Those of  you that struggled out of bed this morning (myself included) were rewarded with a killer day of birding in Stewart Park. What began as a simple trip to observe (for the most part) winter ducks on Cayuga Lake turned into a quest that was ultimately achieved when we uncovered the lair of the Great Horned Owl…Have a great weekend and we’ll hope for more great weather next week!

 

I’ve included a list of birds that we saw this morning; there are a couple on the list that I saw or heard that we didn’t get to all enjoy, but any way you slice it, I’d say it was a good day…Let me know if you think I missed anything!

Location:     Stewart Park, Ithaca
Observation date:     4/9/09
Number of species:     35

Canada Goose     15
Wood Duck     15
Mallard     6
Bufflehead     9
Common Merganser     11
Ruddy Duck     2
Pied-billed Grebe     2
Double-crested Cormorant     2
Turkey Vulture     4
Bald Eagle     1
Sharp-shinned Hawk     1
Red-tailed Hawk     1
Ring-billed Gull     12
Rock Pigeon     10
Mourning Dove     2
Belted Kingfisher     1
Red-bellied Woodpecker     1
Downy Woodpecker     1
Hairy Woodpecker     1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)     2
Pileated Woodpecker     1
Eastern Phoebe     1
Blue Jay     2
American Crow     1
Fish Crow     2
Black-capped Chickadee     1
American Robin     9
European Starling     35
Song Sparrow     2
Red-winged Blackbird     4
Common Grackle     7
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
House Finch     1
American Goldfinch     3
House Sparrow     7