February 2023 Meeting Minutes
Cayuga Bird Club
Meeting Minutes
13 February 2023 Meeting
Lab of Ornithology
7:15pm-9:00pm
Tonight we are trying something new by moving the reading of the list prior to the
regular business meeting. so that we can safeguard the speaker’s time and still wrap up the meeting promptly. We are retaining this long-standing tradition by doing it during our more social and interactive portion of the evening.
Tonight’s reader is Ken Haas!
Favorite Female Bird Shots (2022 Audubon photography awards)
A little shout-out to our very own VP, Ken Haas, who had his photo of this beauty show up in the Feb 8th article posted on Audubon.org entitled “Our Favorite Female Bird Shots From the 2022 Audubon Photography Awards.”
Ken noted to me that last year was the first time he had entered any of the major
photo contests and suggested it was just beginner’s luck, but I don’t think so!
Nicely done, Ken!
Call to Order
Are there any corrections offered for last month’s meeting minutes?
Hearing none, last month’s meeting minutes are approved as written.
Cookies!
Many thanks to Jane Bain for tonight’s cookies!
Please sign up for the remaining months or… no cookies!
We have a sign-up for the remaining months that we will be meeting at the
Lab, so please take a look at the list on your way out tonight and make sure we have cookies for March & April!
Next Meeting
Monday, March 13th (2nd Monday of the month)
at the Lab of Ornithology auditorium
Presentation: Merlin, the Bird ID Wizard
Speaker: Alli Smith, Merlin Project Coordinator, will be telling us about the How and What of the Merlin app.
Youth Birding Recent Activity
Our Youth Birding group continues to be small but mighty!
Sunday, February 5th
Last weekend, our group of 3 youth and 1 care-giver birded downtown near the
Sciencenter and had a good look at a super-cooperative juvenile Cooper's Hawk right after leaving the CCETC garden; the group, accompanied by 4 leaders
(Suan, Beth, Colleen & Diane) had a good 10 minutes or so looking at it
via scope etc.
They found a backyard bird feeder with Chickadees, Nuthatches, and a Carolina
Wren, along with some other usual feeder birds. Colleen brought some specimens from the Lab of Ornithology, so participants got to see samples showing sexual dimorphism and age differences.
There are a host of upcoming events with firm dates and proposed locations and
activities, such as a woodcock hunt and owling at Durland, depending on weather.
And, while they are still working out details-- there are possible trips during April break being planned for April 13-14 with an overnight possibility; or there could be 2 day trips to Montezuma and Derby, depending on weather for Derby, and other details. So stay tuned and look to our Youth page on the club website.
Field Trips (Recent)
Oswego Field Trip
Saturday, Feb 11th with Meena Haribal and Suan Yong
Suan update: 13 people, brisk onshore wind. Lots of Long tailed ducks, and White winged Scoters. Also Bald Eagles. Short-eared Owls at Airport.
Field Trips (Upcoming)
Saturday, Feb 18th, 8am-12:30pm
Winter Birding with Ken Kemphues and Diane Morton
Saturday, Feb 25th, 8am-12:30pm
West Side of the Lake with Ken Haas
Check the website calendar @ cayugabirdclub.org/calendar
Conservation Action Committee
At a high, and consolidated level, we have goals for:
Improving and monitoring bird habitat, including nest boxes for birds like Purple
Martins, in and around Stewart Park.
Connecting local youth and underserved communities with bird conservation.
Helping people improve bird habitat around their homes.
Working with Cornell to improve the success of grassland birds, like bobolinks, on Cornell-owned grasslands.
We made some key decisions regarding this year’s goals:
Keep youth goal in parallel with Youth Birders since the Conservation Action Committee’s goals, though different, compliment the Youth Birder group.
Set aside our bird safe initiative efforts, for now
Next Steps:
Finish defining the evaluation criteria for each goal
Assign tasks to various committee members to allow us to reach each of our goals
Questions – contact Jody Enck!
2023 Spring Ornithologywith Steve Kress
Reminder that registration for the 2023 Spring Ornithology course is still open. This 8-week course will be held Wednesday evenings, March 29 to May 17, 7 - 9 pm. at Kendal at Ithaca -- may also be attended via Zoom for registered students who live further away or don’t want to drive. All lectures will be recorded and may be reviewed by students at their convenience. Steve Kress is a great lecturer, and this is a course not to be missed!
Great Backyard Bird Count is happening Feb 17th-20th, 2023.
Started by Audubon, O Lab; later joined by Birds Canada
Data was used as a test case for putting money and effort into eBird
There were 14,000 participants the first year in 1998 (bird observations in paper-based world!). Now up to over 380,000 people participate!
So…it is time to gather ourselves and prepare for the upcoming migrations
by engaging in the Great Backyard Bird Count multi-day event to watch, count, study and celebrate birds! It is called “Backyard,” not literally, but to be inviting, suggesting no matter one’s skill set or abilities, it is easy to do. The Great Backyard Bird Count is over 25 years old. It accumulates a massive point-in-time citizen science data set that is used for global conservation efforts like those we had heard in Ian Owens’ December presentation , “The Role of Technology in Citizen Science and Birdwatching.” It’s a chance for each of us to harness our “inner scientist” and give our data back to the world, so if you haven’t already, jot it down on your calendar and join in!
Misc. goings-on
KDT (cbenson@cornell.edu)
BBW (suan.yong@gmail.com)
NYSOA Speakers (anneswaim@gmail.com)
Ithaca Voice articleCBC Newsletters (newsletter@cayugabirdclub.org)
2/11 BBW photo by Marc Devokaitis
And finally a handful of miscellaneous
goings-on:
• Request from Sarah Wagner who is looking for Volunteers for this spring’s Kid’s Discover the Trail (KDT) program at the Lab of O
During May, the Lab welcomes over 800 5 th grade students from across Tompkins County. Volunteers lead students on a biodiversity walk in the morning,
followed by a post-lunch rotation of stations focused on bioacoustics and bird
identification.
Interested? Have questions? Please contact Chelsea Benson for more information cbenson@cornell.edu.
Past president Suan Yong is looking to expand the Beginner Bird Walk leader group, especially as the weather warms, with a goal of having 2 leaders per walk starting in April.
So if you have never been a walk leader before, being a co-leader on the Beginner Bird Walks is a great way to learn and it’s a lot of fun too!
The NYS Ornithological Association send out an email last week asking if people want to be included on their “2023 speakers list”, which will be included in an upcoming issue of NYSOA’s New York Birders newsletter. If you are interested, you must be a NYSOA member and send an email by Feb 14 the to Anne Swaim with your contact info, costs requested, distance willing to travel, topics available and whether remote presentations are possible or not.
Last month, Zoe Hessler, a reporter from the Ithaca Voice contacted the club, saying “I am reaching out to see if anyone from the Cayuga Bird Club could speak with me about the club. I saw in a Village of Cayuga Heights update email that the club has been active for more than 100 years, and I’d love to learn more! I would
generally like to know what the club entails and what activities have kept it going for so long — I am happy to speak with anyone who would like to and do a short interview so I can write a story about the club.”
I met with her last week to describe how the core of our club’s purpose has remained consistent around the objectives of supporting bird study, conservation, and education, themes that have remained as important to the 300+ CBC members 110 years ago as it does to our over 300 active members today!
Zoe sent a photographer out on Sunday as Suan led a troupe of 11 boy scouts from Canajoharie on a Beginner Bird Walk. So keep an eye open for an upcoming
bird club article from the Ithaca Voice.
Last of all, I want to wrap up the business meeting by offering a heartfelt thank you tonight to two people… first to Jill Leichter for putting in over 3 years as our club
newsletter editor, and Jane Bane, who has agreed to pick up the mantle to be our new newsletter editor. The newsletters provide a wonderful source of information and continuity to the entire club and we are grateful for this smooth transition, so thanks to Jill and Jane!
And now for tonight’s presentation.
A Birding Tour of Morocco with Speakers:
Ken Rosenberg, Diane Morton, who will be sharing their story, compiled with fellow-traveler, Ken Kempheus, about their trip to Morocco last spring and the
birds they saw there. Please join me in a warm welcome for Ken Rosenberg and Diane Morton.