Hi Cayugabirders, I spent time in Stewart Park both Saturday and Sunday mornings, primarily to take scenic photos for the soon-to-be-updated Basin Birding Site Guide. The biggest excitement though was several raptor experiences that easily distracted me from the waterfowl flocks.
Yesterday morning (Saturday), a Red-tailed Hawk flew down to land on a large log just offshore. When I approached it I found it was feeding on an American Coot (whether or not it actually caught the coot, I don't know but I think not as I did not notice a scuffle as I was approaching the bird). It was cool to see the hawk plucking feathers from the coot, and watching the feathers float away. After about 40 minutes feeding, the hawk, presumably sated, let the coot slide into the water, looked at it with a slightly bemused expression for a couple of minutes (sorry for the anthropomorphism), then flew away. A couple of Red-tailed images are here: http://www.marieread.com/cpg/displayimage.php?album=58&pos=1 http://www.marieread.com/cpg/displayimage.php?album=58&pos=2 Today (Sunday), Gary K. pointed out a/the adult Bald Eagle perched on a snag. Later while I was photographing waterfowl, a Merlin flew up into a tree nearby where it duly posed for many images, at one point preening and spreading its tail elegantly. It was still there when I left around 11:20 am. Here's a photo of the Merlin: http://www.marieread.com/cpg/displayimage.php?album=474&pos=0 A very raptor-y weekend at I always think of as a very waterfowl-y birding spot! 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 http://www.agpix.com/mari -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
