NYSbirders, Five Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks were found this morning at the east end of Oneida Lake in Brewerton. Bill Purcell got the word out (thanks Bill!), and a number of birders were able to view the ducks sitting on a dock at these coordinates: 43.236545,-76.134656 The ducks reportedly flew west along the Oneida River in the evening. Jay McGowan and I viewed the birds until 6:40PM; at 8:25PM, on our way back south to Ithaca, we checked the dock and surrounding area and did not see the ducks. All birds are unbanded and have healthy-looking, intact feet, toes, and nails (bands and clipped toes/ nails can suggest captive origin). The timing is consistent with natural vagrancy of the species to the north of its normal range and I think it is appropriate to consider the birds as wild vagrants. Interestingly, I found a group of 5 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania yesterday morning; those birds turned up on a golf course pond near my parents' house and flew away at 8:30AM. This site is roughly 210 miles to the south of Brewerton, NY as measured on Google Maps. Without wanting to start conspiracy theories about vagrants showing up at multiple locations, I think this is a decent possibility in this case. I've tried to find individual markings on the ducks in my photos that could be used to link the two sightings with more confidence but haven't been successful yet. If others have ideas on the matter, I'd be interested in learning more. More information can be found on OneidaBirds: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/ONEI.html My photos of the whistling-ducks in NY and PA are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonxie88/
Also in the realm of southern rarities turning up in Upstate NY - a Yellow-throated Warbler found by Chris Wood and Jessie Barry spent today singing in a Tompkins County yard, and a dead Prothonotary Warbler was found on an Ithaca street yesterday evening. Perhaps there are more southern birds hiding out there... Cheers, Tom -- Thomas Brodie Johnson Ithaca, NY [email protected] mobile: 717.991.5727 -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
