[cayugabirds-l] Loon Watch 19 Nov 2021

[Dave Nutter]

This morning I watched for migrating Common Loons. I was more timely and 
successful than the day I started significantly later than Jared & Scott who 
watched from Taughannock Falls SP, and it was certainly better than the day Jay 
reported multiple flocks of 50 over Danby but I neglected to watch at all. 

Today I spent from 6:53 until 8:10 at the north end of the NYS-89 bridge over 
the Flood Control Channel in Ithaca. Wind was from the NW according to the flag 
atop Barton Hall. The temperature started in the mid-30sF according to the 
outdoor thermometer at my house nearby. The sky was partly cloudy with no 
precipitation. Local apparent sunrise was at 7:16. 

The flight may have already been underway when I arrived and started looking, 
and I saw a near-constant passage of groups of loons until 7:18, but mostly 
singles and some significant gaps thereafter. Discounting the 3 northbound 
loons who may have been counted in some previous southbound group, and assuming 
they did not change their minds again and join some later southbound group, I 
think my total was 219 Common Loons. 

As is typical, many loons were high and distant. I found and counted them by 
scanning with binoculars. A few particularly distant birds I double-checked the 
ID with my scope, but this was cumbersome, and I feared missing birds if I 
spent too much time scoping. Most loons passed considerably east of me, 
particularly in the early part of my count. Later, an increasing portion 
traveled over downtown or even almost overhead, but I did not see any passing 
to my west today.  

My notes are below: 
7 S 655. 7 S 656. 7 S, 2 SW, & 1 N 657. 15 S 659. 20 S 701. 24 S 702. 30 S 704. 
7 S, 1 SW, & 2 N 705. 4 S 706. 20 S 709. 17 S 711. 7 S 712. 22 S 714. 5 S 716. 
12 S 718. 1 S 719. 3 S 721. 1 S 725. 1 S 727. 1 S 735. 1 S 757. 1 S 759. 1 S 
800. 2 S 804.

- - Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Loon watch

[Dave Nutter]

Sorry about the delayed report, but I was also watching the morning of 10 
November from the NYS-89 bridge over the Flood Control Channel in Ithaca. I got 
a late start, being there from 0742 to 0915, so I probably missed the majority 
of what Jared & Scott saw if their birds passed over Ithaca at all. Between 
0754 and 0838 I saw a maximum of 23 Common Loons, assuming no duplicate 
sightings.  They were generally to my east. 11 were flying south and appeared 
to be migrating. 3 were flying southwest and may also have been migrating but 
up Inlet Valley at a lower altitude. 1 was northbound, clearly not migrating. 1 
was westbound, 3 were flying in clockwise curves, and 4 were flying 
counter-clockwise, so who knows what they were doing, but they were fun to 
watch. 

This is from my notes:
1 S 0754. 5 S & 1 SW 0755. 1 CW 0802. 1 N 0809. 3 S 0816. 1 S 0819. 1 S 0831. 1 
W 0832. 2 CW 0834. 4 CCW 0838. 2 SW 0839.

Yesterday I briefly scoped Cayuga Lake from A H Treman State Marine Park, and I 
saw my first Common Loon of this fall on the southern part of the lake. This 
bird was near the east side somewhere south of Portland Point, and I only saw 
it above the shimmer because it briefly took a low curving flight, but it was 
close enough that I could clearly see its big trailing splayed feet as it 
prepared to hit the water. (I struggled with that verb. I don’t like to use “to 
land” for a bird which not actually ending its flight onto land, but “alight” 
sounds far too dainty for such a heavy projectile as a loon. Maybe I should say 
it “ditched” like an airplane, even though the act was planned, routine, and 
inconsequential.)

- - Dave Nutter

> On Nov 11, 2021, at 7:30 AM, John Gregoire  
> wrote:
> 
> Seneca Lake had a poor showing between 0700 and 0900, only 20 Loons. 
> Conditions were the same as yours and I was truly let down after thinking it 
> would be a great day for migrating Loons.
> 
> Strong south winds are forecast for a while.
> 
> Sue G.
> 
>> On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 11:27 AM Jared Dawson  wrote:
>> This morning Nov 10 at Taughannock Park I did a 2 hour loon count from 6:36 
>> to 8:36. There was a steady 8-10 mph wind out of the NW. I had a total of 
>> 137 loons, mostly high and over the east side of the lake. The bulk of the 
>> sightings took place between 6:45 and 7:30. Scott Sutcliffe joined me for 
>> the first hour which was a great help.
>> Jared Dawson
>> Trumansburg
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Loon watch

[John Gregoire]

Seneca Lake had a poor showing between 0700 and 0900, only 20 Loons.
Conditions were the same as yours and I was truly let down after thinking
it would be a great day for migrating Loons.

Strong south winds are forecast for a while.

Sue G.

On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 11:27 AM Jared Dawson 
wrote:

> This morning Nov 10 at Taughannock Park I did a 2 hour loon count from
> 6:36 to 8:36. There was a steady 8-10 mph wind out of the NW. I had a total
> of 137 loons, mostly high and over the east side of the lake. The bulk of
> the sightings took place between 6:45 and 7:30. Scott Sutcliffe joined me
> for the first hour which was a great help.
> Jared Dawson
> Trumansburg
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[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch

[Jared Dawson]

This morning Nov 10 at Taughannock Park I did a 2 hour loon count from 6:36
to 8:36. There was a steady 8-10 mph wind out of the NW. I had a total of
137 loons, mostly high and over the east side of the lake. The bulk of the
sightings took place between 6:45 and 7:30. Scott Sutcliffe joined me for
the first hour which was a great help.
Jared Dawson
Trumansburg

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon Watch

[Suan Hsi Yong]

Correction: period five should be:

  7:35-7:50: 8 southbound, 3 northbound

Suan

On Sun, Nov 10, 2019 at 8:06 PM Suan Hsi Yong  wrote:

> For my first Loon Watch at Taughannock this morning, I had no idea what
> turnout to expect. 0 seemed an understandable likelihood. Instead, about 20
> people showed up, including some "civilians" who saw this announced in the
> Ithaca Times calendar.
>
> Air temp was around freezing, winds were moderate from the south,
> 10-15mph. The good news: the hills shadowed us from the wind, so it was
> relatively comfortable. The bad news, this was headwind for the southbound
> loons, so the loon count was low. My tally of migrating loons is as follows:
>
>   6:35-6:50: 1
>   6:50-7:05: 7
>   7:05-7:20: 0
>   7:20-7:35: 1 southbound, 1 northbound
>   7:35-7:50: 3 southbound, 3 northbound
>   7:50-8:05: 4 southbound, 2 northbound, 1 u-turning back north
>   8:05-8:20: 4 southbound
>
> This count does not include about 5 loons fishing in the nearby waters,
> including one working very close giving good naked-eye looks. Almost all
> southbound loons flew low, almost skimming the surface of the water,
> presumably to minimize headwind, while those flying back north flew higher.
> Most flew individually, with a few loose pairs.
>
> An early highlight was an adult bald eagle that flew in and perched up
> close, triggering some nervous quacks from the mallards in the stream.
> Later we watched a young herring gull with a fish being chased and
> harassed by an adult herring gull, soon joined by a ring-billed, while a
> loon on the water seemed to follow along, perhaps hoping to pick up a
> dropped quarry. A rattling kingfisher, a flock of cedar waxwings, and a
> red-tailed hawk harassed by crow and gull rounded out the morning's
> sightings. Here's the e-bird list maintained by Jody:
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S61345988
>
> Thanks to all who showed up, especially those with scopes willing to share
> as mine gets repaired in the shop.
>
> Suan
>
>
>

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[cayugabirds-l] Loon Watch

[Suan Hsi Yong]

For my first Loon Watch at Taughannock this morning, I had no idea what
turnout to expect. 0 seemed an understandable likelihood. Instead, about 20
people showed up, including some "civilians" who saw this announced in the
Ithaca Times calendar.

Air temp was around freezing, winds were moderate from the south, 10-15mph.
The good news: the hills shadowed us from the wind, so it was relatively
comfortable. The bad news, this was headwind for the southbound loons, so
the loon count was low. My tally of migrating loons is as follows:

  6:35-6:50: 1
  6:50-7:05: 7
  7:05-7:20: 0
  7:20-7:35: 1 southbound, 1 northbound
  7:35-7:50: 3 southbound, 3 northbound
  7:50-8:05: 4 southbound, 2 northbound, 1 u-turning back north
  8:05-8:20: 4 southbound

This count does not include about 5 loons fishing in the nearby waters,
including one working very close giving good naked-eye looks. Almost all
southbound loons flew low, almost skimming the surface of the water,
presumably to minimize headwind, while those flying back north flew higher.
Most flew individually, with a few loose pairs.

An early highlight was an adult bald eagle that flew in and perched up
close, triggering some nervous quacks from the mallards in the stream.
Later we watched a young herring gull with a fish being chased and
harassed by an adult herring gull, soon joined by a ring-billed, while a
loon on the water seemed to follow along, perhaps hoping to pick up a
dropped quarry. A rattling kingfisher, a flock of cedar waxwings, and a
red-tailed hawk harassed by crow and gull rounded out the morning's
sightings. Here's the e-bird list maintained by Jody:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61345988

Thanks to all who showed up, especially those with scopes willing to share
as mine gets repaired in the shop.

Suan

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here

[John Greenly]

This is interesting. Taking another look at the map,  I see that birds 
diverging from the west shore of Cayuga above Taughannock would pass by 
Connecticut Hill  on a straight course toward the Chesapeake, and would 
converge with the Susquehanna at Sayre, Pa,  at its confluence with the Chemung 
River coming east from Corning. Might be interesting to have observers on Conn. 
Hill the next time there is a big flight.

As they go by us above Cayuga the birds are undoubtedly following the wind more 
than the water, and with a N wind there is a strong updraft generated up the 
hills westward from the lower part of the lake.  Maybe that's what they are 
using, to gain altitude.

--John Greenly


On Nov 15, 2015, at 8:20 AM, John and Sue Gregoire wrote:

> John, Meena,
> I was joking about following Rte 15 southbound! The majority of birds 
> yesterday were
> indeed flying on a line that would have taken them to Watkins Glen. Did they 
> turn?
> Where? Why?
> 
> These birds were at sufficient althitude to bring the rivers in view quickly 
> and the
> Bay within a very short time. Our old banding station on the Patuxent River 
> was at
> the same longitude as our current station between the lakes here.
> 
> I agree with a direct flight. The rivers only provide a sense of confidence 
> that, in
> case of an in-flight emnergency, a suitable divert field is available 
> throughout the
> journey south.
> 
> A few years ago some folks from the Maryland Orn. Soc. conducted a watch at Pt
> Lookout ( Md shore at confluence of the Potomac,Patuxent and the Bay). The 
> timing of
> touch downs there would coincide nicely with the flight times with tail wind 
> that we
> were discussing yesterday -about 5 hours.  All in all, much faster than we 
> can drive
> or sometimes fly IFR.
> 
> John
> -- 
> John and Sue Gregoire
> Field Ornithologists
> Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
> 5373 Fitzgerald Road
> Burdett,NY 14818-9626
> N 42 26.611' W 76 45.492'
> Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
> "Conserve and Create Habitat"
> 
> On Sat, November 14, 2015 21:00, John Greenly wrote:
>> Hi Meena and John
>> 
>> Have to chime in here, as the lake and I are rather good friends, from a few
>> thousand hours of rowing and sailing!  From Taughannock State Park it's 8 
>> miles on
>> the water to Stewart Park at the bottom end of the lake, and the west shore 
>> down
>> there (Hog Hole) is only 1.8 miles east of a direct southerly line from the 
>> shore at
>> Taughannock.  I don't know how you figured those large numbers of miles;  
>> below
>> Taughannock, around about Myers, the lake actually bends more southerly, not 
>> to the
>> east. On the other hand, Watkins Glen at the south end of Seneca Lake is 
>> about 17
>> miles WSW from Taughannock, a direction that would be just right if the 
>> Loons were
>> migrating to Pittsburgh.
>> 
>> I do wonder where they go from here though.  The Susquehanna takes an 
>> extremely
>> twisty course with a large easterly excursion in Pennsylvania, it would be
>> interesting to know whether they follow it or just go straight, which would 
>> save
>> hours of flight.
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> John Greenly
>> 
>> 
>> On Nov 14, 2015, at 6:42 PM, John Confer wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi Meena,
>>> 
>>> Good to see you at Taughannoch.
>>> 
>>>  John and Sue Gregoire and I thought that some of the big, loose flocks of 
>>> loons
>>> that were well north of the point we stood on at Taughannoch was far more 
>>> likely
>>> to take them over the southern tip of Seneca Lake than to the southern tip 
>>> of
>>> Cayuga  Lake. As I look at Google Earth, that seems a much more likely 
>>> location
>>> that they fly over over than the southern tip of Cayuga. Measured in 
>>> Google, it
>>> looks to me that the southern tip of Cayuga Lake is more than 10 miles east 
>>> of
>>> due south from the tip of Taughannock.
>>> 
>>> Cheers,
>>> 
>>> John
>>> 
>>> 
>>> From: bounce-119895794-25065...@list.cornell.edu
>>>  on behalf of Meena Madhav 
>>> Haribal
>>> 
>>> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 4:00 PM
>>> To: k...@empacc.net
>>> Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
>>> Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here
>>> 
>>> John,
>>> I am not sure if they are following Susquehanna or they are just taking a 
>>> direct
>>> route

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here

[John and Sue Gregoire]

John, Meena,
I was joking about following Rte 15 southbound! The majority of birds yesterday 
were
indeed flying on a line that would have taken them to Watkins Glen. Did they 
turn?
Where? Why?

These birds were at sufficient althitude to bring the rivers in view quickly 
and the
Bay within a very short time. Our old banding station on the Patuxent River was 
at
the same longitude as our current station between the lakes here.

I agree with a direct flight. The rivers only provide a sense of confidence 
that, in
case of an in-flight emnergency, a suitable divert field is available 
throughout the
journey south.

A few years ago some folks from the Maryland Orn. Soc. conducted a watch at Pt
Lookout ( Md shore at confluence of the Potomac,Patuxent and the Bay). The 
timing of
touch downs there would coincide nicely with the flight times with tail wind 
that we
were discussing yesterday -about 5 hours.  All in all, much faster than we can 
drive
or sometimes fly IFR.

John
-- 
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Road
Burdett,NY 14818-9626
N 42 26.611' W 76 45.492'
 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
"Conserve and Create Habitat"

On Sat, November 14, 2015 21:00, John Greenly wrote:
> Hi Meena and John
>
> Have to chime in here, as the lake and I are rather good friends, from a few
> thousand hours of rowing and sailing!  From Taughannock State Park it's 8 
> miles on
> the water to Stewart Park at the bottom end of the lake, and the west shore 
> down
> there (Hog Hole) is only 1.8 miles east of a direct southerly line from the 
> shore at
> Taughannock.  I don't know how you figured those large numbers of miles;  
> below
> Taughannock, around about Myers, the lake actually bends more southerly, not 
> to the
> east. On the other hand, Watkins Glen at the south end of Seneca Lake is 
> about 17
> miles WSW from Taughannock, a direction that would be just right if the Loons 
> were
> migrating to Pittsburgh.
>
> I do wonder where they go from here though.  The Susquehanna takes an 
> extremely
> twisty course with a large easterly excursion in Pennsylvania, it would be
> interesting to know whether they follow it or just go straight, which would 
> save
> hours of flight.
>
> Cheers,
> John Greenly
>
>
> On Nov 14, 2015, at 6:42 PM, John Confer wrote:
>
>> Hi Meena,
>>
>>  Good to see you at Taughannoch.
>>
>>   John and Sue Gregoire and I thought that some of the big, loose flocks of 
>> loons
>> that were well north of the point we stood on at Taughannoch was far more 
>> likely
>> to take them over the southern tip of Seneca Lake than to the southern tip of
>> Cayuga  Lake. As I look at Google Earth, that seems a much more likely 
>> location
>> that they fly over over than the southern tip of Cayuga. Measured in Google, 
>> it
>> looks to me that the southern tip of Cayuga Lake is more than 10 miles east 
>> of
>> due south from the tip of Taughannock.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> John
>>
>> ____
>> From: bounce-119895794-25065...@list.cornell.edu
>>  on behalf of Meena Madhav 
>> Haribal
>> 
>> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 4:00 PM
>> To: k...@empacc.net
>> Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
>> Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here
>>
>> John,
>> I am not sure if they are following Susquehanna or they are just taking a 
>> direct
>> route. If you look up on the map, it seems they can fly directly to 
>> Chesapeake Bay
>> in direct line, they don't need to follow Route 15 as we do.  Route 15 is at 
>> least
>> 20 miles left to their target destination in our area. Also, as I mentioned
>> earlier the Cayuga Lake southern tip bends to east substantially by about  4 
>> or 5
>> miles to the east from Taughannock State park if draw straight line south.  
>> They
>> know what they are doing!
>>
>> Cheers
>> 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: John and Sue Gregoire 
>> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 3:03 PM
>> To: Meena Madhav Haribal
>> Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
>> Subject: Re: Loon watch and foy here
>>
>> Meena pls pass to Wes and Diane. Sue and I continued on to Se

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here

[John Greenly]

Hi Meena and John

Have to chime in here, as the lake and I are rather good friends, from a few 
thousand hours of rowing and sailing!  From Taughannock State Park it's 8 miles 
on the water to Stewart Park at the bottom end of the lake, and the west shore 
down there (Hog Hole) is only 1.8 miles east of a direct southerly line from 
the shore at Taughannock.  I don't know how you figured those large numbers of 
miles;  below Taughannock, around about Myers, the lake actually bends more 
southerly, not to the east. On the other hand, Watkins Glen at the south end of 
Seneca Lake is about 17 miles WSW from Taughannock, a direction that would be 
just right if the Loons were migrating to Pittsburgh.  

I do wonder where they go from here though.  The Susquehanna takes an extremely 
twisty course with a large easterly excursion in Pennsylvania, it would be 
interesting to know whether they follow it or just go straight, which would 
save hours of flight.

Cheers,
John Greenly


On Nov 14, 2015, at 6:42 PM, John Confer wrote:

> Hi Meena,
> 
>  Good to see you at Taughannoch. 
> 
>   John and Sue Gregoire and I thought that some of the big, loose flocks of 
> loons that were well north of the point we stood on at Taughannoch was far 
> more likely to take them over the southern tip of Seneca Lake than to the 
> southern tip of Cayuga  Lake. As I look at Google Earth, that seems a much 
> more likely location that they fly over over than the southern tip of Cayuga. 
> Measured in Google, it looks to me that the southern tip of Cayuga Lake is 
> more than 10 miles east of due south from the tip of Taughannock.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> John
> 
> 
> From: bounce-119895794-25065...@list.cornell.edu 
>  on behalf of Meena Madhav 
> Haribal 
> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 4:00 PM
> To: k...@empacc.net
> Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here
> 
> John,
> I am not sure if they are following Susquehanna or they are just taking a 
> direct route. If you look up on the map, it seems they can fly directly to 
> Chesapeake Bay in direct line, they don't need to follow Route 15 as we do.  
> Route 15 is at least 20 miles left to their target destination in our area. 
> Also, as I mentioned earlier the Cayuga Lake southern tip bends to east 
> substantially by about  4 or 5 miles to the east from Taughannock State park 
> if draw straight line south.  They know what they are doing!
> 
> Cheers
> 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: John and Sue Gregoire 
> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 3:03 PM
> To: Meena Madhav Haribal
> Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: Loon watch and foy here
> 
> Meena pls pass to Wes and Diane. Sue and I continued on to Seneca Lake where 
> we
> found no loons. In thinking about those high Southwestward flyers we believe 
> they
> had plenty of altitude to spot the Susquehanna and thus took a bit more 
> direct route
> down Rte 15! (runs alongside the river from Corning south).
> 
> At home we also had Fox Sparrow and our FOY American Tree Sparrow.
> 
> Terrific morning with good company!
> 
> John
> --
> John and Sue Gregoire
> Field Ornithologists
> Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
> 5373 Fitzgerald Road
> Burdett,NY 14818-9626
> N 42 26.611' W 76 45.492'
> Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
> "Conserve and Create Habitat"
> 
> On Sat, November 14, 2015 10:37, Meena Madhav Haribal wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> Today morning Loon Watch trip somebody seem to have lost the eye piece cap 
>> for Nikon
> 
> 
> 
> --
> 
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
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> 
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> 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/
> 
> --
> 
> 
> --
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&

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here

[Ann Mitchell]

I had a super time at the loon watch this morning witnessing the large flights 
of loons and visiting with everyone there. Gary and I went around the lake 
afterwards, and saw many more loons on the lake. Looks like there will be some 
more spectacular flights!
Good birding, 
Ann

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 14, 2015, at 6:42 PM, John Confer  wrote:
> 
> Hi Meena,
> 
>  Good to see you at Taughannoch. 
> 
>   John and Sue Gregoire and I thought that some of the big, loose flocks of 
> loons that were well north of the point we stood on at Taughannoch was far 
> more likely to take them over the southern tip of Seneca Lake than to the 
> southern tip of Cayuga  Lake. As I look at Google Earth, that seems a much 
> more likely location that they fly over over than the southern tip of Cayuga. 
> Measured in Google, it looks to me that the southern tip of Cayuga Lake is 
> more than 10 miles east of due south from the tip of Taughannock.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> John
> 
> 
> From: bounce-119895794-25065...@list.cornell.edu 
>  on behalf of Meena Madhav 
> Haribal 
> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 4:00 PM
> To: k...@empacc.net
> Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here
> 
> John,
> I am not sure if they are following Susquehanna or they are just taking a 
> direct route. If you look up on the map, it seems they can fly directly to 
> Chesapeake Bay in direct line, they don't need to follow Route 15 as we do.  
> Route 15 is at least 20 miles left to their target destination in our area. 
> Also, as I mentioned earlier the Cayuga Lake southern tip bends to east 
> substantially by about  4 or 5 miles to the east from Taughannock State park 
> if draw straight line south.  They know what they are doing!
> 
> Cheers
> 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: John and Sue Gregoire 
> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 3:03 PM
> To: Meena Madhav Haribal
> Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: Loon watch and foy here
> 
> Meena pls pass to Wes and Diane. Sue and I continued on to Seneca Lake where 
> we
> found no loons. In thinking about those high Southwestward flyers we believe 
> they
> had plenty of altitude to spot the Susquehanna and thus took a bit more 
> direct route
> down Rte 15! (runs alongside the river from Corning south).
> 
> At home we also had Fox Sparrow and our FOY American Tree Sparrow.
> 
> Terrific morning with good company!
> 
> John
> --
> John and Sue Gregoire
> Field Ornithologists
> Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
> 5373 Fitzgerald Road
> Burdett,NY 14818-9626
> N 42 26.611' W 76 45.492'
> Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
> "Conserve and Create Habitat"
> 
>> On Sat, November 14, 2015 10:37, Meena Madhav Haribal wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> Today morning Loon Watch trip somebody seem to have lost the eye piece cap 
>> for Nikon
> 
> 
> 
> --
> 
> 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:
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> 
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> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
> 
> --
> 

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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here

[John Confer]

Hi Meena,

  Good to see you at Taughannoch. 

   John and Sue Gregoire and I thought that some of the big, loose flocks of 
loons that were well north of the point we stood on at Taughannoch was far more 
likely to take them over the southern tip of Seneca Lake than to the southern 
tip of Cayuga  Lake. As I look at Google Earth, that seems a much more likely 
location that they fly over over than the southern tip of Cayuga. Measured in 
Google, it looks to me that the southern tip of Cayuga Lake is more than 10 
miles east of due south from the tip of Taughannock.

Cheers,

John


From: bounce-119895794-25065...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Meena Madhav Haribal 

Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 4:00 PM
To: k...@empacc.net
Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here

John,
I am not sure if they are following Susquehanna or they are just taking a 
direct route. If you look up on the map, it seems they can fly directly to 
Chesapeake Bay in direct line, they don't need to follow Route 15 as we do.  
Route 15 is at least 20 miles left to their target destination in our area. 
Also, as I mentioned earlier the Cayuga Lake southern tip bends to east 
substantially by about  4 or 5 miles to the east from Taughannock State park if 
draw straight line south.  They know what they are doing!

Cheers
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: John and Sue Gregoire 
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 3:03 PM
To: Meena Madhav Haribal
Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: Loon watch and foy here

Meena pls pass to Wes and Diane. Sue and I continued on to Seneca Lake where we
found no loons. In thinking about those high Southwestward flyers we believe 
they
had plenty of altitude to spot the Susquehanna and thus took a bit more direct 
route
down Rte 15! (runs alongside the river from Corning south).

At home we also had Fox Sparrow and our FOY American Tree Sparrow.

Terrific morning with good company!

John
--
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Road
Burdett,NY 14818-9626
N 42 26.611' W 76 45.492'
 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
"Conserve and Create Habitat"

On Sat, November 14, 2015 10:37, Meena Madhav Haribal wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Today morning Loon Watch trip somebody seem to have lost the eye piece cap 
> for Nikon



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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here

[Meena Madhav Haribal]

John, 
I am not sure if they are following Susquehanna or they are just taking a 
direct route. If you look up on the map, it seems they can fly directly to 
Chesapeake Bay in direct line, they don't need to follow Route 15 as we do.  
Route 15 is at least 20 miles left to their target destination in our area. 
Also, as I mentioned earlier the Cayuga Lake southern tip bends to east 
substantially by about  4 or 5 miles to the east from Taughannock State park if 
draw straight line south.  They know what they are doing!

Cheers
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: John and Sue Gregoire 
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 3:03 PM
To: Meena Madhav Haribal
Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: Loon watch and foy here

Meena pls pass to Wes and Diane. Sue and I continued on to Seneca Lake where we
found no loons. In thinking about those high Southwestward flyers we believe 
they
had plenty of altitude to spot the Susquehanna and thus took a bit more direct 
route
down Rte 15! (runs alongside the river from Corning south).

At home we also had Fox Sparrow and our FOY American Tree Sparrow.

Terrific morning with good company!

John
--
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Road
Burdett,NY 14818-9626
N 42 26.611' W 76 45.492'
 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
"Conserve and Create Habitat"

On Sat, November 14, 2015 10:37, Meena Madhav Haribal wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Today morning Loon Watch trip somebody seem to have lost the eye piece cap 
> for Nikon



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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch and foy here

[John and Sue Gregoire]

Meena pls pass to Wes and Diane. Sue and I continued on to Seneca Lake where we
found no loons. In thinking about those high Southwestward flyers we believe 
they
had plenty of altitude to spot the Susquehanna and thus took a bit more direct 
route
down Rte 15! (runs alongside the river from Corning south).

At home we also had Fox Sparrow and our FOY American Tree Sparrow.

Terrific morning with good company!

John
-- 
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Road
Burdett,NY 14818-9626
N 42 26.611' W 76 45.492'
 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/
"Conserve and Create Habitat"

On Sat, November 14, 2015 10:37, Meena Madhav Haribal wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Today morning Loon Watch trip somebody seem to have lost the eye piece cap 
> for Nikon



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[cayugabirds-l] Loon watch Trip tomorrow Nov 14

[Meena Madhav Haribal]

Weather forecast is for Northwest wind and low temperatures.  So hopefully we 
will have a decent flight tomorrow. Many loons have accumulated on the lake so 
earlier part of the morning might be better.


On Saturday, November 14, Wes Blauvelt will lead a Loon Watch at Taughannock 
State Park, from 7 am to 9 am. Every year, thousands of migrating Common Loons 
pass over Cayuga Lake on their way south. The numbers are especially 
concentrated shortly after dawn during the month of November. We will meet at 
the north end of Taughannock State Park, where Taughannock Creek enters the 
lake (we'll watch from south of the creek). If coming from Ithaca, enter the 
park (lake side) before crossing the bridge over Taughannock Creek and park at 
the north parking lot near the point.  Other migrating waterfowl, including 
Brant, Long-tailed Ducks and scoters may also be seen from this location. 
Participants should dress very warmly, as standing by the lake with a North 
breeze can be very cold.

For more information about these field trips, contact Wes Blauvelt at 
wwblauvelt at gmail.com or Meena Haribal at mmh3 at cornell. edu. Both field 
trips are open to all.





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




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[cayugabirds-l] Loon Watch - Nov 6th/Red Crossbills

[Ethan Kistler]

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

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[cayugabirds-l] Loon Watch - Mon, Nov 5th

[Ethan Kistler]

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

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[cayugabirds-l] Loon Watch - Sun, Nov 4th

[Ethan Kistler]

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
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[cayugabirds-l] loon watch, Sunday morning

[Dave Nutter]

This is a re-send; it apparently did not go through.  Meanwhile I've just (2:30pm) gotten a rare bird alert from Tim Lenz of a PACIFIC LOON flying north toward Sheldrake Point.--Dave NutterThis morning (Sunday 31 October 2010) Bob McGuire, Stuart Krasnoff, & I went to Taughannock point at dawn to watch the loon migration.  Indeed there was a stiff chilly northwest wind but it took awhile for us to find loons in the skies.  Eventually we saw southbound individuals and spread out groups of up to about ten, with a total somewhere near a hundred.  As is typical a few individuals were seen turning back north, and when the light got good enough we could see 14 COMMON LOONS swimming offshore with an attendant flock of gulls.  We also saw a pair of local RED-TAILED HAWKS inland over the park, a NORTHERN HARRIER flying west over the lake directly overhead, a BELTED KINGFISHER flying north low over the water, several small flocks of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS and CANADA GEESE, a southbound flock of possible WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, a southbound flock of ~200 ICTERIDS over the eastern ridge, and hundreds of GULLS rising off of northern Lansing.  Other than MALLARDS, the waterfowl in flight were hard to ID due to low light, backlighting, distance, etc.  I welcome news from any observers at Myers Point or elsewhere early this morning.  We also went to Sheldrake, where we found more COMMON LOONS on the water: 64 from the cliff top at the corner of 141 & 153, 98 from #7732 somewhere north of O'Malley's, and fewer or more obscurely seen individuals at other locations.  Also from the Sheldrake area Bob found us a male CANVASBACK among a group of 5 COMMON MERGANSERS and at least 3 BUFFLEHEAD, and we saw several AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS, 2 female and 1 male HOODED MERGANSER, and a flyby trio of SCAUP.  Looking north from the cliffs north of Sheldrake point we saw an intriguiing bird not far from shore.  Closer views of the area produced a COMMON LOON and a PIED BILLED GREBE.  We saw no other grebes this morning, not even when Bob & I continued to Dean's Cove, but there we saw a/the adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on a dock to the south and individual COMMON LOONS, HERRING, RING-BILLED and (1) GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL.  We saw no swallows, Cave nor otherwise, but land birds did include:MOURNING DOVE, 
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, 
NORTHERN FLICKER, BLUE JAY
AMERICAN CROW, 
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, 
TUFTED TITMOUSE, AMERICAN ROBIN, 
EUROPEAN STARLING, DARK-EYED JUNCO, 
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, 
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, 
HOUSE SPARROW, It was a good taste of winter birding.  Even though the intermittent precipitation was only spitting rain and mainly while we were driving between stops, we all got chilled.  --Dave Nutter