A fine time was had this morning on this field trip. We met at the CLO parking lot, and while waiting there we were treated to a nice view of a Common Raven being harassed by crows and blackbirds. It landed on one of the utility poles and croaked its displeasure.
On the way to the preserve we spotted a Red-tailed Hawk on the ground in a field on Freese Road, where it was being mobbed too. At the same point one of our party observed a Bobolink and a flyover Pileated Woodpecker. At the preserve we started at the SW entrance and did the loop down to the creek including the ravine. Our first observation was of singing Towhees and a distant Prairie Warbler. Large numbers of American Goldfinch were present near the entrance. A few Juncos kept making appearances. Further in we heard and saw first Ruby-crowned Kinglets, then some Golden-crowned. Several White-throated Sparrows were singing lustily. An enthusiastic Ovenbird popped into sight and sang. A couple of Field Sparrows sang too. Two Broad-winged Hawks flew over. As we entered the woods leading down to the creek we heard Black-throated Green, and probable Magnolia (we never got visuals). At the creek we struck out on the Louisiana Waterthrush we had hoped to see. We bumped into a couple of other birders who had seen a Black-throated Blue and a Blackburnian, and heard a Winter Wren at the ravine. We did not succeed in repeating their success, but were compensated by the sight of a pair of Hermit Thrushes. Back at the entrance we decided to go to the other parking area and do the boardwalk. There we added Solitary Sandpiper, Chestnut-sided, Common Yellowthroat, and a flyover Cooper's Hawk. As a bonus, on the way back we bumped into John Fitzpatrick on Mt. Pleasant Road who pointed out the location of Horned Larks. A lovely male Harrier was there too. A bit further up we got out of the car when we heard a Savannah Sparrow, and then got great scope views of a singing male Bobolink at the very top of a tree. Thanks to everyone who participated. It was well worth the effort. -Paul On 5/4/2018 7:49 AM, Paul Anderson wrote: > > I'm leading a field trip tomorrow to the Park Preserve. Details are on > the calendar at http://cayugabirdclub.org and below. > > The 300 acre Park Preserve offers a mix of habitats from conifer > plantations to hardwoods and ravines. Magnolia Warblers, Indigo > Buntings, Prairie Warblers and Louisiana Waterthrush are just a few of > the birds that breed here. Bring insect repellent for those deer > ticks! We'll meet at the North parking lot of the Cornell Lab of > Ornithology at 7:00 am for carpooling (SFO field trips will also be > meeting at 7:00 am). Contact me at 607 216-5389 or fish...@gmail.com > <mailto:fish...@gmail.com> if you have questions. > > -- > Paul Anderson, VP of Engineering, GrammaTech, Inc. > 531 Esty St., Ithaca, NY 14850 > Tel: +1 607 273-7340 x118;http://www.grammatech.com -- Paul Anderson, VP of Engineering, GrammaTech, Inc. 531 Esty St., Ithaca, NY 14850 Tel: +1 607 273-7340 x118; http://www.grammatech.com -- 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/ --
