Re: [cayugabirds-l] mottled robin
Yes, very interesting. I think this is probably what I saw very briefly in the thicket on N Wilson trail today (maybe there's a run on mottled Robins this year). I saw only enough of the rufous side with white below to start imagining I had seen a Towhee; but watching the same thicket for a while longer revealed only 'normal' Robins and no further glances at the weirdo. I ran into Jody on the trail and tried to describe it but he only found Robins in the same area. Thanks for probably solving that mystery. BTW, this afternoon on Asbury Road near the cemetery, about a dozen Turkey Vultures were roosting and sunning and occasionally flighting up then resettling. One of them is our old friend, the leucistic winged. I believe it's the same bird as it also sports a prominent white primary feather on the right wing. It was displaying both wings to the late afternoon sun and me. The vultures have been elsewhere all summer, only 1 or 2 about, so this may be the beginning of the winter roost like last year's. Same pine grove. ChrisP On Oct 29, 2013, at 16:49 , Marie P. Read wrote: Interesting looking bird. I also saw a partial albino robin in the CU arboretum a couple of weeks ago, feeding on pokeberries. Marie Marie Read Wildlife Photography 452 Ringwood Road Freeville NY 13068 USA Phone 607-539-6608 e-mail m...@cornell.edu http://www.marieread.com ***NEW*** Music of the Birds Vol 1 ebook for Apple iPad now available from iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/music-of-the-birds-v1/id529347014?mt=11 From: bounce-109817311-5851...@list.cornell.edu [bounce-109817311-5851...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Kevin J. McGowan [k...@cornell.edu] Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2013 3:29 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] mottled robin I got some photos this morning of a partial albino American Robin. This is rather common for robins, but it’s still an interesting bird. I put photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/101683745969614096883/Fall2013#5940227183995330754 and following, or at the end of the fall gallery, https://picasaweb.google.com/101683745969614096883/Fall2013. Kevin -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basicshttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME Rules and Informationhttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Subscribe, Configuration and Leavehttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm Archives: The Mail Archivehttp://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html Surfbirdshttp://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds BirdingOnThe.Nethttp://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBirdhttp://ebird.org/content/ebird/! -- -- 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/ -- -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Screech Owl in the box
Following Robyn's report of the return of her screechie, I was pleased to see for the 2nd time in a month, an owl sunning itself in my box, here in S Lansing. Just shy of a month ago (9/23), I spotted an owl one afternoon, but without my binocs, and because the box faces East and this was 4pm, I wasn't sure of the color, but thought it was Grey morph. By the time I got back from the house with binocs, it had disappeared and was not seen there since, though we heard 2 owls calling many evenings or early mornings in the interim. They would appear to pass through, maybe moving through a territory; 2 would counter call several times over 1-2 minutes: you could hear them farther away, then in our woods, then moving along in the same direction then out of earshot. Sometimes at dusk, occasionally closer to midnight, a couple times at dawn (I'm a light sleeper and they seem to invariably wake me up). However, this sunny AM in full sun and with binocs at hand, I saw a Grey morph EASTERN SCREECH-OWL in the box, eyes closed and seemingly unperturbed by the dog and me. However, once again, this bird seems somewhat more skittish about my presence, or is camera shy, because it disappeared in the 2 mins it took to get back with camera. Hopeful this is the start of a nest! Yesterday, I had one of those 'bird piñata' days in the backyard, where it seems like someone smacked open a piñata and out burst a variety of birds. It was mainly due to the weird air, the wind direction, approaching rain, time of year, presence of cherries and grapes, and migration waves coinciding, though with a lot of residents joining in. Standing in one location and just rotating, I had a female PILEATED WP, female FLICKER, DOWNY WP, male RED-BELLIED WP, quick glimpse of probably female YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (they've been rare this year in our woods), RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH checking out a hornet nest high in a sapling, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH stashing sunflower seeds, a flock of about 40 CEDAR WAXWINGS (close study revealed no Bohemian to add to my yard list), numerous recently arrived DARK-EYED JUNCOs, numerous calling (both Tseeps and Peabodys) though hard to see WHITE-THROATED SPARROWs (one gloriously full colored M did pop up though), several GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETs, BLUE JAYs, 3 TURKEY VULTUREs circling rather low overhead, many AMERICAN ROBINs feeding on the berries, 2 vocalizing CAROLINA WRENs (one was Tweed-e-o'ing while the other was doing a Bronx cheer), and a single observation of a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (actually first time for this year's yard list, though I saw this species earlier this year elsewhere); the Warbler was chewing on a grape: it was pecking at it, getting small mouthfuls at a time; took several passes on the same fruit while it was attached to the vine. BC CHICKADEE and TUFTED TITMOUSE upped the count for that single stance. I then walked to the other side of the property where I had in the same bush only a few feet away, 4 more Golden-crowned Kinglets and a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET all together. I think this is the first time I've had both Kinglets in the same view at the same time. So much energy packed into one bush! Lots of vocalizing and hopping about. ChrisP -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Earthflight (PBS)
Just noticed a series coming up called Earthflight, A Nature Special Presentation that purports to be a bird's-eye tour of 6 continents, observing animal migrations, etc. This Sat on PBS at 8pm (and probably other times): North America, snow geese, pelicans, bald eagles... Appears to be the first of 6 1-hr shows over the fall. Ep 2 is Africa, cape gannets, fish eagles, flamingos, kelp gulls, vultures. ChrisP __ Chris Pelkie Research Analyst Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Black Vultures and Broad-winged Hawks
Having the day off, I got over to Stevenson Rd about 1030, arriving at the same time as Bud, where we found Reed and Eric. Reed and Eric had already scouted the vultures and found at least two BLACK VULTURES as they took wing and started circling higher. This gave me time to see them in binocs then grab the scope and share brief views with the others as the birds departed the immediate area. As Bud kindly gave Eric and Reed a lift back to campus, I noticed a huge kettle had formed up over Dodge Rd so went that way solo. I pulled over more or less under the kettle and scanned, spotted one of the BLVUs but not in time to take a photo, but a few minutes later refound it or another and got some distant shots that i have not yet got off the camera. The kettle had broken up into smaller sets by that time. A new basin bird for me! I had not had enough bug bites yet so headed to Monkey Run where the moose-quitos armed with BBQ forks and carving knives were waiting for me. The bug spray i was using was effective only at making their foothold slippery, so some left and returned wearing muck boots to finish the job. As I was fleeing, I heard piercing calls from two BROAD-WINGED HAWKs and walked toward the sound. One flew up from the path to a low perch (15') and the other was at a similar height in an adjacent tree. I crept forward to the continual shrieking of the pair and got some good pics of them. The one that had flown seemed to be splaying its tail and one wing, making me think this was a juvenile begging from the other, which might also account for all the noise they were making. It doesn't seem like the time of year for mating displays. ChrisP __ Chris Pelkie Research Analyst Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Common Nighthawks and Olive-sided Flycatcher Lansing
About 45 min ago, we had a group of 5 COMMON NIGHTHAWKs appear over our neighborhood (W Meadow Dr Lansing). I first saw only 4 as I had just turned around from spotting some Cedar Waxwing flyovers, so only got the new group disappearing behind trees, but a good enough view of the white wing mark on two of them to be sure. I've been out for the last two weeks every nice evening waiting/hoping for these guys to reappear as they have the last few Augusts, so was most gratified to have them appear tonight! I waited for a bit, then walked from more enclosed backyard to street view where we picked them up again, wheeling about our and adjacent yards for a few turns. As in my extended observation of a couple years ago, they were again (annoyingly) silent, but still graceful to watch. Another turn around the yard and woods, trying to stay one jump ahead of the black flies (didn't work: I'm a pincushion now) turned up a juvenile BALTIMORE ORIOLE working high branches: I also saw an adult BAOR in wild grapes around 430pm here. I had heard two oriole phrases sung in the much diminished dawn chorus a few days ago, so it was nice to see these guys probably for almost the last time this season. Then just as I was headed in, a glimpse of a flycatcher sallying from a high bare box elder. I thought, ah, that's the Eastern Wood-Pewee I watched on Sunday afternoon, but, like a good birder, never assume anything, so I got the glasses on it and lo and behold, it was my first yard OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER ! Yes! after many years of swing and a miss on Phoebes, this was no doubt OSFL. Especially after the Friday confirmed view of another at SSW, this was no doubt in my mind a more juvenile version of same. The flanks were grayer, but showed slight streaks; the belly and center breast and throat were quite white and clean. Tail relatively short and no wagging. When it dipped it's head, I could see the much darker cap. I got a bunch of pictures from almost directly below and the bird was so obliging at returning to the same perch after multiple sallies that I ran and got the scope and had even better looks. I was amused to stand back and see the scope was nearly vertical but there was just no way to get another viewpoint on this tree, as adjacent trees were just too bushy. ChrisP __ Chris Pelkie Research Analyst Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] More on Great Crested Flycatchers
Yesterday, I was watching the nest box again when a big yellow flurry appeared at the nest hole. At first, I thought a Flicker was raiding the box (I had just found a dead, intact Flicker on the ground nearby; my only theory was it flew into a tree and broke its neck while chasing around with others; today the body was gone, probably to the Red Fox who lives here). But the yellow flash was the wing of a very large Swallowtail butterfly clamped firmly in the jaws of the GCFL parent. Oddly, the parent did not enter the box after landing on the edge of the entry hole; I don't know if it saw me or just decided the butterfly was too big or not dead yet, so it flew up to its normal 'safety' perch and sat rearranging the bug in its mouth. Eventually, it had both wings folded to one side and antennae out the other, making an amusing sight. After all, this Swallowtail was several inches across, so it looked like a yellow-belied flycatcher wearing a huge fashionable summer yellow hat. I did not have time to outwait it so never saw it go to the nest. This morning, the parent I believe is the male, based on it being somewhat larger, usually showing somewhat erect crest, all gray face, cheek, and neck, and more vocal (wheeps from a perch on occasion when it returns with food) flew to the nest with a small beetle then emerged again. At that time, the female (smaller, never shows erected crest, has faint white sub-auricular patch and faintly white just under bill) arrived and perched nearby as well. That meant that the bird that had popped into the entry hole was one of the feathered but apparently not yet fledged young! Yay! it sat there looking goofy showing much lighter color 'grin'. So then, here's the interesting bit: one of the parents flew to the nest hole, wiggled past that young and dropped into the nest to feed another one. Interesting that the older stronger chick didn't beg or expect or just receive the fresh offering. This was repeated in short order. On the third trip, the young one turned and dropped back into the nest. Again, this is such a marked contrast with the Red-bellied Woodpecker whose older chick was extremely aggressive when new food arrived, almost always winning it by pecking viciously at the parent mouth and stepping on its nest mate (who eventually died inside the nest for one reason or another). Final observation today was a female Cowbird appeared on a nearby branch and was immediately buzzed by one of the GCFL parents. So it then hopped onto the roof of the nest box (angled aluminum flashing, so not a good footing), then to a branch on the same cherry tree where it picked haphazardly at some loose peeling bark. I am sure in my own mind it was gauging whether or not it could drop an egg or two into that well-tended box. We'll have to see what emerges over the next week or so. I expect the GCFLs will stop feeding young after their first brood is fledged, but time will tell. __ Chris Pelkie Research Analyst Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Backyard/woods observations
As it turned out, the rufous Screechie I reported in late April did not nest this year, but did appear virtually every day in the box hole for about 10 days. Over the past week, I was out several clear nights with the telescope and heard 1 or 2 different calling Screechies in the nearby area, one monotone-ing, one whinnying, sometimes together. So I hope there will be a return this winter to the 'known' nest box. Meanwhile, my efforts were not in vain: a pair of GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHERs are using the owl box for their nest! We've been watching them moving in and out of the box for a couple of weeks at least, and in the last week bringing a continuous series of bugs, beetles, and moths. Up until this morning, the nestlings were dead silent which I thought was remarkable based on the size of some of the insects, thinking that if they were big enough to eat those, they must be mature enough to whine like all the other species' nestlings are at this time of year (we have loud Robin, Titmouse, Chipping Sparrow, Catbird, Song Sparrow nestlings in abundance). Also, I twice traced begging sounds to a Cowbird chick being fed by an EASTERN PHOEBE adult about 2/3's the size of the chick. The cheerful male Cowbird sings every morning in the dawn chorus, and why not! His work is done. For the first time, this morning, I heard the first faint GCFL nest begging sounds, which sound like faint versions of the adult wheeep. (So they aren't Cowbirds at least!) There are a couple of striking observations about how GCFL tends the nest. Of course, being an owl box (deep and 15' up on a tree), I cannot see in. But staking it out for a while showed no obvious incubation hand-offs where one parent replaces the other with no or a short delay, as one might expect in this non-dimorphic species (that is, both should share incubation). Instead, both parents seem to vacate the nest for up to 20 min at a time even on some of the rather chilly days we had in the recent past. Sometimes, they both arrive at the same time from different foraging directions and almost crash into each other. Every feeding has been only seconds long: parent enters nest, less than 10 sec later, emerges, usually perches and looks around from the nest hole, then bolts away. On a few occasions, a wayward bug flies by during the perch and becomes the next dinner. Usually, the parents fly off out of sight. The other striking behavior is how wary the parents are of 'showing' the nest. When they see me (usually I'm 40' away, often sitting still), they NEVER fly to the nest hole but land 10-20' away on a branch, bug in bill, and observe me. If I'm on the path with the dog, even still, they will stay there for 10 min, until I finally move away behind bushes where I can look back and see them finally go to the hole. If I'm sitting dead still sans canine and they return and see me, they will wait less time before finally going to the hole. Occasionally, both will have arrived and neither will make a move unless I remain motionless. We had nesting Red-bellied Woodpeckers a few years ago, and they were largely oblivious to us sitting only 20' below their nest hole with scopes and cameras and stuff, and they always traded positions in perfect synch: calling as they approached so the nest resident knew they were coming, then doing a quick swap of position. By contrast, I have yet to hear a vocalization from the GCFL's except once or twice, a surprised squawk as they almost collide at the hole. This is the second time in a few years I've known GCFLs have nested in my woods. I have video and photos of a family of 6 on a branch from about 5-6 years back, so I'm very pleased they seem to be successful again this year. I think I've had them as a yard bird, but not a breeder, virtually every year since I've kept records, and they remain my very favorite bird for overall plumage and color. Personally I think they should be renamed Myiarchus algorensis for that color scheme. (:-) A RED-EYED VIREO sang a few times yesterday then I saw it picking at something on a low bush that looked like a strand of plant material maybe for a nest. It failed to take the piece and today I found it was a piece of thin almost clear plastic that had blown away probably from the recycling truck and lodged in the bush. Finally, yesterday, a totally unexpected first of year yard (FOYY) bird. I heard the song of a BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER at a distance, thought I was hearing things, but then it came through the woods, sang 4 more times very clearly, but remained annoyingly invisible the whole time. I've recorded these only during migrations in past years, in early-mid May or mid-late September, so this was a nice treat for 2nd day of summer! __ Chris Pelkie Research Analyst Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -- Cayugabirds-L List Info:
[cayugabirds-l] Windy day makes great swallowing!
I went up to Myers/Salt Pt on a lark, so to speak, knowing the NW winds were fast and furious. And they were! White caps, 2-3 foot waves, rollers, crashing on the shore, spray hitting the side of the Myers lighthouse which I was soon standing behind. Now, you might expect there would be nothing much to see in those conditions, and generally you're right. A smattering of Ring-billed Gulls and 2 Canada Geese facing the wind and leaning into it (pretty amusing actually). But the coolest phenomenon presented itself. As Mark and Tilden reported yesterday, there were swallows. Wow, lots of swallows! It was like standing in the observing window of a wind tunnel as the swallows were more or less stationary in the steady wind blast. BARN SWALLOWs (adult and immature), BANK SWALLOWs, and TREE SWALLOWs were all mixing it up. I tried to find Northern Rough-winged but was not confident that I did. Nor did I confidently see any Cliff Swallow yellow rumps amongst the other blue-backs. The point is what they were doing: they were hovering inches over the 2 foot waves, dipping into the troughs, rising just before the next crest whacked them, and picking something off the water without ever getting wet or missing a beat and getting swamped. This was very neat and the best ever swallow observing I've ever had because they were literally 30' away and flying in place! You could pick out any individual and study it at leisure. The winds are set to keep blowing this afternoon and tomorrow, so if you are over that way, check this out. Lots of other birds on Salt Pt, nothing new, but still fun to hear/see. Singing FIELD SPARROWs, fighting BALTIMORE ORIOLES, singing YELLOW WARBLERs, Flickers, Kingfishers, Ospreys, Common Mergansers, etc. A group of 4-6 Mergansers flew by and I was pretty sure one was RED-BREASTED but I did not get a second look at that one. There were obvious female Commons there but I'm reasonably sure I saw red down the neck, not just on top of that one flyby. Saw one shorebird briefly flash up from the shoreline and fly by at 40 mph before disappearing behind the trees I was using as a shield. I think it was probably a Dunlin from the distinct white wing bar pattern, but can't say with any more specificity because I have little experience with most shorebirds. ChrisP -- 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/ --
Re: [cayugabirds-l] Mississippi Kite over Ithaca, Wed 5/22
Chance favors the prepared mind. chris.pel...@cornell.edumailto:chris.pel...@cornell.edu On May 22, 2013, at 21:08, Mark Chao markc...@imt.orgmailto:markc...@imt.org wrote: On Wednesday evening at about 6:20 PM, Tilden and I, plus a bemused umpire and a dugout full of youth baseball players saw an adult MISSISSIPPI KITE circling over Valentino Field at Tutelo Park on Bostwick Road in Ithaca. Notes: Raptor soaring easily in circles overhead for about 90 seconds. Distinctive long, slim pointed wings, more like a gull than a hawk. Small outermost primaries plainly seen and reconfirmed. Long tail broadly fanned, about the same proportion to body length as Cooper’s Hawk, with no pattern. Whitish head, underside, and wing coverts. Broad black tips to wings, without distinct border against white. Overall black-and-white contrast vaguely reminiscent of Northern Harrier or Broad-winged Hawk, but also obviously different. Wings had no black trailing edge. Overall shape while soaring rules out any other species with similar coloration. I lost the bird when I had to refocus on the ballgame, but think the kite probably drifted off to the north or northwest. This was a life bird for both Tilden and me, but despite our lack of experience, I feel certain about the ID. Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basicshttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME Rules and Informationhttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES Subscribe, Configuration and Leavehttp://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm Archives: The Mail Archivehttp://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html Surfbirdshttp://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds BirdingOnThe.Nethttp://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBirdhttp://ebird.org/content/ebird/! -- -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Pics of the screechie
A couple people asked, so I put a couple images on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/73284351@N03/8696531183/in/set-72157633375403153/ I misspoke about my owl house design: the hinges are above (not below) the hole, but the idea of hinging at top front rather than at bottom or hinging the roof is the basic change from some designs I found. Kaufmann's (Audubon) is here: http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/backyard/backyard0201.html This was my main guide for cutting and sizes. ChrisP -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] New nester
I'm as thrilled as a new pappy to announce that the owl box I built and erected last June, for the first time today was occupied by a red morph probably female EASTERN SCREECH-OWL! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo. She (I'm being optimistic there are more in the box) sunned herself all morning with that dreamy screechie look of smug satisfaction: ear tufts up, eyes closed (almost), bill hidden by soft feathers. As small as the entrance hole is, the owl is still clearly small enough to not be cramped. The impression is that she fills the hole due to the fluffiness but if you watch a bit you realize there is still clearance on either side. I followed Kaufmann's plans but made a couple modifications. My mods were to hinge the clean-out front a couple inches below the hole, latch at the bottom; made more sense to me to be able to clean it more easily this Fall, than to hinge at bottom and have all the grunge land in my face when I opened it. Also, I shaped the hole into a small arch thinking the flat bottom would make a more comfortable perch. Finally, I bought (expensive!) aluminum flashing and completely roofed the top and top sides: I am pretty sure no squirrel can get a purchase on this. The box hangs about 15' up on a young cherry, on chains passed through short lengths of garden hose, so I can let them out a bit each year to avoid harming the tree, and faces East. I might rotate it when I clean it because while I can see the box from the house, I can't see the hole in that orientation. But we have several vantage points from a trail that circles that tree at about 30' so hoping we don't disturb Mom. She did turn to face us at one point, though with eyes mostly closed. We backed off slowly after I got some photos. The other thing that occurred to me is that the previous screechie visitor we had which I photo'd in daylight ( june 2011) was a grey morph. He (or she) was the direct inspiration to get that box built. We have heard the monotone trilling note many nights in the past two months, so I'm happy we have an apparent resident. Hoping for lots of little screechies! ChrisP __ Chris Pelkie Research Analyst Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -- 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/ --
[cayugabirds-l] Lansing marina rules?
Bob or anyone else, what is the understanding (if any) with the owners of the Lansing Marina, the private part, not the public area? I know in past SFOs, the leaders merrily led us in there and it is normally a great spot to pick up a number of ducks, mergansers, and coots, but yesterday when I was solo birding at Myers and elsewhere, I decided not to walk (or drive) right past the pretty prominent sign that says no admittance except to members (which I ain't). I decided to ask on the list before approaching the office which was an option on a Friday since it appeared to be open. After the most unpleasant experience a year ago with the bozo who claims to own all of Portland Point, and past notices about the Empire Farm area (where the owners specifically request a courtesy notice from birders entering the grounds), I wanted to play fair with the Marina so I can see those ducks in future. Has either the Bird Club or SFO specifically received privileges to the marina? And if so, any indication if they are cool about short incursions by other birders not directly associated with either? ChrisP __ Chris Pelkie Research Analyst Bioacoustics Research Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -- 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/ --
