7 Feb 2016 CBC Field Trip Report With the continuing unseasonably warm temperature and a forecast of light southern wind, thirteen folks joined me for our first-of-year around-the-lake field trip. The lack of ice on the lake and snow in the fields meant that the birds, especially the ducks, were spread out and going to be difficult to find. Altogether we saw/heard some 55 species, and a few folks even got life birds!
The lake at Myers was home to the continuing flock of Goldeneye and large numbers of Mallards. The first real highlight came at Ladoga where we quickly spotted a small group of White-winged Scoters and a couple of Common Loons. From there we headed north with a stop along Rafferty Road for close looks at Horned Larks - and they really DO have horns! The lake at the Wells College boathouse was nearly calm making it relatively easy to pick out the 20 Horned Grebes offshore as well as another loon. With reports of open water in the main pool at the refuge, we climbed the tower - to find only distant ducks and a few swans. Several of us were fortunate to hear the brief chatter call of the continuing Marsh Wren. There was a good representation of Brown-headed Cowbirds in a flock of Starlings at the Potato Building along Rt 31 and, even more exciting, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls in a large flock of gulls feeding in one of the flooded fields. Following a report of Sandhill Cranes on Armitage Road, we checked numerous fallow fields in the vicinity - and came up empty. But we did come across a family of Trumpeter Swans, easily identified because they were in a field all by themselves and then through the usual field marks (pointed forehead feather patch and extensive black lores). We finally caught up with a large group of ducks at Cayuga Lake State Park and had fun picking through the milling masses looking for the few Wigeons, Scaup, Ruddy Ducks and - a single distant Eared Grebe. Strange place for that guy, but we had lots of good eyes on the bird and were able to definitively confirm the ID. Out last stop was along Seybold Road for the staked-out Snowy Owl. But it was not where it was supposed to be - on the gas wellhead east of the road, and there was a moment of panic that we had come all that way for nothing. Susan Danskin had the presence of mind to look around and spotted it on a fence post off in the distance. Except, then, for the cranes we finished up by finding all of the promised birds and concluded what I heard later from some participants was a good trip! Note: I am NOT reporting all of the birds we saw. I did not keep notes, and these are the just the highlights that came to mind as I put this together. Bob McGuire -- 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/ --
