[cayugabirds-l] SFO Saturday: up the lake
Eleven people joined me today for an all-day trip up the lake. The primary focus was on waterfowl, and we managed to find all but two of the expected species (missed Wood Duck and Red-breasted Merganser). All together we totaled 61 species, the highlights being just seeing all those ducks, aerial maneuvers of two juvenile Bald Eagles, breeding plumaged Horned Grebe, and a close-in Belted Kingfisher. The day began at the Lab with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-20s. We checked the feeders and headed immediately for Myers. After studying a Killdeer along the creek, we arrived at the spit, checked the gulls for anything unusual, and focused on the first couple of Common Loons of the day. We watched a couple of flyby Buffleheads and then a close, slowly circling Osprey. There were a few distant ducks, but we chose to scoot around to the marina for close looks at both Scaup, a Coot, several Gadwall and Common Mergansers. Following a tip from Dave Nutter, we back-tracked to Drake Road to chase the reported Bohemian Waxwings. We had excellent directions but, unfortunately by the time we got there, there were only a few of them left in a distant tree and only a few of us were able to get on them before they, too, left. From there we headed north, stopping along lake Ridge Road to listen for Meadowlarks (missed them) and to watch a couple of recently- returned Tree Swallows. Since one of the goals of the trip was to introduce folks to popular birding spots, we did stop at Long Point State Park. And today it lived up to its nickname: Long DISApoint SP. We could find nothing but a few Buffleheads. From the boathouse in Aurora we spotted our first Common Goldeneye, a couple more Loons, and three Horned Grebes, one of which was in nearly full breeding plumage. For those of us who are used to watching winter plumaged grebes through the cold months, that was a special treat. Factory Street pond in Union Springs produced our first Blue-winged Teal, a couple of Gadwall, and the close-in Kingfisher. Mill pond was nearly empty, but we did manage to pull a Redhead out from the shadowy edge. Mud Lock was a surprise. The former Bald Eagle nest atop the electrical tower was apparently vacant, occupied today by a trio of Rock Pigeons. However, the newer nest to the south was occupied - with an adult Bald Eagle feeding young. The visitor center pond at the refuge was also nearly empty, with a dozen or more Green-winged Teal, Mallards, our first Black Duck, and not much else - except for a distant Northern Harrier. LaRue's Lagoon held our first Northern Shovelers as well as both Teal. The new shorebird area was deep in water. Bennings Marsh again held both Teal, some Shovelers and Gadwall, but not the hoped-for snipe. At Tschache Pool we added a couple more new birds: Northern Pintail (one male), Pied-billed Grebe (2), and American Wigeon (several). At that point It was 2:30, going on time to leave for home. We made one more stop, at Knox-Marsellus marsh. The water was high: good for ducks, bad for any shorebirds. We spotted a dozen or so Snow Geese on the near dike and several hundred more in the distant corn fields. Most of the several hundred ducks were Canvasbacks. No cranes. No egrets. That was it. We headed back down the east side, adding an American Kestrel on a wire to our trip list. My only regret was that we did not have nearly enough time to visit more of the great sites at the north end of the lake. I look forward to hearing what the overnight groups find tomorrow. Bob McGuire -- 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/ --
amazing snow goose decoys in mucklands; was [cayugabirds-l] SFO Saturday: up the lake
I just thought it worth mentioning that someone has an amazing array of Snow Goose decoys deployed out in the mucklands, to the SE of the potatoes building. They are visible from East Road, too. These are just about the most awesome artificial birds I think I have ever seen. From what I could scope out last weekend, they are cloth, wind-inflatable, and actively moving. I had to stare twice and shake myself to convince myself that they weren't really birds. The wind-activated motion was incredibly true to life. Plus, even if they were only a buck a piece, that's a huge investment in having several hundred decoys there. They even have the right amount of Blue geese tucked in among the whites. Impressive! If I was a goose, I'd be fooled!! Kevin -Original Message- From: bounce-79501342-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-79501342-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of bob mcguire Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2013 7:14 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] SFO Saturday: up the lake ... We spotted a dozen or so Snow Geese on the near dike and several hundred more in the distant corn fields. Most of the several hundred ducks were Canvasbacks. ... -- 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/ --
Re: amazing snow goose decoys in mucklands; was [cayugabirds-l] SFO Saturday: up the lake
Oops. I need to subtract 250 Snow Geese from my East Rd eBird list from last weekend! Sent from my iPhone On Apr 6, 2013, at 7:30 PM, Kevin James McGowan k...@cornell.edu wrote: I just thought it worth mentioning that someone has an amazing array of Snow Goose decoys deployed out in the mucklands, to the SE of the potatoes building. They are visible from East Road, too. These are just about the most awesome artificial birds I think I have ever seen. From what I could scope out last weekend, they are cloth, wind-inflatable, and actively moving. I had to stare twice and shake myself to convince myself that they weren't really birds. The wind-activated motion was incredibly true to life. Plus, even if they were only a buck a piece, that's a huge investment in having several hundred decoys there. They even have the right amount of Blue geese tucked in among the whites. Impressive! If I was a goose, I'd be fooled!! Kevin -Original Message- From: bounce-79501342-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-79501342-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of bob mcguire Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2013 7:14 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] SFO Saturday: up the lake ... We spotted a dozen or so Snow Geese on the near dike and several hundred more in the distant corn fields. Most of the several hundred ducks were Canvasbacks. ... -- 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/ -- -- 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/ --
Re: amazing snow goose decoys in mucklands; was [cayugabirds-l] SFO Saturday: up the lake
Well . . . . there go many of our snow geese from today! Except for the dozen or so actively foraging birds on the near dike. Bob On Apr 6, 2013, at 7:30 PM, Kevin James McGowan wrote: I just thought it worth mentioning that someone has an amazing array of Snow Goose decoys deployed out in the mucklands, to the SE of the potatoes building. They are visible from East Road, too. These are just about the most awesome artificial birds I think I have ever seen. From what I could scope out last weekend, they are cloth, wind-inflatable, and actively moving. I had to stare twice and shake myself to convince myself that they weren't really birds. The wind-activated motion was incredibly true to life. Plus, even if they were only a buck a piece, that's a huge investment in having several hundred decoys there. They even have the right amount of Blue geese tucked in among the whites. Impressive! If I was a goose, I'd be fooled!! Kevin -Original Message- From: bounce-79501342-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-79501342-3493...@list.cornell.edu ] On Behalf Of bob mcguire Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2013 7:14 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] SFO Saturday: up the lake ... We spotted a dozen or so Snow Geese on the near dike and several hundred more in the distant corn fields. Most of the several hundred ducks were Canvasbacks. ... -- 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/ -- -- 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/ --
