I went to Taughannock this morning. There was a NW breeze, i.e. pretty much
aiming along the lake. I watched from 6:40am til 7:50am and saw 120 loons
flying south and 20 flying back north again. I was only looking against the
sky, not at anything flying below tree level or close to the lake, which had
some shimmer due to cold air. Most loons followed the lake going SE past
Taughannock in singles or rather spread out groups of up to half a dozen. The
paths of these birds were of varying height and distance from me. Rather late
in my count I saw a couple of tighter groups follow the west shore and possibly
continue over land. To see these both paths it may be best to observe from the
north side of the creek on the concrete platform at the point, as trees obscure
one area or the other from the south side of the creek.
Gladys Birdsall joined me toward the end, when flying loons were getting sparse
and the number returning was close to the number leaving.
Aside from the loons and a flock of about 50 northbound American Robins over
the west shore, my most interesting observation was of a tight trio of Common
Ravens who flew from Taughannock NE across the lake.
Good luck tomorrow!
--Dave Nutter
On Nov 08, 2016, at 12:44 PM, "Wesley W. Blauvelt"
wrote:
Hi All - Just a reminder that I will be leading a Loon Watch at Taughannock
Falls State Park this Sunday, November 13, 2016 beginning at 6:20 AM. We will
assemble on the south side of Taughannock Creek at its confluence with Cayuga
Lake. Depending on the number of participants, we may break into two groups in
order to maximize our coverage of migratory routes. Last year we had a banner
day with +1,000 Common Loons and a couple of Red Throated Loons.
Yesterday, while closing my cottage for the season, I scanned the lake from my
front yard on the west shore near Camp Barton. My high count was 168 Common
Loons. My guess is that at this vantage point I can view about 8 square miles
of lake surface or approximately 12% of the total surface of Cayuga Lake. This
would suggest there could be +2,000 loons currently on the lake……but then,
who’s counting! See you Sunday. Wes
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