[cayugabirds-l] Mt Pleasant Rough-legged Hawk
Around 9:00 this morning, I saw a Rough-legged Hawk flying near the eastern end of Mt Pleasant Rd. Finally, the first view of this species up here this winter. Marie 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 -- 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] Lansing and Aurora, Sat 2/23
Just last weekend during the GBBC, a spark dormant for 11 years went off and my son Tilden's birding interest roared to life - turning him from nonchalant bystander to new eBird enrollee to faithful checklister to bona fide fanatic. (He says he likes birding because it's competitive.) So he and I went birding part of the way up the east side of Cayuga Lake late on Saturday afternoon. Here are some highlights. * NORTHERN SHRIKE on Cayuga Vista Drive. This was Tilden's second-ever sighting of the species; the first was at the same spot on Monday. * Three AMERICAN PIPITS on the beach at Myers Park. We think that this was a life bird for Tilden. * Many coots, geese, and ducks at Myers and vicinity, including 32 GADWALLS that paddled from the private marina into the open cove to the south. This was Tilden's first experience getting the coveted eBird need details prompt. In fact, unless something has changed since the last database update, this is the highest eBird Gadwall count ever in Tompkins County! * No field birds despite slow drives down Lansingville Road and Center Road, with its cruciferous, ferociously odiferous crop residues. Tilden did pick up his first American Robin of the year by the King Ferry Winery. * No grebes at the Wells College boathouse, but a mighty flock of SNOW GEESE arriving from the north and settling far out in the middle of the lake. Tilden says aptly that they were like a train pulling into a station. The usual impressive numbers of Canada Geese and AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS were here too. * No Short-eared Owls around Lake Road and Rafferty Road just before dusk. We are looking forward today's Cayuga Bird Club field trip report! Mark Chao -- 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 Field Trip Up The Lake
Eight people joined me for a trip up the lake. The weather started out in the 20's, windy, and sleety (if that is a word). As the day went on, it either became warmer or we became numb to it. It was a super day despite the weather, and we had lots of fun and saw lots of cool birds! We stopped 2 or 3 times for warm drinks and food. I think everyone had great looks at all the bird species we saw. We started at Stewart Park. We had a total of 15 species including 3 gull species, Common and Hooded Mergansers, five species of ducks, Coots, and most of interest, we saw a Red-tailed Hawk carrying nest material to a tree on the west side of the park. It sat on the nest for awhile, then moved on, probably in search for more building material. Whether it will stay there, who knows. At Myers, we added 3 more duck species - Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, and Lesser Scaup. We stopped at Cayuga Vista in search of the Northern Shrike, and didn't see it. We did add more species - Blue Jay, Turkey Vulture, Northern Cardinal, and Mourning Dove. Next was Long Point where we saw a Horned Grebe in transitional plumage. We all thought it quite beautiful. Aurora Boat House was next. Before seeing any Common Loons, we could hear them calling which is always a treat. Two were easily picked out. Also, there were an additional 6 Horned Grebes. An adult Bald Eagle flew by us which was the first of many spotted. Union Springs and Frontenac Park - we saw Ring-necked Ducks, Blue Birds, and a White-breasted Nuthatch. There were also 6 Bald Eagles. Cayuga, Harris Park, and Cayuga Trailer Park (we asked permission to bird there) We added Greater Scaup, Downy Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Trumpeter and Mute Swans to our list. We headed to Savannah. Our first stop was Van Dyne Spoor Road where we saw 2+ Northern Flickers, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Northern Mockingbird, a male Northern Harrier and a Dark-phased Rough-legged Hawk. It was still a little early to go to Morgan Road, so we stopped by the Audubon Center and the only addition were Tree Sparrows. Morgan Road was the HIGHLIGHT of the day. We arrived there around 4:40 or 4:45. Folks were already there, and introductions went around. At 4:55 P.M. Gary spotted 7 Short-eared Owls fly out of the Cattails to the east of the DEC building. Shortly after that, we saw 3 sitting in a tree. We counted at least 10 Owls, and there easily could have been more. Most of them seemed to be hunting closer to Carncross Road. I don't think the owls care about humans, but at the same time there were 26 people that showed up at Morgan Road. Maybe the owls ate most of the voles around Morgan Road, but who knows. Also, we had great views of a close-up Northern Shrike. Beautiful bird. Both species were seen before dusk and offered great views. The club trip was a success! We had a total of 48 species. Thank you to everyone that came on the trip. It was a real Hoot. I guess they really bark. Oh, well! Ann Mitchell -- 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] Oswego (Tufted Duck), Fair Haven, Sodus, Morgan Rd
South winds strong enough to keep Lake Ontario flat led to excellent birding and many highlights. At Oswego Harbor there was a surprising amount of ice. The most interesting bird was a Ring-billed Gull (link below to photo) with almost white mantle/wings. Primary tips, bill, and legs were all normal for adult Ring-bill. After Jim Tarolli spotted the continuing Surf Scoter we bemoaned the lack of scaup and went on a search east of the harbor hoping to relocate the female Tufted Duck. Along the lakeshore near Rudy's and SUNY Oswego we found the scaup and indeed the Tufted Duck was with them. On to Fair Haven where we stumbled on point-blank eye-level views of a Barred Owl. Lots of birds there but we could not come up with anything unusual. A lot going on in the open water with most of the bay and virtually all of the pond still frozen. We saw a properly migrating Rough-legged Hawk on the way out. Over at Sodus Point we found at least 5 Black Scoter and at least 4 Surf Scoter (including an adult male) among hundreds of White-winged Scoter. 3000 gulls on the ice yielded a disappointing two species. Again, a surprising amount still frozen. At Morgan Rd a whopping six predatory species were in evidence. Dave Wheeler N Syracuse, NY Leucistic/partially albinistic gull: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22183060@N08/8502488086/in/photostream Oswego Harbor, Oswego, US-NY Feb 23, 2013 11:10 AM - 12:15 PM Protocol: Traveling 0.5 mile(s) Comments: Submitted from BirdLog for Android v1.6 16 species Mallard 40 Greater Scaup 10 Lesser Scaup 10 Surf Scoter 1 White-winged Scoter 80 Long-tailed Duck 10 Common Goldeneye 5 Common Merganser 20 Red-breasted Merganser 20 American Coot 5 Ring-billed Gull 1500 Including a leucistic bird; bill color/markings and leg color normal for adult Ring-bill; primaries looked normal for adult a href=http://www.flickr.com/photos/22183060@N08/8502488086/; title=Ring-billed Gull (leucistic) - Oswego Harbor, 2/23/13 by krankykestrel, on Flickrimg src=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8251/8502488086_86e3f89b82.jpg; alt=Ring-billed Gull (leucistic) - Oswego Harbor, 2/23/13/a Herring Gull 30 Iceland Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 5 Rock Pigeon 40 Northern Cardinal 1 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13162820 SUNY Oswego--Lakeshore, Oswego, US-NY Feb 23, 2013 12:24 PM - 12:44 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: Submitted from BirdLog for Android v1.6 11 species (+1 other taxa) Mute Swan 3 American Wigeon 2 American Black Duck 2 Redhead 50 Tufted Duck 1 female Greater/Lesser Scaup 200 Long-tailed Duck 2 Bufflehead 15 Common Goldeneye 40 Red-breasted Merganser 25 Black-capped Chickadee 1 Tufted Titmouse 1 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13162817 Fair Haven Beach St. Park, Cayuga, US-NY Feb 23, 2013 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM Protocol: Traveling 0.5 mile(s) Comments: Submitted from BirdLog for Android v1.6 21 species (+1 other taxa) Mute Swan X Gadwall 3 American Wigeon 3 American Black Duck 3 Mallard 25 Redhead 150 Ring-necked Duck 12 Greater/Lesser Scaup 150 White-winged Scoter 75 Long-tailed Duck 10 Bufflehead 2 Common Goldeneye 100 Common Merganser 200 Red-breasted Merganser 200 Double-crested Cormorant 2 Bald Eagle 1 Rough-legged Hawk 1 light, migrating Ring-billed Gull 1000 Herring Gull 75 Great Black-backed Gull 10 Barred Owl 1 American Crow 10 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13162815 Sodus Bay--Sodus Point, Wayne, US-NY Feb 23, 2013 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Protocol: Traveling 0.25 mile(s) Comments: south winds 21 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose 1 Mute Swan 20 Tundra Swan 10 Gadwall 6 American Wigeon 2 Mallard 2 Canvasback 4 Redhead 30 Ring-necked Duck 8 Greater/Lesser Scaup 60 Surf Scoter 4 1 ad male, 2 first year male, 1 female White-winged Scoter 500 guesstimated Black Scoter 5 no adult males Long-tailed Duck 100 Bufflehead 8 Common Goldeneye 50 Common Merganser 50 Red-breasted Merganser 75 American Coot 8 Ring-billed Gull 3000 Herring Gull 100 European Starling 10 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13162803 Montezuma Morgan Road Marshes (NMWMA), Wayne, US-NY Feb 23, 2013 5:15 PM - 6:13 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: Submitted from BirdLog for Android v1.6 7 species Canada Goose 75 Northern Harrier 1 Bald Eagle 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Rough-legged Hawk 1 Short-eared Owl 6 Northern Shrike 1 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13162798 -- 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)
