Birding Competition Update

Friday update: The past weekend gave me an uptick of 2 birds to put me at 89.  I spent Saturday afternoon birding around the Long Point Winery area of Cayuga Lake.  I first went in search of longspurs but only found Snow Buntings and Horned Larks. This is when I really wish I had a scope to scan with!

Down by Cayuga Lake I found the usual suspects including Redheads, Common Mergansers, and even two Tundra Swans.

As the sun was setting and deer came out to feed I had a calling Common Raven overhead which was bird #88.  It was heading for the trees, perhaps to roost for the evening.

Next came the Northern Harrier over the vineyards and surround fields.  Year bird number #89! I stayed around in the single digits to wait to glimpse the Short-eared Owl again.  It came as the sun was setting and the light almost too dim to take a photo.  The best show I managed was the one above of the Short-eared hunting over the vineyard.  A few minutes after this it hit the ground with prey in foot.  A great way to end the day and head home to warm up.

On Sunday I tried for an Eastern Screech-owl that's roosting nearby but it was a no-go after an hour of waiting and searching.  I'll be back little owl if the weather improves!  Until then, I hope to go on a Cayuga Bird Club outing this coming weekend and pick up a few more birds.  There are some winter birds around I'd love to pick up like Redpoll, Pine Sisken, and Snowy Owl.  Wish me luck!

Field Birds & A Lifer Short-eared Owl

Next we headed to Mt. Pleasant where we spotted Horned Larks and a flock of Snow Buntings.  Next we drove by the Game Farm where I spied the Ring-necked Pheasants that are being bred.  We dipped on any interesting hawks but it was still a wonderful evening investigating some new haunts.

In the afternoon I decided to head out birding again, this time for an owl. While living in South Florida i attempted to see many a Short-eared Owl (Caribbean Race) but it never worked out despite my efforts at Aerojet Road.  In New York, things went much easier.  

I arrived at the Long Point Winery just 30 minutes north of Ithaca around 4:30pm.  By 5pm, a Short-eared Owl had already made an appearance.  I watched it gracefully fly over the fields near the winery.  Then as a celebration I did a small wine tasting and bought a bottle to toast the lifer.

Chasing lifers is not an everyday occurrence for me but when it happens and ends in success I am elated.  This was a relatively easy bird to see in New York but made sweeter by the years of missing it in Florida.