Having the day off, I got over to Stevenson Rd about 1030, arriving at the same time as Bud, where we found Reed and Eric. Reed and Eric had already scouted the vultures and found at least two BLACK VULTURES as they took wing and started circling higher. This gave me time to see them in binocs then grab the scope and share brief views with the others as the birds departed the immediate area. As Bud kindly gave Eric and Reed a lift back to campus, I noticed a huge kettle had formed up over Dodge Rd so went that way solo. I pulled over more or less under the kettle and scanned, spotted one of the BLVUs but not in time to take a photo, but a few minutes later refound it or another and got some distant shots that i have not yet got off the camera. The kettle had broken up into smaller sets by that time. A new basin bird for me!
I had not had enough bug bites yet so headed to Monkey Run where the moose-quitos armed with BBQ forks and carving knives were waiting for me. The bug spray i was using was effective only at making their foothold slippery, so some left and returned wearing muck boots to finish the job. As I was fleeing, I heard piercing calls from two BROAD-WINGED HAWKs and walked toward the sound. One flew up from the path to a low perch (15') and the other was at a similar height in an adjacent tree. I crept forward to the continual shrieking of the pair and got some good pics of them. The one that had flown seemed to be splaying its tail and one wing, making me think this was a juvenile begging from the other, which might also account for all the noise they were making. It doesn't seem like the time of year for mating displays. ChrisP ______________________ Chris Pelkie Research Analyst Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -- 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/ --
