White-eyed Vireo

White-eyed Vireo -- © Dave Spier

The White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) has been expanding its range northward, possibly due to global warming. This one was photographed in the spring at Camp Allegany in Allegany State Park during the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage.

For more information, photos and sounds, visit the All About Birds website. An interactive range map (zoomable to your location) can be found in eBird's Explore Data section.

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at ebirder_14432@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There's also a community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist, Heading Out, and a Naturalist's Viewpoint.

The annual Allegany Nature Pilgrimage

One of my favorite spring wildflowers, the Pink Lady's-slipper, makes an appearance during the annual Allegany Nature Pilgrimage. Its a beautiful orchid.

It's always a good time to think ahead to spring. Please consider joining us for the next annual Allegany Nature Pilgrimage, the first weekend after Memorial Day, in Allegany State Park, New York. It seems like 48 hours of nearly-nonstop field trips and programs, but they're spread over three days with breaks to eat and sleep. There are early-morning bird walks and bird-banding demonstrations, mid-morning walks and trips, afternoon walks, (or a choice of two all-day trips on Saturday if you prefer), evening walks (beaver and salamanders in the past), evening tent programs with a speaker on Friday and Saturday, followed by after-program frogs, insects and owling. Friday has afternoon and evening walks and events, while Sunday has the morning portion. If I'm not making much sense, just check out their schedule. The new Program Descriptions list was just finalized, and there's a nature walk for every taste, from birds to geology, wildflowers to trees, fields to forests, insects to herps, a bog slog and even specialized programs on photography, dragonflies, bats and beavers. For die-hard birders, there are birding trips from early morning to late into the night plus live birds-of-prey.

Allegany State Park is between Jamestown and Olean in southwestern New York State, next to the Pennsylvania border.

For more on the Pink Lady's-slipper, see my Adirondack blog post. Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There is a separate community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist.

Least "Mudpiper"

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) at Montezuma N.W.R., NY on May 13 - © Dave Spier (#D045935)

What's in a name? Take the compound word "sandpiper." Sand refers to the beach where these shorebirds are often found. The Lake Ontario shoreline of New York quickly comes to mind. Piper refers to the sound made by some species, although it's more of a peep. There's a group of small sandpipers, all similar in appearance, collectively nicknamed "peeps," in reference to their voices. Among these, the smallest is the Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla. Not only is it the smallest to pass through New York, it is the smallest shorebird in the world.

Least Sandpipers begin showing up in New York's Finger Lakes Region in April, peak through May, then decline in June and early July as the last of the birds fly to the Canadian tundra to nest and breed. Early migrants that failed to nest begin returning in early July and this reverse flow continues to build through the summer, peaks in September and trails off to end abruptly before November. The eBird bar chart for Wayne and Seneca Counties (NY) will illustrate this - but you can create a chart for any state or county you choose.

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) at Montezuma N.W.R., NY on May 18 - © Dave Spier (#D029504)

Most of our eastern birds seem to winter along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Florida, or across the Gulf coast south into Mexico and northern South America.  You can see the entire eBird range map for Least Sandpipers (or any species) on the Explore Data page.

Dark feathers with buffy or rusty edges give sandpipers a scaly appearance on the back and wings. The belly is usually white while the head, neck and chest are various shades of brown. The black bill, used to probe for food, is longer and thinner than the bills of songbirds. Most small sandpipers have black legs, but here is the one distinguishing feature of least's; their legs are yellowish or greenish-yellow.

Least "mudpiper" at Montezuma N.W.R., NY on May 18 - © Dave Spier (#D029488)

The length of a shorebird's bill determines its feeding style and diet. A very short bill, like that of a Semipalmated Plover, limits it to feeding on the surface. At the other extreme, very long bills like those of snipe, dowitchers and curlews, allow them to probe deeply into mud. Inbetween are most of the sandpipers which probe to a shallow depth and capture aquatic invertebrates like insects, small crustaceans, worms, and mollusks such as small clams and mussels. The Least Sandpiper prefers to feed on mudflats giving it the nickname "mud peep." Does that mean we should change its name to the least mudpiper?

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page or photo page or Linked-in. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Adirondack Naturalist and Heading Out.  For more information on the Finger Lakes region, visit ILovetheFingerLakes.com

The photo below is a migrating Least Sandpiper on the Lake Onatrio shore at Charlotte Beach (a.k.a. Ontario Beach Park), Rochester, NY on September 18 - © Dave Spier (#1148-13 scanned from a slide)

Green Herons

Green Heron in the old Erie Canal southeast of Clyde, NY.

Green Herons -- © Dave Spier

For a time, the Green Heron (Butorides virescens) was known as the Little Green Heron, in reference to its relative size, but the joke became “it’s called that because there is so little green on it.”  Green-backed Heron was another name it once held, and that is a little closer to its appearance, but just slightly.  In bright sunlight, the back is dark grayish-green.  Adults are gray underneath with dark rufous (red) necks, streaked throats and dark crowns.  Young birds are more streaked on the neck and throat.  As the birds age, the legs vary from yellow-green to yellow and then finally orange on adults during breeding season.

At 18 inches long, it is small for a heron, but large compared to most birds we see regularly.  It is the length of a crow, but the heron’s wings are much shorter.  Seen flying overhead, on its way to the next swamp or back to its nest, the heron might be mistaken for a crow, but there are subtle differences.  The heron often travels alone in a straight line, deliberately heading for its next destination.  Crows are likely to travel in noisy flocks that swoop and turn as they decide where to go.  I’ve seen only crows harassing and chasing raptors.

Green Heron in the Old Erie Canal at Lock Berlin County Park off Route 31, between Lyons and Clyde.

Being shorter legged than other wading birds, the Green Heron prefers to hunt by walking down a fallen log that dips into the water at the end.  There it crouches and waits for a small fish or sometimes a frog.  The Green Heron is one of a growing list of animals observed using tools (inanimate objects that make a job easier or more efficient).  In the case of the heron, it uses food pellets, cereal, feathers or short sticks dropped on the water to lure fish close enough to catch.  The heron also might be found perched on the branch of a tree overhanging the edge of a stream or pond.  If it sees you first, it retracts its neck until the head seems to touch the shoulders.  Looking like a burl on the limb, the smaller posture helps it hide.  As a last resort, the heron leaps into the air with a loud “kee-ow” or “skow” and flies away.

Most herons nest in colonies, but not the Green.  Each pair nests by itself, sometimes far from water.  One spring, I watched two adults raise their family in the top of a tall spruce plantation about a mile from the river where they went to hunt for food.  I haven’t been back, but assuming they returned to nest again, life probably got easier for them when a pond was built nearby.

Green Heron flying over the Montezuma Audubon Center 

just north of Savannah, NY (in southeastern Wayne County). 

all photos © Dave Spier

Here's the hyperlink mentioned in the first comment:

http://utterloonacy.blogspot.com/2011/07/first-of-two-planned-summer-trips-this.html

Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com  For more information on wetland birds in the Montezuma Wetlands Complex and northern  Finger Lakes Region, please visit the Montezuma Birding Trail website http://montezumabirding.webs.com and look on the Montezuma birds page.  For information on the Eaton Birding Club that covers Wayne, Seneca, Ontario and Yates Counties, please visit http://eatonbirds.webs.com 

Yellow Iris

Yellow Iris at Allegany State Park in NY (Red House Lake in the background) during the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage -- © Dave Spier

Yellow Iris -- © Dave Spier

Another beautiful alien, this one escaped from water gardens...

Yellow Iris, also called "water flag," grows in the shallow edges of wetlands and ponds where the depth is generally less than 10 inches. It has spread across the United States and you can find a distribution map on the USGS website. Since I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York and travel Route 31, I mostly notice it along sections of the old Erie Canal on my way to the Montezuma Audubon Center.

The scientific name, Iris pseudacorus, comes from Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow (referring to the many colors in this family of plants) plus a contraction of the Greek words for "false sweetflag," referring to the similar, sword-like leaves, although sweetflag is actually an arum related to Jack-in-the-pulpit and Skunk-cabbage. Both the iris and the Sweetflag have long-pointed leaves with a prominent mid-rib.

The showy, yellow blossoms - up to four inches across - have three falling sepals surrounding three erect petals. The flowers are held above the leaves by stalks reaching a height of three to four feet. This made the species attractive to horticulturists who brought the plant to the United States in the early 1900's from its native European and North African habitats.

In suitable climates (generally the Southern Sates) it can be used to treat sewage and remove metals from wastewater. Given time this long-lived perennial can form dense, single-plant (monotypic) stands to the detriment of our native wetland plant species. It spreads by using underground rhizomes as well as seeds. Even though associated with wetlands, it can survive a drought up to three months and the seeds can survive a fast wildfire.

Be careful when handling this plant; it's poisonous and can cause skin irritation.

Yellow Iris and leaves at Allegany State Park in NY during the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage -- © Dave Spier

Corrections, comments and questions are always welcome at
northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com 

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Bodie Island lighthouse, NC, in April. © Dave Spier

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks -- © Dave Spier

One of our favorite birds returned from the south earlier this month. In fact, three of them were at the feeders at the same time, but we’re still waiting for a female which resembles an overgrown and overstuffed sparrow, but the males are a dramatic combination of black and white with outstanding rose-colored bibs, hence the name, Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The term grosbeak is a contraction of the words gross and beak with "gross" coming from an old French word meaning big or thick in reference to the stout, conical beak of these birds.

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak banded by the late Bob McKinney, a long-time friend, at a previous Allegany Nature Pilgrimage (held annually on the first weekend after Memorial Day in southwestern New York).

Their primary food is seeds which they crack with that heavy bill. We often see them at our sunflower seed feeder. In the spring they also eat flower buds and I’ve photographed them in one of our cherry trees while the fruits were still totally green. During the summer they feed on small fruits and insects. I have one old report of grosbeaks eating young gypsy moth caterpillars as fast as they could catch them. They've also been observed catching cucumber beetles, canker worms, tent caterpillars, army worms, cut worms and cinch bugs. (Those so-called worms are actually caterpillars.) More power to these birds! If you want to plant some trees and shrubs to entice these birds, they seem to prefer the seeds, fruits and flower buds of serviceberry, elderberry, mulberry, dogwood, hawthorn and wild cherry. They also eat the seeds of beech, hickory, elm and maple.

One of "our" RBGR's singing in a cherry tree -- © Dave Spier

The male grosbeak's song has been likened to a robin after singing lessons. It is a slow, rich warble. The female also sings, but her version is softer and shorter. Their short call note, on the other hand, is more like a sneaker squeaking on the gym floor.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are said to favor open woodland and the edges of swamps and tree-lined streams. They’re a frequent visitor or resident at the Montezuma Audubon Center just north of Savannah, NY. Our yard has a lot of grown trees and, even though we're up on top of a drumlin hill, it appears to meet their needs. Hopefully they'll raise another family here like they did last summer. They build a rather flimsy nest and sometimes you can see the pale blue eggs through the bottom. The male helps incubate the eggs during the day, accounting for about 1/3 of the time on the nest. The female does the remainder and continues throughout the night. When not on the nest, the male is either standing guard nearby or bringing food to his mate. Another old report mentions carrying potato bugs to feed her on the nest. After fledging, young grosbeaks resemble the female and young males begin to show a tinge of pink in the fall. By this time, the adult male begins to lose his brilliance as he takes on buffier tones while his rose color turns to dull pink, making it easier for him to hide in the open tropical forest of the species’ winter range across Central America, Cuba, or the near reaches of South America.

Same male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Bodie Island lighthouse, NC, in April. © Dave Spier

Your outdoor comments, corrections and questions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com

Additional range information: The Rose-breasted Grosbeak, based on eBird reports, is found primarily north and east of the Great Plains with higher concentrations from the Mid-west and Great Lakes to New England and also northwestward across Canada to the Northwest Territories. During migration, it can be found anywhere east of the Rockies and across the South with a few sighted in the Western states. It spends the winter in Central and South America.

http://ebird.org/ebird/map/robgro?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=1900-2012&byr=1900&eyr=2012

The website All About Birds contains a standardized range map:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rose-breasted_Grosbeak/id

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

-- © Dave Spier

Yes, it was alone, and yes, this is typical behavior for this species. They often travel by themselves or small flocks at most. After spending the winter in South and Central America, Southern Mexico or the Caribbean, these birds stop briefly at the Montezuma Wetlands Complex to refuel and be on their way to Canada. We see them from mid-April to mid-May, but the peak is during the first week of May, so the one at Malone Unit #1 on Savannah Spring Lake Road (Wayne County, New York) was right on schedule. I found a second one at the edge of a puddle in a farm field, another typical habitat for this species.

The Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) is eight or nine inches long and thinly built. The white eye ring, speckled dark wing and darker "shoulder" bend are keys to identification. The somewhat similar but chunkier Pectoral Sandpiper lacks these features and has a more densely streaked breast with an abrupt lower border. The legs of both species are olive-yellow and both have medium-sized bills. The Solitary’s rump and center of the tail are dark, but these features can be hard to see. They become more important when separating the Solitary from its close relative, the slightly larger Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) that has a white rump and mostly white tail.

After shorebirds reach their breeding grounds in Canada, the males of other species defend a territory, build a nest and usually help with incubation. The Solitary has a somewhat different tactic, though; it lays its eggs in the deserted tree nests of songbirds including those of robins, blackbirds, kingbirds, jays and waxwings.

For most shorebirds, the parents usually split up after the eggs hatch and only the father remains to care for the chicks. The female leaves a few days after hatching and sets off on a leisurely migration south. Here in the Finger Lakes Region we see this as a longer stay for shorebirds on the return trip, beginning in July for some species and lasting through October for others (like the Dunlin). Most Solitary Sandpipers pass through central New York from mid-July to late August with a few birds lingering until early October, but global warming may shift those dates.

Questions and corrections may be sent to The Northeast Naturalist. For more information on birds around the Wetlands Complex, visit the Montezuma Birding Trail website: http://montezumabirding.webs.com There is a special page describing birding hotspots in the Town of Savannah.

Beaver Lake

One of the Eastern Gray Squirrels visiting the feeders at Beaver Lake Nature Center
 -- © Dave Spier

Beaver Lake -- © Dave Spier

Beaver Lake Nature Center west of Baldwinsville [Onondaga County, NY] is a favorite winter destination for several reasons. First, a long row of large picture windows overlook the feeders at the edge of a woodsy area. In addition to birds, there are the omnipresent Eastern Gray Squirrels, and you can view them from the comfort of a heated room. The second reason is a good system of trails for x-c skiers and snowshoers. For extended walks, there’s an easy, fairly-level, three-mile loop around Beaver Lake itself.  Boardwalks cross the swampy trail sections.

Boardwalks cross the wet trail sections -- © Dave Spier

Donna on the trail around Beaver Lake in December -- © Dave Spier

For more information on Beaver Lake Nature Center, including trail map, visit their website at Onondaga County Parks: http://onondagacountyparks.com/beaver-lake-nature-center/

A bench lets you take a break -- © Dave Spier

Questions can be sent to northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com

Beaver Lake from the loop trail -- © Dave Spier

Letchworth Park (cont'd) -- © Dave & Donna Spier

Railroad bridge 234’ above the river at Upper Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

Train on railroad bridge 234’ above the river at Upper Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

[Part 1 of this article is the previous post directly below this one.]

Roughly 350 million years ago [during the Devonian period, named for Devon, England where rocks of this age were first studied], western New York was still submerged under an inland sea near the equator. Sediments washing down from the Acadian Mountains to the east continued to fill the basin with layer upon layer of deposits that solidified into a thick sequence of shales, siltstones and sandstones now partially exposed in the Letchworth gorge. [For comparison, older rocks deeper in the Catskill Delta are exposed at Taughannock Falls State Park, profiled in an earlier blog (see October 27). The Tully limestone at the base of the Taughannock gorge formed as a shallow reef near the edge of the inland sea between Middle and Upper Devonian time.]

Rainbow in the mist below Upper Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

After exploring the Upper and Middle Falls, we drove north and briefly stopped at the Archery Field Overlook next to Great Bend canyon. Sometimes there are Turkey Vultures from the resident flock working the air currents, but today we didn't see a single one.

Great Bend canyon south from Archery Field overlook-- © Donna Mason-Spier

Great Bend canyon north from Archery Field overlook-- © Donna Mason-Spier

Our final stop of the day at Letchworth was Wolf Creek and a walk out to the point. Steep cliffs drop to the river below. A short spur trail to the south leads to a Red Pine barely clinging to the dry rim. Erosion has left the inner roots exposed at the base of the trunk.  In the park, Red Pine is at the northern limit of its range.

Red Pine on the rim near Wolf Creek -- © Donna Mason-Spier

Donna had predicted a nice sunset and sure enough we got one, although we had to detour to find an open view to the west-southwest.  After taking a few shots, we found a wet corner of the field with a nice reflection as the color began to fade.

Sunset from Freshour Rd. near Shortsville -- © Donna Mason-Spier

Letchworth Thanksgiving -- © Dave & Donna Spier

Trees on the canyon rim at Letchworth State Park, NY_© Donna Mason-Spier

This year’s Thanksgiving weather was pretty decent by western New York standards.  In fact, it's been the fifth warmest November on record.  Where we were, the weather didn’t live up to predictions, but we did get some sunny breaks in the afternoon between the morning cumulus clouds (probably coming off Lake Erie) and the evening cirrus coming in from the west that gave us a beautiful sunset to end the day.

Donna and I renewed our tradition of spending Thanksgiving in Letchworth State Park about midway between Rochester, NY and the Pennsylvania state line. After entering the park at the Mt. Morris [north] end, we drove the roughly 15 miles to the waterfalls near the south end. First stop was Inspiration Point which has heated restrooms open year round. There is a handicap-accessible interpretive trail along part of the rim and starting from the parking lot.

View from Inspiration Point -- © Donna Mason-Spier

At the end of the last Ice Age, glacial fill [clay, silt, sand and gravel that's part of the Valley Heads Moraine] blocked the return of the Genesee River to its ancestral valley just northeast of Portageville at the south end of the park. The river was forced west to the lowest divide and there it cut a new channel and began carving canyons through solid rock. A series of three waterfalls continues to deepen the gorge as they erode upstream [southward]. At Inspiration Point a short walk takes you to an overlook with a distant view of the Middle and Upper Falls.

From there we backtracked slightly to a side road and a short drive to Trailside Lodge for a picnic lunch.  Some years we have a little company; this year we had it all to ourselves. There are lots of tables inside, the building is heated and it turns out there are heated restrooms there too.  Our more-regular Thanksgiving dinner would be later at home.

Fireplace inside Trailside Lodge where we ate a picnic lunch -- © Dave Spier

District #2 schoolhouse beside the road to the trout pond -- © Donna Mason-Spier

Cross-bedded sedimentary rock layers on a natural joint plane
[roadcut beside main park road] -- © Donna Mason-Spier

After lunch, we continued south with a brief stop at the old schoolhouse near the Trout Pond and then down the hill past Glen Iris to a one-way drive descending to the old flood plain and a choice of parking areas. Our first direction was a short walk south to the Upper Falls which was nearly obscured by spray and mist rising from the plunge pool. It’s difficult to see, but the caprock is 28 feet of Nunda sandstone supported by weaker Gardeau sandstones and shales. Both formations are part of the late-Devonian West Falls group which in turn is part of the larger Catskill Delta underlying the Finger Lakes and Genesee regions.
 

Trail to Upper Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

Deh-ge-wa-nus Creek descends to the river above Upper Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

At Letchworth Park, you can walk uphill past the crest of the Upper Falls and look back to see a rainbow in the mist when conditions are right. The rainbow is highest in late fall and early winter when the sun is near its lowest angle of the year. In the afternoon, the rainbow is downstream from the west side trail.  If you go, you might want to also take some pictures of the historic 234-foot high steel railroad bridge. They're talking about replacing it with a modern arch bridge.

Rainbow in the mist below Upper Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

From the Upper Falls it’s an easy half-mile walk north along the Genesee River toward the Middle Falls, probably the most spectacular of the three falls and the main attraction in the park.  Along the way we stopped to take a few pictures of the river which was unusually high and muddy for this time of year due to recent heavy rains.

Ripples on the Genesee River above Middle Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

Outcrop in the Genesee River above Middle Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

First hint of rainbow in the mist below crest of Middle Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

 If you continue north on the trail past the crest you’ll reach clearer views of the falls itself. Watch for another rainbow in the mist along the way. William Pryor Letchworth built his Glen Iris mansion overlooking this falls. It descends 107’ over rocks of the Gardeau formation.

Middle Falls, 107’ high, seen from below William Pryor Letchworth's mansion at Glen Iris -- © Donna Mason-Spier

Rainbow in the mist below Middle Falls -- © Donna Mason-Spier

Letchworth Park blog to be continued...

(In the meantime, you might want to check the Genesee River Wilds Project working to develop a series of parks and trails along the river from Letchworth south to Potter County, PA.)

Taughannock Falls

Mist spraying from the base of Taughannock Falls accents the footbridge near the end of the lower gorge trail - © Donna Mason-Spier

The highest waterfall in New York State is easily accessible off Rt. 89 northwest of Ithaca in Tompkins County. Taughannock Creek flows east and descends the valley slope to end in Cayuga Lake. Since the end of the last Ice Age, the creek, by utilizing two significant waterfalls, has cut an impressive gorge into the plateau. I suggest starting at the overlook on the north rim of the gorge about a half mile uphill from Rt. 89. Through a break in the forest, you gain an overview of the lower gorge below the main falls, plus a glimpse into the upper gorge above this falls.

Drive downhill and turn right (south) on Rt. 89, cross the creek and pull into the lower parking lot on your right. (If this lot is full, there are larger lots on the east side of Rt. 89, toward Taughannock Point, a delta created by the creek from sediments washed out of the hillside.) A three-quarter mile walking trail leads up the gorge through a mature forest to the base of 215' high Taughannock Falls. Yes, it's higher than Niagara, but of course it lacks the width and volume of water. (After all, Niagara drains the four upper Great Lakes on their way to Lake Ontario and then the St. Lawrence.)

The lower falls capped by Tully limestone - © Donna Mason-Spier

Even from the parking area, you can see the lowest falls, created by the resistant Tully limestone caprock. The weak Hamilton shales at the base of this falls are easily eroded with the result that blocks of limestone break off.  Both are members of the Catskill Delta created during the Devonian period.
 

Joints (tension cracks) crossing Tully limestone above lower falls - © Donna Mason-Spier

Above the lower falls, the creek has washed off the relatively flat surface of the Tully upstream to a wide "step" falls created by another layer of the limestone. Above that another flat surface continues upstream until you reach the black Geneseo shale.

Solution pits and minor joints in the surface of the Tully - © Donna Mason-Spier

Solution pits and a major joint in the surface of the Tully - © Donna Mason-Spier

The "step" falls formed by an upper stratum of Tully limestone - © Donna Mason-Spier

Black Geneseo shale beside the gorge trail - © Donna Mason-Spier

Further up the gorge you'll see the beige cliffs formed by more resistant Sherburne siltstone, a slightly younger rock overlying the Geneseo formation. Both are in the Genesee group.

When you reach the wide amphitheater surrounding the falls, the highest portion of the cliffs are Ithaca shale which begins about 25' above the crest of the falls. At this point the gorge is about 400' deep.

The amphitheater cut into Sherburne siltstone overlying dark Geneseo shale, both formations in the Genesee group - © Donna Mason-Spier

Collapsed pinnacle of Sherburne siltstone, the lighter strata above the dark Geneseo shale - © Donna Mason-Spier

Autumn foliage in the lower gorge, October 23, 2011 - © Donna Mason-Spier

Reflection of autumn foliage on Taughannock Creek, October 23, 2011 - © Donna Mason-Spier

Tree-lined Lower Gorge Trail - © Donna Mason-Spier

Contact us at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect with me on Facebook.