Cayuga Bird Club

This past Saturday the forecast was snowy, so it was with no great surprise that only the Cayuga Bird Club guide and myself showed up for the morning outing.  Luckily, the weather held for most of the day and we had a wonderful day of birding. We found an Iceland Gull mixed in with the Herring and Ring-billed Gulls at East Shore Park.  At Myer's Park and Salt Point we had over 30 Tundra Swans. Next we traveled to search for longspurs but came up empty. We did manage to find one long Snow Bunting mixed in a Horned Lark flock.

At Union Springs we found Gadwall and American Widgeon to add to our day.  We continued north finding more swans and ducks.  Most of the north end of Cayuga Lake was frozen but by the dam we did see some open water with Common Mergansers and more swans.

We decided to see if we had any luck finding a Snowy Owl at the Fingerlakes Airport but came up empty.  The snow was deep and not a bird was seen.  We found a nice raft of Ring-necked Ducks near Sheldrake.  As we traveled back south we found a perching Bald Eagle by the lakeshore.  It gave us wonderful looks and obliged for photos.

We stopped for lunch at Glenwood Pines where we had a great breakfast burger.  They were also serving a PB&J burger but we weren't brave enough to give it a go.  Next time!  The birds were plentiful enough to make the day fun and the company was wonderful as Suan provided me with lots of entertaining history of the Cayuga Lake Basin.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology Lost Bird Project

The final stop was where it all started - the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where we tried one last time for a Redpoll but found only the usual suspects of Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, American Goldfinch, and Mourning Doves. 

For the year list I was able to add Iceland Gull and American Widgeon.  An additional weekend visit to East Shore Park also added Hooded Merganser.  My total is up to 92 for the year.  Andy broke 100 with an American Woodcock in Tennessee.  I hope I'm not doomed to playing catch-up all year.  

Ginnie Springs

We had a great weekend camping at Ginnie Springs. Our days were filled with floating down the river, snorkeling the springs, and having a beer or three. I also picked up Tufted Titmouse, Barred Owl, and Carolina Wren for my Bird a Day efforts.

Ginnie Springs Camping II

After my trip to Ginnie Springs, I was eager to go back for another float down the river.  When Emily was back from Colorado we decided to make a weekend trip and show a mountain girl how to camp in summertime Florida.  We selected the weekend that Hurricane Irene was supposed to make landfall on our coast but instead she steam plowed up the eastern seaboard and skipped Florida.  This was perfect for our weekend plans so we set out on a Friday and arrived to a mostly empyt campground. 

This was a drastically different experience than my last camping trip to Ginnie Springs. The campground was quiet and peaceful.  We even found a campsite right by the Santa Fe with NO ONE in eyesight.  It was amazing! 

Scores of animal life was around us this time around.  We saw a raccoon, a Gray Fox, Emily's lifer Prothonotary Warbler, and many other birds.  Each morning a Carolina Wren would fly around our campsite singing joined by Tufted Titmouse and a White-eyed Vireo.  Also by the fallen trees we found mushrooms and centipedes.  My favorite non-bird sighting of the weekend was a striking Luna Moth by the bathrooms.

As always, it was a lovely camping trip with Ms. Lark.  We spent our days lazily floating downstream and swimming in the springs.  The perfect weekend getaway.  I am in love a little with the springs of Florida.  If you haven't been, they are nice any time of year.  Refreshing to swim in during the summer and if you come to Florida in the winter they are the perfect refuge for Manatees.  You can't go wrong either way.

Ginnie Springs Camping

Ginnie Springs Campground may be one of the most fun in Florida but also the loudest.  We arrived for our camping trip around midnight and by the sound of it, the party had just started.  We found a campsite in the Beaver Landing area and set up our tents.  After the humidity soaked us through we walked down to the springs for a little night dip.  Ginnie Springs is also the only spring that I know of that actually keeps a lights on at night for swimming.  This is one of those private, anything goes kind of places.

For the next two days we enjoyed swimming, floating down the river, and hanging by the campsite.  The mosquitoes weren't too bad and the heat of the day was spent in the cool 70 degree waters to cool us down.  If you're looking for a camping destination in summer while in Florida, I believe the only place that is bearable are the springs.

Even with the large crowds were found bits of natural encounters.  Damselflies of all kinds would ride the rafts with us down river.  And the snorkeling is easy in these clear waters.  We saw bass, catfish, and sunfish of all kinds.  We also woke up each morning to a cacophany of bird calls from the Fish Crows roosting above our campsite. 

I highly recommend a trip to Ginnie Springs, even if its just a day trip.  Floating down the Santa Fe River is so relaxing and then swimming in one of the parks six springs is also a nice way to unwind from a hard work week.  I will definitely be returning to this little piece of Florida heaven.  Maybe next time I'll try on a less busy weekend.