May2023
Meeting Minutes

10 April 2023 Meeting

Lab of Ornithology

7:25pm-9:00pm

https://cayugabirdclub.org

Reading of the List 

Good evening, everyone.  While we are all settling in, I will move right into our Reading of the List

Call to Order

I’d now like to Call to the formal business meeting to order& welcome any visitors and guests here tonight.

Do we have anyone here for whom tonight is your first meeting?
(there were a couple)

 Are there any corrections offered for last month’s meeting minutes?  Hearing none, last month’s meeting minutes will be noted as approved as written.

Cookies

Many thanks to Kendal for tonight’s delicious cookies!

Next Meeting

•        Tonight is our last “business meeting” until September

•        For those of you who are new, we take a break in the summer for July and August and resume regular monthly meetings in September

•       The location of those meetings is to be determined

•        Next month we will be enjoying our annual dish-to-pass picnic

•        Anyone not comfortable with dish-to-pass can bring their own meal

•        And if people prefer more space, feel free to bring your own folding chairs
for a more distanced eating arrangement

•        After dinner, we will enjoy a leisurely bird walk around Myers

Global Big Day 2023

But before then, there is plenty of other birding to do, starting with being a part of birding's biggest team for Global Big Day.

For more information about how to participate, go to: ebird.org/globalbigday and learn more!

Upcoming CBC Field Trips

And if you’d like to participate in one of our many upcoming field trip opportunities,
we have many, starting with the one on Global Big Day to

Saturday, May 13, 2023, 7:00am-11:00am: CBC Field Trip, Greensprings and Arnot Forest.  Please note, however, this trip is already full.  But not to worry, there’s more!

Sunday, May 14, 2023, 7:00am-10:00am: CBC Field Trip, Hawthorn Orchards, with Meena Haribal Meena recommends good tall boots for this walk

Saturday, May 20, 2023, 7:30am-12:00pm: CBC Field Trip, Shindagin Hollow, with Laura Stenzler.Meeting place changed to EHP to save travel time

Also on Sat, May 20, 2023, 9:00am-10:00am: Stewart Park Bird Walk, with Marc Devocaitis. Meet at Cascadilla Boat Club Ltd Stewart Park. This is a collaboration with Friends of Stewart Park

Sunday, May 21, 2023, 7:00am-2:00pm: CBC Field Trip, Robinson Hollow, with Meena Haribal.  Meet at East Hill Plaza near College Town Bagels.

Sunday, May 28 2023, 7:00am-11:00am: CBC Field Trip, Lindsay Parsons Preserve, with Paul Anderson.  Meet at the main entrance to the preserve at 7am for a moderate hike and be prepared for TICKS.

Saturday, June 3, 2023, 7:30am-12:00pm: CBC Field Trip, Connecticut Hill, with Suan Yong. Meet at Wegmans Parking Lot southwest corner, Meadow Street, Ithaca at 7:30 or at the intersection of Connecticut Hill Rd., Boylan Rd., and Lloyd Starks Rd. at about 8:00am.

Please see the club calendar for up-to-the-minute details and trip leader contact info

Conservation Action Committee

• The City of Ithaca has set the base for the post of the 2nd PUMA house at Stewart Park
and next steps will include painting, assembling the post and raising the house.
We would like to do this by the end of June so if you are interested in helping out,
please contact Jody or Stephanie and look for work dates in the next newsletter.

• CAC wants to purchase more plants! In the past, we have bought good stock
from White Oak Nursery near Canandaigua.   Jody is looking for someone
who has some time to make calls to see what plants they still have, so again,
please let Jody know if you would be willing to help out with this.

• Grasslands initiative (might recall from our February meeting this year,
this is the 5th of 5 initiatives for CAC)

• Progress: Cornell’s College of Ag & Life Sciences is going to plant & manage a ~20 acre plot near Hanshaw Rd to our specifications and otherwise leave alone the next 8-10 years

• Jody working on an upcoming proposal for planting the plot

We expect that this will turn into future monitoring activities, so stay tuned for an upcoming proposal in the newsletter and future club vote

Youth Birding

Our Youth Birding group continues to be active and engaged. 

Yesterday’s trip to the Cornell Arboretum included eight youths, three parents, three leaders. Highlights included fighting orioles, northern flicker at nest cavity, listening with Beth's parabola, and a sit spot activity quietly observing for five minutes.

Coming up, the Youth Group has a couple more planned activities:

• Sunday, May 21, 8:30am-12pm. Taughannock and Cayuga Nature Center. Meet at CCETC 8:30am.

• Sunday, June 4, 9am-12pm. Lindsay-Parsons. Meet at CCETC 8:30pm or LP 9am.
  
  

Miscellaneous Goings-on

• Lab of O Visitor Center FAQ (‘23-24 Closure)
  https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/visit/visitor-center-faq/

• Tompkins County Merlin Survey
  John Confer (confergoldwing@aol.com)

• 2023 NYSOA conference; register @ Register as soon as possible at www.nybirders.org

• Any other misc items? (none)

Changes to CBC Bylaws

These proposed changes to the Cayuga Bird Club’s bylaws will be discussed tonight and put to a vote at the September 2023 meeting.  CBC Director, Diane Morton presented the two proposed changes. 

Proposed Changes to CBC Bylaws

The Cayuga Bird Club's Executive Committee is recommending two changes to the bylaws for a vote by the membership at the September meeting.

1. The first change would allow a president of the club to serve three consecutive one-year terms instead of two.

Rationale: The role of President of the Cayuga Bird Club has become more complex as the club has grown, and it takes time to learn how to facilitate having the club’s activities run smoothly and to manage new initiatives. During the learning curve of the first year, the president gains the knowledge that makes the tasks of the president more manageable in their second year. It would benefit the club if an experienced and willing president could be elected for a third consecutive term.

In no way is this to suggest that all future presidents will be expected to serve three one-year terms. It is simply to allow a third term if the membership (and the sitting president) approve.

2. The second proposed change to the bylaws is to remove the following sentence regarding dues payments: “Reinstatements after a year will be treated as new members.”

Rationale: Currently, if someone had been a member of the Cayuga Bird Club for some years but misses a dues payment one year, their previous years of membership are no longer counted towards lifetime membership status. With the proposed change, all years of membership will count toward lifetime (30 years) status, even if there is a break.

Again, these proposed changes to the Cayuga Bird Club’s bylaws will be put to a vote at the September 2023 meeting.

No questions or discussion on either proposed change.

Tonight’s Presentation

 And now for our presentation. 

This evening’s speaker is a native Michigander and self-professed “car guy” turned avid birder by the COVID-19 lockdowns.  He and his wife were drawn to Ithaca during the pandemic – she by an advanced degree at Cornell and he by the allure of the Lab of O, Sapsucker Woods and the Finger Lakes.  Since then he has engaged not only in his own local birding interests, but he has also helped out the Lab by being a past KDT group leader and a recent BBW assistant walk leader.  Tonight, we will hear about his December photo safari to Kenya where he had the opportunity to add a solo birding expedition and spot almost 300 species on his trip.  He’ll be sharing some incredible images of creatures both feathered and furred…

Please join me in a warm welcome for Cliff Hodge. 

"Kenya Wildlife and Bird Safari."
Recording: https://youtu.be/-ksSQzl7yG4