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Recent Postings from
The Cayuga Birding List

Updated on Tuesday, December 11 at 09:57 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

Our yard com. redpolls increase daily. This a.m. there were 9 on the thistle 
feeders. Gold finches had to forage elsewhere. Guess who's boss? 


Bill McAneny, TBurg

The ICELAND GULL was a pale 2nd winter bird, judging by Sibley's illustrations: 
dark tipped narrowish fleshy bill; light gray mantle; white elsewhere, 
especially the primaries, but with light buffy markings on the nape, body, and 
wing coverts if my hazy memory serves me. I didn't have my camera or take 
notes, and it was a long busy taxi day. The bird was bathing vigorously when I 
first saw it, then it flew to the ice shelf where it was easier to judge the 
size as somewhat smaller than a Herring Gull. I had to leave shortly after I 
found it, and I called Mary then (1100). The Iceland Gull I saw may have been 
the same bird which Tm and Jeff found at the compost piles at lunchtime. 

--Dave Nutter

On Tuesday, December 11, 2007, at 08:02AM, "Mary E. Winston" 
 wrote: 

>
>Its 11 a.m. and Dave Nutter just telephone - there is an ICELAND GULL on
>the ice at Stewart Park near the main pavilion!
>
>Mary E. Winston
>Public Outreach Assistant
>Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>
>
>
>"There flock bright birds, a shining throng,
>And sing their grace-perfected song,..."
>-----Robin Flower - Translated from the Irish
>
>
>
>
>

Hello al,

Apparently it was not a dark morph red-tail. However, a "true" dark morph(I
think it was a rufous morph actually) has been around the Game Farm for
years.

Matt Young

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One of the most difficult things about identifying Hoary Redpolls is not 
KNOWING the fieldmarks, but knowing if you've SEEN them or not.  The white 
rump on a Hoary is not all that big, and Commons can show lots of white on 
the back that can look like the rump.  The undertail coverts of redpolls 
are oddly fluffy feathers, and dark marks that exist can often be 
obscured.  It is good to get multiple looks at these feathers to be certain 
that dark marks aren't just covered over by other white feathers.  Bill 
size in Common Redpolls is highly variable, and overlaps that of 
Hoary.  The dark tip on the upper bill can be lost in the background 
(especially in photos), making the bill look smaller than it is.  The 
ground color of birds in a flock varies, and it is not uncommon to pick out 
one or two birds that are paler than the rest of the flock. Males are paler 
than females, and older birds are paler than young ones.

It is best to see multiple characters; one or two alone really shouldn't be 
enough, especially if it's a life bird.

Kevin


At 02:57 PM 12/9/2007, Paul Hurtado wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I was wondering if anyone might be able to share with the list any good 
>online resources for telling Hoary from Common Redpoll?  After seening 
>some pale (but still Common) Redpolls at the CLO feeders yesterday, I've 
>been trying to straighten out what is almost certainly a Hoary, almost 
>certainly a Common, and what is best unidentified beyond "Redpoll", and I 
>thought others might enjoy some of that process...  (and I know I'm not 
>the only one with these Redpoll-ID aspirations!)
>
>Here's a whole mess of information... ;)
>
>Just from quickly skimming Pyle-1997, it seems we can get both N.American 
>subspecies of Hoary and both of Common Redpoll around here:  "C.f. 
>flammea" is the smaller, more slender billed Common Redpoll and "C.f. 
>rostrata" which is larger and more heavily streaked that flammea.
>
>"C.h. exilipes" is the smaller (more wide spread?) Hoary Redpoll ("breeds 
>AK-Lab" = AK to Labrador) -- pale brownish plumage, adult males get deeply 
>colored breasts (overlaps w/ smaller Common ssp. "C.f. flammea" in bill 
>structure I believe).  "C.h. hornemanni" is the larger, whiter, Hoary 
>Redpoll -- adult males usually show color only on sides of the breast.
>
>As far as size goes, it appears C.f.flammea (Common) and C.h.exilipes 
>(Hoary) overlap in size, C.f.rostrata (larger, darker Common) is larger 
>with a little less overlap relative to the above 2, and C.h.hornemanni 
>(larger paler Hoary) is slightly larger, but overlapping quite a bit with 
>rostrata.
>
>Perhaps someone else could elaborate on size overlaps and the relative 
>bill proportions?  I get the feeling bill proportions are perhaps still a 
>good way to differentiate between Common and Hoary when undertail coverts 
>aren't seen well, but I could be wrong on this.
>
>Overall, Pyle and other sources suggest (I've paraphrased here... 
>hopefully its all correct!)
>
>- Hoary Redpolls have shorter more stubby bills than Common.
>- Undertail coverts have faint (2+ streaks) to heavy streaking in Common,
>   and 0-3 faint streaks in Hoary (varying by age/sex)
>- Rump and flanks are very pale to whitish brown with moderate to heavy 
>streaking.
>- The back, nape and rump of Common are pale to pale brownish and lightly
>   to heavily streaked. Hoary are paler, most are brownish white to white 
> here.
>- Auriculars are more defined in Commons, little to no definition in Hoary.
>
>Also, it seems female Hoary (exilipes) Redpolls can often overlap with 
>male Common Redpolls in the coloration and density of undertail covert 
>streaking, and perhaps some darker young Hoary Redpolls might appear 
>similar to Commons (single anecdote)?
>
>Overall, it seems good views of flanks, rump, upperparts and bill 
>structure can easily nail down the ID of an obvious Hoary Redpoll, 
>especially when lots of secondary characteristics support the ID, but I'd 
>love to hear/read more about that grey area if anyone has any such wisdom 
>to pass around! :)
>
>Thanks for reading,
>-Paul

*****************************************************
Kevin J. McGowan
Co-editor, New York State Breeding Bird Atlas
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY /
fax 607/
kjm2 AT cornell.edu
http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/

Tony,

Yes, I have seen the video before.  It's interesting, but my 
interpretations are a bit different from those presented in the film.

The crow is an independent juvenile, and very likely was raised by 
people.  It may well have been raised with a cat, and so treated this one 
as a family member.  It was not "raising and taking care" of the kitten, or 
acting like a mother, but acting like a sibling, playing and attempting to 
interact with (or dominate) the cat.  The red mouth and begging 
vocalizations of the young crow are apparent at several points in the 
video.  As both cat and crow are youngsters, their "inappropriate" 
relationship becomes much easier to understand.  Neither knew any 
better.  I am interested in what eventually happened, as the cat's "play" 
seemed a bit potentially damaging.  Still, such relationships between 
different species of social animals can easily last a long time and be 
perfectly amicable.

I question whether the crow was actually "wild."  A wild young crow could, 
theoretically, establish a relationship like this, but most likely its 
parents would have mobbed the crap out of the cat the first time the young 
crow went near it, and the crow would have learned that cats are something 
to fear.  Without that key parental role (which crow adults are very good 
at), the crow kid was left to blunder around.

Thanks for checking.


Kevin


At 03:56 PM 12/11/2007, Anthony Ingraham wrote:

>Hi, Kevin
>You've probably already seen this video, as it was made in 1999, but it's 
>new to me. Any comments on this unusual behavior?
>

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JiJzqXxgxo&mode=related&search 

>
>Tony Ingraham
>owlgorge AT earthlink.net
>

*****************************************************
Kevin J. McGowan
Co-editor, New York State Breeding Bird Atlas
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY /
fax 607/
kjm2 AT cornell.edu
http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/

Hi, Kevin
You've probably already seen this video, as it was made in 1999, but it's new 
to me. Any comments on this unusual behavior? 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JiJzqXxgxo&mode=related&search

Tony Ingraham
owlgorge AT earthlink.net

Hi,
Are there any other details on a Western Red-tailed Hawk report from
the Game Farm, or was that a second-hand addition?  There is quite a
variety in the Red-tailed Hawks that are around Ithaca at present,
presumably representing a combination of Eastern Canadian birds as
well as year-round residents and other semi-local birds.  This
mish-mash includes several very richly colored birds with dark throats
that could potentially be construed as Western-types but are much more
likely to be coming from our north or northeast.  Details of underwing
pattern, tail pattern, and barring on the thighs would be useful in
solidly identifying a Western Red-tail in NY, though it seems that the
origins of some Eastern Canadian / Western Red-tailed Hawks in winter
are probably best left to speculation due to considerable overlap in
appearance.
Cheers,
Tom
-- 
Thomas Brodie Johnson
Ithaca, NY
tbj4 AT cornell.edu
mobile: 

Tim,

Recently the term "cycle" has been thrown around, mostly with respect to 
gulls.  What does "cycle" mean?  Could a gull in the 2nd-cycle also be 
called a bi-cycle?  How about uni-cycle and tri-cycle?  Thanks in advance 
for your input.

Steve Fast
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tim Lenz" 
To: "Michael G. Harvey" 
Cc: 
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 1:58 PM
Subject: Re: Glaucous Gull - Stevenson Road


> Jeff Gerbracht and I went at lunch and found the GLAUCOUS GULL and a 
> 2nd-cycle ICELAND GULL.  Here are some photos:
>
> http://picasaweb.google.com/tclenz/BasinBirding2007/photo#
> http://picasaweb.google.com/tclenz/BasinBirding2007/photo#
>
> Michael G. Harvey wrote:
>> A 1st/2nd-winter Glaucous Gull was present at the Stevenson Road compost
>> piles in Dryden around 10:00 this morning. Also in the area was an
>> American Crow with white bases to the remiges.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Mike Harvey
>> Ithaca, NY
>>
>>
>>
>
> Good birding
>
> -- 
> Tim Lenz
> tcl6 AT cornell.edu
> Web Applications Developer
> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>
>
>
> 

As of 1pm this afternoon 2-4 Common Redpolls were observed feeding at the main 
feeders at the Lab of O along with the usual suspects. When the birds were 
flushed several different times the redpolls seemed to stay associated with the 
house finches over the the goldfinches, is that normally the case? 


Good birding,
--
Matthew S. Savoca
Cornell University '10
Natural Resources

Jeff Gerbracht and I went at lunch and found the GLAUCOUS GULL and a 
2nd-cycle ICELAND GULL.  Here are some photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tclenz/BasinBirding2007/photo#
http://picasaweb.google.com/tclenz/BasinBirding2007/photo#

Michael G. Harvey wrote:
> A 1st/2nd-winter Glaucous Gull was present at the Stevenson Road compost
> piles in Dryden around 10:00 this morning. Also in the area was an
> American Crow with white bases to the remiges.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Mike Harvey
> Ithaca, NY
>
>
>   

Good birding

-- 
Tim Lenz
tcl6 AT cornell.edu
Web Applications Developer
Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Forwarded: Looks like the Western" Red-tail is back at Game Farm?

On Monday afternoon I was in Ithaca and had a dark morph Roughleg in 
dense fog on Mt.Pleasant Road, near the observatory. A little lower 
and out of the fog bank at the Game Farm, I counted 14 Redtails in and 
around the pheasant buffet -- all adult birds, with a fair number of 
blackish backs. A rich red-breasted bird was perched again just in 
from Stevenson Road at the Dodge Road creek crossing, there were three 
Redtails in the same tree there. 


Tom Carrolan 
Liverpool NY 
www.hawksaloft.com 


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Its 11 a.m. and Dave Nutter just telephone - there is an ICELAND GULL on
the ice at Stewart Park near the main pavilion!

Mary E. Winston
Public Outreach Assistant
Cornell Lab of Ornithology



"There flock bright birds, a shining throng,
And sing their grace-perfected song,..."
-----Robin Flower - Translated from the Irish

A 1st/2nd-winter Glaucous Gull was present at the Stevenson Road compost
piles in Dryden around 10:00 this morning. Also in the area was an
American Crow with white bases to the remiges.

Cheers,

Mike Harvey
Ithaca, NY

Here are my photos of the female/immature type Hoary Redpoll along the
Wildlife Drive today:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jmcgowan57/HoaryRedpoll10Dec07

The birds were moving around a lot and keeping their heads down, and the
light wasn't great, but I got a few decent shots showing the characters. 
Additionally, I posted a couple of pictures of a pale male redpoll that we
failed to get good looks at.  It shows very pale pink on the breast (which
I have seen on Commons), but I never saw the back of it well, so I can't
say for sure.

Good birding,

Jay McGowan
Dryden, NY

Yesterday I added AMERICAN KESTREL to my 2007 Yard List. The yard itself and my 
neighbors' too are too closed in with trees for proper Kestrel habitat. I first 
saw it to the north, perched on the topmost wire where the high-voltage power 
lines cross the Flood Control Channel between the Childrens' Garden and the 
Boatyard Grill. I was surprised to see a Kestrel 150' or so in the air over a 
huge stretch of ice. I had to tag up and use the scope to see it from the yard. 
Then it flew down to a speed limit sign on the approach to the NYS 89 bridge, 
which looked like a far more likely spot to find birds or voles to eat in the 
weedy embankment. 


Today I added LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL to my 2007 Luddite List (found on a trip 
made without using fossil fuel). Actually I had driven to Stewart Park and 
found the bird on the ice (as noted previously by Ken Rosenberg), then returned 
by bike. At first Laurie thought this was ridiculous until I pointed out that I 
was biking locally instead of driving up the lake seeking Ross' Goose or Hoary 
Redpoll, so it was very definitely saving fuel and giving me exercise which was 
why she challenged me to start such a list. 


Afterward I biked back to Treman Marina and walked the lakeshore loop. In the 
inlet alongside the white lighthouse jetty close to the edge of the ice, I was 
surprised to find not one, not two, but six female LONG-TAILED DUCKS. The water 
was more calm today than yesterday when the waves made the bits of floating ice 
near shore and edge give a xylophone chorus. 


There was one immature DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT on the bunch of pilings out in 
the lake today. 


--Dave Nutter

Lurking and learning. :)
Some COMMON REDPOLLS were present today around the pond next to the barn at
CLO.

Cheers,
Pedro

On 10/12/2007, Chris Tessaglia-Hymes  wrote:
>
> Last night, my recollection of the very loose field characteristics
> observed of the perched "Vesper" sparrow began to bother me. After
> checking a few references, I began second-guessing my ID of the sparrow.
> Originally, when I saw the small brown blur fly up from the road some
> distance ahead of me, I thought I saw white outer trail feathers. It
> perched atop a tall bush as my vehicle came to a rest. My limited view
> of the bird was pretty much head-on, through the windshield. When a car
> drove past me, the bird flew, but too quickly for me to get it back in
> the binoculars again, and I didn't attempt to relocate the bird. It's
> facial and head markings seemed strikingly crisp white and dark brown to
> me and I thought I saw an eye-ring. Upon consulting the references last
> night, I realized that I could not definitively rule out Savannah
> Sparrow as a possibility.
>
> So, today, after a docotor's appointment, I ran back up to Conlon Road
> and more carefully checked the ditch bushes in the vicinity of where I
> saw the sparrow yesterday. I managed to scrounge up and definitively
> identify 4 SAVANNAH SPARROWS. These four birds lacked obvious white
> outer tail feathers and also lacked a noticeable white eye-ring. They
> also lacked yellowish lores, seen on breeding plumaged individuals. Only
> one of the four birds had crisp white and dark brown plumage which may
> have been the bird I thought was a Vesper Sparrow....or not. I suppose
> it is possible that there was a Vesper Sparrow in the area yesterday and
> that I did indeed see one, but it seems more plausible that the "Vesper"
> sparrow was in fact one of the 4 Savannah Sparrows.
>
> In checking with the Audubon CBC records, a request for Vesper Sparrow
> data from Ithaca CBC's didn't produce any results; however, they have
> occurred across NYS CBC's in the past, with numbers reported showing a
> significant decline over the past 20 count years. Savannah Sparrow is
> not unprecedented for the Ithaca CBC and has been reported as single
> sightings on at least 3 occasions in the past.
>
> Everyone makes mistakes, even the best birders; but you can only learn
> (or re-learn...) from them if you acknowledge them to yourself (at the
> least).
>
> Oh, late yesterday afternoon, Pedro Fernandes (Cayugabirds lurker...),
> Jessica Decker, Diane and I all headed up for some fabulous views of 3
> SHORT-EARED OWLS just SE of the intersection of Buck and Scofield Roads.
> Life birds for Pedro and Jessica. Yay!
>
> Good birding!
>
> Sincerely,
> Chris T-H
>
> Chris Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:
> > Late this morning, while driving some back roads, I kicked up one
> > VESPER SPARROW from the roadside along Conlon Road in mid-Lansing. The
> > bird was 1.15 miles West of Route 34, along Conlon Road, about 0.3
> > miles beyond the intersection of Gulf Road and Conlon Road. One of the
> > random side roads I drove along, while heading back towards Ithaca was
> > Van Ostrand Road, which passes the location of the Short-eared Owls
> > seen by Ryan by only 3/4 of a mile...I missed them.
> >
> > Good birding!
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Chris T-H
> >
>
> --
> =============================================
> Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
> TARU Product Line Manager and Field Application Engineer
> Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
> 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
> Voice:, FAX:
> http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu
> =============================================
>
>
>

Greetings,
Jay McGowan and I returned to Montezuma NWR to check out the Hoary
Redpoll from Saturday, and found it feeding along the Wildlife Drive
at Montezuma NWR with >100 Common Redpolls.  The bird was paler than
the Common Redpolls, but not startlingly so.  Specifically, the dark
streaking on the flanks was thinner and especially diffuse toward the
rear of the flanks, the undertail coverts were white with the
exception of 2 thin gray/ black streaks (only one of which was visible
most of the time today), and the rump and scapulars were paler white/
gray than those of the Common Redpolls.  Finally, the Hoary was
significantly chunkier than all the surrounding Commons and had a very
short, stubby bill.  Interestingly, the Hoary was often feeding with
its tail cocked up in the air, a posture not frequently assumed by the
Commons.
Some photos of the bird in the poor, dark afternoon light are at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jaegermaster/RecentAdditions
Jay might have some more photos to share later on.

As for access, the wildlife drive at Montezuma NWR is currently closed
to auto traffic due to the snow and ice on the drive; however, entry
by foot (park at the visitor's center) is encouraged.  The redpoll
flock has been feeding to the east side of the drive at the end of the
first straight leg, near the Oxbow Trail.  Mostly the birds have been
feeding on seeds near the ground between the green spillway and the
Oxbow Trail and have been fairly easy to locate.  Other birds in the
area included many Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks and 230 Snow
Buntings.

Cayuga Lake just south of Cayuga Lake State Park on Rt. 89 held a very
large group of gulls sitting on the ice which contained 1 adult Lesser
Black-backed Gull and 1 first cycle Glaucous Gull.  Several thousand
Snow Geese and Canada Geese flew in to roost just south of Dean's
Cove, but the sky was too dark to scan properly by the time we got
there.

Cheers,
Tom
-- 
Thomas Brodie Johnson
Ithaca, NY
tbj4 AT cornell.edu
mobile: 

Thank goodness the owls were out and about today when Raghu and I went to
look for them 10am-12pm, otherwise I might have cried. In fact, they seem
to have been taking to the same perches as Ryan found them on yesterday.
Sure was a good time:
http://florisvanbreugel.smugmug.com/gallery/3973973#

The 'posted' owl is actually a 4 image panorama stitched together... 700mm
on a 20D was just a bit too much reach for that :P

- Floris

Yesterday & today Screechie was in the north box of the Mill Pond. Many redhead 
ducks are on Mill Pond along with many mallards & gadwall, a few buffles & a 
wigeon. No woodie today. Still have redpolls at home. 


Many tundra swans, hooded & common merganzers are between the RR tracks at 
Cayuga & Mud lock. South of the RR tracks is pretty well iced in. 


Fritzie

Around 3:30 p.m., I saw a single redpoll on our thistle feeder, which hangs 
about 1 foot from the kitchen window. While there had been mixed flocks of 
birds at our four feeders earlier, it was the only bird at any of the feeders. 
It was perched there for about 10 minutes, then flew into the trees. 

Teresa

	On Sunday, 12/9/07, about 3 PM, my wife and I observed a 
red-shouldered hawk perched for several minutes in a walnut tree near 
a pond on our property on Stone Quarry Rd. on South Hill.  This is 
the first red-shouldered hawk we've seen near our home in the 26 
years we've lived here.

Lindsay Goodloe

Last night, my recollection of the very loose field characteristics 
observed of the perched "Vesper" sparrow began to bother me. After 
checking a few references, I began second-guessing my ID of the sparrow. 
Originally, when I saw the small brown blur fly up from the road some 
distance ahead of me, I thought I saw white outer trail feathers. It 
perched atop a tall bush as my vehicle came to a rest. My limited view 
of the bird was pretty much head-on, through the windshield. When a car 
drove past me, the bird flew, but too quickly for me to get it back in 
the binoculars again, and I didn't attempt to relocate the bird. It's 
facial and head markings seemed strikingly crisp white and dark brown to 
me and I thought I saw an eye-ring. Upon consulting the references last 
night, I realized that I could not definitively rule out Savannah 
Sparrow as a possibility.

So, today, after a docotor's appointment, I ran back up to Conlon Road 
and more carefully checked the ditch bushes in the vicinity of where I 
saw the sparrow yesterday. I managed to scrounge up and definitively 
identify 4 SAVANNAH SPARROWS. These four birds lacked obvious white 
outer tail feathers and also lacked a noticeable white eye-ring. They 
also lacked yellowish lores, seen on breeding plumaged individuals. Only 
one of the four birds had crisp white and dark brown plumage which may 
have been the bird I thought was a Vesper Sparrow....or not. I suppose 
it is possible that there was a Vesper Sparrow in the area yesterday and 
that I did indeed see one, but it seems more plausible that the "Vesper" 
sparrow was in fact one of the 4 Savannah Sparrows.

In checking with the Audubon CBC records, a request for Vesper Sparrow 
data from Ithaca CBC's didn't produce any results; however, they have 
occurred across NYS CBC's in the past, with numbers reported showing a 
significant decline over the past 20 count years. Savannah Sparrow is 
not unprecedented for the Ithaca CBC and has been reported as single 
sightings on at least 3 occasions in the past.

Everyone makes mistakes, even the best birders; but you can only learn 
(or re-learn...) from them if you acknowledge them to yourself (at the 
least).

Oh, late yesterday afternoon, Pedro Fernandes (Cayugabirds lurker...), 
Jessica Decker, Diane and I all headed up for some fabulous views of 3 
SHORT-EARED OWLS just SE of the intersection of Buck and Scofield Roads. 
Life birds for Pedro and Jessica. Yay!

Good birding!

Sincerely,
Chris T-H

Chris Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:
> Late this morning, while driving some back roads, I kicked up one 
> VESPER SPARROW from the roadside along Conlon Road in mid-Lansing. The 
> bird was 1.15 miles West of Route 34, along Conlon Road, about 0.3 
> miles beyond the intersection of Gulf Road and Conlon Road. One of the 
> random side roads I drove along, while heading back towards Ithaca was 
> Van Ostrand Road, which passes the location of the Short-eared Owls 
> seen by Ryan by only 3/4 of a mile...I missed them.
>
> Good birding!
>
> Sincerely,
> Chris T-H
>

-- 
=============================================
Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
TARU Product Line Manager and Field Application Engineer
Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
Voice:, FAX:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu
=============================================

RBA

*  New York
*  Syracuse
*   December 10, 2007
*  NYSY 

Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert
Dates(s):December 03, 2007-December 10, 2007
to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com
covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
and MontezumaWetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County),
Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer,  Madison & Cortland
compiled:December 10, 1:00 p.m. (EST)
compiler: Joseph Brin
Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org


#82 - Monday December 10, 2007


Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of December 
03, 2007 


Highlights:

PINE GROSBEAK
EVENING GROSBEAK
 SANDHILL CRANE
HOARY REDPOLL
PINE GROSBEAK
GLAUCOUS GULL
SHORT-EARED OWL
LONG-EARED OWL
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
SISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER (Extralimital)


Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC)
------------

     On 12/7 3 SANDHILL CRANES were seen at the end of Morgan Road.
 On 12/8 a HOARY REDPOLL was seen in a large group of Common Redpolls along the 
wildlife trail. 



Oswego County
------------

 On 12/3 8 PINE GROSBEAKS were seen along Toad Harbor Road north of Oneida 
Lake. 

 On 12/7 an EVENING GROSBEAK was seen at a private residence on Lakeshore Road 
south of Fulton. 

 On 12/7 REDPOLLS and a PINE SISKIN were seen at a feeder on Co.Rt.57 south of 
Fulton. 

     On 12/8 a GLAUCOUS GULL was seen in Phoenix.
     On 12/9 12 PINE GROSBEAKS were seen at the south lookout at Derby Hill.


Cayuga County
-------------

     On 12/7 5 PINE GROSBEAKS were soon along Rt.104A east of Fairhaven.


Oneida County
------------

     On 12/7 15 PINE GROSBEAKS were seen on Sulfur Springs Rd. in Saquoit.
     On 12/10 a SHORT-EARED OWL was seen on Poppleton Rpad east of Oneida Lake.


Onondaga County
------------

     On 12/7 an EVENING GROSBEAK was seen on Makyes Road south of Syracuse.
 On 12/ 8 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were seen along West Sorrell Hill Road south of 
Baldwinsville. 

 On 12/8 a LONG-EARED OWL was seen at a private residence on Watervale Road in 
Pompey. 

     On 12/9 REDPOLLS were at a private residence in Kirkville.
 On 12/10 3 REDPOLLS were at a private residence on the south side of the city 
of Syracuse. 



Extralimital
------------

 A SISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER was seen regularly this past week at the Startop 
Ranch in Montauk which is at the east end of Long Island. 



--end transcript

--
Joseph Brin
Region 5
Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A.

   








 
____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page. 
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

The Short-eared Owls were very active today at the intersection of Scofield 
and Buck Rds, from 10:40 to 11:40 (when I left).  They were flying around 
the fields in all directions from the intersection quite a bit, and some 
came close to the road.  They used the Christmas tree farm, sometimes 
disappearing into it and at other times sitting on the tops of the 
trees.  Owls could also be seen sitting in the fields.  At least 3 were 
present, and possibly as many as 5.  I only saw one with prey: a large 
meadow vole.

Kevin

Some of you have been taking some great photos of birds. I've been seeing a 
number of photo contests you might be interested in participating in. Here are 
the results of the NWF contest to show you what you'd be up against. There's 
also an article on chickadees, quoting someone from CU. 

   
  Ronda Roaring

National Wildlife Federation  wrote:
  Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2007 11:59: (CST)
From: National Wildlife Federation 
To: rondaroaring AT yahoo.com
Subject: National Wildlife Magazine: December 2007

                             
      
         December/January 2008, vol. 46 no.1
Issue home | See past issues 
        

                  --> --->        


    Photo Contest Winners
The submissions to this year's 37th annual Photo Contest were remarkable, not 
only for sheer volume -- nearly 16,000 images -- but for geographic breadth. 

See the winners.                
                    



      Cat in a Quandary
When biologists in Maine discovered that lynx prefer recovering clear-cuts to 
old growth, forest management for other species in the state got a whole lot 
more complicated. 

Read more. 
                      
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    Green Consumer
Travel is a powerful tool for increasing people's appreciation for the natural 
world, but to effectively offset the pollution generated by their trips, 
consumers need to carefully study the options. 

Read on.                
                
 
    Backyard Birding
The little black-capped birds that visit your yard during the cold months have 
evolved some remarkable adaptions to help them survive even the most frigid 
conditions. 

Read how. 

              
 WEB EXCLUSIVE: Thoreau: In His Own Words 

 Journal entries of the 19th century writer-naturalist describe the changing 
seasons around Concord, Massachusetts 

                  Read more.                  
 --> 

                
 
    Dispatches from the Deep
Outfitted with high-tech tags, far-ranging and deep-diving elephant seals are 
collecting data critical to understanding the oceans, including changes tied to 
global warming. 

Read more.                
                
 
    WEB EXCLUSIVE: Hurricanes and Sooty Tern Survival
Sooty terns nest mainly on islands that may lie only a foot above sea level, 
where the vegetation the birds use for cover from predators is vulnerable to 
the elements. 

Read more.                         

  

  
---------------------------------
    In the Next Issue:
  Living on the Edge

Rebirth of a Forest

Most Important Fish
  

                      
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---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.

11:30 am
  12/10
   
 This morning, bright and early, I had 100+ e. grosbeaks in the yard. This year 
is reminding me of the influx of e. grosbeaks we had in the early 1980s. Then, 
I had 350+ grosbeaks for several months. Someone in another state, I don't 
remember where or his name, was keeping track of numbers and I was supposed to 
count them all every day. I remember having the list of dates and numbers 
attached to the refrigerator door with a magnet. Once the number got to 350, it 
didn't change much. I coordinated the purchase of a truck load of sunflower 
seed for the CBC, which we sold to members at $1 over cost per bag. I think the 
price was $7 or $8 in those days. I ran a non-scientific experiment with my 
350+ grosbeaks: I smoothed out the snow over the deck and dumped a 50-lb. bag 
of sunflower seed over the deck to see how long it would take for the grosbeaks 
to consume it. Within 30 minutes it had been turned to dust. I could go to the 
second-story windows and look down on the deck and 

 watch them. There was this one male I called the "double-yolk bird." He was 
twice as large as any of the other birds and was a different color yellow, as 
it someone had mixed a bit of green and brown in the paint. The yellow stripe 
on his head was also larger. But he seemed to be a healthy bird. I only saw him 
that one year. 

   
 I'm not in a financial position to be feeding even 100 grosbeaks at the price 
of sunflower seed these days, so some of them are going to have to go 
elsewhere. Any takers? 

   
  Ronda Roaring

       
---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.

Ron Pittaway of Ontario had posted a few years ago summary of how to ID 
these birds. So I just did a google search and I came up with his post.

If any one wants to read this article e-mail me separately as attachments 
are no allowed on cayugabirds.  I will send the article in word format. Or 
you yourself can google it  Search for Redpolls id and Ron Pittaway from 
Ontario Canada.
I think it may be good idea to put it on Cayuga Bird Club website, of 
course with the permission of the author!

Meena



Meena Haribal
Cornell Lab Of Ornithology
159, Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca NY 14850
Phone:,
Fax:,
webpage: http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/mmh3/
http://www.geocities.com/asiootusloe/
http://birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/
Current Loc: 42o 25' 44.48" N, 76o 28' 16.90" W Elev 816 ft or 248.7 m
Formerly: 19o 0' 41,65" N, 72o 51' 13.02" E Elev 33 ft or 10m

Hi admin and others
Sorry, I don't know how this e-mail went to Cayugabirds, it was meant for 
my brother! I have no idea how this happened. I was replying to his e-mail :'(

Meena

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Meena Haribal
Cornell Lab Of Ornithology
159, Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca NY 14850
Phone:,
Fax:,
webpage: 

http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/mmh3/ 

http://www.geocities.com/asiootusloe/

http://birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/ 

Current Loc: 42o 25' 44.48" N, 76o 28' 16.90" W Elev 816 ft or 248.7 m
Formerly: 19o 0' 39.22" N, 72o 51' 09.97" E Elev 33 ft or 10m

Sunil,
I just checked weather conditions in Manali.  Here is the link from 
Weather  Underground

http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/42065.html

I do think you should go to Ravi Kamat and buy some wind proof outer layer 
jackets for yourself and geeta.

Meena


--------------------------------------------------------------------
Meena Haribal
Cornell Lab Of Ornithology
159, Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca NY 14850
Phone:,
Fax:,
webpage: 

http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/mmh3/ 

http://www.geocities.com/asiootusloe/

http://birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/ 

Current Loc: 42o 25' 44.48" N, 76o 28' 16.90" W Elev 816 ft or 248.7 m
Formerly: 19o 0' 39.22" N, 72o 51' 09.97" E Elev 33 ft or 10m

Thanks for the feedback everyone :)

I'll certainly keep an eye out for those darker Hoary Redpolls that seem 
to be most overlooked (darker, and thus less obvious in big flocks of 
Commons).  Hopefully redpolls will make it down into Colorado while I'm 
home for the holidays! ;)

Good birding,
-Paul

Right on!!!! She's a peach.

Fritzie B.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: B Mcaneny 
  To: CAYUGABIRDS-L AT cornell.edu 
  Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 1:18 PM
  Subject: meena


 We think Meena's reports are consistently the most lively and entertaining on 
Cayugabirds. Some mangled English is just the price we pay for her astute 
observations, wise insights, and infectious good humor. Three cheers for Meena! 


  Bill and Shirley McAneny


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  No virus found in this incoming message.
  Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
 Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: /1179 - Release Date: 12/9/:06 AM 

Thanks to Ryan's timely call, I spent an hour continually watching three of the 
SHORT-EARED OWLS at the north end of Scofield Road early on Sunday afternoon. 
Here are some photos: 


http://picasaweb.google.com/imtstroi/ShortEaredOwl

Most of these images come from a memorable 15-minute encounter with one owl 
that perched in a tree just across the road from me. The second-to-last photo 
shows the owl working on casting a pellet. A few moments after I shot that 
photo, I actually did see the pellet emerging from the owl's gaping mouth and 
falling to the snow below. When the owl finally left the perch, Ryan and I 
recovered the pellet; still glistening, it contained fur and mammal bones, 
including an intact skull -- evidently from a rat. 


Thanks, Ryan!

Mark Chao

Hi all,

Today morning I wanted to go somewhere birding. I had a few choices: 1. Go 
to  Summerhill for Grosbeaks, 2. Do local rounds of the back roads and see 
what I can come up with. 3. Go back to Center Road and scan for some more 
Lapland Longspurs among the Larks.

Finally, third choice won and I decided to spend some time trying to 
record, observe and photograph birds on Center Road. I headed down there 
around 9.30 AM or so.  Along Cornell Campus I scanned for Waxwings, but I 
found a Sharpie circling over the campus.

I arrived at Center road and found birds in more or less same spot we had 
seen yesterday. I cruised slowly towards them and sat at the same place for 
2.5 hr.  Today as soon as I started scanning, I found a Lapland Longspur 
very easily. Then I found two more and then one more.  Finally I think I 
estimated that there were at least 14 or 15 birds in the flocks of 500+ 
Horned Larks.  Initially, they were far out in the field and I would get 
fleeting glimpses of them and reminded me of Bill Odie's book : Little 
Black Bird Book, where he makes fun of  twitchers idying birds in the grass 
just based on the streaks on their back. Believe it or not yes, you can 
ID  a Longspur in the grass by marking on its back.  At least I have learnt 
to do that. See the pictures I have uploaded on Picasa. .


http://picasaweb.google.com/mharibal/CenterRoadLaplandLongspursAndCommonRedpolls 


As Kevin says these are bad pictures of good birds. Every time they started 
to come closer to where I was sitting, something or the other spooked them. 
Once it was Red-tail that chased theses birds for quite some time. Other 
time geese landed among them and they did not like feeding with the geese 
so they left. Then a lone very thin looking Coyote gave them a chase, but 
seeing me watching him/her, took off towards the wood.  Lapland Longspurs 
hardly stop for a while during feeding! They continuously move or their 
head is tucked in the vegetation. I saw some of them pulling  out small 
plant with the roots. I don't know if they found something in the soil or 
they ate roots. I did catch a few birds napping for a very short time. 
Also, I found that there were groups of Horned Larks next to each other all 
preening and trying to get some sleep or other group that fed continuously, 
so there seemed like grouping of activities among a give group of birds. .

  I also scanned all the Snow Geese (may be 500+) for Ross's and found 
none. Many of them were leaving fields and many coming back, so I think 
probably there were more somewhere feeding in the fields. I also scanned 
Canada Geese for Cackling and Greater and found none.

As I was starting to freeze my toes and fingers, I heard Common Redpolls 
and they landed right on to chicory seeds and fed there quite nosily. First 
there were only five birds. Then they took off when they got back there 
were 8 of them. Then when they again took off and came back they became 
9.   Then they again took off. I was hoping they will come back with some 
more birds. But they did not return. By then I was also very coooold. So I 
packed up and headed home.

On the wa,y near Myers area another Sharpie flew over my head.

Cheers
Meena
PS; Thanks to Bill, Shirley, Gary, Marie, Alicia et al  for appreciating my 
posts.  But I guess I should do more serious about spell checks:-(




--------------------------------------------------------------------
Meena Haribal
Cornell Lab Of Ornithology
159, Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca NY 14850
Phone:,
Fax:,
webpage: 

http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/mmh3/ 

http://www.geocities.com/asiootusloe/

http://birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/ 

Current Loc: 42o 25' 44.48" N, 76o 28' 16.90" W Elev 816 ft or 248.7 m
Formerly: 19o 0' 39.22" N, 72o 51' 09.97" E Elev 33 ft or 10m

Oh, forgot to mention, we also had 40 COMMON GOLDENEYE, 10 BUFFLEHEAD, 12
LESSER SCAUP, 3 GREATER SCAUP, 3 RING-NECKED DUCKS, 1 REDHEAD, 1 COMMON
MERGENASER and Black Ducks and Mallrds at south end of Skaneatles Lake.

Still looking for at least 1 more person for the Dec 16 New
Woodstock-Southern Highland CBC --any takers??

Matt Young

Original Message:
-----------------
From: grosbeak AT clarityconnect.com grosbeak AT clarityconnect.com
Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2007 18:04:
To: Cayugabirds-L AT cornell.edu, cny-naturalhistory AT darkstar.cortland.edu
Subject: [Cny-naturalhistory] Scott/Sempronius/Summerhill


Hello all,

A quick tour of Scott, Sempronius and Summerhill from 11:30-1:30 yesterday
and today (today was to get xmas tree at Lick St. xmas tree farm) yielded
the following:

PINE GROSBEAK 4 (flying along Lake Como Rd heading north from in-basin to
out of basin; 1 adult male)
PINE SISKIN 6 (at feeders at first house on right as you are heading north
on Lake Como from Fillmore Rd --lots of apple trees and a crabapple across
street; could be where Pine Grosbeaks are feeding?)
EVENING GROSBEAK 50+   (birds at Iowa Rd Bear Swamp and birds at Eaton Rd,
Hall feeders on Salt Rd and Hovel Chalet)
COMMON REDPOLL 60+ (flock of 10 on Creech Rd Summerhill; flock of 30 on
Long Rd Scott; and flock of 20 on Sand Hill Rd Sempronius)
RED CROSSBILL 3 (2 at my feeders in Scott and another male at feeders on
Eaton Rd)
American Goldfinches 60+ scattered
House Finches 50+ scatttered
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 2 (1 dark mrph pn Long Rd Scott and 1 light morph on
Dresser Rd Summerhill
GREAT-BLUE HERON 1 (flying on Creech Rd Summerhill)
AMERICAN ROBIN 26 (1 on Glen Haven Rd Scott and a flock of 25 on Long Rd
Scott)

I also had 4 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, a few Red-tailed Hawks, Cedar Waxwings,
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and more. 1 BROWN CREEPER and a CAROLINA WREN
coming to suet feeders at the house in Scott.

We got a very nice Douglas Fir at the xmas tree farm on Lick --can't wait
to put it up.

cheers,
Matt Young




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_______________________________________________
CNY-Naturalhistory mailing list
CNY-Naturalhistory AT darkstar.cortland.edu
http://darkstar.cortland.edu/mailman/listinfo/cny-naturalhistory

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Hello all,

A quick tour of Scott, Sempronius and Summerhill from 11:30-1:30 yesterday
and today (today was to get xmas tree at Lick St. xmas tree farm) yielded
the following:

PINE GROSBEAK 4 (flying along Lake Como Rd heading north from in-basin to
out of basin; 1 adult male)
PINE SISKIN 6 (at feeders at first house on right as you are heading north
on Lake Como from Fillmore Rd --lots of apple trees and a crabapple across
street; could be where Pine Grosbeaks are feeding?)
EVENING GROSBEAK 50+   (birds at Iowa Rd Bear Swamp and birds at Eaton Rd,
Hall feeders on Salt Rd and Hovel Chalet)
COMMON REDPOLL 60+ (flock of 10 on Creech Rd Summerhill; flock of 30 on
Long Rd Scott; and flock of 20 on Sand Hill Rd Sempronius)
RED CROSSBILL 3 (2 at my feeders in Scott and another male at feeders on
Eaton Rd)
American Goldfinches 60+ scattered
House Finches 50+ scatttered
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 2 (1 dark mrph pn Long Rd Scott and 1 light morph on
Dresser Rd Summerhill
GREAT-BLUE HERON 1 (flying on Creech Rd Summerhill)
AMERICAN ROBIN 26 (1 on Glen Haven Rd Scott and a flock of 25 on Long Rd
Scott)

I also had 4 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, a few Red-tailed Hawks, Cedar Waxwings,
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and more. 1 BROWN CREEPER and a CAROLINA WREN
coming to suet feeders at the house in Scott.

We got a very nice Douglas Fir at the xmas tree farm on Lick --can't wait
to put it up.

cheers,
Matt Young




--------------------------------------------------------------------
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hosting - http://link.myhosting.com/myhosting

Spurred on by Mark's and Ryan's posting and Ryan's great photos of
Short-eared Owls, I hurtled over to Scofield Rd around 2:15 pm Sunday. I
didn't find the owls at first, but then saw two perched on wooden hay
wagons at the farm 100 meters or so east of the intersection of Buck and
Scofield Roads. There was also one on the ground in the field there.

All three were still there at 3:00 when I left, although the one I had
been photographing had moved to a telephone pole on the other side of the
road.

My first thought was that they were out in the open because there was
significant Xmas tree action going on in the tree farm and they had been
flushed out of their roost. If that's so, we should expect them to be less
visible during the week, when fewer people are buying/cutting trees. We
shall see!

Thanks to Ryan for sharing the location.

Marie


Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY  13068 USA

Phone 
e-mail   mpr5 AT cornell.edu

http://www.marieread.com
http://www.agpix.com/mari

I subscribe to the listserv but this is my first time posting. This
morning I looked out my friend's window in Varna and saw a lifeless bird
on the ground just outside of his house. I believe it is a broad-winged
hawk. The bird is intact and looks fresh. It now resides in my freezer. I
would like to bring it to the Lab of O, where should I drop it off? Are
hawks known to run into windows?

Many thanks and happy trails,

Jessica Walden

I birded from Myer's Point to Stewart Park this morning.  Nothing too 
unusual, but good numbers of gulls and waterfowl to sort through. I 
wished I had saved more time for Stewart Park, as a nice close 
ice-edge has concentrated hundreds of birds that I couldn't fully do 
justice. An adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was an easy pick, however, 
right off the middle pavilion (one of these days I'll figure out 
Picasaweb, and get my pics up). Other highlights included 2 
RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS off the north spit at Myer's, a single 
CORMORANT off Lagoda, flocks of 400+ LESSER (mostly at least) SCAUP 
flying north up the lake, several flyover COMMON REDPOLLS on Drake 
Rd. and Arrowwood Rd in Lansing, and a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER near the 
lighthouse jetty. I'm sure I missed some good stuff, especially 
towards the SW corner of the lake.

good birding,

KEN
-- 
****************************************
Ken Rosenberg
Director, Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Rd,
Ithaca, NY 14850

kvr2 AT cornell.edu
****************************************

I have no experience with this myself (still looking for my first Hoary,
don't mention yesterday...) so here are a handful of internet resources on
the issue:

http://sibleyguides.blogspot.com/2007/12/redpoll-identification.html
http://sibleyguides.blogspot.com/2007/12/redpoll-subspecies.html
http://belltowerbirding.blogspot.com/2007/12/redpolls.html
http://www.featheredfotos.com/spppages/songbirds/hoary%20redpoll.html
http://www.kidwings.com/localbirds/hoaryredpoll/index.htm


Cheers,
Nick


> Hi all,
>
> This topic has been well covered in several places. Perhaps the best place
> to start is with Dave Czaplak's article way back in 1995 that appeared in
> Birding, which focuses on identifying redpolls in winter. I believe this
> is
> Birding 27:446-457, based on an old citation I have (my magazines are at
> the
> lab). If anyone is particularly interested in this, you may want to
> encourage the ABA to place a PDF online.
>
> Birders Journal also has a useful article on separation of Greenland
> Common
> Redpolls back in 1996 that David Beadle and Brian Henshaw collaborated
> upon.
> I believe this is: 5(1):44-47.
>
> Cheers,
> CLW
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce- AT list.cornell.edu
> [mailto:bounce- AT list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Paul Hurtado
> Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 2:58 PM
> To: Cayuga Birds List
> Subject: rambling redpoll thoughts...
>
> Hi all,
>
> I was wondering if anyone might be able to share with the list any good
> online resources for telling Hoary from Common Redpoll?  After seening
> some pale (but still Common) Redpolls at the CLO feeders yesterday, I've
> been trying to straighten out what is almost certainly a Hoary, almost
> certainly a Common, and what is best unidentified beyond "Redpoll", and I
> thought others might enjoy some of that process...  (and I know I'm not
> the only one with these Redpoll-ID aspirations!)
>
> Here's a whole mess of information... ;)
>
> Just from quickly skimming Pyle-1997, it seems we can get both N.American
> subspecies of Hoary and both of Common Redpoll around here:  "C.f.
> flammea" is the smaller, more slender billed Common Redpoll and "C.f.
> rostrata" which is larger and more heavily streaked that flammea.
>
> "C.h. exilipes" is the smaller (more wide spread?) Hoary Redpoll ("breeds
> AK-Lab" = AK to Labrador) -- pale brownish plumage, adult males get deeply
> colored breasts (overlaps w/ smaller Common ssp. "C.f. flammea" in bill
> structure I believe).  "C.h. hornemanni" is the larger, whiter, Hoary
> Redpoll -- adult males usually show color only on sides of the breast.
>
> As far as size goes, it appears C.f.flammea (Common) and C.h.exilipes
> (Hoary) overlap in size, C.f.rostrata (larger, darker Common) is larger
> with a little less overlap relative to the above 2, and C.h.hornemanni
> (larger paler Hoary) is slightly larger, but overlapping quite a bit with
> rostrata.
>
> Perhaps someone else could elaborate on size overlaps and the relative
> bill proportions?  I get the feeling bill proportions are perhaps still a
> good way to differentiate between Common and Hoary when undertail coverts
> aren't seen well, but I could be wrong on this.
>
> Overall, Pyle and other sources suggest (I've paraphrased here...
> hopefully its all correct!)
>
> - Hoary Redpolls have shorter more stubby bills than Common.
> - Undertail coverts have faint (2+ streaks) to heavy streaking in Common,
>    and 0-3 faint streaks in Hoary (varying by age/sex)
> - Rump and flanks are very pale to whitish brown with moderate to heavy
> streaking.
> - The back, nape and rump of Common are pale to pale brownish and lightly
>    to heavily streaked. Hoary are paler, most are brownish white to white
> here.
> - Auriculars are more defined in Commons, little to no definition in
> Hoary.
>
> Also, it seems female Hoary (exilipes) Redpolls can often overlap with
> male Common Redpolls in the coloration and density of undertail covert
> streaking, and perhaps some darker young Hoary Redpolls might appear
> similar to Commons (single anecdote)?
>
> Overall, it seems good views of flanks, rump, upperparts and bill
> structure can easily nail down the ID of an obvious Hoary Redpoll,
> especially when lots of secondary characteristics support the ID, but I'd
> love to hear/read more about that grey area if anyone has any such wisdom
> to pass around! :)
>
> Thanks for reading,
> -Paul
>
>
>

Some of you may find this detailed article on Dowitcher ID (on 
Surfbirds.com) interesting.

  http://www.surfbirds.com/ID%20Articles/dowitchers1005/dowitchers.html


Nari Mistry
-- 
Nari B. Mistry,
Ithaca, New York
For my paintings, see http://www.artbynari.com

Hi all,

This topic has been well covered in several places. Perhaps the best place
to start is with Dave Czaplak's article way back in 1995 that appeared in
Birding, which focuses on identifying redpolls in winter. I believe this is
Birding 27:446-457, based on an old citation I have (my magazines are at the
lab). If anyone is particularly interested in this, you may want to
encourage the ABA to place a PDF online.

Birders Journal also has a useful article on separation of Greenland Common
Redpolls back in 1996 that David Beadle and Brian Henshaw collaborated upon.
I believe this is: 5(1):44-47.

Cheers,
CLW

-----Original Message-----
From: bounce- AT list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce- AT list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Paul Hurtado
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 2:58 PM
To: Cayuga Birds List
Subject: rambling redpoll thoughts...

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone might be able to share with the list any good 
online resources for telling Hoary from Common Redpoll?  After seening 
some pale (but still Common) Redpolls at the CLO feeders yesterday, I've 
been trying to straighten out what is almost certainly a Hoary, almost 
certainly a Common, and what is best unidentified beyond "Redpoll", and I 
thought others might enjoy some of that process...  (and I know I'm not 
the only one with these Redpoll-ID aspirations!)

Here's a whole mess of information... ;)

Just from quickly skimming Pyle-1997, it seems we can get both N.American 
subspecies of Hoary and both of Common Redpoll around here:  "C.f. 
flammea" is the smaller, more slender billed Common Redpoll and "C.f. 
rostrata" which is larger and more heavily streaked that flammea.

"C.h. exilipes" is the smaller (more wide spread?) Hoary Redpoll ("breeds 
AK-Lab" = AK to Labrador) -- pale brownish plumage, adult males get deeply 
colored breasts (overlaps w/ smaller Common ssp. "C.f. flammea" in bill 
structure I believe).  "C.h. hornemanni" is the larger, whiter, Hoary 
Redpoll -- adult males usually show color only on sides of the breast.

As far as size goes, it appears C.f.flammea (Common) and C.h.exilipes 
(Hoary) overlap in size, C.f.rostrata (larger, darker Common) is larger 
with a little less overlap relative to the above 2, and C.h.hornemanni 
(larger paler Hoary) is slightly larger, but overlapping quite a bit with 
rostrata.

Perhaps someone else could elaborate on size overlaps and the relative 
bill proportions?  I get the feeling bill proportions are perhaps still a 
good way to differentiate between Common and Hoary when undertail coverts 
aren't seen well, but I could be wrong on this.

Overall, Pyle and other sources suggest (I've paraphrased here... 
hopefully its all correct!)

- Hoary Redpolls have shorter more stubby bills than Common.
- Undertail coverts have faint (2+ streaks) to heavy streaking in Common,
   and 0-3 faint streaks in Hoary (varying by age/sex)
- Rump and flanks are very pale to whitish brown with moderate to heavy
streaking.
- The back, nape and rump of Common are pale to pale brownish and lightly
   to heavily streaked. Hoary are paler, most are brownish white to white
here.
- Auriculars are more defined in Commons, little to no definition in Hoary.

Also, it seems female Hoary (exilipes) Redpolls can often overlap with 
male Common Redpolls in the coloration and density of undertail covert 
streaking, and perhaps some darker young Hoary Redpolls might appear 
similar to Commons (single anecdote)?

Overall, it seems good views of flanks, rump, upperparts and bill 
structure can easily nail down the ID of an obvious Hoary Redpoll, 
especially when lots of secondary characteristics support the ID, but I'd 
love to hear/read more about that grey area if anyone has any such wisdom 
to pass around! :)

Thanks for reading,
-Paul

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone might be able to share with the list any good 
online resources for telling Hoary from Common Redpoll?  After seening 
some pale (but still Common) Redpolls at the CLO feeders yesterday, I've 
been trying to straighten out what is almost certainly a Hoary, almost 
certainly a Common, and what is best unidentified beyond "Redpoll", and I 
thought others might enjoy some of that process...  (and I know I'm not 
the only one with these Redpoll-ID aspirations!)

Here's a whole mess of information... ;)

Just from quickly skimming Pyle-1997, it seems we can get both N.American 
subspecies of Hoary and both of Common Redpoll around here:  "C.f. 
flammea" is the smaller, more slender billed Common Redpoll and "C.f. 
rostrata" which is larger and more heavily streaked that flammea.

"C.h. exilipes" is the smaller (more wide spread?) Hoary Redpoll ("breeds 
AK-Lab" = AK to Labrador) -- pale brownish plumage, adult males get deeply 
colored breasts (overlaps w/ smaller Common ssp. "C.f. flammea" in bill 
structure I believe).  "C.h. hornemanni" is the larger, whiter, Hoary 
Redpoll -- adult males usually show color only on sides of the breast.

As far as size goes, it appears C.f.flammea (Common) and C.h.exilipes 
(Hoary) overlap in size, C.f.rostrata (larger, darker Common) is larger 
with a little less overlap relative to the above 2, and C.h.hornemanni 
(larger paler Hoary) is slightly larger, but overlapping quite a bit with 
rostrata.

Perhaps someone else could elaborate on size overlaps and the relative 
bill proportions?  I get the feeling bill proportions are perhaps still a 
good way to differentiate between Common and Hoary when undertail coverts 
aren't seen well, but I could be wrong on this.

Overall, Pyle and other sources suggest (I've paraphrased here... 
hopefully its all correct!)

- Hoary Redpolls have shorter more stubby bills than Common.
- Undertail coverts have faint (2+ streaks) to heavy streaking in Common,
   and 0-3 faint streaks in Hoary (varying by age/sex)
- Rump and flanks are very pale to whitish brown with moderate to heavy 
streaking. 

- The back, nape and rump of Common are pale to pale brownish and lightly
   to heavily streaked. Hoary are paler, most are brownish white to white here.
- Auriculars are more defined in Commons, little to no definition in Hoary.

Also, it seems female Hoary (exilipes) Redpolls can often overlap with 
male Common Redpolls in the coloration and density of undertail covert 
streaking, and perhaps some darker young Hoary Redpolls might appear 
similar to Commons (single anecdote)?

Overall, it seems good views of flanks, rump, upperparts and bill 
structure can easily nail down the ID of an obvious Hoary Redpoll, 
especially when lots of secondary characteristics support the ID, but I'd 
love to hear/read more about that grey area if anyone has any such wisdom 
to pass around! :)

Thanks for reading,
-Paul

Bill and Shirley wrote:
> We think Meena's reports are consistently the most lively and entertaining
> on Cayugabirds.  Some mangled English is just the price we pay for her
> astute observations, wise insights, and infectious good humor.  Three
> cheers for Meena!

I agree wholeheartedly! She never fails to make me chuckle, whether she
means to or not!

Oh....and 20+ Common Redpolls just descended on my feeders!

Marie



Marie Read Wildlife Photography
452 Ringwood Road
Freeville NY  13068 USA

Phone 
e-mail   mpr5 AT cornell.edu

http://www.marieread.com
http://www.agpix.com/mari

As Mark reported for me (thanks!) there were at least six SHORT-EARED OWLS
at Scofield Road this afternoon. Three kept coming back to the road, and the
other three were usually flying over a field to the northwest of the
intersection of Scofield Rd. and Buck Rd. While there a flock of ~80 SNOW
BUNTINGS and at least 3 LAPLAND LONGSPURS flew past.

Prior to visiting Scofield Road I made a quick 15 minute pass of the Ithaca
Airport. There were 5+ RED-TAILED HAWKS and one dark-morph ROUGH-LEGGED
HAWK. I heard a few EASTERN BLUEBIRDS while watching a DOWNY WOODPECKER and
two BLUE JAYS fight over a deer carcass.

Here's a link to some of my owl photos from this afternoon:
http://picasaweb.google.com/rndouglas/shortearedowl

Good birding,
Ryan

-- 
Ryan Douglas
Ithaca, NY
commonloon AT gmail.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/rndouglas/CayugaBasinBirds2007

> Hi Dave, it's my understanding that a brand new Cornell-sailing clubhouse is 
> coming to East Shore Park. The design sounds very nice.
> Gary

Any chance they'll put an observation deck on the top/back for us??? ;)

-Paul

We think Meena's reports are consistently the most lively and entertaining on 
Cayugabirds. Some mangled English is just the price we pay for her astute 
observations, wise insights, and infectious good humor. Three cheers for Meena! 


Bill and Shirley McAneny

Late this morning, while driving some back roads, I kicked up one VESPER 
SPARROW from the roadside along Conlon Road in mid-Lansing. The bird was 
1.15 miles West of Route 34, along Conlon Road, about 0.3 miles beyond 
the intersection of Gulf Road and Conlon Road. One of the random side 
roads I drove along, while heading back towards Ithaca was Van Ostrand 
Road, which passes the location of the Short-eared Owls seen by Ryan by 
only 3/4 of a mile...I missed them.

Good birding!

Sincerely,
Chris T-H

-- 
=============================================
Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
TARU Product Line Manager and Field Application Engineer
Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
Voice:, FAX:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp mailto:cth4 AT cornell.edu
=============================================

Ryan Douglas just told me by phone that three SHORT-EARED OWLS have been 
hanging around in plain view along Scofield Road, about 100 meters south of 
Buck Road (12:45 PM). They were perching on a guardrail and a tree, sometimes 
flushing into the air or into the field when vehicles passed. 


Mark Chao

 7 Lapland Longspurs, 30 Snow Buntings, and Horned Larks on manure spread on 
Purvis Road in Dryden. Jay McGowan 

Hi all,
 Finally, two Redpolls at our feeders on Hunt Hill Rd. today (Sunday
12/9)! Also, a Pileated Woodpecker at the suet feeder and turkeys
everywhere.
Laura


Laura Stenzler
lms9 AT cornell.edu

After my Dryden Lake Trail walk this morning, I was heading along Purvis Rd. 
and found a knot of 3 LAPLAND LONGSPURS feeding next to the road. They were 
part of a much larger flock of HORNED LARKS that flew south down the new manure 
spread before I could check for even more longspurs. 


Steve Fast

Several Common Redpolls in our yard (Town of Romuus) this morning.  These
are the first we have seen since we moved here in 1995.  We saw them
several times, once in a good-sized flock, at our previous home in the
Hudson Valley. 

MJ
 
--
 MJ Thomas
 mjbt AT jt-mj.net
 In the beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State!