Hi all, Brad Walker and I did a little birding around Lansing this morning. We started at Myers Point, where five LEAST SANDPIPERS were the only shorebirds of note. Yesterday morning produced a few more Leasts but no other shorebirds. No sign of the female Red-breasted Merganser that has been hanging around there this week. CASPIAN TERNS are putting on a good show here, as usual, and PURPLE MARTINS are in good numbers (10+ most days). Yesterday I had a pair of martins over Drake Road in Lansing as well. We checked out Ford Hill after that, where I was somewhat surprised to still hear an ACADIAN FLYCATCHER singing lustily, with another nearby giving single-note calls. Hooded Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and a lingering Louisiana Waterthrush were also here. PINE WARBLER, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and a family of Eastern Towhees were in the pine plantation/new development on the west side of Warren just north of Hillcrest Road, but the airport didn't produce more than a lot of meadowlarks flying around. After that we headed down to the Ellis Hollow area. We had a large number of Ring-billed Gulls at the compost, so this may be a worthwhile place to check for Laughing Gulls and other things in the coming months. Another LEAST SANDPIPER joined a Spotted in the compost ponds. Finally, we walked around the Durland Preserve for a while. Nothing exceptional, but the highlight for me was hearing *7* ALDER FLYCATCHERS singing at the same time from the observation platform over the marshy area. Pretty interesting they are still so vocal (and in such numbers!) considering it seems like a lot of them have stopped singing other places. A close soaring immature BROAD-WINGED HAWK was nice here too.
We didn't go to Stewart Park today, but adult white-form SNOW GOOSE has been hanging out there for the last week or two. It is missing most of its flight feathers and its wings don't look in good shape either. I haven't seen much else of note here lately, though Caspian Tern and Double-crested Cormorant numbers are still impressive on the red lighthouse jetty, Finally, it is worth mentioning (although a week late now), that while looking for butterflies along Rock Cabin Road in Watkins Glen on July 14th, Livia and I saw two SANDHILL CRANES foraging in the marsh just south from where there is a nice viewing platform looking out over Queen Catherine Marsh. For those who don't know this area, this road runs from Watkins Glen to Montour Falls along the east side of Queen Catherine Marsh. It is fairly well-known as a good spot for butterflies, with lots of hackberry trees growing just upslope providing food sources for Hackberry Emperors, Tawny Emperors, and American Snouts, all quite scarce in this part of the country. It's quite dry this year and the traffic seemed worse than usual, so butterflies were harder to come by on the road itself (puddles along the road have been very good in the past for attracting a great variety of species), but we still saw a lot. It also provides a nice access point to various parts of the extensive marsh, and I have heard rails and bitterns from it before. The tower if fairly new I believe but give a great view of parts of the marsh, including some dryer areas that could be good for shorebirds. The cranes were close to the road in the marsh. I initially thought at least one of them might be a grown juvenile, but now I'm not sure they're not just both adults--maybe someone else can tell for sure. One was very ratty on the head, the other very red overall, including up through the head. Pictures here: First bird: https://picasaweb.google.com/111137855303614931880/Summer2012#5768092262504652002 https://picasaweb.google.com/111137855303614931880/Summer2012#5768092309184362770 Second bird: https://picasaweb.google.com/111137855303614931880/Summer2012#5768092265717762082 https://picasaweb.google.com/111137855303614931880/Summer2012#5768092322845148642 Good birding! -Jay -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology jw...@cornell.edu -- 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/ --
