Hello all, It was a very cold and blustery morning, but had good birding. Here are a few notes about my trip:
-I did not see any cranes at the Sandhill Crane Unit on Van Dyne Spoor Rd. Many ducks out in the distance! Hard to see with the snow. White-crowned sparrows were making some noise on the north side of the road (DEC). And lastly, an American Kestral on the power lines. -Next, Knox Marsellus Marsh. At first I did not see any cranes on East Rd, and thought maybe they booked south with this cold and snow. But as I was getting out of my car, I heard them and about 100 flew in from a cornfield southwest of the road. Kind of behind those solar panels, if you're familiar with the area. They flew to Puddler Marsh, and I lost them in the tall vegetation. Also at this spot, had a Common Loon fly over! Definitely was not expecting that, I thought it was a Double-crested Cormorant at first. -The refuge visitor center pool was where the action was at. We pulled in and counted 52 Sandhill Cranes right there in front. It was so cool! A Northern Harrier popped up too and gave a show in the wind. Right as we were leaving, a subadult Bald Eagle flew in pretty low, circled, kicked up some ducks, and went on it's way. We could hear and see swans deep in the Main Pool, but not well enough to ID or count. The Wildlife Drive is now closed for the season. Andrea at the refuge put together a great FB post about what's open and what's not right now at Montezuma NWR. Here's the link to that: https://www.facebook.com/MontezumaNWR/photos/a.108438664332776/168733634969945/ Stay safe, healthy, and warm! Alyssa - -- Alyssa Johnson Environmental Educator 315.365.3588 Montezuma Audubon Center PO Box 187 2295 State Route 89 Savannah, NY 13146 Montezuma.audubon.org -- 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/ --
