RE: [cayugabirds-l] Large Crow flight

2021-02-23 Thread Deb Grantham 
I live up on Sheffield Road, Ithaca/Enfield town line. I used to see many, 
probably hundreds, crows commuting up here every morning not long after it got 
light. They’d come from the southeast, City of Ithaca (I actually followed and 
backtracked them a couple of times), heading northwest. As they got up to this 
area, they’d start to disperse. Some would stop in the immediate area, many 
would keep going.

Then before dark, the commute would reverse.

I haven’t seen it happening in the last couple of years, though.

Deb


From: bounce-125409465-83565...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of Dave Nutter
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2021 12:19 AM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Large Crow flight

About that time, I was walking toward the lakeshore at Treman to survey the 
waterfowl in the SW part of the lake. As I passed between the frozen marina and 
the woods of the Hog Hole swamp, I saw an estimated 450 crows commuting east 
overhead. It sounded like there were more on the way but not yet visible. The 
light was starting to dim, and I chose to look at the birds on the lake, so 
it’s possible that hundreds more crows commuted behind my back. There were 
hundreds of ducks of at least a dozen species stretching north into the 
distance, nothing new, but lots of fun if you don’t stress about numbers. 
(Clarification: hundreds of Redheads, Canvasbacks and Common Mergansers, and 
much smaller numbers of the other 9 species I saw). I didn’t count the geese on 
the lake, mostly along the west shore, but did note that about 80 Canada Geese 
flew low both north and south from the middle of Allan Treman State Marine Park 
just south of the knoll. My guess is that they had been trying to graze where 
the land was windswept, but it looked like tough going. An immature Iceland 
Gull continues in the SW corner of the lake. Lots of Great Black-backs 
dominating the ice-covered Red Lighthouse Breakwater. Many of the Herring Gulls 
are now in sleek breeding plumage. No Ring-billeds that I saw. 4 Double-crested 
Cormorants rested atop the piling cluster.
- - Dave Nutter

On Feb 22, 2021, at 5:39 PM, Elaina M. McCartney 
mailto:elaina.mccart...@cornell.edu>> wrote:
Approximately 5:20 pm today I noticed a steady flight of Crows from my vantage 
just north of Hog Hole, heading approximately toward Cayuga Heights/Cornell 
Campus, moving in the approximately the opposite direction of the large morning 
flight of 2/17.  I don’t know the extent of today’s flight, I assume it had 
been going on for a while before I looked up and noticed—pretty gray out there. 
I don’t have complete numbers, but did a quick count of maybe 100+ birds in 
less than a minute.  Looked like an evening “return” flight.
Elaina

From: 
mailto:bounce-125394393-3494...@list.cornell.edu>>
 on behalf of Elaina McCartney 
mailto:elaina.mccart...@cornell.edu>>
Reply-To: Elaina McCartney 
mailto:elaina.mccart...@cornell.edu>>
Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 9:27 AM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
mailto:cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu>>
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Large Crow flight

Shortly before sunrise this morning I noticed out the window a stream (actually 
a river) of Crows flying north following the west shore of Cayuga Lake.  To 
attempt to count them I recorded a 20 sec video, and was able to count 270 by 
examining it slowly.  The steady flight, which seemed to originate somewhere 
southish of Hog Hole, lasted at least 15 minutes at a rate of approximately 800 
per minute.  I don’t know how long it had been going on when I first noticed 
it, but there were upwards of 12,000 individuals while I watched them pass at a 
steady rate.  Some stragglers in groups of 8-10 followed up until about 7 am.

During the GBBC I observed three immature Bald Eagles simultaneously from my 
window, making passes over a large raft of aythya and Canada Geese, just north 
of Hog Hole.  It was the first time I’d seen more than two at a time.  
Yesterday I observed a mature Bald Eagle land in a nearby tree during a brief 
snow flurry.  Last fall a neighbor had limbs removed from a large, dying red 
oak tree for safety, and constructed an osprey platform on what’s left of the 
tree.  Hoping there will be some nesting interest.

Elaina
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Large Crow flight

2021-02-22 Thread Dave Nutter 
About that time, I was walking toward the lakeshore at Treman to survey the 
waterfowl in the SW part of the lake. As I passed between the frozen marina and 
the woods of the Hog Hole swamp, I saw an estimated 450 crows commuting east 
overhead. It sounded like there were more on the way but not yet visible. The 
light was starting to dim, and I chose to look at the birds on the lake, so 
it’s possible that hundreds more crows commuted behind my back. There were 
hundreds of ducks of at least a dozen species stretching north into the 
distance, nothing new, but lots of fun if you don’t stress about numbers. 
(Clarification: hundreds of Redheads, Canvasbacks and Common Mergansers, and 
much smaller numbers of the other 9 species I saw). I didn’t count the geese on 
the lake, mostly along the west shore, but did note that about 80 Canada Geese 
flew low both north and south from the middle of Allan Treman State Marine Park 
just south of the knoll. My guess is that they had been trying to graze where 
the land was windswept, but it looked like tough going. An immature Iceland 
Gull continues in the SW corner of the lake. Lots of Great Black-backs 
dominating the ice-covered Red Lighthouse Breakwater. Many of the Herring Gulls 
are now in sleek breeding plumage. No Ring-billeds that I saw. 4 Double-crested 
Cormorants rested atop the piling cluster. 

- - Dave Nutter

> On Feb 22, 2021, at 5:39 PM, Elaina M. McCartney 
>  wrote:
> 
> Approximately 5:20 pm today I noticed a steady flight of Crows from my 
> vantage just north of Hog Hole, heading approximately toward Cayuga 
> Heights/Cornell Campus, moving in the approximately the opposite direction of 
> the large morning flight of 2/17.  I don’t know the extent of today’s flight, 
> I assume it had been going on for a while before I looked up and 
> noticed—pretty gray out there. I don’t have complete numbers, but did a quick 
> count of maybe 100+ birds in less than a minute.  Looked like an evening 
> “return” flight.
> Elaina
>  
> From:  on behalf of Elaina 
> McCartney 
> Reply-To: Elaina McCartney 
> Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 9:27 AM
> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Large Crow flight
>  
> Shortly before sunrise this morning I noticed out the window a stream 
> (actually a river) of Crows flying north following the west shore of Cayuga 
> Lake.  To attempt to count them I recorded a 20 sec video, and was able to 
> count 270 by examining it slowly.  The steady flight, which seemed to 
> originate somewhere southish of Hog Hole, lasted at least 15 minutes at a 
> rate of approximately 800 per minute.  I don’t know how long it had been 
> going on when I first noticed it, but there were upwards of 12,000 
> individuals while I watched them pass at a steady rate.  Some stragglers in 
> groups of 8-10 followed up until about 7 am.
>  
> During the GBBC I observed three immature Bald Eagles simultaneously from my 
> window, making passes over a large raft of aythya and Canada Geese, just 
> north of Hog Hole.  It was the first time I’d seen more than two at a time.  
> Yesterday I observed a mature Bald Eagle land in a nearby tree during a brief 
> snow flurry.  Last fall a neighbor had limbs removed from a large, dying red 
> oak tree for safety, and constructed an osprey platform on what’s left of the 
> tree.  Hoping there will be some nesting interest.
>  
> Elaina
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> --
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
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> Rules and Information
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> The Mail Archive
> Surfbirds
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Large Crow flight

2021-02-22 Thread Elaina M. McCartney 
Approximately 5:20 pm today I noticed a steady flight of Crows from my vantage 
just north of Hog Hole, heading approximately toward Cayuga Heights/Cornell 
Campus, moving in the approximately the opposite direction of the large morning 
flight of 2/17.  I don’t know the extent of today’s flight, I assume it had 
been going on for a while before I looked up and noticed—pretty gray out there. 
I don’t have complete numbers, but did a quick count of maybe 100+ birds in 
less than a minute.  Looked like an evening “return” flight.
Elaina

From:  on behalf of Elaina McCartney 

Reply-To: Elaina McCartney 
Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 9:27 AM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Large Crow flight

Shortly before sunrise this morning I noticed out the window a stream (actually 
a river) of Crows flying north following the west shore of Cayuga Lake.  To 
attempt to count them I recorded a 20 sec video, and was able to count 270 by 
examining it slowly.  The steady flight, which seemed to originate somewhere 
southish of Hog Hole, lasted at least 15 minutes at a rate of approximately 800 
per minute.  I don’t know how long it had been going on when I first noticed 
it, but there were upwards of 12,000 individuals while I watched them pass at a 
steady rate.  Some stragglers in groups of 8-10 followed up until about 7 am.

During the GBBC I observed three immature Bald Eagles simultaneously from my 
window, making passes over a large raft of aythya and Canada Geese, just north 
of Hog Hole.  It was the first time I’d seen more than two at a time.  
Yesterday I observed a mature Bald Eagle land in a nearby tree during a brief 
snow flurry.  Last fall a neighbor had limbs removed from a large, dying red 
oak tree for safety, and constructed an osprey platform on what’s left of the 
tree.  Hoping there will be some nesting interest.

Elaina
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