As many of us Upstate NY birders know, the south shore of Lake Ontario is a barrier to migrating birds which we find useful. In springtime, passerines and other northbound land birds who migrate at night pause at the shore to rest and fuel up before crossing the lake. Land birds who migrate during the day, such as Blue Jays, go around the lake, I think to stay near cover and places to stop and feed. Large birds such as raptors, who rely on updrafts for fuel-efficient migration, accumulate and move east around the lake, because the land provides updrafts from thermals, and from wind against hills and the shoreline itself, whereas the lake itself produces no updrafts. When I helped lead field trips for Steve Kress’ Spring Field Ornithology Class at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology a few years back, we went to Braddock Bay northwest of Rochester to see the banding of small birds and raptors and to watch raptors and flocks of Blue Jays migrating. Another big SFO field trip was to Derby Hill, a drumlin at the southeast corner of Lake Ontario. There, when southerly winds encouraged raptors to migrate and pushed them toward the lake, we could watch numerous raptors as they worked their way east before finally turning north again toward Canada.
Well, that shore is also a bit of a southbound barrier in fall migration to some bird species with a strong preference for staying over water. Jaegers, for instance, are a small family related to gulls who breed in the arctic and spend the off-season over the ocean. In German jaeger means hunter, and as the name implies, they are aggressive birds. One of jaegers’ preferred ways of getting food is to chase and harass another bird, such as a gull, until the victim drops or regurgitates its own food. Three species of jaegers occur in our area the Parasitic, the rarer, smaller Long-tailed, and the rarest largest Pomarine, but they are all hardly ever seen in the Cayuga Lake Basin. It’s a big deal when one is found along Cayuga Lake, and I only recall one or two reports of a migrant jaeger noticed overhead away from the lake, most recently a couple years back over Bluegrass Lane, I believe by Tristan Herwood and a birding buddy who has since left town and independently seen by Jay McGowan who lives nearby. The two obvious ways to see jaegers are also the most difficult: go to the tundra where they breed or to the open ocean in winter. An easier way is to go to the Atlantic shore in fall, such as Cape May NJ, where I’ve stood on the beach to watch Parasitic Jaegers harass gulls over the ocean. But there’s also a more local opportunity, which I have not done myself but have read about in rare bird reports. In fall migration on days with a stiff northwest wind, observers who are equipped with good optics and warm clothes can go to the south shore of Lake Ontario. Yesterday was such a day, and eBird’s rare bird alerts for Wayne County noted jaegers observed from the Sodus Point lighthouse and for Oswego County from Derby Hill. I particularly want to share the latter because not only did Reuben Stoltzfus hit an astounding trifecta, but he provided detailed descriptions (as I wish all reporters of rare birds did and as I believe they should) but he also watched some of those jaegers as they started their trip from overland from the Great Lakes toward the ocean. - - Dave Nutter Begin forwarded message: > From: ebird-al...@birds.cornell.edu > Date: September 19, 2023 at 6:09:14 PM EDT > To: nutter.d...@mac.com > Subject: [eBird Alert] Oswego County Rare Bird Alert <daily> > > *** Species Summary: > > - Black Scoter (1 report) > - Pomarine Jaeger (1 report) > - Parasitic Jaeger (3 reports) > - Long-tailed Jaeger (1 report) > > --------------------------------------------- > Thank you for subscribing to the <daily> Oswego County Rare Bird Alert. The > report below shows observations of rare birds in Oswego County. View or > unsubscribe to this alert at https://ebird.org/alert/summary?sid=SN35780 > NOTE: all sightings are UNCONFIRMED unless indicated. > > eBird encourages our users to bird safely, responsibly, and mindfully. Please > follow the recommendations of your local health authorities and respect any > active travel restrictions in your area. For more information visit: > https://ebird.org/news/please-bird-mindfully > > Black Scoter (Melanitta americana) (1) > - Reported Sep 19, 2023 08:50 by Reuben Stoltzfus > - Derby Hill Hawk Watch--North Lookout, Oswego, New York > - Map: > http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=43.527261,-76.2393397&ll=43.527261,-76.2393397 > - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150294939 > - Comments: "Significantly smaller than WWSC. No sign of any color other than > black. Not brown enough for SUSC." > > Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) (1) > - Reported Sep 19, 2023 08:50 by Reuben Stoltzfus > - Derby Hill Hawk Watch--North Lookout, Oswego, New York > - Map: > http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=43.527261,-76.2393397&ll=43.527261,-76.2393397 > - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150294939 > - Comments: "12:12 to 12:23. Why Pomarine? Big and bulky with GBBG flight > style. Fairly distant. Only color I could pick out was a wing flash. Circling > and lazing around, seemingly trying to figure out where to go. Went E, then > W, then E again, where I lost it when I took my eyes off it after watching it > with binoculars. Never got close to the water during observation. Acted > interested in nearby gulls twice, but broke off before actually chasing, both > times. Never went for a long time without flapping wings, reminding me of > AMCR v CORA, as Parasitic will often go a while on set wings on a descent, or > while circling." > > Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) (8) > - Reported Sep 19, 2023 08:50 by Reuben Stoltzfus > - Derby Hill Hawk Watch--North Lookout, Oswego, New York > - Map: > http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=43.527261,-76.2393397&ll=43.527261,-76.2393397 > - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150294939 > - Comments: "Juv. 1:18, headed into corner, gained altitude, and headed > inland! Buffy color with bright wing flashes top and bottom! Most of the > other birds were counted as Parasitic after seen aggressively chasing gulls > till they gave up their food. Possibly as many as 16 birds present!" > > Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) (1) > - Reported Sep 19, 2023 09:08 by Matthew Brown > - Sandy Pond Outlet, Oswego, New York > - Map: > http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=43.6648397,-76.1961043&ll=43.6648397,-76.1961043 > - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150276414 > - Comments: "Flying close along lakeshore. Excellent binocular views" > > Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) (1) > - Reported Sep 19, 2023 09:08 by Martin Mau > - Sandy Pond Outlet, Oswego, New York > - Map: > http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=43.6648397,-76.1961043&ll=43.6648397,-76.1961043 > - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150278742 > - Comments: "Flying close along lakeshore. Excellent binocular views" > > Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) (3) > - Reported Sep 19, 2023 08:50 by Reuben Stoltzfus > - Derby Hill Hawk Watch--North Lookout, Oswego, New York > - Map: > http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=43.527261,-76.2393397&ll=43.527261,-76.2393397 > - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150294939 > - Comments: "9:42. 11:17. 11:34. All of them were picked up exiting the > corner fairly close. First one looked unlike anything I ever saw. Coming > toward me the pale buffy head looked really odd. Another thing that stood out > was the color of the lesser coverts, which were lighter than rest of wings, > reminding me of LESP. Underside pale. Dark tail from underneath. Wing flash > underneath. Second bird more distant with similar flight style, which was > buoyant and relaxed compared to Parasitic’s business like style. Second bird > was the only jaeger today that frequently dropped to the water, seemingly > picking stuff off the surface, then taking off again almost immediately. > Never saw color on this bird. Third bird closest of all. Naked eye views. > Went west around the corner, then a minute later appeared at eye level, going > upward to E, then headed inland S, just E of lookout! Similar to first bird, > but was close enough to see barring on underwings, upper-tail coverts and > under tail coverts." > > *********** > > You received this message because you are subscribed to eBird's Oswego County > Rare Bird Alert > > Manage your eBird alert subscriptions: > https://ebird.org/alerts > > eBird Alerts provide recent reports of regionally or seasonally rare species > (Rarities Alerts) or species you have not yet observed (Needs Alerts) in your > region of interest; both Accepted and Unreviewed observations are included. > Some reports may be from private property or inaccessible to the general > public. It is the responsibility of every eBirder to be aware of and > respectful of access restrictions. For more information, see our Terms of > Use: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/terms-of-use/ -- 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/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/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/ --
