Hi Cayugabirders, Hope that you’ve been seeing some good birds recently! Late fall is always a nice time to be out and about—ducks starting to arrive, sparrows moving through, and the potential for rarities around every corner. I really like seeing Fox Sparrows and Rusty Blackbirds, so late October and early November are always delightful in my mind.
If you want to go out and find some of these birds while visiting a place you’ve never been, why not try Avicaching (http://ebird.org/content/ebird/avicaching/)? Explore somewhere new, contribute to science, and also have a chance to win free binoculars. Since I know everyone wouldn’t mind a free pair of Zeiss bins, what do you have to lose? The more that you go Avicaching, the higher chance you have of binocular victory. If you visit 2-3 Avicaches a week between now and the end of the year, you could have as much as a 1-in-10 chance in the drawing. And the worst case scenario? You went birding at least once a week through a very interesting time of the year—amid the throes of late raptor migration, duck movements, and the influx of winter finches. On the topic of winter, this year has the potential to be very interesting for winter irruptive species—there are already signs that Snowy Owls are on the move (http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/snowy1015/), and a report from Quebec the other day had almost 16,000 redpolls pass by in a single day. They’re coming. The types of places that exemplify Avicaching locations—woodland, agricultural fields, and other edges—are often those frequented by these winter finches. You never know what you’ll find until you look! I know I’ll be out there. Best, Ian -- Ian Davies eBird Project Assistant Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- 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/ --