[cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Trail note

2014-02-26 Thread Chris R. Pelkie
I did a lunchtime turn around Hoyt-Pileated inner loop back to Wilson yesterday.
I took and would highly recommend you take trekking poles: it is seriously 
treacherous out there with the frozen snow/ice/footprint holes.

It was cold and crisp but not snowing (yesterday), so good exercise but few 
birds. Crows, jays, red-bellied woodpecker, titmouses, and chickadees called or 
flew over. I had hopes of an owl or creeper or even yellow-rumped warbler but 
saw none of those.

The thing of note was 2 PILEATED WOODPECKERs who called (not the crazy laugh 
call but more like a flicker social call) and flew to a tall tree where I saw 
them together, then flew again.
I caught up with them near the south end of Woodlleton Boardwalk where they 
have excavated a roundish hole in a 16” live oak just 15’ up and so close to 
the boardwalk that chips are littered over it.

I think these are both juvenile males because I could see some red as well as 
black in both malar patches. I stand to be corrected, but don’t think females 
have red there, and yet it took some looking even to be sure there was red, 
unlike the ease of ID’ing a breeding color male. I fancy they are brothers.

They stayed together on that tree, hopping up and hopping down while chattering 
to each other, worked the hole, then jumped to another tree, which finally 
allowed me to pass without scaring them off. Good thing because I was starting 
to freeze in place.

So if you need a PIWO for your year list, they should be around that oak some 
more, I’d guess.

__

Chris Pelkie
Research Analyst
Bioacoustics Research Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY 14850


--

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: [cayugabirds-l] Sapsucker Trail note

2014-02-26 Thread John and Sue Gregoire
Chris,
I came across a product in LL Bean and Amazon called  stabilicers which are
inexpensive and work so much better than yak-trax. They come in two variants 
and the
light is plenty for icy sidewalks, roads and groomed trail. In the mountains 
I'd
recommend the more expensive version, short of crampons for real ice. These are 
much
like the more expensive micro-spikes which are also great on trail. The 
Stabilicer
lights are easy on/off and we have used them often this winter. By using these 
you
can largely eliminate the trekking poles and have hands for stability, camera, 
binos
and the like.
John
-- 
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Road
Burdett,NY 14818-9626
 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
Conserve and Create Habitat

On Wed, February 26, 2014 08:56, Chris R. Pelkie wrote:
 I did a lunchtime turn around Hoyt-Pileated inner loop back to Wilson 
 yesterday.
 I took and would highly recommend you take trekking poles: it is seriously
 treacherous out there with the frozen snow/ice/footprint holes.

 It was cold and crisp but not snowing (yesterday), so good exercise but few 
 birds.
 Crows, jays, red-bellied woodpecker, titmouses, and chickadees called or flew 
 over.
 I had hopes of an owl or creeper or even yellow-rumped warbler but saw none of
 those.

 The thing of note was 2 PILEATED WOODPECKERs who called (not the crazy laugh 
 call
 but more like a flicker social call) and flew to a tall tree where I saw them
 together, then flew again.
 I caught up with them near the south end of Woodlleton Boardwalk where they 
 have
 excavated a roundish hole in a 16” live oak just 15’ up and so close to the
 boardwalk that chips are littered over it.

 I think these are both juvenile males because I could see some red as well as 
 black
 in both malar patches. I stand to be corrected, but don’t think females have 
 red
 there, and yet it took some looking even to be sure there was red, unlike the 
 ease
 of ID’ing a breeding color male. I fancy they are brothers.

 They stayed together on that tree, hopping up and hopping down while 
 chattering to
 each other, worked the hole, then jumped to another tree, which finally 
 allowed me
 to pass without scaring them off. Good thing because I was starting to freeze 
 in
 place.

 So if you need a PIWO for your year list, they should be around that oak some 
 more,
 I’d guess.

 __

 Chris Pelkie
 Research Analyst
 Bioacoustics Research Program
 Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 159 Sapsucker Woods Road
 Ithaca, NY 14850


 --

 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/

--