Creek, Forest & Sky
152 species are recorded at the Michigan Hollow, silo house eBird location. The list includes birds associated with creek, pond, forest, and shrub-edge habitat, along with migrants and open-sky flyovers; a location record alone does not establish breeding or sustained use of a particular habitat patch.
The 152-species list reaches well beyond backyard birds. Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, Great Egret, Pied-billed Grebe, and several ducks show the wetland or flyover opportunity; Wood Thrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, Blackburnian Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler mark the forest signal; Cape May, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, and Wilson's Warblers show migration in the hollow. The latest addition is dated May 31. Occurrence doesn't prove breeding: repeated territories, food carrying, fledglings, and habitat-specific checklists are the next layer of evidence.
| Species | Listed date |
|---|---|
| Snow GooseAnser caerulescens | Dec 2025 |
| Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsii | Mar 2026 |
| Canada GooseBranta canadensis | Mar 2025 |
| Wood DuckAix sponsa | Mar 2025 |
| MallardAnas platyrhynchos | Jul 2025 |
| Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris | Mar 2026 |
| BuffleheadBucephala albeola | Mar 2026 |
| Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus | Jun 2025 |
| Common MerganserMergus merganser | Mar 2026 |
| Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo | Aug 2025 |
| Rock PigeonNColumba livia | Jul 2025 |
| Mourning DoveZenaida macroura | Mar 2025 |
| Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus | May 2026 |
| Common NighthawkChordeiles minor | Aug 2025 |
| Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica | Aug 2025 |
| Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris | Jun 2025 |
| KilldeerCharadrius vociferus | Jun 2025 |
| American WoodcockScolopax minor | Sep 2025 |
| Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius | May 2026 |
| Solitary SandpiperTringa solitaria | Aug 2025 |
| Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleuca | Apr 2026 |
| Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia | Apr 2026 |
| Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis | Oct 2025 |
| American Herring GullLarus smithsonianus | Feb 2026 |
| Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps | May 2026 |
| Common LoonGavia immer | Nov 2025 |
| Double-crested CormorantNannopterum auritum | Aug 2025 |
| Black-crowned Night HeronNycticorax nycticorax | Sep 2025 |
| Green HeronButorides virescens | Aug 2025 |
| Great EgretArdea alba | Apr 2026 |
| Great Blue HeronArdea herodias | Jun 2025 |
| Black VultureCoragyps atratus | Apr 2026 |
| Turkey VultureCathartes aura | Jun 2025 |
| OspreyPandion haliaetus | Jul 2025 |
| Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos | Mar 2026 |
| Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus | Jul 2025 |
| Cooper's HawkAstur cooperii | Jun 2025 |
| Northern HarrierCircus hudsonius | Oct 2025 |
| Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus | Aug 2025 |
| Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus | Jul 2025 |
| Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus | Nov 2025 |
| Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis | Jul 2025 |
| Eastern Screech-OwlMegascops asio | Aug 2025 |
| Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus | Aug 2025 |
| Barred OwlStrix varia | Jul 2025 |
| Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus | Nov 2025 |
| Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon | Jun 2025 |
| Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius | Jun 2025 |
| Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus | Mar 2025 |
| Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescens | Mar 2025 |
| Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosus | Jul 2025 |
| Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus | Mar 2025 |
| Northern FlickerColaptes auratus | Mar 2025 |
| American KestrelFalco sparverius | Jun 2025 |
| MerlinFalco columbarius | Sep 2025 |
| Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus | Aug 2025 |
| Eastern Wood-PeweeContopus virens | Jun 2025 |
| Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum | May 2026 |
| Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus | Aug 2025 |
| Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe | Mar 2025 |
| Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus | Jun 2025 |
| Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus | Jul 2025 |
| Yellow-throated VireoVireo flavifrons | Jun 2025 |
| Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius | Jun 2025 |
| Philadelphia VireoVireo philadelphicus | Sep 2025 |
| Eastern Warbling VireoVireo gilvus | May 2026 |
| Red-eyed VireoVireo olivaceus | Jun 2025 |
| Blue JayCyanocitta cristata | Jun 2025 |
| American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos | Mar 2025 |
| Common RavenCorvus corax | Jul 2025 |
| Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus | Mar 2025 |
| Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor | Jun 2025 |
| Bank SwallowRiparia riparia | Jul 2025 |
| Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor | Jul 2025 |
| Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis | Jul 2025 |
| Barn SwallowHirundo rustica | Jun 2025 |
| Ruby-crowned KingletCorthylio calendula | Sep 2025 |
| Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa | Mar 2025 |
| White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis | Mar 2025 |
| Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis | Jun 2025 |
| Brown CreeperCerthia americana | Jul 2025 |
| Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea | Apr 2026 |
| Northern House WrenTroglodytes aedon | Jun 2025 |
| Winter WrenTroglodytes hiemalis | Oct 2025 |
| Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus | Mar 2025 |
| European StarlingNSturnus vulgaris | Jun 2025 |
| Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis | Jun 2025 |
| Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum | Jun 2025 |
| Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis | Jun 2025 |
| VeeryCatharus fuscescens | Jun 2025 |
| Gray-cheeked ThrushCatharus minimus | Sep 2025 |
| Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatus | Aug 2025 |
| Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus | Jun 2025 |
| Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina | Jun 2025 |
| American RobinTurdus migratorius | Mar 2025 |
| Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum | Jun 2025 |
| House SparrowNPasser domesticus | Jul 2025 |
| Evening GrosbeakHesperiphona vespertina | Feb 2026 |
| House FinchNHaemorhous mexicanus | Mar 2025 |
| Purple FinchHaemorhous purpureus | Jun 2025 |
| RedpollAcanthis flammea | Nov 2025 |
| Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostra | Dec 2025 |
| Pine SiskinSpinus pinus | Oct 2025 |
| American GoldfinchSpinus tristis | Jun 2025 |
| Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis | Nov 2025 |
| Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina | Jun 2025 |
| Field SparrowSpizella pusilla | Jun 2025 |
| American Tree SparrowSpizelloides arborea | Jan 2026 |
| Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca | Nov 2025 |
| Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis | Mar 2025 |
| White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis | Sep 2025 |
| Song SparrowMelospiza melodia | Mar 2025 |
| Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii | Sep 2025 |
| Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana | Oct 2025 |
| Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus | Jun 2025 |
| BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus | Aug 2025 |
| Eastern MeadowlarkSturnella magna | Apr 2026 |
| Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula | Jun 2025 |
| Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus | Mar 2025 |
| Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater | Mar 2025 |
| Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus | Apr 2026 |
| Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula | Mar 2025 |
| OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla | Jun 2025 |
| Louisiana WaterthrushParkesia motacilla | Jun 2025 |
| Blue-winged WarblerVermivora cyanoptera | Jul 2025 |
| Black-and-white WarblerMniotilta varia | Jul 2025 |
| Tennessee WarblerLeiothlypis peregrina | Aug 2025 |
| Nashville WarblerLeiothlypis ruficapilla | Aug 2025 |
| Mourning WarblerGeothlypis philadelphia | Aug 2025 |
| Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas | Jun 2025 |
| Hooded WarblerSetophaga citrina | Aug 2025 |
| American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla | Jun 2025 |
| Cape May WarblerSetophaga tigrina | Aug 2025 |
| Cerulean WarblerSetophaga cerulea | Sep 2025 |
| Northern ParulaSetophaga americana | Sep 2025 |
| Magnolia WarblerSetophaga magnolia | Jul 2025 |
| Bay-breasted WarblerSetophaga castanea | Sep 2025 |
| Blackburnian WarblerSetophaga fusca | Jun 2025 |
| Northern Yellow WarblerSetophaga aestiva | Jun 2025 |
| Chestnut-sided WarblerSetophaga pensylvanica | Jun 2025 |
| Blackpoll WarblerSetophaga striata | Sep 2025 |
| Black-throated Blue WarblerSetophaga caerulescens | Aug 2025 |
| Pine WarblerSetophaga pinus | Jun 2025 |
| Yellow-rumped WarblerSetophaga coronata | Aug 2025 |
| Prairie WarblerSetophaga discolor | Jun 2025 |
| Black-throated Green WarblerSetophaga virens | Jun 2025 |
| Canada WarblerCardellina canadensis | Aug 2025 |
| Wilson's WarblerCardellina pusilla | Sep 2025 |
| Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea | Jun 2025 |
| Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis | Mar 2025 |
| Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianus | Jul 2025 |
| Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea | Jun 2025 |
New Additions
The newest species added to the Kingfisher Hollow eBird location list. Records link back to their eBird checklists when available.
Seasonal Priorities
Seasonal possibilities from Tioga and Tompkins County, sorted by how they are most likely to occur here: migrants using the property, nocturnal wetland flyovers, daytime flyovers or brief visitors, and lower-probability species whose usual habitat is absent.
These seasonal gaps are separated by how a bird could realistically occur on the property. Tioga County remains the main comparison; Tompkins County adds nearby coverage, but Cayuga Lake greatly increases its waterbird and shoreline signal.
Start here. These birds can use the creek corridor, wet meadow, shrub edge, or forest while migrating, and some may linger or breed when the habitat fits.
| Species | Tioga | Tompkins | Seasonal signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis | moderate | low | |
| Olive-sided FlycatcherContopus cooperi | low | low | |
| Yellow-bellied FlycatcherEmpidonax flaviventris | low | low | |
| Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii | low | low | |
| Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos | low | low | |
| Northern WaterthrushParkesia noveboracensis | low | low | |
| Palm WarblerSetophaga palmarum | low | low | |
| Connecticut WarblerOporornis agilis | low | low | |
| Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus | low | low | |
| Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens | low | low | |
| Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius | low | low |
Rails, gallinules, coots, and bitterns migrate over the hollow at night, but the property lacks the marsh habitat expected to bring them down. Listen for flight calls overhead rather than searching the pond for a stopover.
| Species | Tioga | Tompkins | Seasonal signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia RailRallus limicola | low | low | |
| Common GallinuleGallinula galeata | low | low | |
| SoraPorzana carolina | low | low | |
| American BitternBotaurus lentiginosus | low | low |
Watch the open sky and check the pond, creek bars, and wet edges after weather changes. Most waterfowl, shorebirds, gulls, terns, and raptors will be brief rather than resident.
| Species | Tioga | Tompkins | Seasonal signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Black DuckAnas rubripes | low | low | |
| Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes | low | low | |
| Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla | low | low | |
| Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus | low | low | |
| Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus | low | low | |
| Blue-winged TealSpatula discors | low | low | |
| Green-winged TealAnas crecca | low | low | |
| Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusilla | low | low | |
| Purple MartinProgne subis | low | low | |
| Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdii | low | low | |
| Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota | low | low | |
| Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia | low | moderate | |
| Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata | low | low | |
| Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus | low | low | |
| Snowy EgretEgretta thula | low | none | |
| Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos | low | low | |
| American WigeonMareca americana | low | low | |
| Northern PintailAnas acuta | low | low | |
| Eastern Whip-poor-willAntrostomus vociferus | low | low | |
| American GoshawkAstur atricapillus | low | low |
These birds occur regionally, but they usually need larger marshes, grasslands, or early-successional cover that the property does not provide. Keep them as context, not primary survey targets.
| Species | Tioga | Tompkins | Seasonal signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus | low | low | |
| Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris | low | low | |
| Graylag GooseAnser anser | low | low | |
| Ring-necked PheasantPhasianus colchicus | low | low | |
| Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum | low | low |
The property list. Use this as the confirmed bird roster for the site.
The relevant county comparison for likely local misses and seasonal targets.
A much better-covered neighboring county, useful context with a Cayuga Lake bias.
Field Guide
A season-by-season survey playbook for the hollow: when migration is moving, where birds concentrate after landing, how to record nocturnal flight calls, and when a small amount of playback is useful rather than disruptive.
During BirdCast season (March 1–June 15 and August 1–November 15), check the county dashboard and the hourly wind, cloud ceiling, fog, and rain forecast. Spring movement favors warm southerly flow; fall movement often jumps behind a cold front on north or northwest winds. Outside those windows, favor breeding, dispersal, or winter surveys.
Start the upward-facing recorder before this window so the whole takeoff is captured. Watch the open sky until it is fully dark for nighthawks, swifts, swallows, herons, and waterfowl. Do not use playback: these are birds in transit.
Let the recorder run without gaps. Rails, bitterns, cuckoos, thrushes, warblers, sparrows, and other migrants may call at any point, so a short listening session is useful but a full-night recording is far more informative.
Listen outside for thrushes and sparrows overhead, then begin the creek-to-edge walking route at first light. The first three hours after sunrise are the best chance to turn an overnight passage into birds feeding in the hollow.
Prioritize warm nights with southerly tailwinds, especially when a front or rain band approaches from the west. If rain arrives late, survey the creek corridor and sheltered forest edge at dawn for birds forced down nearby.
Go hard on the first clear, cool night after frontal passage with north or northwest winds. Work the sunny east-facing edges after sunrise, then the shaded creek and hemlock slope as the morning warms.
Calling can increase when visibility is reduced. Record continuously and turn unnecessary outdoor lights off. Treat a dense call night as a cue for an immediate dawn circuit, not as proof that every caller landed.
Stop, listen, and watch one patch before making any sound. Track chip notes, tail movement, canopy flickers, and mixed-flock leaders. Record naturally given calls before altering behavior.
For a common, non-sensitive target in suitable habitat, use one 10–15 second sequence at natural volume, then wait 2–3 minutes. A second sequence is the ceiling. For a mixed flock, a few soft pishes followed by silence are preferable to repeated species song.
Stop when a bird approaches, countersings, alarms, changes perch repeatedly, or shows agitation. Never use playback for nocturnal flyovers, rare or sensitive birds, active nests, roosts, repeated visits to one territory, or during heat, cold, or food stress.
Walk upstream slowly, pausing at quiet bends and seep entries. Best for Northern Waterthrush, Acadian Flycatcher, thrushes, Louisiana Waterthrush breeding evidence, and migrant warblers dropping into humid cover.
Stand still before entering. Listen for Willow Flycatcher, Orchard Oriole, cuckoos, sparrows, and chip notes. Recheck after overnight rain or a heavy BirdCast night.
Climb slowly and stop below mixed flocks. Watch canopy gaps from one position rather than chasing movement. Best for vireos, Blackburnian and Black-throated Green Warblers, Acadian Flycatcher, and quiet fall warblers.
Use dawn for waterbirds, gulls, and terns; return when thermals build for raptors. Late August and September add a 30-minute watch before sunset for Common Nighthawk and post-breeding swallows.
Work wet shrubs and low willow clumps. Learn the dry fitz-bew song and whit call; record every empid before trying any stimulus. One brief, low-volume call sequence is enough if the bird is silent and suitable habitat is occupied.
Check muddy creek margins, root tangles, seeps, and pond shade on the morning after migration. Listen for the sharp, metallic spwik call as much as the song; quiet birds often pump the tail while walking the waterline.
Scan the silo, wires, tall dead tops, berry shrubs, and open roadside edge. A bird may arrive without singing; repeated tail flashes, exposed perches, and aggressive chases are better search cues outside spring song.
Listen from the wet meadow edge and mature riparian canopy after caterpillar outbreaks. Wait through long silences: cuckoos can call once and disappear. Use playback only after a full passive listen, never around a suspected nest.
Stand below the darkest, most open understory over the creek and lower slope. The explosive peet-sah carries farther than the bird. Map repeated song positions; a stable territory is more informative than a single response.
Walk the wet-meadow and weedy-edge boundary slowly after sunrise. Watch fence lines and low seed heads. In fall, one soft pish followed by several minutes of silence is more effective than continuous noise.
Scan flowering and fruiting trees at the open riparian edge, especially isolated canopy crowns. Learn the sharp chuck notes; females and young birds are easily passed over when no male is singing.
Check standing dead trees and open crowns, then scan high-flying woodpeckers crossing the valley. Listen for the rough queah call. This is more likely to be a brief visitor than a settled bird unless open snag habitat develops.
Treat these strictly as overhead flight-call targets. Record from open sky and verify repeated calls on a spectrogram. Do not play marsh calls at the pond: the property lacks the emergent marsh needed to bring these migrants down.
A naturally singing bird in suitable habitat. Record the exact patch and return; one June song is not yet a territory.
The same singer seven or more days apart, a pair, courtship, nest-site visits, or natural territorial defense.
Nest contents, food or fecal-sac carrying, distraction display, or recently fledged dependent young. Observe without approaching the nest.
Repeat the same listening stations weekly in June and July. Complete checklists and negative visits make later breeding claims much stronger.