Re: [cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park birds, plus OT comments

[Linda K Tuyn]

I appreciate all the information you have posted, and find it eloquently
stated.

Linda Tuyn

On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 4:03 PM, Dave Nutter  wrote:

> Late this morning I visited Stewart Park with binoculars and observed the
> following birds:
>
> Canada Goose - 27 on the lake near shore
> Mallard - 28 in the lake, both near shore and farther out, some mixed with
> Coots
> Mallard (domestic variety) - 1 continuing brown male with white breast
> Lesser Scaup - 1 female in flight low over lake off Stewart Park after jet
> ski activity
> COMMON GOLDENEYE - 2 females, the first of this species I have seen at the
> south end of the lake this fall
> Bufflehead - 7 males, 17 females, diving frequently. There were several
> times more last Thursday
> Hooded Merganser - 2 females & 1 male together on Fall Creek just upstream
> of suspension bridge
> small duck sp - 65 estimated, flushed from southwest corner of lake by
> person on fast jet ski
> Double-crested Cormorant - 4 immatures on log in lake
> American Coot - 14 in the lake both near shore and farther out near the
> southeast corner
> Ring-billed Gull - dozens spread out on lake, probably more on red
> lighthouse breakwater
> Herring Gull - a few (juveniles) spread out on lake, probably more on red
> lighthouse breakwater
> Great Black-backed Gull - several adults among other gulls on red
> lighthouse breakwater
> Pileated Woodpecker - heard giving intermittent "kek" calls from Jetty
> Woods, maybe upset at Merlin
> MERLIN - perched high in trees along north shore of Jetty Woods, changed
> perch twice
> Blue Jay - 2 heard in separate parts of park
> Black-capped Chickadee - 2 or 3 in vegetation near southwest corner of
> Fuertes Sanctuary pond
> European Starling - 30 etimated in southbound flyover flock
>
> If previous discussions I initiated in the last week or two affected your
> blood pressure, stop here.
>
> I feel more comfortable sharing lists of waterfowl in the south end of
> Cayuga Lake now that the City of Ithaca has declared it will enforce its
> prohibitions on hunting and discharging firearms within the city limits,
> including its portion of the lake. I think some people may use
> CayugaBirds-L and eBird reports to decide where to try to shoot them. The
> south end of Cayuga Lake is a premier place for the public to view a
> diversity of water birds, but that is greatly hampered when the birds are
> deliberately disturbed. I think most readers of this list are aware of the
> birding value of Stewart Park (and Treman Marine State Park), so I didn’t
> feel I needed to add that to an already lengthy post about my encounter a
> week ago. Anyway, for the record, that is why I felt a discussion of what
> happened between myself and a few other people on land was appropriate for
> the CayugaBirds listserv. Since I only mentioned Buffleheads (which were
> closest and most numerous), not the 2 first-of-season male Redheads among
> the Coot flock that day, nor the Common Loon I saw farther out, I concede
> that I probably should have prefaced the subject line with “OT” for "off
> topic", to warn away people who only want to read lists of birds.
>
> On the subject of deliberate disturbance of birds, during my visit today I
> saw someone on a red jet ski drive at high speed out of Cayuga Inlet
> between the lighthouses and into the lake, and shortly afterward also at
> high speed drive into the southwest corner of the lake, flushing an
> estimated 65 waterfowl - small ducks, I believe - northward. After resting
> a couple minutes this same person went back up Cayuga Inlet again at
> considerable speed without having done anything else which caught my eye.
> This activity was within the portion of the lake where the City of Ithaca
> has declared shooting ducks to be illegal. If this was done in order to
> flush waterfowl to where they could be legally shot, I believe it would be
> an illegal act.
>
> To the couple people who said my post last week was political, yes it was.
> It was about government policy, what our laws are, how they are
> interpreted, whether people obey them, and how to get them enforced. That’s
> practically the definition of politics. The particular policy and law i
> brought up affect park users and birding. That’s us. I also sent that post
> to the head of Friends of Stewart Park. Many people on this listserv may
> think duck-hunting is a fine thing to do, but how many also think this is a
> reasonable version: “Let’s go down to the city park and shoot the ducks.” I
> suspect that such a suggestion is not very popular among residents of the
> City of Ithaca, so I support my government making the rules I have
> mentioned, and enforcing them. Now add these twists: "Let’s go shoot ducks
> alongside an afterschool activity, and let’s set up our ambush right next
> to the mouth of Fall Creek where rowers quietly enter the lake.*” That’s
> where I’ve seen those guys set up before, and I have every reason to
> believe 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Stewart Park birds, plus OT comments

[John and Fritzie Blizzard]

Brief & to the point but I agree with Linda Tuyn. I wish I could write 
as well as has Dave.


Fritzie Blizzard.

On 11/19/2015 8:50 PM, Linda K Tuyn wrote:

I appreciate all the information you have posted, and find it eloquently 
stated.



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