[cayugabirds-l] Merlin Prey

The idea that Merlins take only House Sparrows and Starlings is somewhere between pure hogwash and wishful thinking. More on a par with My outdoor cat doesn't harm birds than reality. Perhaps the relationship to these two species comes from the fact that they are the only two bird species

[cayugabirds-l] Brooktondale Shrike

Drove up Boiceville Rd today towards Route 79 (about 1:30 p.m.), and spotted a juvenile N Shrike in a bare tree to the right along the road, just a bit down from (south of) the metastasizing Schickel shacks. It allowed me to pull over and et off a few shots before it flew. If interested, you

[cayugabirds-l] Fwd: What did 'your' Merlins eat?

Just to add to the discussion of Merlin prey, below is one birder's notes on what Merlinseither ate or scared offduring the course of the nesting season this year in a neighborhood in a small city in western NY. No doubt the prey items are based on availability, and they would differ somewhat in

[cayugabirds-l] Short-eared Owls

Hi All, Yesterday, Gary Kohlenberg and I went to Rafferty Road to scout for SE Owls. Rafferty Road was pretty much plowed and was dirt. We drove around the area, but still no good grassland for the bird. We did find 6 Pheasants though. We road down to the diner, but no luck, then back up to the

Re: [cayugabirds-l] What did 'your' Merlins eat?

I find predation both fascinating and traumatic to witness, but I'll admit a prejudice: I don't bemoan the loss of abundant and abusive exotics such as House Sparrows or European Starlings, and I think Merlin food is a good function for them. American Robin nestlings are cute once they get some

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Short-eared Owls

Have a great club trip on Saturday. Knowing you, it will be and I know the SE Owls know it too and will obey. I wish I could come. Linda Sent from my iPhone On Dec 8, 2011, at 7:09 PM, Ann Mitchell annmitchel...@gmail.com wrote: Hi All, Yesterday, Gary Kohlenberg and I went to Rafferty

[cayugabirds-l] Leucistic Turkey Vulture

Today John I were driving on Warren Rd. about 11:35 a.m.. As we passed the end of the airport runway I noticed a lone turkey vulture with a bright white left wing heading back towards Cayuga Mall. I quickly pulled to the roadside watched it. The sun had come out so the mostly white wing

[cayugabirds-l] Sharpie

Hi all, Just now I saw a flock of crows over my computer screen and right behind them, came a Sharpie that looked larger, so presumably a female, but no head. There were some yellow tagged crows that were chasing it. They flew over BTI. Meena Meena Haribal Boyce Thompson Institute Ithaca NY

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Sharpie

I've been watching starlings wheeling around in their swarm mode directly over the Vet Tower right around 5pm each night as I head home. Really fantastic sight. If you are driving down Tower Road in the direction of the Vet Tower you can see them after you pass the Dairy Bar intersection.

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Sharpie

Terry. Stop and watch them for a while. They circle and circle and after quite a long while they stream into a tower, what I presume is a chimney, in one fell swoop. Like reverse smoke. Not at all the way Chimney Swifts enter. Larry and I watched this several times last year. Fascinating.

RE: [cayugabirds-l] Sharpie

I watch those starlings every day in this season while waiting for the bus. They do it so late in the evening that it is hard to get them on the film. May be should get a permit to go to the top of Vet Tower one of these days. I can hear them while waiting for the bus. Gary, any suggestion

[cayugabirds-l] Photo request for Basin Birding Site Guide - RNGrebe

Hi all, As some of you know, I'm acting as photo editor for the upcoming Cayuga Basin Birding Site Guide soon to be published by the Cayuga Bird Club, and I am hoping one of you photographers or digiscopers out there can help me. I need a good quality image of a Red-necked Grebe in winter

[cayugabirds-l] Merlin food

Since it has been mentioned that Merlins taking mostly House Sparrows (no one has ever mentioned starlings that I know of) is hogwash, I thought it might be useful to look at the available data. I copy here Appendix 1 from the BNA Merlin account, which lists the results of 6 published studies

[cayugabirds-l] White-winged Crossbill

Hi all, The House Finches that rediscovered our feeding station in Horseheads about a week ago were joined by a single WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL this morning. While the finches came to the feeder, the crossbill moved to the spruce trees, though I never noticed him feeding on the abundant cone crop.

[cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club meeting-Dec 12

Hi All, The December meeting of the Cayuga Bird Club is next Monday, Dec 12 at 7:30 pm at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This meeting is open to the public and we'd love it if you would join us! Here are details of the program: Dec. 12 Monday 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. (refreshments at 7:15) Cayuga

[cayugabirds-l] Cayuga Bird Club speaker dinner - Dec.12

ATTN: CBC Members The Cayuga Bird Club is pleased to welcome Karen Allaben-Confer as guest speaker at our monthly meeting on Monday, October 13 at 7:30 pm at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Karen will be sharing her observations and drawings in Living with Relics of the Pleistocene -

RE: [cayugabirds-l] Merlin food

I sent this previously to Bob McGuire, but thought that it might be of interest to others: The one bird that I've seen Merlin catch was a House Sparrow. The Merlin that our Audubon group saw last Saturday was hunting pigeons. It split a flock in two and then cut an individual out of the flock and