On this lovely 70 degree day (Tues. 6/26). , I took a leisurely drive over hill and dale to Owasco Flats by NY Rt. 38 (#41 in our wonderful Cayuga Basin guidebook) and walked around the loop trail along the inlet stream and old RR bed Some parts were very wet & muddy and I wore the wrong shoes, now also very muddy. I may also have poison ivy on my legs in a few days... The paths could use a little trim. While there is not too much PI right by the trail, I would recommend long pants, not shorts.
It was peaceful and quiet by the inlet portion of the path, except for the faint traffic noise on Rt. 38. Luckily, some of the birds were not quiet and I heard and saw several VEERYS and GRAY CATBIRDS, and saw, & of course heard, 2 BELTED KINGFISHERS. Heard the irregular knocking of a YELLOW BELLIED SAPSUCKER across the inlet, then saw one close by on my side. Kept hearing a GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER and saw a smaller flycatcher I could not identify. I learned the Sapsucker knock sound from Sandy Padulka, one of our field guides in the SFO class. She found just the right stick to bang on a tree to show us how it sounds! Saw a GREEN HERON flying away and a TURKEY VULTURE in the distance. Part way down the path, by the small bridge with railings (some torn off by vandals), I found a lovely wild Canada Lily in full bloom. Along the old RR part of the path, I heard a few birds I can't yet identify by sound, including one I have never heard: It called a plain sound - "yurr" or "your" with a faint buzzy undernote - called once with pauses in between calls. Can anybody tell me what bird this might be? I imitated it and the bird called back (I think), but wouldn't come to where I could see it. Did see a nice female AMERICAN REDSTART there, and heard what I thought was a RED EYED VIREO, and heard a WOOD THRUSH very close to me. On the gravel road part of the trail I saw a HOUSE SPARROW, an AMER. GOLDFINCH, AMER. ROBINS, NORTHERN FLICKERS, DOWNY WOODPECKER, an E. KINGBIRD, and a YELLOW WARBLER. Some RED WINGED BLACKBIRDS and C. GRACKLES flew out to the nearby marsh. Saw several CEDAR WAXWINGS and TREE SWALLOWS, including some babies lined up on a dead tree branch, opening their mouths in unison when a parent flew near. Over or on Owasco Lake were several BARN SWALLOWS, MALLARDS, and RING BILLED GULLS. On the drive over to Owasco through rural country, I saw a lot of birds including many, many BARN SWALLOWS - some sitting in the dirt and gravel on a dirt road, just sitting there, not bathing in the dust; several NO. MOCKINGBIRDS, an AMER. KESTREL, and an EASTERN BLUEBIRD; also, a BELTED KINGFISHER and a YELLOW WARBLER by a little stream. Lots of other common birds, as well. Kevin McGowan is right - there are lots of birds out there and this is a great part of the world - - rural NY in lush, green summer can't be beat! Now I need to try Fillmore Glen State Park, also described in #41. Donna -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
