[cayugabirds-l] new Yard bird
I have been out 5 times since the end of February, scanning the southern skies for migrants of some kind. So far nothing. But today I got a new Yard bird when I watched a REDHEAD (as in the duck) circling the Firehall 4 times low. Not sure it was migrating, but it probably thought the extensive black asphalt around the building was water. Steve FastBrooktondale -- 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] Ice retreating
Up till yesterday (3/7) with the freezing temps. the miles-long ice sheet in front of my house at Lansing Station Rd. had increased in size since I reported its extent on Thurs 3/5. With today's temps in mid 30s the ice sheet has melted back about 100' along the shore here and about 150' out in the middle. Ice is much thicker by shore also by beaches like mine with a solid crib dock, ice is piled up in big heaps against the beach structures. Some pieces of ice look to be 4 thick. The waterfowl (Aythyas, C , H, R Mergs, Tundra Swans, Mallards, Black Ducks, CA Geese, gulls) have been following the retreating ice edges all day I hope they are finding more to eat. An immature BALD EAGLE sat in a tree watching them for awhile, but it was being closely harassed by 4 of my 6 A. CROWS flew north. I had hoped the eagle would drop down to the floating ice chunks at the ice edge to get one of the 7 dead birds I saw floating there get an easy meal. Yesterday I also saw a dead duck on the ice at the Lans. Town marina at Myers Park. (There was a large area of open water surrounded by ice offshore by Myers). i have also encountered several ducks in various roads near the lake. They fly away weakly as I drive carefully around them. These weather/ice conditions have been hard on the wildlife. Looking north, it appears that a big area of liquid water has opened up around the Power Plant since I saw most of it frozen over on Thursday. Sent from my iPhone Donna Scott -- 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] Crows raid Wendy's trash can in Auburn 3/8/15
Most interesting to watch as 3 crows kept trying to get a bag containing French fries other food items from the small trash bin at the front entrance to Wendy's today. Each would grab the bag try to pull it from the partially enclosed bin. Occasionally one would shake loose a French fry leave with it. Finally, after about 10 min. one managed to sit precariously on the bin lip edge with its head under the cover got a good grip on the bag succeeded in pulling it out onto the ground. Whooppee!! Lots of food came tumbling out the 3 crows were joined by several others who quickly grabbed the treats flew away and I didn't have a camera!!! I am often amazed at the cunning intelligence of crows. Our 7 check out my garden compostevery day, several times a day also look under the feeders for dropped seed. No matter how careful I am to try to stay hidden in the house while trying to observe them, the sentinel must see me off they go. Now if only the squirrels were as observant would leave!Several yrs. ago I was in front of the old P C store in Auburn when I heard the very loud persistent call of a gull. I saw none anywhere around. NONE! I happened to glance to the roof of the P C there was a crow, mimicking a gull. Next I heard a phone ringing ringing but no one was in the parking lot. NO ONE! I glanced up at the crow saw he was making the noise. Since no other store where he sat on the roof was open, I came to the conclusion he was mimicking the ringing phone in the Sakura restaurant which he could hear but I couldn't. Has anyone else had such an experience?? It left me thrilled amazed.Fritzie Blizzard, Union Springs, NY -- 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] Fish Crow smarts
Years ago I joined my parents at their favorite hotel on Sanibel Island near Fort Myers Florida. One day my father and I were walking through the parking lot below the second floor balcony where there was a maid's room-cleaning cart next to the railing. All of a sudden coffee stirrers, sugar packets, and creamer packets rained down on our heads! We looked up to see a Fish Crow on the cart raiding the rooms' coffee supplies! it was helping itself to the sugar and flinging the other stuff over the railing! Another day I was sitting on my lounge chair out on the beach and a person a few feet away had left their beach supplies and snacks on the sand by their lounge chair while they took a walk. One item was one of those brick pack boxes of juice with the little straw that you punch through the small round aluminum hole to get the juice. a Fish Crow flew down stood by the box pecked the small aluminum round spot until it broke. F. Crow tipped the box over so the juice started to run out and it stuck its beak there to drink the juice! Crows love our fast food nation! Sent from my iPhone Donna Scott On Mar 8, 2015, at 11:50 PM, job121...@verizon.net wrote: Most interesting to watch as 3 crows kept trying to get a bag containing French fries other food items from the small trash bin at the front entrance to Wendy's today. Each would grab the bag try to pull it from the partially enclosed bin. Occasionally one would shake loose a French fry leave with it. Finally, after about 10 min. one managed to sit precariously on the bin lip edge with its head under the cover got a good grip on the bag succeeded in pulling it out onto the ground. Whooppee!! Lots of food came tumbling out the 3 crows were joined by several others who quickly grabbed the treats flew away and I didn't have a camera!!! I am often amazed at the cunning intelligence of crows. Our 7 check out my garden compost every day, several times a day also look under the feeders for dropped seed. No matter how careful I am to try to stay hidden in the house while trying to observe them, the sentinel must see me off they go. Now if only the squirrels were as observant would leave! Several yrs. ago I was in front of the old P C store in Auburn when I heard the very loud persistent call of a gull. I saw none anywhere around. NONE! I happened to glance to the roof of the P C there was a crow, mimicking a gull. Next I heard a phone ringing ringing but no one was in the parking lot. NO ONE! I glanced up at the crow saw he was making the noise. Since no other store where he sat on the roof was open, I came to the conclusion he was mimicking the ringing phone in the Sakura restaurant which he could hear but I couldn't. Has anyone else had such an experience?? It left me thrilled amazed. Fritzie Blizzard, Union Springs, NY -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Open waters, new osprey platforms feathers
Two new osprey platforms have been placed atop elec. poles: one across from Union Springs High School driveway at the water plant. Another is north of the RR track at the 2nd fire lane. Can't think of the name on the driveway sign or what the firelane no. is. Maybe there are only crossed oars on the sign.Down Backus Rd. in Hibiscus Harbor is a nest in a bad location, ... on top of a polewhich has 2 transformers on it. Some sticks actually rest on the transformers. With leaves off trees, now is the time to be looking for such nests to let Candace Cornellknow about them since she is co-ordinating such information.Open water north of the RR bridge/Harris Park is refuge for great nos. of ducks swansbut few geese at this time. A few tiny areas just south of Harris Park had some open water with mostly common mergansers. The channel from the RR bridge to the lock is mostly open full of ducks. I saw many common red-breasted mergs, goldeneye,redhead, canvasbacks, redheads scaup. Whatever else was there, I didn't take time tolook ... oh yes, maybe 60 + swans less than a doz. Canadas. What amazed me was the great number of ducks right at the lock also on the river south of 5 20. In Auburn I saw many ring billed (garbage) gulls over the Bed, Bath Beyond mall parking lot but only two north of Cayuga. Saw no evidence of eagle activity on the nest at Mud Lock. Out on the ice at Mud Lock I saw a female common merganser that looked disoriented withfeathers that appeared to be quite water soaked. She didn't look healthy. Along Rte. 90 north of the Lettie Cook Woods entrance were 2 dead deer lying together along the shoulder, the first road kill I've seen in maybe 2 mos.. Becky released a male skunk fromher neighbor's live trap this evening. :) He stomped his feet repeatedly at her curled his tail up over his back but she said sweet nothings in his ears as she covered the trap with a blanket,put him in her car took him away from the very worried neighbor.Tomorrow, despite all I have to do that is more important, I hope to go to Oswego look for the magnificent male harlequin on the Oswego river below the bridge. Hopefully he will spend anotherday there.Fritzie, Union Springs -- 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] Tufted duck continues
At yacht club -- 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] Last week's Hooded Merganser video
?Hi all, I have uploaded video of Hooded Merganser of Seneca River, but the sound in the background is of Cayuga Lake Sheldrake point as the original sound was too many cars passing by. Hope you will enjoy in HD. Cheers Meena Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 42.429007,-76.47111 http://www.haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ Ithaca area moths: https://plus.google.com/118047473426099383469/posts Dragonfly book sample pages: http://www.haribal.org/dragonflies/samplebook.pdf -- 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] oops Link to Hooded Merganser
?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL8mVlXD_4g Hooded Merganser Preening - YouTube Hooded Merganser Preening on Seneca River in Baldwinsville NY Feb 28 2014. Watch now...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL8mVlXD_4g Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 42.429007,-76.47111 http://www.haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ Ithaca area moths: https://plus.google.com/118047473426099383469/posts Dragonfly book sample pages: http://www.haribal.org/dragonflies/samplebook.pdf -- 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] Saturday Birding
Hi all, Yesterday , I too went looking for birds at IYC, but my goal was to observe behaviors. I arrived there and got out and from the top parking area I looked at the ducks in the bay and first thing I saw was TUFTED DUCK through binoculars. I spent some time watching it and as there was no else and I could hear the ducks calling, I decided I want to record them. So I was getting ready with the equipment, when I saw a huge van with lots of stickers of Ibird and eBird and full of Cornellites pulled ahead of me as I was still trying to get my recorder out. One by one all jumped out of the van some with large lenses and scopes, they all looked very professional. So my chance of quiet recording was foiled. So I decided I will stop by on the way back. I headed up north. On the whim, I decided to go look at the Upper Taughannock Falls. And I was happy I did. It was an impressive sight with large pile of snow ice build up and a tiny bit of water still flowing and making loud noise. I spent some time enjoying the view and was wondering how it would be when the snow melts! Then, I headed to Sheldrake. Sheldrake shore was littered with birds. It seems that the large raft of Athya ducks have split into smaller groups all the way up to Varick where the ice edge is in the north. I could see some were displaying, some sleeping, some diving actively and others doing nothing. Also, there were lots of swans all along the edges and hundreds of Mergansers mostly Red-breasted and some Common. I was looking for Red-necked Grebes and scoters. I think I saw one Red-necked Grebe, which dove as soon as I saw it and then disappeared into water and I did not relocate it again. I also saw a CACKLING GOOSE among the Canada. Then I headed to Seybolt Road in the hopes of relocating some winter rarities. I found several paired Horned Larks and several groups of Horned Larks feeding along the road. At Cayuga lake State park, I found a Merlin sitting as I passed by. I could not stop as another car was behind me. So I turned at a convenient location and headed back to get a better look at the Merlin. By the time I returned it was gone or I missed seeing it. I returned the same way I had gone and stopped at the same locations to enjoy more of these birds. By the time I came back to IYC, which was hoping would be devoid of people, but there were three more cars parked. So I decided to call it a day. As I was I just getting on Rt 89, I found Ann Mitchell heading towards IYC. What intrigued me most is how the ducks, geese and swans sleep. Some of them sleep with their eyes tucked inside the feathers and others with, only beak tucked inside the feathers and eyes outside. I saw several hundreds of them asleep in the water. But many of them were spinning around. Something similar I watched on Seneca River too where the sleeping mergansers were spinning around. They remained almost in the same location in spite of river flowing. So how do they do it? At least mergansers I could see they were paddling slowly in spite of sleeping. My conclusion was probably they paddle with one feet and thus they rotate round and round. Same thing happens if we paddle in one direction only in a canoe or kayak. Anybody has any insight about the mechanism? It would be cool to learn. Also another thing which made me think was segregation of Athya ducks. How did they split into smaller groups? Is there any particular way they did it? Did the birds of the same summering/breeding location group into one group? Or was it randomized? I think geese seem to have some kind of groups and when they are feeding or sleeping on the lake they are randomized but when they are taking off, specific individuals go off together. I watched this with the Sandhill Cranes in Bosque Del Apache as the family groups were taking off from the roost early morning, they would call to each other and wait for every one in the family to be ready to take off, mostly three or four birds and of them often one or two were juveniles. I have some videos of this behavior. What fun it would be if we could geotag all the birds and learn what they are doing! Now probably I am off to do some more birding! Cheers Meena Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 42.429007,-76.47111 http://www.haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ Ithaca area moths: https://plus.google.com/118047473426099383469/posts Dragonfly book sample pages: http://www.haribal.org/dragonflies/samplebook.pdf -- 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:
[cayugabirds-l] Bald Eagles
...Did later show up to grab one of the dead birds in the ice-chunk/water edge of the big ice sheet here at Lans. Stat. Rd. An adult BALD EAGLE swooped around to check out the floating body, then grabbed it on the third pass. It flew back south a short way landed on the ice where it started picking at the carcass. By the time I grabbed my scope got to back deck re-found the eagle, it was standing near the carcass while an immature eagle stood on carcass pulling it apart eating pieces of it. The adult now then would eat a little meat that got flung onto ice. After watching this for awhile, Wanting to try determining approx. age of immature I ran in house for bird book. By the time I did that 1 other unnecessary chore got back to scope, the adult eagle had disappeared and 2 immatures were at the carcass, most of which seemed gone (they were at least half a mile from me). Looking at both Sibley's field guide Crossley's raptor ID Guide, i would say the immatures were 2nd year birds. They had dull-whitish feathers on top of heads and in sort of a wedge down the back of their necks. Had brown on sides of faces and some white streaks on their backs. I did not note how chests/belly looked, but maybe they were lightly streaked. I do not think they had the lighter eyes and light sides of faces that pix of 3-years show. Sent from my iPhone Donna Scott -- 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] Brown Thrasher
Hi all, I walked my usual route down Burns Road today and found a Brown Thrasher visiting a feeder at Burns Way. In talking to the homeowner he said it’s been at his house all winter with some Grackles and what sounds to me like a Rusty Blackbird. I didn’t see these other early birds, but I’ll check again this week. Gary -- 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] Tufted Duck musings
Loved it! Thanks so much. Judy Thurber Liverpool Sent from my iPad On Mar 7, 2015, at 5:14 PM, Dave Nutter nutter.d...@me.com wrote: Two points of potential interest about Tufted Ducks, in addition to the fact that the short-tufted male continues (as late as 3:30pm) close to the point at the Ithaca Yacht Club: I did not see the Tufted Duck in the Ladoga area but I am told that on 22 February it was seen to have a normal long tuft. Did other observers see this? Does anybody have photos which might argue for this being the same bird having lost tuft feathers or for it being a different bird based on some other characteristics, such as bill markings? If you are interested in the species in its native climes, albeit not a totally natural situation, below is a link to a half-hour movie, 50 or more years old, from Sweden, which Stefhan Ohlström sent me. The movie is in black-and-white, which works fine for this species, and the narration, without subtitles, is in Swedish, but this also doesn't matter a whole lot if you don't listen Swedish, as the plot is pretty obvious. I will explain the title, Viggen Viggo. You may have heard of the actor, Viggo Mortensen, who my wife Laurie tells me is an Upstate New Yorker of Danish heritage. Viggo is just a Scandinavian first name. But Vigg is the common Swedish name for _Aythya fuligula_, what we call Tufted Duck. The suffix -en is the Swedish way of indicating the article the. So the title means, Viggo the Tufted Duck, but of course it is more cute in Swedish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YiJ0b_3H-k --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/ --
