Read about this past weekend's walks led by Cayuga Bird Club volunteers. Getting out in your warm clothes and bringing your nature enthusiasm is a great way to get through the winter. Every Saturday and Sunday, now at 9. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch with me. Linda Orkin, Ithaca, NY
Diane Morton's walk on Saturday at Sapsucker Woods was well-attended by 15 people. Read her report here... Given the cold weather, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people who came on this morning's bird walk. Most were from out of state-- Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts. All of the club's binoculars were put to use. We only needed the scope once, for seeing a single Wood Duck out on the main pond. Other Wood Ducks were heard flying by, but out on the pond only Mallards and a few Canada Geese were visible. Best sighting-- a flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-Rumped Warblers very close to the path for all to see. Suan Hsi Yong's walk on Sunday with our first flurries had 4 people come out. And enjoy! After overnight temps dipped below freezing, some morning sun brought optimism to the four attendees today. Wood ducks gathered in good numbers in the far pond, giving good scope views from various vantages. Fresh signs of beaver damage were seen at various spots. A kingfisher perched briefly while white-throated sparrows flitted through the trees. Approaching Sherwood Platform, we found a good flock of yellow-rumped warblers and ruby-crowned kinglets, and beyond them in the leaf litter were a foraging group of rusty blackbirds who eventually emerged into the trees to reveal their numbers to be in the dozens. A cooper's hawk patrolled the ponds giving brief looks, and a great blue heron eventually landed on a snag overlooking the wood ducks and mallards. It was around then that the sleetstorm began; it was a surreal experience walking through the woods sounding like heavy rain, but being pelted only by small balls of sleet bouncing off and gathering atop leaves and collected by cobwebs. Another pleasant morning of birding in what would normally be considered bad weather. -- Veganism is simply the acknowledgment that a replaceable and fleeting pleasure isn't more valuable than someone's life and liberty. ~ Unknown If you permit this evil, what is the good of the good of your life? -Stanley Kunitz... -- 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/ --
