Embedded Files
American Bittern***
Botaurus lentiginosusAmerican Bittern***
“On several occasions I have sat on a slope overlooking an extensive marsh where a number of bitterns were booming, and sometimes two or three could be seen at the same time engaged in the curious performance,” Eaton (1910) wrote. “They were standing quite motionless in the marsh, and every few minutes the desire to utter its love notes seemed to take violent possession of some one of the birds. It would stretch out its neck rather spasmodically, clicking its bill meanwhile three or four times, and begin a sinuous or pumping motion with the neck and forepart of the body, similar to the actions of a hawk or owl when disgorging a bone pellet, but with the head and bill inclined upward at an angle of 45 degrees or more. At each spasm or pumping motion the head and foreneck would shoot forward some distance, and the wondrous notes would finally come forth, resembling the syllables ‘pump-er-lunk’ . . . He certainly acts as if suffering from acute nausea, and the notes are fairly disgorged. . .” (Eaton I: 248)
Good looks at these elusive marsh birds are to be savored. This birder bitterly rued the day he decided NOT to take along his camera while birding along the lakefront in Greece. When he pulled into a parking area off Edgemere Drive next to Round Pond, he was stunned to find that an American Bittern had emerged from the cattails, and was standing at the edge of the parking lot, right out in the open! The bird froze, this birder stared at it for a few moments, then slowly backed away and drove back home, two miles distant, for his camera. Of course, by the time he returned, the bittern was blending back into the cattails. Grateful as he was for such a close encounter with this species, he considered his failure to have a camera along that day one of the biggest missed opportunities of his birding career.
Background
This solitary heron relies on stealth, waiting motionless in marshes dominated by tall, emergent vegetation for passing prey. The resounding calls help these birds communicate within the “visually restricting emergent vegetation that dominates nesting habitats. Compared to high-frequency sounds, low-frequency sounds such as these calls attenuate less rapidly and are audible at greater distances in dense marsh vegetation.” It breeds from the middle U.S. to northern Canada, but its numbers are declining substantially over much of its range, especially in the U.S., because of the loss or degradation of wetland habitat. Historically, this species’ range may have shifted northward, tracking distribution of wetlands created by retreating glaciers. BBS data suggests this species is more abundant in Canada, “declining sharply below the northern border states,” notes the profile of this species in the Birds of North America series. “Thus it may be adapted primarily to northern climates and wetlands, and now occurs sparsely in the U.S. over what represents the southern edge of its breeding range.” (BNA 18: 1-2, 4)
Local history
“It seems to establish itself wherever there are weedy marshes 10 or more acres in extent,” Eaton (1910) wrote. He listed this as a common summer resident in Monroe and Wayne counties, also occurring in Livingston. (Eaton I: 248, county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to three birds, with a maximum count of 15, on dates ranging from 5 April to 20 October.Leo Tanghe, in his 1953 listing of breeding birds in the Rochester area, considered this a common nester at Beatty Road and Buck Pond. (GOS, May/August 1953)When he examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members within a 50-miles radius of Rochester from 1951-1954, he found this species reported 318 times – no doubt including sightings at Montezuma and Oak Orchard just outside current Region 2 boundaries – with most records in late April through May and in late August through September. Average counts did not exceed 3 to 5. (KB 5: 69: 1A-1B)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an uncommon summer resident, and a sporadic, very rare winter visitant.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular) rare local summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 19 March (1963) to 3 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 7 to 21 April. Note: One on 5 March 1984 (L. Moon) at Braddock Bay was “very early,” but was not considered a “first of spring” migrant. (KB 34:178)
Summer/breeding status: The status of this fascinating but elusive summer resident is difficult to determine. It is hard to observe in its marsh habitat and many are overlooked until the Breeding Bird Atlas forces birders to look beyond traditional hotspots. That was apparently the case for both bitterns during atlas work in 2002, when they were found in locations not normally visited by birders. (KB 52:347)
However, the general consensus is that American Bittern has declined, not only here but across continental U.S., with loss of wetlands. The BBA projects suggest the decline is still continuing. The first project, for example, confirmed nesting only at Braddock Bay and adjoining lakefront ponds and marshes. The second project was unable to confirm breeding in any of those blocks, and produced a decrease of blocks with any evidence of breeding all along the west lakeshore. The only significant increases were registered in and around the Lake Shore Marshes WMA.
Summer maxima: 12 on 17 July 1980 (F. and R. Dobson) at Buck Pond. (GNR)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 11 September to 28 November, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 6 to 29 October. Fall maxima: 11, 16 on 2, 10 October 1998 (P. Spindler) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, December 1998)
Winter: In the past this was very rarely reported in winter, but with the increased emphasis on Big January and Big February counts in recent years, there has been a corresponding increase in winter sightings, suggesting wintering birds may not be as unusual as traditionally suspected.First reported winter occurrence was one found dead on 28 January 1938 by Howard Miller near the Float Bridge at Irondequoit Bay. (BA, 23 February 1956) “It had been shot,” Horsey noted. A flurry of winter sightings were reported in the 1950s. One on 31 December 1950 at Braddock’s Bay was seen by five observers for the Rochester CBC. (GOS, September/December 1950) Listman and Van Beurden found one at Hamlin on 12 December 1953. (GOS, November/December 1953) Another at Braddock Bay made the CBC on 26 December 1954. (KB 5:15) Yet another found by Listman on 13 February 1956 at Braddock Bay “was observed at close range and was near open water. It stood motionless in a camouflaged position and did not fly,” the Goshawk reported. (GOS, January-June 1956) “Possibly the Bittern’s mastery of the art of camouflage prevents it from being recorded more often in winter.” Members of an RBA field trip, tramping along the Quaker Pond Trail at Mendon Ponds Park on 3 January 1976 in a wet, falling snow were startled when “an American Bittern left the unfrozen creek along side the path and crossed the trail in front of the excited birders.” (LG, January 1976) It was found dead a few days later. (KB26: 102) Region 2 Kingbird reports show January or early February sightings of this species in only five of 30 years from 1976 to 2005. That included annual sightings in Mendon Ponds in the early 1990s: One 15 February 1992 (Davids, C. Cass) (GOS, April 1992); One 10 January (Davids, D. Tetlow) and 15 February 1993 (LGNR); One 15 January 1994 (Davids). (GOS, March 1994) “While this seems to be a rare event, it wasn’t until recently that observers began to hunt for this species in January,” Kevin Griffith noted. (KB 44: 121) That seemed to confirm John Brown’s observation nearly 40 years earlier, when birders also found this species almost annually in winter. The “lack of . . . winter records,” he suggested, “may well be due more to a lack of winter observers than to a lack of bitterns.” (BA, 23 February 1956)
Misc.
In April 1961, “several people saw an American bittern hit a [utility] wire at the Hawk Lookout (at Braddock Bay) and crash to the ground. The bird, alive but injured, was turned over to the Seneca Park Zoo,” John Brown reported. (BA, 27 April 1961)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 11 September to 28 November, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 6 to 29 October. Fall maxima: 11, 16 on 2, 10 October 1998 (P. Spindler) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, December 1998)
Winter: In the past this was very rarely reported in winter, but with the increased emphasis on Big January and Big February counts in recent years, there has been a corresponding increase in winter sightings, suggesting wintering birds may not be as unusual as traditionally suspected.First reported winter occurrence was one found dead on 28 January 1938 by Howard Miller near the Float Bridge at Irondequoit Bay. (BA, 23 February 1956) “It had been shot,” Horsey noted. A flurry of winter sightings were reported in the 1950s. One on 31 December 1950 at Braddock’s Bay was seen by five observers for the Rochester CBC. (GOS, September/December 1950) Listman and Van Beurden found one at Hamlin on 12 December 1953. (GOS, November/December 1953) Another at Braddock Bay made the CBC on 26 December 1954. (KB 5:15) Yet another found by Listman on 13 February 1956 at Braddock Bay “was observed at close range and was near open water. It stood motionless in a camouflaged position and did not fly,” the Goshawk reported. (GOS, January-June 1956) “Possibly the Bittern’s mastery of the art of camouflage prevents it from being recorded more often in winter.” Members of an RBA field trip, tramping along the Quaker Pond Trail at Mendon Ponds Park on 3 January 1976 in a wet, falling snow were startled when “an American Bittern left the unfrozen creek along side the path and crossed the trail in front of the excited birders.” (LG, January 1976) It was found dead a few days later. (KB26: 102) Region 2 Kingbird reports show January or early February sightings of this species in only five of 30 years from 1976 to 2005. That included annual sightings in Mendon Ponds in the early 1990s: One 15 February 1992 (Davids, C. Cass) (GOS, April 1992); One 10 January (Davids, D. Tetlow) and 15 February 1993 (LGNR); One 15 January 1994 (Davids). (GOS, March 1994) “While this seems to be a rare event, it wasn’t until recently that observers began to hunt for this species in January,” Kevin Griffith noted. (KB 44: 121) That seemed to confirm John Brown’s observation nearly 40 years earlier, when birders also found this species almost annually in winter. The “lack of . . . winter records,” he suggested, “may well be due more to a lack of winter observers than to a lack of bitterns.” (BA, 23 February 1956)
Misc.
In April 1961, “several people saw an American bittern hit a [utility] wire at the Hawk Lookout (at Braddock Bay) and crash to the ground. The bird, alive but injured, was turned over to the Seneca Park Zoo,” John Brown reported. (BA, 27 April 1961)
Least Bittern**
Botaurus exilis, formerly (Ixobrychus exilis)Least Bittern**
Frank Dobson considered himself fortunate indeed during the spring of 1984. At the back of Round Pond marsh, “a least bittern popped from cover and paused, quite unconcerned, on a nearby snag. For several minutes it perched, only yards away, as the sun highlighted its sleek plumage.” The gray and brownish-yellow wings, the brownish-yellow body, white throat stripes, yellow eyes and green legs “make for a gorgeous bird.” (Birds, 17 June 1984)Often, the presence of our smallest heron in local marshes is betrayed only by its “mellow cuckoolike call,” Eaton (1910) wrote, for it is “of shy and gentle disposition, remaining hid in the long grass of the marshes . . . It climbs through the grass from stalk to stalk and rarely wades.” (Eaton I: 252)
Background
“When encountered, Least Bitterns typically burrow like rodents through dense vegetation, fly away weakly over marsh vegetation with legs dangling, or ‘freeze’ with their bill pointed upward . . .” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. Our smallest heron is also among the most inconspicuous of North American marsh birds. It breeds in low-lying areas associated with large rivers, lakes and estuaries of the eastern United States, with additional populations in low-lying areas in California and Oregon, and some subspecies extending well into South America. Prefers freshwater and brackish marshes with dense, tall vegetation. Males give a dovelike cooing, especially in spring. Believed declining based on birders’ observations. However it is secretive and often overlooked in large-scale surveys, so population trends are difficult to track. Destruction of wetland habitat is the principal threat to this species, but if wetlands remain undisturbed Least Bitterns “seem tolerant of human presence, and may persist in highly urbanized areas.” (BNA 17: 1-4, 8)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this summer resident as common in Monroe County, fairly common in Wayne and uncommon in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of only three, on dates ranging from 6 May to 14 September.During the early 1950s, this was seen much less frequently than American Bittern. Leo Tanghe’s charts of birds seen for the years 1951-1954 within a 50-mile radius of Rochester (note including Montezuma and Oak Orchard outside Region 2) list only 51 sightings of this species, compared to 318 sightings of American Bittern. Half the sightings were third week of May and last half of August, with only five records each in June and July. (KB5: 69: 1A-1B)In his 1953 listing of breeding birds in the Rochester area, Tanghe considered this an uncommon nester, listing the west bank of the Genesee River at Charlotte as a breeding location. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon to fairly common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably occasional) rare local summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 30 April (1983) to 23 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 7 to 12 May. Subsequently, one on 22 April 2000 (Kimball) at Nations Road was listed as record early. (GNR)One even earlier, on 7 April 1986 (Nicoletti) at Braddock Bay, was listed “first record for the year,” but not “first record for the spring migration.” (GNR)
Summer/breeding status: Bob McKinney banded a brood at “Ling Pond” (Long Pond or Ling Road marsh?) in 1962. (KB 12:147) At least five could be seen “feeding and flying back and forth” at the Shore Acres pond south of the parkway in early August 1964. (BA, 13 August 1964)Patient perusal of our marshes, especially in late summer, may be rewarded with the sight of one perched at the edge of the cattails, or briefly flying low over the vegetation. In June 1985, “For those willing to paddle quietly through the lakeshore cattail marshes, a treat is the numbers of Least Bitterns flying about. Reports were received of 12 and 20 sightings in single trips,” Bob Spahn noted. (GOS, July/August 1985) Low water levels that year produced “very good nesting conditions for marsh nesting birds . . .” (KB 35:263) Buck Pond has provided some of the best tallies. Brush Creek at the Hamlin-Parma Townline Road, Round Pond and Braddock Bay have been another good places to look for these birds, especially when they become more active during the last half of July into August. (LG, June/July 1993)As with American Bittern, its status is difficult to determine, but is believed declining. Most of the confirmed breeding during the first BBA project was at Braddock Bay and adjoining lakefront blocks to the west. (Andrle, p. 35) During the second project, it was found in fewer of those blocks and not confirmed in any of them; however, additional blocks with evidence of breeding were found in and around the Lake Shore Marshes WMA in Wayne County.
Summer maxima: 9 on 16 July 1983 (Griffith) at Buck Pond. (GOS, September 1983) 7 on 12 July 1984 (Griffith) Greece. (GOS, September 1984) 7 on 20 July 1986 (S. Taylor) west lakeshore. (LG, August 1986) 15 on 28 July 1981 (Davids) at Buck Pond. (LG, August 1981) Max. 20 per day, summer of 1985, at Buck Pond (KB35: 264) when there were “consistent” reports from nearby Round Pond as well. 9 on 9 August 1986 (C. Cass, mob) at Round Pond. (LG, September 1986)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 4 September to 2 October, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 14 to 20 September. One on 12 October 1996 (P. Spindler) at Braddock Bay (GNR) was the new record late date, until one was found on 17 December 2000 (D. Tetlow) at Cranberry Pond. (LG, February 2001)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 4 September to 2 October, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 14 to 20 September. One on 12 October 1996 (P. Spindler) at Braddock Bay (GNR) was the new record late date, until one was found on 17 December 2000 (D. Tetlow) at Cranberry Pond. (LG, February 2001)
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodiasGreat Blue Heron
“No springtime walk or drive through the countryside would be complete without the sight of at least one (Great Blue Heron), standing still as statuary, fishing some stream or pond, or flying silently away with slow and ponderous wingbeats, trailing long legs behind.”John Brown, Birds Afield, 1 March 1956
This, our most common large “crane” at ponds, marshes, and creeks, “is a distinct addition to the picturesqueness of our lake shores and river courses,” Eaton (1910)) wrote. (Eaton I: 254) But they can also show up in some unexpected places – under the right conditions. Consider this observer’s diary entry for 26 July 1992, when a very wet summer saturated the west lake shore: “Weirdest thing this morning is to see great blue herons – one on a lawn getting worms, and a couple others in cultivated fields, which apparently are so saturated that they seem like swamps to the herons.” Or Frank Dobson’s surprise to find one “standing in some distant wheat stubble,” along the lakeshore in August 1984. (Birds, 19 August 1984) Or Edson’s amazement on 23 June 1946 during an alewive die-off on Lake Ontario: “all three herons [Great Blue, Green and Black-crowned Night-Heron] were seen flying out over deep water and picking up the dead alewives or sowbellies, both on the wing, albeit rather awkwardly, and by alighting on the water after the manner of ducks.” (WBR, 1 July 1946) This was not an isolated instance. On 26 October 1993 lakewatchers at Hamlin Beach noted “the unusual sight of a Great Blue Heron taking flight off the lake . . .” (The Raptor Researcher 7/2:9)And then there was the Great Blue that Betty Wahl of Webster saw outside her kitchen window one October day, standing motionless like a statue next to a small, decorative waterfall pond near the house. It couldn’t have been looking for fish; none were kept in the pool. However, when Wahl returned later and looked out the window, the heron was walking off with something in its bill.Grabbing binoculars, she saw, to her surprise, that the heron had caught a chipmunk.“As she watched, the heron proceeded to swallow the chipmunk whole, head-first, as easily as it would swallow a fish, frog or grasshopper,” Frank Dobson reported. (Birds, 6 March 1994).“There had been a sizeable population of chipmunks about the property, so over the next four days the great blue would walk up from the bigger ponds and spend hours stalking around the yard, sometimes only a foot or two from the back door. The heron would even stand in the rock garden, with its bill pointing skyward, gently swaying, like a grass stalk in a breeze, hoping for some unsuspecting prey to appear.”
Background
This remarkably adaptable wading bird breeds across most of the United States and along the coasts of Mexico, and is equally at home in either freshwater or coastal habitats. Though primarily a fish eater, it also stalks upland fields for rodents, especially in winter. Usually nests in colonies, often of several hundred pairs, in isolated areas of islands or wooded swamps that discourage predation. Recovery of beaver populations in northeastern U.S. has provided additional nesting and foraging sites (BNA 25: 1-2, 8)
Local history
The Senecas apparently held this bird in considerable reverence; at a Native American gravesite overlooking the Genesee River near Avon, Charles Foster Wray found the remains of woman in her mid-30s, placed alongside a Great Blue Heron. Of the Seneca’s eight clans, one was named Heron. (Marcotte, pp. 15-16)
The white man has been less reverential at times. Eaton (1910) deplored the persecution of these birds and the felling of large trees that greatly reduced the number of its rookeries in New York State by the early 1900s. However, a large heronry remained on the Clyde River between Newark and Clyde. (Eaton I: 254) Another included 100 nests in 1915 at the north end of Honeoye Lake. (Bull, p. 73) Eaton listed this as a fairly common summer resident in Monroe and Wayne counties, and an occasional year-round resident in Monroe, but only a fairly common transient visitor in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)
R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated single birds were the norm, with a maximum count of 11, on dates ranging from 2 March to 23 December.
When Leo Tanghe examined the returns from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951-1954 within a 50-mile radius of Rochester, he found this species reported 612 times, most often in late April through May and in late August to mid October. Average counts reached 10-20 in May and August. There were 11 records in January and February. Note that at least some of these records were probably at Montezuma and Oak Orchard, just outside the current boundaries of Region 2. (KB 5: 69: 1A-1B)
This remains a common summer resident in our region. It is well adapted to human surroundings, and one or two of these large “cranes” can even be found in downtown Rochester along the rocky shallows of the Genesee River next to the Rundel Memorial library building. They linger in small but sometimes startling numbers into winter wherever ponds and streams remain open.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common to common summer resident, and a regular, rare winter visitant.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular) uncommon winter visitant and a regular common summer resident. (Note the change from Eaton’s chart of occurrence!)
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 2 March to 10 April, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 20 to 28 March. Spring maxima: 35 on 30 March 1979 (C. Cass) at Braddock Bay. (GOS, May 1979) 56 on 30 March 1988 migrating past the hawk lookout at Braddock Bay. (KB 38:196) 135 on 9 April 1987 Braddock Bay. (KB37: 149) 60 in two hours on 13 April 1982 (R. Dobson) Manitou. (GNR) 75 on 20 April 1963 (Chamberlain) at Clyde. (GNR) 41 on 16 May 1981 (N. and L. Moon) Braddock Bay. (GNR) Summer/breeding status: In 1953, Leo Tanghe listed this as a common breeding species in the Rochester area, and specifically mentioned Thousand Acre Swamp as a nesting location. (GOS, May/August 1953) As many as 60 nests were observed there in April 1951. (GOS, April/June 1951)Another rookery with an estimated 40 adults and young birds was located in June 1960 by members of a Genesee Ornithological Society field trip when they explored a ridge that extends between Honeoye and Canandaigua lakes. The rookery was in a shale glen of mixed hemlock and hardwood forest, with deep shade and a thick growth of ferns. A small stream ran through it. The birders found several nests with nearly full-fledged young herons. (BA, 30 June 1960; KB10: 101)A statewide heronry survey found from 40 to 175 active nests at the Marengo Swamp (now Galen Marsh WMA), four miles south of Clyde in Wayne County, during 1964-68, with as many as 440 young. A swamp near Scottsville had as many as 34 active nests; another in the Groveland Flats, 10. (KB 19: 86; 15: 92) However, a 150-nest colony in the Vanderbilt Swamp near Savannah, 10 miles east of the Marengo Swamp, was abandoned in 1964. (KB 15:92)John Brown described wading into a Wayne County marsh in 1963, then climbing up to a tree platform that served as a blind to observe the nests, some of them “easily 90 feet up . . . In some of the nests, young birds were sitting up, in others, probably where the young had been recently fed, they were lying flat, hunched down below the rim.“The fairly incessant low squawking would rise to a crescendo whenever an adult bird would fly in to feed a brood.” (BA, 20 June 1963)This species continues to breed at several locations in Wayne County. During a field trip to the Lake Shore Marshes WMA on 29 March 1998, for example, a rookery with birds on the nest was observed along Clapper Road. (LG, May 1998) Another rookery was reported at the Olga Fleischer Wildlife Preserve south of Sodus Bay (LG, September 2002) and “40 plus” herons were observed “circling their rookery” in the East Bay Unit of Chimney Bluffs SP during an April 2006 field trip. (LG, May 2006)More recently, nesting has again been reported at Thousand Acre Swamp in Penfield, apparently by birds displaced from the Blue Heron Country Club in Gananda. (Information from Dominic Sherony; see also reference in McKinney article on Irondequoit Creek wetlands, GOS, December 1996)As for Livingston County, no fewer than 110 nests were in sight from the road at the Fowlerville rookery near Avon in March 1992. “The rookery probably totals nearly double this.” (GOS, May 1992) Kurt Fox (1998) reported three clusters of forty to sixty nests each at this heronry, plus about thirty nests in Conesus Swamp and smaller heronries in Letchworth SP. (Fox, p. 23)
The two BBA projects suggest a stable breeding presence in our region, with nesting probable or confirmed in about 50 blocks.
Summer maxima: 43 on 19 May 1979 (Perrigo, mob) at Braddock Bay. (LG, June 1979) 51 – all in view at the same time – on 4 June 1982 (Davids) feeding at Braddock Bay. (LGNR) 40 on 25 June 1960 (Foster, mob) at the Bristol rookery. (KB 10:101) 40 on 17 July 1960 (Listman) at Groveland. (KB 10:101) Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 10 October to 12 December, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 16 October to 6 November.
Fall maxima: 32 on 12 October 1977 (Griffith) at Buck Pond. (LG, November 1977)
Winter: Good numbers can sometimes be found in winter at open water. Slater Creek, where Russell Station power plant discharges its warm water into the lake, is a reliable spot. This observer flushed five there on 7 January 1990, and later recorded in his diary: “a big footprint is pressed into a slushy, half-melted patch of snow; there is even the outline of one of its wing prints where it brushed against the ground. It is simply a place of snow and brown, broken cattail shoots. All five head west, presumably to other parts of the creek.”However, birds that winter here do so at their peril. One was found “frozen in the ice” at Mendon Ponds during January 1976 when several overnight readings plummeted below zero. (LG, February 1976) Especially impressive are the maxima from January 2003 (see below) during an especially severe winter.
Winter maxima: 38 on 5 December 2006 (Kimball) at Caledonia. (LG, February 2007) 20 on 5 January 2002 (D. Tetlow, Davids) at Turning Point Park. (LG, March 2002) 43 on 7 January 2007 (D. Tetlow, Davids) Caledonia Fish Hatchery. (LG, March 2007) 18 on 16 January 1988 (Davids, D. Tetlow) Seneca Park. (LG, February 1988) 18 max. on 21-28 January 1989 (Leubner, mob) Genesee River during a mild winter, increasing to 20 the following month. (GNR) 31 on 26 January 2003 (D. Tetlow, Davids) Long and Buck ponds in Greece. (KB 53:139) 17 on 28 January 2001 (D.Tetlow, Davids) Genesee River at Turning Point Park. (GNR) 20 on 30 January 2003 (R. Spahn) Caledonia Fish Hatchery. (LG, March 2003; KB 53: 139)
Fall maxima: 32 on 12 October 1977 (Griffith) at Buck Pond. (LG, November 1977)
Winter: Good numbers can sometimes be found in winter at open water. Slater Creek, where Russell Station power plant discharges its warm water into the lake, is a reliable spot. This observer flushed five there on 7 January 1990, and later recorded in his diary: “a big footprint is pressed into a slushy, half-melted patch of snow; there is even the outline of one of its wing prints where it brushed against the ground. It is simply a place of snow and brown, broken cattail shoots. All five head west, presumably to other parts of the creek.”However, birds that winter here do so at their peril. One was found “frozen in the ice” at Mendon Ponds during January 1976 when several overnight readings plummeted below zero. (LG, February 1976) Especially impressive are the maxima from January 2003 (see below) during an especially severe winter.
Winter maxima: 38 on 5 December 2006 (Kimball) at Caledonia. (LG, February 2007) 20 on 5 January 2002 (D. Tetlow, Davids) at Turning Point Park. (LG, March 2002) 43 on 7 January 2007 (D. Tetlow, Davids) Caledonia Fish Hatchery. (LG, March 2007) 18 on 16 January 1988 (Davids, D. Tetlow) Seneca Park. (LG, February 1988) 18 max. on 21-28 January 1989 (Leubner, mob) Genesee River during a mild winter, increasing to 20 the following month. (GNR) 31 on 26 January 2003 (D. Tetlow, Davids) Long and Buck ponds in Greece. (KB 53:139) 17 on 28 January 2001 (D.Tetlow, Davids) Genesee River at Turning Point Park. (GNR) 20 on 30 January 2003 (R. Spahn) Caledonia Fish Hatchery. (LG, March 2003; KB 53: 139)
Great Egret
(formerly American and Common Egret)Ardea albaGreat Egret
When the woman called the newspaper to report seeing a possible “whooping crane” at Lake Riley in Cobb’s Hill Park in early August 2006, this birder knew immediately it would likely prove to be a Great Egret. It was. On 2 August 2006 the bird occupied a concrete slab that just barely emerged from the water’s surface, not more than 10 feet from the shore next to the Lake Riley lodge. (“Egret evokes inquiries,” D&C, 3 August 2006) It alternately preened and watched for prey as the normal, hum-drum assemblage of Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls and Rock Pigeons paraded along the grassy shore. When three young boys spilled from a car and began chasing the geese, grabbing at their tail feathers, the egret momentarily adopted a watchful, erect posture, but did not flush – even though the boys approached within 40 or 50 feet. When this birder returned to the newsroom and called the woman back, she apologized for sending him chasing after a bird that wasn’t more special – as if watching one of these elegant, graceful visitors could ever be a “waste of time”!
Background
This symbol of the National Audubon Society is cosmopolitan, nesting in colonies in freshwater and marine wetlands and estuaries from North and South America to southeastern Europe, Siberia, India, China, Japan, Australia and sub-Saharan Africa. In North America, it breeds as far north as Manitoba, southern Ontario and southern Quebec provinces of Canada. Nonbreeding birds summer widely and post-breeding dispersal also brings birds north from June to October. Some birds remain as far north as Massachusetts, rather than migrating, depending on the severity of the season. Systematic killing of these birds for plumes from 1870 to 1910 reduced North American numbers by at least 95 percent, to only about 1,000 - 1,500 pairs. By the 1990s, this species had fully recovered and there were probably more of them nesting on our continent north of Mexico than at any other time during the 20th century. This species is flexible in its choice of habitats, aiding its recovery. (BNA 570: 1, 2, 5, 19-20, 22)
Local history
For many years, when this species was at a low ebb due to hunting, Great Egrets simply were not seen here.Eaton (1910) lists at least one record from our region, at Kent, Orleans County, on 27 July 1883 when two of three that had wandered into the county were shot for specimens. Another at Carlton in 1883 may gave been right on our border; so, too, another at “South Barre” on or “about” 25 April 1887. (Eaton I: 257)However, the killing of the two at Kent was all too typical. Gulf and coastal populations were severely depleted due to hunting by the early 1900s. “In the old days… known to a large number of people merely as a beautiful plume worn on the ladies’ hats,” Edson noted. (WBR, 22 July 1946) Only with the protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1913 did this elegant wader begin to rebound. (BNA 570: 4)By the 1920s these birds reappeared on Long Island, Bull notes. (Bull, p. 73) But there were apparently no sightings in our region after the turn of the century until 1930, when George Guelf “observed two on August 8, five on August 22 and one on September 2 at Sandy Creek near the Lake Ontario shore, north of Brockport,” according to Beardslee and Mitchell. (B&M: 97) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, apparently was not aware of these sightings, indicating 5 August 1933 as the date of the first record in Monroe County, when “a group of 6 birds were seen fishing on Irondequoit Bay in company with 9 great blue herons.” (“Egret, Rare in These Parts, Pays Irondequoit Bay Visit,” D&C, 14 August 1933) The species subsequently had been noted “every year since,” usually one to two birds, but a maximum count of 8, on dates ranging from 14 July to 15 October.Annual occurrences continued at Irondequoit Bay and on the ponds west of the Genesee River, except during the war years, Edson noted in 1946. (WBR, 22 July 1946) Indeed, when Leo Tanghe analyzed the tallies from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from January 1951 through December 1954, he found this species reported 50 times within a 50-mile radius of Rochester, primarily late summer, with average counts reaching 20 to 30 birds in early August. No doubt at least some of these sightings were at Montezuma and Oak Orchard, just outside the current boundaries of Region 2. (KB 5: 69: 1A-1B)This species continues to occur regularly as a visitor, when spring migrants overshoot their breeding grounds, and when birds disperse from midsummer on from breeding areas as nearby as Motor Island on the Niagara River. However, numbers can fluctuate greatly from year to year.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon spring and fall visitant, and an irregular, uncommon summer visitant.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably irregular) rare spring transient and (presumably occasional) rare summer visitant.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 25 March (1980) to 31 May, with a mid range of 6 April to 16 May. However, individuals were at Hamlin Beach (Symonds, R. Clark) and Braddock Bay (Listman) on 21 March 1976. (LG, April 1976) Subsequently, one on 18 March 2006 (Kimball) at Conesus Lake was record early. (LG, May 2006)
Spring maxima: 7 on 14 April 1978 (N. Henderson) Greece. (GNR) 8 on 20 April 1989 (Nicoletti) Braddock Bay. (GOS, September 1989) 6 on 24 April 1996 (Griffith) Buck Pond. (GOS, June 1996) 6 on 5 May 1996 (R. and S. Spahn) Salmon Creek. (GOS, July/August 1996) Summer/breeding status: Some of our best tallies have occurred late summer when birds dispersing from breeding areas drift into the region. In 1948, for example, at least 20 birds were apparently in the area in August, with maximum tallies of 5, 7, 5, and three reported on the 13th, 15th, 15th and 27th, respectively, from Hamlin, the Ling Road marsh, Salmon Creek and Victor. Eleven were reported along the lakeshore the following month, on the the 19th. (GOS, August/October 1948)
Summer maxima: 10 on 13 June 2002 (Chick) at Sandy Creek. (LG, September 2002) Max. 12, from 25-30 July 1948 (Chapin) Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, August/October 1948) 17 in August 1947 in a “swamp at the south end” of Little Pond (next to Russell Station). (WBR, 1 September 1947) 9 on 27 August 2005 (D. Tetlow) at Hogan Point. (KB 55:362; LG October 2005)
Note: The Kingbird reported as many as 34 at Stutson Street marsh in August 1952. (KB 2:92) However, the Goshawk, in its field notes for that month, indicated this count occurred 17 August at Montezuma, just outside our region. (GOS, September/October 1952)
First breeding in New York State occurred on Fisher’s Island downstate in 1953, and this species has since become well established downstate along the coast. In 1985, 296 pairs of Great Egrets were counted at 16 colonies in the Long Island area. (Andrle, p. 38)Not known to breed in our region, but it does just to our west at Motor Island on the Niagara River, and it certainly seems within the realm of possibility that it could do so here. As early as the mid 1960s, “The presence of individuals in the nesting season during some recent years points to the possibility of their breeding here (in western New York) in the future,” Beardslee and Mitchell speculated. (B&M, p. 98) An April sighting in 1979 at a pond in Durand-Eastman Park prompted similar speculation from John Brown that “a pair or more of these graceful, white marsh waders may eventually nest somewhere in this area.” (BA, 4 April 1979)The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated it “may breed near Avon.” (AL, p. 15) Fox, however, notes that even though two were present most of the summer of 1984 near the Great Blue Heron rookery there, “nesting activity was not observed.” (Fox, p. 23)However, a confirmed breeding record seemed tantalizingly close when “a single bird was seen arranging sticks in a nest at the edge of a Great Blue Heron colony in Wayne County” in 2002. (KB52: 347)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 28 August to 4 December (1948), with a mid range of 5 September to 12 October. The record late bird was seen by Listman at Manitou. (GNR)
Fall maxima: 31 on 30 August 2002 (R. Spahn, mob) at Savannah (when another thirty-three were at or near Montezuma NWR just outside our region). (LG October 2002, plus information from Robert Spahn) 5-9 from 15-31 August 1975 (Listman, Perrigo, mob) along the west lakeshore. (LG, September 1975) 12 on 3 September 2007 (R. Spahn) south end Irondequoit Bay. (LG, November 2007) 12 on 20 September 1959 (Oresman, Hampel) at Salmon Creek. (GNR). 7 on 8 October 1948 (Chadwick et al) at Mendon Ponds. (GNR)
Misc.
On 5 June 1989 one of these handsome herons put on a display of its foraging techniques at Ontario Beach. It worked its way to the edge of the water. Then, twice “I watched it fly out over the lake . . . flying up stiffly to a height of 20 feet or so, almost hovering, then dropping gracefully down until its feet just touched the water, and darting its beak into the water to snare its prey. ‘It would then fly back to the edge of the water, scattering the gulls, which respected its size.” (Marcotte diary entry) Normally Great Egrets forage by walking slowly or simply standing and waiting, according to the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. However, “occasionally foot-stirs and steals food from conspecifics or hunts by fluttering over water.” (BNA 570:7)
Fall maxima: 31 on 30 August 2002 (R. Spahn, mob) at Savannah (when another thirty-three were at or near Montezuma NWR just outside our region). (LG October 2002, plus information from Robert Spahn) 5-9 from 15-31 August 1975 (Listman, Perrigo, mob) along the west lakeshore. (LG, September 1975) 12 on 3 September 2007 (R. Spahn) south end Irondequoit Bay. (LG, November 2007) 12 on 20 September 1959 (Oresman, Hampel) at Salmon Creek. (GNR). 7 on 8 October 1948 (Chadwick et al) at Mendon Ponds. (GNR)
Misc.
On 5 June 1989 one of these handsome herons put on a display of its foraging techniques at Ontario Beach. It worked its way to the edge of the water. Then, twice “I watched it fly out over the lake . . . flying up stiffly to a height of 20 feet or so, almost hovering, then dropping gracefully down until its feet just touched the water, and darting its beak into the water to snare its prey. ‘It would then fly back to the edge of the water, scattering the gulls, which respected its size.” (Marcotte diary entry) Normally Great Egrets forage by walking slowly or simply standing and waiting, according to the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. However, “occasionally foot-stirs and steals food from conspecifics or hunts by fluttering over water.” (BNA 570:7)
Snowy Egret
Egretta thulaSnowy Egret
On 23 May 1976 four expectant birders surmounted a rise and, just like that, their “anxious feelings . . . suddenly transformed into a quiet, unspoken contentment.” In the flooded field in front of them was a sight that “will flavor our favorite recollections of past birding tales,” Chip Perrigo related. A Great Egret. Five Cattle Egrets. Two Snowy Egrets. Three Glossy Ibis. “All feeding only yards apart.” (LG, July 1976)The deep satisfaction felt by the Rochester birders is understandable. They were not birding in Florida, or the Gulf Coast, or the Outer Banks that morning. They were pursuing a Big Day count on Hogan Point Road. And to think that only four days earlier snow had been falling in Rochester! (LG, June 1976) The appearances of Snowy Egrets, dainty southern herons with “golden slippers,” is uncommon enough in our region; to be seen with three other southern waders all at once, in such close proximity, was truly memorable.
Background
In 1886, the plumes of this species were valued at an astounding $32 per ounce, twice the price of gold at that time, according to the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. Under the pressure of unrelenting hunting, Snowy Egrets were eradicated from the Atlantic Coast as far south as the Carolinas, and nearly became extinct even in Florida. With protection, starting in 1913, this bird began to recover and reoccupy previous breeding sites, and even expand its range northward. This included a “remarkable population expansion” along large river drainages. However, there has been a more recent, significant decline in numbers across most of its range, especially in the northeast U.S. and Atlantic Coast, in part because of loss of wetlands, in part because of competition from Cattle Egret and Black-crowned Night-heron. This species uses the broadest repertoire of foraging techniques of any North American heron. “During spring, summer and early fall, many individuals (particularly birds dispersing after breeding) typically appear in areas outside of breeding range . . . During this period, individuals have been recorded . . . north to southernmost portions of all Canadian provinces. . . but numbers appearing in any given location may vary greatly from year to year, and species may be absent for long periods.” (BNA 489: 1-4, 6, 8)
Local history
Like the Great Egret, this species was nearly wiped out by plume hunters by the early 1900s, effectively extirpating it as a breeding species in coastal areas of New York. Eaton (1910) gives no record of occurrence in Monroe, Livingston or Wayne counties.With protection, this species began to reappear in New York in the 1930s. (Andrle, p. 40) George Guelf found one in a creek north of Hamlin Center about one mile from Lake Ontario on 27 July 1948. It was seen again on 31 July in the same area by Guelf and Mitchell who studied it “carefully at close range as it fed in shallow water. All identifying characters, including the yellow feet, were clearly seen.” (B&M: 98) This was the “only record for Monroe County to be found since the turn of the century,” Edson noted. (WBR, 16 August 1948) It occurred during a “pronounced incursion of southern herons into the northeastern states,” Beardslee and Mitchell reported. (B&M: 98) The following year, two nests were discovered on Long Island, and breeding colonies were established during the 1950s in southern Nassau County and at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. (Andrle, p. 40) Three more sightings followed here during the same period: One on 24-25 May 1952 (Barry, Kemnitzer et al) at Hogan Point Road (GOS, May/August 1952) One 15-20 May 1956 at Durand-Eastman Park, spotted at the Pump house Pond by Laura Moon and her sister. The bird flew off before they could see the color of the legs and feet. But the next day Laura Moon saw the bird four times and, “using the telescope, I could easily see the dark bill, yellow lores, black legs and yellow ochre feet. “It was seen to catch a fish once and either a fish or a frog another time,” she reported. “The characteristic shuffling of its feet in search for food was observed several times.” (GOS, January/June 1956) One 25 May-1 June 1958 (Tanghe, Listman et al) at Braddock’s Bay. (GNR) (Note: John Brown reported one had been seen in September 1956 in the marshes off Cranberry Pond. See BA 20 September 1956. However, there is no mention in GOS or KB.)There were six more sightings here in the 1960s.By the mid 1970s, it was the most numerous breeding heron on the south shore of Long Island, Bull recorded. (Bull, p. 74) Even so, he considered it the “rarest” of the native white herons inland. However, starting in 1973 it has been seen almost annually in our region. Subsequently, its breeding numbers declined significantly on Long Island, but it remains established as a breeding species there and in coastal areas of adjoining states. Like the Great Egret and other southern herons, it is prone to wander widely when migrating or when dispersing after the breeding season.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an irregular, very rare spring visitant, and a sporadic, very rare summer visitant.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual very rare spring visitant.
Occurrence
Of about 51 records since 1952, two thirds occurred in May.
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 22 April (1976) to 28 May, with a mid range of 11 to 16 May.Usually single birds are seen. However, as many as seven, including five in one group at one of the parkway borrow pit ponds in Kendall, were seen in May 1978. (KB 28:170; BA, 10 May 1978)
Spring maxima: 3 on 1 May 2004 (S. Taylor) at Braddock Bay. (KB 54:230) 5 on 5 May 1978 (F. Dobson, L. Moon) at Kendall. (KB 28:170) Max. 3 on 13-16 May 1973 (J. and J. Conner et al) at Braddock Bay. (KB 23:145; BA, 17 May 1973) 3 on 23 May 1977 (J. Skelly, mob) at Braddock Bay. (KB 27:151) Fall: One on 26 October 1999 (D. Tetlow) at the mouth of Northrup Creek was record late. (LG, February 2000)
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caeruleaLittle Blue Heron
Michael Menuhin of Newark earned the gratitude of several Rochester birders when he observed one of these southern herons fly into a pond near Parking Lot 4 at Hamlin Beach SP on 22 April 1979. He drove all the way back to Braddock Bay to the hawk lookout to notify people there, “many of whom immediately took off for Hamlin,” John Brown reported (BA, 25 April 1979).“By that time the bird had flown up into a large willow tree where it was spotted by Walt Listman. With the help of telescopes, everyone there was able to get a good look at the bird with its dark, gray-blue body and reddish brown neck and head.”The excitement was understandable. This is one of the rarer southern herons to appear in our region.
Background
The dark plumage and lack of aigrette plumes spared this solitary, secretive heron from plume hunters during the early 1900s. Nonetheless, disturbance of breeding colonies, drainage of wetlands, and altered patterns of water runoff due to development have probably reduced its numbers. This is primarily a breeder along the Atlantic Coast, southeast and south central U.S., the Caribbean, Mexico and South America, nesting in mixed-species colonies. During postbreeding dispersal birds travel as far north as Canada. Most abundant in Delaware, the Carolinas, Florida, Texas and especially Louisiana, but may be declining in much of the southeast. Anecdotal evidence suggests declines may be linked to more aggressive Cattle Egrets. However, Little Blue Herons have expanded into California and, interestingly, have occasionally followed Cattle Egrets in expanding their breeding range into the Midwest. (BNA 145: 1-3, 21)Eaton (1910) considered this an accidential summer visitor in New York State, with most records occurring on Long Island, and none from our region (Eaton 1:260-262). It became a regular visitor to coastal areas by the 1920s, and increased considerably with “marked flights” in 1929-1930, 1936 and 1948, Bull reported (Andrle, p. 42; Bull, p. 79). But it was not recorded breeding on Long Island until 1958 (Andrle, p. 42). Unlike other southern wading birds that expanded north along the coast, this heron’s foothold remained relatively small: only 68 breeding pairs on Long Island and Staten Island by 1985.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as an occasional, very rare visitant.
Occurrence
About two dozen sightings since 1949, half in April/May and another five in September, one in October, on dates ranging from 22 April to 16 October. 1. An appearance of this coastal wader on 14 August 1949 at the Buck Pond marshes was “so far as we are aware” the first Monroe County record, Edson reported (WBR, 22 August 1949). It coincided with a “considerable influx” in western New York, he added. (B&M, p. 96, list three locations where five other birds were seen in western New York that month.) 2. One on 1 May 1973 (F. Dobson) photographed at Redman Road, Hamlin. (KB 23:195; GOS notes for June 1973 noteworthies). 3. One on 3 June 1973 (J. and J. Connor) at Braddock Bay (KB 23:195). 4. An immature on 31 August 1975 (I. Johnson) at Long Pond (LGNR). During an influx of southern waders in April/May 1976, there were multiple sightings of individual adult birds and an immature: 5. Individual adult birds were reported on 22 April (T. Tetlow, mob) at Braddock Bay (KB 26:159; LG, May 1976), on 2 May (RBA field trip) at Island Cottage (LG, June 1976, apparently misreported as 2 April in KB); and on 16 May (Schmalley, Doris, mob) at Braddock Bay/Hogan Point Road (LG, June 1976; GNR), again, apparently misreported as 16 April in KB). Given the close proximity of the sightings, it is possible this was one bird. 6. An immature on either 22 April or 22 May 1976 (O’Hara) at Hogan Point (KB 26:159, GNR) 7. One adult on 22 April 1979 (Menuhin, mob) at Hamlin Beach SP (KB 29: 145) 8. One on 18 July 1980 (Listman) at Kendall (KB 30:228) 9. An immature from 9-17 May 1981 (J. and J. Connor) at Round and Buck ponds (KB 31:163). 10. One adult 7 September 1981 (J. and A. Foster) at Letchworth SP below the Mt. Morris Dam (KB 32:39; Fox, p. 24) 11. One adult 7 September 1981 (Davids, Symond) – same date as 9. above – at Hamlin (KB 32:39-40) 12. One on 18 May 1986 (Dodge) at Braddock Bay (KB 36:148, Gos, November 1986) 13. One on 7 July 1987 (R. Clark) near Mt. Morris feeding in a small pond (KB 37:223; Fox, p. 24) 14. One on 23 May 1990 (Nicoletti) at Braddock Bay (KB 40:175; GOS, July/August 1990) 15. One adult on 30 May 1992 (R. Spahn) flying overhead at Badgerow (then Dewey-Latta) Park, Greece (GOS, July/August 1992) 16. One immature on 28 August 1993 (Ewald) at Braddock Bay (KB 43:316) “landed briefly along the edge of Buttonwood Creek in front of the hawk platform, then departed to the northeast.” (LG, October 1993) 17. One on 25 September 1993 (R. Spahn, O’Hara) at Braddock Bay (KB 44:41) 18. One on 17 May 1997 (R. Cooper) at Mendon Ponds (KB 47:199) 19. One adult 6 September 1999 (D. Tetlow) at the “Dogleg Pond” of the borrow pits in Kendall (KB 50:52; LG November 1999) 20. One immature on 11 September 1999 (D. Tetlow, Soule, C. Spahn) at Irondequoit Bay (KB 50:52) 21. One adult on 28 May 2001 (D. Tetlow) at Braddock Bay (GNR, LGNR) 22. One adult on 30 April 2004 (Zettel) at the RIT Campus in Henrietta (KB 54:230; GOS, July 2004) 23. One adult on 31 July 2004 (D. Tetlow) Hamlin. (KB 54:335) 24. One 10 May 2006 (D. Tetlow) Braddock Bay. (KB 56:241) 25. An immature 12-16 October 2007 (Griffith, mob) Salmon Creek. (LG, December 2007)
Note: Frank Dobson reported that one had been seen 19 May 1988 at Shore Acres by Al Powlowski (Birds, 12 June 1988) and another early May 1992 at the south end Round Pond marshes (Birds, 24 May 1992). Another was rumored at Braddock Bay during the spring 1996 hawkwatch, but no report was filed. (KB 46:230)
Tricolored Heron
(formerly Louisiana Heron)Egretta tricolorTricolored Heron
Walt Listman was on the east spit of Braddock Bay, the afternoon of 31 May 1950, when a heron flew “almost directly over his head and then landed in a dead willow facing him,” according to Beardslee and Mitchell (B&M: 99). When overhead the light wing linings and darker flight feathers were quite noticeable; as it perched in the tree, Listman could see a dark-streaked brown throat, “ending abruptly at the white belly. . . .“While Listman had never seen this species in life, later observations of it in Florida strengthened his conviction as to the identity of the Braddock’s Bay heron.” It was the first reliable record of Tricolored (then called Louisiana) Heron in upstate New York (Bull, p. 81).
Background
Until the arrival of Cattle Egret in the 19502, this species was probably the most numerous North American heron, according to The Birds of North America. During the 1940s to 1970s it expanded northward up the East Coast, with a first breeding record in New York State in 1955 (BNA 306:1,3). However, like the Little Blue Heron, it had managed only a small foothold by the mid 1980s, with only 10-25 pairs found in 3-5 heronries per year on Long Island (Andrle, p. 44). Moreover, because of its strong association with coastal habitats, its appearances here are sporadic. Twenty-six years would pass before another Monroe County record signaled a more frequent pattern of sightings.
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a sporadic, rare spring visitant.
Occurrence
1. Listman’s bird on 31 May 1950 at Braddock Bay. 2. One 5 May 1976 (Davis, Shay, Wilton) at Island Cottage. (KB 26:159) 3. One 9-24 May 1976 (mob) at Braddock Bay (KB 26:159), treated by AL as same bird as 2. above. 4. One variously reported as either 1 or 20 April 1978 (Sunderlin, Whittum, Luloff) at Kendall on the shore of a “borrow pit” pond along the Lake Ontario State Parkway. (KB 28:170, GNR) 5. Two 23-25 April 1981 (Davids, Listman) at Buck Pond, Greece. (KB 31:163) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 32:229) 6. One 24-27 May 1985 (O’Hara, S. Taylor) Braddock Bay. (KB 35:186) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 37:201) 7. One 31 May 1990 (Nicoletti) Braddock Bay. (KB 40:175; GNR) 8. One 2, 5-6 May 1998 Round Pond, Greece, (KB 48: 223) was spotted by Gary Chapin preparatory to an RBA field trip. “The heron, an adult in breeding plumage, was feeding actively at the edge of the marsh,” Dominic Sherony wrote in his summary of the trip (LG, June 1998). “It would frequently look for new spots to fish, being much more impatient than the Great Blue Heron.” One Greece 3 June 1998 (KB 48: 326) was “quite likely” the same bird. Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 51:481) 9. One 11 September 1999 (D. Tetlow) Braddock Bay. (KB 50:52) 10. One 12 April 2001 (D. Tetlow) Hogan Point. (KB51:696) 11. One 17 June 2003 (Griffith) Greece. (KB 53:346) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 56: 9) (Note: John Brown reported that one had been seen by Listman on 31 March 1982 at Rose’s Marsh. See BA, 8 April 1982. However, there is no report of this bird in the Goshawk, Little Gull or Kingbird. Yet another was rumored to have been seen during the Braddock Bay Hawkwatch during the record-setting raptor flight in spring 1996; however, no verification report was received – KB 46: 230.)
Cattle Egret (Western)
Bubulcus ibisCattle Egret (Western)
About 10:30 a.m. on 1 June 1960, one of the children attending nursery school at a 72-acre farm in Parma, looked out the window and “discovered what she reported was a ‘seagull.’” Mrs. C. Morton Wadsworth, who was conducting the class, took a look. Good thing. Mrs. Wadsworth couldn’t find anything like it in her Peterson’s or Audubon field guides, but she knew it wasn’t a seagull. It was clearly a member of the heron family. In fact, it was our region’s first documented Cattle Egret. When it showed up on the Wadsworth’s farm, on Hill Road near Parma Center Road, it picked a “small paradise for birds,” Birds Afield columnist John Brown reported. The house was well back from the road, overlooking a thicketed gully and waterway with a pasture just beyond.When Brown and Al Starling showed up for a look later that afternoon, Mrs. Wadsworth took them over to the gully and pointed out where she had last seen the bird. Sure enough, “it flew up out of the gully and landed on the edge of the pasture. We maneuvered to where we could get a very good view of it. There was no room for doubt – small, about a foot and a half tall; white except for light toast-colored patches on breast, crown and back, yellow legs and yellowish bill. It had to be a Cattle egret.” (BA, 2 June 1960)
Background
By foraging alongside grazing livestock, feeding on the insects that are stirred up, this introduced species sets itself apart from native North American herons and egrets. This species is widespread and extending its range worldwide, in large part because of the tendency of juveniles to disperse widely in all directions. It is also “remarkably adapted to many habitats,” including disturbed and converted landscapes, such as cattle and farm land, parks, school grounds, sports fields, lawns, city dumps. It probably reached South America in the late 1800s by literally flying across the Atlantic from Africa; then moved into the Caribbean, and was first reported nesting in Florida in 1953. Breeding has now been reported in all but six of the lower 48 states. “Distinguishing between migration and dispersal is difficult as birds tend to wander extensively, exhibiting repeated incursions, temporary colonizations, retreats, and establishments depending on conditions.” This species is still expanding its range in the United States. However, the rate of increase has declined in recent years, perhaps indicating that its expansion phase in U.S. may be nearly complete. (BNA 113: 1-5)
Local history
By 1958, Cattle Egrets were breeding as far north as New Jersey; two years later, they were breeding in southern Ontario. (Andrle, p. 46) Two more spent the July 4 weekend in 1960 on a small pond “well stocked with frogs” on Huffer Road. “While they were under observation they were seldom more than six feet apart.” Edson noted. “They evidently were a very loving couple” – but moved on after they had apparently “exhausted the frog population” on the pond. (WBR, 6 June and 11 July 1960) In all, there were 24 sightings of Cattle Egret in New York State that year, more than doubling the number of sightings in all previous years combined. (KB11: 26-27)Fifteen were on the Genesee River Flats on 17 May 1962 (J. Haller) and 9 others were at Clarkson the next day (Neugles) during the first large irruption into the state (Fox, p. 24; KB12: 85, 91) when literally hundreds of birds were reported statewide. (Bull, p. 81) In 1970 the first breeding occurred in the state at Gardiners Island off Long Island (Andrle, p. 46).Even nonbirders were beginning to take notice. One Whitney Road resident called John Brown in April 1971 to report an “all-white bird around the size of a pheasant” on the Midvale golf course. It was a male Cattle Egret. (BA, 29 April 1971) A flock of 11 seen in May 1974 at the Pure Waters treatment plant on Payne Beach Road eventually grew to 16 on the 19th. (KB 24:135; BA, 15 May 1974) All or many of these birds may have colonized Rose (also called Rose’s) Marsh, Greece, where five nests were found that year (1974) when this species was still expanding its breeding range in New York. (Andrle, p. 46; AL, p. 15) But there have been no reports of breeding in this region since. All those sightings in 1962 prompted John Brown to predict that “this relatively recent migrant from the Old World will soon be one of our common summer species.” (BA, 3 May 1962) However, since the mid 1970s Cattle Egrets, through reported almost annually, have been noticeably scarcer, with only one reported some years. This may reflect a decline in upstate and coastal nesting colonies (see Levine, p. 130) – and the broader slowing of this species’ expansion nationwide.
Status Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon to fairly common spring visitant; an occasional, rare summer visitant; and a casual, very rare winter visitant. Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a sporadic very rare spring and fall visitant.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 13 April to 8 June, with a mid range of 29 April to 17 May. Of approximately 100-110 records, nearly three-quarters have been in April and May. Two on 13 April 1968 (Kemnitzer) at Braddock Bay were record early. (KB 18:149)
However, there has been an increase in fall sightings, now totaling nearly 20. An especially interesting influx occurred in fall 1987, with four at Charlotte, one to two at Hogan Point, and one each at Churchville and Wayne County in late October/early November. “These were exceptionally late and in unprecedented numbers” for that time of year. (KB 38: 32-33)A similar influx occurred 16-22 November 2005, with as many as five individuals scattered at Hamlin, Parma, Greece and North Bergen. (LG, January 2006) One at the Monroe County airport on the very late date of 21 December 1984 (Schmale) was a “tremendous surprise for this time of the year.” (KB35: 125) It remains our only winter record.
Maxima: 15 on 17 May 1962 (J. Haller) at Scottsville. (KB 12:91) 9 on 18 May 1962 (Neugles) at Clarkson. (KB 12:91) Max. 10 from 22 April through May 1973 (mob) Braddock Bay. (KB 23:145) Max. 16 on 19 May 1974 (C. and B. Perrigo) Parma. (KB 24:135)
Misc.
One of these birds at Hogan Point in spring 1977 nearly eluded one Big Day team of birders “by consorting with domestic geese in a barnyard.” (BA, 25 May 1977)
Maxima: 15 on 17 May 1962 (J. Haller) at Scottsville. (KB 12:91) 9 on 18 May 1962 (Neugles) at Clarkson. (KB 12:91) Max. 10 from 22 April through May 1973 (mob) Braddock Bay. (KB 23:145) Max. 16 on 19 May 1974 (C. and B. Perrigo) Parma. (KB 24:135)
Misc.
One of these birds at Hogan Point in spring 1977 nearly eluded one Big Day team of birders “by consorting with domestic geese in a barnyard.” (BA, 25 May 1977)
Green Heron
(formerly Green-backed Heron)Butorides virescensGreen Heron
On a bright, crisp September morning, a Great Blue Heron and a Green Heron watched for movement on a small pond at the back of Durand-Eastman Park. They, in turn, were watched by about 30 members of a Genesee Ornithological Society field trip led by Frank and Bob Dobson.“Several birders had glasses on the (Green) Heron as it snagged a good-sized frog,” Frank noted. “It was several minutes before the frog quit squirming, as the heron kept steady pressure across the victim’s mid-section. Only a lump in the heron’s throat attested to the recent snack.” (GOS, November 1992)The relatively heavy bill, given this bird’s size, enables it to capture large prey, such as frogs, but not large fish that struggle. While seeking prey, the Green Heron makes less movement than any other day-feeding heron on our continent, standing still as a statue even when attacked by swarms of mosquitoes. (BNA 129: 4, 8)
Background
“Skeow!” is the explosive cry of this small, stocky bird, the most widespread and abundant heron in New York. (Andrle, p. 48) When flying away from human intruders, this small heron may emit not only a “skeow” but a stream of white feces, earning it such nicknames as “shite-polk” and “chalk-line.” They are among the few tool-using birds, fabricating various baits to entice fish within striking distance. This is a more solitary bird than most herons, favoring swampy thickets, but also nesting in dry woods or orchards across the eastern half of the U.S., and along the Pacific Coast south into Central America. Though loss of wetlands may have reduced some local populations, this species is expanding in mid continent along rivers and man-made impoundments. Population figures are hard to obtain, giving this species’ solitary nesting habits, but no serious declines have been reported. (BNA 129: 1-2, 4, 15)
Local history
Apparently this has long been a common heron here. Eaton (1910) indicated this summer resident was common in Monroe and Wayne counties, and fairly common in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to three birds, with a maximum count of 25, on dates ranging from 20 April to 14 November.When Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 to 1954, this species was reported 385 times within a 50-miles radius of Rochester, compared to 612 for Great Blue. All sightings of Green Heron were from first half of April until end of November, and were most frequent in the last half of May and in late August through early September. (KB 5: 69: 1A-1B)When Tanghe surveyed breeding birds in our area in 1953, he listed Green Heron as an “abundant” nesting species, specifically citing Buck Pond and the west bank of the Genesee River at Charlotte as breeding locations. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular fairly common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 12 March to 20 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 17 to 29 April.
Summer/breeding status: Unlike most herons, this is usually a solitary nester, using marshes, swamps, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes of all sizes. It sometimes even nests in orchards, woods and thickets some distance from water. (Andrle, p. 48)Five nests were observed at Crusoe Lake in Wayne County in 1987 by Robert Dobson. “This species, while seen regularly, keeps its nests well hidden, so this is an interesting concentration,” Kevin Griffith noted. (KB37: 221; GOS August/September 1987) Our region had one of the heaviest concentrations of confirmed breeding during the first BBA project. (Andrle, pp. 48-49) The second project appeared to document declines in Orleans and Genesee counties, where evidence of breeding was found in fewer blocks overall, and where there was a substantial reduction in blocks with confirmed breeding. Not clear is how much of this might have been due to differences in observer effort between the two projects.
Post-breeding roosts form in late summer.
Summer maxima: 40 on 1 June 1975 (Skelly) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) 30+ on 29 August 1997 (J. Kimball) Conesus outlet with 33 tallied (K. and J. Fox) on 1 September at the swamp. (GNR) 20 on 29 August 1998 (K. Fox) Conesus Swamp. (GOS, October 1998)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 11 September to 9 December (1984), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 3 to 20 October. Record late was one “very late tarrying individual” on 9 December 1984 (Kesselrings) at Salmon Creek. (KB35: 125) Also late was an apparently injured bird on 5 December 1961 (Haller) at a farm pond near Avon. (KB 12:34) Winter: There appear to be two records. One on 1 January 1987 (M. and B. Baker) was observed in the Naples area. (GOS, March 1987) Another on 27 February 1986 (Nicoletti) was at Braddock Bay. (GOS, May 1986)
Summer maxima: 40 on 1 June 1975 (Skelly) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) 30+ on 29 August 1997 (J. Kimball) Conesus outlet with 33 tallied (K. and J. Fox) on 1 September at the swamp. (GNR) 20 on 29 August 1998 (K. Fox) Conesus Swamp. (GOS, October 1998)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 11 September to 9 December (1984), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 3 to 20 October. Record late was one “very late tarrying individual” on 9 December 1984 (Kesselrings) at Salmon Creek. (KB35: 125) Also late was an apparently injured bird on 5 December 1961 (Haller) at a farm pond near Avon. (KB 12:34) Winter: There appear to be two records. One on 1 January 1987 (M. and B. Baker) was observed in the Naples area. (GOS, March 1987) Another on 27 February 1986 (Nicoletti) was at Braddock Bay. (GOS, May 1986)
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxBlack-crowned Night-Heron
Late summer, as if by magic, these birds appear along Salmon Creek near Braddock Bay, at Northrup Creek sanctuary off the end of Long Pond, and in the cattail marshes south of Irondequoit Bay. Hunched at the edge of the cattails, patiently waiting for prey, they are easily observed, and a favorite target of birding field trips from late August through September.Finding these birds at other times of the year is a different matter altogether, unless you are willing to leave our region to visit Montezuma NWR to the east, or the Oak Orchard/Tonawanda/Iroquois complex to the west. This species appears to have a very limited breeding presence in our region and, in fact, was not reported at all from Braddock Bay during the second Breeding Bird Atlas project. Background
“For naturalists who enjoy the shore and marsh, this heron’s distinctive call is a quintessential sound of dusk and night,” notes William E. Davis Jr. in his profile of this species for The Birds of North America series. This nocturnal heron breeds on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. In North America breeding colonies of this opportunistic forager can be found in a wide variety of wet habitats across most of the U.S. and south into Mexico. Post-breeding dispersal, particularly of young birds in late summer and early fall, can occur to the north, outside breeding grounds. This species is shot and trapped as pests at fish hatcheries. Declines in the late 1960s were believed caused by DDT. Disturbance at breeding colonies, drainage of wetlands and land development have caused declines in many areas and continues to be a problem for this species. Lack of early census data makes it difficult to assess population trends. An estimated 48,336 breeding birds were found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the Great Lakes in 1988. (BNA 74: 1-3, 12-13) Locating a colony of these birds, Emanuel Levine has noted, is not difficult. “Not only is it fairly obvious visually, but the stench of rotting fledgling corpses, which seems common at large heronries, and regurgitated fish is revealing.” (Andrle, p. 50)So, too, the hoarse quawk which these nocturnal birds emit through the night hours. (Eaton I: 265) Local history
“It is a regular transient visitant on the central lakes and along Lakes Erie and Ontario, young birds being not uncommon about the last of September, but whether these come from heronries located in the Ontario-St. Lawrence valley, or are wanderers from southern localities, I am unable to state,” Eaton (1910) wrote. He listed this stocky, short-necked, stout-billed resident of swamps and marshes as only an uncommon or occasional transient visitor in Monroe and Wayne counties, respectively, with no indication of breeding in either county. (Eaton I: 265, county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated this species had not been seen every year before 1932, but had become “commoner since and noted yearly.” He indicated average counts of one to three birds, with a maximum count of 20, on dates ranging from 6 April to 9 October.Leo Tanghe in 1953 listed this as an uncommon breeding species in the Rochester area, citing Buck Pond and Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, May-August 1953) The Ling Road marshes were also a favorite spot, with 18 observed there by Chapin on 7 July 1948. (GOS, August/October 1948)When he tallied up observations from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members during 1951-1954, this species was reported 233 times, most often during the third week of May, and especially last half of August through September when about 40 percent of the sightings occurred. Average counts generally did not exceed 3 to 5 and at least some of these sightings may have been at Montezuma and Oak Orchard, outside the current boundaries of Region 2. (KB 5: 69: 1A-1B)In 1968, John Brown noted “there is evidence that they may be nesting again somewhere in the Braddocks Bay area. Adult birds have been seen repeatedly at dusk and early in the morning . . .” (BA, 3 July 1968) They were reported nesting at nearby Rose’s Marsh in 1974. (KB 24: 189)
Status
Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, fairly common summer resident, and a casual, very rare winter visitant. However, this species is believed to be decreasing as a breeding bird.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a casual rare year-round visitant.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 25 March to 12 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 8 to 24 April. Spring maxima: 25 on 11 May 1976 (Shea) at Braddock Bay. (LG, June 1976) 22 on 17 May 1970 (T. Tetlow et al) at Cranberry Pond. (GNR) 54 on 24 or 25 May 1975 (J. Skelly) at Rose’s Marsh may not be repeated soon. (KB 25:153; GNR)
Summer/breeding status: Loss of wetland habitats – such as Ling Road – and forcible removal of some colonies has reduced its presence in upstate New York. (Andrle, pp. 50-51; B&M, pp. 99-100) The BBA projects both suggest an extremely limited breeding presence of this species in our region, and its apparent disappearance as a breeder at Braddock Bay, where it was confirmed during the first project, but not recorded at all during the second.
Best seen in late summer and early fall when dispersing birds appear on lakefront ponds and marshes. Rarely reported away from the lake.
Summer maxima: 30 on 3 June 1961 (Listman) Braddock Bay. (KB 11: 157) 30 throughout June 1973 (Listman) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) 30 on 22 July 1945, roosting in trees near the Sea Breeze merry-go-round, may have been “taking in the sights at the amusement center,” Edson suggested tongue-in-cheek. (WBR, 30 July 1945) 36 summer 1974 (J. Skelly) at Rose’s Marsh. (KB 24:189) 25 on 31 August 1962 (W. Carlson, T. Tetlow) at Cranberry Pond. (KB 13:33)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 25 September to 7 November (1981), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 5 to 24 October. Even later were four on 27 November 1953 (Van Beurden, Simons) at Braddock Bay (GOS, November/December 1953); one to two immatures on 24-27 November 1984 (Kesselrings, mob) at Russell Station (GOS, January 1985) and 1-2 from 9-30 November 1990 (mob) at Greece. (GOS, January 1991) See also winter records below.
Fall maxima: 17 on 11 September 1967 (Listman) Braddock Bay. (KB 18:32) 17 on 15 September 1988 (Reinhardt) at Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, November 1988) 14 on 29 September 1968 (Listman) Braddock Bay. (GOS, November 1968) 14 on 1 October 2005 (D. Tetlow) Greece. (LG, December 2005)
Winter: Stragglers sometimes remain into late fall and occasionally into winter. Listman and Van Beurden had one at Braddock Bay on 12 December 1953 after four had been tallied into late November. (GOS, November/December 1953)Region 2 Kingbird reports show January or early February sightings of this species in only four of 30 years from 1976 to 2005. Often these are immature birds. The immature that wintered December 1984-February 1985 along Slater Creek “seemed to gain strength as the season progressed.” (KB35: 125) When another immature was reported on 17 December 1985 (B. and C. Ladwig) at Hamlin (LG, January 1986) it “meant that this species was reported during every month of 1985!” (KB36:90)
Other winter sightings: One from 1 December 1990-31 January 1991 Greece. (KB41: 106) An immature on 2, 6 December 1979 (RBA trip) Conesus Lake. (KB 30:107) An immature on 1-9 January 2000 (Claffey, S. Skelly) Irondequoit Bay. (LG, March 2000) One on 26 January 1991 at Honeoye Lake. (KB41: 106) An adult all February 2004 (mob) at Powder Mills Park. (LG, April 2004) This was “especially surprising both as an adult and during this type of winter,” featuring a particularly “tough” January. (Notes to February 2004 noteworthy records in Goshawk)
Summer maxima: 30 on 3 June 1961 (Listman) Braddock Bay. (KB 11: 157) 30 throughout June 1973 (Listman) at Braddock Bay. (GNR) 30 on 22 July 1945, roosting in trees near the Sea Breeze merry-go-round, may have been “taking in the sights at the amusement center,” Edson suggested tongue-in-cheek. (WBR, 30 July 1945) 36 summer 1974 (J. Skelly) at Rose’s Marsh. (KB 24:189) 25 on 31 August 1962 (W. Carlson, T. Tetlow) at Cranberry Pond. (KB 13:33)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 25 September to 7 November (1981), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 5 to 24 October. Even later were four on 27 November 1953 (Van Beurden, Simons) at Braddock Bay (GOS, November/December 1953); one to two immatures on 24-27 November 1984 (Kesselrings, mob) at Russell Station (GOS, January 1985) and 1-2 from 9-30 November 1990 (mob) at Greece. (GOS, January 1991) See also winter records below.
Fall maxima: 17 on 11 September 1967 (Listman) Braddock Bay. (KB 18:32) 17 on 15 September 1988 (Reinhardt) at Irondequoit Bay. (GOS, November 1988) 14 on 29 September 1968 (Listman) Braddock Bay. (GOS, November 1968) 14 on 1 October 2005 (D. Tetlow) Greece. (LG, December 2005)
Winter: Stragglers sometimes remain into late fall and occasionally into winter. Listman and Van Beurden had one at Braddock Bay on 12 December 1953 after four had been tallied into late November. (GOS, November/December 1953)Region 2 Kingbird reports show January or early February sightings of this species in only four of 30 years from 1976 to 2005. Often these are immature birds. The immature that wintered December 1984-February 1985 along Slater Creek “seemed to gain strength as the season progressed.” (KB35: 125) When another immature was reported on 17 December 1985 (B. and C. Ladwig) at Hamlin (LG, January 1986) it “meant that this species was reported during every month of 1985!” (KB36:90)
Other winter sightings: One from 1 December 1990-31 January 1991 Greece. (KB41: 106) An immature on 2, 6 December 1979 (RBA trip) Conesus Lake. (KB 30:107) An immature on 1-9 January 2000 (Claffey, S. Skelly) Irondequoit Bay. (LG, March 2000) One on 26 January 1991 at Honeoye Lake. (KB41: 106) An adult all February 2004 (mob) at Powder Mills Park. (LG, April 2004) This was “especially surprising both as an adult and during this type of winter,” featuring a particularly “tough” January. (Notes to February 2004 noteworthy records in Goshawk)
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Nyctanassa violaceaYellow-crowned Night-heron
If you were to go looking for Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in our region, you might logically start at the lakefront marshes. You probably would not think to check sassafras trees in Irondequoit backyards. And yet, that’s exactly where one showed up on 2 May 1977 on Tindale Drive. “The heron obligingly remained in the same tree until deep dusk when it took off, circled the area and departed, possibly to feed in some marsh,” John Brown reported (BA, 4 May 1977). “Apparently finding the neighborhood to its liking. . .it was back in another sassafras tree at 87 Fairlea Drive” early the next morning.Far more typical was the adult bird that an RBA field trip stumbled upon 22 July 1978 at the Sawyer Road borrow pit near the Lake Ontario State Parkway. It was trying to crack open a Painted Turtle on the far shore. “The unwary heron allowed a close approach of less than 100 feet, far better than the often distant views one usually gets in the Altlantic salt marshes,” Chip Perrigo commented. (LG, August 1978)
Background
This crab-eating bird thrives in forested wetlands, swamps and bayous of the deep south “where poor lighting seems to be the most reliable characteristic of its breeding sites,” notes Bryan D. Watts in his profile of this species for the The Birds of North America series. Its breeding range also extends into Central and South America. So important are crabs in the diet, that bill size varies geographically according to the size of local crabs. A “significant” northward expansion of its breeding range occurred between 1925 and 1960, especially between 1945 and 1955, with nesting reported as far north as Ontario in 1954. In many instances, these birds were simply reoccupying areas this species had inhabited in the mid to late 1800s. Since the 1950s, however, the northern fringe of the range has again retreated southward. Causes for this fluctuation are not clear. However, continued reports of new nesting areas in center of its range suggest numbers may still be increasing. Postbreeding dispersal is widespread, with movements to the north and west, and spring migrants are often observed north of normal breeding areas. Despite name, may forage throughout day and night. (BNA 161: 1-3, 5) Local history
Eaton (1910) considered it “one of the rarest of herons in New York State,” and noted that a specimen was taken at Long Pond “several years ago” (Eaton I: 266). R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, cited only one Rochester sighting, 15 July 1926, which Edson later related was at the Brickyard Ponds south of Elmwood Avenue and Home Acres (WBR, 19 May 1958). Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was first recorded breeding on Long Island in 1938, but fewer than 50 breeding pairs had ever been recorded in New York State through 1985 (Andrle, p. 52). Possible breeding was suspected here at Rose (also called Rose’s) Marsh when Cattle Egret bred there in 1974 (KB 24:189). An adult was seen “in the same general area” the first weekend in July and the same bird or another like it was seen 28 July. “To make this report even more interesting, an immature Yellow-crowned was found in the Buck Pond marshes on July 30,” John Brown reported (BA, 7 August 1974). “This could easily mean that this unusual species may also have nested here along with the Cattle egrets. Unfortunately , no nest was ever found.”In the late 1970s it was seen yearly in our region. But it has been much scarcer since.
Status
Occasional, very rare visitant.
Occurrence
There are fewer than 20 records for our region. In addition to the Long Pond specimen mentioned by Eaton:1. One on 15 July 1926 (Edson) at the Brickyard Ponds south of Elmwood Avenue and Home Acres. (WBR, 19 May 1958)2. One on 22 May 1955 (Moons, Leubner, R. and D. Simons) at Ling Road. (GOS, April-December 1955; B&M, p. 101) 3. One on 11 May 1958 (Tanghe) at Island Cottage Woods. (WBR, 19 May 1958; KB 8:46) 4. An adult on 19 May 1963 (Moons, Leubner) at Mendon Ponds. (KB 13:160; WBR 27 May 1963)5. One adult, 17 August-4 September 1971 (Reed), at a small pond at the Monroe County airport. (KB 22:29)6. One immature 17 December 1972 (T. and M. Tetlow) Genesee River Gorge (KB 23:88) was observed at distances varying from 20 feet to 100 yards for about an hour. “Its plumage was later compared with museum specimens.”7. Both an immature and an adult 6 July-7 August 1974 (J. and S. Skelly, mob) Rose Marsh. (KB 24:189)8. One immature 2 May 1976 (RBA trip) Hamlin (KB 26:159) “stumbling about in a freshly planted wheat field,” in an obviously “dazed” state. The bird did not survive, was picked up the following morning, and delivered to Rochester Museum and Science Center. (LG, June 1976)9. One 2-17 May 1977 (Mohr, mob) Irondequoit “spent many days sitting in a backyard sassafras clump.” (KB 27:151)10. One immature 26 May 1978 (C. Perrigo) Hamlin was flying over the parkway. (KB 28:170; BA, 31 May 1978)11. One adult 22 July 1978 Carlton (KB 28:238) was observed at one of the borrow ponds near Sawyer Road “trying in vain to crack open a turtle much to big to swallow. It did manage to gulp down a much smaller turtle,” John Brown reported. (BA, 26 July 1978) “Later in the day Roger Clark and Bill Symonds of Brockport saw the heron regurgitate material on the shore. Inspection revealed it consisted mostly of the hard wing casings and shells of large water beetles but no turtle shells.”12. An immature on 1 August 1979 (Henderson) at Braddock Bay. (KB29:216) 13. One immature on 11, 19 June 1980 (R. Spahn, mob) Braddock Bay. (KB 30:228)14. One adult on 13 April 1986 (D. Tetlow, mob) Hamlin. (KB 36:148, GNR) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 37:205)15. One adult 18 April 1996 (Beason, Zettel) Conesus Lake. (GOS, September 1996; Fox, p. 25) Accepted by NYSARC. (KB 49:115)16. One 23 April 2001 (D. Tetlow, Guerard) Manitou. (KB 51:696)17. An adult on 30 April 2002 at Walworth. NYSARC, in its 2002 annual report, noted that this bird spent a day at a pond near Tracie Shultz’s home. “Written details were supplemented with a color photograph (one of twenty) taken by the observer, who also mentioned taking videotape. The date suggests a northward migrant that had overshot its normal summer range.” (KB 54: 289)
(Note: In his Birds Afield column, John Brown reported that an adult had been sighted by Norm Henderson flying across the parkway and into the marshes along Salmon Creek in June of 1979. See BA, 13 June 1979. Frank Dobson reported that Walt Listman found two immatures at Braddock Bay in September 1982 “much to the delight of local birders.” See Birds, 12 September 1982. None of these were reported in the Little Gull, Goshawk or Kingbird.)
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