Yesterday morning (Friday 18 Dec) I took a cross-country ski trip on the Black
Diamond Trail as far north as the woods below the hospital, a little over 2
miles. The trail which I had broken for the first half mile the previous
morning had been extended by others at least to Glenwood Heights Rd, I learned
from a rare passerby. My progress was mainly slowed by estimating the numbers
in every flock of geese I heard and was able to see. All were flying south,
evidently haven given up on the idea of grazing or foraging in farm fields
buried by over a foot of snow. During my 3 hours out I tallied nearly 5,000
Canada Geese.
It wasn’t until 0922 when I was near my turnaround that I encountered my first
flock of Snow Geese, about 100. Eventually five flocks of them added up to
around 700 birds. I did not see any mixing of Canadas & Snows in flocks, nor
did I see any Ross’s nor Cackling.
When I was back near Cass Park a particularly large flock of Canadas went past.
I was still checking their number when they were south of me, and I noticed
something sizable but different flying nearby. It was a Common Loon bucking the
trend by flying north over Ithaca at 1044. Those birds fascinate me. And in the
sky above the loon I saw two high ghostly silent birds that I would not have
otherwise noticed - a pair of Swans, presumed Tundra. A few minutes later I
heard several Tundra Swans calling, and I eventually caught sight of a flock of
48 of them in a counter-clockwise curving path over West Hill last seen going
SW and fairly low. Maybe they saw a field they thought worth checking for food.
I’m guessing that the shallow waters at the north end of the lake where they
prefer to feed are all either frozen or disturbed by gunners.
Gunfire was generally far north of Ithaca during my outing, perhaps helping to
account for the large number of flying Canada Geese and the Common Loon The
south end of the lake looked pretty empty through binoculars and trees from the
trail, and ice was extensive off Stewart Park (though not as far as East Shore
Park), across Fall Creek and Cayuga Inlet, and from the Red Lighthouse
Breakwater past Allan H Treman State Marine Park all the way to about #857 on
Taughannock Boulevard. My guess is that with the clear still air and single
digit Fahrenheit overnight temperatures, that ice will have grown a lot by
today.
There were also 14 Snow Geese over the south end of the Black Diamond Trail who
seemed to be exploring by flying NW, and the last flock of Snow Geese which I
saw, about 70 of them, was the only substantial goose flock of the morning
which was not southbound; for whatever reason it was last seen going pretty
much East over Ithaca.
- - Dave Nutter
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