Grassland Survey Sites

Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve

(Google Map)

The survey covers two fields, the Big Meadow and the field to the south bordering Walding Lane.

Big Meadow has three survey points (LP-1, LP2, LP-3), all reachable along the mowed trails.

For the Walding Lane field, we started with points LP-4 and LP-5 along the road, but in 2024 we switched the latter to LP-6, located in the middle of the northern spur of the field. You should survey LP-4 and then choose either LP-5 (easier roadside point) or LP-6 (requires walking through tall grass). You can also reach LP-6 by walking up the railway tracks, then cutting west through a grove of pine trees.  Be sure to check for ticks!

Sims-Jennings Preserve at Cayuga Cliffs

(Google Map)

The survey covers three fields at Sims-Jennings: the upper long field, a smaller field to the east, and a lower meadow to the south.

SJ 05 is a single point in the middle of the smaller field to the east of the parking lot, with frontage on 34B. There is no trail access to this field, so you will need to either cross the ditch or walk along the road and cross a culvert, then walk through the tall grass. The bobolinks dancing around you is the reward for walking into the middle of this field.

The upper long field has two survey points in the middle.  SJ 01B and SJ 02, both of which are located along a former hedgerow that was cut down in 2024, and is now a layer of wood chips that is relatively easy to walk along from the mowed path, as of 2024. There are plans to seed these with native grasses, so if that happens, we may want to avoid walking along them.

(Historical note: SJ 01B replaces an old SJ 01 located a little to the north, but which turned out to require walking through poison ivy to access.) 

The lower field to the south is very tall grass and shrubs as of 2024, with a newly mowed trail around it. To reach this field, hike down into the woods, turn east and cross two footbridges, then take the short spur trail to the north. We placed the survey points along the periphery of the field, so that they are all reachable by walking the mowed path. Survey points SJ 03 and SJ 04 look south to the FLLT-owned field, but the adjacent field to the north seemed to have more activity as of 2024. Points SJ 06, SJ 07, and SJ 08 were added later after a Grasshopper Sparrow was seen near SJ 06.

Surveying all eight points will likely take up to three hours, so if there are time constraints, we can split this into two parts: the upper points (1, 2, 5) which should take about an hour, and the lower points (3, 4, 8, 7, 6) which should take under two hours.

Summerland Farm Preserve

(Google Map)

Summerland has a single long field with four survey points which will require walking through grass, though the grass is not very thick or tall. Surveying these points should be relatively quick, taking about 1.5 hours including the short hike from and to the parking lot.

2025 Update: we are skipping SU 03, as that narrow stretch is not sufficient habitat for grassland birds.