Hi all, I did a trip around the lake and highlights were large raft of Athya ducks, Tundra swans (far out in the middle of the lake), flotilla of Snow Geese in the same locations I have been seeing in the past (don't they ever move?) mostly around Union Springs and the latter near Aurora.
At Tshache, there was a young first year Northern shrike, I had to look into book to make sure it was not a logger-headed. Lots of geese were heading north of Montezuma, I tried to follow them some distance but got blocked by mass of land with no roads. I also saw several flocks of blackbirds - mixture of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackle, Starlings and few cowbirds in varying compositions, some flocks were pure grackles and some mixture of grackles and red-winged blackbirds and others with starlings and cowbirds. But I saw only a few flocks head into the MNWR marsh at sunset. Also many paired Horned Larks, horns were really standing up on a few individuals were seen along some back roads. Other birds of interests a Northern Mockingbird, and pair of Eastern Bluebirds along Lake Ridge Road. On the way back just past Ovid intersection on 89, near 7133 house a Short-eared flew very close over my car and hundred or two feet ahead another came head on and headed to join the previous owl. I turned back to relocate them, but they seemed invisible. Meena Haribal Ithaca NY 14850 http://haribal.org/ http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/ -- 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/ --
