I saw Amelia Otis’ photo from 4 Jan at the Cornell compost piles, and it definitely looks like a Black Vulture to me. That’s another Count Week species.
Chris Wood saw an Iceland Gull fly over Monkey Run south on 4 Jan. And that’s one more Count Week species. There was also an eBird report on 4 Jan of a Red-headed Woodpecker around East Shore Park or Stewart Park (changed report without a more specific location). This report lacked an actual description, which to me is needed for a rare bird, only claiming it agreed with Sibley in wing and call. However it also said the bird was identified in flight, and that it was a female, and as far as I know, Red-headed Woodpeckers cannot be sexed in the field, or at least I haven’t seen clues in Sibley. So my guess is that there was some error here, either in species name or reading how the illustrations were labeled. Actual descriptions would help sort it out. Meanwhile, I am awaiting a more convincing report before adding this species to the 2019 Basin Bird List or recommending it be included as a Count Week bird. - - 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/ --
