[cayugabirds-l] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ospreys are still rare. Here’s what might be mistaken for one

[Ken Haas]

I was at Meyers Point this morning where I saw, and photographed, an Osprey 
carrying nesting material to a platform and later got a photo of an Osprey on 
the platform. I included the photos in my eBird checklist. To me, it seemed a 
bit “skitty”, not of me or the other people there, but perhaps due to the loud 
noises being made by the dump trucks constantly going in and out as they work 
on the dredged material near the nest.

Ken Haas



> On Mar 18, 2019, at 9:27 PM, Kevin J. McGowan  wrote:
> 
> Good points, Dave. I too saw that Bald Eagle yesterday at Stewart Park and 
> was surprised at how Osprey-like it looked. I also took crappy photos of it, 
> and will try to get them in my eBird checklist soon.
> 
> Kevin
> 
> From: bounce-123439153-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
>  on behalf of Dave Nutter 
> 
> Sent: Monday, March 18, 2019 8:57 PM
> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Ospreys are still rare. Here’s what might be 
> mistaken for one
>  
> Over the past several days there have been several reports of Ospreys. 
> 
> Candace Cornell, who has observed and compiled reports of the Ospreys nesting 
> around Cayuga Lake during their expansion for several years, notes that this 
> arrival is an unprecedented couple weeks early, not just for the species, but 
> for the individual birds believed to be returning to Myers Point. In order to 
> figure out what is happening and why (Is climate change a factor?), it’s 
> essential to have good information.
> 
> In winter, reports of Ospreys in Upstate NY are presumed to be erroneous 
> observations of immature Bald Eagles unless there’s good evidence for the 
> Osprey ID. Not all birders are aware that one stage of young Bald Eagles’ 
> plumage includes a white belly and a dark mask on a whitish head on a 
> generally brown large raptor. Today I photographed such a Bald Eagle at 
> Stewart Park, where some Osprey reports have been made. My description of the 
> bird is below in the excerpt of my eBird report. There are 2 rather bad 
> photos taken awkwardly through my binoculars also included in the eBird 
> report, which I hope readers can access via the link. 
> 
> A plea: 
> When submitting any eBird report which includes a species which eBird says is 
> rare, PLEASE include in the requested “details” a description of the bird 
> discussing what you observed - field marks such as shape, pattern, color, 
> behavior, sound, anything you noticed about it that helped you ID the bird 
> (or that made ID difficult or any missing field marks), and why you think it 
> was that species and not anything else or something more common. If you can 
> take a photo, even a crappy one, do so, and include it. This makes all the 
> difference between reports that can be useful to others and reports that must 
> be chucked for lack of evidence. Even a well-documented misidentification can 
> be educational to oneself and others and maybe it can help future instructors 
> or MERLIN. 
> 
> I think Osprey will be removed from the rare category for Tompkins County on 
> March 27, unless eBird staff get tired of all the reports and switch the 
> settings. 
> 
> As far as I know (and I have not checked this evening), NO ONE has included a 
> photo of a local Osprey in an eBird report yet, and I think I am the only 
> person who made an effort to describe what they thought was and what was not 
> an Osprey. Everyone else’s reports are going to be confirmed or not by eBird 
> solely on the reputation of the observers, not the observations, and that 
> makes me uncomfortable. 
> 
> That’s my rant for the day, since there is no SFO course in which to say 
> stuff like this. Thanks for humoring me by at least reading this far.
> 
> - - Dave Nutter
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: ebird-checkl...@cornell.edu 
>> Date: March 18, 2019 at 8:22:01 PM EDT
>> To: nutter.d...@mac.com 
>> Subject: eBird Report - NY:TOM:Ithaca: Stewart Pk taxi stop in car, Mar 18, 
>> 2019
>> 
>> NY:TOM:Ithaca: Stewart Pk taxi stop in car, Tompkins, New York, US
>> Mar 18, 2019 11:57 AM - 12:39 PM
>> Protocol: Traveling
>> 0.8 mile(s)
>> Comments:...Unsuccessful quest for Osprey for which there have been 
>> sporadic reports lacking description or reputation to back them up. But I 
>> did find a suspicious immature Bald Eagle with mostly white underparts and a 
>> dark mask on a light head.
> 
>> 25 species (+1 other taxa)
>> 
>> Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1 Immature perched in treetop on 
>> Jetty Woods: very large vertical raptor; generally brown above; mostly white 
>> belly & neck; blotchy brown breast; dark mask on dirty whitish head; when it 
>> flew it showed wing linings largely white; very broad wings; very large 
>> hooked bill; large head; rather wide body. Challenging photos through 
>> binoculars, rather backlit, and showing the head less well than I hoped. 
>> Photo session cut short by model flying 

[cayugabirds-l] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Ospreys are still rare. Here’s what might be mistaken for one

[Kevin J. McGowan]

Good points, Dave. I too saw that Bald Eagle yesterday at Stewart Park and was 
surprised at how Osprey-like it looked. I also took crappy photos of it, and 
will try to get them in my eBird checklist soon.


Kevin


From: bounce-123439153-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Dave Nutter 

Sent: Monday, March 18, 2019 8:57 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Ospreys are still rare. Here’s what might be mistaken 
for one

Over the past several days there have been several reports of Ospreys.

Candace Cornell, who has observed and compiled reports of the Ospreys nesting 
around Cayuga Lake during their expansion for several years, notes that this 
arrival is an unprecedented couple weeks early, not just for the species, but 
for the individual birds believed to be returning to Myers Point. In order to 
figure out what is happening and why (Is climate change a factor?), it’s 
essential to have good information.

In winter, reports of Ospreys in Upstate NY are presumed to be erroneous 
observations of immature Bald Eagles unless there’s good evidence for the 
Osprey ID. Not all birders are aware that one stage of young Bald Eagles’ 
plumage includes a white belly and a dark mask on a whitish head on a generally 
brown large raptor. Today I photographed such a Bald Eagle at Stewart Park, 
where some Osprey reports have been made. My description of the bird is below 
in the excerpt of my eBird report. There are 2 rather bad photos taken 
awkwardly through my binoculars also included in the eBird report, which I hope 
readers can access via the link.

A plea:
When submitting any eBird report which includes a species which eBird says is 
rare, PLEASE include in the requested “details” a description of the bird 
discussing what you observed - field marks such as shape, pattern, color, 
behavior, sound, anything you noticed about it that helped you ID the bird (or 
that made ID difficult or any missing field marks), and why you think it was 
that species and not anything else or something more common. If you can take a 
photo, even a crappy one, do so, and include it. This makes all the difference 
between reports that can be useful to others and reports that must be chucked 
for lack of evidence. Even a well-documented misidentification can be 
educational to oneself and others and maybe it can help future instructors or 
MERLIN.

I think Osprey will be removed from the rare category for Tompkins County on 
March 27, unless eBird staff get tired of all the reports and switch the 
settings.

As far as I know (and I have not checked this evening), NO ONE has included a 
photo of a local Osprey in an eBird report yet, and I think I am the only 
person who made an effort to describe what they thought was and what was not an 
Osprey. Everyone else’s reports are going to be confirmed or not by eBird 
solely on the reputation of the observers, not the observations, and that makes 
me uncomfortable.

That’s my rant for the day, since there is no SFO course in which to say stuff 
like this. Thanks for humoring me by at least reading this far.

- - Dave Nutter

Begin forwarded message:

From: ebird-checkl...@cornell.edu
Date: March 18, 2019 at 8:22:01 PM EDT
To: nutter.d...@mac.com
Subject: eBird Report - NY:TOM:Ithaca: Stewart Pk taxi stop in car, Mar 18, 2019

NY:TOM:Ithaca: Stewart Pk taxi stop in car, Tompkins, New York, US
Mar 18, 2019 11:57 AM - 12:39 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.8 mile(s)
Comments:...Unsuccessful quest for Osprey for which there have been 
sporadic reports lacking description or reputation to back them up. But I did 
find a suspicious immature Bald Eagle with mostly white underparts and a dark 
mask on a light head.

25 species (+1 other taxa)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1 Immature perched in treetop on 
Jetty Woods: very large vertical raptor; generally brown above; mostly white 
belly & neck; blotchy brown breast; dark mask on dirty whitish head; when it 
flew it showed wing linings largely white; very broad wings; very large hooked 
bill; large head; rather wide body. Challenging photos through binoculars, 
rather backlit, and showing the head less well than I hoped. Photo session cut 
short by model flying away. A birder walking by asked if the bird was an 
Osprey, as did a person I showed a photo. I hope the photos can be educational.


View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S53995582

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