Peregrine Falcon - I stopped by Stevenson Road today to see the Black Vultures and it flew by landing among the Pheasants for a minute, but didn’t carry any off! Ann
Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 30, 2017, at 5:42 PM, Kevin J. McGowan <k...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > I was scouting out my Christmas bird count area yesterday, and did a little > birding today. I managed to see a good number of things that are often missed > on the Ithaca CBC, so at least they will be count week. Here is an incomplete > list. > > Snow Goose – a single bird flying past Myers Point yesterday > Cackling Goose – a single bird in with a massive number of Canada Geese > flying over Stewart Park going out to the lake this afternoon; possibly > disturbed off the Newman golf course. I could not refind it on the water. > Mute Swan – 8 individuals flying in from the north and landing off Stewart > Park this afternoon > Tundra Swan – 11 individuals in the water off Stewart Park this afternoon > American Wigeon – two south of Myers Point yesterday, and one or two in the > big Redhead flock > Canvasback – not usually uncommon, but I saw fewer than a dozen in the > Redhead flock yesterday, which I estimated (twice) to be 10,000 ducks > Ring-necked Duck – many in Redhead flock > Greater Scaup – several south of Myers > Lesser Scaup – some in with Redhead flock > (Possible) Surf Scoter – far NW of East Shore Park this afternoon; too far > for positive ID, but head shape looked good, and I never saw white in the > wings, even when it was preening > White-winged Scoter – At least 11 in flock just off East Shore this > afternoon; included 3 adult males; foraging for zebra mussels > Long-tailed Duck – 3 off East Shore this afternoon, 3 off Myers yesterday > (but out of count area) > Common Goldeneye – a few off East Shore > Red-breasted Merganser – at least one female south of Myers, and a group of 4 > females off East Shore yesterday > Ruddy Duck – 3 in Redhead flock off East Shore yesterday > Horned Grebe – 2 far NW of East Shore this afternoon. I only found them > because they swam past my scoter “sp.” that I was intently staring at in the > scope for what seemed like an hour. They were so small and pale, and the > shimmer was so intense that I am pretty sure I would not have picked them up > on a normal scan. > Great Blue Heron – flying over Aldi’s parking lot this afternoon > Black Vulture – 4 at the Game Farm today. New to count!!! > American Coot – never missed, I don’t think, but I only had 7 at Myers and 3 > in the Redhead flock > Iceland Gull – 3 on the ice north of Stewart Park at dusk this evening. Gulls > are short this year. I’ve seen very few individuals of Ring-billed Gull, and > after having 5 in one day a month ago, I haven’t seen a Lesser Black-backed > Gull for weeks > Fish Crow – Not rare, but could be missed. They seem to have stopped coming > to the Cornell compost facility as of this week, which is their normal > pattern. They want dorm waste, not stuff from greenhouses, so they often take > a break until school starts up again at the end of January. I did encounter > a few of them quietly foraging with the noisy American Crow group in Ithaca > near Beverly J. Martin school this afternoon. We have more than half of the > local population banded and tagged right now, so if you read the letters on a > tag of a bird you suspect of being a Fish Crow, let me know and I’ll check > out who it is. > (outside the count area) American Pipit – One or two on the point at Myers > and the gravel spit off Salt Point. Outside the CBC zone, but still present > for people who want to get a jump on the 2018 David Cup. > > Okay, we know these birds are in the area, so let’s get them officially on > the count! Also, I heard that a couple of Northern Pintail were seen > yesterday in the big Redhead flock when it was along the east shore. > > Anyone else have notable birds for count week so far? > > Kevin > > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- 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/ --
