Hi,
Thanks to all for suggestions on the best places for eagles - we
did succeed yesterday. As many suggested, we drove up the east side of
Cayuga, stopping first to watch the Red-Headed Woodpeckers at the
intersection of Poplar Road & Rte 90. We had a late start and didn't
get to Aurora until after 11 AM, but as soon as we got out of the car I
heard the distinctive "qrrrr" from two different spots in the black
walnuts around the famous sycamore tree. Soon there were multiple views
of two adult RHWO flying around in those trees, and many chatter calls.
Then both birds flew across Rte 90 to the lakeside of the road, where
they spent periods in the grass and on tree trunks and a utility pole.
They generously provided long close looks for the 45 minutes we were
there, staying mostly on the west side of Rte 90. We did not always
have both birds in view, but usually did, and did not see them ever land
on any part of the sycamore tree. We finally left, the birds still in
clear view, and the kids very impressed with their beauty. Needless to
say, these are not birds they see in France!
Our next stop was the "Bet the Farm" store in the village, where we
mentioned to the proprietors we had been seeing the RH Woodpeckers at
Poplar Ridge Road. The pleasant man said oh, there are some there, too?
He had been watching a pair daily this spring as they went in and out of
their nest hole while he waited with his son there at the school bus
stop - near where _Wells_ Road came into Rte 90! I asked if perhaps he
meant Red Bellied Woodpecker, which has a red head, and he said 'no, I'm
from Alabama, I've seen RH Woodpeckers all my life - they really aren't
as much like RB Woodpeckers as Ladder-Backed Woodpeckers are." Well,
shut my mouth! He said this nest tree was between Rte 90 and the lake,
very close to where Wells Rd meets Rte 90. Looking at a map, this would
be about 2/3 mile from Poplar Ridge, and it seems unlikely but not
impossible that we all would be watching a pair consistently by Poplar
Ridge Road, and it actually would be nesting 2/3 mile north ... so are
there perhaps two pair of RH Woodpeckers in Aurora?
Traveling north from Aurora, we saw many osprey, including a pair
several miles south of the north end of the lake, soaring over their
nest on a platform just east of Rte 90. At mud lock my young friend Zak
found an adult eagle in a tree where we watched it for a half-hour but
it was not inclined to fly. We went up to Armitage Rd but it was well
past noon at this point and the eagles surely were at their siesta - at
any rate, they weren't in evidence. Zak did find a pellet that had been
cast by some raptor while we scanned the surrounding area for eagles.
Moving on, we watched another pair of osprey with at least one chick in
an active nest on 5&20, not far east of Rte 89. When we got to the
visitor center, there were reports of multiple immature eagles on the
Wildlife Drive eating carp, but we had a hungry 7 year old with us, as
well as the 10 year old eagle lover, so we headed for the Finger Lakes
Creamery for a late lunch and ice cream dessert.
That evening, back in Ovid, while canoeing on Seneca Lake with my
husband, Zak looked up and spotted a mature bald eagle flying overhead.
They got a clear view as it passed overhead. They had not brought
binoculars but my husband said the bird was fairly low and they got
excellent looks. We see eagles in the area a few times a year, usually
immature - how wonderful that this bird swung by today!
I had told Zak of all the help people on this list gave us and the
first thing he said when he got back was, "you have to tell the internet
about our eagle." So I have.
Thanks again for all your help in making this a very memorable day
for Zak and the rest of us, too!
Alicia
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