GLIN==> News release: Winter season a boon to Great Lakes Seaway Trail byway birdwatchers

PRESS RELEASE: February 17, 2010
Contacts:  Gerry Smith, ornithologist/author, cell: 315-771-2664
Teresa Mitchell, Great Lakes Seaway Trail President & CEO, 315-646-1000
Jpgs available by reply request
 
Winter Season a Boon to Great Lakes Seaway Trail Byway Birdwatchers
 
The winter season along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail provides a
birdwatchers¹ boon. Bare-branch trees offer a clearer view of hawks watching
for prey, but ornithologist Gerald Smith, author of the new 195-page Birding
the Great Lakes Seaway Trail field guide, says watch the water along the
518-mile shoreline byway in New York and Pennsylvania.
 
Smith, who is also president of the Onondaga Audubon Society, says,
³Whenever birding along a large body of water, always look at the water ­
even in winter. During the winter season along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail,
check the open water at the outlets of major rivers, below dams and at warm
water discharges.²
 
The species that frequent the winter season along the series of roads that
form one of America¹s Byways and a National Recreation Trail include Bald
Eagles, mergansers, scaups, goldeneyes, Purple Sandpiper, Tundra Swan, many
species of gulls, and even the colorful Harlequin Duck in places.
 
How do you know where to find which species?
 
Follow the new field guide¹s month-by-month charts for each of 17 sections
of the byway to easily identify the species to look for in all four seasons.
For example, Common Goldeneye and Common Merganser like Lake Erie in winter.
 
In February waterfowl, particularly numerous species of gulls, are abundant
along the Niagara River. In fact, the Niagara Gorge area is one of New
York¹s Important Bird Areas.
 
King Eider may join scaups, scoters, and mergansers along the western end of
Lake Ontario in February, while birders raise binoculars to see Horned Lark,
Common Redpoll, Long-tailed Duck, grassland raptors and Bald Eagles from
Sodus Bay east to Cape Vincent.
 
The mix of fliers in the 1000 Islands region and along the St. Lawrence
River stretch of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail in winter includes eagles,
larks, Snow Bunting, Common Goldeneye, Greater Scaup and Iceland Gulls.
 
As you drive, watch for birding theme Great Lakes Seaway Trail ³outdoor
storyteller² interpretive signs share interesting facts and illustrations by
wildlife artist Robert McNamara at significant spots along the byway.
 
Find birding site descriptions, maps and more information posted online at
www.seawaytrail.com or call 1-800-SEAWAY-T for assistance in planning your
byway birding trip. #

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