[cayugabirds-l] Taughannock Loon Watch wrapup & sightings
Hi all, Monday and Tuesday produced no loon movement. It came down to yesterday's perfect NW winds to determine whether or not the loon migration is coming to an end. During the two hour period, we counted 135 (south) and 13 (north) plus another 100 in the fifteen minutes following the count. If there was any considerable number of loons still to the north, we should have had an outstanding push. This did not occur. Today's easterly winds produced another 46 south (one north). Although tomorrow is officially the last day of the count, I thought I'd share the results now. In total, 6,933 Common Loons were counted south and 901 north resulting in the difference of 6,032. This is roughly 50% less than the average totals 20 years ago. I won't go into the details seeing that this is only one season, but botulism is something to think about. Perhaps Bill Evans will add to this at a later time. Other birds of interest over the past few days include a Golden Eagle and Red-throated Loon yesterday and roughly 3,500 Snow Geese today (as others have mentioned). Best, Ethan -- 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] Taughannock Loon Watch update--Correction
Hi all, Nov 30th should read 12 (south), 33 (north). We actually subtracted from the total count that day! Ethan -- On Sun, Dec 2, 2012 9:07 PM EST Ethan Kistler wrote: >Hi all, > >As you have probably guessed, the long delay in updates have been due to >minimal loon movement. Here's a breakdown for the last week: > >Nov 25th - A frustrating day to say at least. Bill Evans joined today and we >counted 219 (south), but for some reason the majority (159) returned north. >After the count was over, we headed into town and while having coffee at the >Ithaca Bakery, Bill glanced out the window and noticed 16 heading south. >Walking back to his office yielded another 20 or so. I can't really say what >was up that day. Also of note for the count, a single Bonaparte's Gull - the >first one I had during the loon counts. > >Nov 26th - A little more satisfying with 208 (south) and 11 (north). Other >birds of interest include singles of Red-throated Loon and Long-tailed Duck. > >Nov 27th - One loon and it was sitting on the water. Other birds of note >include a flyover Common Redpoll and my first Horned Grebe for the count. > >Nov 28th - 149 (south) and 4 (north). Also five Snow Buntings heading north. > >Nov 29th - Another slow day with 5 (south) and an additional six on the water. > >Nov 30th - Bill and I expected a decent push today with the strong northerly >winds so he joined me again this morning. To our surprise, we only had 23 >(south) and 12 (north). > > >Dec 1st - 6 (south). Also two Merlins and an American Pipit that came in and >foraged nearby. > > >Dec 2nd - 1 (south) > >Over the past few days waterfowl have started congregating northwest of >Taughannock Point including a couple thousand Canada Geese, several hundred >scaup and lesser numbers of American Wigeon, Ring-necked Ducks, Common >Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common & Hooded Mergansers, Mallards and American Black >Ducks. > > >The predicted NW winds on Wednesday could produce the next and possibly final >push of Common Loons over Cayuga Lake. Friday is the last day of the count so >if you haven't made it out yet, feel free to join us this week! > >Also, with the recent talk on Hooded Merganser numbers up at the north end of >the lake, while walking out to the white lighthouse a few days ago, there were >close to 100 in the inlet. > >Ethan -- 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] Taughannock Loon Watch update
Hi all, As you have probably guessed, the long delay in updates have been due to minimal loon movement. Here's a breakdown for the last week: Nov 25th - A frustrating day to say at least. Bill Evans joined today and we counted 219 (south), but for some reason the majority (159) returned north. After the count was over, we headed into town and while having coffee at the Ithaca Bakery, Bill glanced out the window and noticed 16 heading south. Walking back to his office yielded another 20 or so. I can't really say what was up that day. Also of note for the count, a single Bonaparte's Gull - the first one I had during the loon counts. Nov 26th - A little more satisfying with 208 (south) and 11 (north). Other birds of interest include singles of Red-throated Loon and Long-tailed Duck. Nov 27th - One loon and it was sitting on the water. Other birds of note include a flyover Common Redpoll and my first Horned Grebe for the count. Nov 28th - 149 (south) and 4 (north). Also five Snow Buntings heading north. Nov 29th - Another slow day with 5 (south) and an additional six on the water. Nov 30th - Bill and I expected a decent push today with the strong northerly winds so he joined me again this morning. To our surprise, we only had 23 (south) and 12 (north). Dec 1st - 6 (south). Also two Merlins and an American Pipit that came in and foraged nearby. Dec 2nd - 1 (south) Over the past few days waterfowl have started congregating northwest of Taughannock Point including a couple thousand Canada Geese, several hundred scaup and lesser numbers of American Wigeon, Ring-necked Ducks, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common & Hooded Mergansers, Mallards and American Black Ducks. The predicted NW winds on Wednesday could produce the next and possibly final push of Common Loons over Cayuga Lake. Friday is the last day of the count so if you haven't made it out yet, feel free to join us this week! Also, with the recent talk on Hooded Merganser numbers up at the north end of the lake, while walking out to the white lighthouse a few days ago, there were close to 100 in the inlet. Ethan -- 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] Taughannock Loon Watch - Nov 24th
Hi all, Five of us braved the wind and cold at the Taughannock Loon Watch this morning. The first 15 minutes started out great with 111 moving south, but things slowed down considerably for the rest of the morning. Nearly all loons were Cayuga Lake birds with a few Lake Ontario birds towards the end. In all we had 270 (south) and 86 (north). There was a high percentage of birds heading north, but many of these were just gaining altitude. We count them south, subtract them going north, and recount them heading south again so the end count is accurate. We were anticipating a good Lake Ontario wave with the WNW and at times, NW winds, but it never happened. Looking north, there were dark clouds with a lot of precipitation along Lake Ontario; this probably had blocked a lot of birds from heading south. Other birds of note include two flocks of Northern Pintail (70; 12) as well as 10 Tundra Swans all heading south. Tomorrow winds shift to the west so there may still be some birds moving. Ethan -- 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] Taughannock Loon Watch - Nov 17-20
Hi all, Once again, another update from the Taughannock Loon Watch. Starting where we left off, Nov 17th ended up producing the largest push of loons over the past five mornings with 178 south (20 north; 40 on water). Since then there hasn’t been much activity. The mornings of the 18th, 19th and 20th were nearly identical with 60/60/69 south (12/14/12 north) respectively. The 20th had an exceptional number of loons just sitting on the water; I counted at least 120 with one scan. Today things slowed considerably with 20 south (2 north) with an additional 40 on the water. Things should remain pretty slow over the next few days but Saturday is shaping up to produce a huge push if the weather prediction doesn’t change. Being the weekend, this should allow a lot of you who have been planning on coming out to be able to join us. We’ll keep everyone updated if this prediction holds. Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving tomorrow! Ethan -- 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] Taughannock Loon Watch - Nov 10-16
Hi all, The last week has been rather slow on the loon watching front, hence the lack of reports. Between Nov 10-13, only 23 were recorded south (and 4 north). Wednesday, Nov 14th, improved with 342 south (5 north) with the addition of a Red-throated Loon as well. Yesterday and today were nearly identical – 93/98 south (10/2 north) with 30-35 sitting on the water both days. Other birds of note include six Tundra Swans on the 13th, Red-necked Grebes (2 on the 12th, 1 on the 13th), Snow Buntings daily, and Merlin every other day. Small numbers of waterfowl moving as well. Feel free to join the watch this weekend. Tomorrow could produce some southbound loons but southerly winds on Sunday don’t look promising. Ethan -- 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] Taughannock Loon Watch - Nov 7-9th
Hi all, Last Wednesday (Nov 7th) was very slow at the Taughannock Loon Watch with only 39 loons heading south (5 north) in addition to 135 sitting on the water. Yesterday was more rewarding with 443 south (19 north), which brought the season total over the 4,000 mark. Today was another slow day with 102 south (10 north). The loon count currently sits at 4,249. Other highlights from the past three mornings include: three flocks of Northern Pintail totaling 249, a single flock of 115 Snow Geese, Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcon, Snow Buntings daily and seven flyover White-winged Crossbills this morning. Ethan -- 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] Loon Watch - Nov 6th/Red Crossbills
Hi all, With the calm winds, it was considerably slower on the loon front. Total count this morning was 319 south (10 north) with a dozen or so sitting on the water. The second wave was virtually nonexistent, with no loons from Lake Ontario. The highlight this morning was four Red Crossbills that flew north right overhead calling. Ethan -- 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] Loon Watch - Mon, Nov 5th
Hi all, Even with several days of consecutive north winds, Common Loons still continued to push south in decent numbers today. This morning the total was 704 (south) and 50 (north), with the first wave being stronger (birds from Cayuga Lake). Also of note was a flock of ~300 Snow Geese also moving south at 6:35am. As with a lot of the Common Loons, these birds cut due south directly over land rather than heading SE down Cayuga Lake. Once again, for those interested in joining - the count is conducted from Taughannock Falls SP on the north side of the creek. I start 15 minutes before sunrise every morning and count for two hours. Ethan -- 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] Loon Watch - Sun, Nov 4th
Hi all, Another interesting day at the loon watch conducted at Taughannock Falls SP. The first wave was strong and was accountable for nearly all 568 loons heading south during the two hour period. As with yesterday, large numbers started returning north 30min or so into the count - probably due to weather once again. The second flight, birds from Lake Ontario, was basically absent. Yesterday’s impressive push probably cleared out most of the loons built up along Lake Ontario. Of interest, one of the last groups of loons heading south today included 3 RED-THROATED LOONS - the first ones for the loon watch this fall. A few of us lingered at Taughannock after the official count was over and had another 50 or so Common and 1 Red-throated Loon flying south overhead. Also of note were three Snow Buntings that decided to land on the rocks right next to us for two seconds before taking off again. Ethan -- 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] Huge loon movement today
Today was incredible…after thinking that the buildup of loons moved through yesterday, I did not anticipate today to surpass yesterdays count, but it did…by a lot! The total count was 2,112 (South) and 231 (North). The first wave off Cayuga Lake commenced quickly with 150 heading south in the 15min before sunrise and another 392 in the 15min following. Looking south, the cloud buildup was low and it appeared to be precipitating. This probably explains why the majority of loons returning north occurred at the end of the first wave – they hit this barrier and decided not to continue. The second wave was a bit unusual; it started out very strong, then quieted down a bit and ended strong again. Roughly 25% of the birds heading south occurred in the last 15 minutes of the 2-hr count. The final 5 minutes had very little to no movement. It’s as if they were delayed, probably by weather, then moved all at once. It will be interested to see what tomorrow will do.. Ethan -- 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] The Loon Watch – 1st notable push
Hi all, Today’s northwesterly winds produced the first notable push of Common Loons over Cayuga Lake. In total, Bill Evans and I counted 415 flying south and 25 north from the loon watch location at Taughannock. The first wave (birds lifting off Cayuga Lake further north) was considerably smaller than the second wave (birds from Lake Ontario), with the second wave accountable for roughly 75% of the total. There was also a respectable push of raptors. This weekend should still produce decent numbers as the winds continue from a northwesterly direction, but we expect fewer than today as there was probably a buildup of loons waiting for the winds to clock north and it’s also a bit early in the season. Feel free to join the loon watch whenever you have free time. I will be there every day through mid-December. Ethan -- 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/ --
