Birdingonthe.NetRecent Postings from
> Home > Mail |
White-tailed Swallow,©Tony Disley |
|
3 Feb Lake circuit birding mission [Mitchell Nusbaum ] 3 Feb White-winged Crossbills [Bill Purcell ] 02 Feb Lab of Ornithology Class ["onauduboncom" ] 2 Feb Inner Harbor birding [Mitchell Nusbaum ] 2 Feb Snowy Owl 2Feb [Robert Asanoma ] 02 Feb 1 February 2012: Northern Onondaga County... ["Tom Carrolan" ] 1 Feb Madison County Landfill [Andrew VanNorstrand ] 01 Feb Snowy Owl - finally ["mrbirder" ] 31 Jan Tuesday waterfowl [Bill Purcell ] 31 Jan RE: Syracuse Airport 31Jan [joseph brin ] 31 Jan Syracuse Airport 31Jan [Robert Asanoma ] 31 Jan All three Snowy Owls were seen Monday... ["Tom Carrolan" ] 31 Jan Snowy Owl [Joe Carey ] 30 Jan Eastern Finger Lakes [Ken & Rose Burdick ] 31 Jan Northern saw-whet owl, 1/29 ["ccspagnoli" ] 30 Jan Syracuse RBA [Joseph Brin ] 30 Jan Monday AM Airport Snowy Owls... ["Tom Carrolan" ] 30 Jan interesting standoff ["Snyder, Bill" ] 30 Jan airport owl ["jerry" ] 30 Jan oswego co birds ["wayne13114" ] 29 Jan snowies at airport [Michele Neligan ] 29 Jan Snowy Owls 29Jan [Robert Asanoma ] 29 Jan Bald Eagle [Ber Carr ] 29 Jan Waterfowl at Sodus Bay ["gwsage" ] 28 Jan Hancock Airport Snowy Owl ["mrbirder" ] 28 Jan white crowned sparrow ["wayne13114" ] 28 Jan Madison County landfill ["Nancy Bridges" ] 28 Jan Tully, N.Y. Song Sparrow ["gwren70" ] 28 Jan Onondaga Audubon Field Trips ["Paul Richardson" ] 28 Jan Bohemian Waxwings [Bill Purcell ] 27 Jan Tully, N.Y. More Cowbirds ["gwren70" ] 27 Jan Re: Bohemian Waxwings [Joseph Brin ] 26 Jan A lot of Bald Eagles and Ravens, Tug Hill [Zachary Wakeman ] 26 Jan Bohemian Waxwings [Joseph Brin ] 26 Jan Fwd: [BIRDWG01] thayeri-kumlieni-glaucoides scale [Bill Purcell ] 26 Jan Golden-crowned Kinglet [Carla Bregman ] 25 Jan Mucks & Sodus - Tuesday [] 25 Jan RE: Airport Snowy Owls ["Tom Carrolan" ] 25 Jan Lake access report [Mitchell Nusbaum ] 25 Jan RE: madison landfill [joseph brin ] 25 Jan Airport Snowy Owls [Judy Wright ] 24 Jan Re: Snowy Owls are #1... [Judith Thurber ] 24 Jan madison landfill ["Kevin McGann" ] 24 Jan Durhamville--Jug Pt. Road Cowbirds ["voma13" ] 24 Jan Tully, N.Y. Brown-headed Cowbird ["gwren70" ] 24 Jan Snowy Owls are #1... ["Tom Carrolan" ] 23 Jan Airport Snowy [Andrew VanNorstrand ] 23 Jan Syracuse RBA [Joseph Brin ] 23 Jan Re: Text message-based RBA for Central NY [] 23 Jan Text message-based RBA for Central NY [] 22 Jan Fwd: Up close with Snowy Owl Syracuse Airport ["Tom Carrolan" ] 21 Jan Long-eared Owl [Joseph Brin ] 20 Jan Syracuse Inner Harbor - Thursday eve [] 19 Jan Rough-legged Hawk ["Jody Hildreth" ] 19 Jan Andrews Rd., Dewitt- Red-winged Blackbirds ["gwren70" ] 18 Jan Gyrfalcon - Oswego Harbor (not relocated) [] 18 Jan Oswego harbor gulls ["wayne13114" ] 18 Jan GYRFALCON - Oswego Harbor [] 18 Jan Re: Peregrine Falcon [Lewis Grove ] 18 Jan Peregrine Falcon [Joseph Brin ] 17 Jan Barrow's & hybrid Goldeneye - Sodus [] 17 Jan Northern Shrike ["ebwillia12" ] 17 Jan Harrier ["wayne13114" ] 17 Jan Snowy Owl 17Jan [Robert Asanoma ] 17 Jan Airport Snowy Owl. [Judy Wright ] 16 Jan Snowy Owls [Mitchell Nusbaum ] 16 Jan Syracuse RBA [Joseph Brin ] 16 Jan Pine Siskins, American Tree Sparrows, Long-tailed Duck image [Zachary Wakeman ] 16 Jan Snowy Owl 16Jan [Robert Asanoma ] 16 Jan Green Lakes - Last Thursday [D ] 15 Jan lake ontario waterfowl survey ["Kevin McGann" ] 15 Jan Red-shouldered Hawk - Syracuse [] 15 Jan Re: Syracuse Airport - Snowy Owls (3) - 11/15 [Lewis Grove ] 15 Jan Syracuse Airport - Snowy Owls (3) - 11/15 [Lewis Grove ] 15 Jan Oneida Lake - Waterfowl Count [Brenda Best ] 15 Jan Sunday birds Oswego co ["wayne13114" ] Subject: Lake circuit birding mission From: Mitchell Nusbaum <mnusbaum25 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 17:54:14 -0800 (PST) The lake was all open water. At Wegman's landing among the usual gulls and Mallards were about 2 dozen American Coots. In Lakeland there was a Red-tail who hunted perch to perch. At 9-mile Creek there were many Coots, and 2 dozen Common-Golden-eyes. 2 Common Mergansers and a Grebe were closer.http://www.flickr.com/photos/51058083 AT N03/6814664445/in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/51058083 AT N03/6814664545/in/photostream Good birding, Mitch Nusbaum [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: White-winged Crossbills From: Bill Purcell <wpurcell AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 18:46:57 -0500 There were 5 White-winged Crossbills in on North Church Road in Boylston (Oswego County) this morning in the red (or white?) spruces west of the Bargy Road intersection. I later heard a few crossbills flyover west of Bargy Road but they could have been the same birds. On CR 189 in Lorraine (Jefferson County) I found 11 Bohemian Waxwings feeding near the road but given the poor quality of food there I doubt they'll stay there. In the town of Montague (Lewis County) there were at least 45 White-winged Crossbills on Gardner Road east of the Sears Pond Road intersection. Between Sears Pond Road and the open fields farther east there is an area with lots of spruce and larch where the birds were feeding. Bill Purcell wpurcell AT twcny.rr.com ------------------------------------Subject: Lab of Ornithology Class From: "onauduboncom" <tmriley44 AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:54:32 -0000 Registration for the Spring Field Ornithology class at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is open and as an alumni I highly recommend attending. The class consists of Wednesday night lectures and Saturday or Sunday field trips (you pick which day). Most lectures are led by Dr. Stephen Kress and field trips are led by local birding experts. The class is perfect for all levels of birder. It will give the beginning birder the confidence to take their skill to another level as it did for me and a more advanced birder will be able to hone their skills and learn from an experienced staff. The field trips, most of them local birding hot spots, are correlated to the previous Wednesday night's lecture and give you an opportunity to improve your skills. The commute from Onondaga Hill for me was about one hour to Cornell Lab of Ornithology but it was well worth it. Sign up today! http://www.birds.cornell.edu/sfo Jason Mauro, Director Onondaga Audubon ------------------------------------Subject: Inner Harbor birding From: Mitchell Nusbaum <mnusbaum25 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 15:17:25 -0800 (PST) 2/2 Thursday, There were 3 Gadwalls between the trestle and Hiawatha BVLD. 2 males,1 female in the channel. A Kingfisher was heard and glimpsed. Several Mallard pairs were present. Many Crows. Robins were roosting in the brush adjoining the creek walk South of Hiawatha. Link to the Gadwalls; http://www.flickr.com/photos/51058083 AT N03/6809017041/in/photostream Good birding, Mitch Nusbaum [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Snowy Owl 2Feb From: Robert Asanoma <r.asanoma AT hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 11:37:08 -0500 One almost pure white Snowy Owl is on the snowbank on the northside of the terminal between the taxi stand and North Construction Gate easily seen thru the chainlink fence. I watched him from around 9:30am to llam and he was still there along with two birders when I left. Talked to another birder on the way out and directed him to the spot so there might be three birders there now. Doesn't seem to mind the dump trucks traveling between him on the snowbank and the fence. It was the only Snowy I saw. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: 1 February 2012: Northern Onondaga County... From: "Tom Carrolan" <TLC AT hawksaloft.com> Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:35:17 -0000 Maple Rd. Fields, Clay NY, Onondaga, US-NY Feb 1, 2012 9:30 AM - 9:40 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.0 mile(s) Comments: This area has been pretty dead after an initial visit, but today was semi-interesting. 3 species Northern Harrier 1 (AHY female) Red-tailed Hawk 2 (juveniles) Brown-headed Cowbird 22 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) === Interior Fields: 3 Rivers WMA, Onondaga, US-NY Feb 1, 2012 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM Protocol: Traveling 2.0 mile(s) Comments: 50 degrees F. All the smallish birds (so not the geese, heron, vulture and pileated) were in one guild, where a guild is an intraspecific tight-knit association together for food and defense. Also one Spring Peeper was calling. 14 species Canada Goose X Great Blue Heron 1 Turkey Vulture 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Blue Jay 1 Black-capped Chickadee 5 Tufted Titmouse 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Eastern Bluebird 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 American Tree Sparrow 2 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) Tom Carrolan Liverpool NY www.hawksaloft.com ............................................................................ In those parts of the world where learning and science have prevailed, miracles have ceased; but in those parts of it as are barbarous and ignorant, miracles are still in vogue. -- Ethan Allen, revolutionary (1738-1789) ............................................................................ ------------------------------------Subject: Madison County Landfill From: Andrew VanNorstrand <andrewvannorstrand AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:13:52 -0500 Hello folks. I spent the morning watching gulls on the pond at the Madison County Landfill on Buyea Road. I was there from roughly 9am - noon. This can be a frustrating place because you can only see a very small portion of the birds present. The number of gulls at the landfill right now is really impressive but when they are feeding they are completely out of sight. There's an almost constant slow exchange with birds coming and going between the pond and the dump. What I did was bring a book and my laptop and do a scan through the gulls every 20 minutes or so. At roughly 10:00am there was a huge flight of gulls out of the dump. Shortly after I counted a *minimum* of seven ICELAND GULLS and one beautiful first winter GLAUCOUS GULL. There were two second winter Icelands; the rest were first winter but with a range of color variation. Don't think I missed any adults but as I said, only a small portion of the birds were visible. I also looked long and hard for a LBBG without luck. The "big flock" was present for about half an hour before they began heading back to the dump. There were at least a couple of Iceland Gulls on the pond at all times during my stay. There could easily be more interesting gulls at the dump and if you've got some time and patience it's well worth the drive. Good birding, Andrew VanNorstrand Manlius, NY http://www.birdsandmusic.blogspot.com ------------------------------------Subject: Snowy Owl - finally From: "mrbirder" <awood_2 AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:55:04 -0000 Greetings, Made a fourth trip to Hancock at about noon and was on No. Constellation Way glassing the area when a Syracuse PD K-9 car stopped and asked if I had any luck. Said not yet and I had made three trips. He then told me that one was now over by the Observation area! I thanked him, he wished me good luck, and I was off. Number of people there, watching owl out by runway sitting on the ground. Very hard to see, I took few photos and left. Did some shopping and returned about 4pm Drove No Constellation Way and saw nothing and then headed for the Observation circle, but as we got to Air Cargo Rd we saw people standing and watching a Snowy sitting on a light pole right over the guard shack! Who was guarding who? Got so good photos and video of Owl flying down on some unseen prey on the ground? Then he flew to a Stop sign and then went after something else on the ground and then flew out of sight behind building just West of this guard shack. Some photos posted in Mr. Birder's photo album. Good Birding AJ Oneida ------------------------------------Subject: Tuesday waterfowl From: Bill Purcell <wpurcell AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:56:06 -0500 I birded parts of Onondaga Lake today and the best variety was seen from the trail leading to the Nine Mile Creek Outlet. Near the outlet were 12 Gadwall, 1 Green-winged Teal, 11 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 Pied-billed Grebes and 11 American Coot. Further out on the lake there were 4 Canvasback, 230 Redhead, 19 Greater Scaup, 6 Lesser Scaup, 90 Common Goldeneye and 1100+ Common Mergansers. There was a 3d year Bald Eagle at the outlet and a near-adult at the south end of the lake with some brown flecking in the white head. At the marina the highlight was 10 Fish Crows while at the end of the creekwalk I could see Gadwall and Black Ducks with the Mallards At Brewerton there were 63 Tundra Swans on Oneida Lake along 1 White-winged Scoter and the more common species. Bill Purcell wpurcell AT twcny.rr.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: RE: Syracuse Airport 31Jan From: joseph brin <jnnbrin AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:12:41 +0000 I saw one of the heavily barred Snowy Owls this morning at 10:00. It was on one of the triangle structures to the north of Corregidor Drive. Joseph Brin > To: oneidabirds AT yahoogroups.com > From: r.asanoma AT hotmail.com > Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:03:07 -0500 > Subject: [OneidaBirds] Syracuse Airport 31Jan > > > > > > Missed seeing any of the Snowy Owls but did see the Rough-legged Hawk about 2pm on the ground in the field on the left as you enter the airport. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ------------------------------------ > >Subject: Syracuse Airport 31Jan From: Robert Asanoma <r.asanoma AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:03:07 -0500 Missed seeing any of the Snowy Owls but did see the Rough-legged Hawk about 2pm on the ground in the field on the left as you enter the airport. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: All three Snowy Owls were seen Monday... From: "Tom Carrolan" <TLC AT hawksaloft.com> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:40:05 -0000 Last night, I got an email and photo link from Greg Craybas with a nice
sequence taken late Monday afternoon of the well-marked young male Snowy
regurgitating the largest owl pellet you will every see! This is one owl's
testimony to the thousands of voles per acre at the Syracuse airport this
winter.
http://tinyurl.com/7kmua5e
Even though this bird has a very distinct 'vest' and a 'unibrow' it is a male.
And you can tell this in the very first image in the set -- the wide-open tail
is all but unbanded... not just narrow dashes or dots sort of forming bands and
up for debate, but a nearly immaculate white tail with a few spots of brown for
tail bands. When you see this it is sort of Snowy Owl ID 101. Perched and in
flight this bird shows other features of a young male bird.
Remember back to winters past when we almost always see just juvenile females.
Those birds are so black that explaining why the bird has "snowy" in her name
takes some doing. You can make other comparisons via this link:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/snowy.htm
Enjoy the owls.
Tom Carrolan
Liverpool NY
www.hawksaloft.com
.....................................................
The more we see, the more are we capable of seeing.
-- Maria Mitchell, Astronomer
b. 1818, Nantucket MA
.....................................................
------------------------------------
Subject: Snowy OwlFrom: Joe Carey <jaustin_carey AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:28:58 -0800 (PST) I went to the Syracuse airport yesterday to look for the snowy owls. I couldnt find them . I did see a Turkey Vulture flying over the Airport. Joe Carey Syracuse NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Eastern Finger Lakes From: Ken & Rose Burdick <kenburdick AT ieee.org> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:27:39 -0500 Hi, I checked out Skaneateles and Otisco lakes to see if any Ruddys were still around. Apparently they were frozen out of the north end of Otisco, and have moved south (to Ithaca). The deeper waters of Otisco are still wide open. One Common Loon and some typical winter ducks were found. Ripley Hill in Spafford had a dark phase roughie (or was it a Red Tail ???!) Very non-obliging bird! Note of caution, the driving conditions up there are very treacherous. Today, Skaneateles Lake was still wide open in the village. Nine CANVASBACK were in with the Scaup, and a raft of over 130 Redhead were visible from the park. The only gull was a single immature Great Black-backed doing a great impersonation of a Lesser. We also did a trip to Summerhill on Sunday, picking up the WW Crossbills, Redpolls, Siskins and Purple Finch on Lick St. just south of Hoag. On return, a dark-phase Rough-legged Hawk was giving a great show, hovering near Lake Como. Good birding, Ken & Rose Burdick Skaneateles, NY ------------------------------------Subject: Northern saw-whet owl, 1/29 From: "ccspagnoli" <ccspagnoli AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:33:39 -0000 Last night about 6:15 p.m. - well after dark - I had a small owl fly across the road ahead of my car. It seemed pretty light on the underwings so best guess is it was a Northern saw-whet owl. It was on Henneberry Road pretty close to the intersection with Route 92 in Manlius. Incidentally, two Saturdays ago I took a couple of friends who are birding-interested but not yet birding-obsessed to the airport, and we found both the lightly marked male and the heavier marked young female fairly quickly. The male treated us to a long dramatic view in flight as he launched and soared almost over us. Cool. Good birding. Chris Spagnoli Town of Pompey ------------------------------------Subject: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:59:29 -0800 (PST) RBA  * New York * Syracuse * January 30, 2012 * NYSY 01.30.12 Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): January 23, 2012 - January 30, 2012 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer, Madison & Cortland compiled:January 30 AT 4:30 p.m. (EST) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org   #290 -Monday January 23, 2012   Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of January 16 , 2012  Highlights: ----------- TURKEY VULTURE SANDHILL CRANE ICELAND GULL GLAUCOUS GULL LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL GLAUCOUS GULL SNOWY OWL NORTHERN SHRIKE BOHEMIAN WAXWING WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------     1/29: Although not in the complex proper, 4 SANDHILL CRANES were seen on Gravel Road just east of Rt. 89. Madison County ------------     1/24: At the Madison County Landfill 4 ICELAND GULLS, 2 GLAUCOUS GULLS, and 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were seen. The next day 6 ICELAND GULLS, 1 GLAUCOUS GULL, and 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL were found. Onondaga County ------------     1/26: 2 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were found with a flock of Cedar Waxwings at Three Rivers WMA north of Baldwinsville. The next day one of the BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS was relocated. They were found in an open area along a service road east of 60 Road near the Bald Eagle nest.     1/27: An overwintering TURKEY VULTURE was spotted in Elbridge.     1/29: A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was found at the inner harbor near Carousel Mall.     Despite some unsuccesful reports SNOWY OWLS are still being seen at Syracuse’s Hancock Airport. Two birds were reported today. Oswego County ------------     1/28: 25+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen on the east side of County Rout 3 just north of Selkirk Shores State Park.     1/29: A NORTHERN SHRIKE was found on Fort Leazier Road north of Mexico. Cayuga County ------------     1/28: A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was seen with American Tree Sparrows at the Sterling Nature Center.    End Transcript -- Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Monday AM Airport Snowy Owls... From: "Tom Carrolan" <TLC AT hawksaloft.com> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:20:11 -0000 Had 2 Snowys around 9:30a: the unmarked of the three males imaged thus far was on a low perch (junction box of sorts) & maybe 25 yds from the fence w/main terminal drop off to your immediate right; the lightly-marked male was around the bend on the same construction stuff as shown in the online version (syracuse.com) of the Post-Standard article from Friday (bird imaged on Wednesday). On Saturday at 8a, I had the well-marked young male on a light stand right at the observation area. Tom Carrolan Liverpool NY www.hawksaloft.com [sent from my iPhone 4s] ------------------------------------Subject: interesting standoff From: "Snyder, Bill" <snyderw AT morrisville.edu> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:06:59 -0500 Yesterday afternoon about 4:00 I was able to watch a light phase ROUGHLEGGED HAWK and a COMMON RAVEN circling each other in a large maple tree. After a few moments they split off. Avian détente. ;-) This occurred near the intersection of Preston Rd. and North Tower Rd. in Chenango County. Not sure of the township; it was just north of Bowman Lake. Bill Snyder Morrisville [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: airport owl From: "jerry" <JCASEJR AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:44:35 -0500 I was at airport sat. morning 10-10:30 .Owl was on light pole very near parking garage on the north side. believe it was the adult. at Green lakes state park had N.shrike sat & sunday in the area of the bench at the top of the hill behind park office. jerry case kirkville ny [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: oswego co birds From: "wayne13114" <wayne13114 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:52:12 -0000 i ran into kevin mcgann at selkirk east trail while looking for the bohemian waxwings that were seen there the day before no luck on them. kevin and i spent the day at various spots and had a few good finds most notable were the flick of 250 or more snow buntings on bishop rd in pulaski. a northern shrike on fort leazier rd by the apple orchard at the intersection of rte 3 in mexico and a pied billed grebe at mexico point. wayne ------------------------------------Subject: snowies at airport From: Michele Neligan <gull.girl AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:54:37 -0800 (PST) Michaela and I spent about two hours at the airport today. between 2 and 4. We did not see any owls. Good Birding, Michele Neligan ------------------------------------Subject: Snowy Owls 29Jan From: Robert Asanoma <r.asanoma AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:17:28 -0500 I was at Hancock Airport around 1pm and did three circuits of the loop from the south by the cargo terminals to the observation parking lot then thru the northside of the terminal by the taxi stand and deicing stations and control tower area. Lots of birders but no owls. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Bald Eagle From: Ber Carr <mycocarex AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:10:16 +0000 An adult bald eagle was seen flying southwest over Valley Drive this morning headed towards the Webster Pond. Totally unexpected in thiscity neighborhood !!! Two snowy owls were seen at the airport yesterday morning ( second hand report). If you missed them - keep trying. Bernie CarrSyracuse, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Waterfowl at Sodus Bay From: "gwsage" <gwsage AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:16:40 -0000 There were large numbers of ducks near the mouth of Sodus Bay Saturday from about 12:30 to 2 pm. They were generally in dense clusters with dozens of birds landing and taking off. The species identified included: Long Tail ducks - perhaps a hundred or more White Winged Scoters - several dozens Red Head - many Ring-neck Ducks Buffelhead - many Lesser Scaup Coots - many Common Loon - 1 Mute Swans Tundra Swans Mallards Canada Geese There were few waterfowl at Fairhaven, a few Buffleheads and about 35 swans (some Tundras but the species were hard to identify since they were far away and most were sleeping). Good Birding, Gloria Sage ------------------------------------Subject: Hancock Airport Snowy Owl From: "mrbirder" <awood_2 AT hotmail.com> Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:56:21 -0000 Greetings, Made our third trip to Hancock in attempt to see the Snowy Owls with no luck. Check N. Constellation Way and the Observation Circle without seeing the Owls. While at the Observation Circle did watch a American Kestrel for a while flying from post to post. These was about 1:30pm today. AJ Oneida, NY ------------------------------------Subject: white crowned sparrow From: "wayne13114" <wayne13114 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:54:04 -0000 there is a white crowned sparrow at the sterling nature center its hanging out in a brushy area behind the visitors center close to the the bird feeders. its hanging with 5 american tree sparrows. wayne ------------------------------------Subject: Madison County landfill From: "Nancy Bridges" <nancyb655 AT windstream.net> Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:27:22 -0500 I'd like to do some birding at the landfill. Can someone tell me where the best vantage point is? Thanks and good birding [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Tully, N.Y. Song Sparrow From: "gwren70" <gwren70 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:55:01 -0000 A Song Sparrow was seen this morning along the eastern boundary of the South Meadows Nature Area southeast of the Village of Tully. The nature area is one of many parcels of land owned by the Central New York Land Trust. Good Birding. Gene Huggins, Tully, N.Y. ------------------------------------Subject: Onondaga Audubon Field Trips From: "Paul Richardson" <vireo2 AT verizon.net> Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:16:28 -0500 Hello all, Below you will find a list of four field trip for the months of February, March and April. Please contact the field trip leaders for additional details. Thanks, Paul Richardson OAS Field Trip Chair 1) Northwestern Jefferson County February 11, Saturday, 9 AM -3 PM Gerry Smith 315-771-6902 Gerry will lead a trip to Northwestern Jefferson County for winter hawks, open country birds and waterfowl. Short-eared Owl and Snowy Owl are possible with other northern species likely. This trip will be primarily by car and is weather dependent. For anyone interested an extension to dusk to seek Short-eared Owls leaving their daytime roost may be offered. Please contact Gerry for details. ***** 2) Beaver Lake Nature Center February 18, Saturday Gene Huggins 315-696-8065 Gene Huggins will lead a field trip to Beaver Lake Nature Center looking for winter birds. Trip will start at the Nature Center building at 8:00 AM and should last between 4 and 5 hours. Please contact Gene for additional details. ***** 3) Derby Hill Bird Observatory March 31, Saturday, 10 AM -3 PM Gerry Smith 315-771-6902 Gerry Smith will lead a trip to the Derby Hill Bird Observatory and vicinity. If weather is suitable for hawk migration we may witness the peak of Red-shouldered Hawk and early eagle movements. Dress warmly in layers as Derby Hill can be very cold at this time of season or very warm by afternoon. Please contact Gerry for details. ***** 4) Bird Identification for Beginners/ Beaver Lake Nature Center April 21, Saturday Gene Huggins 315-696-8065 Gene will lead a field trip for bird identification for beginners. Degree of Difficulty: Easy. Please contact Gene for details. ======= Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found. (Email Guard: 9.0.0.898, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.19140) http://www.pctools.com/ ======= [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Bohemian Waxwings From: Bill Purcell <wpurcell AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:27:24 -0500 25+ at head of trail on east side of Route 3 at Selkirk Shores SP. flew down into woods to the south. Lots of rose hips in area. Bill Purcell Hastings NY Sent from my iPhone ------------------------------------Subject: Tully, N.Y. More Cowbirds From: "gwren70" <gwren70 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:39:00 -0000 An additional five more Brown-headed Cowbirds,(all females) were seen perched in a Sugar Maple across from the old Banner Homestead on Banner Rd., northwest of Tully this morning. This now makes six for the week. Good Birding. Gene Huggins, Tully, N.Y. ------------------------------------Subject: Re: Bohemian Waxwings From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:17:26 -0800 (PST) This morning I was able to locate one of the BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS at Three Rivers WMA. Although there was a large group of Waxwings close to 60 Road there were no Bohemians in with them. We had to walk farther in (east) to where a dirt road goes right off the main dirt road going east off of 60 Road. The Bohemian Waxwing was with a group of Cedars about 200 yards north or left of the road. Joseph Brin brinjoseph AT yahoo.com Baldwinsville, N.Y. ________________________________ From: Joseph BrinSubject: A lot of Bald Eagles and Ravens, Tug Hill From: Zachary Wakeman <zachnaturephotos AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:16:49 -0800 (PST) Around 3:15pm there were 7 bald eagles (3 mature) and 10-12 ravens feeding on 3 deer carcasses someone set out for them in a field behind their home on the north side of CR 39 just west of the Lewis County line. Zachary Wakeman http://www.zacharywakemanphotography.com/ http://nynaturephotozw.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/nynatureimages/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Bohemian Waxwings From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:59:51 -0800 (PST) This afternoon my wife and I found 2 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in the Three Rivers WMA north of Baldwinsville. They were with Ceders on the dirt road going east opposite the parking area where the Eagle's nest is. The road is at the north end of the parking area. The Bohemians were along the road about a quarter mile down opposite the big pond. Joseph Brin brinjoseph AT yahoo.com Baldwinsville, N.Y. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Fwd: [BIRDWG01] thayeri-kumlieni-glaucoides scale From: Bill Purcell <wpurcell AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:56:30 -0500 Those of us interested in gull identification will find this interesting. Bill Purcell wpurcell AT twcny.rr.com Begin forwarded message: > From: Steve HamptonSubject: Golden-crowned Kinglet From: Carla Bregman <carla.bregman AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:21:17 -0500 A female golden-crowned kinglet, with its golden crown clearly visible, flitted through the boughs of the Scotch pines in my front yard in Manlius this morning at 9:30. The neighborhood's "much larger" chickadees harassed the kinglet as it tended southward. First question: Isn't January 26 a little late (or early!) to be passing through in migration (either south or north), or, alternatively, do G-C kinglets overwinter here? Second question: Who'd have thought that one would use the words "much larger chickadees" in the same expression? [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Mucks & Sodus - Tuesday From: Tigger64 AT aol.com Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:19:44 -0500 (EST) I was hoping the Savannah mucklands might have birds after a couple days of thawing temps. Jim Tarolli and I were surprised to find decent numbers of Canada Geese, Mallards, Black Ducks, gulls, and raptors. Good movement of birds flying around and into the mucks from other places. We couldn't find anything unusual. Stopping back at dusk, the roost flight was not into the mucks but to Cayuga Lake. Thursday through Saturday will have temps to 40F and possibly more will come in. On to Sodus Bay where the female King Eider gave good looks. We didn't see the Barrow's or hybrid Goldeneye but there is constant exchange with birds on the lake. Good numbers of everything and a modest evening flight of gulls to the ice edge (much more water open). David Wheeler N Syracuse, NY Savannah Mucklands (Seneca Co), Seneca, US-NY Jan 24, 2012 11:45 AM - 1:00 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: With Jim Tarolli; recent thaw had much of the Mucks open and attracting birds; we checked back later but it appeared the evening roost flight was away from the Mucks rather into the Mucks (presumably birds going to Cayuga Lake) 15 species Snow Goose 64 Canada Goose 400 Tundra Swan 9 American Black Duck 20 or more, estimated Mallard 100 or more, estimated Northern Pintail 2 Bald Eagle 2 Red-tailed Hawk 3 Rough-legged Hawk 3 Ring-billed Gull 150 estimate Herring Gull 10 guesstimate American Crow 5 Horned Lark 10 American Tree Sparrow 4 Song Sparrow 1 Sodus Bay--Sodus Point, Wayne, US-NY Jan 24, 2012 2:15 PM - 4:15 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: With Jim Tarolli; 15 kt WSW winds 24 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose 75 Mute Swan X Mallard 10 Canvasback 10 Redhead 1000 estimated Ring-necked Duck 6 Greater Scaup X Greater/Lesser Scaup X many King Eider 1 female Surf Scoter 2 females White-winged Scoter 200 estimated Black Scoter 1 female Long-tailed Duck X Bufflehead 10 Common Goldeneye 350 or more Red-breasted Merganser X Common Loon 1 Horned Grebe 3 Bald Eagle 1 American Coot 25 Ring-billed Gull X Herring Gull 200 Iceland Gull 1 second-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 8 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: RE: Airport Snowy Owls From: "Tom Carrolan" <TLC AT hawksaloft.com> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:11:06 -0000 Had a chance today to conduct a mini-field trip of sorts out to the airport for Snowy Owls this afternoon. Kevlar was involved. We had the same very white, but every so lightly marked male, on exactly the same construction material as Judy Wright described in her post. She had the bird at 8:30a, I had the bird at 10:30a and then 2p for the trip... it hadn't moved and didn't for the hour that we were there. I'm making this point (although if one is not there every second...), because the NYTimes article restates a common Snowy Owl myth: they are diurnal. Over several decades of work at Boston's Logan International, Norm Smith has observed that Snowy Owls became increasing active after dark. So while they sit out in the open during the day -- and okay, may fly a bit or even kill something -- they are owls after all. The question for debate then, is what is 'day' and what is 'night' during the Arctic Summer? The answer when you ponder the Syracuse to Boston Winter is: day is day and night is for the owls. All things being equal, daylight, out in the open, is for roosting. Owl zen yoga. In addition to the one very bright male Snowy Owl near the fence -- scoping and image-taking was enjoyed along with shivering and snowflakes -- we had several Redtails and one Rough-legged Hawk... a dark adult female. Enjoy the owls. Tom Carrolan Liverpool NY www.hawksaloft.com ............................................................ The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. -- Charles Darwin, naturalist and author (1809-1882) ............................................................ ------------------------------------Subject: Lake access report From: Mitchell Nusbaum <mnusbaum25 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:43:23 -0800 (PST) Wednesday 1/25 there was a Bald Eagle standing on the ice floe at the west limit of the open water. http://www.flickr.com/photos/51058083 AT N03/6762549853/in/photostream There was also 2 Mute Swans during the late afternoon. Good birding, Mitch Nusbaum [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: RE: madison landfill From: joseph brin <jnnbrin AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:18:59 +0000 I visited the Madison County landfill this morning and had the same birds but slightly different numbers. Iceland Gull - 6 Glaucous Gull - 1 A very white individual Lesser black-backed Gull - 1 Joseph Brin brinjoseph AT yahoo.com Baldwinsville, N.Y. > To: oneidabirds AT yahoogroups.com > From: pmcgann1 AT twcny.rr.com > Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:13:33 -0500 > Subject: [OneidaBirds] madison landfill > > A noontime trip to the dump found > 4 - first winter Iceland Gulls > 2 - 1 first winter and 1 second winter Glaucous Gulls > 2 - adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls > there may be first winter lessers but I didn't see any for sure > the Icelands ranged from pale to very dark, (possibly into the Thayer's range) > also saw 1 wing-tagged Great Black-backed Gull, couldn't get the numbers, but probably from the Mass study. > > Kevin McGann > Baldwinsville, NY > pmcgann1 AT twcny.rr.com > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ------------------------------------ > >Subject: Airport Snowy Owls From: Judy Wright <wryt-on AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:15:43 -0500 I saw two Snowy Owls at the Syracuse Airport at 8:30 this morning. An immature was on a light post at the very end of the air freight area and the beautiful adult was perched on a piece of construction equipment, close to the fence, about 75 yards down Constellation after you make the right turn at the construction gate. Judy Wright wryt-on AT twcny.rr.com Baldwinsville, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Re: Snowy Owls are #1... From: Judith Thurber <jathurber AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:09:23 -0800 (PST) Thx Tom. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: madison landfill From: "Kevin McGann" <pmcgann1 AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:13:33 -0500 A noontime trip to the dump found 4 - first winter Iceland Gulls 2 - 1 first winter and 1 second winter Glaucous Gulls 2 - adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls there may be first winter lessers but I didn't see any for sure the Icelands ranged from pale to very dark, (possibly into the Thayer's range) also saw 1 wing-tagged Great Black-backed Gull, couldn't get the numbers, but probably from the Mass study. Kevin McGann Baldwinsville, NY pmcgann1 AT twcny.rr.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Durhamville--Jug Pt. Road Cowbirds From: "voma13" <voma13 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:03:38 -0000 This morning at our feeders, we had the usual numerous mourning doves, tree sparrows, cardinals and blue jays but also along with them had three Brown Headed cowbird males present. They continue to stay around so far throughout the day. Matt ------------------------------------Subject: Tully, N.Y. Brown-headed Cowbird From: "gwren70" <gwren70 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:59:53 -0000 An adult male Brown-headed Cowbird was seen this morning feeding on the ground with an estimated 300 European Starlings. Good Birding. Gene Huggins, Tully, N.Y. ------------------------------------Subject: Snowy Owls are #1... From: "Tom Carrolan" <TLC AT hawksaloft.com> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:48:53 -0000 This morning, their Snowy Owl article is the most emailed link from The New York Times website: http://nyti.ms/wuOwiw Tom Carrolan Liverpool NY (sent from iPhone 4s) ------------------------------------Subject: Airport Snowy From: Andrew VanNorstrand <andrewvannorstrand AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:29:30 -0500 Just got back this evening from California (btw, great luck birding between gigs out there... Arctic Loon, Falcated Duck, Spotted Owl, etc!) and on on our way out of the airport Sarah and I had a single SNOWY OWL perched on one of the last street lights before I-81. Looked cool in the glow. Good birding all, Andrew VanNorstrand Manlius, NY ------------------------------------Subject: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:43:26 -0800 (PST) RBA * New York * Syracuse * January 23, 2012 * NYSY 01.23.12 Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): January 16, 2012 - January 23, 2012 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer, Madison & Cortland compiled:January 23 AT 4:30 p.m. (EST) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org #289 -Monday January 23, 2012 Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of January 16 , 2012 Highlights: ----------- ICELAND GULL GLAUCOUS GULL LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK PEREGRINE FALCON GYRFALCON GLAUCOUS GULL LONG-EARED OWL SNOWY OWL Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------ No reports this week. Onondaga County ------------- 1/18: A PEREGRINE FALCON was seen in downtown Syracuse near the nesting site. 1/20: 2 ICELAND and 3 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS were seen at the Inner Harbor. 1/21: A LONG-EARED OWL was seen at Beaver Lake Nature Center west of Baldwinsville. Efforts to relocate it have been unsuccessful. One and sometimes two SNOWY OWLS were seen daily at Hancock Airport in Syracuse. Two were seen as recently as yesterday. Oswego County ------------ 1/18: A gray phase GYRFALCON was seen hunting at Oswego Harbor. Efforts to relocate were unsuccessful. Also seen was a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and a GLAUCOUS GULL. 1/20: An ICELAND GULL was seen at the Fulton Locks south of Bridge Street in Oswego. Oneida County ------------ 1/19: A dark phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen in the Town of Paris south of Utica. End Transcript -- Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Re: Text message-based RBA for Central NY From: Tigger64 AT aol.com Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:49:21 -0500 (EST) Just to clarify, to prevent spam we can't have any anonymous phone numbers.
Please follow the two steps below.
1) Send a text message from your mobile phone to 41411 and for the message use
(not case sensitive)
OneidaRBA
2) Send me an e-mail (Tigger64 AT AOL.com) with your name and the phone number you
registered.
Thanks!
Dave W.
-----Original Message-----
From: tigger64
Subject: Text message-based RBA for Central NYFrom: Tigger64 AT aol.com Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:04:26 -0500 (EST) With help from Dave Nutter who has set up the CayugaRBA text message system, I
have set up one for the Central NY region that roughly corresponds to the
current OneidaBirds list. The system is only for reporting authentic rarities.
To join:
1) Send a text message from your mobile phone to 41411 and for the message use
(not case sensitive)
OneidaRBA
2) Send me an e-mail (Tigger64 AT AOL.com) with your name and the phone number you
registered.
To use the system to report, for example, an Archaeopteryx at Oswego Harbor,
simply send a text message to 41411 and the first word in the message should be
OneidaRBA. You will have about 100 characters and should include species,
location, finder (if not self), time (if not now, since the system is near real
time), etc, and your name. For example:
OneidaRBA An Archaeopteryx is flying around Oswego Harbor! Viewing from bluff
overlook at Fort Ontario. Dave Wheeler
The word OneidaRBA is not case sensitive and could be oneidarba for example.
The text messaging system sends the message to all those registered. One will
incur costs associated with sending a text message, and will receive a copy of
the message, so that is two text messages if one is the sender and a single
text message otherwise.
The area of coverage is intended to be NYSOA Region 5, plus anywhere in the
Montezuma complex, Wayne County (especially the Ontario shoreline), and the
Jefferson County shoreline. Authentic rarities outside this range are okay if
within driving distance - for example the Western Grebe that was recently found
at Cayuga Lake's Myers Pt.
Dave Wheeler
N Syracuse NY
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Subject: Fwd: Up close with Snowy Owl Syracuse AirportFrom: "Tom Carrolan" <TLC AT hawksaloft.com> Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:21:46 -0000 This guy takes some nice images... ===== Begin forwarded message: From: Greg Craybas PhotoSubject: Long-eared Owl From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:18:24 -0800 (PST) My wife and I started the day at Hancock Airport and enjoyed a great look at one of the SNOWY OWLS but the highlight of the day was a LONG-EARED OWL at Beaver Lake Nature Center west of Baldwinsville. The bird was found earlier in the day and naturalists set up a map to the bird at the main building. The bird was on the Bog Trail, much in the same place where a SAW-WHET OWL has been seen recently. Joseph Brin brinjoseph AT yahoo.com Baldwinsville, N.Y. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Syracuse Inner Harbor - Thursday eve From: Tigger64 AT aol.com Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:13:55 -0500 (EST) Good numbers of gulls, not enough light. Dave W. N Syracuse, NY Inner Harbor, Onondaga, US-NY Jan 19, 2012 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: 15 kt south wind; good observing conditions but not enough time/light 9 species Mallard X Hooded Merganser 8 Common Merganser 1 Wild Turkey 2 Ring-billed Gull 125 Herring Gull 200 or more Iceland Gull 2 first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull 3 2 adults, 1 first-winter Great Black-backed Gull 125 125-150 Oswego River - Fulton Locks, Oswego, US-NY Jan 18, 2012 12:30 PM - 12:35 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: Breakwall south of Bridge St. from the parking area across from the bank 4 species Ring-billed Gull 5 Herring Gull 5 Iceland Gull 1 very dark first-winter but thought was Iceland; probably should have photographed Great Black-backed Gull 2 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Rough-legged Hawk From: "Jody Hildreth" <falcon AT kidwings.com> Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:14:47 -0500 Hello All, This afternoon around 12:30 I had a gorgeous dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk soaring low over Route 12 in the town of Paris. Jody Hildreth Library Media Specialist Sauquoit Valley Elementary School Webmaster: KidWings.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Andrews Rd., Dewitt- Red-winged Blackbirds From: "gwren70" <gwren70 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:12:06 -0000 Eleven Red-winged Blackbirds continue their presence along the feeder canal off of Andrews Rd. in the Twn. of Dewitt. Rose DeNeve and I were doing the waterfowl count when we discovered the birds flying over-head. Good birding. Gene Huggins, Tully, N.Y. ------------------------------------Subject: Gyrfalcon - Oswego Harbor (not relocated) From: Tigger64 AT aol.com Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:17:11 -0500 (EST) Last seen going east. Subsequent check of shoreline trees east of the Oswego River did not find it. Probably went past Derby Hill and up the east lakeshore, or perhaps will come back to Oswego or maybe Sodus. Fair Haven was a big disappointment but another place to check. This particular individual is not ambiguous and does not superficially resemble a Peregrine beyond being a falcon. If seen perched at a distance one might think an imm. Bald Eagle or dark-morph Rough-leg. More description in eBird entry below. No falconry attachments were noticed hanging off its legs. I suspect the abrupt change in weather is what had it moving along the lakeshore, which is why I was moving along the lakeshore. David Wheeler N Syracuse, NY Oswego Harbor, Oswego, US-NY Jan 18, 2012 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: Abrupt change in weather over previous 24 hours; south winds followed by 40-45 kt sustained W winds overnight, subsiding to 15-20 kts NW at the time of observation 14 species Canada Goose 100 Mallard X Redhead 2 Greater Scaup 5 White-winged Scoter 1 Long-tailed Duck 20 Red-breasted Merganser X Red-throated Loon 1 Red-necked Grebe 1 Gyrfalcon 1 Flew directly overhead at low altitude and commenced chasing gulls for ~20 seconds, then flew east flushing a Canada Goose flock on the lawn at Fort Ontario; well seen in binoculars and spotting scope at 25-75 yards; thought to be a dark morph or possibly an imm. gray morph; a huge, massive-bodied (like a bulging, over-pressurized 2-liter bottle of root beer) plain brown falcon; dark brown back and head with no hint of "mustache" or "sideburns"; dark eye; big tapered tail with brown/black banding; slow, powerful wingbeats; carefully observed to eliminate Peregrine but the bird bore no superficial resemblance to Peregrine aside from being a falcon. Suspect abrupt weather change is responsible for it moving along the lakeshore on this particular day. No falconry attachments noticed. Ring-billed Gull 200 Herring Gull 100 Glaucous Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 20 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Oswego harbor gulls From: "wayne13114" <wayne13114 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:01:38 -0000 This afternoon i spent about 30 mins checking out the gulls among the normal ring-billed, herring and great black backed there was a lesser black backed gull and 1 possibly 2 first winter glaucous gulls Wayne ------------------------------------Subject: GYRFALCON - Oswego Harbor From: Tigger64 AT aol.com Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:32:50 -0500 (EST) Just passed through going east after chasing gulls. I thought it was a dark morph. Wiill update if it is relocated. David Wheeler. ------------------------------------Subject: Re: Peregrine Falcon From: Lewis Grove <zugunlew AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:30:37 -0500 Hey all, Sorry for the belated report - thought it might just a be a bird moving through at the time - but I had a Peregrine Falcon flyover (heading south, though not in any hurry) my apartment one week ago (1/11). This location is about a mile east of Syracuse University - near the Westcott/Euclid intersection. Keep your eyes open around the city! Lewis On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 9:03 AM, Joseph BrinSubject: Peregrine Falcon From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:03:31 -0800 (PST) Yesterday (1/17) I observed a PEREGRINE FALCON in downtown Syracuse on a building near the State Tower nesting site. Joseph Brin brinjoseph AT yahoo.com Baldwinsville, N.Y. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Barrow's & hybrid Goldeneye - Sodus From: Tigger64 AT aol.com Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:18:28 -0500 (EST) Jim Tarolli and I hit the Geneva waterfront/Seneca Lake and Sodus Bay. Birds were close in at Geneva but difficult to observe with wind-blown rain. Sodus was loaded and three hours was hardly enough. At the 2 hour mark a Barrow's Goldeneye turned up followed by a hybrid Barrow's x Common. A few geese and gulls flew in and a Lesser Black-backed was the gull highlight. Also, two close Red-necked Grebe and a good raft of distant Aythya's at sunset. Strong WNW winds are happening Tuesday night and Wednesday. It should be a big day for gulls in harbors and on protected breakwalls. Cold and snow will probably be an issue. David Wheeler N Syracuse, NY Geneva Waterfront - Seneca Lake, Seneca, US-NY Jan 17, 2012 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Protocol: Traveling 2.0 mile(s) Comments: With Jim Tarolli; 40F, light rain, south winds 10 kts; difficult viewing conditions due to wind-blown rain, but birds close in by usual standards at Geneva waterfront 16 species (+1 other taxa) American Wigeon 1 close in to shore with Mallards American Black Duck 20 Mallard 30 Northern Pintail 7 Ring-necked Duck 1 Greater Scaup 1 Lesser Scaup 1 Greater/Lesser Scaup X Long-tailed Duck 1 Bufflehead 2 Common Goldeneye 80 many females Hooded Merganser 1 Common Merganser X Red-tailed Hawk 1 Ring-billed Gull 30 Herring Gull 20 Great Black-backed Gull 5 Sodus Bay--Sodus Point, Wayne, US-NY Jan 17, 2012 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: With Jim Tarolli; 40F; South winds 10-15 kts; no ice seen on Lake Ontario (as would be expected on south winds), Sodus Bay frozen except for typical open water near channel 29 species (+2 other taxa) Canada Goose 200 Mute Swan X American Black Duck 5 Mallard 25 Redhead X at least 100 Ring-necked Duck 1 Greater Scaup X Lesser Scaup X Aythya sp. 700 distant raft at sunset spotted by Jim looking west; rough estimate only Surf Scoter 1 White-winged Scoter 150 or more Black Scoter 1 Long-tailed Duck 200 Bufflehead 10 Common Goldeneye 200 substantially more adult males than female/imm. Common x Barrow's Goldeneye (hybrid) 1 adult male bird much like that depicted in Sibley Guide Barrow's Goldeneye 1 stunning adult male Common Merganser 1 Red-breasted Merganser 50 Common Loon 2 Horned Grebe 2 Red-necked Grebe 2 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Bald Eagle 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 deceased; floating in the water like a duck, eyes wide open; thought to be an imm. Cooper's but difficult to be sure American Coot 1 Ring-billed Gull 100 Herring Gull 200 Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 adult; heavily streaked head; beautiful bird Great Black-backed Gull 3 European Starling 3 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Northern Shrike From: "ebwillia12" <ebwillia12 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:58:11 -0000 Hello, My name is Eddie Williams and I go to Hamilton College in Clinton. I am a bit of a twitcher, and I am looking to check off some winter visiting species. These are the species I am looking for: White-winged Crossbill Red Crossbill Snow Bunting White-throated Sparrow American Tree Sparrow Northern Shrike I was just wondering if anyone has heard of recent sightings of any of these species. Thank you very much! Eddie Williams ------------------------------------Subject: Harrier From: "wayne13114" <wayne13114 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:32:04 -0000 The past two days i have been working at a house on marsh rd in sterling and have seen a male harrier hunting the fields around the property Wayne ------------------------------------Subject: Snowy Owl 17Jan From: Robert Asanoma <r.asanoma AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:33:29 -0500 We saw a pure white, therefore male, Snowy Owl at 12:25am at the northside of the terminal building and across the fence on a low metal structure with a horizontal bar near the end of a long pile of snow. Didn't see any other Snowy Owls even though we circled the airport twice. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Airport Snowy Owl. From: Judy Wright <wryt-on AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:12:49 -0500 I took a quick pass through Hancock Syracuse's Airport this morning around 10:15 AM. I saw one immature or female snowy owl on top of a lamp post in the employee parking on the south side of the access road to the observation area. Couldn't find the others but it was pretty foggy. Judy Wright wryt-on AT twcny.rr.com Baldwinsville, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Snowy Owls From: Mitchell Nusbaum <mnusbaum25 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:30:06 -0800 (PST) We saw a Snowy Owl in the vicinity of the open field North side of Collins Bvld. around 4:00PM perched atop a chain link fence structure. This is 1 of 2 of this species seen first time today. On the same page of the following link is the female perched up high. http://www.flickr.com/photos/51058083 AT N03/6712440247/in/photostream/ Good Birding, Mitch Nusbaum [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Syracuse RBA From: Joseph Brin <brinjoseph AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:32:10 -0800 (PST) RBA * New York * Syracuse * January 16, 2012 * NYSY 01.16.12 Hotline: Syracuse Rare bird Alert Dates(s): January 09, 2012 - January16, 2012 to report by e-mail: brinjoseph AT yahoo.com covering upstate NY counties: Cayuga, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) (just outside Cayuga County), Onondaga, Oswego, Lewis, Jefferson, Oneida, Herkimer, Madison & Cortland compiled:January 16 AT 6:30 p.m. (EST) compiler: Joseph Brin Onondaga Audubon Homepage: www.onondagaaudubon.org #288 -Monday January 16, 2012 Greetings! This is the Syracuse Area Rare Bird Alert for the week of January 09 , 2012 Highlights: ----------- RUDDY DUCK RED-SHOULDERED HAWK SNOWY OWL NORTHERN SHRIKE COMMON RAVEN LAPLAND LONGSPUR SAVANNAH SPARROW PINE SISKIN Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) and Montezuma Wetlands Complex (MWC) ------------ 1/11: An unusually large flock of SNOW GEESE was captured on video circling over the mucklands at Rt.31. 1 15: An overwintering SAVANNAH SPARROW was found with Tree Sparrows in a weedy area on East Road. Onondaga County ------------ At least two SNOWY OWLS continue to be seen daily at Hancock Airport in Syracuse. 1/11: A NORTHERN SHRIKE continues to be spotted at Three Rivers WMA north of Baldwinsville. 1/14: A flock of at least 80 SNOW BUNTINGS was spotted on Banner Road in Tully. 1/15: RUDDY DUCKS were seen with other waterfowl at the north end of Otisco Lake. A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was seen being harassed by Crows at the Inner Harbor area near Carousel Mall. Oswego County ------------ 1/10: 2 COMMON RAVENS were seen on Halsey Road in the Town of Mexico. 1/11: 2 COMMON RAVENS were spotted at the Little John area north of Salmon River Redervoir. 1/13: 3 PINE SISKINS were seen at a feeder in Constantia. 1/15: A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was found on Atkinson Road near Selkirk Shores State Park.PINE SISKINS were seen at Derby Hill and Bishop Road north of Pulaski. A NORTHERN SHRIKE was spotted at Biddlecum Road. End Transcript -- Joseph Brin Region 5 Baldwinsville, N.Y. 13027 U.S.A. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Pine Siskins, American Tree Sparrows, Long-tailed Duck image From: Zachary Wakeman <zachnaturephotos AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:11:06 -0800 (PST) This weekend saw a lone Pine Siskin and American Tree Sparrow show up to my feeders for the first time this year. Here is a link to a shot I captured of a pair of Long-tailed Ducks a couple of weeks ago http://nynaturephotozw.blogspot.com/ Town of Albion Zachary Wakeman http://www.zacharywakemanphotography.com/ http://nynaturephotozw.blogspot.com/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Snowy Owl 16Jan From: Robert Asanoma <r.asanoma AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:25:27 -0500 Watched a male Snowy Owl flying at 11am and he landed on the high mast street lighting tower on the north side of the terminal building. There are two towers inside the chainlink fence and he was on the left tower. That was the only owl I saw after checking out the observation parking lot on the southside. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Green Lakes - Last Thursday From: D <runningdad AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 7:29:45 -0500 While running around the lakes, I observed a belted kingfisher and two American coots, along with the usual winter forest birds. Sorry for the late post. -- Derek J. White RunningDad AT twcny.rr.com 315-506-0769 D.J.W. Contracting - home remodeling, painting, electrical and plumbing, repairs and custom woodworking ------------------------------------Subject: lake ontario waterfowl survey From: "Kevin McGann" <pmcgann1 AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:58:02 -0500 Wayne Fidler and I covered Lake Ontario from Sandy Pond to Riker's Beach for
the waterfowl survey, nothing exciting was found.
one additional land bird to Wayne's earlier post, and after I dropped off
Wayne, was a Northern Shrike at Biddlecum Road and Rte. 264
Common Loon
2
Horned Grebe
3
Tundra Swan
23
Canada Goose
4462
Am. Black Duck
4
Mallard
51
Redhead
3
Greater Scaup
1
Scaup sp.
2
Long-tailed Duck
97
White-winged Scoter
2
Common Goldeneye
287
Bufflehead
61
Hooded Merganser
2
Common Merganser
10
Red-breasted Merganser
273
Bald Eagle
6
AGE
4imm.1ad.1unid
Kevin McGann
Baldwinsville, NY
pmcgann1 AT twcny.rr.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Subject: Red-shouldered Hawk - SyracuseFrom: Tigger64 AT aol.com Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:03:02 -0500 (EST) Not too many highlights from the waterfowl count, but while checking the Onondaga Lake inner harbor an adult Red-shouldered Hawk came through and quickly picked up an escort of many crows as it left the area. Dave Wheeler. N Syracuse, NY [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Re: Syracuse Airport - Snowy Owls (3) - 11/15 From: Lewis Grove <zugunlew AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:08:40 -0500 Ahh... sorry to repost, but the subject line from my previous post should read 1/15 of course, not 11/15. Lewis On Sun, Jan 15, 2012 at 6:06 PM, Lewis GroveSubject: Syracuse Airport - Snowy Owls (3) - 11/15 From: Lewis Grove <zugunlew AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:06:50 -0500 Hey all, Scott Warsen, Eric Ungberg and I spent some time at the airport this afternoon searching for SNOWY OWLS in the sun. We managed to confirm at least 3 different owls in the area - two nearly all-white birds (presumably older males) and one much more heavily-streaked individual. We first located the darker bird perched atop a light post in the parking lot contained by Corregidor Rd; it later flew south along the parking garage to an outbuilding south of the terminal and perched atop a small antenna-type thing (viewable to the SE from the small visitor parking lot south of the main entrance road). We saw a second bird at this time, flying around over the terminal. We later relocated this bird (probably, but who knows for sure...) from the east end of Corregidor Rd, perched atop the roof of the terminal, nearly out of view to the SE. This individual was nearly all white, with barring limited to just the coverts. As we were departing, we noticed a couple of other birders parked in the C&S lot near the I-81 interchange; they were scoping a third owl south of the entrance road perched atop a light post. This was very similar to our second bird - barring limited to just the coverts from what we could tell from a relatively quick look. It was definitely a third individual though - the second bird would have had to teleport to make the timing work. Good birding! Lewis -- Lewis Grove PhD Student, Wildlife Ecology SUNY *E*nvironmental *S*cience and *F*orestry (814) 880 - 5667 http://zugunlew.smugmug.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------Subject: Oneida Lake - Waterfowl Count From: Brenda Best <bestbird AT me.com> Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:03:17 -0500 I birded Oneida Lake from Bridgeport around the east end to Cleveland. Chittenango Creek, Bridgeport Mallard 30 Lesser Scaup 1 (female) Common Merganser 1 (female) Double-crested Cormorant 1 Maple Bay, Bridgeport Canada Goose 580 Mallard 2 Bufflehead 2 Common Goldeneye 13 Common Merganser 30 Shackleton Point, Bridgeport Bald Eagle 1 (adult) South Shore Fisherman Access, Bridgeport Canada Goose 700 Tundra Swan 20 Oneida Lake at Oneida Creek Canada Goose 500 Bald Eagle 4 (2 adult, 2 immature) Sylvan Beach Barge Canal Mallard 200 Bufflehead 4 Common Merganser 6 Drive 39, North Bay Canada Goose 5115 Scaup sp. 500 Bald Eagle 1 (This was a tough spot. The sun was low and I was looking right into it. The geese and ducks were intermingled and I was wondering how I was going to count these guys. But timing is important in birding. All these birds were put up by the eagle, some going west and some going east, and then there were none.) Oneida Lake, Cleveland Canada Goose 2 Mallard 91 Brenda -- Brenda Best Durhamville, NY bestbird AT me.com ------------------------------------Subject: Sunday birds Oswego co From: "wayne13114" <wayne13114 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:52:56 -0000 Today i did the waterfowl count with kevin mcgann while the waterfowl was slim we did have some good birds its hard to write where stuff was because we covered Areas from sandy pond to scriba and a slew of back highlights were Red head sithe energy trail in scriba tundra swans at sandy pond Kingfisher at sandy island sp Coopers hawk past port ontario on 104 Pine siskins at derby hill south lookout also a flock of ~40 near bishop rd in pulaski Purple finch with the large siskin flock Raven at mexico point sp Roughleg hawk dark phase at bishop rd Snow buntings on atkinson rd and a few other locations around mexico Lapland long spur atkinson rd Northern harrier on lakeshore rd in scriba Wayne ------------------------------------ |