[cayugabirds-l] NE Ithaca, Sun 2/1
At about 7 AM today, I saw an EASTERN SCREECH-OWL in our box - my first sighting since Thursday. It seemed to be preparing normally to retire for the day, with dilated pupils looking out indolently at nothing in particular. But then the owl burst forth, setting off little snow cascades from both the box roof and the near branch where it alighted. I had never before seen an owl flying out of the box in the morning. I widened my view. Three squirrels had arrived. They and the owl fixed frozen gazes on each other. A dove perched, petrified, on our play structure nearby. The six of us remained paused like this for several minutes, watching to see what would happen next, hoping some combination of the others would leave. Alas, the owl departed first. I didn't see the bird as it left - just the empty nodding perch and another wisp of falling snow. Mark Chao --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.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] House Sparrows adapt to cars
I was trying to see my neighbors' feeding operation to add to my yard list, but the parked car in their driveway blocks my window view of birds on the ground. A colony of House Sparrows frequents their yard, and I hoped a native species would join them, so I peered under around their car as well. As a result I have just added another item to my list of House Sparrow adaptations to cars: drinking from dripping icicles as solar gain on the south side of the car melts fresh snow on the car (this was not from a filthy fenderberg). I already knew about House Sparrows using a parked car for shelter, using the underside of an idling car for warmth in winter (per Ann Mitchell near the game farm), and in summer foraging recently killed insects on the grills of cars stopped at gas stations. Those critters have got it made until the collapse of car culture! --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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Lapland Longspur
100s of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings and at least 2 Lapland Longspurs in this field at 10:20 am today. A red- tailed hawk occasionally comes by and scatters all these birds and the 100 or so crows. But the birds come back. -Diane Ken On Thursday, January 29, 2015, Dave Nutter nutter.d...@me.com wrote: This field NW of Ledyard Rd Dixon Rd (Town of Ledyard, Cayuga County) had exposed corn among stubble close to Ledyard Rd, and scores of HORNED LARKS were easy to see. We initially saw the LAPLAND LONGSPUR with a few of the larks on the road shoulder, but when they moved north into the field to join the other larks, we did not spend enough time to refind it. With more patience and less blowing snow I think it could have been found. Farther NW in that same field, west of some power lines and north of a low rise, we saw about 20 SNOW BUNTINGS flying up briefly, perhaps part of a larger group. Again, with less wind and more patience they might be refound. --Dave Nutter On Jan 29, 2015, at 03:42 PM, Ann Mitchell annmitchel...@gmail.com javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','annmitchel...@gmail.com'); wrote: On Ledyard Road just west of Dixon Road. In with a flock of Horned Larks on side of the road. Super looks! Good birding, Ann Sent from my iPhone -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu http://www.mail-archive.com/%3Ca%20href= /maillist.html'http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','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:* Welcome and Basics http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME Rules and Information http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Subscribe, Configuration and Leave http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm *Archives:* The Mail Archive http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html Surfbirds http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds BirdingOnThe.Net 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] flock o' flickers
I got a late start on my trip to the lake. It was mid-afternoon. Light snowfall had begun as I biked north on the path in Cass Park along Union Fields, and I thought maybe this was a dumb idea. Then I began hearing persistent kleer calls from a Northern Flicker ahead. What a treat in winter, if it isn't a Starling, I thought. I stopped near the Sycamore source of the sound and had the pleasant surprise of a decent naked-eye view of 2 Flickers moving about close together, but not good enough through the branches to tell their genders. As I unpacked my binoculars from the pannier where I'd stupidly put them for protection from snow, the Flickers flew to separate trees, #1 going east across NYS-89, #2 going north a shorter distance. With the binoculars I also checked out 2 silhouettes I had noticed in #1's new tree, and it turned out they were Flickers #3 #4, but they were rather inactive, so I looked back at #1 and found that next to it was presumed Flicker #5. Double-checking that #5 was not really #2, I glanced back to #2's tree and saw no bird in it, but instead saw presumed Flicker #2 flying from that direction toward the tree with the other Flickers, alighting near #1 5. Checking back on #3 4, I found that they now were accompanied by Flicker #6 and were becoming more active. I scanned the tree again and the number of Flickers had finally stabilized at 6 but there was also a Downy Woodpecker. Then the Flickers began flying south to other less visible trees long the Inlet. I've seen Flicker flocks before, but I think more toward when I would expect migration. This was a bit of a surprise. I found no rarities among the 14 species of waterfowl I saw on the lake, which was calm, but had limited visibility due to the snow falling. I enjoyed watching around a hundred Canvasbacks, some of which were close to the ice edge. A pair of adult Bald Eagles flew over. The first, which alit atop a tree along the west shore where I could scope it, was a bit gray on the face and had a few white flecks below the wings, so perhaps it was a young adult. About 2/3 of the gulls resting on the ice nearby decided to stretch their wings and fly around a bit as it came over, but they soon reassembled their ranks. The ducks seemed to react by swimming away. A presumed second adult (whose plumage details I did not see) was on a similar but slightly more northerly flight path a few minutes later, at which time I noticed that the first had departed, perhaps also to the north. --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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] House Sparrows adapt to cars
Hi, My husband had a couple mallards under the cat today. Go figure. Diana Diana Whiting dianawhitingphotography.com On Feb 1, 2015, at 1:35 PM, Dave Nutter nutter.d...@me.com wrote: I was trying to see my neighbors' feeding operation to add to my yard list, but the parked car in their driveway blocks my window view of birds on the ground. A colony of House Sparrows frequents their yard, and I hoped a native species would join them, so I peered under around their car as well. As a result I have just added another item to my list of House Sparrow adaptations to cars: drinking from dripping icicles as solar gain on the south side of the car melts fresh snow on the car (this was not from a filthy fenderberg). I already knew about House Sparrows using a parked car for shelter, using the underside of an idling car for warmth in winter (per Ann Mitchell near the game farm), and in summer foraging recently killed insects on the grills of cars stopped at gas stations. Those critters have got it made until the collapse of car culture! --Dave Nutter -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to 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/ --
