A Sunny Sunday Morning At The Montezuma Audubon Center In New York And Then On To Oswego

I awoke early on Sunday Morning in Weedsport New York. I was in the Finger Lake District on my way to Oswego to experience  my second total solar eclipse. I decided to drive to the Montezuma Audubon Center in nearby town of   Savannah.   As on the day before there was almost no traffic on the rural roads of upstate New York. I expected a lot more traffic because of the solar eclipse.

I watched the rising sun from the roadside and continued my 15 minute drive to the Audubon Center.

I was the only one at  the Audubon Center when I arrived under the clear blue skies and early morning sunshine. It was cold.  There was a frost on windshield when I started my Jeep. The temperature was  in the mid 30’s.

I walked around the Visitor Center and through some woodlands, before  the  marsh with two large ponds.

I was surprised, and a little disappointed there wasn’t more bird activity.  There were bird feeders near the Center, and even though they were empty I thought I’d still see some birds  here. The only one I saw, and it was a pretty one, was this eastern bluebirds enjoying the early morning sun.

 When I walked through the woodlands and came to the marshes I did see a large flock of ducks  in the sunlight on the far side of the first pond. I didn’t have binoculars and couldn’t identify them from since they were too distant.

I walked along the pond in the  shade of  the trees in the adjacent woodlands, watching the ducks in the distance.

As I  continued on the path along the pond,

and was treated to the sight of a bald eagle flying overhead. I hoped it would decide to do some early morning fishing, like the eagle I saw on Saturday but it just flew over the marsh.

I also saw this osprey flying overhead,

it stayed, and circled the marsh a few times, and I was hoping it would dive  for a fish. It didn’t and it also flew off.

I tried to be as quiet as I could as I continued through the wetlands and marsh. I  observed wood ducks here the previous day and they are very  elusive and flew off  when I approached on Saturday . They were there again on Sunday and again flew off long before I was close enough to photograph them.  They are just as skittish here in New York as they are near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They are, for me,  the most elusive of the many ducks we have here in the Northeastern United States.  I was able to get closer to these   northern pintail ducks,

and these ring-necked ducks.

However,  I was only able to photograph most of the ducks on the ponds in the marsh in flight, since they would fly  off as  approached, including  northern scaups,

mallards,

and  green winged teals. 

As I continued, slowly, on the thick wet grass  on the trail in the marshes,

this wood duck flew directly over my head, and landed on a pond right along the trail, we looked at each other, and as I aimed my camera it flew off, again just allowing me to get a poor photo in flight. They are beautiful ducks. 

I continued my hike on the loop trail  around both of the ponds in the marsh.  Occasionally I would see, and scare more of the same ducks as I approached, usually because the honking of the Canada geese would announce my arrival.  There were a lot of noisy Canada geese on the ponds.

I was finally able to photograph one of the many killdeer birds flying over the marshes.

As I walked around the ponds a second and I heard, then saw this bald eagles calling loudly as it flew overhead.

Again, I hoped it would go fishing but it instead flew off into the distance.

I left the marshes and took another loop trail through some adjacent hardwood and hemlock woodlands.    I didn’t see any bird activity in the woodlands  

but I did see a few gray squirrels scampering through the trees.

I had walked almost four miles.  I  had to check out of my hotel by 11 a.m. so I, reluctantly, had to end my hike. as I walked past the empty bird feeders I was greeted by a variety of birds, I believe waiting for the feeders to be re-filled.  There were many species of birds fluttering in the trees. I was able to photograph  brown-headed cowbirds,

American goldfinches,

black-capped chickadees,

and house sparrows. I also saw and heard ruby crowned kinglets. golden crowned kinglets. house finches and downy  woodpeckers but couldn’t get any photos. Here is a link to  a gallery on my blog page with more photos of the birds I saw on my hike.   New York Montezuma Audubon Center birds April  2024.

I now wish I could have stayed and photograph the many birds that were near the empty feeders. However  I had to  leave and check out of my hotel, which I did,  and I was on the road again by 11 a.m.  driving on the rural roads of New York. I was surprised how  with little traffic was as I drove north to Oswego.  . . Here is a link to  a gallery on my blog page with more photos of the from my  hike at the Audubon Center.  New York Montezuma Audubon Center  April 7 2024. 

I was on the back roads, away from the Interstate  highways which I understand were congested with folks heading to New York and the path of the solar eclipse. I was on State Highway 34 and I was looking for a place to eat. There weren’t many on this road road.  My Google maps  found Daphine’s Diner, a few miles off the highway in  the small village of Martville. It was a great choice.  I loved this place and the friendly server. I had a delicious omelet with home fries and toast for  breakfast while I eavesdropped on the conservations of the Sunday morning customers. It was another pleasant experience during my stay in New York. .

I was soon back on the road. I came to  Highway 104 which took me, after a scenic 20 miles drive, into Oswego and a block from my hotel, the Clarion Riverside. It was around noon when I arrived in Oswego. Check in was at 3 p.m.  so  I planned to edit photos while I waited for my room to be available. Well, I was surprised to find  the room was ready when I stooped at the front desk.  I had a pleasant conversation about the eclipse with an excited young man at the desk. I was given a packet of information about the eclipse festivities in Oswego and two pair of eclipse glasses.

I settled in my  room, but not for long.,  I was soon exploring Oswego.

“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become part of the silence.” Robert Lynd

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