My first stop in the Ithaca area was Stewart Park and as I am pulling up I get Jay's email on my phone about the shorebirds etc down there. Thanks! I arrived at 955 am and Jay's BRANT was still flying around at the very south end of the lake. As Ken pointed out, this bird eventually ended up with a flock of canada geese on the grass of which allowed for fairly close approach and a couple photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davenicosia/10499049733/ I checked the Red Lighthouse Jetty and I did get on Jay's shorebirds. I had one PECTORAL SANDPIPER and just one DUNLIN. The birds were on the small strip of gravel. At the southeast corner of the lake, the AMERICAN COOTS are gathering and I counted about 30 RUDDY DUCKS. They were diving a lot so this is a close estimate. In addition, I saw my first of fall season BUFFLEHEAD 2 male and 2 female. I also saw one PIED-BILLED GREBE in this area. There was one distant COMMON LOON as well as the usual 3 species of gulls close. I also heard many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS calling from the swan pen as Ken mentioned. My next stop was Myer's point. I give Bob a lot of credit for birding there for 90 minutes in the wind and cold. The winds were southwest and probably averaging around 30 mph with higher gusts. Temperature was 40 degrees when I was there. brrrr. I only lasted 20 minutes! Best bird for me there was a single BRANT flying by. This was a "brant" day for me. 3 out of 4 places I stopped had single brant including one stop at Dorchester Park Whitney Point, NY. Brant are a little harder to come by in Broome County so I was especially happy with this sighting. There was a lot of wave action and shimmer over the more distant waters at Myers. I did not get on any loons or scoters but again I was there 20 minutes. The usual gulls were at the point, no shorebirds that I could see. 2 adult BALD EAGLEs flew over Myer's which was a nice treat as I left. Last stop before heading home was the Stevenson Street compost piles. I saw Kevin McGown there. I was hoping to see the black vulture that was hanging around but was unable to find it. The shear numbers of gulls, in addition to the TVs, and crows is impressive. I too got on the LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL that Ken mentioned. Other than that there were the typical gulls that we get around here...lots of them. Dave Nicosia -- 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/ --
