This afternoon I was finally able to find a large flock of SNOW GEESE at the south end of the mucklands. Over the 2 hours I watched this flock it grew to 45,000 birds as more came in from the north. The flock periodically rose to circle as BALD EAGLES flew over. I was able to find one ROSS'S GOOSE before eye-strain set in. On Rt-89 between East Rd. and the mucklands I stopped to enjoy hundreds of thousands of BLACKBIRDS streaming north over the road from the nearby trees.
The main pool at Montezuma held 1100, most if not all, TUNDRA SWANS. There was a large flock of AYTHYA, NORTHERN PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, A.WIGEON, GADWALL, BLACK DUCK, MALLARD, RUDDY DUCK. Stewart Park still has a terrific variety of waterfowl, including RUDDY DUCK, WOOD DUCK, RED-BREASTED/HOODED/COMMON MERGANSERS, A.WIGEON, C.GOLDENEYE, BUFFLEHEAD, SCAUP, RING-NECKED, MALLARDS. There was also a leucistic Mallard that I haven't seen before. The east side of Cayuga lake, between the ends, was pretty empty. The west side south of Cayuga Lake State Park had some large mixed flocks of waterfowl, but I didn't have time to scan them. Happy birding, Gary -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --