The Ithaca "Christmas" Bird Count will be on New Year's Day as usual,
but the three days before and after the count day comprise the count week.
Any species found starting Wednesday 29 December through Tuesday 4
January will still count toward our total even if it is missed on count day.
So please post to the list any unusual species found within the count circle.
Good examples would be out-of-season birds such as the Red-winged Blackbird
at Stephanie's feeder if it shows up again, uncommon birds such as Pine Siskins,
or just plain rarities such as the King Eider. For that matter, now that duck-hunting
has begun, take note of all less-common waterfowl species. As of a few days
ago there were at least 17 species of waterfowl on the south end of the lake,
but most were in small numbers and may now be hard to find if they survive here.
As another guide for what sort of birds are especially worth noting,
last year these species were only found during count week:
Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Duck, White-winged Scoter,
Ring-necked Pheasant, Bald Eagle, Red-winged Blackbird,
Common Grackle;
and these species had a single easy-to-miss individual found on count day:
American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Long-tailed Duck,
Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk,
Merlin, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Ovenbird(!),
Rose-breasted Grosbeak(!), Rusty Blackbird, Common Redpoll.
A big benefit from posting uncommon birds over the next 3 days is that it
may help people track them down on count day.
Another thing to consider is talking to friends with bird feeders, to see if
they would like to note the highest number of each species they see on
New Year's Day and the total time they spend watching feeders that day,
and call the Lab of O at 254-2473 between 4pm & 6pm that evening.
What area are we talking about? Here's a link to the map:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/pdf/CBCMap.pdf.
It's a standard CBC 15-mile diameter circle, in our case centered on
Mount Pleasant. It includes nearly all of the Town of Ithaca (including
all of the City of Ithaca), much of the Town of Dryden (including most
of the Village of Dryden), considerable chunks of Danby, Caroline, and
Lansing, and smaller parts of Groton, Newfield and Ulysses (okay,
it also includes one side of one road in Enfield), and Cayuga Lake north
past the Ithaca Yacht Club and Portland Point.
Here's a brief list of what's IN the circle around the edge:
On the WEST:
Garrett Road
Wilkins Road
Sheffield Road
part of Lower Treman Park closest to NYS 13
On the SOUTH:
parts of Blakeslee Hill, Town Line, Layen, & Jersey Hill Roads
Comfort Rd south to Gunderman Rd
Gunderman Rd east of Comfort Rd
the hamlet of Danby
Hornbrook Rd
most of Steam Mill Rd
Durfee Hill Rd southeast as far as Howard Rd
Deputron Hollow Rd
Belle School Rd plus a bit further south on Coddington & White Church Roads
parts of Bald Hill School, Leonard, Central Chapel, Chestnut, Old 76, Bailor, Buffalo & Harford Rds
On the EAST:
Hammond Hill Rd south almost to Harford Rd
Canaan Rd
part of Star Stanton Hill Rd
part of Chaffee Rd
Keith Lane
Lake Rd north of Keith Lane
Village of Dryden except northeast corner
Mott Rd
Cady Lane
On the NORTH:
part of Red Mill Rd
Hile School Rd
part of Ed Hill Rd
Old Peruville Rd
Sharpsteen Rd
Pleasant Valley Rd west of Sharpsteen Rd
part of Buck Rd to west of Van Ostrand Rd
southern bit of Conlon Rd
Portland Point Rd
...PLUS all the main roads out to the smaller roads listed above.
Sorry to bore everyone with that description. I figured someone might
see their road or a nearby road on the list and think, "Hey, I should keep
my eyes and ears open around here, and let people know what I found."
--Dave Nutter
but the three days before and after the count day comprise the count week.
Any species found starting Wednesday 29 December through Tuesday 4
January will still count toward our total even if it is missed on count day.
So please post to the list any unusual species found within the count circle.
Good examples would be out-of-season birds such as the Red-winged Blackbird
at Stephanie's feeder if it shows up again, uncommon birds such as Pine Siskins,
or just plain rarities such as the King Eider. For that matter, now that duck-hunting
has begun, take note of all less-common waterfowl species. As of a few days
ago there were at least 17 species of waterfowl on the south end of the lake,
but most were in small numbers and may now be hard to find if they survive here.
As another guide for what sort of birds are especially worth noting,
last year these species were only found during count week:
Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Duck, White-winged Scoter,
Ring-necked Pheasant, Bald Eagle, Red-winged Blackbird,
Common Grackle;
and these species had a single easy-to-miss individual found on count day:
American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Long-tailed Duck,
Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk,
Merlin, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Ovenbird(!),
Rose-breasted Grosbeak(!), Rusty Blackbird, Common Redpoll.
A big benefit from posting uncommon birds over the next 3 days is that it
may help people track them down on count day.
Another thing to consider is talking to friends with bird feeders, to see if
they would like to note the highest number of each species they see on
New Year's Day and the total time they spend watching feeders that day,
and call the Lab of O at 254-2473 between 4pm & 6pm that evening.
What area are we talking about? Here's a link to the map:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/pdf/CBCMap.pdf.
It's a standard CBC 15-mile diameter circle, in our case centered on
Mount Pleasant. It includes nearly all of the Town of Ithaca (including
all of the City of Ithaca), much of the Town of Dryden (including most
of the Village of Dryden), considerable chunks of Danby, Caroline, and
Lansing, and smaller parts of Groton, Newfield and Ulysses (okay,
it also includes one side of one road in Enfield), and Cayuga Lake north
past the Ithaca Yacht Club and Portland Point.
Here's a brief list of what's IN the circle around the edge:
On the WEST:
Garrett Road
Wilkins Road
Sheffield Road
part of Lower Treman Park closest to NYS 13
On the SOUTH:
parts of Blakeslee Hill, Town Line, Layen, & Jersey Hill Roads
Comfort Rd south to Gunderman Rd
Gunderman Rd east of Comfort Rd
the hamlet of Danby
Hornbrook Rd
most of Steam Mill Rd
Durfee Hill Rd southeast as far as Howard Rd
Deputron Hollow Rd
Belle School Rd plus a bit further south on Coddington & White Church Roads
parts of Bald Hill School, Leonard, Central Chapel, Chestnut, Old 76, Bailor, Buffalo & Harford Rds
On the EAST:
Hammond Hill Rd south almost to Harford Rd
Canaan Rd
part of Star Stanton Hill Rd
part of Chaffee Rd
Keith Lane
Lake Rd north of Keith Lane
Village of Dryden except northeast corner
Mott Rd
Cady Lane
On the NORTH:
part of Red Mill Rd
Hile School Rd
part of Ed Hill Rd
Old Peruville Rd
Sharpsteen Rd
Pleasant Valley Rd west of Sharpsteen Rd
part of Buck Rd to west of Van Ostrand Rd
southern bit of Conlon Rd
Portland Point Rd
...PLUS all the main roads out to the smaller roads listed above.
Sorry to bore everyone with that description. I figured someone might
see their road or a nearby road on the list and think, "Hey, I should keep
my eyes and ears open around here, and let people know what I found."
--Dave Nutter
