[cayugabirds-l] Bluebirds near Freeville
0800 A flock of 4-5 E. bluebirds, in the company of a Carolina wren, working their way close around my house this morning, on Hile School Rd. I have no feeders or other food sources yet, so they presumably like the shrubbiness mixed with open areas. Beyond that, it was still winter: a flock of goldfinches, one bluejay foraging in yard. At ca. 0730, 20 American crows out of a probable roost N of Ed Hill Rd. Yesterday a rough-legged hawk visited the area around neighbor's gut pile across Hile School Rd from my house, to which American crows responded by diving straight down over and over. This seemed a stronger response than they have given to the 2+ red-tailed hawks also visiting regularly. Anne Clark -- 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] Ist tree sparrow
TREE SPARROWS may be old news to many of you, but we had our first one this winter this morning. Also this a.m., had a flock of about 50 CEDAR WAXWINGS at the top of a couple of sugar maples in our front yard. A few larger birds in the same flock turned out to be Starlings. Oh well, when you do FeederWatch, one Starling counts the same as one of anything else. Bill McAneny, TBurg -- 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] Sunday CBC Field Trip
Seven folks joined me for a run up the east side of the lake today. It was warmer than any of the last few days, but with the south breeze off the water, it still felt cold. We began at Stewart Park, picking through the groups of waterfowl. Dave Nutter noted a Blue-winged Teal before we even got there - and we never did re-find it. In addition to the usuals, we spotted a distant female Red-breasted Merganser, 7 Scoters, most of which were White-winged, three Double-crested Cormorants on the jetty, the ongoing Ruddy Duck flock, and the beginnings of an aythya raft that seemed to consist solely of Redheads. We then got closer looks at the scoters from East Shore Park and then headed up to Myers, checking Drake and Portland Point Roads on the way. The Salt Point duck hunter was just packing up, leaving a large flock of Mallards safely offshore. While were scanning the lake a single American Pipit flew in the the spit, remained long enough for a couple of us to get looks, then flew off. The next stop was Center Road for great looks at a small Horned Lark/Snow Bunting flock, then on to Lake Road and Long Point SP. Nearly at the bottom of Lake Road we ran into a large flock of Robins/Starlings/Cedar Waxwings consuming cedar berries. Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a Northern Flicker called from the woods. And a pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers ignored us for the poison ivy berries right along the road. At Long Point we spotted a couple of Common Loons and one Horned Grebe, as well as a vocal Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging in one of the cedars. A digression here: the ground around the bathrooms was littered with hickory nuts - thousands. Where are the squirrels? From the Aurora boathouse we were able to find a total of eight Horned Grebes, couple of Loons, and several groups of Buffleheads. At the end of a distant line of Mallards were three Ring-necked Ducks and one more that, we finally concluded, must have been a Scaup-Ring-necked cross. The bird had a rounded head (lacking the crest at the back of a Ring-neck's head), a much paler and less-distinct white finger on the front of the flank, and an overall browner color of wing and body. We got as far as Union Springs before heading home. Factory Street pond was nearly empty, except for a single Green-winged Teal, a Mallard, several Gadwall, and two female Northern Pintail. One of the Pintails had a couple of unusual, diagonal, white stripes on the folded wing (on the right side only!). Mill Pond was unremarkable, with the resident Redhead and several Gadwall. Perhaps the best stop was our last, at Frontenac Park. Again, the duck hunters had just finished up so there was not much on the water - except for a couple more Horned Grebes, three distant Bonaparte's Gulls, and both male and female Norther Harriers flying down the lake towards Farley's Point. What were they doing out over the water? I took no notes and am writing this from memory. So chime in, anyone, and add to/correct my comments. 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] Cayuga Bird Club trip, east side of lake, Sunday 1 December
Bob McGuire led a great trip. Although it started at the Lab of O, I joined at Stewart Park, arriving shortly before the group. Highlights at Stewart Park included:DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS - 3 snoozing on the red lighthouse breakwaterPIED-BILLED GREBE - 1 very distant to NWRED-BREASTED MERGANSER - 2 separate females distant to NNWAMERICAN WIGEON - 1 female near East Shore ParkBLUE-WINGED TEAL - 1 only seen by me before other people arrived. It was near shore at the east end of the park among Mallards Canada Geese, and it flew west as I noticed it, alighting near the end of the dock and disappearing among the same 2 species crowded along the edge of the ice. My attention then was drawn elsewhere, and by the time the rest of the field trip arrived the birds in that area had moved, and none of us refound it. I realize that this is very late for this species, about a month since it has been reported in the basin, so one may well ask, "really?" Well, here's what I saw: a small mottled brown duck among the Mallards, but similarly shaped, only glimpsed before it took flight showing large blue patches atop the inner wing (huge epaulettes, not the speculum). Realizing that Northern Shoveler and Blue-winged Teal both have such a shoulder patch, I looked at the head. I did not notice any oversized bill, but I did notice a vertical arc of white in front of the eye. This was not bold and clean-cut, but a bit speckly. Such a mark is shown by Sibley on male Northern Shoveler in November, but Blue-winged Teal should get breeding plumage in November. So, either I'm wrong and it was a Northern Shoveler whose bill I failed to notice, or it was a late-in-the-season, late molting, Blue-winged Teal. I now wish I had spent more time keeping track of the bird or that someone else finds it, as my observation as I read it now doesn't sound as solidly convincing as it felt at the time.We stopped at East Shore Park to check out a small group of suspicious dark specks on the water which I noticed from Stewart Park. They turned out to be:RED-BREASTED MERGANSER - 1 femaleWHITE-WINGED SCOTER - at least 3 or 4SURF SCOTER - maybe 1 or 2 females. I think that's what they were, based on size, shape, color (smaller lower body and longer more rectangular head than the darker birds which showed white in the wing), but honestly I'm not 100% sure, as females of these 2 species give me trouble. Along East Shore Drive we saw 2 TURKEY VULTURES, which Donna suspects roost by Asbury Cemetery.Drake Road may have had songbirds that I missed.Portland Point Road was uneventful, other than 4 or 5 RED-TAILED HAWKS.Along Ridge Road I noticed a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD.From Myers Point we saw: a close male HYBRID MALLARD x AMERICAN BLACK DUCK swimming with a female Mallard. He had a green crown, gray face, yellowish bill, male Mallard pattern on the body but in muted tones of brown, and curlycue rump feathers. There was also a distant COMMON LOON. Along Center Road between Lake Road and NYS-34B in Genoa we saw: at least 12 HORNED LARKS in flight plus several on the ground and had great views of at least 7 SNOW BUNTINGS, one posing atop a dirt clod; the others feeding in short grass on the road shoulder.Near the Aurora Show factory an AMERICAN KESTREL was on the wires.Along Lake Road in Ledyard, near the bottom of the hill we encountered: hordes of AMERICAN ROBINS and CEDAR WAXWINGS, plus a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD and a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. You may have guessed there was fruit on the Cedars and Poison Ivy. From Long Point State Park we saw a couple COMMON LOONS, a close HORNED GREBE, and a close GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. From the Wells College boathouse we saw: a distant flying adult BALD EAGLE, 7 or more HORNED GREBES, several of which were close,a close COMMON LOON,a fly-by female COMMON GOLDENEYE, several very distant flying small flocks of SNOW GEESE,3 male RING-NECKED DUCKS accompanied by an apparent HYBRID RING-NECKED x (GREATER?) SCAUP, which had a rounded head, overall duller dark-brown coloration, a blackish back, distinctly lighter sides with an blurry-edged whitish area at the front of the side where Ring-necked has the white upward point. It was at least as large, perhaps larger than the Ring-neckeds. In Union Springs at the Factory Street pond we saw:1 GADWALL,2 female NORTHERN PINTAIL,1 male GREEN-WINGED TEAL.At the Mill Pond there were:GADWALL, REDHEAD, BUFFLEHEAD, 1 AMERICAN COOT,and circling over a yard nearby 5 pure white ROCK PIGEONS, not associating with the feral flock atop the mill.From Frontenac Park in Union Springs we saw: a male NORTHERN HARRIER flying south over the lake followed minutes later by a femaleseveral BONAPARTE'S GULLS far out over the lake, in addition to the 3 common species closer to us, and3 female COMMON GOLDENEYE.On my walk home from Stewart Park I saw an adult PEREGRINE FALCON atop a power pylon which I could have seen from my yard had it not flown (SSE) a couple minutes after I found it, and long before I got home. It
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Sunday CBC Field Trip
You forgot the Carolina Wren singing to us at East Shore Park. Stephanie Greenwood Sent from my iPad On Dec 1, 2013, at 7:41 PM, bob mcguire bmcgu...@clarityconnect.com wrote: Seven folks joined me for a run up the east side of the lake today. It was warmer than any of the last few days, but with the south breeze off the water, it still felt cold. We began at Stewart Park, picking through the groups of waterfowl. Dave Nutter noted a Blue-winged Teal before we even got there - and we never did re-find it. In addition to the usuals, we spotted a distant female Red-breasted Merganser, 7 Scoters, most of which were White-winged, three Double-crested Cormorants on the jetty, the ongoing Ruddy Duck flock, and the beginnings of an aythya raft that seemed to consist solely of Redheads. We then got closer looks at the scoters from East Shore Park and then headed up to Myers, checking Drake and Portland Point Roads on the way. The Salt Point duck hunter was just packing up, leaving a large flock of Mallards safely offshore. While were scanning the lake a single American Pipit flew in the the spit, remained long enough for a couple of us to get looks, then flew off. The next stop was Center Road for great looks at a small Horned Lark/Snow Bunting flock, then on to Lake Road and Long Point SP. Nearly at the bottom of Lake Road we ran into a large flock of Robins/Starlings/Cedar Waxwings consuming cedar berries. Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a Northern Flicker called from the woods. And a pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers ignored us for the poison ivy berries right along the road. At Long Point we spotted a couple of Common Loons and one Horned Grebe, as well as a vocal Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging in one of the cedars. A digression here: the ground around the bathrooms was littered with hickory nuts - thousands. Where are the squirrels? From the Aurora boathouse we were able to find a total of eight Horned Grebes, couple of Loons, and several groups of Buffleheads. At the end of a distant line of Mallards were three Ring-necked Ducks and one more that, we finally concluded, must have been a Scaup-Ring-necked cross. The bird had a rounded head (lacking the crest at the back of a Ring-neck's head), a much paler and less-distinct white finger on the front of the flank, and an overall browner color of wing and body. We got as far as Union Springs before heading home. Factory Street pond was nearly empty, except for a single Green-winged Teal, a Mallard, several Gadwall, and two female Northern Pintail. One of the Pintails had a couple of unusual, diagonal, white stripes on the folded wing (on the right side only!). Mill Pond was unremarkable, with the resident Redhead and several Gadwall. Perhaps the best stop was our last, at Frontenac Park. Again, the duck hunters had just finished up so there was not much on the water - except for a couple more Horned Grebes, three distant Bonaparte's Gulls, and both male and female Norther Harriers flying down the lake towards Farley's Point. What were they doing out over the water? I took no notes and am writing this from memory. So chime in, anyone, and add to/correct my comments. 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 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/ --
