from:"\"nutter.dave\""

I think I have the 2013 Cayuga Lake Basin First Records list up to date. Please let me know if you think I've got something wrong, and I'll try to rectify it.http://www.cayugabirdclub.org/Resources/cayuga-lake-basin-first-records--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Kip's Island FIelds Location info: 42° 59' 49.61", -76° 43' 8.40

As I said, I occasionally screw up E & W, and I even did it in that email. My parenthetical sentence "I guess it is SW of I-90, but it's W of NYS-90" should have said"I guess it is SE of I-90, but it's W of NYS-90"Meanwhile the good folks at eBird have ALREADY corrected the SE/SW confusion as well as changed the name to Kipp Island, and they have changed the reference to the woods south of Stewart Park to Renwick Woods instead of Fuertes. Thanks!--Dave NutterOn May 13, 2013, at 12:21 PM,  wrote:One of the confusing things about the eBird name for Kip Island Fields (other than that I too never saw any other reference to it) is that it describes the location as SE of the two highways, whereas maps clearly show the area to be SW of the conjunction of those two roads. I am not immune to making such E v W mistakes or giving confusing directions (I guess it is SW of I-90, but it's W of NYS-90) in emails. The problem I see is the difficulty (impossibility?) of changing the eBird name for the site. At least I don't know how do it for my personal sites let alone for hotspots. Other birding hotspots also have been misnamed. For instance, the triangular woods south of Stewart Park is not Fuertes Sanctuary, which refers to the swan pond (note the historical bronze marker). It should instead refer to Renwick Bird Sanctuary or Renwick Wildwood as on the concrete arch. --Dave NutterOn May 13, 2013, at 09:30 AM, Stuart Krasnoff  wrote:This is in response to several requests for location info on "Kip's Island Fields" which I had never heard of before Tim Lenz's CayugaRBA of Glossy Ibis and Ruff from there and Jay McGowan's relay to the list.I was with Gary Kohlenberg last Friday and did not see either rare bird but reported Black-bellied Plover.  I have gotten several requests for location info.   Gary found the site by using Tim Lenz's ebird checklist map info.Tim Lenz's checklist corresponding to his original report :http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14057602has the location of "Kip Island Fields (SE of SR 90 & I-90 Thruway), Cayuga County, New York, US "  as42.997114, -76.718999‎ or  +42° 59' 49.61", -76° 43' 8.40If you are coming from the north go south through the village of Montezuma.  Stay on NYS 90 and run along the thruway and look for the dirt parking area as described below.If you are coming up from Union Springs on 90 just where it bends to the northeast to run along the Thruway there's a dirt parking area with some heavy equipment parked there.  There's a Refuge sign on a gate.  We  saw distant shorebirds far to the left (est. 500-700 meters off).Maybe Tim could refine this if it needs any correction.Best...Stuart--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Kip's Island FIelds Location info: 42° 59' 49.61", -76° 43' 8.40

One of the confusing things about the eBird name for Kip Island Fields (other than that I too never saw any other reference to it) is that it describes the location as SE of the two highways, whereas maps clearly show the area to be SW of the conjunction of those two roads. I am not immune to making such E v W mistakes or giving confusing directions (I guess it is SW of I-90, but it's W of NYS-90) in emails. The problem I see is the difficulty (impossibility?) of changing the eBird name for the site. At least I don't know how do it for my personal sites let alone for hotspots. Other birding hotspots also have been misnamed. For instance, the triangular woods south of Stewart Park is not Fuertes Sanctuary, which refers to the swan pond (note the historical bronze marker). It should instead refer to Renwick Bird Sanctuary or Renwick Wildwood as on the concrete arch. --Dave NutterOn May 13, 2013, at 09:30 AM, Stuart Krasnoff  wrote:This is in response to several requests for location info on "Kip's Island Fields" which I had never heard of before Tim Lenz's CayugaRBA of Glossy Ibis and Ruff from there and Jay McGowan's relay to the list.I was with Gary Kohlenberg last Friday and did not see either rare bird but reported Black-bellied Plover.  I have gotten several requests for location info.   Gary found the site by using Tim Lenz's ebird checklist map info.Tim Lenz's checklist corresponding to his original report :http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14057602has the location of "Kip Island Fields (SE of SR 90 & I-90 Thruway), Cayuga County, New York, US "  as42.997114, -76.718999‎ or  +42° 59' 49.61", -76° 43' 8.40If you are coming from the north go south through the village of Montezuma.  Stay on NYS 90 and run along the thruway and look for the dirt parking area as described below.If you are coming up from Union Springs on 90 just where it bends to the northeast to run along the Thruway there's a dirt parking area with some heavy equipment parked there.  There's a Refuge sign on a gate.  We  saw distant shorebirds far to the left (est. 500-700 meters off).Maybe Tim could refine this if it needs any correction.Best...Stuart--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Ithaca birding highlights, Sunday 12 May

The day had promise: an AMERICAN REDSTART sang from a flowering tree at the Farmers' Market, and an immature BALD EAGLE soared high overhead as I biked through. I got a late start, so maybe that was why I didn't hear the Yellow-throated Warbler along Pier Rd between 10:08 and 10:14am, although it was that late that I heard and saw it on the 9th. Nor was it found around 3:30pm, but I had a very pleasant vigil with Tilden, Mark, and France. Tilden picked out a very obscure EASTERN PHOEBE and a female BALTIMORE ORIOLE, and I saw my second nest-building WARBLING VIREO of the day high in a Sycamore. The first was at the swan pond, where a quiet WARBLING VIREO repeatedly came within a few feet of me to gather dead leaves of grass to weave into her nest and spider webs to cement them. The nest is in the Maple on the north side of the end peninsula near the end. The Hawthorn Orchard was pretty quiet by noon when I arrived except for one very loud TENNESSEE WARBLER among a nearly silent but busy flock of MYRTLE WARBLERS which I encountered several times. It took me a long time to see the Tennessee, which reminded me how conspicuous Yellow-rumped Warblers' behavior makes them. Perhaps I overlooked many warblers, but the only other which I saw was a PALM WARBLER, although I did hear at least 4 songs of a NORTHERN PARULA in the ravine at the north end. My most rewarding bird surprise was a long close view of a nervous LINCOLN'S SPARROW in a damp ferny area in the middle of the Hawthorn Orchard. --Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Ruff & Glossy Ibis near village of Montezuma

2013-05-10 Thread nutter.dave

Tim Lenz just reported a male Ruff and a Glossy Ibis at Kip Island Fields, located along NYS-90 south of the village of Montezuma and south of I-90.--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Montezuma NWR Wildlife Drive shorebirds 9 May

2013-05-09 Thread nutter.dave

Shorebirds along the Wildlife Drive at Montezuma NWR this afternoon (9 May) included:Black-bellied Plover - 1 on mud at south end of Main PoolKilldeerSemipalmated Plover - 2 mainly in Larue'sGreater YellowlegsLesser YellowlegsSolitary Sandpiper - 4 = 2 in Larue's, 2 in slough between Larue's and Seneca Trail leading to Seneca RiverLeast Sandpiper - scores, mainly on mud at south end of Main PoolSHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER - 1 on mud at south end of Main Pool--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, Pier Rd, Newman Golf Course, Ithaca

2013-05-09 Thread nutter.dave

Ken Rosenberg just reported the apparent return of last spring's YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER to the stand of Sycamores near the north end of Pier Rd, by the 3rd tee of Newman Golf Course and just south of the firefighters' training center. --Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Stewart Ave Redtail Chick

2013-05-03 Thread nutter.dave

Last Sunday (28 April) I stopped on the Stewart Avenue bridge to rest after biking up from downtown and to check on the Red-tailed Hawk nest. I seemed to have arrived toward the end of a feeding session. A single fuzzy white chick stared intently at its parent. The little one was clearly interested in food, but not what was proffered. Next to the adult's talons was the cute, big-eyed face of a Flying Squirrel. I wondered how the diurnal raptor caught the nocturnal rodent. The meal - at least the part that I saw - was mostly skin and fur. I suppose this is par for Flying Squirrel, but I was surprised that the fare included so much hair, and even when the offering was dripping with saliva, the eyas was unenthusiastic, although it did eat some. The adult ate several furry bites, including the entire flat tail in one gulp, then settled down to brood. --Dave NutterOn May 02, 2013, at 09:49 PM, Suan Yong wrote:At the Stewart Avenue bridge over Fall Creek the red-tailed hawk was feeding a lone chick this evening. Initially there looked to be two furry blobs, but one of them turned out to be a squirrel. A passerby who checks out the nest when he walks by every day said this was the first time he'd seen the mother stand up to reveal a chick. For the photographer, the shadow of the bridge falls upon the nest around 6pm: before that you get a late afternoon sun; after you get a nice even shadow. The annoying fence remains. Suan _ http://suan-yong.com -- 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/maillist.html'>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/ --
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[cayugabirds-l] [OT] Sapsucker Woods events

2013-05-02 Thread nutter.dave

I had occasion to be in the neighborhood, so I took a walk in Sapsucker Woods even though it was mid-afternoon and about 80°F, therefore very quiet in terms of birds. It was so summer-like that I heard my FOY Bullfrog calling, "Wawaron" (or "Ouaouaron," which is the Québécois term for the critter, in use since 1632, from the Huron "Ouaron"). The sound came from the green slimy pool on the west side of the Wilson Trail, north of the Sherwood Platform. Continuing my walk on the east side of Sapsucker Woods I tried to sneak up on a singing Northern Waterthrush along the Woodleton Boardwalk. On Tuesday it took me 3 times looking for the bird before I saw it. Each time I approached, treading as silently as I could on the boards, it would shut up, invisibly leave, and sing from farther off, only to restart from close by as soon as I gave up and had neared the end of the boardwalk. Today I was determined to find it the first try. So I only glanced back briefly at a faint rustle in the leaves. And I didn't waver at all at the squeak and splash of a frog jumping into one of the swamp pools practically under my feet. But when the rustle became a Mink, diving smoothly into that same water and swimming, immersed, in tight circles and figure eights I was thoroughly distracted. Seconds later it leapt back onto a mossy hummock with its jaws clamped onto something nearly half its own size and thrashing. By the time I recognized the prey as a Bullfrog, the struggle was over. Frogs don't have much of a neck, but that's where the Mink knew to bite to dispatch it. When the frog lay still (except for the reflexive repositioning of a hind leg), the Mink let go and rubbed its face and neck on the moss, cleaning off slime, I think. Then it took the frog in its mouth again, got back in the water, and swam under me to the far side of the pool where it dropped the carcass for a minute (again the corpse made its legs more comfortable) before carrying it again over the uneven swamp terrain and out of sight, presumably to a hidden hungry family. I don't remember any birds on the rest of my walk, but I do recall looking down and seeing two more Bullfrogs sitting silently in the water, doing their best to imitate inanimate objects. Their days are numbered.--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Migration on radar?

2013-05-02 Thread nutter.dave

Here's the Weather Underground site I use for radar of our area, from the Binghamton airport:http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=pan&prevzoom=zoom&num=0&frame=0&delay=15&scale=1.000&noclutter=0&ID=BGM&type=N0R&showstorms=0&lat=42.23885727&lon=-76.01076508&label=Glen%20Aubrey,%20NY&map.x=400&map.y=240&scale=1.000¢erx=400¢ery=240&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0&lightning=0&lerror=20&num_stns_min=2&num_stns_max=&avg_off=&smooth=0To see movement during the previous 40 minutes or so, click the "Animate Map" button at the upper left. This is good for seeing migration blossoming just after dark and retracting just before dawn. It's also good for judging whether a storm is aimed for you and how soon. For doppler radar click the "Select Radar Type" button at the upper right. This takes you to a page with several choices. Base radial velocity 0.50° works well for migration. It turns the birds or storms green if they are moving toward Binghamton or have a component of movement in that direction, orange if they are moving away from Binghamton, and gray if they are neutral relative to Binghamton (although they may still be moving past from the side). To view other maps from other radar stations, scroll down to a small map of the northeastern US. For every radar station there is a "+" mark. Blue is for the one you are looking at. You can click on others to switch.--Dave NutterOn May 02, 2013, at 09:51 AM, Candace Cornell wrote:Thank you for the cogent explanation. You just gave a brilliant summary of Dave's lecture, even though you didn't hear it. Do you go to the radar station webpage to track the birds or do you use another source?CandaceOn Thu, May 2, 2013 at 8:17 AM, wrote:Alicia (& all),I looked at the radar last night shortly after you wrote, but didn't have time to respond. I know a little about radar, but unfortunately I was locked out of Dave Nicosia's lecture, so maybe others know more. Short answer: It looked like bird migration to me, but as Suan mentioned I didn't see that pattern on radar from for instance Baltimore, so maybe what we saw was birds from here leaving more than birds from further south arriving. What's out there today? I don't know, but I want to find out, so I'l keep this brief.Longer answer: Radar designed to detect precipitation will also detect animals (birds, bats, insects) in the air if there are enough of them, because they 70% water. Birds migrate when winds are favorable (or at least not too unfavorable; <5mph the wrong way may be tolerable) rather than expending extra energy, so the times to see bird migration on radar are in the spring with calm, low-speed, or southerly winds, and to see them in the fall are with calm, low-speed, or northerly winds. I've seen nocturnal migration on radar, when many birds, especially songbirds, begin flying when it gets dark and stop at dawn. The radar beam is a rotating straight, nearly level line, so it views a disc or very shallow cone from the weather station, in this instance, the Binghamton airport. At the center of the disc it shows ground level, but farther out, because the earth is curved, it shows higher elevations as the ground drops away below the radar disc. Birds start and end their trip on the ground, and they have a cruising altitude which is within the what the radar detects for a radius of tens of miles. After dark when many birds rise up over a large area to start migrating you can see a fuzzy green disk start to grow from the radar station, by using the "animate map" feature to show the previous hour or so. First the birds which were close by are detected, then birds which were farther away get high enough to show up in the radar, and for much of the night there appears to be a big fuzzy disc centered on the radar station, although there is no precipitation. That was what I saw last night. Rainclouds by contrast, are usually very well-defined and not symmetrical around the radar station. At dawn the fuzzy disc shrinks and disappears as birds at the periphery drop off the radar first. I know of two ways to see evidence of bird movement within the radar. One is to look at radial velocity. This is doppler radar which detects the rate an object (rain cloud, bird cloud) is moving toward or away from the radar station. The disc now looks like a pie divided into four portions. The birds whose movement is more or less toward the station are in a wedge of one color, and opposite is the other color as they leave. In between are wedges of neutral color for birds which are passing by the station, not moving significantly toward or away. These wedges indicate the direction of movement. If this is a bit different than the actual wind direction, or if it shows directed movement even when there is no wind, that indicates birds or bats using power to correct their course, not passive insects. Another way to see movement is to look at where birds would cross water. The Buffalo radar station is perfect for

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Migration on radar?

2013-05-02 Thread nutter.dave

Alicia (& all),I looked at the radar last night shortly after you wrote, but didn't have time to respond. I know a little about radar, but unfortunately I was locked out of Dave Nicosia's lecture, so maybe others know more. Short answer: It looked like bird migration to me, but as Suan mentioned I didn't see that pattern on radar from for instance Baltimore, so maybe what we saw was birds from here leaving more than birds from further south arriving. What's out there today? I don't know, but I want to find out, so I'l keep this brief.Longer answer: Radar designed to detect precipitation will also detect animals (birds, bats, insects) in the air if there are enough of them, because they 70% water. Birds migrate when winds are favorable (or at least not too unfavorable; <5mph the wrong way may be tolerable) rather than expending extra energy, so the times to see bird migration on radar are in the spring with calm, low-speed, or southerly winds, and to see them in the fall are with calm, low-speed, or northerly winds. I've seen nocturnal migration on radar, when many birds, especially songbirds, begin flying when it gets dark and stop at dawn. The radar beam is a rotating straight, nearly level line, so it views a disc or very shallow cone from the weather station, in this instance, the Binghamton airport. At the center of the disc it shows ground level, but farther out, because the earth is curved, it shows higher elevations as the ground drops away below the radar disc. Birds start and end their trip on the ground, and they have a cruising altitude which is within the what the radar detects for a radius of tens of miles. After dark when many birds rise up over a large area to start migrating you can see a fuzzy green disk start to grow from the radar station, by using the "animate map" feature to show the previous hour or so. First the birds which were close by are detected, then birds which were farther away get high enough to show up in the radar, and for much of the night there appears to be a big fuzzy disc centered on the radar station, although there is no precipitation. That was what I saw last night. Rainclouds by contrast, are usually very well-defined and not symmetrical around the radar station. At dawn the fuzzy disc shrinks and disappears as birds at the periphery drop off the radar first. I know of two ways to see evidence of bird movement within the radar. One is to look at radial velocity. This is doppler radar which detects the rate an object (rain cloud, bird cloud) is moving toward or away from the radar station. The disc now looks like a pie divided into four portions. The birds whose movement is more or less toward the station are in a wedge of one color, and opposite is the other color as they leave. In between are wedges of neutral color for birds which are passing by the station, not moving significantly toward or away. These wedges indicate the direction of movement. If this is a bit different than the actual wind direction, or if it shows directed movement even when there is no wind, that indicates birds or bats using power to correct their course, not passive insects. Another way to see movement is to look at where birds would cross water. The Buffalo radar station is perfect for this because birds start on land then fly over Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. Using the "animate map" feature you can see what would have been a disc of migration grow, but only over the land portions. Then it moves north (spring) or south (autumn) to cover the water over the course of about an hour. Meanwhile on the shore where birds were flying away from the water you can even see the color leaving the land until birds arrive from across the water to fill in that airspace. --Dave NutterOn May 01, 2013, at 10:15 PM, Alicia Plotkin wrote:Could someone more learned than I - which is just about anyone - interpret what is happening on radar right now & what it might mean for tomorrow morning? I'm hoping good things ... Thanks! Alicia -- 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/maillist.html'>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/ --
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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park pied starling

2013-04-25 Thread nutter.dave

Yesterday at Stewart Park I saw a European Starling which I recognized from last year. It has small patches of white feathers distributed fairly evenly over its body, and a large patch of white feathers on the right breast. I'm wondering if anyone else has seen this bird.--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] unusual chickadee nest

2013-04-20 Thread nutter.dave

Many times when I've seen Black-capped Chickadees excavating or using cavities in ridiculously narrow dead branches or stubs of trees I've worried about the risk of it breaking off and wondered what the birds would do. A couple evenings ago during a walk in the Mulholland Wildflower Preserve I learned about one option. I saw a pair of chickadees approach a narrow high dead tree trunk, and one of them entered what appeared to be an old hole with a ragged entrance, one of three holes spaced along its length. The odd thing is that this tree trunk was not connected to a tree. It had snapped off, turned upside-down, and been caught in the top of another tree. When the ceiling becomes the floor, just do a little redecorating. --Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] rail & rusties

2013-04-16 Thread nutter.dave

I spend most of today at the Lab of O preparing for a skins lab for SFO tomorrow. On my way in I heard Chris Pelkie's VIRGINIA RAIL near the northeast parking lot. On my way out I heard and saw 8 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS in the trees between the parking lots. That'll have to do for today. --Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Swallows from Stewart: odd Barn v Cliff

2013-04-15 Thread nutter.dave

Okay, here's what happened: Early this cloudy morning I was scanning the jetties from Stewart Park with my window-mounted scope from the parked taxi, which is considerably farther than scoping from the path around the swan pond. There were 6 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, but no terns for me. Then I saw a cloud of swallows (ID by behavior), generally white below, but hard to tell much else due to poor light, distance, heat shimmer, and the difficulty of following them in a scope, especially using the either jerky or wobbly window mount. I followed them as they settled, facing 3/4 away from me, on wires along the white lighthouse jetty, and then I could make out many TREE SWALLOWS with white throat-breast-belly and bluish-dark upper parts. It was, frankly, a lousy look, and I wasn't able to discern any swallows which were brown above. I found several swallows which lacked the bright white undersides, and I concentrated on them. Several showed distinctly light areas on the lower back and chestnut on the face/throat. I had to leave on a call, and I texted that I'd seen CLIFF SWALLOW. After that call I was able to return to Stewart Park, and the light was better. Then I saw that several BARN SWALLOWS on those wires (bellies varying from peach to gray) had their backs fluffed up exposing whitish patches near the rump, and I suspected I may have misidentified them as Cliff Swallows, so I sent the retraction. However, I also noted that two of the birds whose tails I did not see to be long and forked showed the combination of dark upper parts, pale underparts, chestnut on face, light patch on rump, and gray band around the neck, which indicates CLIFF SWALLOW, but I had not remembered that field mark with certainty until checking my guide at home this evening. So, I am now asserting that I did see 2 CLIFF SWALLOWS there this morning. Sorry about my clumsiness in observing, figuring it out, and reporting. This is yet another instance of my learning or refreshing my ID skills through testing and finding that I haven't studied the guide adequately beforehand (remember the Little/Franklin's Gull and the Piping/Semipalmated Plover?). It's this sort of embarrassing situation which makes me believe I will not likely forget this particular ID, although the pattern of me occasionally screwing up seems well-established. Is this episode, as Meena says, like science? I hope not. Those were text messages to give other birders a heads-up, not peer-reviewed publications of some new insight, and even though I try to observe and explain carefully I cannot and do not claim to be a scientist. --Dave NutterOn Apr 15, 2013, at 08:04 AM, 6072292...@vtext.com wrote:Retraction: possible odd Barn Swallow. --Dave Nutter On Apr 15, 2013, at 07:27 AM, 6072292...@vtext.com wrote:CLIFF SWALLOW on wire to white lighthouse.--Dave Nutter--
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[cayugabirds-l] Sparrows

2013-04-14 Thread nutter.dave

I counted 6 VESPER, 4 SAVANNAH, 3 AMERICAN TREE and 2 FIELD SPARROWS along Sapsucker Woods Road at the second bend from NYS-13. If there were any Chipping Sparrows in that flock, I missed them at noon and at 3:30pm. However I did have CHIPPING SPARROWS and lots of DARK-EYED JUNCOS several places today, including Thornwood Road east of the double pond, Bluegrass Lane at the northeast corner of the northwest field, and Plantations among the sculptures across the street from the pond. The latter 2 locations also had FIELD SPARROWS and SONG SPARROWS mixed in. My SFO group also heard WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at the Bluegrass Lane location.We saw a SWAMP SPARROW foraging around the edge of the swan pond at Stewart Park, obviously a migrant by its choice of location even though it was not with a flock.The Chipping and Field Sparrows were nice year-birds for me. And there was a great opportunity to show students the "eastern Spizella Trifecta" of American Tree, Chipping, and Field Sparrows on Bluegrass Lane. And multiple Vesper Sparrows is not an everyday observation for me. But the big show was a FOX SPARROW which perched and sang for several minutes atop a tree on the brushy slope south of the Plantations pond.--Dave NutterOn Apr 14, 2013, at 03:34 PM, Jay McGowan  wrote:As of a few minutes ago, at least 7 VESPER SPARROWS, as well as Savannah, Field, Song, and Chipping, were feeding along the road at the northeast curve on Sapsucker Woods Rd.JayOn Apr 14, 2013 11:27 AM, "david nicosia"  wrote:Around the corner past Kips barn had 2 vesper sparrows with SFO group then an Adult golden eagle flew over toward airport!Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park breeding plumage EARED GREBE

2013-04-13 Thread nutter.dave

Carl Steckler sent me a photo he took today/Saturday at Stewart Park of a beautiful close breeding plumage EARED GREBE. --Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] grebes, warblers, etc.

2013-04-13 Thread nutter.dave

I spent the late morning and much of the afternoon at Newman Golf Course, the Cornell Biological Field Station (aka Jetty Woods), the whtie lighthouse, Renwick Sanctuary, and Stewart Park. I think the biggest story was the number of grebes. In a single scan from the white lighthouse I saw 31 HORNED, 2 RED-NECKED, and 3 PIED-BILLED GREBES. Both Red-necked and most of the Horned were far to the north to northwest), but several Horned and the Pied-billeds were close to shore at Stewart. Late in the afternoon from the west end of Stewart I also saw what I believe was an EARED GREBE still in winter plumage south of East Shore Park. It had a small head, a straight vertical neck, no brown only shades of gray, and a lighter mark below and up behind the cheek. There were lots of variations on the theme of molting Horned Grebes, but I don't think this bird was one of them. The Aythya flock now has several dozen REDHEADS, a few RING-NECKED DUCKS, and 1 female GREATER SCAUP in addition to lots of LESSER SCAUP. The 3 RUDDY DUCKS are still present, now with AMERICAN COOTS along the east shore.In Renwick I saw 1 winter YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and at the swan pond I saw 4 more, including 2 males in breeding plumage. I also saw a GREEN HERON along the edge of Renwick by the lagoon which borders Stewart. In the golf course I found my first PURPLE FINCH, a male singing from the top of a tree. TREE, BARN, and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS foraged variously over the Cayuga Lake, Fall Creek and the swan pond.  By the base of the red lighthouse were 3 CASPIAN TERNS and a small crowd of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS. I saw only the usual 3 gull species. An EASTERN PHOEBE foraged near the green suspension bridge over Fall Creek.--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] raven

2013-04-12 Thread nutter.dave

I have seen a single COMMON RAVEN in that area a couple of times recently, once flying north low alongside Pine Tree Rd by the Oxley Equestrian center at dawn, and once later in the day in the field opposite the end of Snyder Hill Rd stretching down to the East Ithaca Recreationway. I'm curious whether it's a young unmated bird or whether it's foraging while its mate tends a nest somewhere in the neighborhood. I wouldn't have guessed this as raven habitat, but then I'm not a raven.--Dave NutterOn Apr 12, 2013, at 07:42 AM, Ray Zimmerman  wrote:RAVEN about 7:30 flying over horse pastures on Pine Tree Rd toward East Hill Plaza.  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/maillist.html'>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/  -- 
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[cayugabirds-l] terns, gulls, & ducks

2013-04-10 Thread nutter.dave

At 5:30 this morning I was driving people to the Ithaca Airport through darkness and dense fog, a cloud whose bottom intersected with NYS-13 between the Cayuga Heights Rd and Triphammer Rd exits, entirely enveloping Warren Rd and making my work uncomfortable. I don't know if my passengers' plane(s) took off, but it made sense to me for them to stay grounded. During the day I noticed some migrant birds who decided it wasn't worth traveling further in fog, afternoon showers, and later a headwind. Shortly before 8am I stopped at Stewart Park and noted a single CASPIAN TERN. But at 9:15 as I waited at the traffic light at Seneca and Fulton Streets I saw 2 CASPIAN TERNS following Cayuga Inlet north. About a quarter of 10 I stopped again at Stewart Park and noticed 16 CASPIAN TERNS on the red lighthouse breakwater, and another 2 who may have been different seen later from a different vantage. Around 11am from East Shore Park I saw that there were now several much smaller whitish birds among the Caspian Terns, so  I returned to Stewart Park for a closer view. While most of those smaller birds turned out to be BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and I counted 9 in flight together as they circled and landed there, there was one standing bird I was able to pick out, despite distance and heat shimmer, as being similar in size to the Bonaparte's Gulls but with a black cap, orange bill, and body uniformly pale gray above and below, which I took to be a COMMON TERN. After I walked home from work amid showers in the evening I took advantage of a lull to bike to the lakeshore. I found 11 CASPIAN TERNS on the red lighthouse breakwater, but only one fly-by BONAPARTE'S GULL, the rest having moved on, along with the Common Tern.In Cass Park I also found a couple of paler birds among a group of SONG SPARROWS - my first-of-year SAVANNAH and VESPER SPARROWS, which were a special treat in that location. And inside Treman marina was an unusual flock of 22 BUFFLEHEADS sheltering from the now-rough lake water. And harking back to Dave Nicosia's report, I also saw 6 LONG-TAILED DUCKS during that late-morning visit to East Shore Park.--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Carncross Road shorebirds

2013-04-06 Thread nutter.dave

At dusk a flock of 23 same sized Yellowlegss, presumably the Greaters, flew south together towards Morgan Rd.--Dave Nutter On Apr 06, 2013, at 09:30 PM, Jay McGowan  wrote:Livia and I birded up the lake today. We saw many of the same birds as others. In the late afternoon we found a few PECTORAL SANDPIPERS in the flooded cornfield north of the end of Van Dyne Spoor Road where Wade and Melissa Rowley have reported them for a couple days. Meanwhile, Gary Kohlenberg headed over to Carncross Road and let us know he found a Greater Yellowlegs there. We went to join him there and together we found at least 15 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 3 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 3 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 11 WILSON'S SNIPE, and a few Killdeer. The birds never flew, so there could have been a lot more birds, but those were the ones we could see from the road.-- Jay McGowanMacaulay LibraryCornell Lab of Ornithologyjw...@cornell.edu--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Ithaca to Montezuma, first day of SFO overnight

2013-04-06 Thread nutter.dave

Today my SFO group tallied 76 species as we worked our way up the east side of Cayuga Lake and around the Montezuma Wetlands Complex.Highlights included: Dozens of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS on Drake Rd in Lansing, thanks to Meena, plus 1 or 2 CEDAR WAXWINGS in the same flock;20 species of waterfowl, 3 species of grebes, 4 species of gulls...COMMON LOONS in breeding plumage in several locations on Cayuga Lake;1 GREATER SCAUP male with several LESSERS in Finger Lakes Marine next to Myers Point Park;OSPREYS in several locations, including Myers;3 stunning tom WILD TURKEYS along NYS-90, thanks to sun on their bronze plumage;EASTERN MEADOWLARK on Lake Rd (Ledyard) leading down toward Long Point State Park;Several TREE, 2 BARN and 1 NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW over the field next to bluffs north of Long Point;pair of COMMON GOLDENEYE below those same bluffs, thanks to Suan;Huge pure white immature GLAUCOUS GULL with many RING-BILLEDs on the delta of Paines Creek at the south end of Aurora;2 winter plumage & 1 breeding plumage HORNED GREBE together NW of the Wells College boathouse, thanks to Bob McGuire;2 pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL, the males showing purple iridescence on their "gray" heads, in the Factory Street pond in Union Springs;1 breeding plumage RED-NECKED GREBE identified at a great distance, despite heat shimmer, from Frontenac Park in Unions Springs;an adult COOPER'S HAWK which consented to being scoped near Mud Lock;baby BALD EAGLE in the new nest south of Mud Lock, and both parents perched and interacting nearby;big flocks of CANVASBACKS in the Main Pool and Knox-Marsellus and Montezuma NWR;MUTE SWAN identified at great distance in Tschache Pool; several real SNOW GEESE, including one "BLUE" GOOSE at Knox-Marsellus;several WOOD DUCKS in the Armitage Rd swamp which tolerated being viewed from stopped cars;a skulky RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, also in last year's Prothonotary Warbler territory in the Armitage Rd swamp west of big bridge;a lovely gray-tan SANDHILL CRANE in a stubble field along Savannah-Spring Lake Rd southwest of Tyler Rd;several WILSON'S SNIPES and YELLOWLEGSS in flooded stubble on Carncross Rd, thanks to Jay McGowan;lots of marsh noise, including PIED-BILLED GREBES and AMERICAN COOTS on Van Dyne Spoor Rd (but no Short-eared Owls for us). --Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] migration on radar again

2013-04-05 Thread nutter.dave

The weather radar is showing night migration again now (4-5 April). What's moving in, or through, or away? Anybody got your ears to the skies? What will be different out there today? Last time there seemed to be an influx of Eastern Phoebes, American Robins, Song Sparrows, some other sparrows (Fox, Chipping, Field), and Common Loon (I've seen several of the latter from East Shore Park and Myers Point the past couple days). But I didn't see or hear about any Savannah Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, Virginia Rails, Black-Crowned Night-Herons, Caspian Terns, Common Terns, or Purple Martins. Maybe those will show up today.--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS at Sapsucker Woods

2013-04-03 Thread nutter.dave

Thanks for the details. I had a few thoughts about your report:1) Anyone who is still at work after 5:30, who sees something wished-for but wildly unlikely which no one else has seen and which mysteriously disappears the moment they glance away... mybe that person has been working too hard.2) Every serious birder should have a buddy on speed-dial who they can call without even looking at their phone so the buddy can report the rare bird to everyone else, while the observer continues observing until someone else arrives. I lost track of the Tufted Duck while texting, and I've heard others' similar stories. 3) The Lab needs to put a few of its high-quality cameras on the building facing out to verify some of these crazy reports, such as fly-by Little Blue Herons.Congratulation, Ken, and I hope someone re-finds the birds (it will restore faith in your sanity).--Dave NutterOn Apr 03, 2013, at 12:21 AM, "Kenneth V. Rosenberg"  wrote:Hi,Here are a few more details on my hard-to-believe sighting of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS at Sapsucker Woods.I noticed a flock of birds dropping into a bare treetop outside my office window — raising my binoculars I saw that they were waxwings and counted 16. Although they were facing away against the gray sky, what was most noticeable was the bold white linear patch on every birds' wing. This was perplexing at first, as the overall coloration of the birds did not strike me as odd, and they all appeared the same size (so had to be Cedars. Right?). I struggled to make out color on the under tail coverts and finally one bird turned and showed its dark red under tail. At this point I knew they were BOHEMIANS (this all took just a few seconds), so my next instinct was to get a photo, which would mean using my iPhone through the binoculars. I reached down for the phone, began to set it up to take the pictures, but when I glanced up the flock of birds was gone. I did not see whether they flew away or dropped down, or what direction they might have gone. They initial had come in from the south or southeast, from over the building or from the parking lots.I hope they stick around and someone can relocate them Sapsucker Woods tomorrow. I have not noticed ANY fruits around except for some withered black privets, but in the spring I have seen waxwings feeding on flower buds and petals.  It is also interesting that Bohemians, even during flight years, tend to show up very late in the winter (March, April), even though they really don'e penetrate much to the south of us in these winters.Good luck to all who search for these gorgeous birds!KENKen RosenbergConservation Science ProgramCornell Lab of Ornithology159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.Ithaca, NY 14850(wk) 607-254-2412(cell) 607-342-4594k...@cornell.eduFrom: Ken Rosenberg  Reply-To: Ken Rosenberg  Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2013 21:54:29 + To: CAYUGABIRDS-L  Subject: [cayugabirds-l] BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS at Sapsucker WoodsA flock of 16 — all BOHEMIANS — outside my office window 3 minutes ago. May have dropped down into trees or shrubs near the beginning of the Wilson Trail on north side of Cornell Lab building. I reached for my phone to try to get at picture and they were gone.KENKen RosenbergConservation Science ProgramCornell Lab of Ornithology159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.Ithaca, NY 14850(wk) 607-254-2412(cell) 607-342-4594k...@cornell.edu--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Phoebe @ Renwick

2013-03-31 Thread nutter.dave

Also a couple of Eastern Phoebes along the Jim Schug trail near Dryden Lake this morning.--Dave NutterOn Mar 31, 2013, at 12:01 PM, Suan Yong  wrote:FOY eastern phoebe at Renwick Woods, foraging silently in a tree by Fall Creek.  Suan _ http://suan-yong.com --  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/maillist.html'>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/  -- 
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[cayugabirds-l] migration on radar now

2013-03-30 Thread nutter.dave

Tonight's calm air has allowed some pent-up migration to occur, visible right now on the radar. http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=pan&prevzoom=zoom&num=0&frame=0&delay=15&scale=1.000&noclutter=0&ID=BGM&type=N0V&showstorms=0&lat=42.23885727&lon=-76.01076508&label=Glen%20Aubrey,%20NY&map.x=400&map.y=240&scale=1.000¢erx=400¢ery=240&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0&lightning=0&lerror=20&num_stns_min=2&num_stns_max=&avg_off=&smooth=0In case that's not usable or clear, it's the Binghamton airport's radar, showing a fuzzy donut moving NNE.Those of you with good ears or equipment, what do you hear?I look forward to see what tomorrow brings, with south winds, and rain not starting until the afternoon.--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] impossible bird song?

2013-03-30 Thread nutter.dave

Not impossible, but not likely either. Common Yellowthroat typically shows up in the basin in the latter half of April, but it does winter in the southern U.S. and isn't as predictable in its arrival time as the neotropical migrants. I think it's been found on the Christmas Bird Count on occasion. I looked on eBird, and the nearest "recent" report is from the Little Patuxent River in Maryland on 24 March, and the closest more recent report is from the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia on 26 March, which is also pretty stale. So, if these are Common Yellowthroats, they are sneaking past Pennsylvania's army of birders. Stranger things have happened. My first thought is to consider whether it's a Carolina Wren, who might sing a song similar in notes but different in tone. My second thought is to get a look. So I went to Cass Park, but it was getting late - shadowed by West Hill there - and I didn't spend much time in that area. So I can't answer definitively, and I won't be able to check that place in the morning until Tuesday at the earliest. Despite the unfavorable winds recently there has been some migration happening - at least strong flyers like Canada Geese and Snow Geese were passing over Mount Pleasant early this afternoon.--Dave NutterOn Mar 30, 2013, at 04:48 PM, Regi Teasley wrote:Hi Folks, When I was walking my dogs in Cass Park this morning I thought I heard a "witchety-witchety-witch" across from the Skating Rink on the west side of the road (89). I heard it 2 or 3 times but didn't have a chance to go over and look. I seems nuts but I thought I would mention it in case there might be something to it. Regi -- 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/maillist.html'>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/ --
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[cayugabirds-l] OT: seek restaurant reviews Montezuma area

2013-03-30 Thread nutter.dave

I'm looking for recommended restaurants where a group of birders could go after a full day of birding for a decent, reasonably-priced, hot, sit-down meal which with fast enough service to allow the group to predictably be out at dusk looking for Short-eared Owls in the Montezuma Wetlands Complex. The owls might be at Martens Tract, Carncross Rd,  Morgan Rd, Van Dyne Spoor Rd, East Rd, or Seneca Meadows (or other suggested location?). Therefore the dinner might be in the Village of Savannah, the Village of Montezuma, Port Byron, or maybe Clyde, or somewhere in that region. We're considering this for the SFO overnight trip next weekend, which may be a long-shot for the owls as well as a restaurant, but I thought I'd ask, in case anyone has eaten somewhere that might fill the bill, so to speak. Thanks.--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] n Cayuga L & Montezuma NWR: hybrid Ross's Goose, etc.

2013-03-28 Thread nutter.dave

This afternoon Ann Mitchell & I drove to the north end of the Cayuga Lake basin, visiting Lower Lake Rd, Mud Lock, Montezuma NWR Visitor Center & Wildlife Drive open to Seneca Spillway, Tschache Pool, Mays Point Pool, East Rd, Railroad Rd, and Van Dyne Spoor Rd.Lower Lake Rd: Flock of 43 SNOW GEESE grazing on lawns just south of Wolffy's, including a HYBRID SNOW x ROSS'S GOOSE, which like several of the others was a bit crippled. Its size was small, head round, neck short & ridged, bill stubby and partly lavender, but it had a Snow Goose type dark grin patch on the lips. I'm sure lots of folks who count as Ross's any flyover small individual among a Snow Goose flock would have ticked this bird, but we got too good a look. Off Wolffy's there were a few various scattered ducks including our only RED-BREASTED MERGANSER of the day (a female), but from the boat ramp at Cayuga Lake State Park we saw thousands of ducks strewn in the distance to the north and east, including GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, CANVASBACK, REDHEAD, LESSER SCAUP, RING-NECKED DUCK, BUFFLEHEAD, RUDDY DUCK, a few COMMON and HOODED MERGANSERS, and just off the boat ramp a gorgeous, breeding plumage HORNED GREBE.Mud Lock: an adult BALD EAGLE keeping vigil near this year's new nest in a tree south of the old one on the power pylon. We didn't spend much time here or check out the distant ducks to the south properly.  Montezuma NWR Visitor Center and Wildlife Drive open to Seneca Spillway: in the visitor center pond, a pair of GREEN-WINGED TEAL along with a few AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS and CANADA GEESE; a pair of NORTHERN HARRIERS over the marshes; in Larue's Lagoon 2 male BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 10 mostly male NORTHERN SHOVELERS, 2 male NORTHERN PINTAILS, 5 pairs of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 20 HERRING GULLS of various ages, zero odd geese neither foreign, nor domestic, nor hybrid, only a few CANADAs; in the main pool a PIED-BILLED GREBE and an AMERICAN COOT fairly close, lots of distant CANVASBACKS and a few RING-NECKED DUCKS, and COMMON MERGANSERS, at least one TRUMPETER SWAN (likely its mate was half hidden in the marsh), and of course more local CANADA GEESE. On the shore below the Seneca Spillway was a fancy-plumed GREAT BLUE HERON.Tschache Pool: We were greeted by a NORTHERN SHRIKE in the small trees by the parking lot; in the pool & marsh were plenty of AMERICAN WIGEON, RING-NECKED DUCKS, AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS, NORTHERN SHOVELERS, NORTHERN PINTAIL, GADWALL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, CANADA GEESE, HERRING and RING-BILLED GULLS, and a few BUFFLEHEAD, and PIED-BILLED GREBES. Warm clothes, a good scope, a steady tripod, good weather, and patience are recommended. We ran out of the last two before surveying the more distant birds. Mays Point Pool: many distant GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and a few AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS and BUFFLEHEADS. This was surprisingly empty compared to my last visit on the 17th.East Rd: several small groups of CANADA GEESE, a small group of SNOW GEESE, some distant CANVASBACKS, RING-NECKED DUCKS, etc; some SWANS SP, and ducks in Puddler Marsh, a large flock of SNOW GEESE in the distance in the mucklands. We didn't scour this site, just peered around hopefully but without success for the Pink-footed Goose or some Sandhill Cranes. Railroad Rd: a single TUNDRA SWAN, and several AMERICAN WIGEON, NORTHERN SHOVELERS, NORTHERN PINTAILS, BLUE- and GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and CANADA GEESE, overseen by an adult BALD EAGLE perched in a dead tree. Van Dyne Spoor Rd: a female MERLIN atop an electric pole, a pair of noisy TRUMPETER SWANS flying over the marsh alongside the road, some AMERICAN COOTS to the south by the end of the road, the usual dabblers in a flooded field to the north of the end, at least 7 immature BALD EAGLES flying over the marsh and one adult perched at the edge of the forest, plus a couple of RED-TAILED HAWKS flying around. We didn't stay 'til Short-eared Owls should be out. So, to the person wondering whether it's worth going to Montezuma NWR, I say yes.--Dave Nutter
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Re:[cayugabirds-l] snow goose neck collar

2013-03-28 Thread nutter.dave

On 9 March in the flock of Snow Geese estimated by Chris Wood et al at 123K at the north end of Cayuga Lake, viewed from Lower Lake Rd, Bridgeport, Town of Seneca Falls I noted several yellow neck collars with 4-digit letter/number combinations. I reported the info and learned that all were female Greater Snow Geese banded as adults, several from Bylot Island in August 2008 & 2010, and one from the south shore of the St. Lawrence River about 50 miles downstream from Quebec City in May 2007. It's fascinating to learn about where and when these birds have met people before. I wonder if there have been other reports of the same individuals, and if we could access that information. I saw that Chris Wood noted some different collar numbers in his eBird report that day, and I wonder where those individuals were from.--Dave Nutter Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:33:43 -0700 (PDT) From: David Prill  To: "geneseebird...@geneseo.edu"  Subject: [GeneseeBirds-L] snow goose neck collar Message-ID: <1364441623.94490.yahoomail...@web140304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"  On Tuesday, 3/26/13, there was a flock of about six hundred snow geese at the D.E.C. pond on Route 20 in the town of Avon, NY. Four of them had neck collars which I reported to the USGS Banding. I received a report on one bird today. It is a greater snow goose hatched in 2011 or earlier and banded on 8/7/12 on the south plain of Bylot Island. The coordinates are Latitude: 73.13 and Longitude:-79.83. Bylot Island is off the north end of Baffin Island. There was just one snow goose at the pond? on Wednesday,at 3:30 p.m. on 3/27/13. Regards, David Prill
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[cayugabirds-l] SFO Sunday 24 March 2013

2013-03-24 Thread nutter.dave

I led Spring Field Ornithology Group 6 around Sapsucker Woods, then down to Stewart Park this morning. A walk around the Wilson Trail was more productive than I expected, considering the mostly frozen conditions. First, among the MALLARDS on the pond outside the Lab windows when we arrived was a single tiny female GREEN-WINGED TEAL. This was a good chance to compare the similarly colored and shaped species, and note the teal's light mark on the side of the tail, dark bill, bright green speculum and slightly bigger-headed, baby-like proportions.As soon as we went outside we had a chance to compare COMMON GRACKLE, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD singing atop the same tree. Moments later we saw a GREAT BLUE HERON fly toward the pond and briefly alight in the nest tree before circling and moving low out of sight to the west. When we were by the Fuller Wetlands we saw a tight flock of 4 GREAT BLUE HERONS flying north in apparent migration. As we neared the back pond we saw several WOOD DUCKS fly overhead, and from the bench at the southwest corner of the pond we spied a pair of them resting along the shore, tucked in among some overhanging bushes.  There was also a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS which flew from that vicinity to another bit of open water in the middle of the mostly frozen pond. In the forest a team effort allowed our entire group to see a BROWN CREEPER. First, two students heard a high tinkling unidentified song, which I did not hear but suggested was Brown Creeper, verified by listening to a recording. I immediately heard and pointed out the first of several of its high buzzy trill call notes. One student located the bird, and soon through good communication we all were able to see it climbing a tall tree trunk then flying away to some other tree trunk. Very cool bird. Another COOPERative bird was an adult Accipiter which remained perched while we scoped it and discussed the white-speckled brush cut on its nape. Eventually it flew off with its head extended beyond the straight line of the leading edge of its wings. When we got back to the Lab we found a very dusky tan-gray female DARK-EYED JUNCO, and several each of AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, PINE SISKINS, HOUSE FINCHES, and molting AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. We talked about differentiating  Purple and House Finches, which we'll have more chance to study this Wednesday after the lecture with the help of stuffed specimens in the Cornell Vertebrate Collections, along with many other species ID problems. For the later part of the morning we carpooled to Stewart Park, with a stop along the way to view the RED-TAILED HAWK nest on the north cliff face in Fall Creek Gorge just east of the Stewart Avenue bridge. As on the Cornell webcam:http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/16/Red-tailed_Hawks/?pid=2422&ac=acan adult was tucked into the nest incubating, but our bird was in a more picturesque photogenic setting. At Stewart Park we compared HOODED and COMMON MERGANSERS and BUFFLEHEADS near each other in the mouth of Fall Creek. We also saw a female COMMON MERGANSER perch in a large tree next to the stub of a large broken limb, but from our vantage we couldn't tell for certain if the stub was a hollow potential nesting site as I suspect. Among the CANADA GEESE in Fall Creek was a single HYBRID between a Canada and a domestic goose, possibly one of the family of Graylag types which was raised here, but not the individual from that brood which lived in Stewart Park for several years. Today's bird had an all-black bill, no eye-ring, a thin white feathered strip along the edge of the bill, a somewhat oversized and gray chinstrap, a brown head and neck fading to a gray upper breast, the neck being thick and its feathers ridged the full length, and ochre legs. It was larger than the Canada Geese and relatively rode a bit higher in the water, but was not so high in the rear as pure domestics typically ride. On the lake we had a nice comparison of AMERICAN BLACK DUCK and female MALLARD. There was also one distant mixed flock of RING-NECKED DUCKS and SCAUP, SP (likely LESSER), and a somewhat closer flock of pure RING-NECKED DUCKS.The final unusual bird for the day was an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the red lighthouse breakwater among several GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, with HERRING GULLS also nearby. In all, as a group we observed 43 species plus the hybrid goose and the unspecified scaup. Andrea Wiggins, who works at the Lab with the Citizen Science programs, was in our group. She kept track of numbers of individual birds and will submit lists to eBird.--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Peregrine Falcon on Ithaca Gun smokestack

2013-03-22 Thread nutter.dave

Usually I see a Red-tailed Hawk there.--Dave NutterOn Mar 22, 2013, at 09:14 AM, "Russell A. Charif"  wrote:Last seen at 8:55 this morning.I have actually seen the bird there many mornings in recent weeks, when I drive by the Gun Hill apartments on Lake St. (between 8:35 and 8:40 most weekday morning), but have not been in a position to stop and get bins on it to identify until today.__Russ Charif  Cornell Lab of OrnithologyResearch Team Leader                   159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.Bioacoustics Research Program  Ithaca, NY  14850r.cha...@cornell.edu  USA607-254-2458    --Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] OT: Comet visible in western sky now

2013-03-20 Thread nutter.dave

On the evening of 17 March I was birding in the Montezuma area. The clearing sky inspired me to stay and look for the comet. I chose Olmstead Road, which is the first right turn off Armitage Road when you go west from where NYS-89 turns. Olmstead is on the crest of a drumlin with no trees, so there's an unobstructed view over thinly populated lands to a distant western horizon. plus there's a good distance before the first house on the road. I never saw the comet naked-eye, but did find it in binoculars slightly north of west at 8:17pm and watched it until 8:46 when it became too dim in the low sky. It was a fuzzy dot with a triangle of tail projecting vertically, which made it pretty satisfying compared to Halley, which, 'though visible naked-eye, was only a fuzzy dot.While awaiting the comet to appear I saw many silhouetted flocks of geese commuting south toward the lakes.--Dave NutterOn Mar 20, 2013, at 08:56 PM, Alicia Plotkin  wrote:Hi,  In case I'm not the only one who has searched fruitlessly for Comet  PanSTARRS, it is visible right now, significantly north of west, and  higher in the sky than I expected - maybe ~6 full moon diameters (?)  above the horizon - I'm even worse at astronomical descriptions than  bird descriptions! But it is the lowest object I can see in the western  sky with the naked eye: a very faint dot from my backyard, but thru 10  power binoculars, it is far more impressive with a fairly wide filmy  tail pointing straight up.  And to make this marginally bird relevant, for the first time in  several nights there is not a mass of snow geese barking in the middle  of Seneca Lake tonight. They don't make as much noise as when they fly,  but there is a constant murmuring all night long many nights this time  of year.  Alicia in Ovid   --  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/maillist.html'>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/  --
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] New Osprey platform and Killdeer

2013-03-20 Thread nutter.dave

Thank you to the people responsible for the Osprey platform. Robyn, was your husband involved along with NYSEG as at Portland Point? To add to the Killdeer reports yesterday, in the late afternoon I saw a pair along Snyder Road north of the airport, sometimes on the gravel shoulder, sometimes in the field just inside the fence. There was also a light Rough-legged Hawk on a post in the middle of the airport grounds, so the bird signs are ambiguous as to the season.--Dave NutterOn Mar 20, 2013, at 09:08 AM, Robyn Bailey  wrote:I just wanted to let everyone know that a new Osprey nesting platform has gone up at Salt Point, in Lansing. This is close enough to the Portland Point platform that I’m hopeful it will attract one of the offspring from that pair’s previous attempts. I also saw 5 Killdeer yesterday. A single ‘deer in the parking lot of the Cayuga radio group, and 2 pairs out in the fields across from the SPCA on Hanshaw Road. There were also 4 turkeys in the same field. It may not feel like the first day of spring, but the killdeer say otherwise. Robyn BaileyLansing --Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Fwd: Twin Sheds Draft Plan: Hammond Hill and Yellow Barn Forests.

2013-03-20 Thread nutter.dave

FYI. The Canaan Institute, which Mike Ludgate runs, is on Canaan Road, the south entrance to Hammond Hill SF. --Dave NutterBegin forwarded message:From: Michael Ludgate Date: March 20, 2013 10:32:05 AMTo: Natural History Network Subject: Twin Sheds Draft Plan: Hammond Hill and Yellow Barn Forests.Is the natural history community talking about this? See my blog and comments from me and also my neighbor Ann Leonard. DEC needs to hear from other user groups. Right now it seems to be anti-frackers and mt bikers who are sending in comments. The mountain biking issue is only one minor point of course. But it would be great for them to hear from folks who like to hike and bird-watch and so forth. Thanks -Mike PROTECT OUR FOREST - Twin Sheds Draft Plan: Hammond Hill and Yellow Barn Forests. Written comments are accepted until Apr 7th. Public comments needed. NYS DEC has done a nice job pulling this all together. They need your support and constructive critical suggestions. There is some language in this draft plan for Hammond Hill and Yellow Barn Forests that is upsetting some of the mountain bikers. I am a cyclist, but I am in favor of this language limiting cycling to the multi-use trails. It is really important that DEC hear written support from the other hundreds or perhaps thousands of responsible forest users. Right now I am guessing they are getting form letter responses only from a very select group. Please protect our public forest and show your support to DEC. Please send written comments to DEC now, supporting their protection of the forest with a "yes" on Action 2.2.12. by mail to: NYSDEC, Division of Lands and Forests, Attn: John Clancy, 1285 Fisher Avenue, Cortland, New York, 13045- 1090, or by email to: jmcla...@gw.dec.state.ny.us. Written or emailed comments will be accepted until April 7, 2013 FULL STORY HERE along with some of my COMMENTS and THOUGHTS http://canaaninstitute.org/bikeskiblog/?p=1190 NEW this morning: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS from my neighbor Ann Leonard about the illicit trails also on the blog http://canaaninstitute.org/bikeskiblog/?p=1190&cpage=1#comment-10631 What is probably not known to the general (non-mountain biking) public is that mountain bikes are currently permitted anywhere in this type of forest. This is where the problem arises: There are a number of people building unauthorized new trails at Hammond Hill (this is illegal) and then mountain bikers are riding on them (bicycles are currently permitted anywhere). This is not exclusive to mountain bikes of course; some of this trail building activity is potentially from hikers and xc-skiers. But it appears to be mostly bicyclists using the unauthorized trails and some of the traffic is quite heavy. Parts of the new trails even cross onto private lands. This language below (Action 2.2.12) is intended to help curb that problem: It is nearly impossible for law enforcement to catch the trail builders (and probably always will be). Currently, once the new unauthorized trails are in place, it is perfectly legal to use the trails over and over and over again. That is happening now.Cheers,-Mike :-)Michael Ludgate www.canaaninstitute.org 607.227.0090 (c) 607.539.6153 (h)
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[cayugabirds-l] Fwd: GW Teal and other on Dryden

2013-03-18 Thread nutter.dave

Nita Irby reports ducks "dropping out of the sky" to Dryden Lake this evening, including a dozen Green-winged Teal in a small bit of open water at the north end. Also on Dryden Lake were Common & Hooded Mergansers and Wood Ducks. She also had 2 Northern Shrikes at her feeders which have had few birds this winter. (I wonder if the shrikes were nearby and keeping other birds away or the population down.)--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] TV's

2013-03-12 Thread nutter.dave

On my walk home from work yesterday evening (in daylight now that the clocks have changed), I saw TURKEY VULTURES slowly gathering in the air and kettling over downtown Ithaca. My maximum count from the corner of Meadow, Fulton, & Clinton about 6pm was 41, but they were hard to keep track of, and there may have been more. Then they seemed to disperse, but when I got home I was able to see 13 of them as I looked east from my yard. Today about 5pm as I biked south on NYS-89 I saw the latest of 6 of them land in the large willows along the inlet just south of the dock for the dragon boats. Maybe there was a dead fish in the area that the ice melt has revealed. I saw GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS working on dead fish in Treman Marina. --Dave NutterOn Mar 12, 2013, at 06:46 PM, "Judith W. Jones"  wrote:Maybe 30 TV's roosting in the Norway spruces behind Significant Elements  - 400 block S Plain - quite a sight.  --  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/maillist.html'>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/  --
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Question about lower lake road

2013-03-12 Thread nutter.dave

The ice edge is a gathering place for ducks throughout the winter, but Lower Lake Road provides a prime spot for viewing. The melting of the southern ice edge northwards up to Lower Lake Road in early March typically coincides with the arrival of many Anas ducks, so it's a good time to search for Eurasian Wigeon before the ponds at Montezuma thaw out. There are also Snow Geese which spend much if not all of the winter resting in the middle of the widest part of Cayuga Lake, between Aurora and Dean's Cove, commuting to farm fields east and west of Cayuga Lake. On Sunday afternoon there was still a raft of Snow Geese in this location as well. I've seen a similar raft of Snow Geese on Seneca Lake below Sampson SP. I think the south end of the lake does rival in diversity, but certainly the north end is the prime gathering spot at the end of winter.--Dave NutterOn Mar 11, 2013, at 10:22 AM, Christopher Wood  wrote:There are also different factors at play with different species and different individuals of the same species. Some, like Northern Pintail, American Black Duck, Mallard were waiting to be able to forage in fields (say at the Mucklands). So they tend to concentrate at the north end and then make flights up to those fields to see if there are areas to forage. Tundra Swans and Snow Geese do similar things (forage in muck). Snow Geese are shot at right now, so they stay out more toward the middle of the lake.   Aythya (Redhead, scaup) dive for food. As the lake opens in the spring, they follow the ice edge as it reveals foraging areas that were impossible to reach earlier in the year. So you have optimal staging for daily movements in some species, optimal foraging for others, migration staging for others compounded with the advantages of flocking for predator avoidance. All this leads to some very large concentrations with exceptional diversity at the north end of the lake in spring -- concentrations and levels of diversity that you never see at the south end at any season.   Christopher Wood  eBird Project Leader Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://ebird.org http://birds.cornell.edu On 3/11/13 10:38 AM, "Donna Scott"  wrote:  >Interestingly, I live by the deepest part of the Lake, 430 feet deep, and >I rarely get big concentrations of Snow geese or swans here. >Now and then big rafts of diving ducks will go by or stay near the >shallow edges for a while, but I almost never get all the big >concentrations of geese, swans or duck rafts one sees up north or down by >Ithaca.  >Donna Scott > >Sent from my iPhone >Donna Scott > >On Mar 11, 2013, at 10:31 AM, Geo Kloppel  wrote: > >> Those two factors (shallow water, ice shelf) are related; ice forms >>soonest and lingers longest over the shallows. Aquatic ecology (hence >>exploitable food resources) are also influenced by depth. And of course >>the north end of the lake is surrounded by marshes and agricultural >>lands that offer forage whenever the snow cover does not prevent it. >>  >> The winter draw-down of lake level makes the shallows even shallower, >>almost like a tidal area. >>  >> -Geo Kloppel >>  >> On Mar 11, 2013, at 8:58 AM, John VanNiel  wrote: >>  >>> There was also an ice shelf there to loaf on... >>>  >>> -Original Message- >>> From: bounce-75479805-3493...@list.cornell.edu >>>[mailto:bounce-75479805-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Geo >>>Kloppel >>> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2013 8:06 AM >>> To: cayugabirds-l >>> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Question about lower lake road >>>  >>> I imagine a number of factors contribute to the attractive power of >>>that area. Here's one: the lake is still broad there, but it's very >>>shallow, mostly 5 - 6 ft. >>>  >>> -Geo  >>>  >>> On Mar 11, 2013, at 1:29 AM, "Barbara B. Eden"  >>>wrote: >>>   I am curious why that is the place where the snow geese and tundra swans congregate    Thanks,  Barbara >>>  >>> -- >>>  >>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >>>  >>>http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.h >>>tm >>>  >>> ARCHIVES: >>> 1) cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html'>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 List Info: >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >>>  >>>http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.h >>>tm >>>  >>> ARCHIVES: >>> 1) cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html'>http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >>> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail

Re:[cayugabirds-l] Byron - WF Goose + 7 Lesser Black-back Gulls (Jerry Lazarczyk)

2013-03-12 Thread nutter.dave

Interesting coincidence: There was a single Greater White-fronted Goose for a few hours on Sunday afternoon (10 March 2013) at Stewart Park on the south end of Cayuga Lake in Ithaca. During that time 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (7 adults and 1 second year) accumulated there as well. The trip is roughly 90 miles WNW as the gull or goose flies.--Dave NutterOn Mar 12, 2013, at 02:00 AM, geneseebirds-l-requ...@geneseo.edu wrote:Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 04:52:48 GMT From: "Jerry Lazarczyk"  To: dsu...@buffaloornithologicalsociety.org, geneseebird...@geneseo.edu Subject: [GeneseeBirds-L] Byron - WF Goose + 7 Lesser Black-back Gulls Message-ID: <20130312.005248.2200...@webmail11.dca.untd.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"  Late Monday afternoon I received a Text from S Skelly about a White-fronted Goose and 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls off NY33 near Ivison Road in Byron NY . When I arrived Doug Beatty was on site and we saw the birds in the NE quadrant of the intersection. Some of the Lesser Black-backs were quite close to the road while others loafed near the ponding and the WF Goose was near the distant ridgeline and difficult to spot as it rested and preened. Jerry LazarczkGrand Island NY 
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[cayugabirds-l] ducks leaving south end of Cayuga Lake

2013-03-08 Thread nutter.dave

On Tuesday afternoon (5 March 2013) there was still a flock of hundreds of REDHEADS near the docks by the southwest corner of Cayuga Lake. Mixed in were a few RING-NECKD DUCKS and LESSER SCAUP, 4 GREATER SCAUP, 1 CANVASBACK, and at least 20 RUDDY DUCKS. Out in the lake were 11 HOODED MERGANSERS (mostly far to the north), and tight group of 4 HORNED GREBES, 2 female RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and a smattering of COMMON GOLDENEYE. Along the shore of Treman Park were 3 NORTHERN PINTAIL. Near Stewart Park's ice edge was a single LONG-TAILED DUCK.As of late Thursday afternoon (7 March 2013), all of the above were gone (zero Aythya) except for 23 RUDDY DUCKS and 3 COMMON GOLDENEYE. There were still 24 COMMON MERGANSERS out in the lake, and a flock of 20 AMERICAN WIGEON still foraged at the mouth of the Hog Hole. Of course there were still MALLARDS along the shore of the parks with at least 7 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS, a few CANADA GEESE, and on the Stewart Park ice shelf hundreds of HERRING, RING-BILLED, and (especially on the red lighthouse breakwater) GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS. A pair of BUFFLEHEADS foraged in Cayuga Inlet and a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS flew south along Cass Park. It's possible some of that exodus was due to the presence of an adult BALD EAGLE in the Hog Hole area, and it's possible that I wasn't able to see as much on the lake in Thursday's rougher water, but I suspect all those birds joined the recent movement toward the north end of the lake and the mucklands. Saturday will still have north winds, and I hope to get north to check it out, but Sunday the winds will turn south again, and maybe the Snow Geese at least will leave. --Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Short-eared Owlssss

2013-02-21 Thread nutter.dave

As Gary Kohlenberg forwarded from Geneseebirds-L, Wade & Melissa Rowley reported 5 Short-eared Owls seen from the DEC headquarters at the end of Morgan Road in Savannah on Tuesday. They went back yesterday and saw only 3. Both days the Rowleys said the owls showed up about 5:55pm. So I was planning on arriving about then until Bob told me 5:30 was showtime. Ann Mitchell & I had taken a slow ride up the west side of the lake starting at 2pm, and when Bob called we had just arrived at the open water (with lots of Tundra Swans and at least 6 Mute Swans) by Lake Rd in Bridgeport, Seneca Falls (north of Lower Lake Rd) across from Harris Park. The ice appears continuous south from the corner of Lake and Lower Lake Roads (East Bayard St) to the Canoga Marsh, although we didn't actually drive Lower Lake Rd to be certain there were no polynyas. We went directly to Morgan Rd arriving at 5:20 to find the owls already active. Apparently today they started before 5pm, maybe because it had been windy and snowy until then. Anyway, I counted ten (10) Short-eared Owls in a single scope sweep from the DEC parking lot. Several of these may have been visible from Carncross Road, and some were quite distant towards Railroad Road. On a couple of occasions we saw owls perched on utility poles fairly close. Several times I saw an owl suddenly drop to the snow and twice I saw one arise carrying a vole. There was also some chasing, some barking, and also their usual deep wingbeats and erratic flight. All of this occurred while there was still plenty of daylight for viewing. I don't know if photographers would be satisfied, but we were thrilled. We stayed until 6pm. Lots of warm clothes and a telescope are recommended.I knew Short-eared Owls are rather communal in winter, but this is the first time in years I have seen so many in one area. Sibley shows females being rather tawny below, but all the birds I noticed looked whitish bellied, like males in his pictures. Maybe the color difference at a distance in flight is more subtle than I was expecting, or is the ratio really this skewed here?--Dave NutterOn Feb 21, 2013, at 08:21 PM, bob mcguire wrote:Having tried several times recently - and unsuccessfully - for Short- eared Owls, and having heard that a couple were sighted recently on Morgan Road, I drove north this afternoon to see what I could find. I had a good conversation with Frank Morlock at the DEC headquarters. He reported trapping two SEOWs two days before and having seen more than that in the vicinity. He mentioned that his watch usually began at 5:15, and that the first owls showed up at around 5:30. With half an hour to kill, I drove over to Van Dyne Spoor Rd ("Sandhill Crane Unit"). I was rewarded with two SEOWs foraging over the far SW dike at 5:10. At that point I spoke with Dave Nutter who, with Ann Mitchell, was headed to Morgan Rd. Since I figured there would be good coverage there, I raced across town to try and reach Seneca Meadows before dark. I got there in plenty of time, walked out to a spot overlooking the huge north meadow, and waited. At 5:40 the first SEOW showed up and was soon joined by a second. They foraged out to the west and then the north, occasionally dropping out of sight into the vegetation for 5 minutes or so. Another SEOW came in from the south, followed by a Red-tailed Hawk. The hawk eventually perched at the edge of the far woods, and the owl continued to work back and forth until I left at around 6:10. I spoke once more with Dave, who reported some unbelievable number of owls at Morgan Road. I look forward to reading his post! Bob McGuire-- 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/maillist.html'>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/ --
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[cayugabirds-l] Fwd: The City Dark: documentary & discussion next Wednesday (2/27)

2013-02-19 Thread nutter.dave

Sounds like this film has relevance for birds and natural history in general.--Dave NutterBegin forwarded message:From: Jing Jin Date: February 19, 2013 4:06:35 PMTo: hu...@cornell.edu,snr...@cornell.edu,lightsof...@cornell.edu,kyotonow-member...@cornell.edu,takebackthetap-l ,far...@cornell.eduSubject: The City Dark: documentary & discussion next Wednesday (2/27)- Please forward widely -Campus Conservation Nationals, Recyclemania, and Sustainability Hub presents: Wednesday, 2/27, 7-9PM, Uris Hall Auditorium  Attend the Facebook Event | Watch the Trailer   THE CITY DARK is a feature documentary about light pollution and the disappearing night sky. After moving to light-polluted New York City from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks: “Do we need the dark?” Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawai’i, tracking hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing injured birds on Chicago streets, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights—including health risks from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, philosophers, historians, and lighting designers, THE CITY DARK is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing starsThis film is a NY Times Critics' Pick, Winner of the Jury Prize for Best Score/Music at the SXSW Film Festival, and the winner of the Grand Jury Prize Environmental Film Fest at Yale.Join us for a thought-provoking film and discussion!
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Crows mobbing Great Horned Owl on nest

2013-02-18 Thread nutter.dave

I'm thinking more about crows and owls. It's a substitute for actually knowing, so please chime in, Anne, or anyone else who knows better than I do what really goes on. I've been impressed by how much the Great Horned Owls in Renwick have withstood crows' harassment, and that impression flavored my earlier comment.A big purpose of the harassment of owls by crows ought to be to drive the predators away so the owls will cease being a danger to the harassing crows. But it doesn't look to me like it would work very well. Great Horned Owls are low-light, quiet, fairly slow (I think), stealth hunters, and in the daytime they are not a danger to crows nor to anyone else. A roosting owl might be convinced to move, but would it move far enough to shift its nighttime hunting area? Where would it not be in some crows' territory? At some point the owl has to stop being driven, and I have heard crows quit. Nesting owls, if they are to be successful, and obviously sometimes they are successful, must not be ousted by crows for several months, starting in early winter, when (I assume) crows are not defending territories nor clearing them of owls starting a nest. Last spring's crow nest can make a nice owl nest, which must be a disheartening discovery, to find owls living smack-dab in the middle of the territory when the crows return at the end of winter. In autumn and winter crows may travel for miles to roost during the night when owls are hunting. By gathering thousands of crows out of outlying owls' hunting territories, crows might improve their individual odds, but I would think that any owl residing near the massive crow roost, or who came to visit, would have easy eating. Maybe the crows make a special effort to clear owls from the crow roosting neighborhood, but the roost is so obvious that I wonder how much good it would do. In the crow nesting season, of course, the crow female and young are stuck and vulnerable. Again, the crows have a good reason to try to drive an owl away, but I would think that a Great Horned Owl can still travel a long distance to hunt, and a crow nest which I can see in a tree during the day is probably similarly obvious to the owl at night. The crow nesting season starts after the owls are well underway. Do crows choose not to nest near Great Horned Owls? I bet the owls' hunting ranges so large as to encompass several crow nests anyway. I assume that the harassment of owls has some direct benefit in terms of predation reduction, but I doubt it's very large. I think either crows harass owls so much because that's one of the few things they can do to reduce predation when they can afford the time and energy, or else there are other benefits, such as getting to know what a Great Horned Owl looks like, or showing off for other crows, or crow family bonding, or being generally useful to the crow flock, or socializing, or getting exercise, or even having fun. Crows' lot looks very frustrating - and dangerous - regarding Great Horned Owls. I sympathize with the crows, too, but also I find their situation more complex and hard to figure.--Dave NutterOn Feb 16, 2013, at 03:18 PM, Anne Clark  wrote:Right--and come mid-April, some person might just pick up a partly eaten, headless, tagged female crow under her nest and think...it was her first nest--what a short life, only 5 years, her nestlings gone, too!  She could have had 6 more years at least, or more.Boredom probably doesn't describe why the crows leave off (have seen them harrying owls for at least 6 hours)...nor a lack of memory for why they start over the next day.  The crows aren't moving on...they are trying to move a dangerous thing out of their neighborhood, where their own kids need a chance at life.Yup--I took the bait.  The story is all in your perspective, but I always find US interesting in siding with the one who has the kids at the time! Holding no grudges against owl-lovers, AnneOn Feb 16, 2013, at 2:05 PM, Mona Bearor wrote:I'll be thinking of your explaination when I visit the nest again, and I'll be watching for that owl to sigh and plan its nightly menu!Mona Bearor
So. Glens Falls, NYOn 2/16/2013 12:21 PM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:I think this is the sort of crap that Great Horned Owls have to put up with, and they get used to it. I suspect that what you saw is probably the pattern. Every day some crow "discovers" the owl, still in the same place on its nest, and raises the alarm, just as it would for an owl roosting in a new spot every day. All the other crows join in for awhile, so the whole crow community is aware of its presence, and the younger crows learn, "We don't like these guys." When they're satisfied and bored with lack of reaction from the owl on the nest, they move on. The owl sighs, reminds itself to eat some of those bastards come nightfall, and continues incubating, brooding, or guarding its young.--Dave Nutter On Feb 15, 2013, at 06:29 PM, Mona Bearor  wrote: Yesterday morning I observed about 50 crows mobb

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Crows mobbing Great Horned Owl on nest

2013-02-16 Thread nutter.dave

I think this is the sort of crap that Great Horned Owls have to put up with, and they get used to it. I suspect that what you saw is probably the pattern. Every day some crow "discovers" the owl, still in the same place on its nest, and raises the alarm, just as it would for an owl roosting in a new spot every day. All the other crows join in for awhile, so the whole crow community is aware of its presence, and the younger crows learn, "We don't like these guys." When they're satisfied and bored with lack of reaction from the owl on the nest, they move on. The owl sighs, reminds itself to eat some of those bastards come nightfall, and continues incubating, brooding, or guarding its young.--Dave NutterOn Feb 15, 2013, at 06:29 PM, Mona Bearor  wrote:Yesterday morning I observed about 50 crows mobbing a Great Horned Owl on a nest.  It made me wonder if the crows could make the owl abandon the nest with repeated harassment, or if they would just give up after a while.  I had an appointment so I couldn't stick around too long, but did watch this behavior for over 20 minutes non-stop.  The owl was still on the nest today.  Any thoughts on this?Mona Bearor So. Glens Falls, NY--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Bald Eagles nesting again in Ulysses

2013-02-14 Thread nutter.dave

For the 4th year Bald Eagles are nesting in Tompkins County on the west side of the lake. Knowing exactly where to set up my scope, this afternoon (14 February) I was able to look between branches of the high, deep nest and see the yellow-orange bill changing position against the white of the incubating adult's head. I don't recall ever seeing an adult in the open near this nest. I think they are shy. Later in the season when the youngsters step out of the nest there is better viewing, but the adults seem to stay away whenever I'm looking. I'm glad to see the nest is in use again because during last year's nesting season the adjacent land was deforested and a large house constructed. That house is now occupied, and I feared the birds would not come back. They've fledged 2 young each of the last 3 years (at least), although last year one of the juveniles was injured on nearby NYS-89 and captured to be rehabbed. Does anyone know the fate of that bird? --Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Eagle moving nest???

2013-02-14 Thread nutter.dave

Many observers have noticed this new nest-building activity over the past several months. I think the question is, what will happen to the photogenic nest atop the pylon? Are there enough Bald Eagles around for another pair to use it? Would they even tolerate being so close? Will Ospreys reclaim it?--Dave NutterOn Feb 14, 2013, at 12:42 PM, John Confer wrote:Does it seem to others that the pair of eagles at the lock at the outlet of Cayuga Lake has moved its nest to the south? I didn't see any activity at the electric poles at the lock and the nest there seemed shrunken. And, there is a large pile of sticks farther to the south in a very large tree, which had an eagle sitting next to it on Saturday. The eagle nest at the lock was perhaps the most photographed nest in New York. If not the most, then certainly one of the most. In a way it is too bad if the eagles have moved to a more distant and less visible location. Cheers, John -- 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/maillist.html'>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/ --
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] PEREGRINE FALCON on snag by swan pond, Stewart Par...

2013-02-14 Thread nutter.dave

I still hope Melissa has a chance to write her story and show any photos (of any quality) soon. She described to me what I interpreted as TWO Peregrine Falcons cooperatively and successfully hunting a gull and then sharing the meal, including calling, begging, and allo-feeding. Maybe the Peregrines are just passing through, but I think about courtship and the possibility of a pair breeding locally. Everyone in the Cornell community can be part of the eco-system and contribute with their food scraps which go to the compost piles and feed the gulls. --Dave NutterOn Feb 13, 2013, at 11:01 PM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:About 11:30am I got a phone call from Melissa Groo, who had gone to Stewart Park in search of the Peregrine. If she doesn't post to the list by tomorrow morning what she told me she saw and photographed, I will do so. For the moment I will just say that Stewart Park is pretty special. --Dave NutterOn Feb 13, 2013, at 07:31 AM, 6072292...@vtext.com wrote:PEREGRINE FALCON on snag by swan pond, Stewart Park. --Dave Nutter  --  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/maillist.html'>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 List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] PEREGRINE FALCON on snag by swan pond, Stewart Par...

2013-02-13 Thread nutter.dave

About 11:30am I got a phone call from Melissa Groo, who had gone to Stewart Park in search of the Peregrine. If she doesn't post to the list by tomorrow morning what she told me she saw and photographed, I will do so. For the moment I will just say that Stewart Park is pretty special. --Dave NutterOn Feb 13, 2013, at 07:31 AM, 6072292...@vtext.com wrote:PEREGRINE FALCON on snag by swan pond, Stewart Park. --Dave Nutter  --  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/maillist.html'>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/  --
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] NO. SHRIKE

2013-02-13 Thread nutter.dave

When I first read the subject line, I thought it was reporting the absence of a shrike: no shrike. Then I realized that it was an abbreviation for Northern Shrike. I often think it's worth the small extra effort to write the whole name of any bird in order to be clear, and I celebrate the very long names. I guess I'm on the compulsive end of the spectrum that way, maybe because I imagine so many ways to misinterpret other people (and I succeed quite a bit).I am not writing simply out of amusement or to harass Donna, I am also belatedly (for which everyone is welcome to ridicule me) reporting that I saw presumably the same bird, a Northern Shrike, atop a sapling beyond a brushy area north of Snyder Road and the airport on Sunday afternoon, 10 February. Of course I wonder if this is the same bird I found due east of the end of Cherry Road, a slightly different vantage into the same expanse of habitat, back on 4 January.--Dave NutterOn Feb 13, 2013, at 11:53 AM, Donna Scott  wrote:in Hedgerow and on barbed wire of chain-link fence north east of Airport (Seen from Snyder Rd. Lansing).  Donna Scott 11:50 AM  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) cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html'>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/  -- 
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[cayugabirds-l] Eared Grebe, yes. Tufted Duck, no.

2013-01-31 Thread nutter.dave

I spent about an hour and a half at the southwest corner of Cayuga Lake this morning. The west side is sheltered, and now that the temperature has dropped again, and the wind is not from the land to the south, there was almost no heat distortion over the water. There were waves in the middle and east sides of the lake, and much of the south end is muddy from the rains and wind, but I think I did a pretty good job seeing what was out there (Then again, I thought the same when I left on Tuesday minutes before the alert about the Tufted Duck.). There were plenty of waterfowl, but perhaps not as many as the past couple days. One individual in particular, the obscure little Tufted Duck, seemed to be missing. Birds of note:Canada X domestic Greylag Goose hybrid - 1 with broad white band on sides (this is feathered, I was in error previously)Northern Pintail - 1 maleRedhead - 92 in a tight flock close by when I arrived. They left after awhile, and I saw smaller groups later (same? additional?)Canvasback 20 males in flight, not seen on the waterRing-necked Duck - a pair in the corner of the lake, a male near the mouth of the inletLesser Scaup - 18 maximum count in a single sweepBufflehead - 1 female seen 3 different placesCommon Goldeneye - plentyHooded Merganser - still large numbers far to north, some under docks and hard to countCommon Merganser - still large numbersRed-breasted Merganser - group of 3 females continues to the north in the middleRuddy Ducks - flock of 30+ continuesEARED GREBE - 1 far to north, not far from shoreDouble-crested Cormorant - 1Turkey Vulture - 1 over Cayuga HeightsBald Eagle - 1 adult circling high over southeast part of lakeRed-tailed Hawk - over Cayuga Heights--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Yellow Headed Blackbird 1/19 Armitage Rd

2013-01-20 Thread nutter.dave

The YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was with a flock of European Starlings yesterday in the first block west of the corner of NYS-89 & Armitage.--Dave NutterBegin forwarded message:From: geneseebirds-l-requ...@geneseo.eduDate: January 19, 2013 4:39:06 PMTo: geneseebird...@geneseo.eduSubject: GeneseeBirds-L Digest, Vol 114, Issue 35Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2013 16:15:28 -0500 From: Steve Taylor To: geneseebird...@geneseo.edu Subject: [GeneseeBirds-L] Townsend's Solitaire, Yellow Headed Blackbird Message-ID: <20130119211529.KJR5Y.141922.root@hrndva-web10-z02> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 The TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE is still present at Sampson State Park between Geneva and Ithaca. I saw it this morning at ~11:30 AM. It was perched in the tip-top of a deciduous tree on the east side of the park road in the same area where it has been present since early December. This particular tree seems to be its favorite vantage point, as I have seen it on four occasions in the tip-top of this exact tree. Over at Montezuma, despite today's thaw, everything is completely iced over. There was nothing at Tschache (except for one adult Bald Eagle), Knox-Marcellus, and Puddlers. At Mud Lock there were several hundred TUNDRA SWANS, and at least six BALD EAGLES. I could not locate the Red Headed Woodpecker that was present along Rt 89 earlier this week. On Armitage Road, between Route 89 and Olmsted Road, a flock of ~500 Starlings flew in front of my car. In the flock was a bird with white flashes in the wings. Fortunately for me, the flock descended into a field on the south side of the road, and I was able to study an absolutely stunning male YELLOW HEADED BLACKBIRD for a few minutes. The flock was very skittish, and did not stay in one spot for more than a few minutes, but did move around the field to a low spot that still has some open water. There were no other blackbird species in the flock!!! Parenthetically, I am still in shock that I have seen two adult male Yellow-Headed Blackbirds thus far in 2013, thanks to Brad Carlson's hospitality back on January 3rd. Good Birding to All, Steve Taylor Pittsford NY
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[cayugabirds-l] OOB/OT: avoiding bird strikes by aircraft

2013-01-17 Thread nutter.dave

Europeans are finding ways to monitor birds to avoid risks to airplanes in real time:http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/2013/01/as-the-crow-flies/--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Lone snow goose, Candor

2013-01-14 Thread nutter.dave

A single Snow Goose by the Wells College boathouse in Aurora on Sunday is interesting to me because on Saturday I saw from that location a flock of about a thousand of them out in the middle of the lake. Perhaps they were all off feeding when you arrived, and this was just the first to return, or as you suggest, a weak flyer due to a hunting injury, and stayed local.--Dave NutterOn Jan 14, 2013, at 11:08 AM, Donna Scott  wrote:Yet, yesterday the Bird Club field trip group going around the lake saw ONE SNOW GOOSE fly from the shore area into the lake by the boathouse in Aurora!Nearby hunters may have had some role in this, possibly.One of them waved at us (uphill with scopes set up), as they roared by in their motorboat shortly after we saw the goose.Donna Scott- Original Message -From: Mo Barger Rooster Hill FarmTo: cayugabirds CornellSent: Monday, January 14, 2013 10:47 AMSubject: [cayugabirds-l] Lone snow goose, CandorOn my way in this morning, there was a lone snow goose in a field onHoneypot Road. Hard to say if he was injured or not.It was notable imo because you never see just one goose this time of year.--Cayugabirds-L List Info:http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOMEhttp://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULEShttp://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htmARCHIVES:1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.htmlPlease submit your observations to eBird:http://ebird.org/content/ebird/Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park hybrid goose white breast-band

2013-01-14 Thread nutter.dave

Yesterday afternoon at Stewart Park I saw and heard a/the distinctive Canada X domestic Greylag Goose among Canadas, Mallards, and American Coots in the shallow water and rotting ice at the southeast corner of the lake. This time I also noticed a broad clean white stripe on it between the gray feathers at the bottom of the breast and similar gray feathers on the bird's side & belly. From scope views from shore it appeared to me that this stripe was caused by one or more rows of feathers being completely missing all the way up at least the left side of the bird, such that long white bases of the lower feathers were exposed, rather than white-tipped feathers being present. I'm wondering if others have noticed this pattern on the bird, whether they agree that this is how the stripe is formed, and if so, whether they have an idea why the feathers should be missing so.--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] 2013 basin first records list

2013-01-07 Thread nutter.dave

The 2013 Cayuga Lake Basin First Records List is now underway and (I think) up to date. View it on the Cayuga Bird Club website under Resources here:http://www.cayugabirdclub.org/Resources/cayuga-lake-basin-first-recordsPlease let me know of errors or omissions.--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park

2013-01-07 Thread nutter.dave

Today during taxi breaks I managed to visit Stewart Park & East Shore Park several times. I missed the Peregrine. Early in the morning there was a GREAT BLUE HERON in the bit of stream which flows through the lagoon, but it flushed when I stopped to look at it, which surprised me. An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL swam with other gulls not far off the lakeshore ice early in the morning but was not relocated by me on later visits. West of the red lighthouse jetty I saw 2 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS perched on branches of logs in the water. From East Shore Park I saw 4 COMMON LOONS and one HORNED GREBE. The latter was visible also from Stewart Park, as was a RED-NECKED GREBE. Last sighting of note was GARY KOHLENBERG - I hope you had more luck with gulls!--Dave NutterOn Jan 07, 2013, at 01:02 PM, Anne Marie Johnson  wrote:I made a very quick scan of Stewart Park at 12:30 today. I didn’t find anything notable except for a PEREGRINE FALCON perched on the ice edge roughly straight out from the dock. Other birds observed included HOODED MERGANSER, COMMON MERGANSER, MALLARDS, BLACK DUCK, CORMORANT, and COOTS, in addition to the usual gull species and geese. Anne Marie Johnson
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Crows coming in to roost

Late this afternoon Laurie and I went on a short walk on the Cayuga Waterfront Trail between NYS-89 and the Flood Control Channel along Cass Park. I brought my scope in hopes of seeing a Turkey Vulture over Cayuga Heights, but no such luck. Instead, while skies over me were empty, I saw a steady trickle of individual southbound crows over the eastern horizon. Later on, and now I wish I'd noted the time, a flock of eastbound crows suddenly appeared over West Hill, dozens of birds, followed seconds later by another and another flock all heading across the valley. I didn't trace the complete trajectory of the birds on either hill, but I was struck by the sudden late front of western birds while those over East Hill had already been moving and presumably were already close to a North Campus roost. These evening commuting flocks were much like the morning commuting flocks I saw on New Years day, silent. Meanwhile a few individual crows went about their business in trees I could see. On New Year's morning it seemed to be the local birds who called when the commuters flew past. I think there are some crows which stick to their territories, while others sleep in central roosts and feed in farm country.--Dave NutterOn Jan 06, 2013, at 05:00 PM, Gary Kohlenberg wrote:Larry, North Campus is hosting many crows, what looks to be 1000+ . Most of them are in the trees by Robert Purcell Community Center, Appel Commons and the Observatory. I was surprised by them on the Christmas Bird Count as I hadn't been up there at dusk. GaryOn Jan 6, 2013, at 4:36 PM, W. Larry Hymes wrote: A few minutes ago hundreds of crows flew over east hill heading from the direction of the compost piles to find roosts. It looked as though some headed towards downtown and others headed more towards campus. Kevin, are crows faithful to a roost, or do they decide on the spur of the moment where they would like to go. I got the impression that many of the birds couldn't make up their minds and kept wavering back and forth. They kept calling incessantly, as though having a heated discussion as to which way to go on this particular night. Larry -- W. Larry Hymes 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu -- 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/maillist.html'>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 List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html'>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/ --
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[cayugabirds-l] The Cup updated

The site for the David Cup now starts with a table for the Cayuga Lake Basin for 2013, below which is the CLB table for 2012, and below that there are now tables for counties for 2012:http://cayugabirds.pbworks.com/w/page/6630177/FrontPageSeveral of these tables should be sorted onto different pages - all the 2011 stuff on its own new page, all the 2012 stuff on its own new page, current town stuff on the Towns page, and current county tables on a page which isn't labeled 2011. If someone gets inspired to do this before me, that's okay. --Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Ithaca, Dryden, & Lansing birding totals

I made tables to be filled in with birders' yearly species totals for the Town (& City) of Ithaca, the Town of Dryden, and the Town of Lansing. As Kevin McGowan noted, he could not find these for 2012, which was because I hadn't created the tables. Now I have, and while I was at it, I started tables for 2013:http://cayugabirds.pbworks.com/w/page/6630191/Town%20listsAnyone who is confused or interested in participating, please write me.--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Saturday birding, Ithaca to Union Springs

Some friends and I had a great day of birding yesterday. Our itinerary included Stewart Park, East Shore Park, a shrike search, Ladoga and Myers point, a quest for winter field birds, the Wells College boathouse and the bluffs to the south, the ponds and Frontenac Park in Union Springs, and watching for Short-eared Owls on our way home. Highlights:SNOW GOOSE - 2 among Canadas from bluffs south of Aurora; 1 among Canadas from Frontenac ParkCACKLING GOOSE - 1 among Canadas at Stewart ParkTUNDRA SWAN - 1 near & on ice edge at Stewart Park; dozens flying in distance from Frontenac ParkGADWALL - several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union SpringsAMERICAN WIGEON - several places on lake; best seen on ponds in Union SpringsNORTHERN PINTAIL - 1 male among Mallards at Ladoga south of Myers Point, an area with many gunners, so look quickGREEN-WINGED TEAL - 1 or 2 males on Mill Pond in Union Springs REDHEADS - raft off Stewart Park ousted by guys in a boat; small numbers various places on lake; best seen on Union Springs ponds CANVASBACK - one male among Redheads WHITE-WINGED SCOTER - 1 distantly viewed from East Shore ParkBUFFLEHEAD - several places on the lake including Stewart ParkCOMMON GOLDENEYE - most places on the lake but numerous and seen best at Stewart ParkHOODED MERGANSER - a few, best seen at Stewart ParkCOMMON MERGANSER - a few, best seen at Stewart ParkRUDDY DUCK - a few, best seen at Stewart Park and East Shore Park*RING-NECKED PHEASANT - 1 male at Atwater Rd & NYS-34B by old Agway, town of Genoa. First 2013 report in Cayuga Lake Basin and it's not even within sight of the game farm!WILD TURKEY - 30+ in field near hundreds of Canada Geese on Fenner Rd in Lansing a short distance east of NYS-34BCOMMON LOONS - small numbers several places on Cayuga LakePIED-BILLED GREBE - 4 together from East Shore ParkHORNED GREBE - 2 from East Shore Park, 11 from Wells College boathouse including a group of 8; 3 from Frontenac ParkRED-NECKED GREBE - 1 continuing at Stewart Park and East Shore ParkDOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT -- 1 seen distantly from East Shore ParkGREAT BLUE HERON - 1 flying west fairly low just offshore at Stewart ParkTURKEY VULTURE - several in the South Lansing areaROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - 1 light morph atop the lone oak south of Burdick Hill Rd in LansingAMERICAN COOT - large flocks south of Finger Lakes Marine (south of Myers Point Park) and off Frontenac ParkNORTHERN FLICKER - flew to distant tree viewed from Cayuga Vista DriveNORTHERN SHRIKE -  still cooperative on wires and hedgerow along Cayuga Vista Drive off East Shore Drive (NYS-34), Lansing. We were unsuccessful by Equine Drug Testing building by the airport and on Sheldon and Scofield RoadsAMERICAN CROW - individual with strange gray dewlap-like growths on chin at #278 Davis Rd, LansingEASTERN BLUEBIRD - 1 male trying to feed on sumac on Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, LansingNORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD - 1 in hedgerow along Cayuga Vista; 3 on Cherry Road, 1 defending sumac on Lansingville Rd south of Davis Rd, all in Lansing AMERICAN TREE SPARROW - feeders and rural Lansing roadsides, largest group on Fenner Rd west of Davis RdWHITE-THROATED SPARROW - among many American Tree Sparrows & Dark-eyed Juncos on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, LansingWHITE-CROWNED SPARROW - among a few American Tree Sparrows on Lansingville Rd just south of Davis Rd, LansingDARK-EYED JUNCO - feeders and rural roadsides, largest group on Fenner Rd west of Davis Rd, LansingHOUSE SPARROW - several atop spruces on Myers Rd north of Salmon Creek, year bird for Ann Mitchell who was sick on New Year's Day --Dave Nutter
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Re: Re:[cayugabirds-l] (Long comment) Exempt part of Cayuga Lake from hunting diving ducks

I agree with John Confer and others. I think his arguments should be more clearly and succinctly stated in order to be clear to others and effective to those who make decisions. I'm not volunteering or attempting to do so here, just adding some observations. The number and variety of waterfowl throughout Cayuga Lake in the winter are directly and obviously related to when the ponds at the adjacent Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge are frozen. Large numbers of birds rely on the lake as they do on the refuge.Duck shooting still occurs along the shore of Treman Marine Park despite bans by the City and/or the park. The loophole is that firing initially happens from a shallow-draft boat, while chairs, supplies, and carcasses are piled a few feet away on the shore. Gunners step into the ankle-deep water or wade up to their knees to shoot repeatedly at wounded birds. It's surprising how many shots it takes to kill a sitting duck. Yesterday morning a large raft of Redheads was in the southeast corner of the lake. Two guys from near Treman in the southwest corner of the lake, where we had heard gunfire, drove over in their boat, flushed the raft, and returned to the southwest corner. It looked like a deliberate disturbance of the birds in hopes that they would settle near the ambush. Thousands of Redheads flew north instead, but maybe some did settle in the southwest and get shot. I have also seen this practice of flushing birds on the water within the southwest part of the lake when birds are settled outside the range of their guns. I would prefer not to hear gunshots, as I did throughout my New Year's Day walk all over the streets of West Hill in the City of Ithaca. Rather than see birds being harassed, maimed, and killed by guys with guns and big motor boats, I would prefer to watch the birds feeding, courting, preening, and resting. Truly the bird life on Cayuga Lake is a spectacle worth publicizing and promoting. --Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] white-winged, but not a scoter, poor thing

2013-01-05 Thread nutter.dave

The bird which I counted as a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER at East Shore Park today was initially on the water far to the northwest. Bob McGuire had been watching it and thought that's what it was, although I was initially unsatisfied with the view. About 9am it flew much farther north low over the lake showing a very dark (black) body and wings except each wing showed a prominent long rectangular white patch in the trailing edge in the secondaries. The bird was shaped and flew like a robust duck, not a coot nor a grebe (other local birds with some non-rectangular white in the trailing edge of the secondaries), and the white patches were the right shape and size for a White-winged Scoter, not a Gadwall. I did not see the injured Lesser Scaup.--Dave NutterOn Jan 05, 2013, at 04:47 PM, "Kevin J. McGowan"  wrote:I stopped at East Shore Park today in hopes of seeing the reported White-winged Scoter.  Instead, I found a lone female Lesser Scaup with a fishing lure in her mouth and apparently fishing line wrapped around her wing exposing the white at the bases of her secondaries.  I have put a few photos at  http://picasaweb.google.com/KevinJ.McGowan/Winter20122013#5830074707828587666 and the following images. I don’t know if this is the same bird that has been reported as a White-winged Scoter, but I wouldn’t be surprised. 
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[cayugabirds-l] Redpoll, finally

2013-01-05 Thread nutter.dave

On Thursday I sort of joined the club, even though I can't claim big flocks are coming to my feeders, and I don't worry about what they consume. When I went out for a walk that afternoon the first bird I saw fly up from the ground behind my next door neighbor's house turned out to be a COMMON REDPOLL. According to the list on our fridge it was a new species for my yard ever. I can't compete with my neighbors' bird feeding operation, and even though it is a challenge to see from my yard, I get a good deal of enjoyment from it. --Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Red-tailed Hawk pair sightings

2013-01-04 Thread nutter.dave

On Wednesday morning my first birds of the day as I drove a taxi from Ithaca up NYS-13 toward the airport was a pair of RED-TAILED HAWKS on the large metal high-voltage power line pylon just west of the highway and south of the bend in the road. I often see a single Red-tailed Hawk perched there, and was surprised and pleased to see a pair. Today from NYS-13 as I drove south past Renwick Sanctuary I saw a pair of RED-TAILED HAWKS perched together high in a large tree next to the railroad tracks at the edge of the forest. Their size differences indicated a male and female. Ah, spring! I wonder if these two sites are far enough apart to indicate different pairs/territories.  For that matter I wonder if they are different from the pair which nested on the face of Fall Creek gorge just upstream of the Stewart Avenue bridge last year, and presumably one of which I often see atop the Ithaca Gun smokestack where I assume it can keep an eye on the nest site. I wonder how far these birds roam when they are nesting. I get the impression that the habits of the pair on camera last year near Bradfield are pretty well known.--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] to reduce double-counting in future counts

2013-01-04 Thread nutter.dave

Observers should note the time and direction of flyovers, so that duplicate observations of the same bird(s) can be deleted. Instructions should be explicit as to when this rule applies. This suggestion is from John Gregoire, who used it on other counts.  --Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] grebes, loons, coots, a few odd ducks, and a Peregrine

This afternoon I walked to the southwest part of the lake hoping to bolster my 2013 Luddite List with waterfowl (I was so late on count day that I drove there), but numbers and variety of waterfowl were down due to a party of gunners next to the red lighthouse. Still, I found some cool non-Anseriformes: One RED-NECKED GREBE by itself between the red lighthouse and the piling cluster. It was diving and seemed to ignore the out-of-range gunfire. This seems to be a 2013 basin bird as well as a count week bird.A tight flock of 100 AMERICAN COOTS to the northwest of the red lighthouse. This is more coots than this sector had on count day. When I arrived, there were REDHEADS mixed in, but they all flushed at the sound of gunfire, while the coots stayed put, which was interesting to see. Do the coots not feel threatened, or do they just prefer not to fly? Two COMMON LOONS together in the middle of the lake to the north. Only 1 was found further north on count day. Two very distant HORNED GREBES, probably closer to the eastern shore. Several COMMON GOLDENEYES in the lake north of the red lighthouse, plus a male resting on the edge of the ice off Stewart Park. A male COMMON MERGANSER swam up, climbed onto the ice next to the goldeneye, stood up and flapped its wings, then went back in the water and swam off. The goldeneye seemed not to react, but I thought it was hilarious. Did the merganser come over and make the gesture because the two species look similar? Did it leave in a hurry out of embarrassment at its mistake?I scanned the east horizon hoping to see a Turkey Vulture, but instead I found a/the adult PEREGRINE FALCON flapping and soaring over Cayuga Heights, eventually working its way south towards Ithaca, perhaps downtown, around 3:45pm.--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] More CBC birds for 2013

There was some discussion of potential multiple-counting of Tundra Swan flocks, but not a flock-by-flock analysis, and I don't think any adjustments were made among sectors at the compilation. Sector leaders may have tried to adjust among parties in their sector beforehand. I think it would be a good and interesting thing to try to figure out. My notes from the compilation were: Sector IV: 23Sector V: 40Sector VI: 116Sector VII: 95Sector VIII: 122Total: 396For my part, I was on Cliff Park Road just above Taylor Place on West Hill in the City of Ithaca when I heard and saw my first flock at 2:08pm. I counted 14 birds, but I could have been off by one, so this could have been your group of 15. They were east of me headed south up the Cayuga Inlet valley.  I was at the south end of Richard Place at 2:58pm when another flock went by, also well to my east, southbound up Inlet Valley. It was a larger group and harder to count because they were massed in a C which I was viewing from the side, not a simple V or line, and I had trouble getting my scope on them through the trees, so they were already past me when I finally got a look and then I looked at the time. I estimated 60 birds, but this could have been a flock of 53. They . . Later I heard another flock but never saw them and did not count them or note the time. I gave Sector VII leader Marty Schlabach the numbers and I think the times of my flocks. I don't know what accounted for the total of 95 for Sector VII, whether it was additional flock of 21 or someone else's more reliable counts overall. --Dave NutterOn Jan 03, 2013, at 03:03 PM, Bill Evans  wrote:The other issue I’ve been wondering about is counts of migrating birds crossing the count circle, in particular migrating swans this year. Perhaps this was addressed at the compilation dinner, otherwise I suspect the 396 total that Dave posted in his quick summary involves flocks being counted multiple times. Unless flock size and timing is noted, I don’t see how this can be avoided except perhaps if we take the highest count by one survey party. While covering section VI, I noted southbound swan flocks of 19, 15, 29, and 53 between 2:15 and 3PM (I have exact times and trajectories if anybody’s interested). All these flocks likely passed over sections VIII & IX and some would have been visible from sections V & VII.  Unless redundant counts were somehow culled out at the compilation, I wouldn’t be surprised if these four flocks made up the bulk of the 396 swans in Dave’s quick summary. Typically in the past we’ve had no substantial visible migration on count days, though I remember one year more than a decade ago when the count coincided with the passage of a brutal cold front and there was massive southbound evacuation of 1000s of Canvasback and other Aythya. As I recall, there wasn’t a problem in double counting that year because only one party in section VIII happened to witness the event. Bill E --Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Carcass identification-murder most foul

I thought the amount of snow on top of it might indicate how long it had been there.--Dave NutterOn Jan 03, 2013, at 01:23 PM, Meena Haribal  wrote:Dave, I guess you have to prove that it was alive in 2013. So need to do accurate time of death on this bird even to count for the count week. Meena  From: bounce-72555400-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-72555400-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of nutter.d...@me.com Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 1:16 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Carcase identification-murder most foul I meant 2013. Even typing I'm not used to the new year.--Dave Nutter On Jan 03, 2013, at 01:15 PM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:From this should we assume that there was a live Wood Duck in the count circle during count week or in the basin in 2012? --Dave Nutter On Jan 03, 2013, at 11:28 AM, "Kevin J. McGowan"  wrote:That’s a Wood Duck.  Note the yellowish, webbed feet, the shiny patch on the top of the wing with a small white line on the feathers below it, the tuft of red and yellow near the rump, and, as Ryan pointed out, the intricately barred flank feather.  Nothing else has those.  Looks like it had bumble foot on its right foot, or is that some kind of object? We did not have Wood Duck on the Ithaca Christmas Count on Tuesday!  Kevin From: bounce-72554624-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-72554624-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Tobias Dean Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 9:39 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Carcase identification-murder most foul Yesterday I found this mostly consumed corpse in the ditch very close to our house on South Hill. I can guess at an identification but I am sure the group will know.  I saw crow or raven tracks around it in the snow but could it have been a car strike or a larger hawk? Also, would the Lab of O be interested in this if most of it is gone?    https://plus.google.com/photos/101389825425162872761/albums/5829231409341707361?authkey=COCAnMafkduk0AE thanks    Toby Dean--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] More CBC birds for 2013

Quite a few birders spend part of the count day dutifully covering their territory, and another part poaching on other territories. That's what I did, but I spent so much time on my own area that it was getting dark by the time I got to the lake. I wasn't able to find as much as I hoped, but I did find a couple species and numbers that the assigned group earlier had missed. This is not to fault the assigned birders. Some areas are worth covering multiple times, such as the lake where birds move around a lot, and weather can change, and hunting stirs them up or let's them return after cease-fire. One question is how to count effort by additional non-oreganized observers, especially if they are not counting common birds, but only seeking the unusual ones? Does time spent in a hot tub count as owling? Another question is how to keep envy in check so that everyone does cover their territory before or after chasing rarities. --Dave NutterOn Jan 03, 2013, at 11:42 AM, Kenneth Victor Rosenberg  wrote:Hi all,  Thank you Donna for correctly surmising that my quick late night email did not convey the message I had intended. I indeed was one of the counters who slogged through the day counting common birds (and looking for unusual species) -- albeit in the howling winds on the lakeshore rather than in the snowy woods (I had only 9 chickadees for the day!). So of course the real value of the CBC is in the numbers of common birds and how they vary from year to year, and this requires the hard work of all the counters. But I do believe another aspect of the CBC is the quest for variety, and I think a valuable strategy on any CBC might be to have a "floater" spot-checking important areas throughout the day to pick up species that could otherwise be missed (I'm the one, after all, who missed all of Chris's rare water birds).  My real intent was just to alert people that these birds were around and that the CBC total was even higher than we had thought and indeed probably set a count record -- I do think that is pretty cool.  KEN   Ken Rosenberg Conservation Science Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 607-254-2412 607-342-4594 (cell) k...@cornell.edu  On Jan 3, 2013, at 10:56 AM, Donna Scott wrote:  > I am sure Ken did not mean to dismiss the efforts of the regular counters on New Year's Day. Email can be too terse & quick, sometimes, & may not say quite what we want it to. > Chris's sightings WERE pretty neat to read about. > Donna >  > Sent from my iPhone > Donna Scott >  > On Jan 3, 2013, at 10:37 AM, Marie P Read  wrote: >  >> I agree with Kevin and Donna...and especially so since my first Mt Pleasant bird on Jan 1st was a decidedly not-commonplace Common Raven!! >>  >> All our counters are important. >>  >> Marie >>  >> Marie Read Wildlife Photography >> 452 Ringwood Road >> Freeville NY 13068 USA >>  >> Phone 607-539-6608 >> e-mail m...@cornell.edu >>  >> http://www.marieread.com >>  >> ***NEW*** Music of the Birds Vol 1 ebook for Apple iPad now available from iTunes >>  >> http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/music-of-the-birds-v1/id529347014?mt=11 >>  >> From: bounce-72554644-5851...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-72554644-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Donna Scott [d...@cornell.edu] >> Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 9:43 AM >> To: Kevin J. McGowan; CAYUGABIRDS-L >> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] More CBC birds for 2013 >>  >> I agree with your reply to Ken. >> Also, our so-called boring areas sometimes give us quite a thrill, as when I found the Barred Owl first thing January 1! >> Donna >>  >> Sent from my iPhone >> Donna Scott >>  >> On Jan 3, 2013, at 7:35 AM, "Kevin J. McGowan"  wrote: >>  >>  >> -- >>  >> 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/maillist.html'>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 List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm >  > ARCHIVES: > 1) cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html'>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 List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBird

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Carcase identification-murder most foul

I meant 2013. Even typing I'm not used to the new year.--Dave NutterOn Jan 03, 2013, at 01:15 PM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:From this should we assume that there was a live Wood Duck in the count circle during count week or in the basin in 2012? --Dave NutterOn Jan 03, 2013, at 11:28 AM, "Kevin J. McGowan"  wrote:That’s a Wood Duck.  Note the yellowish, webbed feet, the shiny patch on the top of the wing with a small white line on the feathers below it, the tuft of red and yellow near the rump, and, as Ryan pointed out, the intricately barred flank feather.  Nothing else has those.  Looks like it had bumble foot on its right foot, or is that some kind of object? We did not have Wood Duck on the Ithaca Christmas Count on Tuesday!  Kevin From: bounce-72554624-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-72554624-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Tobias Dean Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 9:39 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Carcase identification-murder most foul Yesterday I found this mostly consumed corpse in the ditch very close to our house on South Hill. I can guess at an identification but I am sure the group will know.  I saw crow or raven tracks around it in the snow but could it have been a car strike or a larger hawk? Also, would the Lab of O be interested in this if most of it is gone?    https://plus.google.com/photos/101389825425162872761/albums/5829231409341707361?authkey=COCAnMafkduk0AE thanks    Toby Dean--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Carcase identification-murder most foul

From this should we assume that there was a live Wood Duck in the count circle during count week or in the basin in 2012? --Dave NutterOn Jan 03, 2013, at 11:28 AM, "Kevin J. McGowan"  wrote:That’s a Wood Duck.  Note the yellowish, webbed feet, the shiny patch on the top of the wing with a small white line on the feathers below it, the tuft of red and yellow near the rump, and, as Ryan pointed out, the intricately barred flank feather.  Nothing else has those.  Looks like it had bumble foot on its right foot, or is that some kind of object? We did not have Wood Duck on the Ithaca Christmas Count on Tuesday!  Kevin From: bounce-72554624-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-72554624-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Tobias Dean Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2013 9:39 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Carcase identification-murder most foul Yesterday I found this mostly consumed corpse in the ditch very close to our house on South Hill. I can guess at an identification but I am sure the group will know.  I saw crow or raven tracks around it in the snow but could it have been a car strike or a larger hawk? Also, would the Lab of O be interested in this if most of it is gone?    https://plus.google.com/photos/101389825425162872761/albums/5829231409341707361?authkey=COCAnMafkduk0AE thanks    Toby Dean--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] town lists for 2012

2013-01-02 Thread nutter.dave

Kevin (and other Ithaca, Dryden, Lansing, Tompkins & Cayuga Lake Basin listers),Sorry, I was pretty lazy with the Cup wiki for 2012. Instead of saving all the 2011 stuff on another page, I made a 2012 Cayuga Lake Basin table but put it on the regular page above the 2011 CLB table. In 2011 there was so little participation in the town competitions that I didn't make the tables for them for 2012 right away. And nobody asked for them all year. I did keep my totals, although I didn't make a big effort. I can fill in my line in each of those yet-to-be-drawn tables, and they will make you and Jay look good. It isn't too hard to do this stuff, and anybody could edit those pages, but right now I want to get the 2013 records running.--Dave NutterOn Jan 02, 2013, at 01:33 PM, "Kevin J. McGowan"  wrote:Anyone know what happened to the town cup lists for 2012 on TheCUP wiki?  http://cayugabirds.pbworks.com/w/page/6630177/FrontPage.  The link at the bottom of the page goes to the 2011 list. I was going to update with my year-end numbers, but I can’t find it. Kevin   --Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Ithaca "Christmas" Bird Count 1/1/2013 - quick & dirty data; what to look for

2013-01-01 Thread nutter.dave

From my notes at the compilation of today's Ithaca Christmas Bird Count:These 95 Species (plus 1 hybrid) were found on today's count:Snow GooseCackling Goose - 2 at Stewart Park by Ken RosenbergCanada GooseTundra Swan  - new high of 396: many flocks migratingGadwall5American Wigeon - 2 at Stewart Park by Ken Rosenberg?American Black DuckMallard(Mallard x American Black Duck - 1 at Stewart Park?)Northern PintailRedhead10Ring-necked DuckGreater ScaupLesser ScaupSurf Scoter - 1 north of East Shore by Chris WoodWhite-winged Scoter - 1 at Stewart Park by Ken Rosenberg?15BLACK SCOTER - NEW FOR COUNT - 2 from Treman or west shore by Scott Sutcliffe, possibly those I found Friday 28 DecemberLong-tailed Duck - 1 by Chris Wood (location?)BuffleheadCommon GoldeneyeHooded Merganser20Common MerganserRuddy Duck - 2 in southwest part of Cayuga Lake found by meRuffed GrouseWild TurkeyCommon Loon - 1 flying south of Myers found by Kevin McGowan & Lee Ann Van Leer25Pied-billed Grebe - 1 north of East Shore found by ?Double-crested Cormorant - 1 southwest Cayuga Lake found by Scott SutcliffeGreat Blue HeronTurkey VultureBald Eagle30Northern HarrierSharp-shinned HawkCooper's HawkNorthern Goshawk - 1 found by Chris Wood coming to his feedersRed-tailed Hawk35Rough-legged HawkAmerican KestrelMerlin - 4 Peregrine Falcon - 1 found by Bob McGuire at Stewart ParkAmerican Coot40Ring-billed GullHerring GullGlaucous Gull - 1 found by Chris Wood at Stewart Park?Great Black-backed GullRock Pigeon45Mourning DoveEastern Screech-OwlGreat Horned OwlBarred OwlNorthern Saw-whet Owl - 1 attracted to Chris Wood in his hot tub50Belted KingfisherRed-bellied WoodpeckerDowny WoodpeckerHairy WoodpeckerNorthern Flicker55Pileated WoodpeckerNorthern ShrikeBlue JayAmerican CrowFish Crow - 6 found by Kevin McGowan near Sciencenter60Common Raven - 20Horned LarkBlack-capped ChickadeeTufted TitmouseRed-breasted Nuthatch65White-breasted NuthatchBrown CreeperCarolina WrenWinter Wren - 1 by Bill Evans (location?)Golden-crowned Kinglet70Eastern BluebirdAmerican RobinNorthern MockingbirdEuropean StarlingAmerican Pipit - 1 at Dodge & Stevenson Rds by Gin Mistry, 1 on white lighthouse jetty by Ken Rosenberg75Cedar WaxwingLapland Longspur - 2 found by Meena Haribal on Irish Settlement Rd near NYS-13Snow BuntingYellow-rumped Warbler - 3 found by Asher Hockett below old NCR factory on South HillAmerican Tree Sparrow80Savannah Sparrow - 1 on Bluegrass Lane, 1 on Waterwagon Rd by NYS-34Song SparrowSwamp SparrowWhite-throated SparrowDark-eyed Junco85Northern CardinalRed-winged Blackbird - 3Brown-headed Cowbird - 5Purple FinchHouse Finch90Common RedpollHoary Redpoll - 1 on Sheldon Rd south of NYS-34-B found by Colleen RichardsPine SiskinAmerican GoldfinchHouse Sparrow95These species have already been found as Count Week birds, but may or may not have been found yet in the Cayuga Lake Basin in 2013:Northern Shoveler - found count week last 3 days at Stewart & Treman Parks; found outside count circle today at Myers by Chris WoodCanvasback - found count week by me off Treman ParkLesser Black-backed Gull - count week: found on 30 December by me on southwestern Cayuga LakeWhite-crowned Sparrow - count week (I don't know how many, where, when, or by whom) These species have been found in previous counts, but are missing from this year's count. Some were flukes not expected again, others may be in the circle or elsewhere in the Cayuga Lake Basin. Please report these birds if you find them, especially if you find them in or near the count circle this Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, so we can include them as Count Week birds:Greater White-fronted GooseRoss's GooseBrantMute SwanWood DuckBlue-winged TealGreen-winged TealKing EiderRed-breasted MerganserNorthern BobwhiteRing-necked PheasantRed-throated LoonHorned GrebeRed-necked GrebeGreen HeronOspreyRed-shouldered HawkGolden EagleKilldeerWilson's SnipeBonaparte's GullSnowy OwlLong-eared OwlShort-eared OwlRed-headed WoodpeckerYellow-bellied SapsuckerAmerican Three-toed WoodpeckerEastern PhoebeBoreal ChickadeeHouse WrenRuby-crowned KingletHermit ThrushGray CatbirdBrown Thrasher - unverified count week report on South HillBohemian WaxwingOvenbird Orange-crowned WarblerCommon YellowthroatYellow WarblerPine WarblerGreen-tailed TowheeEastern TowheeChipping SparrowField SparrowGrasshopper SparrowFox SparrowHarris's SparrowRose-breasted GrosbeakDickcisselEastern MeadowlarkRusty BlackbirdCommon GrackleBaltimore OriolePine GrosbeakRed CrossbillWhite-winged CrossbillEvening GrosbeakSPOTTED SANDPIPER - not on count before; found by Kevin McGowan at Ladoga just outside count circle todayGet out and find 'em! A new year of listing has begun!--Dave Nutter
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[cayugabirds-l] Turkey Vulture roost possibilities

2012-12-31 Thread nutter.dave

I don't know for certain where the Turkey Vultures are roosting, but I suspect the evergreens west of Community Corners from Spruce Lane south. Another place I've seen them gathering near dusk is along NYS-366 just east of the Cornell fleet garage in evergreens on the slope down to Varna. I've also seen gatherings of Turkey Vultures south of Burdick Hill Road toward the west part of the field during the day, and west of Ithaca Cardiology (2432 North Triphammer Road) probably checking out a feeding site. I have only seen individuals, not groups, over the past few days. --Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ithaca count week

2012-12-30 Thread nutter.dave

This afternoon I returned and added several species for count week:SNOW GOOSE - single white adult alone in the middle of the lake. TUNDRA SWAN - a pair of adults to the northwestGADWALL - pairs and small groups scattered on lake, along shore and with groups of other speciesAMERICAN WIGEON - 3 males in Aythya flockNORTHERN SHOVELER - an astounding thirty-eight (38), mostly in 2 tight groups to the west near/with Aythyas, the males were in varying states of coming into breeding plumageNORTHERN PINTAIL - 1 male refound along shore with MallardsCANVASBACK - 1 male, completing the sweep of all 5 Aythya species in the flockCOMMON GOLDENEYE - 3 males near 1 female north of red lighthouseTURKEY VULTURE - 1 soaring over East HillLESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - adult on lake near ducksI saw a total of 19 species of Anseriformes, plus American Coot, but no loons, grebes, or cormorants today. --Dave NutterOn Dec 29, 2012, at 05:04 PM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:In case there are species of birds within the Ithaca Christmas Bird Count which we miss on count day (1 January 2013), we can add them to our total if we find them in the 3 days prior to or the 3 days subsequent to count day. That started today. Please report any unusual birds starting today so that birders can try to find them on count day, and if that doesn't work, they at least can be count week birds. Yesterday - NOT count week -  I saw 2 female Black Scoters and a male White-winged Scoter off Stewart Park, in addition to other waterfowl. They were east of the red lighthouse. At dawn this morning I went to the southwest corner of the lake wondering what I could ID before the gunning started. With today's clouds and snowfall, the answer is nothing. The first fusillade was at 7:09am. There were two parties along the lakeshore at Treman and a guy out on the lake lying on a very low flotation device, each with flocks of snow-covered decoys, and a small boat with a couple guys near the docks further north than I was. I also heard shots from the east and northeast. I stayed for an hour. Birding was not easy.Birds I found today for count week included:Canada GooseAmerican Black DuckMallardRedhead - 1 male, but this individual will not be available on count dayRing-Necked Duck - 2 malesGreater Scaup - 1 maleBufflehead - 1 femaleHooded Merganser - wounded bird may remain in the areaCommon Merganser - wounded bird may remain in the areaRuddy Duck - 1 male, several femalesDOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT - 1 swimming and diving to north. Yesterday I saw 4 on & near the red lighthouse breakwaterAmerican CootRing-billed GullHerring GullGreat Black-backed GullBELTED KINGFISHERAmerican CrowBlack-capped ChickadeeCarolina WrenAmerican Tree SparrowHouse SparrowNext I went briefly to Stewart Park. I was glad to see more birds, but I didn't add any species and the falling snow made visibility limited. --Dave Nutter--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] More Snow Geese depart

2012-12-30 Thread nutter.dave

Last night about 1015pm as I was shoveling my sidewalk one last time before going to bed, I heard geese overhead. They were fairly low, and not particularly going south. I don't know why they were wandering around in the low clouds lit up by Ithaca's street lights. Mostly they were Canadas, but I also heard a group of SNOW GEESE, so we now at least have that species for count week in case they all depart before Tuesday.--Dave NutterOn Dec 30, 2012, at 09:40 AM, Geo Kloppel  wrote:More Snow Geese are passing south out of the basin on this morning's brisk tail wind. I don't expect to see them circle back. There's relatively little agricultural land south of here, and it's all buried in snow.  -Geo Kloppel --  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/maillist.html'>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/  -- 
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[cayugabirds-l] Ithaca count week

2012-12-29 Thread nutter.dave

In case there are species of birds within the Ithaca Christmas Bird Count which we miss on count day (1 January 2013), we can add them to our total if we find them in the 3 days prior to or the 3 days subsequent to count day. That started today. Please report any unusual birds starting today so that birders can try to find them on count day, and if that doesn't work, they at least can be count week birds. Yesterday - NOT count week - I saw 2 female Black Scoters and a male White-winged Scoter off Stewart Park, in addition to other waterfowl. They were east of the red lighthouse. At dawn this morning I went to the southwest corner of the lake wondering what I could ID before the gunning started. With today's clouds and snowfall, the answer is nothing. The first fusillade was at 7:09am. There were two parties along the lakeshore at Treman and a guy out on the lake lying on a very low flotation device, each with flocks of snow-covered decoys, and a small boat with a couple guys near the docks further north than I was. I also heard shots from the east and northeast. I stayed for an hour. Birding was not easy.Birds I found today for count week included:Canada GooseAmerican Black DuckMallardRedhead - 1 male, but this individual will not be available on count dayRing-Necked Duck - 2 malesGreater Scaup - 1 maleBufflehead - 1 femaleHooded Merganser - wounded bird may remain in the areaCommon Merganser - wounded bird may remain in the areaRuddy Duck - 1 male, several femalesDOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT - 1 swimming and diving to north. Yesterday I saw 4 on & near the red lighthouse breakwaterAmerican CootRing-billed GullHerring GullGreat Black-backed GullBELTED KINGFISHERAmerican CrowBlack-capped ChickadeeCarolina WrenAmerican Tree SparrowHouse SparrowNext I went briefly to Stewart Park. I was glad to see more birds, but I didn't add any species and the falling snow made visibility limited. --Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] And MORE as I typed previous message!!!!

2012-12-27 Thread nutter.dave

I went outside at noon and noticed a couple hundred Snow Geese flying north over Ithaca's West End from my yard, then a couple hundred again a few minutes later. I'm not sure if they are circling around or different birds. There are some Canada Geese in the air, too, and a bit aimless. They are similarly not high enough to be migrating but not decisively stopping either. I wonder if hunting has started on the lake. Grazing and grubbing are a rough go today.--Dave NutterOn Dec 27, 2012, at 01:06 PM, Asher Hockett  wrote:And MORE over Ithaca. From the top of the MH building on Green St, skein after skein, some quite low and others almost too high to see. Thousands and thousands. Some even flying north.On Thu, Dec 27, 2012 at 1:00 PM, Geo Kloppel  wrote:Just passed over my house (West Danby). I guesstimated 8,000 - 10,000, more still coming.  -Geo Kloppel  On Dec 27, 2012, at 12:42 PM, Stephanie Greenwood  wrote:  > I've never ever seen so many. > > -- > Stephanie Greenwood > Ecovillage at Ithaca > 221 Rachel Carson Way > Ithaca, NY 14850 > 607 280 1050 > > > > > > > -- > > 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 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/  -- -- asher-Never play it the same way once.--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] mockingbirds in winter

2012-12-25 Thread nutter.dave

On Sunday there were 2 Northern Mockingbirds together in Staghorn Sumac and another small fruiting weed-tree I don't know by name along the edge of Cayuga Inlet in Cass Park. What surprised me was that there were 2 of them close together, and they seemed amicable during the moments I saw them. I've often found Northern Mockingbirds solo in fall & winter inhabiting a thicket full of vines, bushes, and trees with fruit. I've seen them try to oust flocks of European Starlings eating their food supply, and I'm sure other birds provoke territorial defense as well, although mostly these quiet gray birds are pretty inconspicuous in winter. I've seen this mostly in Ithaca, where I spend most of my time, but also on the higher part of East Shore drive. I wonder if wintering Northern Mockingbirds around here are associated with low elevation and warmer microclimates, and I wonder if there are places with Northern Mockingbirds in summer where they are not found in winter.--Dave NutterOn Dec 25, 2012, at 01:10 AM, Tobias Dean  wrote:We had a mockingbird in our orchard on South Hill today. It was having a territorial dispute with a crow.   I dont recall seeing them in wintertime.  Toby Dean
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[cayugabirds-l] geese & falcon reported

2012-12-18 Thread nutter.dave

Norm (& all),A couple possibilities for the goose similar to a Canada but with extra speckling on the head and neck: First, it's not too rare to see variants among the thousands of Canada Geese which pass by here, including individuals with a few - or even a lot - of white feathers on the head and neck where we would expect the solid black "stocking," while the rest of the field marks are as crisp as usual. One Canada Goose I saw had so much mottling on the stocking that it looked like it used an Argyle sock instead. Another possibility is a hybrid. Here in Ithaca we have experience with a family of 4 goslings raised by a pair of domestic Greylag Geese but evidently fathered by a Canada Goose. Pictures here: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/domgeese.htmOne of these birds lived several years at Stewart Park, while the other 3 dispersed. I saw 3 similar birds at once at Montezuma a few years ago. A bird of this type was sighted in Ithaca again a couple times in the last few weeks as well.The Canada X Snow Goose hybrids I've seen tend not to show the Canada face pattern, but I don't know how much variation there is.About the raptor and the goose, I think a goose would be an ambitious quarry for a Peregrine Falcon, which makes me wonder whether the raptor was serious or whether it was another species, and what happened either way. I wish I'd seen that.--Dave NutterBegin forwarded message:From: Norm Trigoboff Date: December 18, 2012 2:46:48 PMTo: Cornell Listserve Subject: odd duck Saturday, Cortland County winter bird count day, we saw a probable Canada goose x snow goose hybrid at Stupke Pond. Peter from Lime Hollow (who never posts anything) spotted it among about 2600 geese. The bird was Canada goose size and body pattern, with a striking speckled neck and mottled head, yet with the white cheek patch fairly clear. None of the pics online match it perfectly. Sunday, in the field around Cornell's Equine Research Center, a Canada goose flew in, chased for a few seconds by a big dark falcon. I hear a peregrine has been hanging around Cornell campus.
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Townsend's Solitaire continues at Sampson SP

2012-12-11 Thread nutter.dave

This afternoon Ann Mitchell & I looked for the Townsend's Solitaire. We arrived about noon and found about half a dozen birders in the vicinity on the paved roads. A couple said they had seen the bird earlier for about 15 minutes perched atop a deciduous tree 100 yards to the west. Soon after we arrived a birder located it atop a mid-size deciduous tree immediately on the east side of E Lake Rd at the intersection just south of W Kendaia Rd. We were not among the birders who got a good look before it dropped down into the cedars. We spent the next half hour taking turns waiting and watching this area and checking tree tops from other vantages along the roads. Eventually, Ann & I decided to walk the small road closest to where it had been seen. After we passed the area it had been, we saw a suspicious bird fly from behind us overhead and to the north. The bird was the right size, dark-tailed, and flew rather zigzag. Ann saw lighter areas on the flight feathers. We followed and about 1pm I found the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE from W Kendaia Rd perched atop a bare ash about 30 yards to the north and a couple hundred yards east of the intersection with E Lake Rd. It stayed perched for a couple minutes while we had scope views and I found 3 other birders and got them on the bird, but when it flew we could not see where, perhaps just dropping down to feed. Anyway, its territory seems to include this area near the north border of the park, and there may be good views of those treetops from Lake Hill Dr in the adjacent housing development as well. --Dave NutterOn Dec 11, 2012, at 10:32 AM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:Shortly after 8am today David Weber reported that the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, discovered on 9 December by Tim Lenz, continues at Sampson State Park. The park is in the Town of Romulus in Seneca County on the east side of Seneca Lake. From the park entrance on NYS-96A go west to the large traffic circle, go half-way around the circle, continue west until the road ends in a T, turn right on East Lake Road, and go north about 1 mile. The bird has been along both sides of East Lake Road about 100-200 yards south of the gate which is the north boundary of the park. Patience, rather than playback, is the key. Between bouts of feeding on berries and skulking in the junipers, the bird periodically perches briefly atop large deciduous trees as well as junipers to scan the area. Association with Cedar Waxwings may just be to oust them from its winter territory. If we don't disturb this bird, and its food supply lasts, it may stay a long time. --Dave Nutter--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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[cayugabirds-l] Townsend's Solitaire continues at Sampson SP

2012-12-11 Thread nutter.dave

Shortly after 8am today David Weber reported that the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, discovered on 9 December by Tim Lenz, continues at Sampson State Park. The park is in the Town of Romulus in Seneca County on the east side of Seneca Lake.  From the park entrance on NYS-96A go west to the large traffic circle, go half-way around the circle, continue west until the road ends in a T, turn right on East Lake Road, and go north about 1 mile. The bird has been along both sides of East Lake Road about 100-200 yards south of the gate which is the north boundary of the park. Patience, rather than playback, is the key. Between bouts of feeding on berries and skulking in the junipers, the bird periodically perches briefly atop large deciduous trees as well as junipers to scan the area. Association with Cedar Waxwings may just be to oust them from its winter territory. If we don't disturb this bird, and its food supply lasts, it may stay a long time. --Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Townsend's Solitaire-Sampson State Park

Last seen around 3:40pm. Thanks to Tim Lenz for his find & text RBA, to Benjamin Van Doren, Jerry Lazarczyk, & Chris Tessaglia-Hymes for updates. This was also cross-posted several times to Cayugabirds-L by Chris TH & myself.--Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE - Sampson State Park - Seneca Lake

2:25pm Jerry says the Townsend's Solitaire has moved beyond the end of this road toward the lake along another road. Still 6 or more people watching it. --Dave NutterOn Dec 09, 2012, at 01:53 PM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:I just talked to Jerry Lazarczyk at 1:40pm who had just seen the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, as had the Tetlows earlier. Jerry said to go in the main entrance to the park, then turn right at the circle and the bird is about 100 - 200 yards from the end of this road which has a green gate. Although it was with waxwings earlier, it was recently by itself, sometimes hiding, sometimes popping up to the tops of trees.  --Dave NutterOn Dec 09, 2012, at 01:08 PM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:B Van Doren texted to the RBA at 12:52 that the Townsend's Solitaire is still in the original location and calling.--Dave NutterOn Dec 09, 2012, at 11:00 AM, "Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes"  wrote:Tim Lenz texted a message to the CayugaRBA alert system that there is a TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE at Sampson State Park. Sampson State Park is located on the EAST side of Seneca Lake, about 1/3 of the way South of Geneva or 2/3 of the way North of Watkins Glen, accessible off Route 96A. The bird was seen towards the North end of the Park on East Lake Road. "If looking North", Tim writes, " you can see the lake. Bird is with a flock of about 80 waxwings.Good birding!Sincerely,Chris T-H--Christopher T. Tessaglia-HymesField Applications EngineerBioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 607-254-1132http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE - Sampson State Park - Seneca Lake

I just talked to Jerry Lazarczyk at 1:40pm who had just seen the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, as had the Tetlows earlier. Jerry said to go in the main entrance to the park, then turn right at the circle and the bird is about 100 - 200 yards from the end of this road which has a green gate. Although it was with waxwings earlier, it was recently by itself, sometimes hiding, sometimes popping up to the tops of trees.  --Dave NutterOn Dec 09, 2012, at 01:08 PM, nutter.d...@me.com wrote:B Van Doren texted to the RBA at 12:52 that the Townsend's Solitaire is still in the original location and calling.--Dave NutterOn Dec 09, 2012, at 11:00 AM, "Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes"  wrote:Tim Lenz texted a message to the CayugaRBA alert system that there is a TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE at Sampson State Park. Sampson State Park is located on the EAST side of Seneca Lake, about 1/3 of the way South of Geneva or 2/3 of the way North of Watkins Glen, accessible off Route 96A. The bird was seen towards the North end of the Park on East Lake Road. "If looking North", Tim writes, " you can see the lake. Bird is with a flock of about 80 waxwings.Good birding!Sincerely,Chris T-H--Christopher T. Tessaglia-HymesField Applications EngineerBioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 607-254-1132http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp--Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!Cayugabirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsBirdingOnThe.NetPlease submit your observations to eBird!--
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE - Sampson State Park - Seneca Lake