The “Christmas” Bird Count for the Ithaca area will again be, by long tradition from Lab founder Arthur Allen, on New Year’s Day. Any species which we miss on count day but which are observed within the count area during the week of the count - the 3 days before and the 3 days after - get noted as a sort of appendix. So, I encourage everyone to do some scouting and reporting. Benefits on December 29, 30, & 31 include helping folks find those birds on count day, and padding your own 2022 list. On January 2, 3, & 4 the benefits of finding new species include giving your 2023 list a boost, showing up all the great counters, and a chance to get your name on the list of first 2023 records for the Cayuga Lake Basin.
Some unusual or unseasonal birds which may be around include: A bold black and white male Tufted Duck somewhere among the thousands of ducks on the southern part of Cayuga Lake, who are fun to stare at just for the phenomenon! (The very rare female Red-crested Pochard found yesterday within that raft seems to be treated by eBird the way it would treat a Budgie that just flew out your neighbor’s window, presumed to be an escapee rather than a wild bird, difficult to enter into eBird and doesn’t show up in the records if you do. But it’s a challenge to find, if that’s your thing.) The immature male Harlequin Duck that stayed near East Shore Park for 3 weeks may still be in the vicinity but its favored haunts were iced over during the cold snap. Will the ice there break up during this warm spell? Will the duck return? Will it be verified as being somewhere else? If you find it, please take notes on the ID or a photo! A Black Vulture seen over Ithaca’s West end 2 days in a row (unless it was 2, each migrating away). Gulls have been a good bet lately. Even though the Black-legged Kittiwake and Little Gull at Stewart Park probably moved on within minutes of being discovered, and the California Gull likely will stay at the north end of the Basin close to the mountains of garbage, there have also been Lesser Black-backed & Iceland Gull & a couple Bonaparte’s thereabouts lately, and ya never know who will join them. A Ruby-crowned Kinglet (or 2?) has been in the the Allan Treman / Cass Park area. White-crowned Sparrows have been in South Lansing. A Towhee has been in Caroline. Evening Grosbeaks have been various places in the area. Find your additions to the list. I believe a map of the count circle is on the Cayuga Bird Club web site. - - 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/ --
