After morning walks at Hammond Hill State Forest and nearby Finger Lakes Land Trust Park Preserve North, I went home having failed to find any Red-shouldered Hawks, but given the wet weather this did not surprise me. I did find several warblers (CANADA, MAGNOLIA, and BLACKBURNIAN), which were new for me in Dryden this year (because I hadn't yet gone there) and are always fun to see. Also I saw a breeding plumage male YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, a breeder at Hammond Hill, I presume, which was also fun, but not new.
Around mid-day Ann Mitchell & I went north looking for rumored Black Vultures on docks in the NW part of Cayuga Lake, and for Sora and Least Bittern at various sites around Montezuma. We failed on all counts, but a guy from down-state who had never before been to Montezuma joined us briefly on the tower at Tschache Pool and did see a LEAST BITTERN fly briefly. He seemed like a nice guy as well as knowledgeable, so I don't *think* he was pulling our legs, and we believe Least Bitterns are there. Consolation prizes: * Seeing an OSPREY carrying a fish which was half the length of the Osprey's body. The fish struggled mightily, and first disengaged one of the Osprey's feet, but the bird grabbed again with both feet. Then the fish got out of the other foot. Finally the fish freed itself from both feet and plummeted back into Tschache Pool. From now on that fish's friends will never believe what it says. * A quick changing of the guard by the adult RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS at their nest cavity, viewed from the shore of the parking area opposite the Mays Point Pool corral. I'm glad they didn't succumb entirely to Starling abuse. * A family of GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHERS in the bit of woods between this parking area, South Mays Point Rd, and NYS-89. The youngsters beg with a "wheep" call which is less rich in tone than the adults' version. * A really mean-looking adult SANDHILL CRANE (to me they don't usually look aggressive) which stalked right up to a GREAT BLUE HERON, trumpeted a couple times (their bill opens first, and then the sound comes out as it closes), and made the heron move away. I assume there's a Sandhill Crane nest nearby in cattails of the northwest part of Van Dyne Spoor Road marsh. Actually, male Red-winged Blackbirds chase off Great Blue Herons regularly, and this heron didn't go far, so it's not that big a feat, but still it looked impressive. * A female ORCHARD ORIOLE feeding a fledgling (similar but shorter tailed) in the wildflowers along the north side of Van Dyne Spoor Road. This was the first time either of us had seen a young Orchard Oriole. * A pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL flying low over the marsh at the Deep Muck platform. They are pretty birds and uncommon breeders here, and the wing patches, even though they are light blue instead of light yellow, briefly raised my hopes I'd seen a Least Bittern. * Lots of babies, including WOOD DUCK, HOODED MERGANSER (the mama violently chased off a solo female Wood Duck), PIED-BILLED GREBE (an adult popped up from almost underneath a youngster, making me wonder how well they recognize their babies' bottoms), COMMON GALLINULE, and AMERICAN COOT. Some of them are cute, the others do their fuzzy best. --Dave Nutter -- 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/ --
