seeing it. I returned the same way I had gone and stopped at the same locations to enjoy more of these birds. By the time I came back to IYC, which was hoping would be devoid of people, but there were three more cars parked. So I decided to call it a day. As I was I just getting on Rt 89, I found Ann Mitchell heading towards IYC. What intrigued me most is how the ducks, geese and swans sleep. Some of them sleep with their eyes tucked inside the feathers and others with, only beak tucked inside the feathers and eyes outside. I saw several hundreds of them asleep in the water. But many of them were spinning around. Something similar I watched on Seneca River too where the sleeping mergansers were spinning around. They remained almost in the same location in spite of river flowing. So how do they do it? At least mergansers I could see they were paddling slowly in spite of sleeping. My conclusion was probably they paddle with one feet and thus they rotate round and round. Same thing happens if we paddle in one direction only in a canoe or kayak. Anybody has any insight about the mechanism? It would be cool to learn. Also another thing which made me think was segregation of Athya ducks. How did they split into smaller groups? Is there any particular way they did it? Did the birds of the same summering/breeding location group into one group? Or was it randomized? I think geese seem to have some kind of groups and when they are feeding or sleeping on the lake they are randomized but when they are taking off, specific individuals go off together. I watched this with the Sandhill Cranes in Bosque Del Apache as the family groups were taking off from the roost early morning, they would call to each other and wait for every one in the family to be ready to take off, mostly three or four birds and of them often one or two were juveniles. I have some videos of this behavior. What fun it would be if we could geotag all the birds and learn what they are doing! Now probably I am off to do some more birding! Cheers Meena Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 42.429007,-76.47111 http://www.haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ Ithaca area moths: https://plus.google.com/118047473426099383469/posts Dragonfly book sample pages: http://www.haribal.org/dragonflies/samplebook.pdf -- 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:
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding
Today, Gary Kohlenberg and I went up the lake to Montezuma. Here is where we went and what we saw: Myers - 3 species of gulls and mallards. Long Point- 35 or so Common Loons, a probable Red-throated Loon, but not 100 percent sure. 3 Pipits. Montezuma Wildlife Drive - we saw every specie of duck except Canvasback, There were vast numbers of the other ducks. I picked out the only Pied-billed Grebe, although Gary thought he saw one at Bennings. We saw 3 species of Swans (cool). There were 2 Peregrine Falcons, 3 Bald Eagles, 1 Northern Harrier, and a Red-tailed Hawk. We also heard a Red-bellied Woodpecker. At Eaton March we saw the American Avocet. Dave Wheeler saw is eat a huge minnow the size of a finger. There was also a Dunlin in the same vicinity. We saw no Eared Grebe or Red-throated Loon. Also, lots of Coots were around. East Road- Gary counted 60 Sandhill Cranes. There were 6 Ross's Geese divided in to 2 groups. Many Canada Geese. Some Cackling Geese were reported, but we didn't have the time to look for them. The ducks were Mallard, Black Duck, Pintail, American Wigeon. Don't know what else. Lots of Tundra Swans. We saw 1 Dunlin and 3 unidentified shorebirds. Good Birding, Ann Sent from my iPhone -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding: pipit, W-c Sparrow, Oregon Junco
Martha Fischer and I participated in the DEC waterfowl survey this morning on the west side of Cayuga Lake from Taughannock Point up almost to Deans Cove. We didn't find anything particularly noteworthy, but diversity wasn't bad, and there were definitely more birds around (in that section anyway) than this time last year. Sheldrake was the center of activity as usual, with thousands of Canada Geese and moderate-sized scattered groups of Redhead and Ring-necked Ducks with Canvasback and scaup mixed in, as well as Bufflehead, goldeneye, and all three mergansers around the fringes, as well as two NORTHERN PINTAIL and a single GADWALL. We saw a couple of Mallard x black duck hybrids during the day, as well as an odd male-like Mallard with brown on the face and female-like patches on the sides, perhaps an intersex female. Photos here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16507246 The most noteworthy birds of the morning, however, were not waterfowl. Martha spotted two AMERICAN PIPITS foraging along the shoreline at Deans Cove after our survey: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16503915 And as we drove along South Street in Ovid looking for Snowy Owls on our way back to Ithaca (no luck), we flushed a juvenile WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW off the side of the road: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16503904 After heading back to Ithaca and finding the immature GLAUCOUS GULL sleeping on the ice (http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16502642) (likely the same bird that Bob McGuire had at the compost this morning), I headed up the east side of the lake. Once again I found nothing noteworthy on the waterfowl front, but while checking access points south of Union Springs, I stumbled across a flock of tree sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos on Great Gully Cove/Fire Lane 8 that contained a female OREGON DARK-EYED JUNCO. It stood out immediately as being much warmer and browner than the other birds, even a couple of fairly brown female Slate-colored. The gray hood was dark and very distinct, contrasting with the brown back and pinkish-brown sides. They didn't allow close approach and disappeared after a few minutes, but I managed a couple of mediocre pictures: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16507845 -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology jw...@cornell.edu -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding highlights (sort of long)
Hello All, I am really not trying to compete with Ken Rosenberg for reporting neat birds (sorry, Ken, I couldn’t resist), but it just takes me a while to sit down at my computer to let other folks know about my experiences. Anyway... perhaps the coolest birds I saw Saturday were a GOLDEN EAGLE and a NELSON’S SPARROW. I was birding an area that overlaps substantially (or even entirely) with Tom Schulenberg’s home patch. If you put a dot at the intersection of Freese and Hanshaw Roads northeast of Ithaca, and draw a circle of about a mile radius around it, you get the picture of where I was birding. Besides encompassing my own residence, I like this circle because it includes patches of woods (some rather contiguous with others allowing for some substantial amount of forested habitat from early successional stages up to woods that might be have at least 60-70 years worth of growth). It also has agricultural fields (corn and soybean in particular) that have recently been harvested and are attracting lots of waterfowl and loafing gulls. It includes the Freese Road garden plots and similar grassy and old field habitats. It also includes a section of Fall Creek, the little pond at Liddel Bee Lab and the wetlands at the Lab of Ornithology. I set out Saturday about 9am with the express purpose of trying to see if the NELSON’S SPARROW was still hanging around the little pond by the bee lab on Freese Road. It had been reported just the day before, so I thought there was a good chance that I might run into it if I was careful and persistent. I have to admit that I did look for this bird with my sons the day that Tom first reported it (it is only a half mile from my house). I thought my fledgling birder boys might enjoy trying to see a bird that they had never encountered before. I am fairly certain that I got two glimpses of the bird with enough diagnostic field marks to say that I saw the bird that day, but the only looks my boys got were of a small brownish bird, twice jumping up out of the tall dead grass, flying about ten feet, and diving back into cover. So, yesterday I headed straight to the pond area. It is becoming fairly easy to see where others are looking for the bird because of the human foot prints in the mud and the little paths that are now meandering through the tall, dead grass. I really didn’t want to put on a one-man drive through the grass in an attempt to flush the bird for a quick view. So, I surveyed the area from a little distance and decided to walk in to the bank of the pond and sit against one of the bluebird/tree swallow boxes to see if I could hear or see this sparrow without flushing it. Of course I ended up flushing birds just getting to the bluebird/tree swallow box. One of these was a largish sparrow with a longish, more or less rounded tail, that seemed relatively dark on the top side (do you like my scientific descriptions?). Perhaps a lingering SONG SPARROW. Another bird was smaller, plumper, but not fat, and not interested in flushing nearly as far as the first bird (which went well over 40 yards before diving back into cover). This second bird only would go about five to eight feet before hiding again. This bird decidedly was not the Nelson’s sparrow, however, as I did see it well enough to know it had a very clean, unmarked throat and breast, and a mostly unmarked face, with a couple, broad brownish stripes on its head, and a light-colored bill. The rational birder in me was saying to pay attention to the fact that it is mid November, and that this must be a juvenile White-crowned sparrow. But the guy looking at the bird through 10x binoculars at about 12 feet, kept saying that this bird is way too small and simply not the right proportions. Plus, the face, including the entire area around the eyes and auriculars was unmarked in my view of the bird. This birder in me kept asking the question, why can’t this be a really late Field Sparrow? American Tree Sparrow also jumped into the rational side of my brain, and the shape and size of this bird was much more similar to that than a White-crowned for sure. Still, the bill was all one shade of light (not two-toned like the rational birder in me would expect with a Tree Sparrow), and I did have a decent, straight-on (albeit brief) view of the breast, and saw nothing that looked remotely like a breast spot. The inquisitive trait in me certainly was piqued with this bird, but certainly was not ”peaked” in that I never felt like I was satisfied with figuring out what that bird really was. A second sparrow spp. in my notebook. I flushed a third sparrow just getting to the place I wanted to sit down to watch. This little lighter brownish job (LLBJ) also only went about 10 feet at grass-top level before diving back into cover. I couldn’t really notice anything else about this bird at
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding
I did a leisurely day of birding around Tompkins County today. Highlights include: A continuing NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH in the bog on Purvis Rd, south of Dryden Lake. I had this bird a couple of weeks ago, and considered that a late date. But, I figured I'd try again today, and it was still there. I heard its distinctive call note before the bird itself appeared to be photographed. I will post on my Picasa site soon. Two cold Killdeer were in a wet tractor rut where I expected snipe, in the field east of the south end of West Lake Rd near Dryden Lake. A long crow watch at the Cornell compost by the Game Farm turned up only 4 tagged crows, a couple of Fish Crows, an increasing number of Herring Gulls, and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull (a near-adult sporting a black bill with a yellow quarter tip). Turkey Vulture numbers were down to about 20. Plenty of Red-tailed Hawk action kept clearing the piles. Lesser Black-back was in groups loafing on the hill; viewing for species was better from Stevenson Rd than in the compost area. A single male Purple Finch was with House Finches at the corner of Warren and Bluegrass Lane. I did not find anything interesting on Bluegrass, despite Tom's sparrows. A stomp through the north side of the community gardens on Freese Rd turned up a bunch of House Sparrows, lots of American Goldfinches, a few White-throated Sparrows, a good number of Song Sparrows, and a single Fox Sparrow. The light was bad for photographing birds today, but the countryside is really beautiful right now. We do live in a beautiful place! 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding in and out of the Basin
Hi all, Livia and I started out in Dryden this morning but ended up going around the lake. Highlights were EVENING GROSBEAKS at the Confers on Hammond Hill; the beautiful and cooperative AMERICAN AVOCET along the lakeshore in Geneva (photos soon), along with Red-necked Grebe, Surf and White-winged scoter, Bonaparte's Gulls, and many Common and one Forster's tern offshore from the same area; 2 UPLAND SANDPIPERS at the Empire Farm Days fairgrounds in Seneca Falls (don't forget they still would like birders to call ahead); a mostly winter plumage AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER with many Pectoral Sandpipers, both yellowlegs, and dozens of Bonaparte's Gulls in the Kip Island Fields, the flooded fields on either side of the thruway visible from Rt. 90 just west of the village of Montezuma. Waterfowl diversity was good most of the places we went, including Montezuma, but we didn't find anything other than the usual species there. A gray fox running across Warren Road on the drive home was a nice surprise as well. Cheers, Jay -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology jw...@cornell.edu -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding, Ithaca to Union Springs
Some friends and I had a great day of birding yesterday. Our itinerary included Stewart Park, East Shore Park, a shrike search, Ladoga and Myers point, a quest for winter field birds, the Wells College boathouse and the bluffs to the south, the ponds and Frontenac Park in Union Springs, and watching for Short-eared Owls on our way home. Highlights:SNOW GOOSE - 2 among Canadas from bluffs south of Aurora; 1 among Canadas from Frontenac ParkCACKLING GOOSE - 1 among Canadas at Stewart ParkTUNDRA SWAN - 1 near on ice edge at Stewart Park; dozens flying in distance from Frontenac ParkGADWALL - several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union SpringsAMERICAN WIGEON- several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union SpringsNORTHERN PINTAIL - 1 male among Mallards at Ladoga south of Myers Point, an area with many gunners, so look quickGREEN-WINGED TEAL - 1 or 2 males on Mill Pond in Union SpringsREDHEADS - raft off Stewart Park ousted by guys in a boat; small numbers various places on lake; best seen on Union Springs pondsCANVASBACK - one male among RedheadsWHITE-WINGED SCOTER - 1 distantly viewed from East Shore ParkBUFFLEHEAD - several places on the lake including Stewart ParkCOMMON GOLDENEYE - most places on the lake but numerous and seen best at Stewart ParkHOODED MERGANSER -a few,best seen at Stewart ParkCOMMON MERGANSER -a few,best seen at Stewart ParkRUDDY DUCK - a few, best seen at Stewart Park and East Shore Park*RING-NECKED PHEASANT - 1 male at Atwater Rd NYS-34B by old Agway, town of Genoa. First 2013 report in Cayuga Lake Basin and it's not even within sight of the game farm!WILD TURKEY - 30+ in field near hundreds of Canada Geese on Fenner Rd in Lansing a short distance east of NYS-34BCOMMON LOONS - small numbers several places on Cayuga LakePIED-BILLED GREBE - 4 together from East Shore ParkHORNED GREBE - 2 from East Shore Park, 11 from Wells College boathouse including a group of 8; 3 from Frontenac ParkRED-NECKED GREBE - 1 continuing at Stewart Park and East Shore ParkDOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT -- 1 seen distantly from East Shore ParkGREAT BLUE HERON - 1 flying west fairly low just offshore at Stewart ParkTURKEY VULTURE - several in the South Lansing areaROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - 1 light morph atop the lone oak south of Burdick Hill Rd in LansingAMERICAN COOT - large flocks south of Finger Lakes Marine (south of Myers Point Park) and off Frontenac ParkNORTHERN FLICKER - flew to distant tree viewed from Cayuga Vista DriveNORTHERN SHRIKE - still cooperative on wires and hedgerow along Cayuga Vista Drive off East Shore Drive (NYS-34), Lansing. We were unsuccessful by Equine Drug Testing building by the airport and on Sheldon and Scofield RoadsAMERICAN CROW - individual with strange gray dewlap-like growths on chin at #278 Davis Rd, LansingEASTERN BLUEBIRD - 1 male trying to feed on sumac on Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, LansingNORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD - 1 in hedgerow along Cayuga Vista; 3 on Cherry Road, 1 defending sumac on Lansingville Rd south of Davis Rd, all in LansingAMERICAN TREE SPARROW - feeders and rural Lansing roadsides, largest groupon Fenner Rd west of Davis RdWHITE-THROATED SPARROW - among many American Tree Sparrows Dark-eyed Juncos on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, LansingWHITE-CROWNED SPARROW - among a fewAmerican Tree Sparrowson Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, LansingDARK-EYED JUNCO - feeders andrural roadsides, largest groupon Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, LansingHOUSE SPARROW - several atop spruces on Myers Rd north of Salmon Creek, year bird for Ann Mitchell who was sick on New Year's Day--Dave Nutter -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding, Ithaca to Union Springs
A couple of additions to Dave's list of Saturday birding: LAPLAND LONGSPUR (seen by a few - not all - of us) in a flock of some 200 Snow Buntings/ Horned Larks at the corner of Davis Jerry Smith Rds, lansing. SNOW BUNTING several flocks. one along Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd. another on a manure spread just south of the old Triangle Diner. SONG SPARROW half a dozen along Davis Rd, south of J. Smith Rd. And I just came home from a walk on the E Ithaca Recreation Way. No Screech-Owl, but two calling CAROLINA WRENS between the nut grove the fish lab. Bob McGuire On Jan 6, 2013, at 2:05 PM, nutter.d...@me.com nutter.d...@me.com wrote: Some friends and I had a great day of birding yesterday. Our itinerary included Stewart Park, East Shore Park, a shrike search, Ladoga and Myers point, a quest for winter field birds, the Wells College boathouse and the bluffs to the south, the ponds and Frontenac Park in Union Springs, and watching for Short-eared Owls on our way home. Highlights: SNOW GOOSE - 2 among Canadas from bluffs south of Aurora; 1 among Canadas from Frontenac Park CACKLING GOOSE - 1 among Canadas at Stewart Park TUNDRA SWAN - 1 near on ice edge at Stewart Park; dozens flying in distance from Frontenac Park GADWALL - several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union Springs AMERICAN WIGEON - several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union Springs NORTHERN PINTAIL - 1 male among Mallards at Ladoga south of Myers Point, an area with many gunners, so look quick GREEN-WINGED TEAL - 1 or 2 males on Mill Pond in Union Springs REDHEADS - raft off Stewart Park ousted by guys in a boat; small numbers various places on lake; best seen on Union Springs ponds CANVASBACK - one male among Redheads WHITE-WINGED SCOTER - 1 distantly viewed from East Shore Park BUFFLEHEAD - several places on the lake including Stewart Park COMMON GOLDENEYE - most places on the lake but numerous and seen best at Stewart Park HOODED MERGANSER - a few, best seen at Stewart Park COMMON MERGANSER - a few, best seen at Stewart Park RUDDY DUCK - a few, best seen at Stewart Park and East Shore Park *RING-NECKED PHEASANT - 1 male at Atwater Rd NYS-34B by old Agway, town of Genoa. First 2013 report in Cayuga Lake Basin and it's not even within sight of the game farm! WILD TURKEY - 30+ in field near hundreds of Canada Geese on Fenner Rd in Lansing a short distance east of NYS-34B COMMON LOONS - small numbers several places on Cayuga Lake PIED-BILLED GREBE - 4 together from East Shore Park HORNED GREBE - 2 from East Shore Park, 11 from Wells College boathouse including a group of 8; 3 from Frontenac Park RED-NECKED GREBE - 1 continuing at Stewart Park and East Shore Park DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT -- 1 seen distantly from East Shore Park GREAT BLUE HERON - 1 flying west fairly low just offshore at Stewart Park TURKEY VULTURE - several in the South Lansing area ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - 1 light morph atop the lone oak south of Burdick Hill Rd in Lansing AMERICAN COOT - large flocks south of Finger Lakes Marine (south of Myers Point Park) and off Frontenac Park NORTHERN FLICKER - flew to distant tree viewed from Cayuga Vista Drive NORTHERN SHRIKE - still cooperative on wires and hedgerow along Cayuga Vista Drive off East Shore Drive (NYS-34), Lansing. We were unsuccessful by Equine Drug Testing building by the airport and on Sheldon and Scofield Roads AMERICAN CROW - individual with strange gray dewlap-like growths on chin at #278 Davis Rd, Lansing EASTERN BLUEBIRD - 1 male trying to feed on sumac on Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, Lansing NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD - 1 in hedgerow along Cayuga Vista; 3 on Cherry Road, 1 defending sumac on Lansingville Rd south of Davis Rd, all in Lansing AMERICAN TREE SPARROW - feeders and rural Lansing roadsides, largest group on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd WHITE-THROATED SPARROW - among many American Tree Sparrows Dark- eyed Juncos on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, Lansing WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW - among a few American Tree Sparrows on Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, Lansing DARK-EYED JUNCO - feeders and rural roadsides, largest group on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, Lansing HOUSE SPARROW - several atop spruces on Myers Rd north of Salmon Creek, year bird for Ann Mitchell who was sick on New Year's Day --Dave Nutter -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- 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)
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding, Ithaca to Union Springs
It should be noted that a hunt club in the King Ferry area gets released pheasants. Several yrs. ago I found one with a cheepie leg band that had been hit killed by a car. I took it to a conservation office in Cortland was told Cornell provided the birds for the club. Fritzie From: bob mcguire *RING-NECKED PHEASANT - 1 male at Atwater Rd NYS-34B by old Agway, town of Genoa. First 2013 report in Cayuga Lake Basin and it's not even within sight of the game farm! -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding
Hello all, I went around lake and some parts of Ithaca with a friend who is visiting Ithaca. At Buttermilk Falls, saw one Red-breasted Nuthatch. In the inlet there were lots of Common Mergansers close to Rt 89. At Sheldrake, a large raft of Canada Geese, two Common Loons and a flock of 15+ Buffleheads and nothing much else. At Cayuga Lake State Park, a huge flock of Canada Geese landed while we were there and a snow geese skein of about 300 birds seemed heading south. A little later we saw flocks of Snow geese flying to west side of the lake and seemed to be coming from Muckland. So we headed to Muckland/East Road. At East road, there were at least 400 Tundra Swans most seemed sleeping in the afternoon. 22 Sandhill cranes in three different groups. Again we saw thousands of Snow Geese flying overhead heading south west. A little later many landed on the water. There was one goose in flight which was substantially smaller, which I think probably was a Ross's Goose, but after it landed it was difficult to see it. At least one, possibly two Bald Eagles were around. Along the drive up to seven Kestrel and 10 + Red-tailed Hawks were seen in various locations. Near Ovid a pair of Eastern Blue birds crossed the road. Three different No. Mockingbirds were also seen, one of them made us drive around an additional two miles as I wanted to make sure it was not a shrike. On Lake Ridge Road a flock of Horned Larks flew over us, but they kept continued going, so could not sift through to see if there were anything else in the flock. Finally, at the triangle piece of land on Triphammer Road we did see the flock of Common Redpolls, one had a very distinct pink wash on the breast. A little later Stuart pulled up. So with his scope could see them much better. They were skittish, but if you waited they came close enough to see them. Cheers Meena Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 http://haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday Birding
I spent the morning in the Southern Highlands - Madison County - primarily looking for winter finches. On Muller Hill Rd, just downhill and west of the four corners I ran into a small group (3) of Red Crossbills. Initially they flew overhead, then returned after a short period in response to my playback. They remained for a couple of minutes, calling from the tops of Norway spruces. Given the distance, the fact that I had only binoculars, and that I was concentrating on recording, I did not get a sense of male/female/juvenile. As luck would have it, I ran into Matt Young later in the morning. Listening to my recording, he was able to determine that they were Type 1. Otherwise, the area was rather quiet. Lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches and Chickadees, a few Blue Jays and Goldfinches. And lots of red squirrels. Matt reported Siskins and Purple Finches. I had neither. From there I drove south to the Pharsalia area and walked North Road where it crosses the CCC Truck Road. Again, it was relatively quiet - not even a lot of gun shots. More Nuthatches, Chickadees, Blue Jays. And a fly-over Northern Harrier and Red-tailed Hawk. AND three more Red Crossbills. This time briefly at the top of even taller spruces, and only for less than a minute - about the time it took for a really noisy ATV to trundle on past down the road. The cone crop looks good, especially the Norways, larch, and white spruces. it will be interesting to see what develops there this winter. Bob McGuire -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday Birding Trip -- Southern Highlands
Hello all, Yesterday 5 brave birders, 3 from the Cayuga Bird Club and 2 from the Cortland-Lime Hollow Bird Club, joined me for some birding of the Southern Highlands. Obviously the conditions were far less than optimum with the snow and high winds. At times ground blizzard conditions occurred, but we continued on. Fortunately, despite the weather conditions, the birds were very cooperative. The driving was very slow but we did eventually arrive at Shackham Rd Fabius/Truxton, Morgan Hill State Forest at 8:45. Upon arrival we could hear lots of Evening Grosbeaks, and within a few minutes we were surrounded by ~40 EVENING GROSBEAKS and a flock ~100 COMMON REDPOLLS with 1 good GREATER COMMON REDPOLL seen by all. We then decided to continue on towards DeRuyter for some birding instead of back-tracking to Summerhill. At Dr. Coon Ln (formerly Coon Tree Ln) we had a flock of ~60 COMMON REDPOLLS with one good female HOARY REDPOLL seen by most. We didn't get to see all the needed traits, but this bird noticeably stood out each time it was viewed. Within 5-6 minutes of watching the redpolls an ADULT MALE COOPER'S HAWK came in and grabbed a redpoll not more than 25-30 feet away. The next stop was Hunt Rd where we had a really nice roadside flock of ~35 HORNED LARKS and ~25 SNOW BUNTINGS. It was nice to view them from the warm confines of our vehicles. Since this was a location I often get multiple Lapland Longspurs, we checked for one but could not turn one up. The Hunt Rd feeders were surprisingly quiet except for a dozen Goldfinches and other common birds. Around the corner on East Lake Rd we turned up another flock of 20 HORNED LARKS and 30 SNOW BUNTINGS, but again we could not find a Lappy. One funny moment did happen on East Lake when checking the field birds --the manure spreader came along and started spreading just up wind of us - -of course it sent us all running away laughing. We did not thoroughly check all the spreads in the area, since some locations were not conducive to pulling over. A quick stop at the Mechanic Street feeders in DeRuyter turned up some more goldfinches and redpolls. It was hard to see many of the birds so we continued on to Paradise Hill where we had 40+ EVENING GROSBEAKS, 30 COMMON REDPOLLS (another good candidate for a Hoary but it was hard to be sure because it was up in the tree puffed out), 1 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and 1 BARRED OWL -- unfortunately most of us did not see the Barred Owl before it flew. It was a fun day and enjoyed by all despite the crazy weather.--a day to be remembered. A big thanks goes out to the brave souls that joined me! cheers, Matt mail2web LIVE Free email based on Microsoft® Exchange technology - http://link.mail2web.com/LIVE -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding
Gary and I went to Syracuse this A.M. to see the Yellow-throated Warbler, and after 1.5 hour's, we finally saw it. The bird showed up for a bit, foraging at a very quick pace and then it moved on. We could have stood around for another 1 and 1/2 hours, but we were rather cold by then. After leaving the warbler, we came across a diner that had a great variety of breakfast foods. Fantastic food!. Ithaca should have a diner like that. The birding down the east side of the lake was great also! We saw Horned Grebes, but have to come back for Eared Grebes. Best, Ann Mitchell Ithaca -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
