Yesterday (3/4/15) I drove from the NYS Thruway down the east side of Cayuga Lake to my house at Lansing Station Rd, Lansing. Saw my FOY ROUGH LEGGED HAWK on NY Rt. 318, near US Rt. 20. Female, I think.
The iced over Seneca River had open water in one little spot on River Road near Mud Lock (CS-1) and I saw 2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS and several COMMON MERGANSERS. On the Cayuga Lake side of the lock and dam, several CANVASBACKS and REDHEADS with 1 RED BREASTED MERGANSER, 1 pair BUFFLEHEAD, and 2 CANADA GEESE were seen. Ice was between there and a little open water north side of RR bridge in Cayuga, NY; this open water had several REDHEADS, 1 SWAN sp., and 1 A. CROW. The Mill Pond in U. Spring was all open water and featured several REDHEADS, 6 pairs of COMMON MERGS., 2 pairs BUFFLEHEADS, and 2 male A. WIGEONS. Factory Pond seems to have regained its usual water level and water was running briskly out of its outlet to the lake, creating an ice free small "stream" where I saw 21 TUNDRA SWANS and several MALLARDS, CANVASBACKS, COMMON MERGS, and CANADA GEESE. The Factory Pond had a few REDHEADS. Otherwise the lake by Union Springs was completely iced over. Driving south, I noted that the ice edge was just a little north of Levanna with open water south of there. Going uphill from Levanna, across from Mackenzie Childs complex I saw the first of a long, loose large flock of assorted AYTHYAS. There was a lot of ice extending into the lake from the shore and they were next to that ice edge. Such flocks continued in the open water all along at Aurora. The water was still open south past Long Point St. Park. Saw 6 HORNED LARKS at junction of Ledyard Rd. and NY Rt. 34B. I've been away 2 weeks and I arrived home at Lansing Station Rd. to find solid ice all the way across the lake with the north ice edge of this mass right in front of my house! I have lived here since 1986 and owned the property since 1979 and have never seen solid ice all the way across the lake here! So, today, I decided to see how far the ice went around here. I read on this list that there is open water only around the Ithaca Yacht Club area to the south. The ice in this area is mostly solid from the east shore to the west shore, but at the dead end of Bill George Road, at #367, (which runs into the lower part of Lans. Sta. Rd. by the lake shore) there are 2 large "ponds" of open water past the on-shore ice; there is ice beyond these 2 open patches on the west shore. Very few birds in these open patches. To the south of 367 B. Geo. Rd. as far as I could see the lake is solid ice. Along the shore of B. Geo. Rd north of there (367) are a few long thin patches of open water where there were several Aythyas. Then solid ice again. These areas do not have the piles of ice on shore seen elsewhere. Starting around #3 B. Geo Rd and extending north along the lake right near shore all along Lans. Sta. Rd. up till #353 again is a long thin (100' or less wide) strip of open water in which lots of ducks are swimming. There is a small thin strip of open water both ways from #457 too. Then solid ice all across the lake until my place at #535, where the ice is solid across lake, then there is an ice edge of floating pieces of ice and open water all the way across the lake. It looked from my beach like this open water ends at another cross-lake solid ice sheet at the cove and a warning light structure at the south side of Milliken Station Point. So, I took a drive up the lake today to see where this next ice sheet ended. First I went to the Power Plant and to Milliken Point. Indeed the open water north of my place ends at the south side of Milliken Point. There is only a little open water right in front of the Power Plant, then solid ice all across the lake, and extending north. It is hard get a good place to see the rest of the lake's length at Milliken without going in someone's yard. Next I went to Nutridge Road, 4500 feet north from the power plant's north property line. The solid ice sheet ended a little north of Nutridge Rd. Then I went to Atwater Rd, the next access to the lake. All is open water there, and the ice edge at Nutridge can be seen from there. As far to the north from Atwater that I could see was all open water, but I couldn't see too far up there because of a big snow squall moving in and clouding the view. So, probably there is open water from about Nutridge Road to north of Levanna (north of Aurora), with this rather large open patch here by my part of Lans. Sta. Rd. Curious that there is not more open water by the Power Plant which we know puts out warm water into the lake. I am taking a guess that the thin open water strips near shore by B. Geo Rd. and the 259 - 353, 457 Lans. Sta. Rd. is where there is dense housing right near the lake and may be due to (ugh) their septic tanks' outflow. >From my area here to north of Aurora is the deepest part of the lake. It is >430 feet deep off shore here and it is said that this deepness helps hold a >little heat in the water most winters and is why it usually doesn't freeze >here and up to Aurora. So, why is the lake frozen in front of the Power Plant where even more heat is supposedly in the water? Donna Donna L. Scott 535 Lansing Station Road Lansing, NY -- 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/ --
