Date: 4/9/26 6:34 pm From: Shelley Page <shelleypage.imagine...> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] April 9 Thursday Birding Meetup Recap and Next Week Plans
Our Thursday birding meetup today started out quiet and ended with a bang at the Cornell Arboretum. The chilly morning birding began slowly as nineteen of us wandered through the shrub garden and up the hill in hopes of a pine warbler. Alas, no warblers but a lovely look at a purple finch. Song sparrows were out in force singing away while a smattering of our usual woodland birds were observed. Jody Enck helped us learn the finer points of distinguishing herring and ringbill gulls in flight. And it was lovely to see a Canada goose sitting on her nest at Houston pond while a common merganser patrolled the waters. A few of us went on brown thrasher "chase" but came up empty after being quite sure one was around. As we headed toward our cars at Flat Rock, we spied a male yellow-bellied sapsucker banging away on a metal traffic sign. Then it flew over to a well loved sapsucker tree and it was joined by a female sapsucker who evidently appreciated the "heavy metal" concert. We were treated to excellent views of these likely lovebirds who were first of year for most of us and a thrilling lifer for one of us. A nice way to end our birding after seeing 24 species in total (thanks for ebird, Tracy McLellan <https://www.facebook.com/groups/423723264332161/user/100000604080233/?__cft__[0]=AZboaToUFwY51PGn8iqMHByVAzdnAxVEkkR-lQ0Owb5PY-1WFUKiPFaOTMPiYVJ3HVGFsiBAiCD3s_0YLmye-DqScher3KF96SZG5bdE3_t9RTnW1OwLNa0BUzBq8pC8YSVzDZPIgzlKMmBf2utkDdrF&__tn__=-]K-R>). Most of us headed over to East Hill College Town Bagels for breakfast and conversation as the morning warmed up. Want to join us next week? All birders are very welcome to gather with us! We'll bird Upper Buttermilk Falls State Park on Thursday April 16. Meet us at the parking lot at 7:00 am. Directions: From downtown Ithaca, take Aurora Street (96B which becomes Danby Road) south to the light at West King Road. Turn right and go a half mile to the park entrance, which will be on your left before the bridge that crosses Buttermilk Creek. Shelley Page *she/they/ki*
313-550-1437 261 Coddington Road Apt. B Ithaca, New York 14850
https://uuma.zoom.us/j/2065380867 "All that you touch you Change. All that you Change changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change." Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower
