RE: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential
Why the unbridled glee over maximum birds? Sure, you may get a chance for a few tick marks on meaningless lists, but this storm will be far from an enjoyable experience for millions of birds. Disorientation, cold, wet, lack of food, even survival. Check out what Nature sends our way, but employ a little perspective and empathy for the birds. S. S. Fast Brooktondale _ From: bounce-69402228-9286...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-69402228-9286...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of david nicosia Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:02 PM To: Cayugabirds- L; Bluewing Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential All, The forecast track of Sandy is highly unusual and could make for some very interesting birding in its wake. It will all depend on where the center of the storm tracks relative to central NY. Latest model guidance and the hurricane center's forecast track show that by Tuesday into Wednesday the storm's center will be nearly stalled from north central PA to central NY. The storm rapidly moves west from off the east coast back toward our region Monday/Tuesday and then stalls out and weakens over our area. The storm spends all its time out over the open ocean until its rapid westward motion to our area. Will Cayuga lake/Whitney Point Dam and other inland lakes/rivers see pelagics, tropical-like birds etc?? Tuesday will be bad with high winds and heavy rains given this track...Wednesday conditions improve...so either Wednesday or especially Thursday could present a unique opportunity for mega rarities in our area if this forecast pans out. I can't overemphasize enough to be safe first E Bird has a nice website on all this http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/hurricane-sandy Check it out and let's hope we make it through the storm with minimal damage and maximum birds!!! Dave Nicosia -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME Welcome and Basics http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Rules and Information http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html The Mail Archive http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Surfbirds http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html BirdingOnThe.Net 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/ --
RE: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential
Why the unbridled glee over “maximum birds”? Sure, you may get a chance for a few tick marks on meaningless lists, but this storm will be far from an enjoyable experience for millions of birds. Disorientation, cold, wet, lack of food, even survival. Check out what Nature sends our way, but employ a little perspective and empathy for the birds. Well said S and S Fasts! Amen! I do hope not many of those poor birds and humans get caught in the hurricane and die in our area like the Magnificent Frigatebird did. Meena Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 http://haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ From: bounce-69406086-3493...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-69406086-3493...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Susan Fast [sustf...@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2012 6:12 AM To: 'david nicosia'; CAYUGABIRDS-L; 'Bluewing' Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential Why the unbridled glee over “maximum birds”? Sure, you may get a chance for a few tick marks on meaningless lists, but this storm will be far from an enjoyable experience for millions of birds. Disorientation, cold, wet, lack of food, even survival. Check out what Nature sends our way, but employ a little perspective and empathy for the birds. S. S. Fast Brooktondale From: bounce-69402228-9286...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-69402228-9286...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of david nicosia Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:02 PM To: Cayugabirds- L; Bluewing Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential All, The forecast track of Sandy is highly unusual and could make for some very interesting birding in its wake. It will all depend on where the center of the storm tracks relative to central NY. Latest model guidance and the hurricane center's forecast track show that by Tuesday into Wednesday the storm's center will be nearly stalled from north central PA to central NY. The storm rapidly moves west from off the east coast back toward our region Monday/Tuesday and then stalls out and weakens over our area. The storm spends all its time out over the open ocean until its rapid westward motion to our area. Will Cayuga lake/Whitney Point Dam and other inland lakes/rivers see pelagics, tropical-like birds etc?? Tuesday will be bad with high winds and heavy rains given this track...Wednesday conditions improve...so either Wednesday or especially Thursday could present a unique opportunity for mega rarities in our area if this forecast pans out. I can't overemphasize enough to be safe first E Bird has a nice website on all this http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/hurricane-sandy Check it out and let's hope we make it through the storm with minimal damage and maximum birds!!! Dave Nicosia -- 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: 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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential
I, too, feel sad about the birds harmed by storms, and also those harmed in migration, and those harmed by towers, windows, oil spills, cats, deliberate habitat destruction by humans, unthinking habitat destruction through climate change, natural predation (yes, the shock of witnessing death turns my stomach even when it is to feed another bird), the high mortality of young birds, the lost migrants who may die because they flew the wrong direction or may never refind their breeding range or a mate. Ever since Malthus we've known that vast numbers of creatures die senselessly. I'd go crazy if I dwelled on it all, but I would like to change some of the human causes which the birds seem less adapted for. I suspect many of my fellow birders agree with me, and don't feel it's necessary to add the above as a disclaimer to discussions of these aspects of birding. Meanwhile I do enjoy the living birds I find and even to an extent the dead ones. I certainly enjoy and learn more about birds in their native range and habitat, but I cannot afford to travel to other continents or even to other parts of this continent very often, and I am reluctant to fly anyway because of the high ecological impact,so seeing a rare bird here is a special thing for me.AndI really appreciate the work by Dave Nicosia and the other folks at eBird toward our knowledge of birds' ranges, migration habits, and how they interact with the weather.--Dave NutterOn Oct 27, 2012, at 09:35 AM, Marie P Read m...@cornell.edu wrote:I tend to agree with Steve and Susie, I feel very sorry for birds affected by these extreme weather events, and view birders' excitement over such rarities as the frigatebird that showed up in the Cayuga Basin a couple of years back (and subsequently died) as rather mawkish. Give me a bird in its native habitat any time. Marie (currently in CA watching Pinyon Jays in their native habitat!) Marie Read Wildlife Photography 452 Ringwood Road Freeville NY 13068 USA Phone 607-539-6608 e-mail m...@cornell.edu http://www.marieread.com ***NEW*** Music of the Birds Vol 1 ebook for Apple iPad now available from iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/music-of-the-birds-v1/id529347014?mt=11 From: bounce-69406086-5851...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-69406086-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Susan Fast [sustf...@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2012 6:12 AM To: 'david nicosia'; CAYUGABIRDS-L; 'Bluewing' Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential Why the unbridled glee over “maximum birds”? Sure, you may get a chance for a few tick marks on meaningless lists, but this storm will be far from an enjoyable experience for millions of birds. Disorientation, cold, wet, lack of food, even survival. Check out what Nature sends our way, but employ a little perspective and empathy for the birds. S. S. Fast Brooktondale From: bounce-69402228-9286...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-69402228-9286...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of david nicosia Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:02 PM To: Cayugabirds- L; Bluewing Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Hurricane Sandy and Birding Potential All, The forecast track of Sandy is highly unusual and could make for some very interesting birding in its wake. It will all depend on where the center of the storm tracks relative to central NY. Latest model guidance and the hurricane center's forecast track show that by Tuesday into Wednesday the storm's center will be nearly stalled from north central PA to central NY. The storm rapidly moves west from off the east coast back toward our region Monday/Tuesday and then stalls out and weakens over our area. The storm spends all its time out over the open ocean until its rapid westward motion to our area. Will Cayuga lake/Whitney Point Dam and other inland lakes/rivers see pelagics, tropical-like birds etc?? Tuesday will be bad with high winds and heavy rains given this track...Wednesday conditions improve...so either Wednesday or especially Thursday could present a unique opportunity for mega rarities in our area if this forecast pans out. I can't overemphasize enough to be safe first E Bird has a nice website on all this http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/hurricane-sandy Check it out and let's hope we make it through the storm with minimal damage and maximum birds!!! Dave Nicosia -- 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 Archivecayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html'http://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
[cayugabirds-l] Evening Grosbeak in northeast Ithaca
This morning I watched a male Evening Grosbeak feeding in a tree in the wooded gully just west of Liddell Lab, along Freese Road. There were robins, cardinals, and a flock of waxwings in the tree as well, but I easily could have walked past the grosbeak (especially with the fog!) had it not called several times to give itself away. Other birds of note this morning were a pair of ravens, and a Vesper Sparrow (along the east side of the Equine Research Park woods). tss -- Thomas S. Schulenberg Research Associate Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca NY 14850 http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/home http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist voice: 607.254.1113 email: ts...@cornell.edu, tschulenb...@gmail.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] C Loons Lansing
Several COMMON LOONS offshore around 535 Lansing Station Road, Lansing. Birders welcome. Go thru both back yard gates , down path to beach and dock. Can also use the new stairs off the upper path to the left, to go directly to the boathouse 2nd story deck for a higher up look. Lake is calm, so watching the Loons is easy. At least 10 Loons right here, 1:20 pm. Donna Scott Ps: still haven't been able to set up my iPhone properly (I have tried, but doesn't work) for sending messages from beach or other remote locations, so I had to run up the hill to send this message. Donna L. Scott 535 Lansing Station Road Lansing, NY 14882 607/533-7228_ 607/379-1694 d...@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/ --
RE: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Rufuous Hummingbird/Sweazey Screech Owl not
Having just reviewed the photos and the various resources this afternoon with Lee Ann van Leer, I feel some confidence in calling Marty's bird a hatch-year, or young female (hatched this year). Lee Ann and I agree. Hatch-year males and female Rufous Hummingbirds are very similar, and both look pretty much like adult females. But the great photos that Jay posted (e.g., https://plus.google.com/photos/37855303614931880/albums/5787306381681058289/5800340308927234226) show the tail well enough to distinguish them. Other parts of the plumage can help, but for Rufous/Allen's hummingbirds, it's all about the tail. Adult male Rufous have pointy rufous and black tail feathers, and that's obviously not what we're talking about here. The shiny green inner two sets of tail feathers rule out immature male, which has rufous at the base of them and pointy black tips. The very rounded nature of all of the tail feathers suggest that the bird is an immature and not an adult female, which has more pointy ones. The relatively broad outer tail feather is good for both female and the species ID of Rufous rather than Allen's. The basic field guides (Sibley, National Geographic) don't contain enough information for aging and sexing hummingbirds. Lee Ann was looking at Peter Pyle's Identification Guide, Part 1 (Slate Creek Press; the bible for banders). My copy is at work, so I was looking primarily at Sheri Williamson's Hummingbird guide in the Peterson series (especially plates 24 and 25), and Steve Howell's Hummingbirds of North America. I would also point interested folks to some old web pages on Rufous Hummingbird ID I still have at my Bad Photos of Good Birds site: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/rufous_hummingbird.htm http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/selashum02.htm Best, Kevin From: bounce-69406389-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-69406389-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of nutter.d...@me.com Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2012 12:23 PM To: Nancy W Dickinson Cc: Donna Lee Scott; CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Rufuous Hummingbird/Sweazey Screech Owl not Sibley gives dates only for the juvenile female plumage (like this bird) from June through November, and the subadult male plumage (similar to this bird except some rufous on the head and more red in the lower part of the throat) from August through December. We are in a period of overlap. If juvenile males and females are similar, maybe this could be a young male which has not yet begun to change to the subadult plumage. Actual information from more knowledgeable sources is welcome. --Dave Nutter On Oct 26, 2012, at 09:50 PM, Nancy W Dickinson n...@cornell.edumailto:n...@cornell.edu wrote: Donna and all, I assumed it to be a young male, but after seeing it, posting, and THEN reviewing Jay's posts as well as the Sibley Guide, I thought it was a female. But, at what point do they look different? Whichever, it is very Rufous! Nancy Dickinson From: bounce-69402010-3493...@list.cornell.edumailto:bounce-69402010-3493...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-69402010-3493...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Donna Scott [d...@cornell.edu] Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 7:29 PM To: Candace Cornell; CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Rufuous Hummingbird/Sweazey Screech Owl not So, is there now a MALE RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD at Schlabach's house on Powell Rd., Interlaken? The last two people posting about the bird called it he and a stunning male. Also, so far, no Screech Owl in the usual tree on Sweazey Rd., Lansing. thanks, Donna Scott Lansing - Original Message - From: Candace Cornellmailto:cec...@gmail.com To: cayugabirds-lmailto:cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 6:09 PM Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Rufuous Hummingbird plus Muckland highlights Nancy Ostman and I enjoyed a number of excellent views of the Rufous Hummingbird at the Schlabach home between 9:40-10:50 am. today. It is a stunning male, especially when the sunlight catches it just right. Many thanks to Marty and Mary Jean for opening their yard to birders! We headed to Knox-Marcellus where there were thousands of Canada Geese, some Cackling Geese, 30+ Green-winged Teal, 17 Sandhill Cranes, 37 Great Blue Herons together in a group in the grass, and a lone Bald Eagle perched in a tree top. As soon as we got there we were treated to a spectacular murmuration of starlings undulated across the marsh. Along the towpath, Fox and White-Crowned sparrows bathed in the puddles and foraged in the weeds. Another thousand or so Canada Geese also dominated the water into Puddler's Marsh. There they were joined by 150+ Snow Geese, more Cackling Geese, 20+ Northern Shovelers, 10+ Double-crested Cormorants, and numerous gulls. Two large plovers and a handful of peeps were too far away to ID. However, a flock of 25+ Pipits combed the water's edge up-close, affording terrific views of their
