Late this morning I visited Stewart Park with binoculars and observed the following birds:
Canada Goose - 27 on the lake near shore Mallard - 28 in the lake, both near shore and farther out, some mixed with Coots Mallard (domestic variety) - 1 continuing brown male with white breast Lesser Scaup - 1 female in flight low over lake off Stewart Park after jet ski activity COMMON GOLDENEYE - 2 females, the first of this species I have seen at the south end of the lake this fall Bufflehead - 7 males, 17 females, diving frequently. There were several times more last Thursday Hooded Merganser - 2 females & 1 male together on Fall Creek just upstream of suspension bridge small duck sp - 65 estimated, flushed from southwest corner of lake by person on fast jet ski Double-crested Cormorant - 4 immatures on log in lake American Coot - 14 in the lake both near shore and farther out near the southeast corner Ring-billed Gull - dozens spread out on lake, probably more on red lighthouse breakwater Herring Gull - a few (juveniles) spread out on lake, probably more on red lighthouse breakwater Great Black-backed Gull - several adults among other gulls on red lighthouse breakwater Pileated Woodpecker - heard giving intermittent "kek" calls from Jetty Woods, maybe upset at Merlin MERLIN - perched high in trees along north shore of Jetty Woods, changed perch twice Blue Jay - 2 heard in separate parts of park Black-capped Chickadee - 2 or 3 in vegetation near southwest corner of Fuertes Sanctuary pond European Starling - 30 etimated in southbound flyover flock If previous discussions I initiated in the last week or two affected your blood pressure, stop here. I feel more comfortable sharing lists of waterfowl in the south end of Cayuga Lake now that the City of Ithaca has declared it will enforce its prohibitions on hunting and discharging firearms within the city limits, including its portion of the lake. I think some people may use CayugaBirds-L and eBird reports to decide where to try to shoot them. The south end of Cayuga Lake is a premier place for the public to view a diversity of water birds, but that is greatly hampered when the birds are deliberately disturbed. I think most readers of this list are aware of the birding value of Stewart Park (and Treman Marine State Park), so I didn’t feel I needed to add that to an already lengthy post about my encounter a week ago. Anyway, for the record, that is why I felt a discussion of what happened between myself and a few other people on land was appropriate for the CayugaBirds listserv. Since I only mentioned Buffleheads (which were closest and most numerous), not the 2 first-of-season male Redheads among the Coot flock that day, nor the Common Loon I saw farther out, I concede that I probably should have prefaced the subject line with “OT” for "off topic", to warn away people who only want to read lists of birds. On the subject of deliberate disturbance of birds, during my visit today I saw someone on a red jet ski drive at high speed out of Cayuga Inlet between the lighthouses and into the lake, and shortly afterward also at high speed drive into the southwest corner of the lake, flushing an estimated 65 waterfowl - small ducks, I believe - northward. After resting a couple minutes this same person went back up Cayuga Inlet again at considerable speed without having done anything else which caught my eye. This activity was within the portion of the lake where the City of Ithaca has declared shooting ducks to be illegal. If this was done in order to flush waterfowl to where they could be legally shot, I believe it would be an illegal act. To the couple people who said my post last week was political, yes it was. It was about government policy, what our laws are, how they are interpreted, whether people obey them, and how to get them enforced. That’s practically the definition of politics. The particular policy and law i brought up affect park users and birding. That’s us. I also sent that post to the head of Friends of Stewart Park. Many people on this listserv may think duck-hunting is a fine thing to do, but how many also think this is a reasonable version: “Let’s go down to the city park and shoot the ducks.” I suspect that such a suggestion is not very popular among residents of the City of Ithaca, so I support my government making the rules I have mentioned, and enforcing them. Now add these twists: "Let’s go shoot ducks alongside an afterschool activity, and let’s set up our ambush right next to the mouth of Fall Creek where rowers quietly enter the lake.*” That’s where I’ve seen those guys set up before, and I have every reason to believe that’s exactly what they were about to do. If their own judgement doesn’t stop them from doing that, I think it’s time for the police to do so. As to taking offense at my mention of the kids gathering nearby, those were the facts of the situation. Elaina’s photo showed a similar situation at dawn a couple weeks before in the southwest corner of the lake. Such facts affected my government when it changed the law in 1994 and they affected my government when it publicized this week that the ban will be enforced. [*Birds have acclimated to harmless rowers. They don’t flush from the red lighthouse breakwater when rowers come by. Yes, I think it is possible for rowers to come within shooting range while birds are present.] As to my description of the vehicles and their license plates, keep in mind that they belong to people who by their own admission have been breaking the law for years (I also saw where they dragged their boat last year), and they have only just agreed to stop. If they are true to their word, no problem. If not, the only thing I advocated was to have the Ithaca City Police deal with it. To that end Chief Barber advertised the IPD dispatcher’s phone number: 607-272-3245. As to the suggestion that my license plate be published as some sort of retaliation, I have two comments. First, I was not the one doing anything illegal. Second, this is my city park, and I arrived on the Cayuga Waterfront Trail, not in a car. Some folks have suggested we all buy Duck Stamps and thank everyone who has helped create bird habitat that way. Bravo! I don’t have a lot of money, but I have donated time to the Montezuma NWR helping the public learn about the birds which use Knox-Marsellus and Puddler Marshes. Those impoundments were created with help from Ducks Unlimited, whom I publicly thank here for that. I think Montezuma Muckrace (birders) funds will help improve their water level management as well. Now consider Stewart Park. Were Duck Stamps or Ducks Unlimited involved here? Not that I’ve heard. In fact the west end of the park was re-designed using donations from the public specifically as a bird sanctuary. Stewart Park is a city park. It’s a wonderful place used by many people with many interests. My city doesn’t have a lot of money, yet it is generous enough to maintain this park and allow the public in for free, without asking where you live or pay taxes. Yeah, you can thank us. And obey the rules. If you want to know more about the birds while you’re here, I’m happy to share. —Dave Nutter -- 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/ --
