Hi All, In the "I can't believe I've never been there" category, I visited Catharine Marsh in Watkins Glen for the first time today (19 July 2014). It's a beautiful marsh, and despite the late date and hour, my visit was quite productive. I birded from Rock Cabin Road, along the eastern edge of the marsh, stopping regularly along the road, and then spent a good 30 minutes at the small observation tower near the south end of the marsh. The undisputed highlight of the visit was seeing not one, but two LEAST BITTERNS from the observation tower (with the help of my scope). There was also a GREEN HERON and 12+ GREAT BLUE HERONS in this area, and a VIRGINIA RAIL called once fairly close to the tower. The sheer number of singing SWAMP SPARROWS was quite impressive for this date, and singing MARSH WRENS also put in a good showing, especially near the platform.
The only disappointment from my visit was the complete lack of any waterbirds visible on the open water in the marsh. I literally did not see a single duck, grebe, cormorant, gallinule, or even goose! With all of the reports of young waterbirds from Montezuma, I thoughts I would see some waterbirds at Catharine Marsh. Maybe next time... My complete eBird checklist is below. Good birding, Matt Medler Ithaca ________________________________________ Catharine Creek Marsh--Rock Cabin Rd., Schuyler, US-NY Jul 19, 2014 10:30 AM - 12:27 PM Protocol: Traveling 1.2 mile(s) Comments: Overcast, calm, 70°F. Stops every 0.1 mi. All totals are best attempts at careful counts, except where noted. Scope used to scan marsh when possible. <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.7.1 43 species Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) 2 First individual seen in flight in scope for 15+ seconds before it settled back into cattails. Second individual seen perched on edge of cattails for ~1 min. Both seen on far (west) side of marsh from platform. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 25 12+ from observation tower. Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 2 I saw one lone individual three different times; am confident of at least two different individuals. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 5 Soaring distantly over ridge to west Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1 Adult perched on small shrubby vegetation just a few feet above water. Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) 1 One kiddick series after being on tower 30+ minutes. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 5 Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) 1 Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 2 Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 2 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) (Colaptes auratus auratus/luteus) 3 Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 1 Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) 1 Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) 1 Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) 1 Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) 5 Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 6 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 3 Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 1 Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) 2 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 2 Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 1 White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1 Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 9 Carefully counted, one individual at a time. Most numerous (or easily detectable) from observation tower, where 4+ individuals singing. Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 2 Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) 2 American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 13 Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) 15 Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 5 Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 11 Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 6 Seen. One singing Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 6 Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 23 Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) 3 Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 8 Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 3 Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) 1 Flyover Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 30 Rough estimate Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 10 Estimate Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) 2 American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 20 Estimate View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19149882 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) -- 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/ --
