On August 25 the Black-bellied Whistling Duck was again seen at 8:15 to 8:30 AM and again at 3:24 PM near Randolph, NY. (about 70 miles south of Buffalo, NY and Fort Erie, Ontario) Bill Watson ____________________________________ From: rhettbutle...@hotmail.com To: geneseebird...@geneseo.edu Sent: 8/24/2011 10:08:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time Subj: [GeneseeBirds-L] Black-bellied Whistling Duck - Randolph - Cattaraugus County
This afternoon I was able to confirm the presence of a Black-bellied Whistling Duck on Swamp Rd. in Randolph (Not sure if it falls in the town of Randolph or the town of Conewango), in Cattaraugus County. This bird was first reported to me at 9:00am by a friend of mine in the DEC who was in the area. I arrived at about 1:00pm and was only about half way back to the Osprey nest when the bird flew. The extensive white wing stripe and black flight feathers make this bird very hard to miss in the air. Eventually, it settled on the edge of a group of Mallards and gave great, though somewhat distant, views. It flew a total of three times in less than an hour so if you don't have a scope you still might catch it in the air. A digiscoped photo can be seen below: _https://picasaweb.google.com/josephcmitchell/2011#5644597231641354770_ (https://picasaweb.google.com/josephcmitchell/2011#5644597231641354770) Directions: >From Randolph, take Rte. 394 west and turn right on Swamp Rd. Proceed about three quarters of a mile north, you'll cross a small bridge and there is a small parking area on the left (west). Park here and walk the dike out to the Osprey nest. Look to the right (north) and the bird was with Mallards in and around the small grassy "islands". The link/coordinates below, provided with many thanks by Jim Osterlund, shows the exact location of the Osprey Nest (the small round pond with a grassy dot in the middle) and can be zoomed out to show Swamp Rd. and its relation to Randolph (Though the Google Map says "Borden St. Ext" the actual street sign does say Swamp Rd.). _42.174783,-78.98899 - Google Maps_ (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=42.174783,-78.98899&ll=42.17491,-78.989033&spn=0.00332,0.006968&sll=42.173922,-78.98 6228&sspn=0.00166,0.003484&num=1&t=h&vpsrc=6&z=18) My thanks to both Pat Coate and Bill Watson for posting this bird earlier as I did not get home until later this evening. I know the one call I sent out didn't give my phone number very well so here it is again. 716-604-7701. Feel free to call with any questions. Also of note was an adult Bald Eagle sitting far off in a dead tree. The pair of Ospreys began calling while I was there and circling closer to the nest. At that point I noticed a small falcon take flight from the nearby woods. On closer inspection it turned out to be a Merlin that promptly escorted both Osprey out of the area! The grass on the dike is a few inches high and near the Osprey nest I encountered a large (presumably) water snake that beat a hasty retreat. The area is dry but maybe bring boots anyway! At the Countryside Sand and Gravel ponds, to the north on Rte. 62, there were at least a dozen Semipalmated Sandpipers and as many Least Sandpipers at the pond by the main gate. A couple Semipalmated Plovers and a Great Egret rounded things out. Joe Mitchell = _______________________________________________ GeneseeBirds-L mailing list - geneseebird...@geneseo.edu http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
