Livia and I walked out the access road from the Liddell Lab on Freese Road again this evening and this time found *5* VESPER SPARROWS along the grassy track and the edge of the dry dirt field just east of the single tall tree. The were foraging somewhat separately, but upon being disturbed coalesced together and for quite a while all five were visible in one binocular field. At one point two flew into the tree, giving their high-pitched call notes. A few minutes later, one bird sang from the field, after which one of the birds in the tree began to sing brightly for a few repetitions. When we left, the birds had flown to the north side of the dirt field.
Other birds in the area included several SAVANNAH SPARROWS being very skulky in the grass, a flyover AMERICAN PIPIT, and a flyover COMMON LOON heading north. At Sapsucker Woods today I saw at least three FOX SPARROWS continuing where I reported them a while ago, in the bushy area just before the trail enters the woods along the powerline cut on the east side. Another PIED-BILLED GREBE has joined the one on the pond, and they were making some noises at each other today. I checked quite a few spots on the lake this morning as well. Highlights included three LONG-TAILED DUCKS, two WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, several HORNED GREBES, and one RED-THROATED LOON at Myers Point; and three LONG-TAILED DUCKS and a RED-NECKED GREBE from the railroad track crossing north of East Shore Park. Cheers, -Jay -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology jw...@cornell.edu -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --