Re:[cayugabirds-l] Jay's report (+ a proposal for Mill Pond)

[John and Fritzie Blizzard]

Your update is_MUCH_ appreciated, Jay. I've missed the reports.

I was invited 2 wks. ago to the village hall to listen to, & comment 
about, a proposal by a young lad who wants to "clean up around Mill 
Pond"   /clean up litter & cut brush &/ /_put a path_ _along the 
south side of the pond_/_,_ /along with several benches/. He wants to do 
this to earn his Eagle Scout status. That's how the "roofless, 
benchless"  but nice gazebo at the east end of the pond came to be. 
Another Eagle scout built that.

Some on the village board were "gung-ho" about his idea & wanted to 
approve it right away. After I spoke one member persuaded the board to 
put the idea on hold until more input could be obtained, esp. from 
birders. I found that the lad & his mother actually know next to nothing 
about what birds are there, only that birds come to the pond & that 
people stop to look at them. Indeed, they had a picture of an eared 
grebe labeled as a red neck duck.

Nothing was said about how wide the path would be or how close to the 
pond. My feeling is that benches are only needed at the east end of the 
pond. Less litter.

Prisoners from the county jail come & mow the grass & cut brush at the 
east end & also at Factory St. pond.

One board member said that it wouldn't matter if walkers along the pond 
edge scared the ducks to the other side of the pond! No one was aware 
that wood ducks or mallards (they're all just ducks) have nested in the 
brushy safety of the south edge of the pond or that the brush serves as 
nesting habitat for many kinds of small birds.

It's true that LOTS of litter is in the brush but now that the Shurfine 
owner has had the trashy house at the entrance demolished & the lot 
cleaned & grassed over I believe the local youth who carried litter to & 
left it in the woods will no longer find it a place in which to 
congregate, especially if no benches are iin the woods. (I hope). 
Unfortunately, clearing the lot also did away with a lot of bird 
habitat. The pond is now property of the village but the property line 
is at the base of the bank on the west edge & maybe about 30 ft. (not 
sure) towards Shurfine to the south which to me, leaves no real room for 
a path.

Here is a situation where the mayor & the board need to be commended for 
wanting to see the pond area look neater for visitors, tourists & 
birders coming to the area but at the same time, they need to understand 
it is prime habitat for birds & as such, it needs to be cared for for 
them as much as for the public. At this point, with winter  hard on us, 
things are on hold but I need help in explaining to the mayor & the 
board, as well as to the lad what, why, how & when to go about this 
project.

I told the board & the lad that a kiosk or a glass covered sign telling 
what birds could be seen would be appreciated. His mother already had an 
idea for a sign for near the road. It was suggested that the Lab of O 
might help with erecting a kiosk. I explained that people from long 
distances come to check out the ponds. Look at how many came to see 
Screechie! A sign indicating that the lake & Frontenac Park is just 
around the corner where even more waterfowl can be seen could also be 
included.

At this point, I have been encouraged to have birders send me their 
thoughts  about the lad's proposal & their reasons for wanting the pond 
environment protected & how to go about it. I'll be glad to make copies 
to present to the mayor & the board.

Thank you,

Fritzie Blizzard
Union Springs


On 11/29/2014 1:04 PM, Jay McGowan wrote:
> Since not many folks are posting these days, I thought it might be 
> nice to update the group as a whole on Ithaca birding over the last 
> week or two.


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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Winter birds, Ithaca area

[holly adams]

Thank you! Just wanted to add that we still have one lone RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRD (male) haunting our feeders.
-holly

On Sat, Nov 29, 2014 at 1:21 PM, Meena Madhav Haribal 
wrote:

>  ​Thank you Jay for posting about the recent birds for the benefit of
> non-ebirders!
>
>
>  Meena
>
>
>Meena Haribal
> Ithaca NY 14850
>   42.429007,-76.47111
> http://www.haribal.org/
> http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/
> Ithaca area moths: https://plus.google.com/118047473426099383469/posts
> Dragonfly book sample pages:
> http://www.haribal.org/dragonflies/samplebook.pdf
>
>
>
>   --
> *From:* bounce-118567517-3493...@list.cornell.edu <
> bounce-118567517-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Jay McGowan <
> jw...@cornell.edu>
> *Sent:* Saturday, November 29, 2014 1:04 PM
> *To:* CAYUGABIRDS-L
> *Subject:* [cayugabirds-l] Winter birds, Ithaca area
>
>  Since not many folks are posting these days, I thought it might be nice
> to update the group as a whole on Ithaca birding over the last week or two.
>
>  Despite a rash of "first" reports, AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS have been
> around for a couple of weeks now. I saw my first on October 23 (a bit
> early), and they were in most brushy areas in the Northeast Ithaca area by
> the end of October, and I've had them on pretty much every list since then.
> Maybe they're starting to come in to more feeders now that it's getting
> snowier. Several other species of sparrows are still lingering. FOX
> SPARROWS are mostly gone, but SWAMP SPARROWS are still present in several
> locations, and at least two SAVANNAH SPARROWS continue in the cattail patch
> in the field on Bluegrass Lane. Chris Wood and Kevin McGowan had an adult
> WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW along the entrance road to the compost on November
> 15. Also on the 15th, Ken found two LAPLAND LONGSPURS in the corn field on
> Bluegrass Lane SNOW BUNTINGS are still being reported as flyovers, but no
> significant numbers have been reported at this end of the lake recently.
>
>  PINE SISKINS continue to be reported in small numbers, still mostly as
> flyovers but occasionally at feeders. Despite reports of EVENING GROSBEAKS
> around to the east and west of the Basin, I still haven't heard of any
> around here except for a flyover by Chris Wood on November 8. Scattered
> reports of COMMON REDPOLLS farther north give hope for a redpoll year a
> little later on. WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS are still scarce, but I did have
> one fly over Sapsucker Woods on November 13.
>
>  Duck hunters at Myers Point have reduced waterfowl numbers and diversity
> drastically there. A large mixed-species flock off Stewart Park currently
> harbors low numbers of all five Aythya, including a single male CANVASBACK,
> as well as other expected species and quite a few RUDDY DUCKS. CACKLING
> GEESE seem to be passing through right now, with 5-6 in the large goose
> flock of Stewart Park on 23 and 24 November. SNOW GEESE are still not
> moving through in numbers.
>
>  Interesting gulls have still been fairly scarce. Still the only ICELAND
> GULL of the season was an early one at the compost and over campus on
> November 3-4. Tim Lenz had an immature GLAUCOUS GULL at Stewart Park on
> November 23 but to my knowledge it has not been seen again. I have been
> checking the compost regularly and have come up with little of interest,
> but an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was present yesterday and a 3rd-cycle
> type Lesser was seen by others on the 23-25. BONAPARTE'S GULLS are being
> reports off and on from the lake, and observers should keep an eye out for
> rarer small gulls.
>
>  RED-NECKED GREBE and RED-THROATED LOON reports are down from a week or
> two ago, but I did see an adult of the latter from Myers Point on the 26th.
> Two KILLDEER were present on Myers Point on Thanksgiving, and Ken had a
> WILSON'S SNIPE at Bluegrass Lane as late as the 21st.
>
>  I haven't heard of any shrikes or interested owls in the area in the
> last couple of weeks, but people should keep an eye out for both. Snowy
> Owls seem to be making another invasion this winter.
>
>  Good birding, and let's keep those posts coming!
>
>  --
> Jay McGowan
> Ithaca, NY
> jw...@cornell.edu
>  --
> *Cayugabirds-L List Info:*
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> Rules and Information 
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
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> *Archives:*
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> *Cayugabirds-L List Info:*
> Welcome and Basics 
> Rules and Information 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Winter birds, Ithaca area

[Meena Madhav Haribal]

​Thank you Jay for posting about the recent birds for the benefit of 
non-ebirders!


Meena


Meena Haribal
Ithaca NY 14850
42.429007,-76.47111
http://www.haribal.org/
http://meenaharibal.blogspot.com/
Ithaca area moths: https://plus.google.com/118047473426099383469/posts
Dragonfly book sample pages: http://www.haribal.org/dragonflies/samplebook.pdf




From: bounce-118567517-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Jay McGowan 

Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2014 1:04 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Winter birds, Ithaca area

Since not many folks are posting these days, I thought it might be nice to 
update the group as a whole on Ithaca birding over the last week or two.

Despite a rash of "first" reports, AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS have been around for 
a couple of weeks now. I saw my first on October 23 (a bit early), and they 
were in most brushy areas in the Northeast Ithaca area by the end of October, 
and I've had them on pretty much every list since then. Maybe they're starting 
to come in to more feeders now that it's getting snowier. Several other species 
of sparrows are still lingering. FOX SPARROWS are mostly gone, but SWAMP 
SPARROWS are still present in several locations, and at least two SAVANNAH 
SPARROWS continue in the cattail patch in the field on Bluegrass Lane. Chris 
Wood and Kevin McGowan had an adult WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW along the entrance 
road to the compost on November 15. Also on the 15th, Ken found two LAPLAND 
LONGSPURS in the corn field on Bluegrass Lane SNOW BUNTINGS are still being 
reported as flyovers, but no significant numbers have been reported at this end 
of the lake recently.

PINE SISKINS continue to be reported in small numbers, still mostly as flyovers 
but occasionally at feeders. Despite reports of EVENING GROSBEAKS around to the 
east and west of the Basin, I still haven't heard of any around here except for 
a flyover by Chris Wood on November 8. Scattered reports of COMMON REDPOLLS 
farther north give hope for a redpoll year a little later on. WHITE-WINGED 
CROSSBILLS are still scarce, but I did have one fly over Sapsucker Woods on 
November 13.

Duck hunters at Myers Point have reduced waterfowl numbers and diversity 
drastically there. A large mixed-species flock off Stewart Park currently 
harbors low numbers of all five Aythya, including a single male CANVASBACK, as 
well as other expected species and quite a few RUDDY DUCKS. CACKLING GEESE seem 
to be passing through right now, with 5-6 in the large goose flock of Stewart 
Park on 23 and 24 November. SNOW GEESE are still not moving through in numbers.

Interesting gulls have still been fairly scarce. Still the only ICELAND GULL of 
the season was an early one at the compost and over campus on November 3-4. Tim 
Lenz had an immature GLAUCOUS GULL at Stewart Park on November 23 but to my 
knowledge it has not been seen again. I have been checking the compost 
regularly and have come up with little of interest, but an adult LESSER 
BLACK-BACKED GULL was present yesterday and a 3rd-cycle type Lesser was seen by 
others on the 23-25. BONAPARTE'S GULLS are being reports off and on from the 
lake, and observers should keep an eye out for rarer small gulls.

RED-NECKED GREBE and RED-THROATED LOON reports are down from a week or two ago, 
but I did see an adult of the latter from Myers Point on the 26th. Two KILLDEER 
were present on Myers Point on Thanksgiving, and Ken had a WILSON'S SNIPE at 
Bluegrass Lane as late as the 21st.

I haven't heard of any shrikes or interested owls in the area in the last 
couple of weeks, but people should keep an eye out for both. Snowy Owls seem to 
be making another invasion this winter.

Good birding, and let's keep those posts coming!

--
Jay McGowan
Ithaca, NY
jw...@cornell.edu
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[cayugabirds-l] Winter birds, Ithaca area

[Jay McGowan]

Since not many folks are posting these days, I thought it might be nice to
update the group as a whole on Ithaca birding over the last week or two.

Despite a rash of "first" reports, AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS have been around
for a couple of weeks now. I saw my first on October 23 (a bit early), and
they were in most brushy areas in the Northeast Ithaca area by the end of
October, and I've had them on pretty much every list since then. Maybe
they're starting to come in to more feeders now that it's getting snowier.
Several other species of sparrows are still lingering. FOX SPARROWS are
mostly gone, but SWAMP SPARROWS are still present in several locations, and
at least two SAVANNAH SPARROWS continue in the cattail patch in the field
on Bluegrass Lane. Chris Wood and Kevin McGowan had an adult WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROW along the entrance road to the compost on November 15. Also on the
15th, Ken found two LAPLAND LONGSPURS in the corn field on Bluegrass Lane
SNOW BUNTINGS are still being reported as flyovers, but no significant
numbers have been reported at this end of the lake recently.

PINE SISKINS continue to be reported in small numbers, still mostly as
flyovers but occasionally at feeders. Despite reports of EVENING GROSBEAKS
around to the east and west of the Basin, I still haven't heard of any
around here except for a flyover by Chris Wood on November 8. Scattered
reports of COMMON REDPOLLS farther north give hope for a redpoll year a
little later on. WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS are still scarce, but I did have
one fly over Sapsucker Woods on November 13.

Duck hunters at Myers Point have reduced waterfowl numbers and diversity
drastically there. A large mixed-species flock off Stewart Park currently
harbors low numbers of all five Aythya, including a single male CANVASBACK,
as well as other expected species and quite a few RUDDY DUCKS. CACKLING
GEESE seem to be passing through right now, with 5-6 in the large goose
flock of Stewart Park on 23 and 24 November. SNOW GEESE are still not
moving through in numbers.

Interesting gulls have still been fairly scarce. Still the only ICELAND
GULL of the season was an early one at the compost and over campus on
November 3-4. Tim Lenz had an immature GLAUCOUS GULL at Stewart Park on
November 23 but to my knowledge it has not been seen again. I have been
checking the compost regularly and have come up with little of interest,
but an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was present yesterday and a 3rd-cycle
type Lesser was seen by others on the 23-25. BONAPARTE'S GULLS are being
reports off and on from the lake, and observers should keep an eye out for
rarer small gulls.

RED-NECKED GREBE and RED-THROATED LOON reports are down from a week or two
ago, but I did see an adult of the latter from Myers Point on the 26th. Two
KILLDEER were present on Myers Point on Thanksgiving, and Ken had a
WILSON'S SNIPE at Bluegrass Lane as late as the 21st.

I haven't heard of any shrikes or interested owls in the area in the last
couple of weeks, but people should keep an eye out for both. Snowy Owls
seem to be making another invasion this winter.

Good birding, and let's keep those posts coming!

-- 
Jay McGowan
Ithaca, NY
jw...@cornell.edu

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[cayugabirds-l] First sparrows

[W. Larry Hymes]

We too had our first TREE SPARROW and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW of the 
season.  Yahoo!!


Larry

--


W. Larry Hymes
120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
(H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu



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