As noted in my posts on Saturday and Sunday, the birding was excellent on the first two days of this year's Finger Lakes Land Trust Spring Bird Quest (SBQ), with lots of local specialties and a couple of surprise passage migrants. But my feelings of good fortune were tempered a little by an accounting of my species tally going into Monday morning - a mere 77 species, far below most or all past two-day totals, with many common species missing.
So I had a lot of work to do. But I had several hours, more perfect weather, and, as it turned out, a lot of help from other eager watchers. 1. Goetchius Wetland Preserve Flat Iron Road, Caroline 6:10-7:50 AM 40 species, including SOLITARY SANDPIPER, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, BOBOLINK, SAVANNAH SPARROW, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, and BLACKPOLL WARBLER This year a record 18 birders sacrificed sleep to join the early SBQ bird walk at the Goetchius Wetland Preserve in Caroline. We began by taking front-row seats for the grassland bird show - a scope-aided spectacle of BOBOLINKS, SAVANNAH SPARROWS, and EASTERN MEADOWLARKS, with the weekend's first EASTERN BLUEBIRDS making colorful cobalt-clad cameos. This site also has some wide shallow pools and wet furrows, which attracted two modest surprises among three shorebird species - a SOLITARY SANDPIPER and a LESSER YELLOWLEGS (excellent opportunity to study subtle distinguishing features of these two congeners), as well as two SPOTTED SANDPIPERS. A splendid male WOOD DUCK splashed down and paddled among them. We returned to the road and proceeded toward the more expansive wetland to the south, pausing first to watch the first-ever HELMETED GUINEAFOWL in the history of the SBQ, including one pure white one. (These extremely endearing but regrettably uncountable domestic birds belong to the Armitage family, neighbors and key supporters of the preserve.) Along the road and in the wetland, we found at least four singing WILLOW FLYCATCHERS and one ALDER FLYCATCHER, SWAMP SPARROWS, EASTERN KINGBIRDS, and other expected species. I was greatly relieved when Jody Enck pointed out the weekend's first (and as it turned out, only) KILLDEER flying overhead. A little later a few of us saw a little bar-winged bird deep in a roadside bush. This bird first gave me the impression of a kinglet because of its sprightly movements and whitish color. When a Willow Flycatcher flew up, I almost dismissed my initial suspicion of anything unusual. But I convinced myself that there was no way a flycatcher would have been behaving like that deep in the twigs. So I waited a few more seconds, until the bird came out in the open and revealed its identity - it was a female BLACKPOLL WARBLER, the first I've seen this spring. (A male was singing in the spruces in front of the house across from the middle of the preserve.) 2. Roy H. Park Preserve Irish Settlement Road, Dryden 8:30-10:50 AM 40 species, including PRAIRIE WARBLER, MAGNOLIA WARBLER, CANADA WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, PURPLE FINCH, and BROAD-WINGED HAWK Most members of the early group then joined me and others at the Roy H. Park Preserve for the second walk of the morning. Within about 40 meters of the parking lot, we had wonderful close views of a singing PRAIRIE WARBLER, which seemed so tolerant of our proximity that I wondered if it had become habituated to people on the trail. The MAGNOLIA WARBLERS were much less cooperative, teasing us with occasional songs from the dense spruces, but yielding just one fleeting view. Then after the leftward bend and rise in the trail, we found several birds along the next straightaway, including at least two singing NASHVILLE WARBLERS, a CANADA WARBLER, INDIGO BUNTINGS, and FIELD SPARROWS. Lingering behind the group, Suan Yong found a female Indigo Bunting with a bill full of grasses, perching completely still for several minutes, presumably waiting for complete secrecy before entering her nest. Later Suan brought all of us back to the site, where the bird again waited obdurately for us watchers to finish taking turns at the scope. We never did see her fly off. Down by the shelter and Six Mile Creek, we found BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS in the hemlocks and one or more LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES singing and flying in both directions along the creek. We heard a couple of vireos in the area, but alas, I could not turn any of them definitively into a Blue-headed Vireo. That species turned out to be one of the weekend's more surprising misses, along with Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Least Flycatcher. We returned to our cars at about 10 AM, and thereupon made a quick run over to the preserve's new northern parking area and boardwalk, also along Irish Settlement Road. Here we saw one GREAT BLUE HERON on a nest, a couple of singing ALDER FLYCATCHERS, and a CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER that sang even as the twig where it perched pitched and yawed in the rising wind. We also picked up four new species for the SBQ - TURKEY VULTURES soaring above the ridges (Ann Morse's first sighting set off an loud, jubilant and relieved outburst from me, puzzling some bystanders), two extremely distant BROAD-WINGED HAWKS (credit goes to the patience and skill of Ken Kemphues - if birders were stocks, I'd snap up shares of him and his partner Diane Morton), a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, and a NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW that coursed low over the wetland and did not return. I ended the weekend with a count of 94 species found at Land Trust preserves. We had more than 70 participants in our bird walks if you count repeat customers. We collected a remarkable $775 in on-the-spot donations, with more to come from those who have made pledges in support of my SBQ tally. This year far exceeds last year by all key measures - species, participation, and receipts. Thanks to all who joined in the fun. Thanks especially to Betsy Darlington, the Land Trust's emerita Director of Preserve Stewardship, who attended all four of my walks and continues to inspire and enlighten me and countless others with her vast, generously shared knowledge and love of our lands, plants, and wildlife. We are lucky to have you in our lives, Betsy! And thanks once again to the Finger Lakes Land Trust for literally putting these and other remarkable sites on the map and ensuring that they'll remain protected in perpetuity, all throughout our region! Mark --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! 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