Had the pleasure of leading the SFO "local" group this morning. All of us had no strict time constraints so we decided to head up the east side of Cayuga Lake so it really was not that "local" after all!
We didn't plan on it but we made it all the way up to Montezuma since the birding was great. Light south winds bringing migrants north, and great viewing on Cayuga Lake made for such an action-packed day. I can't wait to see what the other SFO groups come up with! On the way up and back, we got great views of both OSPREY nests seen from Route 89 near Union Springs. We also saw a RING-NECKED PHEASANT on the way up as well. Our first stop was Mud Lock and the BALD EAGLE was sitting on the nest with nice views. We also had a nice, fairly close up view of a COMMON LOON in breeding plumage. There was a distant group of REDHEAD, SCAUP sp., 1 RING NECKED DUCK, BUFFLEHEADS, and RUDDY DUCKS. We heard an EASTERN PHEOBE, heard and briefly saw a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER and a flyover BELTED KINGFISHER. A couple small flocks of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS flew by as well. Great start. Since we were so close, we decided to stop at the Montezuma NWR visitor's center and we were not disappointed. There was a waterfowl bonanza there with close-up views of many species. Great for studying field marks. We had many NORTHERN SHOVELERS, NORTHERN PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, several AMERICAN WIGEON, and 1 GADWALL. There were 4 PURPLE MARTINS by the martin homes and several TREE SWALLOWS floating around. A SWAMP SPARROW was singing in the marsh. We had two OSPREY and TVs soaring overhead and a female NORTHERN HARRIER coursing low over the marsh. On the way back, we stopped at the Factory Street Pond but we did not see "screechie" today in his box. It was still cold and fairly cloudy so maybe he/she was hiding? Not much else at this pond. Next stop was the Aurora boathouse on Aurora Bay. We had a nice HORNED GREBE in breeding plumage, many BUFFLEHEAD, a distant COMMON LOON and distant LONG-TAILED DUCKS. There were also many RING-BILLED GULLS and a few HERRING. We also had a fly-by BARN SWALLOW at Aurora bay. Next stop was Lake Road near Long Point and we got great views of a singing EASTERN MEADOWLARK. What a treat. At the Ithaca Airport we had nice views of both a RED-TAILED HAWK and an AMERICAN KESTREL. Back at the Lab I am learning that the best place to go over your list is by the feeders. We added COMMON REDPOLL, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW (still many!), WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, and HOUSE FINCH while adding up our species totals. For just 4 1/2 hours of birding, we totaled 56 species. Not bad. More importantly we got great views of many of our beautiful watefowl and migrants. Dave Nicosia Johnson City, NY -- 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/ --
