Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fox Sparrows in Tompkins County (long)
Fox sparrows are still over the place in Broome Co, often multiple birds and many birds singing! How nice it is to hear so often the last week or so... On Sunday, April 22, 2018, 9:42:58 AM EDT, Geo Kloppel wrote: I’ve still got numerous Fox Sparrows. Between my yard, the old orchard, and the five minute walk down to the edge of the L-P Preserve there seem to be about a dozen, and I know that means there are more nearby in other directions. I’m watching some foraging under a band of spruces at this moment. In a normal spring I expect to have them around my place for 3 weeks or more. A couple of Hermit Thrushes ate calling behind me. Here’s a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, over there is a Towhee. Now some Golden-crowned Kinglets. Oh, here come the Wood Ducks, skimming the tops of the spruces. Distant Field Sparrow song. A drumming Grouse! Hey, here’s my local Broad-winged Hawk, back on territory! -Geo > -- 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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fox Sparrows in Tompkins County (long)
I’ve still got numerous Fox Sparrows. Between my yard, the old orchard, and the five minute walk down to the edge of the L-P Preserve there seem to be about a dozen, and I know that means there are more nearby in other directions. I’m watching some foraging under a band of spruces at this moment. In a normal spring I expect to have them around my place for 3 weeks or more. A couple of Hermit Thrushes ate calling behind me. Here’s a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, over there is a Towhee. Now some Golden-crowned Kinglets. Oh, here come the Wood Ducks, skimming the tops of the spruces. Distant Field Sparrow song. A drumming Grouse! Hey, here’s my local Broad-winged Hawk, back on territory! -Geo > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fox Sparrows in Tompkins County (long)
Kevin et al, It sounds fantastic, but even though I'm no Luddite, I am clinging to my flip phone as if my life depends on it, reluctant to have a smart phone and yield to the mind-control powers of the big tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Apple. I will be traveling and would love to avail myself of the benefits you described, but I fear my birding will be constrained by my fear of big brother. Still no Fox Sparrows (satisfying bird content protocol). On Fri, Apr 20, 2018 at 8:35 PM, Kevin J. McGowan wrote: > I've still got a few Fox Sparrows, too. I can't ever remember waking up to > them singing in my yard for over a week before. It always seemed that a few > would be present a few days in the spring and fall, and that was it. > > > No doubt our lingering winter is to blame. They don't go far south for the > winter, but they go pretty far north to breed, so it makes sense that they > should be aware of local weather and be cautious before they make the final > move. > > > A fun new addition to the Merlin app (free!) for your phone is that when > you browse birds in a specific area, you see bar charts of the likelihood > of occurrence for the whole calendar year. You can find the same > information in eBird, but it takes more finagling to find it there. In > Merlin, go to "Explore Birds" from the main screen, go up to the icon at > the top that looks like lines and spots, click "Likely Birds," then filter > by your current location and date. I suggest using "Family - Most Likely." > That puts all the sparrows together, all the ducks, etc. Scroll down to the > sparrows, and there, 11th on the list is Fox Sparrow. You can see by the > bar chart that it's never abundant, but that it's usually seen in March and > April, and that we're getting to the end of the narrow window when they > normally occur. > > > If you browse the sparrows, you see that the next most/least likely > sparrow here this time of year is White-crowned. But, comparing the two bar > charts shows that Fox Sparrows should be on their way out, while > White-crowns should just be coming in. > > > Also interesting, if you browse farther down the list, is that we have > just gone through the peak time of Vesper Sparrow reports. And, unlike the > other two species, they breed here! But, apparently they show up more on > eBird checklists during April as they arrive and can't get to their > breeding grounds yet, what with the snow and all, and show up in parking > lots and roadsides the way they have done this last week or two. There have > been dozens of Vesper Sparrow reports all over the county this last week > and a half, and that perfectly reflects the bar chart in Merlin based on > ebird checklists. > > > I've been a half-hearted endorser of Merlin over the last few years > because, frankly, I don't need the help identifying birds. But, the app is > becoming much more than what it started as, and it's growing all the time. > It's now one of the fastest and easiest portals to finding what birds are > to be expected at a specific time of year, pretty much everywhere in the > world. Soon it is going to be a reference source for birds all over the > world, with photos, songs, and maps. Already it covers all of the US and > Canada, Mexico, and most of Central America, as well as parts of Colombia > and northwestern Europe. And it's growing every day. > > > I did a West Coast business trip in February, and I used Merlin to tell me > what birds to expect in the places I visited. I went to Oregon, and Merlin > told me that Acorn Woodpeckers would be common in Medford, west of the > Cascade Mountains, but would be rare in Klamath Falls, east of the > mountains. It told me that I'd be seeing California Quail all along most of > my drive to San Diego, but when I went to Joshua Tree National Park, I > would be seeing Gambel's Quail. > > > So, just a head's up to the birding community. The Cornell Lab's Merin app > is not just some cute toy for beginners. (Although, it did get my > bird-averse sister to start liking looking at birds.) It's becoming a > powerful tool for traveling birders to use all over the world. Currently, > it only has photos, maps, and information for the areas I mentioned above. > But, it already can give you a list of the most likely birds you will see > anywhere on earth. Well, anywhere there are eBird checklists. But, every > eBird checklist you put in from some exotic locale helps the program refine > its results and improve the accuracy of its predictions. And, every photo > you upload to an eBird checklist from a foreign location gets Merlin closer > to being able to identify that species from photos, and closer to having > photos available in the app. > > > Latin America has an avid and active birding presence, so we can expect > big strides there in the near future. But, it also has the most diverse and > complex suite of birds on the planet, so, that's a hurdle. I personally > hope that southern
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fox Sparrows in Tompkins County (long)
Thanks for that suggestion Kevin. I just tried it. Much quicker than eBird. Thanks. Linda Orkin Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 20, 2018, at 8:35 PM, Kevin J. McGowan wrote: > > I've still got a few Fox Sparrows, too. I can't ever remember waking up to > them singing in my yard for over a week before. It always seemed that a few > would be present a few days in the spring and fall, and that was it. > > No doubt our lingering winter is to blame. They don't go far south for the > winter, but they go pretty far north to breed, so it makes sense that they > should be aware of local weather and be cautious before they make the final > move. > > A fun new addition to the Merlin app (free!) for your phone is that when you > browse birds in a specific area, you see bar charts of the likelihood of > occurrence for the whole calendar year. You can find the same information in > eBird, but it takes more finagling to find it there. In Merlin, go to > "Explore Birds" from the main screen, go up to the icon at the top that looks > like lines and spots, click "Likely Birds," then filter by your current > location and date. I suggest using "Family - Most Likely." That puts all the > sparrows together, all the ducks, etc. Scroll down to the sparrows, and > there, 11th on the list is Fox Sparrow. You can see by the bar chart that > it's never abundant, but that it's usually seen in March and April, and that > we're getting to the end of the narrow window when they normally occur. > > If you browse the sparrows, you see that the next most/least likely sparrow > here this time of year is White-crowned. But, comparing the two bar charts > shows that Fox Sparrows should be on their way out, while White-crowns should > just be coming in. > > Also interesting, if you browse farther down the list, is that we have just > gone through the peak time of Vesper Sparrow reports. And, unlike the other > two species, they breed here! But, apparently they show up more on eBird > checklists during April as they arrive and can't get to their breeding > grounds yet, what with the snow and all, and show up in parking lots and > roadsides the way they have done this last week or two. There have been > dozens of Vesper Sparrow reports all over the county this last week and a > half, and that perfectly reflects the bar chart in Merlin based on ebird > checklists. > > I've been a half-hearted endorser of Merlin over the last few years because, > frankly, I don't need the help identifying birds. But, the app is becoming > much more than what it started as, and it's growing all the time. It's now > one of the fastest and easiest portals to finding what birds are to be > expected at a specific time of year, pretty much everywhere in the world. > Soon it is going to be a reference source for birds all over the world, with > photos, songs, and maps. Already it covers all of the US and Canada, Mexico, > and most of Central America, as well as parts of Colombia and northwestern > Europe. And it's growing every day. > > I did a West Coast business trip in February, and I used Merlin to tell me > what birds to expect in the places I visited. I went to Oregon, and Merlin > told me that Acorn Woodpeckers would be common in Medford, west of the > Cascade Mountains, but would be rare in Klamath Falls, east of the mountains. > It told me that I'd be seeing California Quail all along most of my drive to > San Diego, but when I went to Joshua Tree National Park, I would be seeing > Gambel's Quail. > > So, just a head's up to the birding community. The Cornell Lab's Merin app is > not just some cute toy for beginners. (Although, it did get my bird-averse > sister to start liking looking at birds.) It's becoming a powerful tool for > traveling birders to use all over the world. Currently, it only has photos, > maps, and information for the areas I mentioned above. But, it already can > give you a list of the most likely birds you will see anywhere on earth. > Well, anywhere there are eBird checklists. But, every eBird checklist you put > in from some exotic locale helps the program refine its results and improve > the accuracy of its predictions. And, every photo you upload to an eBird > checklist from a foreign location gets Merlin closer to being able to > identify that species from photos, and closer to having photos available in > the app. > > Latin America has an avid and active birding presence, so we can expect big > strides there in the near future. But, it also has the most diverse and > complex suite of birds on the planet, so, that's a hurdle. I personally hope > that southern and eastern Europe will be covered completely soon (I have a > trip there scheduled in late June), but it seems that India is going to jump > ahead in the line ahead of other expected regions. > > Indian birders have enthusiastically embraced eBird the last couple of years, > and they're pumping sightings and p
