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Recent Postings from
Genesee Birding

Updated on Friday, October 19 at 05:34 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

As of 5:30 this after noon there were still 11 Brant feeding on the 
grassy slope of the swimming beach at Fort Niagara State Park,Mixed in 
with a flock of about 200 Canada Geese.

  Fort Niagara State Park is located in the Town of Porter in
Niagara County and may be reached from the Robert Moses
Parkway.

Bill Broderick
Youngstown, NY


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   Following on from Rich Guthrie's note:
 Sue and I drove down from Rochester this morning, arriving at about 8:45, just 
as showers arrived. Larry Wilson was there and watched and spoke with us for a 
long while. Chuck Schleigh joined us around 9:00. Larry reiterated that when he 
is there and watching the bird(s) are there first about 7:15 AM. They then 
often come every 10-15 minutes or so. In the morning they are often at the 
right feeder as you look in from RT. 19. In the afternoon more often at the 
left (toward the patio/backyard). Maybe a bit less on that latter feeder since 
the trap and band operation there a couple of days ago. After feeding or 
between feedings the bird(s) often flies up into the tree right above the right 
feeder to preen. Sometimes they sit on the bare branch tips of that tree or the 
bare twigs at the top of the maple behind it. 

 Today he first watched closely about 8:10 and had the female on the feeder, 
then the male approaching after which they interacted and both left. 

 We had a brief visit just before 9:00. Visits after that were on the order of 
the 10-15 minute intervals. We all saw the immature female several times. One 
of the times it flew up into the nearer tree and preened extensively giving us 
excellent looks at the spread tail, allowing study of the rectrices indicating 
clearly imm. female Rufous - the outer three (R3-5) are clearly broad with the 
appearance of R4 a bit longer than the others. Later in the visit, Sue moved to 
sitting in the car and had a short look at the second bird on the back of the 
feeder to the rest of us. Chuck and I moved to our cars closer to the feeder 
after 10 AM hoping for a better look up close and maybe some photos as the rain 
stopped and the sky brightened. The female came again just after 10:20, 
briefly. I got two blurred shots (too dark). Heard Chuck's camera firing, so 
hopefully he got better. Sue and I left then. Chuck remained. 

 Echo the many thanks to Larry for allowing any and all to visit and view the 
birds!! 

  Bob Spahn_______________________________________________
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Mike Tetlow and I visited the mudflats at the south end of Irondequoit Bay this 
morning about 11:15 am. The following noteworthy species were present: 


1 Little Gull - probably the dame bird previously reported.
1 Dunlin
1 Greater Yellowlegs
3 imm. Black-bellied Plovers 
1 immature Peregrine Falcon
6 Brant_______________________________________________
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By all indications, there appear to be TWO RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS at the
Houghton, NY. The first being the banded female. Another one, which appears
to be a male (and assumed to be a Rufous) has also been seen by some
observers.

 

WOW!

 

Many thanks to Larry Wilson, the homeowner. 

 

Larry lets on that the birds are like clockwork arriving at the feeders at
almost precisely at 7 15 AM. After a brief feeding visit, the birds appear
sporadically through the day. 

 

After a long 5-hour drive, my son, friend, and I arrived at about 10 AM. The
first hummer appeared about an hour later, feeding very briefly then
disappearing. The second, flew in after another hour or so. After an even
briefer visit, he/she split.  Neither returned while we were there waiting
for the next hour or so. 

 

Larry says that visitors may have a look around the zinnia garden around
back if the birds are not readily seen. I can't say if there is a feeding
pattern that these birds may follow.

 

Be sure to log in on the visitor's log. And I wish Larry was there when we
visited. His bird feed store offers shelled peanuts, which I have found
almost impossible to locate anywhere near my house. My peanut feeders have
remained empty for much too long to suit the titmice and nuthatches around
here.

 

Thanks to Larry for his hospitable welcome to us, other birders AND the
hummingbirds. 

 

Richard Guthrie

New Baltimore,

The Greene County,

New York

gaeltic AT capital.net

 

 

 
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Well, it seems that I've got the proverbial egg on my face. The birds that I 
identified as Eurasian Wigeons at Tifft Nature Preserve in Buffalo earlier 
today were actually AMERICAN Wigeons. In my haste, I made a sloppy ID based 
solely on the yellow stripe, totally ignoring the red-headed major field mark, 
which these birds quite clearly lacked. My thanks to Jim Pawlicki and Bill 
Watson for correcting my gross error, and for making me feel better about it. 
My sincere apologies to all and especially anyone this may have inconvenienced, 
such as Jim and Bill. 


In birding,
Sal
_________________________________________________________________
Help yourself to FREE treats served up daily at the Messenger Caf�. Stop by 
today. 


http://www.cafemessenger.com/info/info_sweetstuff2.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_OctWLtagline 

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Our fall visitors have arrived early this year. On Tuesday, 52 Brants  
(mostly adults) were bobbing up and down in the choppy waters, heading  east. 
Wednesday brought 48 Horned Grebes, active little divers they were. And today, 
we 

were entertained for hours by the antics of 86 Red-Breasted  Mergansers. The 
males are only just beginning to show breeding plumage, but that  didn't deter 
them from "showing off".  Nor were they deterred by the  bravado of the 40 or 
so Gulls that were in the same waters. One  lone Common Loon watched all the 
activity from a distance.  
Joyce  Testa
Webster, midway between Webster Pk and Irondequoit Bay




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Well, seems they need to be educated that the natural state of NY is  
forested, not cleared and mowed. Might be a bit too late, but worth a  
try.

One thing that was always done in Missouri when we birded was to let  
the locals know when we traveled we were there because of some bird.  
Either a snowy owl, or whatever. And we bought gas and food in a local  
spot and made sure they knew we were birding in the area. If we found  
good places to eat, we passed the word around.

That helped people think of birders as people who came and spent  
money, same as hunters in parts of the state.

we could always get people to agree with us on issues too, they might  
not understand habitat for birds, but they would understand not  
finding a deer in deer season.

regards.

Frank
Lakeville


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Thursday, 18 Oct. about 2:00 p.m.
 
Richard "Sal" Salembier just called from the field to report 1, possibly 2  
EURASIAN WIGEONS amongst numerous ducks at the North Viewing Blind at  Tifft 
Nature Preserve in Buffalo.
 
Good luck.
 
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY



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 Short visit to the park this morning. The fog hung on too long for the lake to 
have much of interest. Essentially nothing flying and little on the water 8:50 
to 9:20. 

 With the fog, I actually did the walk on the west end trail first. LOTS of 
Hermit Thrushes, American Robins, and White-throated Sparrows. Kinglets down, 
but still present. Only 1 Winter Wren, where a couple of days back it was 
double digit. Arriving back near my car in Parking Lot # 5 (or 6 for way out 
purists), there were Lapland Longspurs, Horned Larks, and American Pipits 
overhead, then 2 Evening Grosbeaks passing over calling. The EVGR's were my 
first for the year here. 

 About time for leaving the lakewatch, I had a small (unseen) group of birds 
pass over giving a chip call that I would associate with either Common Redpoll 
or White-winged Crossbill (too weak for any of the Red Crossbill group from my 
audio memory). Too few and too short chips for me to call for sure, but 
indicates be looking and listening carefully now for more winter finches 
moving. 

  Bob Spahn_______________________________________________
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Hi all,

            Been a bit busy for birding lately, but this morning while
sucking down some Cheerios, a Goldfinch-sized white bird showed up in a bush
next to the feeder right outside the window (2-3 feet away) and had a look
around. It was almost entirely pure, clean white with just a bit of black on
the wings closest to the back (under 10% black) with a yellow bill, which is
what has me confused. 

I am assuming it is a snow bunting, but I thought they had black bills.
Looking at the Sibley's guide it more closely resembled a McKay's bunting
because of the yellow bill and lesser amounts of black the McKay's has. I
would bet it is just a snow bunting with variation to have more white than
usual, or it was immature or in molt. 

Anyhow it is my first snow bunting, and thought I would share.

 

            -Mark W.

 

 

 
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Randi et al.,

Thank you all for your interest in the proposed development along the 
Erie Canal in Brighton.  Some time ago, I sent written comments to the 
various Brighton boards involved (town, conservation, planning).  My 
comments and the appendices to them are available on request.  The 
appendices include a list of about 85 bird species I have observed in 
the area over the years and a guest editorial I wrote in 1998 for the 
Brighton-Pittsford Post on the importance of the pastures as habitat for 
grassland birds.  If anyone else would like to submit comments, send a 
copy to the town board, care of Sandy Frankel, Supervisor, at 1600 
Elmwood Ave., Rochester, NY 14618.  For the conservation and planning 
boards, a copy should be sent, with an explanatory note, to Rick 
DiStefano at the same address.

Recently, I had a conversation with town board member Ray Tierney, who 
was campaigning for reelection.  He seemed to think that some sort of 
development is inevitable, although he held out the possibility of 
modifying the proposal.  The land is currently zoned medium density 
residential.  However, Costello's proposal would require rezoning to 
Waterfront Development District.  The proposal also would require 
variances for the present limits on the heights of buildings in Brighton 
and on the current limit for the density of development.

For the schedules and agendas of meetings of the various boards, go to 
http://www.townofbrighton.org .  The next planning board meeting is on 
Oct. 24 at 7:30 PM.  However, this development proposal is not on the 
agenda.

Jay Greenberg 
Rochester, NY


Randi Minetor wrote:

> Jay and everyone,
>
> A few weeks ago, I attended a Brighton town planning board meeting at  
> which Costello presented its plan for the 63 acres of remaining  
> pastureland from South Winton Road to South Clinton Avenue, along  
> 390. I was there on other business, but I heard the presentation.
>
> The Costello proposal includes a plan to completely develop the land  
> along the canal into parkland, removing all of the habitat--which the  
> Costello representative referred to alternately as "weeds" and  
> "nothing" --and replacing it with boat launches, benches and mowed  
> grass.  They say that this is necessary because the canal has leakage  
> issues here, caused in part by the trees that draw water out of the  
> canal in this area, causing a wetland to develop.  The work they plan  
> to do here will shore up the canal and fix the leakage issue.
>
> At one point, one of the planning board members objected to the  
> removal of all of this habitat.  The Costello representative was  
> incredulous.  "When people come down the canal on boats," he said,  
> "they want to see something.  They don't want to look at just nothing!"
>
> The planning board member exclaimed, "'Nothing' is in the eye of the  
> beholder.  Many people want to see that open, undeveloped, natural  
> land."
>
> The Costello representative was clearly stunned by this idea, and his  
> expression indicated that he thought the planning board member didn't  
> know what the heck he was talking about.
>
> While I realize that development of this land is close to being a  
> foregone conclusion, I do wish that the environmentally conscious  
> community had a say in this process.  If there's a public hearing, we  
> should attend.  I think it will make no difference, but at least we  
> would be heard by the planning board, if not by the Costello  
> organization.
>
> Randi
>
> Randi Minetor
> randi AT minetor.com
>
> On Oct 17, 2007, at 5:15 PM, Jay Greenberg wrote:
>
>> On Oct. 15, starting at about 5:15 PM, I took a stroll along the  
>> Erie Canal in Brighton between S. Clinton Ave. and Winton Rd.   There 
>> was much bird activity and a good variety of species.   Sparrows: 
>> song, white-crowned (many), white-throated, field, dark- eyed junco.  
>> Warblers: palm, yellow-rumped.  Kinglets:  golden- crowned, 
>> ruby-crowned.  Hawks: red-tailed, possible Cooper's.   Woodpeckers: 
>> flicker, red-bellied, downy.  There were many robins,  and many other 
>> year around residents.  The canal path is just  loaded with trees and 
>> shrubs having fruits and berries.
>>
>> This is the area where there is a proposal for a huge new 63 acre  
>> development by A. J. Costello and Son.  It would go right up to the  
>> canal and obliterate the remaining former pastures.
>> -- 
>> Jay Greenberg 
>> Rochester, NY
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GeneseeBirds-L mailing list  -  GeneseeBirds-L AT geneseo.edu
>> http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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On Thursday 10/18/07 between about 8:30 AM and 9 AM I observed at least 14 
Brant (Eric Labato reported about 150 yesterday). I could not find any more. I 
got within about 40 yards of the Brant flock while they were feverously dining 
on grass and got some decent photos. 


Yesterday late morning and early afternoon I looked for the Little Blue Heron 
at Braddock Bay with Kurt Fox but we had no joy. 


Jerry Lazarczyk
Grand Island NY



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Way to Go Randi,

I often bicycle through this area, we need less or no boats not more.  The
area should be made forever green.  Let me know what I can do to help.
Anybody that is interested in working to take away the Pleasure Boat
Polluters with motors on our lakes let me know I would love to see a $5 per
gallon gas tax for the DEC developed.  Soapbox again......sorry.

tbdrew AT gmail.com

Tom




On 10/18/07, geneseebirds-l-request AT geneseo.edu <
geneseebirds-l-request AT geneseo.edu> wrote:
>
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> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of GeneseeBirds-L digest..."
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>
> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Re: Erie Canal in Brighton (Randi Minetor)
>   2. BOS October Count - Section 3 (Willie D'Anna and Betsy Potter)
>   3. RE: Erie Canal in Brighton (Richard Guthrie)
>   4. Brant yes, Little Blue Heron no (Eric Labato)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:09:
> From: Randi Minetor 
> Subject: Re: [GeneseeBirds-L] Erie Canal in Brighton
> To: conservationist AT earthlink.net
> Cc: GENESEEBIRDS-L 
> Message-ID: <5B8B52DF-1BFA-4305-A719-DE15FE13E657 AT minetor.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
> Jay and everyone,
>
> A few weeks ago, I attended a Brighton town planning board meeting at
> which Costello presented its plan for the 63 acres of remaining
> pastureland from South Winton Road to South Clinton Avenue, along
> 390. I was there on other business, but I heard the presentation.
>
> The Costello proposal includes a plan to completely develop the land
> along the canal into parkland, removing all of the habitat--which the
> Costello representative referred to alternately as "weeds" and
> "nothing" --and replacing it with boat launches, benches and mowed
> grass.  They say that this is necessary because the canal has leakage
> issues here, caused in part by the trees that draw water out of the
> canal in this area, causing a wetland to develop.  The work they plan
> to do here will shore up the canal and fix the leakage issue.
>
> At one point, one of the planning board members objected to the
> removal of all of this habitat.  The Costello representative was
> incredulous.  "When people come down the canal on boats," he said,
> "they want to see something.  They don't want to look at just nothing!"
>
> The planning board member exclaimed, "'Nothing' is in the eye of the
> beholder.  Many people want to see that open, undeveloped, natural
> land."
>
> The Costello representative was clearly stunned by this idea, and his
> expression indicated that he thought the planning board member didn't
> know what the heck he was talking about.
>
> While I realize that development of this land is close to being a
> foregone conclusion, I do wish that the environmentally conscious
> community had a say in this process.  If there's a public hearing, we
> should attend.  I think it will make no difference, but at least we
> would be heard by the planning board, if not by the Costello
> organization.
>
> Randi
>
> Randi Minetor
> randi AT minetor.com
>
> On Oct 17, 2007, at 5:15 PM, Jay Greenberg wrote:
>
> > On Oct. 15, starting at about 5:15 PM, I took a stroll along the
> > Erie Canal in Brighton between S. Clinton Ave. and Winton Rd.
> > There was much bird activity and a good variety of species.
> > Sparrows: song, white-crowned (many), white-throated, field, dark-
> > eyed junco.  Warblers: palm, yellow-rumped.  Kinglets:  golden-
> > crowned, ruby-crowned.  Hawks: red-tailed, possible Cooper's.
> > Woodpeckers: flicker, red-bellied, downy.  There were many robins,
> > and many other year around residents.  The canal path is just
> > loaded with trees and shrubs having fruits and berries.
> >
> > This is the area where there is a proposal for a huge new 63 acre
> > development by A. J. Costello and Son.  It would go right up to the
> > canal and obliterate the remaining former pastures.
> > --
> > Jay Greenberg 
> > Rochester, NY
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > GeneseeBirds-L mailing list  -  GeneseeBirds-L AT geneseo.edu
> > http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:27:
> From: "Willie D'Anna and Betsy Potter" 
> Subject: [GeneseeBirds-L] BOS October Count - Section 3
> To: ,       "Suggs, David" <
> DFSuggs AT Verizon.net>
> Message-ID: <.ZEKB26917.mta9.adelphia.net AT STUDY>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
>
> This is a late report about Section 3 on the BOS October Count this past
> Sunday, October 14th.  This section is bounded by the Niagara River, Lake
> Ontario, Rt 78, and Rt 31.  Five observers (Bill Broderick, Ken Cohen,
> Vicki
> Rothman, Betsy Potter, Willie D'Anna) in three separate parties tallied 85
> species and 9668 individuals.  I have included the entire list with high
> counts and better sightings for this section capitalized:
>
> Red-thr. Loon 1
> Common Loon 29
> Pied-b. Grebe 2
> Horned Grebe 2
> D.-c. Cormorant 41
>
> Great Blue Heron 13
> Turkey Vulture 22
> Canada Goose 473
> Wood Duck 16
> GADWALL 3
>
> Amer. Wigeon 12
> Amer. Black Duck 7
> Mallard 195
> Green-w. Teal 2
> Ring-neck. Duck 1
>
> Lesser Scaup 3
> Scaup species 1
> SURF SCOTER 14
> White-winged Scoter 162
> Long-tailed Duck 7
>
> Red-br. Merg. 15
> Unidentified ducks 60
> OSPREY 1
> BALD EAGLE 1
> No. Harrier 1
>
> Sharp-sh. Hawk 2
> Cooper's Hawk 2
> Red-tailed Hawk 11
> Amer. Kestrel 3
> Killdeer 13
>
> GREATER YELLOWLEGS 4
> LESSER YELLOWLEGS 5
> Bonaparte's Gull 22
> Ring-billed Gull 375
> Herring Gull 19
>
> Rock Dove 70
> Mourning Dove 255
> E. Screech-Owl 3
> Great Horned Owl 5
> Belted Kingfisher 2
>
> RED-BELL. WDPKR. 23
> Yel.-bel. Sapsucker 4
> Downy Wdpkr. 18
> Hairy Wdpkr. 5
> No. Flicker 13
>
> PILEATED WOODPECKER. 1
> E. Phoebe 4
> Blue-headed Vireo 1
> Red-eyed Vireo 1
> Blue Jay 94
>
> Amer. Crow 111
> Bl.-cap. Chickadee 47
> Tufted Titmouse 4
> RED-BR. NUTHATCH 13
> White-br. Nuthatch 9
>
> Brown Creeper 4
> Carolina Wren 1
> Winter Wren 5
> Golden-cr. Kinglet 59
> Ruby-cr. Kinglet 38
>
> E. Bluebird 12
> Hermit Thrush 12
> Amer. Robin 349
> No. Mockingbird 2
> Euro. Starling 4985
>
> AMER. PIPIT 200
> Yellow-rump. Warbler 24
> E. Towhee 1
> AMER. TREE SPARROW 1
> Chipping Sparrow 14
>
> Field Sparrow 6
> Savannah Sparrow 1
> Song Sparrow 24
> LINCOLN'S SPARROW 1
> Swamp Sparrow 2
>
> White-thr. Sparrow 90
> White-cr. Sparrow 16
> Dark-eyed Junco 120
> No. Cardinal 18
> Red-w. Blackbird 63
>
> RUSTY BLACKBIRD 65
> Common Grackle 1000
> Brown-headed Cowbird 180
> Purple Finch 3
> House Finch 21
>
> Amer. Goldfinch 75
> House Sparrow 53
>
> Good birding!
> Willie
> ----------
> Willie D'Anna
> Betsy Potter
> Wilson, NY
> dannapotterATroadrunner.com
> http://www.betsypottersart.com
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:02:
> From: "Richard Guthrie" 
> Subject: RE: [GeneseeBirds-L] Erie Canal in Brighton
> To: "'Randi Minetor'" ,
>        
> Cc: 'GENESEEBIRDS-L' 
> Message-ID: <002401c8112a$eb438af0$0301a8c0 AT Richard>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
>
> If the project is currently under planning board review, then it's not too
> late to comment on the project. If that was a public hearing, then there
> will be at least a 14-day written comment period following the hearing.
>
> I would urge you to contact the planning board clerk and determine what
> stage of review the project is under. Then ask when the comment period
> ends.
>
> There may also be a SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) comment
> period in play also. That may or may not have commenced. Ask the planning
> board clerk if that's the case also. They may or may not be one and the
> same.
>
> It sounds that at least one board member is thinking outside the usual
> developer orientated box Your comments are warranted and I am sure will be
> welcomed by the planning board members..
>
> Good for you. Go for it!
>
> Rich Guthrie
> gaeltic AT capital.net
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: geneseebirds-l-bounces AT geneseo.edu
> [mailto:geneseebirds-l-bounces AT geneseo.edu] On Behalf Of Randi Minetor
> Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 8:10 PM
> To: conservationist AT earthlink.net
> Cc: GENESEEBIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: [GeneseeBirds-L] Erie Canal in Brighton
>
> Jay and everyone,
>
> A few weeks ago, I attended a Brighton town planning board meeting at
> which Costello presented its plan for the 63 acres of remaining
> pastureland from South Winton Road to South Clinton Avenue, along
> 390. I was there on other business, but I heard the presentation.
>
> The Costello proposal includes a plan to completely develop the land
> along the canal into parkland, removing all of the habitat--which the
> Costello representative referred to alternately as "weeds" and
> "nothing" --and replacing it with boat launches, benches and mowed
> grass.  They say that this is necessary because the canal has leakage
> issues here, caused in part by the trees that draw water out of the
> canal in this area, causing a wetland to develop.  The work they plan
> to do here will shore up the canal and fix the leakage issue.
>
> At one point, one of the planning board members objected to the
> removal of all of this habitat.  The Costello representative was
> incredulous.  "When people come down the canal on boats," he said,
> "they want to see something.  They don't want to look at just nothing!"
>
> The planning board member exclaimed, "'Nothing' is in the eye of the
> beholder.  Many people want to see that open, undeveloped, natural
> land."
>
> The Costello representative was clearly stunned by this idea, and his
> expression indicated that he thought the planning board member didn't
> know what the heck he was talking about.
>
> While I realize that development of this land is close to being a
> foregone conclusion, I do wish that the environmentally conscious
> community had a say in this process.  If there's a public hearing, we
> should attend.  I think it will make no difference, but at least we
> would be heard by the planning board, if not by the Costello
> organization.
>
> Randi
>
> Randi Minetor
> randi AT minetor.com
>
> On Oct 17, 2007, at 5:15 PM, Jay Greenberg wrote:
>
> > On Oct. 15, starting at about 5:15 PM, I took a stroll along the
> > Erie Canal in Brighton between S. Clinton Ave. and Winton Rd.
> > There was much bird activity and a good variety of species.
> > Sparrows: song, white-crowned (many), white-throated, field, dark-
> > eyed junco.  Warblers: palm, yellow-rumped.  Kinglets:  golden-
> > crowned, ruby-crowned.  Hawks: red-tailed, possible Cooper's.
> > Woodpeckers: flicker, red-bellied, downy.  There were many robins,
> > and many other year around residents.  The canal path is just
> > loaded with trees and shrubs having fruits and berries.
> >
> > This is the area where there is a proposal for a huge new 63 acre
> > development by A. J. Costello and Son.  It would go right up to the
> > canal and obliterate the remaining former pastures.
> > --
> > Jay Greenberg 
> > Rochester, NY
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > GeneseeBirds-L mailing list  -  GeneseeBirds-L AT geneseo.edu
> > http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GeneseeBirds-L mailing list  -  GeneseeBirds-L AT geneseo.edu
> http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:27:
> From: "Eric Labato" 
> Subject: [GeneseeBirds-L] Brant yes, Little Blue Heron no
> To: 
> Message-ID: <3182E24291D54431A94B40585D77E384 AT EricPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> I went after 2 state birds today.  I got one, but missed the other.  I
> checked for the Little Blue Heron from both the Bay Restaurant and the
> Paddle Sports Parking lots and was unable to locate it.  The flock of Brant
> were at still at Fort Niagara State Park late this afternoon.  It was a
> treat to see them on land and at such close range (that is until some guy
> decided to play ball with his dogs at the spot where the geese were feeding
> and scared them into the lake.)  I counted 150 birds when they were sitting
> on the water.  The Brant stayed just a few yards offshore and I got the
> impression they were waiting for the dogs to leave so they could come out of
> the water and resume feeding.  I think there is a good chance they will
> still be around Thursday.   The light was poor but I managed a few
> acceptable digiscoped shots of the Brant.  If anybody wants to see them here
> is the link:
>
> http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561080555HPkNtO
>
> Eric Labato
> Grand Island, NY
> -------------- next part --------------
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> 
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>
> ------------------------------
>
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> http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l
>
> End of GeneseeBirds-L Digest, Vol 51, Issue 24
> **********************************************
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Randi and All,
    In addition to the usual "residential", "business"  and "industrial" 
zoning districts, a category exists which is called "Planned Development". This 

zoning style gives a municipality a bit of  latitude in directing certain 
aspects of a proposed development. If this designation does not already apply 
to 

the parcel along the Erie canal, I believe  either the Planning, Zoning or 
Town Board can make a decision to apply it.  
    That done, the various boards reviewing the  Costello proposal should be 
able to specify landscaping (planting or  retention of shrubs and trees with 
fruits and berries to preserve habitat),  lighting, and other aspects of the 
design.  It would be a compromise, but  certainly preferable to clearing 
vegetation to make way for a mown lawn! 
    It has been a few years since I was involved with  my town planning board 
and NYS zoning law may have changed, so this advice may  be outdated.  Still, 
it might be worth your while to explore whether  Brighton can apply "Planned 
Development" to this particular parcel.
Regards,
Anne Roth-Blizzard
    
 
In a message dated 10/18/2007 3:01:45 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
geneseebirds-l-request AT geneseo.edu writes:

Message:  3
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:02:
From: "Richard Guthrie"  
Subject: RE: [GeneseeBirds-L] Erie Canal in  Brighton
To: "'Randi Minetor'" ,

Cc: 'GENESEEBIRDS-L'  
Message-ID:  <002401c8112a$eb438af0$0301a8c0 AT Richard>
Content-Type:  text/plain;    charset="us-ascii"

If the project is currently  under planning board review, then it's not too
late to comment on the  project. If that was a public hearing, then there
will be at least a 14-day  written comment period following the hearing. 

I would urge you to  contact the planning board clerk and determine what
stage of review the  project is under. Then ask when the comment period ends.

There may also  be a SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) comment
period in play  also. That may or may not have commenced. Ask the planning
board clerk if  that's the case also. They may or may not be one and the
same.

It  sounds that at least one board member is thinking outside the  usual
developer orientated box Your comments are warranted and I am sure  will be
welcomed by the planning board members.. 

Good for you. Go  for it!

Rich Guthrie
gaeltic AT capital.net


-----Original  Message-----
From:  geneseebirds-l-bounces AT geneseo.edu
[mailto:geneseebirds-l-bounces AT geneseo.edu]  On Behalf Of Randi Minetor
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 8:10 PM
To:  conservationist AT earthlink.net
Cc: GENESEEBIRDS-L
Subject: Re:  [GeneseeBirds-L] Erie Canal in Brighton

Jay and everyone,

A few  weeks ago, I attended a Brighton town planning board meeting at   
which Costello presented its plan for the 63 acres of remaining   
pastureland from South Winton Road to South Clinton Avenue, along   
390. I was there on other business, but I heard the  presentation.

The Costello proposal includes a plan to completely  develop the land  
along the canal into parkland, removing all of the  habitat--which the  
Costello representative referred to alternately  as "weeds" and  
"nothing" --and replacing it with boat launches,  benches and mowed  
grass.  They say that this is necessary  because the canal has leakage  
issues here, caused in part by the  trees that draw water out of the  
canal in this area, causing a  wetland to develop.  The work they plan  
to do here will shore  up the canal and fix the leakage issue.

At one point, one of the  planning board members objected to the  
removal of all of this  habitat.  The Costello representative was  
incredulous.   "When people come down the canal on boats," he said,  
"they want to  see something.  They don't want to look at just nothing!"

The  planning board member exclaimed, "'Nothing' is in the eye of the   
beholder.  Many people want to see that open, undeveloped,  natural  
land."

The Costello representative was clearly  stunned by this idea, and his  
expression indicated that he thought  the planning board member didn't  
know what the heck he was talking  about.

While I realize that development of this land is close to being  a  
foregone conclusion, I do wish that the environmentally  conscious  
community had a say in this process.  If there's a  public hearing, we  
should attend.  I think it will make no  difference, but at least we  
would be heard by the planning board, if  not by the Costello  
organization.

Randi  Minetor
randi AT minetor.com

On Oct 17, 2007, at 5:15 PM, Jay Greenberg  wrote:

> On Oct. 15, starting at about 5:15 PM, I took a stroll  along the  
> Erie Canal in Brighton between S. Clinton Ave. and  Winton Rd.   
> There was much bird activity and a good  variety of species.   
> Sparrows: song, white-crowned (many),  white-throated, field, dark- 
> eyed junco.  Warblers: palm,  yellow-rumped.  Kinglets:  golden- 
> crowned,  ruby-crowned.  Hawks: red-tailed, possible Cooper's.   
>  Woodpeckers: flicker, red-bellied, downy.  There were many robins,   
> and many other year around residents.  The canal path is  just  
> loaded with trees and shrubs having fruits and  berries.
>
> This is the area where there is a proposal for a huge  new 63 acre  
> development by A. J. Costello and Son.  It  would go right up to the  
> canal and obliterate the remaining  former pastures.
> -- 
> Jay Greenberg  
> Rochester,  NY


 



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com_______________________________________________
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I went after 2 state birds today. I got one, but missed the other. I checked 
for the Little Blue Heron from both the Bay Restaurant and the Paddle Sports 
Parking lots and was unable to locate it. The flock of Brant were at still at 
Fort Niagara State Park late this afternoon. It was a treat to see them on land 
and at such close range (that is until some guy decided to play ball with his 
dogs at the spot where the geese were feeding and scared them into the lake.) I 
counted 150 birds when they were sitting on the water. The Brant stayed just a 
few yards offshore and I got the impression they were waiting for the dogs to 
leave so they could come out of the water and resume feeding. I think there is 
a good chance they will still be around Thursday. The light was poor but I 
managed a few acceptable digiscoped shots of the Brant. If anybody wants to see 
them here is the link: 


http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561080555HPkNtO

Eric Labato
Grand Island, NY_______________________________________________
GeneseeBirds-L mailing list  -  GeneseeBirds-L AT geneseo.edu
http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l

If the project is currently under planning board review, then it's not too
late to comment on the project. If that was a public hearing, then there
will be at least a 14-day written comment period following the hearing. 

I would urge you to contact the planning board clerk and determine what
stage of review the project is under. Then ask when the comment period ends.

There may also be a SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) comment
period in play also. That may or may not have commenced. Ask the planning
board clerk if that's the case also. They may or may not be one and the
same.

It sounds that at least one board member is thinking outside the usual
developer orientated box Your comments are warranted and I am sure will be
welcomed by the planning board members.. 

Good for you. Go for it!

Rich Guthrie
gaeltic AT capital.net


-----Original Message-----
From: geneseebirds-l-bounces AT geneseo.edu
[mailto:geneseebirds-l-bounces AT geneseo.edu] On Behalf Of Randi Minetor
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 8:10 PM
To: conservationist AT earthlink.net
Cc: GENESEEBIRDS-L
Subject: Re: [GeneseeBirds-L] Erie Canal in Brighton

Jay and everyone,

A few weeks ago, I attended a Brighton town planning board meeting at  
which Costello presented its plan for the 63 acres of remaining  
pastureland from South Winton Road to South Clinton Avenue, along  
390. I was there on other business, but I heard the presentation.

The Costello proposal includes a plan to completely develop the land  
along the canal into parkland, removing all of the habitat--which the  
Costello representative referred to alternately as "weeds" and  
"nothing" --and replacing it with boat launches, benches and mowed  
grass.  They say that this is necessary because the canal has leakage  
issues here, caused in part by the trees that draw water out of the  
canal in this area, causing a wetland to develop.  The work they plan  
to do here will shore up the canal and fix the leakage issue.

At one point, one of the planning board members objected to the  
removal of all of this habitat.  The Costello representative was  
incredulous.  "When people come down the canal on boats," he said,  
"they want to see something.  They don't want to look at just nothing!"

The planning board member exclaimed, "'Nothing' is in the eye of the  
beholder.  Many people want to see that open, undeveloped, natural  
land."

The Costello representative was clearly stunned by this idea, and his  
expression indicated that he thought the planning board member didn't  
know what the heck he was talking about.

While I realize that development of this land is close to being a  
foregone conclusion, I do wish that the environmentally conscious  
community had a say in this process.  If there's a public hearing, we  
should attend.  I think it will make no difference, but at least we  
would be heard by the planning board, if not by the Costello  
organization.

Randi

Randi Minetor
randi AT minetor.com

On Oct 17, 2007, at 5:15 PM, Jay Greenberg wrote:

> On Oct. 15, starting at about 5:15 PM, I took a stroll along the  
> Erie Canal in Brighton between S. Clinton Ave. and Winton Rd.   
> There was much bird activity and a good variety of species.   
> Sparrows: song, white-crowned (many), white-throated, field, dark- 
> eyed junco.  Warblers: palm, yellow-rumped.  Kinglets:  golden- 
> crowned, ruby-crowned.  Hawks: red-tailed, possible Cooper's.   
> Woodpeckers: flicker, red-bellied, downy.  There were many robins,  
> and many other year around residents.  The canal path is just  
> loaded with trees and shrubs having fruits and berries.
>
> This is the area where there is a proposal for a huge new 63 acre  
> development by A. J. Costello and Son.  It would go right up to the  
> canal and obliterate the remaining former pastures.
> -- 
> Jay Greenberg 
> Rochester, NY
>
> _______________________________________________
> GeneseeBirds-L mailing list  -  GeneseeBirds-L AT geneseo.edu
> http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l


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This is a late report about Section 3 on the BOS October Count this past
Sunday, October 14th.  This section is bounded by the Niagara River, Lake
Ontario, Rt 78, and Rt 31.  Five observers (Bill Broderick, Ken Cohen, Vicki
Rothman, Betsy Potter, Willie D'Anna) in three separate parties tallied 85
species and 9668 individuals.  I have included the entire list with high
counts and better sightings for this section capitalized:
 
Red-thr. Loon 1
Common Loon 29
Pied-b. Grebe 2
Horned Grebe 2
D.-c. Cormorant 41
 
Great Blue Heron 13
Turkey Vulture 22
Canada Goose 473
Wood Duck 16
GADWALL 3
 
Amer. Wigeon 12
Amer. Black Duck 7
Mallard 195
Green-w. Teal 2
Ring-neck. Duck 1
 
Lesser Scaup 3
Scaup species 1
SURF SCOTER 14
White-winged Scoter 162
Long-tailed Duck 7
 
Red-br. Merg. 15
Unidentified ducks 60
OSPREY 1
BALD EAGLE 1
No. Harrier 1
 
Sharp-sh. Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 11
Amer. Kestrel 3
Killdeer 13
 
GREATER YELLOWLEGS 4
LESSER YELLOWLEGS 5
Bonaparte's Gull 22
Ring-billed Gull 375
Herring Gull 19
 
Rock Dove 70
Mourning Dove 255
E. Screech-Owl 3
Great Horned Owl 5
Belted Kingfisher 2
 
RED-BELL. WDPKR. 23
Yel.-bel. Sapsucker 4
Downy Wdpkr. 18
Hairy Wdpkr. 5
No. Flicker 13
 
PILEATED WOODPECKER. 1
E. Phoebe 4
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 94
 
Amer. Crow 111
Bl.-cap. Chickadee 47
Tufted Titmouse 4
RED-BR. NUTHATCH 13
White-br. Nuthatch 9
 
Brown Creeper 4
Carolina Wren 1
Winter Wren 5
Golden-cr. Kinglet 59
Ruby-cr. Kinglet 38
 
E. Bluebird 12
Hermit Thrush 12
Amer. Robin 349
No. Mockingbird 2
Euro. Starling 4985
 
AMER. PIPIT 200
Yellow-rump. Warbler 24
E. Towhee 1
AMER. TREE SPARROW 1
Chipping Sparrow 14
 
Field Sparrow 6
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 24
LINCOLN'S SPARROW 1
Swamp Sparrow 2
 
White-thr. Sparrow 90
White-cr. Sparrow 16
Dark-eyed Junco 120
No. Cardinal 18
Red-w. Blackbird 63
 
RUSTY BLACKBIRD 65
Common Grackle 1000
Brown-headed Cowbird 180
Purple Finch 3
House Finch 21
 
Amer. Goldfinch 75
House Sparrow 53
 
Good birding!
Willie
----------
Willie D'Anna
Betsy Potter
Wilson, NY
dannapotterATroadrunner.com
http://www.betsypottersart.com



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Jay and everyone,

A few weeks ago, I attended a Brighton town planning board meeting at  
which Costello presented its plan for the 63 acres of remaining  
pastureland from South Winton Road to South Clinton Avenue, along  
390. I was there on other business, but I heard the presentation.

The Costello proposal includes a plan to completely develop the land  
along the canal into parkland, removing all of the habitat--which the  
Costello representative referred to alternately as "weeds" and  
"nothing" --and replacing it with boat launches, benches and mowed  
grass.  They say that this is necessary because the canal has leakage  
issues here, caused in part by the trees that draw water out of the  
canal in this area, causing a wetland to develop.  The work they plan  
to do here will shore up the canal and fix the leakage issue.

At one point, one of the planning board members objected to the  
removal of all of this habitat.  The Costello representative was  
incredulous.  "When people come down the canal on boats," he said,  
"they want to see something.  They don't want to look at just nothing!"

The planning board member exclaimed, "'Nothing' is in the eye of the  
beholder.  Many people want to see that open, undeveloped, natural  
land."

The Costello representative was clearly stunned by this idea, and his  
expression indicated that he thought the planning board member didn't  
know what the heck he was talking about.

While I realize that development of this land is close to being a  
foregone conclusion, I do wish that the environmentally conscious  
community had a say in this process.  If there's a public hearing, we  
should attend.  I think it will make no difference, but at least we  
would be heard by the planning board, if not by the Costello  
organization.

Randi

Randi Minetor
randi AT minetor.com

On Oct 17, 2007, at 5:15 PM, Jay Greenberg wrote:

> On Oct. 15, starting at about 5:15 PM, I took a stroll along the  
> Erie Canal in Brighton between S. Clinton Ave. and Winton Rd.   
> There was much bird activity and a good variety of species.   
> Sparrows: song, white-crowned (many), white-throated, field, dark- 
> eyed junco.  Warblers: palm, yellow-rumped.  Kinglets:  golden- 
> crowned, ruby-crowned.  Hawks: red-tailed, possible Cooper's.   
> Woodpeckers: flicker, red-bellied, downy.  There were many robins,  
> and many other year around residents.  The canal path is just  
> loaded with trees and shrubs having fruits and berries.
>
> This is the area where there is a proposal for a huge new 63 acre  
> development by A. J. Costello and Son.  It would go right up to the  
> canal and obliterate the remaining former pastures.
> -- 
> Jay Greenberg 
> Rochester, NY
>
> _______________________________________________
> GeneseeBirds-L mailing list  -  GeneseeBirds-L AT geneseo.edu
> http://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l


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I decided to take a trip to try and catch the Allegedly Rufous 
Hummingbird today - and she (the female, previously described as 
immature) came quickly to the nearest feeder and gave us (Larry and 
Pamela, I think...so bad with names) great looks, including a nice 
wing-spread and a head-tilt.  Even better, though, was the fact that 
Erin from BBBO came out to band and measure this little bird!  Based 
on her measurements, she identified this bird as a Female Rufous 
Hummingbird.  She also reported no clear indications that this was a 
hatch-year bird.

If I remember correctly, this little gal was banded #53.

We didn't see the male today.

I'm right now uploading some pictures from the banding to Picasa:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kimberly.sucy/RufousHummingbird53

What a fabulous treat!  Thanks so much to Larry for his hospitality 
and baggies for the stray feathers, and to Erin for giving us such a 
unique look at this little gem!

-kimberly

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On Oct. 15, starting at about 5:15 PM, I took a stroll along the Erie 
Canal in Brighton between S. Clinton Ave. and Winton Rd.  There was much 
bird activity and a good variety of species.  Sparrows: song, 
white-crowned (many), white-throated, field, dark-eyed junco.  Warblers: 
palm, yellow-rumped.  Kinglets:  golden-crowned, ruby-crowned.  Hawks: 
red-tailed, possible Cooper's.  Woodpeckers: flicker, red-bellied, 
downy.  There were many robins, and many other year around residents.  
The canal path is just loaded with trees and shrubs having fruits and 
berries.

This is the area where there is a proposal for a huge new 63 acre 
development by A. J. Costello and Son.  It would go right up to the 
canal and obliterate the remaining former pastures.
-- 
Jay Greenberg 
Rochester, NY

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After receiving some comments on the identification of the Hummingbird  in 
Houghton, Allegany County, it appears that based on current observations and  
photos, it is not identifiable to species, and at this point should be labeled 

as a SELASAPHORUS (RUFOUS/ALLEN'S) HUMMINGBIRD.  Despite the  fact that the 
width of the outer tail feathers suggests Rufous Hummingbird (not  to mention 
the likelihood), there is much variation in this feature and  only tenths of 
millimeters apparently separates the extremes between the  two species.  With 
that said, I encourage observers to take  photographs of the bird and try to 
closely observe the innermost tail feathers hoping to catch whether or not 
there 

is notching on the R2's  (the two feathers next to the innermost tail 
feather).  The presence of  notching on R2 would confirm the bird as a Rufous, 
although no notching does not necessarily confirm Allen's, since apparently 
small 

numbers of Rufous lack notching (fide Allen Chartier). Either way a nice bird, 

and one which I  hope many others will fortunate enough to see.
 
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com

After receiving some comments on the identification of the Hummingbird  in 
Houghton, Allegany County, it appears that based on current observations and  
photos, it is not identifiable to species, and at this point should be labeled 

as a SELASAPHORUS (RUFOUS/ALLEN'S) HUMMINGBIRD.  Despite the  fact that the 
width of the outer tail feathers suggests Rufous Hummingbird (not  to mention 
the likelihood), there is much variation in this feature and  only tenths of 
millimeters apparently separates the extremes between the  two species.  With 
that said, I encourage observers to take  photographs of the bird and try to 
closely observe the innermost tail feathers hoping to catch whether or not 
there 

is notching on the R2's  (the two feathers next to the innermost tail 
feather).  The presence of  notching on R2 would confirm the bird as a Rufous, 
although no notching does not necessarily confirm Allen's, since apparently 
small 

numbers of Rufous lack notching (fide Allen Chartier). Either way a nice bird, 

and one which I  hope many others will fortunate enough to see.
 
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY



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10-14 Olcott -
  1 - 3 Jaegers (1or 2 light ad. - Pom?)
  1+ RT Loon
  5 Killdeer (flock - came across lake?)
   
  Golden Hill SP -
  6 Surf Scoters
   
  Nia.-Orleans County Line Rd. -
  5 Snows
  2 Blues
   
  Goose Pond (OOWMA) -
  2 LYlegs
  5 Snipe
  Rusties singing...
   
  Windmill -
  ~ 40 G(all?)Ylegs
   
  Lewiston Overlook -
  12 L(all?)Ylegs
  1 Peep
  9 Egrets
  Rusties singing...
   
  Peter, Barbara

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The Ross's Goose that Mike Morgante found in Bennington township in Wyoming 
County was a county first.


Jim P. writes:

"addition were 1 juv. GREAT BLACK-BACKED  GULL and 2 adult LESSER 
BLACK-BACKED GULLS.  To to our knowledge  the latter two are first Allegany 
Co. records."

While the LBB Gulls may be county firsts (not sure), Vivian Pitzrick had 
the county first GBB Gull about 5-8 years back, I believe on Alma Pond.

Kurt Fox
Alexander, NY





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During Sunday's BOS October count in Section 8,  Doug Happ and I had three
Sandhill Cranes in the Port Colborne area on the east side of Miller Rd.,
just north of Third Concession. There were two adults and one immature bird
feeding in a soy bean field that was being harvested. Someone from the farm
said they had been around for about a week.

Sorry for the late post but the initial one was rejected due to my e-mail 
address change.

Mike Zebehazy
Orchard Park, NY
zebs AT roadrunner.com



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I was in the area of Fort Niagara State Park and decided to stop by to see if 
there was anything out on the lake. I was rewarded with very nice looks at a 
group of about 100 Brant on the grass down by the shoreline. They were hanging 
around with a similar number of Canada Geese. They were seen from the parking 
lot immediately inside the park (not the lot for the fort itself). 
Incidentally, this sighting was a lifer for me so I was very excited to see 
them so close. I didn't have my scope but I did spot three Horned Grebes out on 
the lake along with five Common Mergansers. 


Earlier in the day, as I was heading north on the northernmost Grand Island 
bridge (if that makes any sense), there was a Peregrine flying quite low over 
the top of the bridge. I assumed that it is one of the birds from the nest this 
year. 


Yesterday I stopped by Beaver Island for a couple hours and was happy with the 
diversity of songbirds that were still present. Three warbler species - many 
Yellow-Rumped, 1 Nashville, and 1 Orange-crowned that I had been looking for 
all of this fall season. A good sized group of Golden and Ruby Crowned Kinglets 
was present along with a Hermit Thrush, several Cedar Waxwings, and some D.E. 
Juncos. As I was leaving Grand Island heading south I saw a large flock of 
Grackles flying over the river in one of those long, shape changing groups that 
Starlings are so famous for. There had to be 500+ birds and it was the largest 
collection of Grackles that I've ever come across. 



Joe Mitchell

Buffalo


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Hello!

We have been getting a RB Nuthatch at our feeder recently.  This is not 
normal, as we don't really have the habitat normally.  My parents-in-
law in Henrietta have also reported one, the first time they have ever 
seen one.

I am in Texas now, and from reading their TEXBIRDS list, there is a big 
outbreak of RBNH sightings down here.  I wonder if we will see more 
than usual in WNY this winter?

Good birding!

Greg and Melissa Coniglio
Alden NY

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October 16 - Today Jerry Lazarczyk and I had the immature  female Rufous 
Hummingbird at Houghton (we did not see the male that was reported early in the 

day) and 4 White-winged Scoters and three American  Coots on Cuba Lake. We 
tried Cuba Lake for ducks at Brendan Klick's  suggestion. Cuba Lake is 
historically the best lake in the western Southern Tier for White-winged 
Scoters. 

 
Best Wishes for Great Birding,
Bill Watson
Tonawanda, NY
 
 



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October 16 - Today Jerry Lazarczyk and I had the immature  female Rufous 
Hummingbird at Houghton (we did not see the male that was reported early in the 

day) and 4 White-winged Scoters and three American  Coots on Cuba Lake. We 
tried Cuba Lake for ducks at Brendan Klick's  suggestion. Cuba Lake is 
historically the best lake in the western Southern Tier for White-winged 
Scoters. 

 
Best Wishes for Great Birding,
Bill Watson
Tonawanda, NY
 
 



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To provide credit where it's due, there was a slight observer mix-up/typo  in 
my message below.  The fifth observer to accompany us while watching the  
Rufous Hummer in Houghton, NY was Jack Hartwig, not Max Mason as previously  
posted.  My apologies to Jack.
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY
 
 
This afternoon, Bill Watson and I went in search of the reported RUFOUS  
HUMMINGBIRD(S) sighted by Larry Wilson since Oct. 10 at his  residence in 
Houghton, Allegany County. Along with Larry, Doug Beattie, and Max Mason, we 
were 

successful in observing an immature female RUFOUS  HUMMINGBIRD visiting the 
feeders and perching in various trees around the residence. Larry also 
described 

seeing an immature male  Selasaphorus Hummingbird visiting the feeders 
yesterday (Sunday) afternoon as well, but we did not have any luck seeing that 

individual today.  Photos  and close observation of the immature female hummer 
revealed broad tipped outer  tail feathers which leads us to believe it is 
appropriate to label the bird as a RUFOUS rather than Allen's Hummingbird; 
though 

photos will be sent out for  further insights.   In addition to visiting the 
feeders and perching in a nearby tree, we watched it feed on apples (either for 

apple juice or  insects) in nearby apple trees, as well as nectar at  flowers 
around the yard and across the street.  Also seen while  watching for the 
hummingbird were 3 COMMON RAVENS soaring and tumbling overhead, plus a NORTHERN 

MOCKINGBIRD.  Larry is open to visitors, and  welcomes those interested to 
check out his residence for the hummingbird(s). Calling ahead is not necessary, 

although it  could be helpful.  I copied Gerry Rising's excellent directions 
and  information below.
 
On a tip from Larry, Bill Watson and I checked out nearby Rushford  Lake in 
the early evening, and were rewarded with some good finds.  Towards  dusk, 
gulls began filing into the lake, and by the end of the evening we estimated 
2300 

gulls, the majority about an even split of Herring and  Ring-billed.  In 
addition were 1 juv. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL and 2 adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GU 

LLS. To to our knowledge the latter two are first Allegany Co. records. Also 

seen on the  lake were 4 Common Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebe, and American  
Coot.
 
Larry Wilson has reported 2 rufous hummingbirds coming to feeders at  his 
home in Houghton, NY. He lives at 9705 on Route 19 in the village. There is  a 
sign in front of his home: The Bird Feeder Shop. The two 
hummingbirds have  been coming sporadically for several days to feeders on 
either side of his barn  that can be seen from his driveway. You can contact 
Larry at .
 
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY




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To provide credit where it's due, there was a slight observer mix-up/typo  in 
my message below.  The fifth observer to accompany us while watching the  
Rufous Hummer in Houghton, NY was Jack Hartwig, not Max Mason as previously  
posted.  My apologies to Jack.
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY
 
 
This afternoon, Bill Watson and I went in search of the reported RUFOUS  
HUMMINGBIRD(S) sighted by Larry Wilson since Oct. 10 at his  residence in 
Houghton, Allegany County. Along with Larry, Doug Beattie, and Max Mason, we 
were 

successful in observing an immature female RUFOUS  HUMMINGBIRD visiting the 
feeders and perching in various trees around the residence. Larry also 
described 

seeing an immature male  Selasaphorus Hummingbird visiting the feeders 
yesterday (Sunday) afternoon as well, but we did not have any luck seeing that 

individual today.  Photos  and close observation of the immature female hummer 
revealed broad tipped outer  tail feathers which leads us to believe it is 
appropriate to label the bird as a RUFOUS rather than Allen's Hummingbird; 
though 

photos will be sent out for  further insights.   In addition to visiting the 
feeders and perching in a nearby tree, we watched it feed on apples (either for 

apple juice or  insects) in nearby apple trees, as well as nectar at  flowers 
around the yard and across the street.  Also seen while  watching for the 
hummingbird were 3 COMMON RAVENS soaring and tumbling overhead, plus a NORTHERN 

MOCKINGBIRD.  Larry is open to visitors, and  welcomes those interested to 
check out his residence for the hummingbird(s). Calling ahead is not necessary, 

although it  could be helpful.  I copied Gerry Rising's excellent directions 
and  information below.
 
On a tip from Larry, Bill Watson and I checked out nearby Rushford  Lake in 
the early evening, and were rewarded with some good finds.  Towards  dusk, 
gulls began filing into the lake, and by the end of the evening we estimated 
2300 

gulls, the majority about an even split of Herring and  Ring-billed.  In 
addition were 1 juv. GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL and 2 adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GU 

LLS. To to our knowledge the latter two are first Allegany Co. records. Also 

seen on the  lake were 4 Common Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebe, and American  
Coot.
 
Larry Wilson has reported 2 rufous hummingbirds coming to feeders at  his 
home in Houghton, NY. He lives at 9705 on Route 19 in the village. There is  a 
sign in front of his home: The Bird Feeder Shop. The two 
hummingbirds have  been coming sporadically for several days to feeders on 
either side of his barn  that can be seen from his driveway. You can contact 
Larry at .
 
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY




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 eBird lists will be pasted below to give totals of birds from the lakewatch 
area. No serious efforts were made to do counts of all birds on the water due 
to choppy lake. Lots of loons and Rb Mergansers out there. 

 10/15 was a bit disappointing, too nice. A couple of Snow Buntings passing was 
a local first for this fall. A check for the Little Blue Heron on Salmon Creek 
on the way home was successful. 

 10/16: An early appointment delayed me until 11:00, but good mix after that, 
including a close in passage of 600 Brant in one burst. Bill Symonds and others 
were out earlier and had about 1200+ Brant, 450 N. Pintail, and assorted other 
puddle ducks. Thus the Brant total was about 2000. Hoepfully others may have 
been watching to our east. It would be interesting to see how counts match when 
birds are really moving along the lakeshore. Several N. Harriers were noted 
flying straight in from crossing the lake. Wave noise made dtection of overhead 
passerines difficult. 


 The adult Parasitic Jaeger at about 11:20 provided an interesting keystone 
cops chase sequence - first it rose to attack a Ring-billed Gull; when it broke 
off, the Ring-billed Gull turned and chased it, but was easily eluded; then as 
the jaeger started to drift away, a Double-crested Cormorant jumped off the 
water and "shot" up at it, again easily eluded after which the jager flipped 
over and dove on the back of the cormorant's neck. The jaeger fianlly drifted 
out a bit and sat on the water too far out to be found in the chop and swells. 
Haven't seen a cormorant-jaeger interaction before. 


Location:     Hamlin Beach SP - Parking Area 4
Observation date:     10/15/07
Notes:     Fairly quiet day. Partly cloudy. Wind light.
Number of species:     42

Canada Goose     187
Mute Swan     1
American Black Duck     2
Mallard     12
Green-winged Teal     1
Greater Scaup     34
Lesser Scaup     117
Surf Scoter     32
White-winged Scoter     327
Black Scoter     7
Long-tailed Duck     67
Red-breasted Merganser     923
Red-throated Loon     7
Common Loon     274
Horned Grebe     42
Red-necked Grebe     15
Double-crested Cormorant     70
Northern Harrier     1
Black-bellied Plover     1
Bonaparte's Gull     38
Ring-billed Gull     X
Herring Gull     X
Great Black-backed Gull     4
Belted Kingfisher     1
Northern Flicker     2
Blue Jay     4
American Crow     15
Horned Lark     3
Black-capped Chickadee     1
Golden-crowned Kinglet     4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     3
American Robin     2
European Starling     15
American Pipit     2
Yellow-rumped Warbler     1
White-throated Sparrow     1
Lapland Longspur     2
Snow Bunting     2
House Finch     2
Pine Siskin     8
American Goldfinch     1
House Sparrow     5

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Location:     Hamlin Beach SP - Parking Area 4
Observation date:     10/16/07
Notes: There was a good Brant flight on for the morning. Others were there from 
about 7:30 and the Brant total was about 2000. Also good puddle ducks, with 
N.Pintail at 450. Bill Symonds has the overall total. Wind started just S of 
east and was a bit N of east by 11 AM. East winds at this time are good for 
Brant. 

Number of species:     26

Brant     728
Canada Goose     250
American Wigeon     5
American Black Duck     21
Mallard     36
Northern Shoveler     6
Northern Pintail     182
Green-winged Teal     17
Redhead     2
Greater Scaup     5
Lesser Scaup     6
White-winged Scoter     55
Long-tailed Duck     6
Common Merganser     12
Red-breasted Merganser     231
Red-throated Loon     10
Common Loon     15
Horned Grebe     3
Red-necked Grebe     4
Double-crested Cormorant     20
Northern Harrier     1
Bonaparte's Gull     2
Ring-billed Gull     X
Herring Gull     X
Great Black-backed Gull     1
Parasitic Jaeger     1

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Lesser-black Backed Gull is truly a great find for Allegany County. I would 
suggest people going down there to also check out Cuba Lake. Birdwise I have 
found much more activity there than Rushford Lake. I've had low hundreds of 
ducks at Cuba Lake on days where there is virtually nothing at Rushford Lake. 


Brendan 

>> On a tip from Larry, Bill Watson and I checked out nearby Rushford  Lake in 
the early evening, and were rewarded with some good finds.  Towards  dusk, 
gulls began filing into the lake, and by the end of the evening we estimated 
2300 

gulls, the majority about an even split of Herring and  Ring-billed.  In 
addition were 1 juv. GREAT BLACK-BACKED  GULL and 2 adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED 
GULLS. To to our knowledge the latter two are first Allegany Co. records. Also 

seen on the  lake were 4 Common Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebe, and American  
Coot.
 


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John Bounds and I went to look for the Little Blue Heron yesterday (Oct 15) 
afternoon. When we arrived we were greeted with a "very close fly by" from a 
Coopers Hawk who had been sitting on the wires when we pulled into the parking 
lot at "The Bay" restaurant. We observed 4 scopes set up along the edge of the 
parking lot so we had a good idea we'd see the heron. We did - it was foraging 
for food. While looking around at the shorebirds, John and I observed a RN 
Pheasant fly along the back edge and into the cattails. 


Patti Kocinski
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This afternoon, Bill Watson and I went in search of the reported RUFOUS  
HUMMINGBIRD(S) sighted by Larry Wilson since Oct. 10 at his  residence in 
Houghton, Allegany County. Along with Larry, Doug Beattie, and Max Mason, we 
were 

successful in observing an immature female RUFOUS  HUMMINGBIRD visiting the 
feeders and perching in various trees around the residence. Larry also 
described 

seeing an immature male  Selasaphorus Hummingbird visiting the feeders 
yesterday (Sunday) afternoon as well, but we did not have any luck seeing that 

individual  today.  Photos and close observation of the immature female hummer 
revealed  broad tipped outer tail feathers which leads us to believe it is  
appropriate to label the bird as a RUFOUS rather than Allen's Hummingbird; 
though 

photos will be sent out for further insights.   In addition to  visiting the 
feeders and perching in a nearby tree, we watched it feed on apples  (either 
for apple juice or insects) in nearby apple trees, as well as nectar at flowers 

around the yard and across the street.  Also seen  while watching for the 
hummingbird were 3 COMMON RAVENS soaring and tumbling overhead, plus a NORTHERN 

MOCKINGBIRD.  Larry is  open to visitors, and welcomes those interested to 
check out his residence for the hummingbird(s). Calling ahead is not necessary, 

although  it could be helpful.  I copied Gerry Rising's excellent directions 
and  information below.
 
On a tip from Larry, Bill Watson and I checked out nearby Rushford  Lake in 
the early evening, and were rewarded with some good finds.  Towards  dusk, 
gulls began filing into the lake, and by the end of the evening we estimated 
2300 

gulls, the majority about an even split of Herring and  Ring-billed.  In 
addition were 1 juv. GREAT BLACK-BACKED  GULL and 2 adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED 
GULLS. To to our knowledge the latter two are first Allegany Co. records. Also 

seen on the  lake were 4 Common Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebe, and American  
Coot.
 
Larry Wilson has reported 2 rufous hummingbirds coming to feeders at  his 
home in Houghton, NY. He lives at 9705 on Route 19 in the village. There is  a 
sign in front of his home: The Bird Feeder Shop. The two 
hummingbirds have  been coming sporadically for several days to feeders on 
either side of his barn  that can be seen from his driveway. You can contact 
Larry at .
 
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY
 
 



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This afternoon, Bill Watson and I went in search of the reported RUFOUS  
HUMMINGBIRD(S) sighted by Larry Wilson since Oct. 10 at his  residence in 
Houghton, Allegany County. Along with Larry, Doug Beattie, and Max Mason, we 
were 

successful in observing an immature female RUFOUS  HUMMINGBIRD visiting the 
feeders and perching in various trees around the residence. Larry also 
described 

seeing an immature male  Selasaphorus Hummingbird visiting the feeders 
yesterday (Sunday) afternoon as well, but we did not have any luck seeing that 

individual  today.  Photos and close observation of the immature female hummer 
revealed  broad tipped outer tail feathers which leads us to believe it is  
appropriate to label the bird as a RUFOUS rather than Allen's Hummingbird; 
though 

photos will be sent out for further insights.   In addition to  visiting the 
feeders and perching in a nearby tree, we watched it feed on apples  (either 
for apple juice or insects) in nearby apple trees, as well as nectar at flowers 

around the yard and across the street.  Also seen  while watching for the 
hummingbird were 3 COMMON RAVENS soaring and tumbling overhead, plus a NORTHERN 

MOCKINGBIRD.  Larry is  open to visitors, and welcomes those interested to 
check out his residence for the hummingbird(s). Calling ahead is not necessary, 

although  it could be helpful.  I copied Gerry Rising's excellent directions 
and  information below.
 
On a tip from Larry, Bill Watson and I checked out nearby Rushford  Lake in 
the early evening, and were rewarded with some good finds.  Towards  dusk, 
gulls began filing into the lake, and by the end of the evening we estimated 
2300 

gulls, the majority about an even split of Herring and  Ring-billed.  In 
addition were 1 juv. GREAT BLACK-BACKED  GULL and 2 adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED 
GULLS. To to our knowledge the latter two are first Allegany Co. records. Also 

seen on the  lake were 4 Common Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebe, and American  
Coot.
 
Larry Wilson has reported 2 rufous hummingbirds coming to feeders at  his 
home in Houghton, NY. He lives at 9705 on Route 19 in the village. There is  a 
sign in front of his home: The Bird Feeder Shop. The two 
hummingbirds have  been coming sporadically for several days to feeders on 
either side of his barn  that can be seen from his driveway. You can contact 
Larry at .
 
 
Jim Pawlicki
Amherst, NY
 
 



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Great weather on Sunday afternoon inspired Tony Shrimpton and I to sit  about 
at McIntyre Rd. and enjoy sun and sea.  Not much happening on the  Lake in 2 
hours of watching, but the highlight was a group of Ravens that  went through 
at about 2:30.  The birds approached from the east, with us  hunkered in at 
the west end of the field.  Several crows started calling  and we suddenly saw 
about 25 birds, expecting them to be crows escorting a  couple of Ravens, but 
as they drew near the Ravens started croaking and  soaring.  We soon realized 
that they were mostly Ravens, and our count got  to 18 birds.  This is the 
largest group of Ravens I've ever seen on the  lakeshore.
 
Tony and I tried for the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow at the Marten's  Tract 
on Monday evening.  We enjoyed lots of birds, but couldn't find  any 
Nelson's. We searched the area thoroughly and I think the birds seen Sunday 
have 

departed,,,,,,all the sparrows were very active and I think we would have found 

them if they were still there.  We also looked for  Orange-crowned Warblers 
and came up empty.  Highlights:
 
1 NORTHERN SHRIKE (1st winter)
~12 TREE SWALLOW
~5 AM. PIPIT
zillions of SWAMP, SONG, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW
a few YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
6 TUFTED TITMOUSE
plenty of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
 
Marten's was very active and exciting,,,,,,we couldn't find anything at  
Carncross Rd. however.  Finally, a PEREGRINE FALCON buzzed the Visitor  Center 
area at MNWR.
 
---David Wheeler
NSyracuse, NY
_Tigger64 AT AOL.com_ (mailto:Tigger64 AT AOL.com) 





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This morning I had a flock of 10 DE Junco in my yard. In the evening I had a 
flock of 80 DEJU, plus one chipping sparrow. I'm glad that there is some quack 
grass in my lawn. 

In the meantime, a strange bird was feeding at sunflower seed feeder. It had a 
bright white head, a white breast speckled with brown spots and one white 
primary feather. It turned out to be an albino male House Finch. It was very 
aggressive toward the other birds. Also had a Red-breasted Nuthatch come in, 
take one seed then hide it nearby.That was repeated for about 15 minutes. It 
was first observed on Sept. 9th doing this trick. 

Ferne Merrill
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	After my failure to spot the Little Blue Heron yesterday (and 
my total failure to even look for it Friday) I left for work a few 
minutes early today and headed out to the Manitou Road area to take 
another quick shot at the bird, which I coveted for my New York list. 
Fortunately enough, I ran into Bob Spahn at the Paddlesports lot and 
he gave me directions to the best vantage point - the bird was behind 
the cattails and not visible from Paddleports at that time.  I headed 
over to The Bay parking lot and looked on the log where the bird had 
been...but it was not there.  Fortunately I soon picked it up feeding 
along the docks nearer the road, hard right from the Bay boat launch 
area.  If you use the eBird Google Gadget, I tried to mark the exact 
spot on the linked map if that's a help.

  Although I only had a few short moments, I was able to watch the 
bird catch a few fish and generally eat a hearty lunch.  What a 
treat!   I think tomorrow I'll try again and see if I can grab a few 
pictures.

-kimberly

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Greetings,

It's quite a bit quieter here now with no "stellar" birds, but there 
are a few shorebirds still around.  A favorite spot is often the west 
side of the channel, tucked in behind the reeds where you can't see 
them if you don't go about half way out onto the mud flat. They also 
run for cover now and then from various predator birds and then slowly 
trickle back out. Killdeer are down to a scant 11!

Several days ago, I could not find a single Bonaparte's Gull (around 
4pm.) Today, 100 or so. Every day can be so different!

I spend quiet days like this doing other things like being sure of my 
duck ID's and practicing how to count birds. The gulls provided good 
practice for large flocks.

Shorebirds:

Black-bellied Plover     3
Semi-palmated Plover - 1
Killdeer     11
Lesser Yellowlegs     2
Semipalmated Sandpiper     4
White-rumped Sandpiper     1
Pectoral Sandpiper     1

Plus also:

Mute Swan     14
Gadwall     6
American Wigeon     7
Mallard     12
Northern Shoveler     4
Green-winged Teal     25
Double-crested Cormorant     1 (Odd but that's all I could see from my 
end!)
Great Blue Heron     6
Red-tailed Hawk     1
American Coot     5
Bonaparte's Gull     100
Ring-billed Gull     500
Herring Gull     100
Belted Kingfisher     1
Song Sparrow     2
White-throated Sparrow     4

Enjoy the still nice weather!
Kim Hartquist
Rochester

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Ross's Goose seen 4:00 pm on County Line Road (Erie-Genesee)
Goose, with Canadas on West side of Road, 1/'2 mile south of Genesee St (33)
C.L.Road off Genesee goes SW to a turn to the south. bird at the turn
Pond 200' from road on west side of road. Green houses behind pond.
Many Canada's - Ross' Goose with them.
May be the bird Morgante saw yesterday in southern Town of Bennington.

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I visited Irondequoit Bay today around noon. The only birds of  
interest were a Surf Scoter near the outlet and two female Common   
Merganser seen at the south end of the bay. I saw no shorebirds on  
the mud flats.

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____________________________________________________________________________________ 

Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play 
Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. 

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I saw the Little Blue Heron Sunday at about 2:30 PM.  It was between the 
Bay Restaurant and Braddock Bay Paddlesports, but closer to the Bay.  I 
was lucky enough to spot it from the road while driving by.  I dare say 
that drinking does not improve one's powers of observation.

Jay Greenberg 
Rochester, NY


Shilfiell Nels Rada wrote:

> Well, after a disappointingly busy weekend I finally had a chance to 
> get out today to see what I could see.   Amazingly enough we had an 
> off-site (read: drinking)  meeting at the Willow Inn on Manitou Friday 
> and I STILL missed out on the Little Blue Heron - and I saw no sign of 
> it today.  A quick run up to Iroquois yielded not much but wind and 
> gray skies and hunters and Ruddy Ducks, only one of which was a 
> welcome sight for me.  I elected to head back early and take another 
> swing past The Bay/ B. B. Paddlesports, but no signs of activity there 
> led me to drive right past.  I opted out of Burger Park due to general 
> gloom and malaise, but elected to pull in to the fishing access site 
> along North Greece Road (just south of the bend at Hincher) to see 
> what I could see, and I was glad I did!  Perched along the railing on 
> the dock were about a dozen gorgeous Bluebirds. I haven't seen 
> Bluebirds for a while, so that was nice.  House Finches, Yellow-rumped 
> Warblers, and Red-Winged Blackbirds flew about as well.  I saw several 
> Rusty Blackbirds along the stream edge and heard the White-Throated 
> Sparrows singing their plaintive little song.  On the water, Killdeer 
> and Yellowlegs poked and dashed about, but the best bird was a very 
> nice Black-Bellied Plover who just seemed so darned sedate in 
> comparison that it made me laugh.  I also saw the usual "shorebird I 
> couldn't identify" which doesn't surprise me at all....I hope to find 
> a mtach in my books anyway.  That's about it. Not a huge total or 
> anything, but better than I've seen lately and most quite close as well.
>
> At least this week I had my first Juncoes, White-throated and -crowned 
> sparrows of the season at my feeders.   A nice change from the usual 
> steady Housie/Grackle diet.  Juncoes always bring a smile to my face!
>
> -kimberly
>
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>

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Larry Wilson has reported 2 rufous hummingbirds coming to feeders at his 
home in Houghton, NY. He lives at 9705 on Route 19 in the village. There 
is a sign in front of his home: The Bird Feeder Shop. The two 
hummingbirds have been coming sporadically for several days to feeders 
on either side of his barn that can be seen from his driveway. You can 
contact Larry at .

Regards,
Gerry Rising


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The LITTLE BLUE HERON was somewhat elusive today. It was seen at least
twice during the day that I am aware of. It was seen first thing in the
morning at the old Braddock Bay Hotel/Boat Launch (The Bay), missed at
approximately 10:45 AM, and then seen again at approximately 12:20 PM.
The bird seems rather uncomfortable with boat traffic. It was resting on
the mudflat behind Braddock Bay Paddlesports when found just after noon,
however, it flew as a fisherman in a boat approached. It eventually
settled back at the old hotel for just a few minutes before getting up
again as a boat returned to the boat ramp. This time it settled in the
small pond across the road and just slightly north of the Paddlesports
building. Here it seemed much more comfortable allowing leisurely study
through the scope.

Gary Chapin


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Well, after a disappointingly busy weekend I finally had a chance to 
get out today to see what I could see.   Amazingly enough we had an 
off-site (read: drinking)  meeting at the Willow Inn on Manitou 
Friday and I STILL missed out on the Little Blue Heron - and I saw no 
sign of it today.  A quick run up to Iroquois yielded not much but 
wind and gray skies and hunters and Ruddy Ducks, only one of which 
was a welcome sight for me.  I elected to head back early and take 
another swing past The Bay/ B. B. Paddlesports, but no signs of 
activity there led me to drive right past.  I opted out of Burger 
Park due to general gloom and malaise, but elected to pull in to the 
fishing access site along North Greece Road (just south of the bend 
at Hincher) to see what I could see, and I was glad I did!  Perched 
along the railing on the dock were about a dozen gorgeous Bluebirds. 
I haven't seen Bluebirds for a while, so that was nice.  House 
Finches, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Red-Winged Blackbirds flew about 
as well.  I saw several Rusty Blackbirds along the stream edge and 
heard the White-Throated Sparrows singing their plaintive little 
song.  On the water, Killdeer and Yellowlegs poked and dashed about, 
but the best bird was a very nice Black-Bellied Plover who just 
seemed so darned sedate in comparison that it made me laugh.  I also 
saw the usual "shorebird I couldn't identify" which doesn't surprise 
me at all....I hope to find a mtach in my books anyway.  That's about 
it. Not a huge total or anything, but better than I've seen lately 
and most quite close as well.

At least this week I had my first Juncoes, White-throated and 
-crowned sparrows of the season at my feeders.   A nice change from 
the usual steady Housie/Grackle diet.  Juncoes always bring a smile 
to my face!

-kimberly

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Birds of interest along the dirt roads by the Geneseo airfield this
morning included:
RB Gull 400-500 (one large swirling flock over the airfield area) 
Robin 50+
Am. Pipit 2
YR Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 30
WT Sparrow 10
WC Sparrow 15-20
Purple Finch 11

This evening in the Cuylerville area (at the pond except as indicated
otherwise) birds of interest included:
Wood Duck 2
Peregrine Falcon 1  (an immature on the pole at Dutch Corners & Jones
Bridge Rds.)
Gr. Yellowlegs 2
Brown Creeper 1
Robin 200+
Am Pipit 2  (Dutch Corners Rd.)
YR Warbler 7
Swamp Sparrow 4
WT Sparrow 4
WC Sparrow 8

We had 8 Juncos at our feeders today, the first of the season for us.

Jim Kimball





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As Jerry, reported on from his unsuccessful chase, I found an immature
Ross's Goose during the BOS October Count (Section 12) this morning
(10:45-11:15) in a cut cornfield in the town of Bennington (NW Wyoming
County) at the intersection of Folsomdale Road and Bear Road.

I was scanning and counting the geese when I spotted a white goose walk out
from behind some Canadas.  Naturally, I thought Snow Goose at first (just
because it was white) but when I looked closer it just didn't seem right for
that species.  It was an immature as both the bill and legs were dark.  I'm
used to immature Snow Geese having some gray -- with a 'dirty' appearance,
but this one was very white with only a trace of gray on the head, neck, and
back.  A close inspection of the bill revealed the three things I needed to
see to call it a Ross's: short bill, no grin patch, and the bill was
vertical at the border of the face. Yes, the goose was very small and round
headed too.  I would occasionally lose it as it walked among the taller,
bigger Canadas.  This is the first time that I've seen an immature Ross's
Goose.  A nice look.  I took some distant photos but don't think the face
will show well.  I could have tried for better but didn't want to chase the
geese off.  I checked out the Sibley Guide after studying the bird a while
and it was right on for immature Ross's Goose.

Jerry went a few hours later and said that the geese were gone from the
field.  This goose could go in any direction.  Possible places to look where
it might head toward water to roost at night include Darien Lake State Park
(north), Akron Reservoir (closed to public - can only get an obstructed view
at a distance from Tinkham Road) to the north, Attica Reservoir (closed to
public) to the east, Sinking Ponds to the west.  Or any place in between...

Other highlights from Bennington included:
4 Red-shouldered Hawks, 1 Orange-crowned Warbler, a pair of flyover Pine
Siskins, and a group of nearly 300 robins that took flight in groups of 10
to 50 just after sunrise and headed south (as viewed from Tinkham Road).

Mike Morgante
Orchard Park, NY
morgm AT roadrunner.com




-----Original Message-----
From: geneseebirds-l-bounces AT geneseo.edu
[mailto:geneseebirds-l-bounces AT geneseo.edu] On Behalf Of Jerry Lazarczyk
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 3:19 PM
To: geneseebirds-l AT geneseo.edu
Subject: [GeneseeBirds-L] NO Ross' Goose NW Wyoming county

On Oct 14 the One-call system reported an immature Ross' Goose w/ a flock of
Canada Geese in a cut cornfield at the corner of Baer Rd. and Fulsomdale Rd.
in the town of Bennington in Wyoming county seen from 10:45-11:15 AM.

I arrived at 1:15 PM and found no geese including in the surrounding areas.
Mike Morgante reported that geese were coming and going in small groups of 5
or 10 the entire time he watched the Ross' Goose. He said there were no Snow
Geese and that approximately 100 Canadas were on the ground.

I wonder if the Ross' will be seen again on a morning next week, even
someplace in the area.

Jerry Lazarczyk
Grand Island NY
 


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On Oct 14 the One-call system reported an immature Ross' Goose w/ a flock of 
Canada Geese in a cut cornfield at the corner of Baer Rd. and Fulsomdale Rd. in 
the town of Bennington in Wyoming county seen from 10:45-11:15 AM. 


I arrived at 1:15 PM and found no geese including in the surrounding areas. 
Mike Morgante reported that geese were coming and going in small groups of 5 or 
10 the entire time he watched the Ross' Goose. He said there were no Snow Geese 
and that approximately 100 Canadas were on the ground. 


I wonder if the Ross' will be seen again on a morning next week, even someplace 
in the area. 


Jerry Lazarczyk
Grand Island NY



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Though the National Weather Service forecast kept saying that winds would  be 
from the west, they were WSW all day.  Thus lakewatching was (overall) a  
disappointment.
 
Only a modest movement of birds Saturday morning at Broadway Rd.: ~20  Common 
Loons, 1 Red-throated, and a few of all three Scoters between 8:15 and  
10:00am.  Tons of sparrows everywhere.
 
Bill Purcell, Joe Brin, and I all converged (by coincidence) on McIntyre  Rd. 
around 11am.  Highlights were a juv. SABINE'S GULL at 11:30,  visible for 
about 10 minutes.  Probably the same bird was present again  between 1:30 and 
2:00 and somewhat closer at one point. Aside from a small number of all three 

Scoters, not much else was going on though and we eventually left. I wouldn't 

be surprised if the Sabine's was  around on Sunday, but be prepared that it 
may take hours of scanning  and be very distant.
 
---David Wheeler
NSyracuse, NY
_Tigger64 AT AOL.com_ (mailto:Tigger64 AT AOL.com) 




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Betsy and I watched the lake from Hamlin Beach this morning where we enjoyed
a decent flight of waterbirds.  Common Loons were particularly numerous.
Many scoters (all three), RB Mergs, scaup, Long-tailed Ducks, Horned Grebes.
My highlight was a Parasitic Jaeger picked out by Dave Tetlow that came
closer and chased a Ring-billed Gull for a few minutes, giving a nice show.
Bob Spahn could probably add a few things plus he kept track of the numbers.

We stopped at "Braddock Bay Paddlesports" on Manitou Rd where we had nice
looks in windy conditions of the immature Little Blue Heron.  From the Lake
Ontario Parkway, go south on Payne Beach Rd if coming from the west or
Manitou Rd if coming from the east.  After these roads join, you will
shortly see Salmon Creek with exposed mud on your left.  There is a
restaurant or bar called "The Bay" on the left and "Paddlesports" comes up
about 1/2 mile after that.  Either spot could provide a good vantage point
though at noon, the light was better from "Paddlesports". 

Good birding!
Willie
----------
Willie D'Anna
Betsy Potter
Wilson, NY
dannapotterATwzrd.com
http://www.betsypottersart.com



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