[cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake Today

[bob mcguire]

Diane, Ken, and I drove around the lake today looking for new arrivals. The 
rain held off until we were almost home. We did have a few good birds! (Aren’t 
they all?)

The south end of the lake was surprisingly empty of most water birds. There 
were only a few gulls and geese off Stewart Park. The Swan Pen was quiet. We 
heard no peeps from Renwick Woods (no phoebe, winter wren). Likewise, there 
were only a few gulls off Myers Park. 

>From the bluff south of Aurora we scoped some 28 White-winged Scoters and over 
>a dozen Horned Grebes (no Eared or Red-necked). Here we had our first new bird 
>of the day - a trio of newly-arrived TREE SWALLOWS. At the Wells College 
>boathouse we got closer looks at the grebes and watched one pair in a brief 
>mating dance (the first I had ever seen from this bird). 

We stopped at Frontenac Park in Union Springs to scope the lake, hoping for 
Bonaparte’s Gulls and Blue-wing Teal (none). Our first OSPREY flew over as we 
drove north from Union Springs (the second was on a nest along Rts 5 & 20). The 
north end of the lake around Mud Lock was likewise almost devoid of water 
birds. A small flock of Ruddy Ducks remained.

The Wildlife Drive remained closed (open this weekend?), but the pond at the 
Visitor’s Center still hosted numerous Green-winged Teal and the continuing 
Eurasian GW Teal (good, close looks). 

Tschache Pool held numerous ducks, mainly GW Teal, Pintail, Gadwall, and 
Shovelers. The big surprise there was the large number of Great Blue Herons. We 
counted at least 25 in the pool and another 25+ on nests in the rookery to the 
west of the tower. eBird had a problem when we tried to enter “50 Great Blue 
Herons"!

Knox-Marcellus still holds a lot of water and many ducks, again mainly GW Teal, 
Pintail, Gadwall and Shovelers. The best bird there was a flyover GREATER 
YELLOWLEGS, calling only once (“tew-tew-tew”). I know that this “flyover, 
calling, yet unseen” yellowlegs sounds a bit sketchy (I had the same experience 
the other day at Myers). But we considered long and hard the alternatives, and 
nothing else really matched. There were GW Teal giving occasional “peep” calls, 
but none in the proper 3-note sequence with the pitch falling off slightly 
through the sequence. I’d still like to SEE one of those guys this year!

We went as far north as Carncross Road & Marten’s Tract, hoping again for 
shorebirds or Blue-winged Teal (none). We did, however, hear our FOY SWAMP 
SPARROW singing a slow song from the distant cattails and the single bugling 
call of a Sand Hill Crane.

On a tip from Dave Kennedy we drove Lake Road south from Cayuga Lake State Park 
and eventually found the three foraging BLUE-WINGED TEAL just short of 
Woolfy’s. Again, the lake was almost empty of ducks, and the teal stood out 
beautifully!

Bob McGuire


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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake Saturday

[Dave Nutter]

One of the neat things about birding with others is our varied experiences and 
perspectives regarding the same events. That's why I tend to submit independent 
rather than shared eBird checklists. Here are a few of my highlights from 
yesterday with the gang:

First, on my way to join the others by biking on the Cayuga Waterfront Trail 
near the dock at Stewart Park I saw 2 adult GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS on the ice 
nearby, close together yet far from any other birds, they were posturing 
together with their necks, heads, & bill stretched skyward. I'm guessing 
courtship. 

Second, near the large pavilion I saw my first NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD for my 
Luddite List (observed during one leg of a no-fossil-fuel round trip including 
my home). I've logged 65 species so far this year on that list. 

Sad news at Stewart Park: Two large trees have been cut down next to the east 
end of the parking area. In a way, they were victims of climate change: During 
a warm nearly snow-less winter, workers with time and power tools on their 
hands start cutting down trees. Those trees had provided the only shade for 
people in cars viewing the lake. 

I heard several singing birds during the day, including TUFTED TITMOUSE, 
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, and NORTHERN CARDINAL. 

In the mixed flock at Summerhill I saw both RED-BREASTED and WHITE-BREASTED 
NUTHATCH and also a BROWN CREEPER. 

The PINE SISKINS along Lake Como Rd were new for the year for everyone except 
Ann. She has been birding so diligently that she has observed more species than 
the rest of us, and I think she did not add any during the day. On the other 
hand, Ken went fishing instead of birding one weekend, so he may have added 
some birds which he missed that day. And the morning I spent locally with the 
Rusty Blackbird and the Fox Sparrow, the others went to Van Cleef Lake and 
found an Iceland Gull. Thus, in terms of lists, I was the main beneficiary of 
the gull chase, though it was also neat to find how different the viewing 
conditions of essentially the same birds were at various places. The warm south 
wind on coming up Cayuga Lake (okay, technically down the lake) made the gulls 
on the ice far from the boat ramp at Cayuga Lake State Park look like murky 
bill-less blobs, but farther south along Lower Lake Road, where the contour of 
the ice edge brought the flock (which had been moving south) closer to shore, 
we were able to see the birds better even as dusk closed in.

Another phenomenon we saw throughout the afternoon was the accumulation of SNOW 
GEESE. Rivers of them flew south over the middle of Cayuga Lake to gather in at 
least 3 large rafts between Aurora and Dean's Cove. Some were still headed that 
way after sunset during our gull search.
--Dave Nutter

On Jan 30, 2016, at 09:48 PM, bob mcguire  wrote:

> Ann, Dave, Diane, Ken and I spent the day out looking for birds. We found a 
> few new year birds for each of us and experienced a few remarkable moments.
> 
> From the shore at Stewart Park we watched as an immense flock of thousands of 
> Redheads took to the air from the water off East Shore Park and circled the 
> south end of the lake for a good twenty minutes, murmuration-like. They were 
> joined by dozens of gulls. Although we never saw it come in, an adult Bald 
> Eagle perched above the sailing clubhouse was probably what caused them all 
> to take flight. 
> 
> We then headed up to Summerhill, cruised Salt Road (quiet except for a few of 
> Chickadees and two Red-breasted Nuthatches), then dropped down to Lake Como 
> Road. There was a fresh coating of snow in the McIlroy Preserve, and we 
> walked the yellow loop trail hoping for Ruffed Grouse. We never actually 
> found the grouse but were rewarded by a set of fresh grouse tracks that we 
> followed until they led out over thin ice. What was remarkable was that we 
> could read so much of the bird's behavior from its tracks. The tracks began 
> when the bird flew in from somewhere. Its tail hit the snow first followed 18 
> inches farther by side-by-side footprints followed another 12 inches by the 
> set of tracks leading away. As the bird walked it flicked the ground with its 
> tail. There were a couple of places where it stood still then turned sideways 
> and back. At one point it hopped up on a thin log and walked along and 
> upwards until jumping back to the ground and continuing.
> 
> Nick was out plowing around the house on Lake Como and invited us to view his 
> feeders, saying the only birds he had were Chickadees and Goldfinches. I was 
> getting hungry and said "let's go get lunch". Dave overruled that with "we 
> should at least take a look". A good thing: there were at least a dozen Pine 
> Siskins coming to the feeders along with the other birds!
> 
> We did eat after that - an indifferent, over-priced burger/fries/grilled 
> cheese spread at the Lake Como Inn. Steve Fast: I remembered too late that 
> wonderful roadside inn up 

[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake Saturday

[bob mcguire]

Ann, Dave, Diane, Ken and I spent the day out looking for birds. We found a few 
new year birds for each of us and experienced a few remarkable moments.

>From the shore at Stewart Park we watched as an immense flock of thousands of 
>Redheads took to the air from the water off East Shore Park and circled the 
>south end of the lake for a good twenty minutes, murmuration-like. They were 
>joined by dozens of gulls. Although we never saw it come in, an adult Bald 
>Eagle perched above the sailing clubhouse was probably what caused them all to 
>take flight. 

We then headed up to Summerhill, cruised Salt Road (quiet except for a few of 
Chickadees and two Red-breasted Nuthatches), then dropped down to Lake Como 
Road. There was a fresh coating of snow in the McIlroy Preserve, and we walked 
the yellow loop trail hoping for Ruffed Grouse. We never actually found the 
grouse but were rewarded by a set of fresh grouse tracks that we followed until 
they led out over thin ice. What was remarkable was that we could read so much 
of the bird's behavior from its tracks. The tracks began when the bird flew in 
from somewhere. Its tail hit the snow first followed 18 inches farther by 
side-by-side footprints followed another 12 inches by the set of tracks leading 
away. As the bird walked it flicked the ground with its tail. There were a 
couple of places where it stood still then turned sideways and back. At one 
point it hopped up on a thin log and walked along and upwards until jumping 
back to the ground and continuing.

Nick was out plowing around the house on Lake Como and invited us to view his 
feeders, saying the only birds he had were Chickadees and Goldfinches. I was 
getting hungry and said "let's  go get lunch". Dave overruled that with "we 
should at least take a look". A good thing: there were at least a dozen Pine 
Siskins coming to the feeders along with the other birds!

We did eat after that - an indifferent, over-priced burger/fries/grilled cheese 
spread at the Lake Como Inn. Steve Fast: I remembered too late that wonderful 
roadside inn up near Bear Swamp!

>From the Aurora boathouse we picked out a single White-winged Scoter, 7 (or 
>more?) Horned Grebes, and several distant rafts or Snow Geese. No loons and no 
>Eared Grebe. At this point it was already mid-afternoon, and we decided to 
>head over to the ice edge on the west side to look for white-winged gulls. 

Looking out from Cayuga Lake State Park we found a couple of Glaucous Gulls - 
one adult and one juvenile. Then, on a tip from Alexander Lees, we drove back 
to Van Cleef Lake to look for the 4 - 5 Iceland Gulls he had just seen there. 
Unfortunately, as we arrived the last of the gulls there were taking off for 
their evening roost on Cayuga Lake. So - we scooted back to Cayuga Lake SP and, 
in the failing light were finally able to pick out one Iceland Gull. 

I'm sure that I have missed other highlights from today (right now my light is 
failing, too). So I'd invite any of the others to chime in.

Bob McGuire
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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake

[Anne Marie Johnson]

Highlights from a trip around the lake today...

From East Shore Park, we found 3 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, RUDDY DUCKS (near 
ice edge off Stewart Park), and a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, along with lots 
of COMMON MERGANSERS and a few HOODED MERGANSERS. We could also see a raft 
of ducks along the west shore that was predominantly made up of Redhead.


We found AMERICAN PIPITS at Salt Point. From the Aurora Boathouse, we found 
one HORNED GREBE a small group of SNOW GEESE  in the middle of the lake, 
and a few WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS. On the ponds in Union Springs, we found a 
variety of ducks including AMERICAN WIGEON, BUFFLEHEAD, GADWALL, AND 
GREEN-WINGED TEAL. From the boat launch in Union Springs we could see some 
small duck rafts that were too far to make out and a few TUNDRA SWANS. 
Harris Park is iced in. From Mudlock, we could see LOTS of TUNDRA SWANS and 
geese. We also found a RING-NECKED DUCK and a NORTHERN PINTAIL.


On the other side of the lake the ice extends well past Cayuga state park. 
We found a HUGE RAFT OF REDHEAD at the end of Parker Road. We scanned the 
flock for Canvasback but found none. There were both SCAUP and some 
RING-NECKED DUCKS and COMMON GOLDENEYE around the outsides of the raft. In 
Sheldrake, we found a small group of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS.


Anne Marie and Tim Johnson

P.S. We haven't seen the Pine Siskins at our feeders since the day I posted 
about them.




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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake

[Carol Keeler]

I began quite early at Montezuma.  I saw Red Wings, C Geese, an immature Bald 
Eagle, a couple of Great Blue Herons,  and a few muskrats.  I spotted a few 
very distant swans.  

From there I went to Union Springs.  Just a few ducks on Mill Pond- 
Buffleheads and Redheads.  I did not find the Grebes.  To make a long story 
short, I found very little anywhere I went.  The water was very low at Myers 
and Stewart Park.  Is it usually like that?  The lake was still frozen, but 
not the creek.

I went to Alan Tremain Park to see the Red Throated Loon.  Success!  It was in 
the marina like it was reported yesterday.  It's a life bird for me.  
I swung by Farron Rd. to look for Snowy Owls.  I spotted two, way out in the 
field as described yesterday.  

The loon made my day!

Sent from my iPad
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Around the lake today

[bob mcguire]

Interesting that the Green-winged Teal appeared for Anne Marie  Tim today but 
not for us yesterday. It’s always possible that we simply missed them, although 
I know that we did scan the overhanging shrubbery at the west side of the pond 
carefully. So I wonder where they might have gone. The creek that drains the 
Mill Pond was running free, and there was open water at the lake’s edge where 
the creek from Factory Pond enters. Those have often been good spots for 
overwintering teal and shovelers. We need to check them more carefully next 
time!

Bob
On Jan 19, 2015, at 7:36 PM, Anne Marie Johnson 
annemariejohn...@frontiernet.net wrote:

 Tim and I made a quick trip around the lake today, checking points north of 
 where we were yesterday (skipping Myers and Hog Hole).
 
 On the way north, we found a small group of HORNED LARKS on the farm fields a 
 block east of 34B in King Ferry south of 90. I forget the name of the road, 
 but it goes through a big dairy farm. The water was too rough and the 
 conditions too windy for scoping from the Aurora boathouse. We found two 
 GADWALL and three GREEN-WINGED TEAL on Factory Road Pond. The teal were 
 tucked into the shrubbery on the lake end of the pond. There was a large 
 group of REDHEAD, a few BUFFLEHEAD, and two AMERICAN WIGEON on Mill Spring 
 Pond. The lake north of Union Springs was completely frozen.
 
 We looked for the Snowy Owl around the Finger Lakes airport but could not 
 find it. We did not attempt Dean's Cove because the driveway looked icy. In 
 Sheldrake, we found lots of BUFFLEHEAD with a few GOLDENEYE mixed in. We 
 found one pair of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and a very nice-looking male 
 WHITE-WINGED SCOTER.
 
 Anne Marie Johnson
 
 
 
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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake today

[Anne Marie Johnson]

Tim and I made a quick trip around the lake today, checking points north of 
where we were yesterday (skipping Myers and Hog Hole).


On the way north, we found a small group of HORNED LARKS on the farm fields 
a block east of 34B in King Ferry south of 90. I forget the name of the 
road, but it goes through a big dairy farm. The water was too rough and the 
conditions too windy for scoping from the Aurora boathouse. We found two 
GADWALL and three GREEN-WINGED TEAL on Factory Road Pond. The teal were 
tucked into the shrubbery on the lake end of the pond. There was a large 
group of REDHEAD, a few BUFFLEHEAD, and two AMERICAN WIGEON on Mill Spring 
Pond. The lake north of Union Springs was completely frozen.


We looked for the Snowy Owl around the Finger Lakes airport but could not 
find it. We did not attempt Dean's Cove because the driveway looked icy. In 
Sheldrake, we found lots of BUFFLEHEAD with a few GOLDENEYE mixed in. We 
found one pair of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and a very nice-looking male 
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER.


Anne Marie Johnson



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[cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake Today

[bob mcguire]

Susan, Ann, Diane, Ken, Dave, and I spend the entire day driving up and around 
the lake, looking for new birds to add to our 2015 year lists (silly game!!) 
I'm tired from all the driving and don't feel up to a full report. However, 
there were some real highlights, and I'd like to get them out there.

Because the waterfowl hunters had pretty well cleared out the lake off Stewart 
 East Shore Parks, we didn't really get started until Portland Point Rd. with 
two Mockingbirds and a Carolina Wren. There was a Belted Kingfisher in the 
marina at Myers and a Horned Grebe off the spit (or was that grebe at Long 
Point?) . 

On Center Road we ran into a flock of some 100 Horned Larks, very well hidden 
in the low grass. 

We had four more Horned Grebes off the boathouse in Aurora.

The rain hit us just before Union Springs but we were able to scan the ponds 
from the car and pull in a few new ducks for the year: Redhead, Gadwall, 
American Wigeon.

A large flock of Robins flew over as we drove up Rt 90 towards Montezuma. Then, 
at the east end of the Mucklands, we picked out Northern Pintail and a juvenile 
Glaucous Gull in the mixed flock of several thousand Canada Geese, Tundra 
Swans, Mallards, and gulls. While we were there, a Peregrine Falcon made one 
pass, but none of the birds on the ground paid it any attention.

We easily found the Snowy Owl that had been reported east of the airport on 
Martin Road. 

Dean's Cove was nearly devoid of birds: a small flock of Red-Breasted 
Mergansers and a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls plus Carolina Wren and 
Red-bellied Woodpecker calling in the background - until the resident Lesser 
Black-backed Gull dropped from the sky.

Finally, we spent an hour driving the roads around Rock River  Wycoff Rds 
searching unsuccessfully for Short-eared Owls, but were rewarded with a 
cooperative Ring-necked Pheasant just off the road and an American Kestrel.

As I re-read this, I realize how scattered it sounds! Perhaps one of the others 
will have the energy to post a full report. It was, in fact, a great day to be 
out and a wonderful start to the new year.

Bob McGuire
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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake

[Anne Marie Johnson]

Tim and I decided to enjoy the good weather with a trip around the lake. 
The highlight was two aythya rafts.


We started at East Shore, where we found the WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and 
LONG-TAILED DUCKS reported in recent days. We also saw several HORNED 
GREBES, a few COMMON GOLDENEYE, AMERICAN COOTS, a DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, 
and COMMON and HOODED MERGANSERS. And from here we spotted our first aythya 
duck raft--in the Hog Hole area.


So we went to Treman Marina and walked out to Hog Hole where we had 
spectacular looks at the duck raft. My guess was that it had about 500 
ducks, 90% were REDHEAD, but there were also both SCAUP, at least one 
RINGED-NECK, and a few CANVASBACK. We also saw 3 BUFFLEHEAD, a BLACK DUCK, 
and a PIED-BILLED GREBE.


We stopped briefly at Stewart Park and found some Redhead mixed with lots 
of geese but not much else. We found only the common gulls, lots of 
Mallards, and a few Black Ducks in choppy water at Myers. In Aurora we 
found several Horned Grebes and one EARED GREBE.


On the ponds in Union Springs we found GADWALL and Redhead. I was surprised 
to see open water on the lake at Union Springs, so we went to the town hall 
boat launch area, and here is where we found our second aythya flock of the 
day. The wind was cold here, so we didn't scope the raft for long. It 
seemed to be 95% Redhead, but it was probably twice the size of the flock 
in Hog Hole.


There was lots of open water all the way to Mud Lock, but the only birds we 
found north of Union Springs were behind houses between Harris Park and Mud 
Lock. We could see a few SWANS along here, but we couldn't find a good 
vantage point so didn't try to identify them further.


Cayuga Lake State Park was ice. The only part of the lake we checked on the 
west side was Sheldrake, where we found 5 LONG-TAILED DUCKS off the point 
along with a female Common Merganser that we tried unsuccessfully to turn 
into a Red-breasted. The rest of the lake through Sheldrake was almost 
completely void of birds.


Anne Marie Johnson


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[cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake

[Ann Mitchell]

Susan, Judy, and I went around the lake today. Of note at East Shore were 
GREAT-CRESTED CORMORANTS, RUDDY DUCKS, and REDHEADS.
At Myers we met up with Jay McGowan.
At Long Point there was a huge raft of  SNOW GEESE in the middle of the lake.
Aurora Boathouse yielded 3 HORNED GREBES and some GOLDENEYES.
Mill Pond at Union Springs had GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, REDHEADS, and a couple 
BUFFLEHEADS.
The main species at Mudlock were HOODED MERGANZERS - 80 of them.
The highlight was the Mucklands- 3 SNOWY OWLS (one being a juvenile female I 
think), 300 TUNDRA SWANS, 30 SANDHILLS CRANES, 2 NORTHERN HARRIERS, and 3 BALD 
EAGLES.
We had a Tom Johnson sighting on Morgan Road. It is always a pleasure to see 
him. He pointed out a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.
Susan found a CACKLING GOOSE at Cayuga State Park.
The last stop was the Creamery which was a unanimous decision!
Good Birding,

Sent from my iPhone
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[cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake and Montezuma Today Sat 3/30/13

[david nicosia]

Went up the east side of Cayuga Lake and to Montezuma with my friends, Dan 
Watkins, Rich Youket and Renee DePrato. 

Our first stop was Stewart Park and there really wasn't much. We had a male
CANVASBACK and male REDHEAD in the far southeast part of the lake south
of the docks. There were also BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON MERGANSERS 
and a raft of AMERICAN COOTS.  Many of these birds also could be seen
from East Park too. No loons or grebes present. 

Next stop was the Myer's marina and there continues a nice diversity of 
waterfowl
including nice views of both GREATER and LESSER SCAUP, RING-NECKED
DUCK, REDHEAD, HOODED and COMMON MERGANSERS, BUFFLEHEAD
and AMERICAN COOT. 
 
At Long Point, there were 2 WILD TURKEYS running around near the lighthouse
looking very out of place! The best birds there were 16 COMMON GOLDENEYE. 

From the Aurora Boathouse we had 3 HORNED GREBES, 2 close to full breeding
plumage and one closer to non-breeding. There was also one PIED-BILLED GREBE.

The north end of the lake had a small raft of SNOW GEESE around 200 or so. Gone
are the thousands of weeks ago. 

Montezuma main pool was loaded with mainly CANVASBACK. There were hundreds.
In addition, we picked out NORTHERN PINTAIL,  GADWALL,  AMERICAN WIGEON, 
NORTHERN  SHOVELER, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, REDHEAD, 100 or so 
RING-NECKED DUCK, REDHEAD, SCAUP sp., BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON 
MERGANSER and AMERICAN COOTS.  There were also two TRUMPETER 
SWANS. We also had gorgeous adult BALD  EAGLE that flew by fairly low. 
Then we had our FOY OSPREY. 

Tschache Pool had 1 MUTE SWAN and 5 TRUMPETER SWANS, many GADWALL,
loads of AMERICAN WIGEON, some NORTHERN PINTAIL, NORTHERN
SHOVELER, REDHEAD, many many RING-NECKED DUCKS, BUFFLEHEAD,
HOODED MERGANSER and a few AMERICAN COOTS. 

Gone are the thousands of NORTHERN PINTAIL that were at May's Point a couple
weeks ago. There was not much at May's but we did get a flyover GOLDEN EAGLE
here which was a nice surprise. 

From east road, there were again many many CANVASBACK among other
typical aythya species and other waterfowl. We picked up 5 RUDDY DUCKS
within the waterfowl here. We did get a TUNDRA SWAN here too among several 
SNOW GEESE. There was a fairly large flock of SNOW GEESE(hundreds)  
visible from east road in the mucklands. It was also nice to see
the TREE SWALLOWS back flying around the boxes on East Rd. We also
had a lone DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT flyby here and there
was one GREAT BLUE HERON. 

We totaled 67 species. Nothing unusual today but great birds and great
company made for another fantastic birding trip. The milder weather also
was VERY nice too!! 

Dave Nicosia
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[cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake

[bob mcguire]

Laura Stenzler and I spent today circling the lake clockwise. Stewart  
Park had considerable new ice and a greatly reduced waterfowl  
population including numerous Hooded Mergansers  and couple of Common  
Goldeneys.


We drove up the west side directly to Lower Lake Road, hoping to find  
Snow Geese close in (and a Ross's with them). From Woolfy's, the geese  
were way out - approximately half way across. Then of thousands of  
them still around, but we did not linger to count. There was a good  
variety of waterfowl at that end, including Redheads, Ring-necked  
Ducks, Canvasbacks, both Scaup, all three Mergansers as well as a few  
Goldeneye, Tundra Swans, and a small flock of Ruddys.


We drove through the Mucklands, noting the low water level in the  
fields (no Pintails, Mallards, or Black Ducks). There was some open  
water at Knox-Marsellus, and we found a large group of Northern  
Pintails. Tschache also had open water, and we scoped through a large  
number of American Wigeons but had no luck with Eurasian.


Back down the east side of the lake, we stopped at the new development  
just opposite Letty Cook Woods and spent a good hour picking through  
the dispersed raft of ducks: similar species to the west side and no  
Eurasian Wigeon. The raft of Snow Geese was slightly closer to us at  
that point, but still too distant to make out any small geese. Shortly  
before we left, Dave Nicosia arrived with his group. I'll be  
interested to hear if they found anything new.


Off the boathouse at Aurora we found a single Eared Grebe but no  
Horned Grebes.


And the highlights of the day were a fly-over Peregrine Falcon at the  
Montezuma Winery and a pair of Wood Ducks swimming across Factory  
Street pond in Union Springs.


Bob McGuire



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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake

[david nicosia]

Went birding up the east side of Cayuga Lake and Montezuma and vicinity with my 
friends Melissa Penta and
Renee DePrato. 

We didn't have luck finding any Ross's Geese either as the huge raft of snow 
geese was too distant as we only went 
up the east side of the lake. We saw probably a couple thousand wigeon between 
Cayuga Lake and Montezuma 
and vicinity and just could not make out any into Eurasians. Conditions in many 
places were bad for viewing...
lots of wind and cold. BRR. 

From the east side of Cayuga Lake, just before the railroad tracks north of 
Union Springs across from Letty 
Cook Woods (where we met Bob and Laura) is where the best aythya raft is with 
the huge raft of
snow geese farther out. We had the same as Bob and Laura here plus BUFFLEHEAD, 
and NORTHERN PINTAIL

We did not get any horned or eared grebes at all today.  We had only had one 
PIED-BILLED GREBE from
the end of Van Dyne Sporer Road. 

Mud Lock had several TRUMPETER SWANS. 

Tschache Pool was loaded with waterfowl. Loaded. Mostly RING-NECKED DUCKS, and 
loads of AMERICAN WIGEON. 
The wind and the cold made it almost unbearable from the tower to sort through 
the wigeon. Eyes were tearing up so
much, and the wind was shaking our scopes and I believe the tower a little. 
Conditions were very difficult to find anything
unusual that was distant. We did get on a group of TUNDRA SWANS distant and 
there was also GADWALL, Scaup sp. 
some NORTHERN PINTAIL, BLACK DUCKS, MALLARDS, and GREEN-WINGED TEAL. We could 
only stand the wind
and cold for maybe 15 minutes so we moved on. We did not spend as much time as 
we would have liked here. We
probably missed some here.   

May's Point was also loaded. I have never seen so many NORTHERN PINTAIL in my 
life. They were everywhere with
many many AMERICAN WIGEON too and quite a few GREEN-WINGED TEAL. The shear 
numbers were impressive. 

From East Road we had around 50 TUNDRA SWANS on the ice and many more NORTHERN 
PINTAIL. 

In Savannah, from Savannah Spring Lake Road at the Muckrace Flats we had 10 
NORTHERN SHOVELERS.  there
were again more pintail, wigeon and green-winged teal here. 

Carncross, Morgan and Van Dyne Sporer Roads also had tons of NORTHERN PINTAIL 
as well. This was a Pintail
day for sure. We also had many many AMERICAN WIGEON, plus quite a few 
GREEN-WINGED TEAL, HOODED and
a few COMMON MERGANSERS. We counted 53 TUNDRA SWANS in the field to the right 
of Carncross Rd and 
79 more from Morgan Rd looking toward Van  Dyne Sporer rd.  There were many  
AMERICAN COOTS at the 
end of Van Dyne Sporer Rd. In all places, there were many blackbird flocks, 
mostly RED-WINGED but also 
COMMON GRACKLES. Did not scour through these for Rusties or by chance a rogue 
yellow-headed blackbird.
Just before sunset, the trees in the woods along Van Dyne Sporer road were 
becoming  full of blackbirds and they 
still were flying in when we left.

But the bird of the day for us was a lone SHORT-EARED OWL that flew toward us 
and almost overhead from the
end of Morgan road just at sunset so we still had good lighting. This was a 
great view and fairly close. In all we 
totaled 61 species which was definitively worth it, given the cold and windy 
conditions 
  
Dave Nicosia 
 



 From: bob mcguire bmcgu...@clarityconnect.com
To: cayugabirdlist cayugabirds-L@cornell.edu 
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 6:13 PM
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake
 
Laura Stenzler and I spent today circling the lake clockwise. Stewart Park had 
considerable new ice and a greatly reduced waterfowl population including 
numerous Hooded Mergansers  and couple of Common Goldeneys.

We drove up the west side directly to Lower Lake Road, hoping to find Snow 
Geese close in (and a Ross's with them). From Woolfy's, the geese were way out 
- approximately half way across. Then of thousands of them still around, but we 
did not linger to count. There was a good variety of waterfowl at that end, 
including Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Canvasbacks, both Scaup, all three 
Mergansers as well as a few Goldeneye, Tundra Swans, and a small flock of 
Ruddys.

We drove through the Mucklands, noting the low water level in the fields (no 
Pintails, Mallards, or Black Ducks). There was some open water at 
Knox-Marsellus, and we found a large group of Northern Pintails. Tschache also 
had open water, and we scoped through a large number of American Wigeons but 
had no luck with Eurasian.

Back down the east side of the lake, we stopped at the new development just 
opposite Letty Cook Woods and spent a good hour picking through the dispersed 
raft of ducks: similar species to the west side and no Eurasian Wigeon. The 
raft of Snow Geese was slightly closer to us at that point, but still too 
distant to make out any small geese. Shortly before we left, Dave Nicosia 
arrived with his group. I'll be interested to hear if they found anything new.

Off the boathouse at Aurora we found a single Eared

[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake 2/15

[Anne Marie Johnson]

  
  
I decided to take advantage of the mild weather yesterday and do
some birding at the northern end of the lake. The highlight was a huge
  numbers of Aythya ducks and swans at the north end of the
lake from Harris Park north, with lots of Common Mergansers mixed
in. The flock also contained a few Red-breasted Mergansers,
American Wigeon, Gadwall, Black Ducks, Mallards, geese,
  gulls, and probably more things I have forgotten. Viewing was
best from Towpath Road and the marina north of there. Other
highlights included an adult Bald Eagle at eye level along
the bluffs in Aurora, a huge flock of Snow Geese in the air
over the middle of the lake near Long Point, and a Lesser
  Black-backed Gull at Dean's Cove.

Other observations: There were a few Goldeneye off Long
Point and one Red-breasted Merganser. The water was too
rough to find grebes in Aurora, but there was another group of Goldeneye
  there. There was a nice collection of ducks near the town
offices in Union Springs--Redhead, Greater and Lesser scaup,
  Ringed-neck, Gadwall, Bufflehead, and Wigeon. Factory Pond had
a Carolina Wren, and there were mostly Redhead on
the Mill Pond. No owls in the boxes. Mostly geese in Sheldrake but
also one Common Loon, a couple of Red-breasted
  Mergansers, and some Bufflehead and Ring-necked
  Ducks.
  
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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake 10 Feb

[John Confer]

Almost every day around the lake is well spent. This not spectacular 
trip had its great moments.

We started at Andy's house near Game Farm Rd and Rt. 366 and counted 47 
red-tails at the nearby  game farm and continued to see numerous 
red-tails during the trip, perhaps 80 or 90 for the day.

  As we were driving up to the point at Myers Point a large falcon with 
streaked breast frew off to the north. Seen very briefly through dirty 
car windows we could very definitely identify it as a falcon larger than 
a Merlin with a streaked breast. Courting golden-eye showed how 
ridiculous courting males can be.

North of Triangle Diner we found the only manure strip of the entire 
trip: about 150 Horned Lark, 30-50 Snow Buntings, and two Lapland 
Longspur (or one that moved around a good deal). The birds came up to 
seed heads along the shoulder of the road a few feet from the (still 
dirty) car windows. What we could see was really neat.

Aurora Bay (from the parking lot above the boathouse) we say five Horned 
Grebes, but no Eared after a thorough search in good light conditions.  
(We did get outside the car, which was recognizable as ours. See there 
was a good reason to have those especially dirty windows.)

 From Towpath Rd. we saw several hundred swans (Now how did Bob 
distinguish Trumpeter from Tundra several hundred yards out? Maybe he 
cleaned his car windows.)

Van Dyne Spoor Rd., Morgan Rd and Carncross Rd, collectively, produced 
two light phase and one dark phase Rough-legged. (I don't know where the 
robins that Bob saw went to.) and a parked car that blocked our passage 
along the dike. Please, move over to the side when parked on those roads 
with narrow dikes.)

  Near Ovid we saw a few bluebirds and a Mockingbird on a television 
antenna above a house surrounded primarily by corn stubble.

We didn't find any short-eared despite roughly being in the right 
general area around Ovid and Interlaken at the right time. It was 
noticeable that almost all the fields had been cut barren and that the 
few hay fields we saw were cut short without seed heads. This is not 
good mouse habitat.


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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake yesterday

[bob mcguire]

It's been a hectic couple of weeks (my Dad died last week), so I took  
the day yesterday to get out and take a break. Cold as it was, there  
was no wind, the lake was calm, and it looked like the perfect winter  
day to drive around the lake.


I got to the East Shore park around 7:30, and flocks of several  
hundred gulls were still loafing on the ice edge. My best bird was an  
adult lesser Black-backed Gull. Lots of Common Mergansers and Goldeneye.


The marina at Myers was frozen, but just off the entrance was the  
usual small flock of ducks: Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, one Northern  
Pintail, and Mallards. Just north of the spit (Town park) was a close- 
in pair of White-winged Scoters.


In the bay north of Long Point SP were a couple of Gadwall,  
Buffleheads, and 9 Tundra Swans. I was able to whistle out a single  
Yellow-rumped Warbler from the brush along the road, and a Carolina  
Wren sang out several times.


Aurora Bay (from the boathouse) held a small group of grebes: 2 Horned  
and one Eared.


The ice edge (close to shore, anyway) was somewhere south of Farley's,  
so I continued all the way to Mud Lock. There, in among the 100 or so  
Tundra Swans were 3 Trumpeter Swans. There was a Bald Eagle sitting on  
the southern-most nest, and another Carolina Wren sang from the bushes.


From there I drove north through Port Byron and took a short walk on  
Howland Island. Just over the iron bridge I encountered a flock of  
some 40 American Robins, 2 Northern Flickers, a Red-bellied  
Woodpecker, and a Pileated Woodpecker.


The marsh on Van Dyne Spoor Rd was frozen, as was Knox-Marsellus and  
the refuge. I continued down the west side of the lake, finding the  
ice edge on Parker Rd. Between there and Bonnie Banks Rd I counted  
over 1,000 Common Mergansers, hundreds of Goldeneye and Tundra Swans  
as well as a small flock of Redheads and Ring-necked Ducks.


My first (and last) Common Loon was at Sheldrake.

Bob McGuire



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[cayugabirds-l] around the lake

[John and Sue Gregoire]

Spurred on by accounts of all the Snow Geese and Hooded Mergansers we launched
ourselves on a trip around Cayuga Lake yesterday. Starting on the west side 
then the
east, we came up with 37 species. Not alot, but the quality was fine.

On the west side we were treated to a singing CAROLINA WREN who was chased by a
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD. Both were only about 20 feet from our vehicle. A 
RED-THROATED
LOON and a number of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were not far away.

We saw a very long white line of SNOW GEESE, seemingly on the east side of the 
lake.
We could hear them very clearly, even as far away as we were. Must be deafening 
on
the other side and we were looking forward to being closer to them.

Before we looped over the north end of the lake we found a rather adorable raft 
of
about 80 RUDDY DUCKS, snoozing with bills tucked, some with tails erect. Among 
them
was a single BUFFLEHEAD, also with tail erect. That was intriguing.

The large raft of HOODED MERGANSERS were still in the canal north of Mud Lock, 
but
just as we found them and brought our binoculars to our eyes, someone a few 
houses
away let loose with a volley of gunshots. Needless to say, the mergansers 
scattered.

No Screechie in the Factory Road pond in Union Springs. Pond looks pretty
unappealing to ducks.

As it turned out, all the SNOW GEESE were out in the middle of the lake, not on 
the
east side as it appeared. Disappointing, but we saw a few hundred overhead as 
well.

Long Point was quiet, as were the few other spots we checked on the east side. 
A few
close up COMMON LOONS were cool to watch.

Sue




-- 
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Road
Burdett,NY 14818-9626
 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
Conserve and Create Habitat




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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake Monday

[bob mcguire]

I spent the day Monday showing a friend from the City around the lake.  
At one point I gave up on keeping notes and so cannot give a full  
account of the day's birding. I do, however, remember a few highlights.


Salt Point: a single Blue-gray Gnatcatcher foraging with the Cedar  
waxwings and Warbling Vireos near the stream.


Mud Lock: a pair of Greater Scaup (he resting, she swimming about)

Tschache Pool: still a few Black Terns in the distance. No ducks other  
than Mallards. No sign of any pelican.


Knox-Marsellus: a single Wilson's Phalarope seen from the road about  
200' south of the overlook. The bird appeared to be a female, in  
transition to non-breeding plumage (some patterning still on back:  
gray/dk brown, face entirely white, top of head and back of neck light  
gray). Also, there were roughly 20 Dowitchers, but the distance was  
too great for me to venture an ID of Long-billed for any of them. No  
sign of any Sanderlings or Sandhill Cranes. Otherwise, many  
Yellowlegs, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers.


Muckrace Flats: both Yellowlegs and at least 2 Pectoral Sandpipers.

Morgan Road: We checked in with Jim Eckler. He reported that a group  
of 4 Sandhill Cranes had recently flown over heading south. He assumed  
that they were the group that had been hanging out around the Reccio  
(sp?) Marsh recently.


Bob McGuire



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[cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake and Montezuma Area Wed 07 March 2012

[david nicosia]

Spent the day birding around Cayuga Lake and Montezuma.

First stop though was Edwards Hill Road in Broome co. where I finally got
the NORTHERN SHRIKE for 2012. I had this guy way back in November.
From my photos in November vs. today's, it could be the same
bird, a first year bird 

See  http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/sets/72157629172472684/  (Today)

vs.   http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/6408944587/in/photostream/  (Nov 
26, 2011)

Highlights for rest of trip- 
East Shore Park: 1 RED-THROATED LOON
Stewart Park:1 CANVASBACK, 1 PIED-BILLED GREBE, 3 HOODED MERGANSER, 
2 AMERICAN WIGEON 

Myer's Point- counted 160 RING-BILLED GULLS, 60 HERRING GULLS, 
3 GREATER BLACK BACKED GULLS, BELTED KINGFISHER, 1 NORTHERN FLICKER,
1 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

Long Point St. Park overlook from Lake Road-  31 COMMON GOLDENEYES

Aurora Boathouse- no grebes, but counted 183 AMERICAN COOTS

Twin Oaks Campground to north of Railroad Tracks crossing Rte 90-
Huge aythya raft...maybe 20-25 thousand...all common species present.
Both scaup, redhead, canvasback, ring-necked duck also american wigeon,
black duck, mallards, ring-billed gulls, herring gulls, loads of canada geese
and TUNDRA SWANS. 

Harris Park-  another aythya raft...also 100-200 TUNDRA SWANS. 

Tschache Pool- CACKLING GOOSE  among many Canadas. also
lots of NORTHERN PINTAILS, and AMERICAN WIGEON. 

East Road Knox-Marcellus Marsh-  about 20,000 SNOW GEESE. The whole
flock took off into a swirling mass as an immature BALD EAGLE flew
over. It was a spectacle. I got a poor quality video with my camera and
several photos of the shear numbers. awesome. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/sets/72157629172481404/ 


Lower Lake Road- another aythya raft, many more scaup sp in this one but
REDHEADS and CANVASBACK still most common. also TUNDRA
SWANS, AMERICAN WIGEON, and another decent size
raft of SNOW GEESE.  

I probably forgot a few. But totaled 54 species for the day which
is not bad for early March. 

A few more select photos...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/sets/72157629172527778/

Dave Nicosia

Johnson City, NY 
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[cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake Saturday

[bob mcguire]

Susan Danskin, John  Confer, Marty Borko, and I birded around the lake  
yesterday. I was fighting a cold, did not take notes, and so do not  
remember much besides a few highlights. It was an interesting day,  
much of it spent dodging snow squalls.


Stewart Park: Rusty Blackbird on the mud under the first green bridge.

Myers: male White-winged Scoter and distant (off Crowbar Point)  
Western Grebe. We had seen a closer WESGRE from Stewart Park earlier,  
swimming near a Red-throated Loon. So I assume that there were two  
WESGRE at the south end of the lake.


Morgan Road: Green-winded Teal

Knox-Marcellus Marsh: fly-over Ross's Gull

Lower Lake Road/CLSP: tens of thousands of Snow Geese, 10 Green-winged  
Teal, Glaucous Gull standing on the shore in great light (picked out  
by Susan), hundreds of American Wigeon (couldn't find a Eurasian)


Bob McGuire



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[cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake and Montezuma Today 04 March 2012

[david nicosia]

Took a trip up and around Cayuga Lake today with my father-in-law
and brother-in-law. We also went to the Mucklands. The main goal 
was to see large numbers of snow geese and the bald eagle nest at
Mud Lock. In between snow squalls, we succeeded. Great views of
the Bald Eagle pair.  One on nest and the other posing in the dead tree
to the right of the nest. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/sets/72157629513869791/with/6807715836/ 


Also found two large rafts of snow geese on the west side of the lake in between
more snow squalls from lower lake road. 

Photos and short video of the closest raft can be found here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/sets/72157629149230304/ 


In addition, huge aythya raft continues near the Twin Orchards 
Campground. 

From east road there were many northern pintails, also got my
FOY NORTHERN SHOVELER. 

There was a smaller flock of snow geese at the mucklands...many
hunters around. This group was probably around 10,000 or so. 

I also had a couple horned grebes at the Aurora boathouse and one
grebe that was too far at the time to tell if it was a horned or eared grebe
in my opinion.  I have yet to get the eared grebe at this location and
have never seen one yet. So I am not familiar with these species.
The wind was blowing hard, the waves were choppy, eyes tearing in 
the wind and it was very cold so I did not spend much time on it. So 
I snapped a bunch of digi-scoped images...most came out blurry ...but
I did manage this one... Is this an eared grebe?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/6808014060/in/photostream 


Thanks!

Dave Nicosia

Johnson City, NY 
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake and Montezuma Today 04 March 2012

[david nicosia]

The more I look at my grebe photo...the head shape seems
to make it a horned grebe to me, it is not peaked toward the front
of the head...also the white is fairly prominent... not enough duskiness
thoughts???



 From: david nicosia daven1...@yahoo.com
To: Cayugabirds- L Cayugabirds-L@cornell.edu; Bluewing 
bluewing-gr...@googlegroups.com 
Sent: Sunday, March 4, 2012 7:59 PM
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake and Montezuma Today 04 March 2012
 

Took a trip up and around Cayuga Lake today with my father-in-law
and brother-in-law. We also went to the Mucklands. The main goal 
was to see large numbers of snow geese and the bald eagle nest at
Mud Lock. In between snow squalls, we succeeded. Great views of
the Bald Eagle pair.  One on nest and the other posing in the dead tree
to the right of the nest. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/sets/72157629513869791/with/6807715836/ 


Also found two large rafts of snow geese on the west side of the lake in between
more snow squalls from lower lake road. 

Photos and short video of the closest raft can be found here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/sets/72157629149230304/ 


In addition, huge aythya raft continues near the Twin Orchards 
Campground. 

From east road there were many northern pintails, also got my
FOY NORTHERN SHOVELER. 

There was a smaller flock of snow geese at the mucklands...many
hunters around. This group was probably around 10,000 or so. 

I also had a couple horned grebes at the Aurora boathouse and one
grebe that was too far at the time to tell if it was a horned or eared grebe
in my opinion.  I have yet to get the eared grebe at this location and
have never seen one yet. So I am not familiar with these species.
The wind was blowing hard, the waves were choppy, eyes tearing in 
the wind and it was very cold so I did not spend much time on it. So 
I snapped a bunch of digi-scoped images...most came out blurry ...but
I did manage this one... Is this an eared grebe?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/6808014060/in/photostream 


Thanks!

Dave Nicosia

Johnson City, NY 










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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake - Prothonotary breeding probable

[Kevin J. McGowan]

I went around the lake today and saw many of the same birds Dave Nutter just 
posted.  I have a few observations to add.

I had nothing at Myers Point, but had a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW on Long Point Rd, 
and one RED-HEADED WOODPECKER just south of Aurora.  At East Road/Towpath I had 
75 Lesser Yellowlegs, and 3 peeps.  One larger peep was a WHITE-RUMPED 
SANDPIPER, and I think the other two were Semipalmated Sandpipers.  At one 
point one to two hundred ducks took to the air and circled around before 
landing.  Most were Mallards and Green-winged Teal, but I was a little 
surprised to see a pair of Gadwall, a pair of American Wigeon, and two pairs of 
Northern Shovelers in the flock.

At Armitage Road I had a singing CERULEAN WARBLER (one also around the 
buildings at Montezuma).  One PROTHONOTARY WARBLER sang on and off north of the 
road.  I finally got a look and saw a drab Prothonotary with food in its bill 
just as another sang to my right and very close by. Both male and female in 
view at once!  Both birds went at separate times to the same spot near the 
ground and behind a tree trunk, and I conclude they were feeding a fledgling.  
I managed only poor photos of the Prothonotaries, but did get both male and 
female carrying food.  (See 
http://picasaweb.google.com/KevinJ.McGowan/Birds2011# for the photos, along 
with a number of other birds from today.)

A trip through the Empire Farm Days did not turn up the hoped-for Upland 
Sandpiper, but did provide numbers of Horned Larks, Eastern Meadowlarks, 
Savannah Sparrows, and lots and lots of European Starlings.  I had been warned 
when I phoned for permission that they were cutting hay and I was likely to be 
disappointed.  But, my first VESPER SPARROW of the year at the corner of 
Cosad/Seybolt roads helped me over the disappointment.

Kevin


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[cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake March 15th, 2011

[david nicosia]

Took my wife around Cayuga Lake today. Weather was nice: lots of
sun, temperatures in the 40s with a moderate south wind. The lake
was choppy in exposed areas with the coves a little more calm. 
There was some heat shimmer which hampered distant lake viewing. 

First stop was Stewart Park. Highlight was a LESSER BLACK BACKED
GULL among the other usual gulls. There was also a decent sized
raft of various Aythya species mixed in with a few other species. 
There were both LESSER and GREATER SCAUP which made
for nice side-by-side comparisons. Also saw a pair of WOOD DUCKS
mixed in with the scaup et al. There was pair of GREEN-WINGED TEAL
a first of year for me. I also got several RUDDY DUCK at Stewart as well. 
BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, COMMON MERGANSER
and HOODED MERGANSERS were also present among others. 
Got 2 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS as well as many AMERICAN ROBINS. 

Next stop was Myer's Point. Not much but got some nice shots of a KILLDEER
and a decent digi-scoped image of a very distant RED-BREASTED MERGANSER.
There was also a bunch of AMERICAN COOTS. 

Next stop was Long Point State Park. The south wind was rocketing up the lake
across the park. It was very chilly and the lake was very very choppy here.
There were 4 GADWALL in the pond by the dock. There were also
2 HORNED GREBES as well as several BUFFLEHEAD. 

Next stop- Aurora Boathouse for my 4th attempt at finding the EARED GREBE.
Again, no luck. The lake was choppy and there was shimmer in the distance.
This did not help. I did get 4 HORNED GREBES and I tried hard but  
could not turn any of  them into eared grebes :( 

We then stopped at Factory Street to see Screechie and he was there
sunning himself from his box. I got a nice photo of him. There were no GADWALL
in this pond surprisingly, but there were 3 NORTHERN SHOVELERS,
2 RUDDY DUCKS, 3 REDHEADS and several RING-NECKED DUCKS.
Got some decent photos of a few of the above.  

From Harris Park there were very very large numbers of Aythya species
and others seen on the other side of  the lake adjacent to Lower Lake road. 
I loosely estimated 10,000 plus? Not sure but when part of the raft
took off it was amazing. Being very distant you got a feel for how
extensive the raft was. 

Next stop was Mud Lock and there was a BALD EAGLE sitting
on the nest. 

Then onto the mucklands and besides the thousands upon
thousands of SNOW GEESE, there were large numbers of
TUNDRA SWANS  and PINTAIL. It seemed that
everywhere there were dozens of TUNDRA SWANS there
were loads of PINTAIL. Given the large number of 
SNOW GEESE there probably were some ROSS's
but I really did not have the patience to sift through
them! I did find several blue form SNOWs here
and there. 

From east road, there were only a few SNOWs but thousands
of CANADIAN GEESE and again many many
PINTAILs. 

Next stop was Lower Lake Road to get a better look
at the thousands of Aythya sp. and 
others. There were large numbers of
CANVASBACK, and REDHEAD. It seemed
that there was a higher ratio of GREATER
vs. LESSER SCAUP at this stop
vs Stewart. Again great views of both side-by-side. 
There were AMERICAN WIDGEON, 
HOODED MERGANSER and a few other species too.
It was a spectacle given the shear numbers. 

Sheldrake Point was quiet and very windy so not
much other than many BUFFLEHEAD. 

All in all, a very nice day of waterfowl. 

I posted some select photos from this trip on
my flickr site: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/sets/72157626150897123/

Dave Nicosia
Johnson City, NY 


  
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[cayugabirds-l] around the lake

[Sara Jane Hymes]

We decided to take advantage of the sunny day and do some birding around 
the lake--going up West side (destination Sauders Market in Seneca 
Falls) and back down East.  Of course this latter choice made it 
difficult to get good looks at some birds due to lighting, but we did 
the best we could.  We really didn't turn up any rarities.  We were 
amazed at the great number of CANADA GEESE at every stop we made. 
MALLARDS were plentiful as were CANVASBACK and REDHEADS.  At Kidder's 
Landing we spotted PINTAIL, GREATER SCAUP, COOTS, and a flock of 50 SNOW 
GEESE in middle of lake as well as GOLDENEYE and BUFFLEHEADS.  A little 
further up the road were a couple of COMMON MERGANSERS and the first 
BLACK DUCKS that we had seen.  Heading back down the East side of the 
lake our first stop was Mudlock where we could see an EAGLE on the 
nest--but no sight of partner in nearby tree.  Also absent was the 
beautiful BEAVER we saw on the edge of the shore on Sunday.  TUNDRA 
SWANS and MUTE SWANS were visible from the Park in Cayuga, as well as 
HOODED MERGANSER, RING-NECKED DUCK and LESSER SCAUP.  Union Springs Pond 
did not turn up anything different so we went to check on the SCHREECH 
OWL on Factory Street.  We were not disappointed and found Screechie 
stufffed in the box. We also spotted a female NORTHERN SHOVELER there.  
Our next stop was at the Wells College boathouse where we got great 
looks at a pair of LONG-TAILED DUCKS.  We also saw three HORNED GREBES.  
We saw numerous RED-TAILED HAWKS on our trek, and two AMERICAN KESTREL 
as well.  While we stopped to view a NORTHERN HARRIER cruising over Rt. 
90 at Lake Road, we suddenly were astounded by the number of 
WHITE-TAILED DEER in one particular field--and stopped to count--65 was 
our tally!!  Then at the Rafferty Road junction we were astounded to see 
a massive flock of TURKEY feeding just off Rt. 90.  While we turned 
around to count this huge flock, other cars seemed to pass, totally 
oblivious to the 57 which we ended up counting!!  While we didn't find 
any unusual birds, we had a great day.


--


Sara Jane and Larry Hymes


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[cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake Today

[bob mcguire]

In addition to the Red-necked Grebe at Ladoga today, Drew and I had a  
few other interesting sightings. The wind was calm and the lake like  
glass in several places. And no heat shimmer. Therefor, it was a  
good day for birds on the water.


But first we encountered a flock of 100 Horned larks on the now-old  
manure spread across from the Triangle Diner. No buntings or  
longspurs, but we suspected that they might still be in the  
neighborhood.


Aurora Bay, scoped from the parking lot above the boathouse, yielded 6  
Horned Grebes, a pair of White-winged Scoters, and two Long-tailed  
Ducks. The scoters were in adult plumage, different, I think, from the  
WHWISC seen on the lake recently. There remains a tight flock of  
Redheads north of the boathouse, but the numbers seemed reduced from  
past weeks. In fact a large portion of the aythya flock now seems  
strung out along the ice edge just north of Union Springs.


Van Dyne Spoor Road was drivable to the far end, but we found nothing  
of interest - no shrike, mockingbird, kestrel, rough-legged, or harrier.


Van Cleef Lake was still completely frozen, and no gulls were present.

Coming down the west side of the lake, we found the ice edge between  
Parker Road (Canoga) and Bonnie Banks Road. We noted goldeneye, a  
portion of the aythya flock, Tundra Swans, and a single Common Loon.


Finally, along Elm Beach Road we found 11 Horned Grebes - likely  
different ones from those in Aurora Bay earlier. Not much of interest  
along Wyers Point Rd/Sheldrake. And we missed grackle at Bill   
Shirley's.


All in all, it was a good day, and great to be out without needing  
hand warmers!


Bob McGuire





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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake Today

[Jay McGowan]

I accompanied the students of the Birding Club at Cornell around the
lake today, following in the wake of Bob and Drew.  We had an
excellent day, with lots of good looks at various waterfowl and a few
other winter birds.  And of course, moderate temperatures and no wind
never hurt morale.  We saw American Wigeon, Gadwall, and Northern
Pintail at nearly every stop.

We started at Portland Point, where Bob and Drew's much-publicized
RED-NECKED GREBE was easily visible to the north (thanks for the tip,
Bob.)  Two HORNED GREBES and a couple of Tundra Swans were about all
from the north spit.  We found a handful of Horned Larks in the field
directly south of the Triangle Diner, but they quickly multiplied into
about 120, with a dozen SNOW BUNTINGS and 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS in their
midst.  Rafferty Road was comparatively quiet, raptor-wise, with only
a Rough-legged and a kestrel, but we did see several RING-NECKED
PHEASANTS near the intersection with Dixon Road.  Aurora Bay was
exquisitely calm and full of birds, as it often it.  We found one male
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER that flew north shortly after being spotted.  We
missed Bob and Drew's Long-tailed Ducks, but I was able to pick out
the EARED GREBE not far from 16 HORNED GREBES, very distant but
visible thanks to the conditions.

At Union Springs, the EASTERN SCREECH-OWL was sunning itself in the
Factory Street Pond box, and a female NORTHERN SHOVELER was sleeping
on a log to the far left of the pond.  We didn't venture into the
marina to scan them, but there were large numbers of ducks and geese
along the ice edge visible from Union Springs.

Although the Athya numbers weren't staggering at the north end of the
lake, the swans were putting in a good showing.  Five MUTE SWANS were
on the ice with Tundras at Harris Park just south of the railroad
bridge (as well as a close Horned Grebe and lots of diving and
dabbling ducks), and a couple of thousand Tundra Swans were
congregated out on the ice and along the open channel to the north.
We found a pair of TRUMPETER SWANS on the close ice edge mixed in with
the Tundras, as well as a couple more Mute.  Five more TRUMPETER SWANS
were fairly close to the road at Mud Lock as well.

A scan from the tower at the Main Pool at Montezuma yielded three
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS and four BALD EAGLES.  We then headed back down the
west side.  Sheldrake was relatively quiet and the wind started to
pick up slightly (marring the glassy surface of the lake), and we
didn't see too much, though a COMMON LOON was visible off Sheldrake
Point.  Finally, after a break at the Creamery, we headed to Ovid to
look for owls.  Sure enough, at 5:30 on Rock River Road just north of
the intersection with Wyckoff Road, we found two SHORT-EARED OWLS
sitting in a large tree, another on a fence post close to the road.
Two more appeared after a few minutes, and they eventually all took
flight and moved about the area until we left at 6:10.  Great show!

No sign of Red-winged Blackbirds or other spring arrivals other than
dabbling ducks, but it was great to get in a bit more winter birding
before spring kicks in.  Everyone seemed to have a good time, and
nearly everyone got at least one life bird.  I ended with 70 species
for the day.

Cheers,

Jay McGowan
Dryden, NY




On Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 7:27 PM, bob mcguire
bmcgu...@clarityconnect.com wrote:
 In addition to the Red-necked Grebe at Ladoga today, Drew and I had a few
 other interesting sightings. The wind was calm and the lake like glass in
 several places. And no heat shimmer. Therefor, it was a good day for birds
 on the water.

 But first we encountered a flock of 100 Horned larks on the now-old manure
 spread across from the Triangle Diner. No buntings or longspurs, but we
 suspected that they might still be in the neighborhood.

 Aurora Bay, scoped from the parking lot above the boathouse, yielded 6
 Horned Grebes, a pair of White-winged Scoters, and two Long-tailed Ducks.
 The scoters were in adult plumage, different, I think, from the WHWISC seen
 on the lake recently. There remains a tight flock of Redheads north of the
 boathouse, but the numbers seemed reduced from past weeks. In fact a large
 portion of the aythya flock now seems strung out along the ice edge just
 north of Union Springs.

 Van Dyne Spoor Road was drivable to the far end, but we found nothing of
 interest - no shrike, mockingbird, kestrel, rough-legged, or harrier.

 Van Cleef Lake was still completely frozen, and no gulls were present.

 Coming down the west side of the lake, we found the ice edge between Parker
 Road (Canoga) and Bonnie Banks Road. We noted goldeneye, a portion of the
 aythya flock, Tundra Swans, and a single Common Loon.

 Finally, along Elm Beach Road we found 11 Horned Grebes - likely different
 ones from those in Aurora Bay earlier. Not much of interest along Wyers
 Point Rd/Sheldrake. And we missed grackle at Bill  Shirley's.

 All in all, it was a good day, and great to be out without needing hand
 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Around the Lake Today

[Dave Nutter]

Bob's call this morning about the Red-necked Grebe had a delayed effect. I didn't get to Ladoga until after 1pm, but viewing was still ideal and the bird was still there (Thanks, Bob!). It was a bit disorienting as I scanned the lake to realize that the unfamiliar panorama was a crystal-clear view of Stewart Park about six miles away. The conditions inspired me to continue around the lake, but when I saw that Long Point had not been plowed, I didn't stop, then the breeze had ruffled the water by the time I got to the Wells College boathouse, so I missed the scoters and the rest of the grebes Bob mentioned. However, I can add a few bits of info: "Screechie" was out in the box at the Factory Street pond in Union Springs. In fact, this particular Eastern Screech-Owl has been out every time I've looked this year. Has anyone seen it move lately? From Union Springs north the ice appears continuous until the Village of Cayuga, where a broad opening appears well south of Harris Park and continues north all the way to Mud Lock, with the Seneca-Cayuga canal being open as well. There were plenty of Aythya by the Village of Cayuga but my scanning was interrupted by a train which put most ducks into the air. All 3 swan species were in the area, including 5 MUTE SWANS visible from Harris Park, 2 adult and 1 immature TRUMPETER SWANS along the near shore just south of Mud Lock, and hundreds of presumably mostly TUNDRA SWANS in between (I did not get a close look from north of the railroad). An adult BALD EAGLE kept vigil by the nest at Mud Lock, and I suspect the mate was hidden in the nest. On the west side the ice was continuous past Upper Lake Rd and Lower Lake Rd, Bridgeport in the Town of Seneca Falls, and continued south out of sight toward Canoga. However there were a few soft-looking spots, and when they melt it's time to look for Eurasian Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, etc., in those polynyas. As it was getting toward dusk I decided to check out the area which Marty Schlabach  family had reported on. At 6pm as I drove west up Wycoff Rd toward Rock River Rd I saw 4 SHORT-EARED OWLS gallavanting over the fields to the north and south. --Dave Nutter On Feb 27, 2011, at 04:27 PM, bob mcguire bmcgu...@clarityconnect.com wrote:In addition to the Red-necked Grebe at Ladoga today, Drew and I had a  
few other interesting sightings. The wind was calm and the lake like  
glass in several places. And no "heat" shimmer. Therefor, it was a  
good day for birds on the water.

But first we encountered a flock of 100 Horned larks on the now-old  
manure spread across from the Triangle Diner. No buntings or  
longspurs, but we suspected that they might still be in the  
neighborhood.

Aurora Bay, scoped from the parking lot above the boathouse, yielded 6  
Horned Grebes, a pair of White-winged Scoters, and two Long-tailed  
Ducks. The scoters were in adult plumage, different, I think, from the  
WHWISC seen on the lake recently. There remains a tight flock of  
Redheads north of the boathouse, but the numbers seemed reduced from  
past weeks. In fact a large portion of the aythya flock now seems  
strung out along the ice edge just north of Union Springs.

Van Dyne Spoor Road was drivable to the far end, but we found nothing  
of interest - no shrike, mockingbird, kestrel, rough-legged, or harrier.

Van Cleef Lake was still completely frozen, and no gulls were present.

Coming down the west side of the lake, we found the ice edge between  
Parker Road (Canoga) and Bonnie Banks Road. We noted goldeneye, a  
portion of the aythya flock, Tundra Swans, and a single Common Loon.

Finally, along Elm Beach Road we found 11 Horned Grebes - likely  
different ones from those in Aurora Bay earlier. Not much of interest  
along Wyers Point Rd/Sheldrake. And we missed grackle at Bill   
Shirley's.

All in all, it was a good day, and great to be out without needing  
hand warmers!

Bob McGuire





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[cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake

[Susan Fast]

Susie  I took a leisurely trip around Cayuga Lake today.  Lots of
waterfowl.  Notable for us were 2 RED-NECKED GREBES and 5 LONG-TAILED DUCKS
at Sheldrake.  I scanned for some time from the observation tower at the
Visitor's Center at MNWR.  I saw no birds but the view was interesting;
many different shades of brown corresponding to the different vegetation
types.  I hadn't realized there were so many.

At the Aurora boathouse, I gave Susie a test when I told her to pick out the
EARED GREBE from a line of  4 grebes.  She did it, even through the light
snow/fog!  There were 11 HORNED GREBES thereabouts.  There was a NORTHERN
HARRIER cruising the shoreline; this was the 4th time I've seen this over
the years-not sure what it was hunting for.  Maybe the AMER. PIPIT
prospecting the shore.  In a large tree on the point to the south were 2
adult and 1 immature BALD EAGLES.  We saw a total of 7 BALD EAGLES on the
trip; 6 were adults.

On the Sheldrake side, one of the BALD EAGLES flew out over the lake and
then northeastward.  On the lake surface, beneath the eagle as it passed
overhead, the rafts of ducks flew randomly about, looking almost as if
they'd been stirred up by a helicopter; and when the eagle had passed, all
was quiet.

We also noted an OSPREY NEST on a tall pole next to the salt piles at
Portland Point.  I don't recall anyone mentioning it before, but probably
missed the post.

 

S.  S. Fast 

Brooktondale


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[cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake New Year's Day

[david nicosia]

Took a trip around Cayuga Lake today with Nancy Morgan and Courtney Moore. 
First stop was Sheldrake. It was windy with choppy waves and not much seen. 
A couple greater black backed gulls, 1 ring-billed gull and several mallards. 
The horned
grebe that Nancy had here a few days ago was not seen. 

Next stop was Lower Lake Road near the edge of the lake ice. This was where 
most 

of the action was. There were literally clouds of snow geese over the middle 
of the lake. 

In addition, there were numerous redheads, several lesser scaup, gadwall, 
mallards, 

black ducks, common goldeneye, hooded mergansers, numerous ring-billed,  
herring 

and greater black backed gulls. There were probably 50-75 tundra swans. 
We also had a couple flyover horned larks here. 

On the other side of the lake, at Harris Park, there were at least 500 common 
goldeneyes
among many gulls, canada and snow geese, and tundra swans.  At the North Pond, 
Union 

Springs there was a nice raft of redheads with close views. also bufflehead, 
ring-necked duck, 

gadwall, mallards, black duck and 3 AMERICAN COOT. The Factory Street Pond did 
not
yield the screech owl today. Also in Union Springs we got a great look at a 
MERLIN
in the top of a tree. He just sat for 10 minutes as Nancy and Courtney clicked 
many photos
of this handsome bird. 

From an overlook of the lake from route 90 between Union Springs and Aurora 
there
were 3 large very dense rafts of waterfowl, probably 10,000 or so. At times, 
the 
birds
were flying and it looked like a swarm of insects. The birds were too distant
to see any field marks, but I suspect they were redheads and other Aythya 
species. 

In any event, the shear numbers were impressive. 

At the Aurora Wells College Boat House, we had 1 female canvasback with
an injured wing and a female scaup sp. There were also common goldeneyes
canadian geese and gulls there as well. No eared or horned grebe found today. 

On lake road, past Long Point St Park, we got great views of a northern harrier
hovering over the extensive grasslands. We ended up seeing 2 more harrier 
between
Lake Road and Ithaca. 

Back at Stewart Park, distant scoping was hampered by heat shimmer. Did not
see the king eider today. Closer in, near the edge of ice, there were many 
gulls 
as 

usual. Among the usual herring, ring-billed and greater black backed, found 1 
ICELAND GULL and 2 LESSER BLACK BACKED GULLS. 

All in all, a nice day with 47 species to start 2011.

Happy New Year to all.
Dave Nicosia
Johnson City, NY


  
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[cayugabirds-l] Around the lake, Sun 6/6

[Mark Chao]

On Sunday morning, I took a detour on the way to a midday family gathering in 
Trumansburg, in hopes of finding the Hudsonian Godwit and other birds.  Many 
others and I failed to find the godwit by the visitor center between 10:00 and 
10:45 AM.  Here are some birds of interest found en route:

Myers Park (9:00 AM):  2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS on spit, 1 Osprey foraging above 
mouth of Salmon Creek 

Lake Road, Ledyard:  2 or 3 GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS singing in mowed field to south

Montezuma NWR:  2 singing CERULEAN WARBLERS on their usual territories near 
visitor center (one above picnic area, one between start of Wildlife Drive and 
Seneca River)

Cayuga Lake near Varick:  one COMMON LOON in non-breeding plumage

Mark Chao
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[cayugabirds-l] Around Cayuga Lake Today 3/11

[david nicosia]

Tremendous day around Cayuga Lake. Started at Stewart Park at 8 am. had the 
following:
many bufflehead, few hooded merganser, several common merganser, wood duck,
several american widgeon, two dozen or so green-winged teal, many canada geese,
mallards, few black duck, many common goldeneye, ring-billed, herring and great 
black-backed gull.
also had song sparrow, carolina wren, brown-headed cowbird, downy woodpecker 
among others.

Myer's Point- not much. 2 american pipits on gravel bar. 

Long Point State Park -  3 common loons.  several common goldeneye and 
bufflehead. 

Aurora Boathouse-   2 horned grebes, many snow geese and canadas. 

Factory Street Pond-  no screech owl today. nice pair of gadwall close up. also 
bufflehead. 

Mud Lock and northeast end of Cayuga Lake-  thousands upon thousands of snow 
and canada geese, 
along with dozens of tundra swans. also many redheads, lessor/greater scaup, 
ring-necked ducks, 
canvasbacks, bufflehead, common goldeneye,common mergansers, and mallard/black 
ducks. had 
a belted kingsfisher while watching pair of adult bald eagles at mud lock. 

From East Road at Knox-Marcellis Marsh, saw thousands and thousands of snow 
geese. the fields 
all around east road to the savannah muckllands were white with snows. also had 
many pintail, 
ring-necked ducks, american widgeon, along with canada geese from east road . 

At the Savannah Mucklands from the potato building had probably 100 to 200 
hundred 
thousand snow geese. also heard horned lark singing. there were also waterfowl 
mixed in 
with the geese including many pintail, ring-necked ducks, mallards, and black 
duck. the snows
took off and it was a spectacle. there was also a fair number of tundra swans 
in this area. 

On the way back along Lower Lake road west side of Cayuga Lake, there was 
another very 
very large raft of snow geese probably another 100,000 or more.In addition, 
there were 
hundreds of redheads, lesser/greater scaup, ring-necked ducks, canvasback, 
bufflehead, 
american widgeon, and gulls. The shear numbers were very impressive. 
definitively worth the trip!! 

Total species for day was 57. E-bird list for trip below. 

All the larger numbers below are very rough estimates 

Snow Goose - Chen caerulescens    25
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis    25000
Tundra Swan - Cygnus columbianus    150
Wood Duck - Aix sponsa    2
Gadwall - Anas strepera    2
American Wigeon - Anas americana    45
American Black Duck - Anas rubripes    25
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos    100
Northern Pintail - Anas acuta    75
Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca    25
Canvasback - Aythya valisineria    150
Redhead - Aythya americana    3000
Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris    100
Greater Scaup - Aythya marila    1 
Greater/Lessor Scaup - many 
Lesser Scaup - Aythya affinis    100
Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola    30
Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula    100
Hooded Merganser - Lophodytes cucullatus    4
Common Merganser - Mergus merganser    10
Common Loon - Gavia immer    3
Horned Grebe - Podiceps auritus    2
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura    15
Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus    6
Sharp-shinned Hawk - Accipiter striatus    1
Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii    1
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis    6
American Kestrel - Falco sparverius    1
Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus    12
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis    200
Herring Gull - Larus argentatus    50
Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus    20
Rock Pigeon - Columba livia    50
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura    20
Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon    1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus    1
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens    2
Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus    1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata    7
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos    50
Horned Lark - Eremophila alpestris    5
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus    6
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor    3
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis    2
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus    2
Eastern Bluebird - Sialia sialis    1
American Robin - Turdus migratorius    25
European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris    500
American Pipit - Anthus rubescens    2
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia    2
White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis    2
Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis    10
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis    4
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus    35
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula    100
Brown-headed Cowbird - Molothrus ater    2
House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus    4
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus    1

Dave Nicosia 



  
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