Hi All, This afternoon I took another walk through Cass Park, and along with a couple other birders I saw a CATTLE EGRET in the soccer field NW of the skating rink (giant Sowbug) and nearest NYS-89. It was eating worms that it found while walking in the wet grass. Initially it was rather alone and close to the south parking lot and the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. By staying on the pavement, where all other people had passed by innocuously, we could watch and photograph the egret without scaring it. There was also a flock of Ring-billed Gulls foraging in this field, and later they mixed with each other a bit more.
After the other birders, having met their goal, left and headed south again, I walked north to check out the ducks in an extensive floodle in the next field to the east. Among the Mallards was an apparent American Black Duck, with a chocolate colored body, tan head & neck, olive bill, and violet speculum. But a closer inspection revealed it to be a hybrid with a Mallard, because it had the male’s telltail (!) curly rump feathers, plus the spread wing revealed very narrow white edges to the speculum. As I looked up with satisfaction from these observations, I noticed that there was an egret standing next to this pool of water. It was in plain view, quite conspicuous, resting quietly, and I don’t know when it got there. It was white-plumaged, yellow-billed, and black-legged like the rare-but-recently-seen Cattle Egret(s) but the legs, body, neck, head, and bill were all proportionately much longer, and the bird was clearly much larger than the nearby Mallards: it was a GREAT EGRET. Several people driving by noticed it and paused to talk about it. I don’t think they were as likely to notice the Cattle Egret among Ring-billed Gulls all of similar size, color, & behavior. Anyway, plenty of people enjoyed this Great Egret treat. But one fellow IMO went a bit too far. He came striding across the soccer field directly at the Great Egret while holding his phone in front of his face to photograph it. The Mallards began nervously moving away, and whether the guy intended or not, he was about to flush the egret. I called out to him, “Please don’t scare it away!” He quickly stopped and turned around, and although the egret took flight, fortunately it was only to the other side of the floodle where it resumed resting and preening. But later the same guy did the same thing in the middle of other soccer field, walking, phone-to-eye, right at the Cattle Egret, and this time he was too far away for me to call to him. Indeed the entire flock of Ring-billed Gulls flew E with the Cattle Egret hindmost. As I continued my walk to the NE corner of Cass Park I saw no more gulls in the fields, nor did I see the Cattle Egret. A few more bits of news: A correction to my description of the border between Cass Park and Allan H Treman State Marine Park: both parks have racks for kayaks at their common corner near the boat ramp. Treman’s rack is next to the concrete bulkhead, Cass’ rack is next to the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. I found what I presume was the same Cattle Egret on the very end of one of the docks in Treman Marina. It was conveniently next to a Double-crested Cormorant, a Great Black-backed Gull, a Herring Gull, and a Ring-billed Gull for size comparison. After I walked around the paved & gravel paths and was approaching the marina again, I saw in the distance an egret on top of one of the white electrical service posts at the end of a dock. I believe this was the Great Egret; the Cattle Egret had instead rather shyly stood hunkered on the dock. Before I could get a good enough look to be sure, an immature Bald Eagle flew low over the marina and scared this egret directly away to the SE where I last saw it disappear between treetops. I did not see the Great Egret in or near Cass Park along my walk homeward. Maybe it went into Jetty Woods? However, when I got closer to the marina I saw that the Cattle Egret was standing as before on one of the docks. I hope both the Great Egret & Cattle Egret stick around tomorrow. Good birding! - - Dave Nutter > On Oct 29, 2021, at 11:38 AM, Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> wrote: > > I don’t think this rare bird report went out to the wider listserve. > > On the morning of October 27th Jay McGowan found 2 CATTLE EGRETS in Cass Park > in Ithaca. They were with the couple hundred RING-BILLED GULLS who typically > rest in the soccer fields at the north end of Cass Park, but after the heavy > rains of the previous day they were foraging in the flooded lawns around the > edges of the large pools of water in those soccer fields. All these birds > were frequently making short flights to change which field they used. Later > in the day at least 1 CATTLE EGRET was resting on the docks in Treman Marina. > > This morning, October 29th, Jay reports that at least 1 CATTLE EGRET is again > in northern Cass Park’s wet soccer fields and on the Treman Marina docks > where the gulls (mainly Ring-billed but also some Herring & a few Great > Black-backed) typically rest. > > By the way, I’ve noticed some understandable confusion as to boundaries of > these 2 adjacent and popular parks. > > ALLAN H. TREMAN STATE MARINE PARK (AHTSMP) is east and north of the Hangar > Theater, bounded by NYS-89 on the west, Cayuga Lake on the north, and Cayuga > Inlet on the east. The south border is very close to the south side of the > boat ramp, its associated parking lot, and the entrance road from NYS-89 just > south of the Hangar Theater. AHTSMP encompasses the boat ramp, the huge > marina, a couple of weedy fields west and northwest of the marina (each with > an Osprey nesting platform atop a pole), a bit of woods north of the marina, > and an extensive and diverse wetland in the northwest part of the park. This > wetland, known locally as Hog’s Hole or the Hog Hole, is named after a guy > called Hoggy who lived in the area before the park was created. > > This State Park also includes a large fenced enclosure for loose dogs, a > compromise after years of scofflaw dog-owners breaking the City of Ithaca > leash ordinance and the State Park regulations by persistently letting their > dogs run around the park off-leash, frequently harassing other park patrons > who walk there. The dog pen is the most extensive mowed lawn in AHTSMP, which > has no playing fields. > > There are some formal paths in AHTSMP which were created a couple years ago. > Most are paved but some are gravel. Current policy is not to clear snow from > any of them. They connect to the Cayuga Waterfront Trail in Cass Park which > does clear snow from the CWT. > > In a very unusual arrangement with the City of Ithaca, this State Park does > not charge any entrance fee, although it does charge fees for using or > parking at the boat ramp, and of course there is a fee for keeping a boat at > the docks in the marina. A perk of the boat housing fee is having restrooms > and showers which are locked to keep commoners out. However, the restrooms > next to the park office building north of the boat ramp are usually unlocked > and available to the general public. The parking lots are used for storing > boats in winter but there is still space for park users to park. > > I believe the reason that this park extends so much farther into Cayuga Lake > than does Stewart Park is that much of the land in AHTSMP was created by > dumping dirt dug up in the 1960s by significant widening & straightening of > Cayuga Inlet which created the Flood Control Channel which is used by rowing > crews, and which cut off Inlet Island. In the early 1980s, spoils from > dredging of that channel were added which raised the fields above the > wetlands and allowed creation of the knoll. > > (Allan H Treman State Marine Park is not to be confused with Robert Treman > State Park, named after Allan’s father, located a few miles south, and > encompassing a spectacular gorge with waterfalls, trails, and swimming). > > CASS PARK, located immediately south of AHTSMP, is owned and managed by the > City of Ithaca, which also charges no fees and allows the general public to > use it, similar to Stewart Park and numerous smaller parks around the City. > Cass Park, unlike Allan Treman, includes playing fields, lots of them. It > also includes a covered skating rink that looks like a giant sowbug for ice > skating in winter and roller skating in summer. It has a swimming pool for > use during a couple of summer months when college students are on break and > can be hired as lifeguards. Cass Park has tennis courts (also suitable for > pickle ball). The playing fields on the west side of NYS-89, called Union > Fields, are equipped with sets of bright lights on tall wooden poles, powered > by a noisy smelly generator. Ospreys built a nest atop one of these sets of > lights a few years back, and NYSEG transferred the new nest onto a higher > platform to prevent a fire from the hot lights. Cass Park has a couple of > playgrounds for small kids, a picnic pavilion and a barbecue pit. On a cove > of Cayuga Inlet, Cass Park has 3 small docks where Dragonboats reside and > paddlecraft may also be launched. There are a couple of restroom buildings in > the park, but they are only unlocked during the warmer months. The rink > building, during business hours, may be the best bet for a legal public > lavatory. Drinking fountains near playing fields may be disconnected. > > Much of Cass Park is encircled by a 2-mile loop of the paved pedestrian & > bike path called the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. (This trail also crosses on the > NYS-96 bridge to the east side of the Flood Control Channel then goes north > along the east side of Cayuga Inlet to the Farmers’ Market, weaves inland > along Cascadilla Creek and then east of Newman Golf Course to Stewart Park.) > The CWT extends to the northern border of Cass Park. I believe the row of > Yews alongside it belong to Treman. The wooden racks for canoes and kayaks > are in Cass Park, even though they are close to Treman’s boat ramp. Cass Park > extends south in a wedge to the dead end of Park Road, a remnant of NYS-89 > before the big curving NYS-89 bridge with the tile pictures of waterfalls was > built. > > Near the south end of Cass Park is an area managed by a private organization, > called the Ithaca Children’s Garden. It is fenced to keep deer out, but > people are welcome. Adults have had a wonderful time planting things here, > including vegetables which you may sample, beautiful flowers, and things that > are better seen than described. There are organized (& deliberately > disorganized) programs for kids. One of Ithaca’s wonders resides here: a > concrete sculpture of a Snapping Turtle (named Gaia) about 50’ from snout to > tail tip and crouching several feet high. An artifact of its construction is > a hole in its throat much like a tracheostomy, and Northern Rough-winged > Swallows have nested there several years. > > To the west of Cass Park is the BLACK DIAMOND TRAIL, a gravel pedestrian and > bike trail which follows an old railroad grade at a shallow 2% gradient > northwest for 8 1/2 miles to the top of Taughannock Falls State Park. It > doesn’t feel like work to bike north, but one can largely coast coming back > to Ithaca. The Black Diamond Trail is a linear park managed by State Parks. > It is also accessible at small parking areas where it crosses 8 roads. This > is a wonderful way to view gorges & waterfalls of various sizes (including > Taughannock’s secret spiral upper falls), and it’s good from birding, too. > > - - 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/ --
