Information - Cayuga South (NY)
Migration siteCayuga South (NY) ContactsBill Evans Contacts Web siteLast countObservation hours654:18 observation hours, 8 year DocumentsPictures |
lat: 42.34324, lng: -76.50394 |
Description
This is a fall migration observation site well positioned in the region for viewing waterfowl & raptor migration as well as morning flight of certain passerines. Data from a proximal nocturnal flight call monitoring station is available at: http://oldbird.org/Data/2019/ratio/DanbyAMRE.htmlThe watch site is located in the heart of an inland waterfowl flyway funneling out of Canada toward the mid-Atlantic coastal region of the United States. It is on a hill (486 m asl) that is 13 km directly south of one of the largest lakes in New York State, Cayuga Lake (~116 m asl), which is a long relatively narrow lake running NNW-SSE for ~60 km. Around sunrise, the watch site catches southbound waterfowl departures from Cayuga Lake and then 1-2 hours later on some mornings a pulse from Lake Ontario, which is about 120 km to the north. The result can be some notably large inland waterfowl count totals.
The watch began in fall 2017 to study the altitude of migrating common loons (Gavia immer) and other waterfowl with respect to potential commercial-scale wind energy development in the region. These early observations also provided an excellent vantage to study the large Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) and American Robin (Turdus migratorious) flights which had been noted in the local area since 2005. These flights appear to be primarily associated with departure from transient roosts that peak in the migration season and ebb and flow into the winter months. Other interesting passerine morning flight activity has come to light, in particular the varying directionality of finch movements between years.
Updated 30Dec23
