Ann Mitchell & I did some local birding this morning, starting with tracking down the female Green-winged Teal which Jeff Gerbracht reported yesterday and Ken Rosenberg reported on New Year's Day behind Wegmans. Could this be the same bird year after year? Please someone check how far back there has been a female Green-winged Teal hanging out with the downtown Ithaca Mallards. Anyway Ann & I tracked it down on the lawn behind Titus Tower resting among scores of Mallards just north of the stream with the footbridge.
On our way north through town to Stewart Park we saw an adult SHARP-SHINNED HAWK fly west over BJM Elementary School, then we found a couple of FISH CROWS among several AMERICAN CROWS near a dumpster in the parking lot near the corner of 4th and Morris. One of these smaller crows had white wing tags with G5 in black. I also heard 2 Fish Crow calls. On the subject of marked birds, on January 9 I saw two Fish Crows, one with yellow wing tags marked O6, with several American Crows a block away near the corner of 3rd and Morris.
At Stewart Park we saw much of what Jay described including the striking SNOW x CANADA GOOSE, which has dark brown back, wings, sides & breast, white undertail, and mostly white head and neck with gray/black flecks on the crown, hindneck and lower sides of the neck. Its bill is black.
Our last stop of the morning was the south side of Monkey Run. We'd been to the north side yesterday and got the impression that all the birds were across the creek in an area with lots of fruit - nannyberries and rosehips. Today we re-found a flock of I'm guessing 40 or more AMERICAN ROBINS, but we did not re-find yesterday's flock of 13 Cedar Waxwings. Other treats today included hearing RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES (I always like them), seeing a BROWN CREEPER (first of the year for both of us), and near the abandoned bridge girders seeing 1 each of GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET.
--Dave Nutter
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