For the benefit of interested birders in New York, I am forwarding (with Alan's permission) this announcement about a "pelagic" trip into Lake Champlain. It's out of Burlington, Vermont, but adjacent to northern New York waters. I don't know if the boat will actually enter NY waters, but some of the birds might.
Lake Champlain has been seriously understudied in New York and has had a long history of producing some very interesting rare species such as Long-tailed Jaegers, Sabine's Gulls, and who knows what else might show up. And how bad could a trip to Vermont be - anytime. Contact Alan Strong at: -------->>>> astr...@uvm.edu <--------- to get on board. Rich Guthrie -----Original Message----- From: Vermont Birds On Behalf Of Allan Strong Hi VT Birders, Both of the pelagic trips are full, but there is a lot of demand and I'm trying to determine if we can run some additional trips. If you are still interested and haven't contacted me already, please fill out this doodle poll so I can gauge additional interest. https://doodle.com/poll/mespizdmiagdx7d6 All the best, Allan Hi VT Birders, I've got UVM's research vessel, the Melosira, reserved for another Lake Champlain "pelagic trip" on 8 (Sat) and 9 (Sun) September. The trips will be about 4 hours (7:30-11:30) and the cost will be $50.00. As we've found in past years, there are no guarantees about how the birding might be, but we will be right at the "peak" for jaeger migration, as well as the time of year for that annual Sabine's Gull, and we'll be in season for other ducks, shorebirds (phalaropes?), terns, and, well, who knows what else? We'll also be chumming on both trips with the goal of bringing birds close to the boat. Last year we had great luck with a couple of jaegers (Parasitic and Long-tailed) and an immature Sabine's Gull. But, we've also had some lackluster days as well. A note about the Melosira. It is a steady boat, but if the water is choppy, viewing can be challenging as you are watching from a moving platform. Additionally, the boat is designed to chase fish and the things fish eat (like zooplankton), so it is not designed to get anywhere in a hurry. If an unusual bird comes whizzing by the boat, we probably won't have much luck in trying to outrun it for a better look. But, this is a totally different perspective on birding, and we might just find some really cool birds! If you are interested, please send me an email to reserve a place, let me know which day is of interest, and I'll send you further instructions on making a final reservation. astr...@uvm.edu I hope you can make it! Allan Strong -- Richard Guthrie -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
