[cayugabirds-l] Holiday robins

Christmas morning gifts---About three to four dozen ROBINS blanketing our yard. Hard to count because they are everywhere and moving around constantly. At least one E. BLUEBIRD in with them, looking overwhelmed. Our best wishes to all of you. Bill and Shirley McAneny, T'Burg --

[cayugabirds-l] Coopers

Sunday a little after 4pm, I was on Seneca St. at Rte 13 waitng for the red light to change. On the NE corner there is a house with some large yew bushes (or other evergreens). On top of one of the yews there was a COOPERS HAWK trying to get at something inside the bush. The light changed so

[cayugabirds-l] raven, others

Yesterday in the early afternoon I saw a RAVEN in our field poking through the long grass looking for a meal. IT reminded me that last Friday I heard a RAVEN call. I looked out towards the lake in hopes of seeing a raven fly-by, which happens occasionally. Our place is about halfway between

[cayugabirds-l] balt.oriole

This mornings yard birds: highlights are a male B. ORIOLE inspecting branch tips for a suitable spot to hang a nest. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW on the lawn. Sharply marked White-Throated Sparrow near the feeders. Yesterdays arrivals: four BARN SWALLOWS in and out of one of the barns. Upset with

[cayugabirds-l] C. Grackle

About 10:20 this a.m. there was a COMMON GRACKLE on our feeder. It picked at a few seeds, then left into the wind. Bill McAneny, Trumansburg -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1)

[cayugabirds-l] Eider

About 2:30 this afternoon, I paid a visit to Stewart Park. A fellow from near Canandaigua (Dave Morris?) said he had not seen the eider. I was setting up my scope and he yelled to me from the boat house that the eider was back in the unfrozen part of the creek. We viewed it from the path NW

[cayugabirds-l] desparate Red Tail

We have had a Cooper's Hawk buzzing the local feeder population for a couple of days, so when the feeder birds scattered about an hour ago, I looked out expecting to see the Coop finally successful. What I saw was a RED TAILED HAWK swooping by the kitchen window and flying away clutching a

[cayugabirds-l] a little raft of redheads

A raft of redheads showed up today in a spot I have not seen them before. The raft, about 300 in number, is tucked into the beach on the south side of Taughannock point. They can be seen from Rte 89 as you drive north to the park entrance. A few Canada Geese are nearby, but no other species

[cayugabirds-l] grackle

We just had our first common grackle of the spring on our feeder. This was right after a male Cardinal in a rush of testosterone flew smack into another Cardinal on the feeder. The other Cardinal is solid wood and painted bright red. He did not move from the spot where he sits day and night,

[cayugabirds-l] female redwing

I don't recall any postings of female REDWINGED BLACKBIRDS but we had our first this season on our feeder this morning. Nice to see her again. Bill McAneny, TBurg -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES

[cayugabirds-l] B. Orioles

Two male BALTIMORE ORIOLES showed up at the feeder this morning, attracted no doubt by the pieces of orange that Shirley had supplied. These were followed by at least a half-dozen CEDAR WAXWINGS in a crabapple tree. No crabapples of course but probably some bugs on the new leaves. It has

[cayugabirds-l] common migrants

Spring has arrived between the lakes. This a.m. there were at least two White-crowned Sparrows and two female Purple Finches at our feeders. The Siskin is still among the 20 Goldfinches and about 4 pairs of Barn Swallows are making nests in the barn. One Baltimore Oriole (one of the two

[cayugabirds-l] Field Sparrow in TBurg

Will wonders never cease. Another migrant gets lost and finds TBurg. Today it was a Field Sparrow on and beneath the feeder. We have not seen this species here in several years. Bill and Shirley McAneny, TBurg -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME

Fw: [cayugabirds-l] Dead Birds - Mulberry Tree

When we lived on Long Island, there was a big mulberry tree in front of our house. When the berries fell to the round and stayed there a while, they would ferment. The mourning doves would then come around and get staggering drunk. However, I don't remember ever seeing a dead bird under the

[cayugabirds-l] rough-legged hawk

Seen about 3pm on the east side of Cayuga View Rd about 100 yds from Rte 89 near Trumansburg. Flew up to a nearby tree branch as my car approached, so I got a good look (no binox) at its dark back and tail and the striking white slash across the base of the primaries. When it flew further

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Grassland birds - East Hill Rec. Way/Pine Tree Rd.

Larry (and others), We have a 5-acre grassy field. When we moved here 10 yrs ago, I asked someone at the lab what the minimum size might be to attract nesting grassland species. The answer was about 50 acres. I don't know if there is more recent information on the size, but perhaps this is

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Downy eating oranges

Laura (and others), We have oranges out for the orioles and we have had a Red-bellied Woodpecker coming in to eat. He then carries off whole piecesof the orange. A piece is one-eighth of an orange the way Shirley cuts one up. The orioles have much better manners and eat only at the feeder.

[cayugabirds-l] Gary K. and R L hawks

Shirley and I were driving N on rte 89 about noon today and passed a Rough-leg perched on a power pole near Interlaken. He said he was waiting for Gary, and did we know what was delaying him? We went on to Montezuma which started out quiet and got quieter as the rain started. Saw nothing

[cayugabirds-l] broken bill loon

I seem to recall a loon photo a couple of years ago where the bill was visibly fractured and the lower mandible was just hanging down. Does anyone else remember that? Maybe that's just a mis-memory like a lot of my memories these days. The photo emailed today would have predated that one and

[cayugabirds-l] horned larks

A half dozen Horned Larks followed the snow to Cayuga View Rd in TBurg this afternoon. Previously, with zero snow, there had been zero HLarks. The wind blows across the corn fields and leaves little lark tidbits on the shoulders of the road. Bill McAneny, tburg -- Cayugabirds-L List Info:

Re: [cayugabirds-l] snowbirds

Nancy's observation is timely. The same happened here today, but our number was smaller, only 10 juncos. Still, that's double our usual number. Bill McAnenyT'Burg - Original Message - From: Nancy W Dickinson To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2012 4:10 PM

[cayugabirds-l] E. Meadowlark

Those of you who are familiar with the tall perch erected in our meadow may be interested that an E. MEADOWLARK sat there for several minutes about 9:45 this a.m. This is a YFE (yard first ever) for us. Today is very birdy here, with lots of birds pairing up, chasing brides, and looking at

[cayugabirds-l] female redwing

A female Redwing Blackbird joined 3 males at our feeder this am about 9am. I don't recall seeing anything on the listserv about the arrival of the females. If I were as dedicated as Dave Nutter, I would go to eBird to get a definitive answer. But it is Sunday morning, I am lazy and my back

[cayugabirds-l] tree swallow

This morning, our first-of-yearTree Swallow was inspecting one of our bluebird boxes. Unfortunately, it is the same box that the bluebirds have chosen for their nest. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. There are over a dozen boxes to choose from, and Tree Swallows have chosen

[cayugabirds-l] Us too!!

First hummingbird about 7:30 pm to H.B. feeder. Shirley McAneny -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1)

[cayugabirds-l] Blue Grosbeak

We have a male BLUE GROSBEAK in our back yard, foraging among the sparrrows and finches for what appears to be dandelion seeds. This morning, Shirley saw two blue colored birds in the front yard but could not ID them. Possibly the same as the Blue Grosbeak. Bill McAneny, TBurg --

[cayugabirds-l] Blue Grosbeak Not

My apologies. Jay, Jeff, Tim, and others came by to look for the grosbeak and found an Indigo Bunting. My ID was a bit hopeful I guess. Jay kindly said he would rather find a more common bird than miss a rare bird that went unreported.. Nonetheless, you all can now go back to counting

[cayugabirds-l] oranges

The first year we tried oranges, nobody noticed even though there were orioles in the neighborhood. Since then, we put the orange eighths on a platform usually reserved for mixed seeds. The orioles now feed on the oranges several times a day. Sometimes other species visit but they seem to be

[cayugabirds-l] waxwings and tulip trees

We have one tulip tree on our property, planted by a former resident perhaps 30 years ago. When we have Cedar Waxwings in the neighborhood, we often see them in this tree. The birds also frequent a Bradford pear that is within 50 feet of the tulip. Also a white ash that is another 50 feet

[cayugabirds-l] Deer/redwing

Curious activity this a.m. in our field on 89 near Boy Scout Camp, T-burg. A deer was in field when I spotted it but it looked strange. Something on head, antlers? No. Binox showed a Red Wing Black Bird on its head carefully picking something off deer's head, like the oxpeckers we saw in