Susan Danskin, Drew Fulton, and I met at Stewart Park at dawn and were
soon joined by Dave Nutter (in his office). Susan spotted a tern-like
bird out past the Pile Cluster. Try as we might, we were ultimately
unable to pin down the ID before the bird was lost: likely a Common
Tern, but not for sure.
The three of us then headed up the west side of the lake for the day.
Around Cayuga Lake SP: several martin houses with starlings, but no
Purple Martins.
MNWR Visitor's Center pool: Green-winged teal, gadwall, Mallards,
several each of GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 4 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS,
DUNLIN. Several hundred TREE SWALLOWS around the marten houses, no
Purple Martins.
Wildlife Drive: relatively few birds (teal, shoveler at LaRue's, Main
Pool nearly empty of birds, new shorebird area empty, Bennings, a few
ducks)
Tschache Pool: 200 AMERICAN WIGEON, shoveler, gadwall, teal, several
BALD EAGLES, Ring-billed Gulls
Mays Pool: a pair of TRUMPETER SWANS, a few ducks
East Road: 4 SNOW GEESE, numerous DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, no night-
herons or egrets
Howland Island: We walked a three-mile loop, encountering 2 EASTERN
PHOEBES, 2 YELLOW-RUMPER WARBLERS, 6 DOWNEY WOODPECKERS, 2 RED-BELLIED
WOODPECKERS, 2 NORTHERN FLICKERS, 5 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, 3
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, 1 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, 2 BROWN CREEPERS,
chickadees, titmice, cardinals, Bluejays, Tree Swallows, a flock of
mixed blackbirds including several RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, and a fair number
of ducks (teal, pintails, Gadwall, wigeon, ring-necked)
Marten's Tract: 2 TRUMPETER SWANS, 3 VIRGINIA RAILS, SONG, SWAMP,
CHIPPING SPARROWS
Morgan Road: AMERICAN KESTREL around the nest box, otherwise most of
the fields were dry and devoid of ducks and shorebirds.
MAC: newly-excavated marsh on the east side of Rt 89: 4 WILSON'S SNIPE
Van Dyne Spoor Rd: 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS that gave us fits trying
to ID (until Jay came along) Showing no signs of breeding plumage,
they seemed to fall between golden and black-bellied plover, with
darkish (but not too dark) cap, light (but not too light) belly, and
an over-all golden color. We never did see them fly or raise a wing so
could not assess the armpit color. Jay, apparently, heard one of them
call. There also was a single DUNLIN and a couple of yellowlegs. As
well as hundreds of ducks: mainly teal and pintail.
Railroad Road: Calling VIRGINIA RAIL and AMERICAN BITTERN.
It was a cold, windy day, but luckily no rain. Good luck to the SFO
groups heading up that way tomorrow.
Bob McGuire
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