We have the go-ahead for another shorebird walk this Sunday, 24 July, at Montezuma NWR, where we will be "Authorized Personnel" beyond the signs and onto the dikes around Knox-Marsellus and Puddler Marshes.
Folks unfamiliar with the area can meet at the Visitor Center off NYS-5/US-20, which we will leave promptly at 7am, caravanning to the overlook on East Road (here: 43.0115,-76.7588), arriving at 7:15am. From there we will walk as a group down the hill and onto the dikes where refuge vehicles drive. There we will spend perhaps 3 hours enjoying all birds but concentrating on the shorebirds. If you have them, please bring a field guide, binoculars, and a spotting scope. If you lack any of these, but want to learn about shorebirds, please join us anyway. A few other people with scopes and experience have volunteered to help teach about the birds we hope to see. I encourage everyone to share what they see and hear, especially if they don't yet know the ID. It's an easy walk with lots of standing around, out in the weather, with some tall weeds around. There is no fee. For those inclined to study, this past Sunday we saw: Killdeer Semipalmated Plover Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Greater Yellowlegs was in the area, but I didn't see it on the walk. Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Phalarope, and a Black-necked Stilt had been reported recently but not on Sunday. Several additional species are likely to show up as the southbound migration continues. --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/ --
