Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Kenneth V. Rosenberg]

Hi everyone,

Having fueled some of the passion about hay-cutting and grassland bird 
conservation, I wanted to clarify a few points. Thanks to the many who provided 
resources and links to additional information. I am not an expert on farming or 
legal issues, but I can provide a bit more perspective on the grassland bird 
issues. What is happening today has happened for decades and is standard 
agricultural practice over most of the eastern U.S. The challenges are complex, 
both for the farmers and those interested in conservation.

Most importantly, it is not fair or correct to blame the local farmers, or even 
those at Cornell trying to manage the hayfields along Freese and Hanshaw Roads 
– these are indeed hayfields, grown for the horses at the Equine Research Lab, 
and the growers are under the same constraints regarding timing and nutritional 
value of the hay (the horses won’t eat it if it’s mowed too late). Individual 
farmers trying to eek out a living and keep their farms in production cannot be 
expected to sacrifice economically for the sake of birds or other wildlife – a 
common resource for us all. This is the fundamental problem.

The solutions, therefore, need to come at the societal and policy levels. If 
more of society puts greater value on birds and other nature, then this can 
become part of the economic structure that supports both agriculture and 
biodiversity conservation. Much easier said than done!  There is a complicated 
array of Farm Bill and other incentive programs that encourage farmers to 
create or set aside wildlife habitat, but these programs are obscure to most 
farmers – including the program managers at Cornell we met with last year. Here 
is a link to a guide that was just released about the latest Farm Bill 
programs:  
https://nabci-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2018-2023-Farm-Bill-Guide-FINAL-LOW-RES-052621.pdf

As Geo and others point out, the bird part is pretty well known and several 
good resources exist – the timing of breeding, safe dates for mowing, field 
size requirements for each species, preferred grass types, etc.  The economic 
side is much more difficult, with pressures to produce on every acre and less 
and less room for nature in the agricultural matrix. And as Geo stated, without 
viable farming there would be no “grassland” or grassland birds in the 
Northeast. (the lost potential for managing state-owned lands for these 
disappearing species has also been noted).

As for our local situation with the Cornell University fields, I was not quite 
correct to say earlier that the managers of these particular fields were not 
interested in conservation options – but they did not have the option to make 
those decisions and could not afford to make short-term changes in their 
management. This is where our local bird community can help – both in terms of 
providing specific information on the birds and guidelines for mowing, etc., 
but more importantly, to let the university and town leaders know that we value 
the birds and the habitats on these lands. As a land-grant university, and with 
the lead by-line on the Science article documenting the loss of 3 billion 
birds, it is not unreasonable to ask Cornell to be part of the solution -- 
finding ways that ensure agricultural productivity while helping to stem the 
plummeting populations of grassland birds.  And it would be great for Cornell 
to model these solutions on its own extensive farmland.

I hope some of the passion expressed today will have a positive impact.

KEN




Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
Applied Conservation Scientist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
American Bird Conservancy
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
k...@cornell.edu
Wk: 607-254-2412
Cell: 607-342-4594


From: bounce-125714597-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Geo Kloppel 

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 9:53 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
I was about to say that anyone who wants to discuss the matter cogently with 
actual farmers and hayfield managers would do well to consult the Resources 
page on the Cayuga Bird Club website, where this link lives:

  *   Cornell Cooperative Extension has published a very helpful document on 
Hayfield Management and Grassland Bird 
Conservation.

Alas! That link is broken. But here’s one that still works:

https://www.nyfoa.org/application/files/6314/7948/6092/HayfieldsGrassland_Birds_3MB.pdf

More generally, let’s remember that without field culture and haymaking, most 
of what we call grassland in this part of the country would revert to forest 
cover, where Bobolinks and Meadowlarks would not be found.


-Geo


Sent from my iPhone


On Jun 15, 2021, at 6:07 PM, Sandy Podulka  wrote:
 Ken and all,

Thank you so much for this clear, concise summary of this issue. I have some 
friends I am trying to convince to not mow too 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Geo Kloppel]

I was about to say that anyone who wants to discuss the matter cogently with 
actual farmers and hayfield managers would do well to consult the Resources 
page on the Cayuga Bird Club website, where this link lives:
Cornell Cooperative Extension has published a very helpful document on Hayfield 
Management and Grassland Bird Conservation.

Alas! That link is broken. But here’s one that still works:

https://www.nyfoa.org/application/files/6314/7948/6092/HayfieldsGrassland_Birds_3MB.pdf

More generally, let’s remember that without field culture and haymaking, most 
of what we call grassland in this part of the country would revert to forest 
cover, where Bobolinks and Meadowlarks would not be found.

-Geo

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 15, 2021, at 6:07 PM, Sandy Podulka  wrote:
>  Ken and all,
> 
> Thank you so much for this clear, concise summary of this issue. I have some 
> friends I am trying to convince to not mow too soon, so will use your words 
> there, too.
> 
> Can anyone tell me what is a "safe" date for mowing?  Until when should I ask 
> them to delay?
> 
> Thanks,
> Sandy Podulka
> 
> At 04:07 PM 6/15/2021, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote:
> 
>> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a 
>> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire 
>> U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other 
>> grassland bird populations. 
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
>> Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
>> Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. 
>> In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck 
>> and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various 
>> departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, 
>> University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns 
>> for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female 
>> bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills 
>> filled food for their almost-fledged young. 
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
>> earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
>> hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire 
>> region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued 
>> devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether 
>> Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly 
>> supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody 
>> and I presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of 
>> fields owned by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model 
>> for conserving populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other 
>> biodiversity, but the people in charge of this management were not very 
>> interested in these options.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland 
>> birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges 
>> of modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird 
>> populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and 
>> maybe someone will listen.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> KEN
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
>> 
>> Applied Conservation Scientist
>> 
>> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>> 
>> American Bird Conservancy
>> 
>> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
>> 
>> k...@cornell.edu
>> 
>> Wk: 607-254-2412
>> 
>> Cell: 607-342-4594
>> 
>>  
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> From: bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
>>  on behalf of Linda Orkin 
>> 
>> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
>> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
>> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>> 
>> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
>> gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
>> done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
>> feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing 
>> meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early 
>> mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes 
>> of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass 
>> while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. 
>> Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient 
>> process turning to food for humans. 
>> 
>> Linda Orkin
>> Ithaca NY
>> --
>> 
>> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm 
>> 
>> ARCHIVES:
>> 1) 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed - state land, too

[Poppy Singer]

I feel so sad about this.

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:39 PM Alicia Plotkin  wrote:

> More generally, another problem are policies by NYS Parks and the Wildlife
> Management areas.  Grassland areas under their control increasingly seem to
> be rented out for farming.  For example, part of Willard Wildlife
> Management area that 25 yrs ago was in grass that only got mowed in late
> summer, and that had the full range of nesting grassland birds (confirmed
> nesting by Meadowlark, Bobolink, Northern Harrier, several grassland
> sparrows), recently has been leased to farmers who plant & harvest row
> crops there.  Probably true lots of other places.  This is a situation
> where the Bird Club and the Lab of O might be able to work together to
> encourage regulation by NYS that ensured the land was used in a way that is
> consistent with grassland nesting.
>
>
> On 6/15/2021 4:07 PM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote:
>
> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a
> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire
> U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and
> other grassland bird populations.
>
>
>
> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along
> Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting
> Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June.
> In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck
> and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various
> departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College,
> University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns
> for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female
> bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills
> filled food for their almost-fledged young.
>
>
>
> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an
> earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had)
> recently hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the
> entire region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued
> devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether
> Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while
> ostensibly supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated
> programs. Jody and I presented an alternative vision, where the
> considerable acres of fields owned by the university across Tompkins County
> could serve as a model for conserving populations of grassland birds,
> pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the people in charge of this
> management were not very interested in these options.
>
>
>
> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland
> birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges
> of modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird
> populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and
> maybe someone will listen.
>
>
>
> KEN
>
>
>
> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
>
> Applied Conservation Scientist
>
> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>
> American Bird Conservancy
>
> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
>
> k...@cornell.edu
>
> Wk: 607-254-2412
>
> Cell: 607-342-4594
>
>
>
>
>
> *From: *bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu
> 
>  on behalf of Linda Orkin
>  
> *Date: *Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
> *To: *CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> 
> *Subject: *[cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>
> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the
> gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to
> be done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false
> feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing
> meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early
> mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more
> multitudes of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow
> the grass while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is
> being fed. Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that
> inefficient process turning to food for humans.
>
> Linda Orkin
> Ithaca NY
> --
>
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
>
> ARCHIVES:
> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
>
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>
> --
> --
> *Cayugabirds-L List Info:*
> Welcome and Basics 
> Rules and Information 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Joseph Wetmore]

Federal law will supersede State law.

Joe






On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, 08:56:28 PM EDT, Donna Lee Scott  
wrote: 





Related to discussion on migratory bird act & lack if protections:  
New York has a 
“Right to Farm” law.  
I have not read it, but it probably would muddy the waters further. 


Donna Scott 

Lansing

Sent from my iPhone




On Jun 15, 2021, at 8:47 PM, Alicia  wrote:



>  
> I have zero expertise in this area, but it looks like the courts have at best 
> a mixed record in interpreting unintentional negative effects as violations 
> of the MBTA. Take a look at  this summary, and also  this one. Based on these 
> summaries, it looks like courts are divided on the question of whether 
> criminal behavior under the MBTA is limited "to deliberate acts done directly 
> and intentionally to migratory birds" or if actions that incidentally hurt 
> birds/nests/etc also are covered. 
> 
> A 43 yr old case from the 2d Circuit, which includes NY, 
> 
>> "affirmed the conviction of a manufacturer of pesticides for migratory bird 
>> deaths. United States v. FMC Corp., 572 F.2d 902 (2d Cir. 1978). Still the 
>> FMC court stated misgivings (a “construction that would bring every killing 
>> within the statute, such as deaths caused by automobiles, airplanes, plate 
>> glass modern office buildings or picture windows into which birds fly, would 
>> offend reason and common sense”) and suggested possibly limiting incidental 
>> takes to “extrahazardous” activities ... ."
>  (Entire quote from second summary linked above.)  FWIW, I doubt that a 
> farmer cutting hay would be considered engaged in an extra-hazardous activity 
> in a legal sense, even though farming itself is a hazardous occupations.
> 
> Later cases in other circuits aren't as willing to assign criminal blame when 
> the intent was not specifically to harm birds. The 5th Circuit ruled in 2015 
> that
> 
>> we agree with the Eighth and Ninth circuits that a “taking” is limited to 
>> deliberate acts done directly and intentionally to migratory birds. Our 
>> conclusion is based on the statute’s text, its common law origin, a 
>> comparison with other relevant statutes, and rejection of the argument that 
>> strict liability can change the nature of the necessary illegal act.
> Looking at a somewhat similar fact pattern, federal district courts have held 
> that timber operations are not criminally liable under the MBTA for felling 
> trees when that activity takes out nests, for example in Curry v. U.S. Forest 
> Service, 988 F.Supp. 541, 549 (W.D. Pa. 1997); and  Mahler v. U.S. Forest 
> Service, 927 F. Supp. 1559, 1573-83 (S.D. Ind. 1996).  (Again, I am relying 
> on the summaries above and haven't read the cases but the summaries seem 
> evenhanded and well done.)
> 
> Conclusion?  This is not a clear area of the law.  At some point perhaps the 
> US Supreme Court will agree to hear a case and clarify it, but I'm not 
> holding my breath that this particular Supreme Court would rule the way we 
> would wish if it came before them, particularly if it involves farmers 
> cutting hay rather than, say, an oil spill caused by the negligence of a 
> large corporation.
> 
> Alicia
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 6/15/2021 6:43 PM, david nicosia wrote:
> 
> 
>>  The MBTA is completely ignored in this case and has been for decades. Why 
>>is that? Anyone know?
>> 
>> 
>> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>> 
>> 
>>>  
>>>  
>>> On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:27 PM, Kevin J. McGowan
>>> 
>>>  wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>>  
>>>  
>>>  
>>> I don’t think that’s true. Birds, nests, eggs, and their parts all come 
>>> under protection from the MBTA. If feathers are covered, nestlings are 
>>> covered.
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> Kevin
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>>  
>>> From:  bounce-125714362-3493...@list.cornell.edu  
>>>  On Behalf Of david nicosia
>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 5:55 PM
>>> To: darlingtonbets  ; Nancy Cusumano  
>>> ; Kenneth V. Rosenberg  
>>> Cc: Linda Orkin  ; CAYUGABIRDS-L  
>>> 
>>> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> Young nestling birds aren't protected by the migratory bird act. I guess 
>>> that is true since this has been going on for decades. Wish they were. 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
  
  
  
 On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 5:33 PM, darlingtonbets
 
 
  
  wrote:
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 Good! And let's try to get some publicity into the Ithaca Journal. 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 Betsy
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
  Original message 
 
 
  
 From: Nancy Cusumano  
 
 
  
 Date: 6/15/21 4:28 PM (GMT-05:00) 
 
 
  
 To: "Kenneth V. Rosenberg"  
 
 

RE: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Marty Schlabach]

I think there needs to be a distinction made between mowing for agricultural 
purposes, such as making hay, and mowing non-agricultural fields and roadsides. 
 For farmers making hay, early mowing is important for the nutritional value of 
the hay.  It is unreasonable to expect farmers to make poor quality hay for 
their livestock in exchange for protecting grassland birds.  Perhaps some will, 
but it is unfair to expect them to.

I think we should include farmers in educating landowners about the importance 
of waiting to mow grasslands until after the majority of grassland birds have 
fledged their young, but we should focus on the landowners and the municipal 
bodies who mow to make it look nice or to keep a field from being overtaken 
with woody plants.  Those areas can be mowed in late July or August with no 
negative consequences for the landowners and municipal entities.

Marty
Interlaken, NY

From: bounce-125714205-3494...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of Kenneth V. Rosenberg
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 4:07 PM
To: Linda Orkin ; CAYUGABIRDS-L 

Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone's attention. In a nutshell, 
what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the 
primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other grassland bird 
populations.

Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. In 
the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck and I 
wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various departments 
in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, University Farm 
Services) - although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they 
went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds 
hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their 
almost-fledged young.

The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
earlier stage in the nesting cycle - most birds probably have (had) recently 
hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire region 
as part of "normal" agricultural practices (with continued devastating 
consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether Cornell 
University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly supporting 
biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody and I 
presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of fields owned 
by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model for conserving 
populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the 
people in charge of this management were not very interested in these options.

And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds 
playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern 
Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird populations. I 
urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and maybe someone will 
listen.

KEN

Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
Applied Conservation Scientist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
American Bird Conservancy
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
k...@cornell.edu
Wk: 607-254-2412
Cell: 607-342-4594


From: 
bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu
 
mailto:bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu>>
 on behalf of Linda Orkin mailto:wingmagi...@gmail.com>>
Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
mailto:cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu>>
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
feeling of security so they have returned and I've counted three singing 
meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early mowing 
there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of birds 
will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it's 
still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass taken 
from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient process turning 
to food for humans.

Linda Orkin
Ithaca NY
--

Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Nancy Cusumano]

For hay/farm fields, yes. But these fields of Cornell’s are not hay fields. Are 
they? They just mow it down and leave it there.
That’s was my understanding.




Sent from my iPad

> On Jun 15, 2021, at 8:56 PM, Donna Lee Scott  wrote:
> 
> Related to discussion on migratory bird act & lack if protections: 
> New York has a
> “Right to Farm” law. 
> I have not read it, but it probably would muddy the waters further. 
> 
> Donna Scott
> Lansing
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Jun 15, 2021, at 8:47 PM, Alicia  wrote:
> 
>> I have zero expertise in this area, but it looks like the courts have at 
>> best a mixed record in interpreting unintentional negative effects as 
>> violations of the MBTA. Take a look at this summary, and also this one. 
>> Based on these summaries, it looks like courts are divided on the question 
>> of whether criminal behavior under the MBTA is limited "to deliberate acts 
>> done directly and intentionally to migratory birds" or if actions that 
>> incidentally hurt birds/nests/etc also are covered. 
>> 
>> A 43 yr old case from the 2d Circuit, which includes NY, 
>>> "affirmed the conviction of a manufacturer of pesticides for migratory bird 
>>> deaths. United States v. FMC Corp., 572 F.2d 902 (2d Cir. 1978). Still the 
>>> FMC court stated misgivings (a “construction that would bring every killing 
>>> within the statute, such as deaths caused by automobiles, airplanes, plate 
>>> glass modern office buildings or picture windows into which birds fly, 
>>> would offend reason and common sense”) and suggested possibly limiting 
>>> incidental takes to “extrahazardous” activities ... ."
>>  (Entire quote from second summary linked above.)  FWIW, I doubt that a 
>> farmer cutting hay would be considered engaged in an extra-hazardous 
>> activity in a legal sense, even though farming itself is a hazardous 
>> occupations.
>> 
>> Later cases in other circuits aren't as willing to assign criminal blame 
>> when the intent was not specifically to harm birds. The 5th Circuit ruled in 
>> 2015 that
>>> we agree with the Eighth and Ninth circuits that a “taking” is limited to 
>>> deliberate acts done directly and intentionally to migratory birds. Our 
>>> conclusion is based on the statute’s text, its common law origin, a 
>>> comparison with other relevant statutes, and rejection of the argument that 
>>> strict liability can change the nature of the necessary illegal act.
>> Looking at a somewhat similar fact pattern, federal district courts have 
>> held that timber operations are not criminally liable under the MBTA for 
>> felling trees when that activity takes out nests, for example in Curry v. 
>> U.S. Forest Service, 988 F.Supp. 541, 549 (W.D. Pa. 1997); and Mahler v. 
>> U.S. Forest Service, 927 F. Supp. 1559, 1573-83 (S.D. Ind. 1996).  (Again, I 
>> am relying on the summaries above and haven't read the cases but the 
>> summaries seem evenhanded and well done.)
>> 
>> Conclusion?  This is not a clear area of the law.  At some point perhaps the 
>> US Supreme Court will agree to hear a case and clarify it, but I'm not 
>> holding my breath that this particular Supreme Court would rule the way we 
>> would wish if it came before them, particularly if it involves farmers 
>> cutting hay rather than, say, an oil spill caused by the negligence of a 
>> large corporation.
>> 
>> Alicia
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 6/15/2021 6:43 PM, david nicosia wrote:
>>> The MBTA is completely ignored in this case and has been for decades. Why 
>>> is that? Anyone know?
>>> 
>>> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:27 PM, Kevin J. McGowan
>>>  wrote:
>>> I don’t think that’s true. Birds, nests, eggs, and their parts all come 
>>> under protection from the MBTA. If feathers are covered, nestlings are 
>>> covered.
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> Kevin
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> From: bounce-125714362-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
>>>  On Behalf Of david nicosia
>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 5:55 PM
>>> To: darlingtonbets ; Nancy Cusumano 
>>> ; Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
>>> Cc: Linda Orkin ; CAYUGABIRDS-L 
>>> 
>>> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> Young nestling birds aren't protected by the migratory bird act. I guess 
>>> that is true since this has been going on for decades. Wish they were. 
>>> 
>>> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>>> 
>>>  
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 5:33 PM, darlingtonbets
>>> 
>>>  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Good! And let's try to get some publicity into the Ithaca Journal. 
>>>  
>>> Betsy
>>>  
>>>  
>>> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
>>>  
>>>  Original message 
>>> From: Nancy Cusumano 
>>> Date: 6/15/21 4:28 PM (GMT-05:00) 
>>> To: "Kenneth V. Rosenberg" 
>>> Cc: Linda Orkin , CAYUGABIRDS-L 
>>> 
>>> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>>>  
>>> Ken,
>>>  
>>> May I use your words in my letters? I think I will go straight to the top 
>>> with this issue.
>>>  
>>> I will paraphrase...
>>>  

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Donna Lee Scott]

Related to discussion on migratory bird act & lack if protections:
New York has a
“Right to Farm” law.
I have not read it, but it probably would muddy the waters further.

Donna Scott
Lansing
Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 15, 2021, at 8:47 PM, Alicia 
mailto:t...@ottcmail.com>> wrote:

I have zero expertise in this area, but it looks like the courts have at best a 
mixed record in interpreting unintentional negative effects as violations of 
the MBTA. Take a look at this 
summary,
 and also this 
one.
 Based on these summaries, it looks like courts are divided on the question of 
whether criminal behavior under the MBTA is limited "to deliberate acts done 
directly and intentionally to migratory birds" or if actions that incidentally 
hurt birds/nests/etc also are covered.

A 43 yr old case from the 2d Circuit, which includes NY,
"affirmed the conviction of a manufacturer of pesticides for migratory bird 
deaths. United States v. FMC Corp., 572 F.2d 902 (2d Cir. 1978). Still the FMC 
court stated misgivings (a “construction that would bring every killing within 
the statute, such as deaths caused by automobiles, airplanes, plate glass 
modern office buildings or picture windows into which birds fly, would offend 
reason and common sense”) and suggested possibly limiting incidental takes to 
“extrahazardous” activities ... ."
 (Entire quote from second summary linked above.)  FWIW, I doubt that a farmer 
cutting hay would be considered engaged in an extra-hazardous activity in a 
legal sense, even though farming itself is a hazardous occupations.

Later cases in other circuits aren't as willing to assign criminal blame when 
the intent was not specifically to harm birds. The 5th Circuit ruled in 2015 
that
we agree with the Eighth and Ninth circuits that a “taking” is limited to 
deliberate acts done directly and intentionally to migratory birds. Our 
conclusion is based on the statute’s text, its common law origin, a comparison 
with other relevant statutes, and rejection of the argument that strict 
liability can change the nature of the necessary illegal act.
Looking at a somewhat similar fact pattern, federal district courts have held 
that timber operations are not criminally liable under the MBTA for felling 
trees when that activity takes out nests, for example in Curry v. U.S. Forest 
Service, 988 F.Supp. 541, 549 (W.D. Pa. 1997); and Mahler v. U.S. Forest 
Service, 927 F. Supp. 1559, 1573-83 (S.D. Ind. 1996).  (Again, I am relying on 
the summaries above and haven't read the cases but the summaries seem 
evenhanded and well done.)

Conclusion?  This is not a clear area of the law.  At some point perhaps the US 
Supreme Court will agree to hear a case and clarify it, but I'm not holding my 
breath that this particular Supreme Court would rule the way we would wish if 
it came before them, particularly if it involves farmers cutting hay rather 
than, say, an oil spill caused by the negligence of a large corporation.

Alicia



On 6/15/2021 6:43 PM, david nicosia wrote:
The MBTA is completely ignored in this case and has been for decades. Why is 
that? Anyone know?

Sent from Yahoo Mail on 
Android

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:27 PM, Kevin J. McGowan
 wrote:

I don’t think that’s true. Birds, nests, eggs, and their parts all come under 
protection from the MBTA. If feathers are covered, nestlings are covered.



Kevin





From: 
bounce-125714362-3493...@list.cornell.edu
 

 On Behalf Of david nicosia
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 5:55 PM
To: darlingtonbets ; 
Nancy Cusumano ; 
Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
Cc: Linda Orkin ; 
CAYUGABIRDS-L 

Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.



Young nestling birds aren't protected by the migratory bird act. I guess that 
is true since this has been going on for decades. Wish they were.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on 
Android



On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 5:33 PM, darlingtonbets

mailto:darlingtonb...@gmail.com>> wrote:

Good! And let's try to get some publicity into the Ithaca Journal.



Betsy





Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone



 Original message 

From: Nancy Cusumano 
mailto:nancycusuman...@gmail.com>>

Date: 6/15/21 4:28 PM (GMT-05:00)

To: "Kenneth V. Rosenberg" 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Alicia]

I have zero expertise in this area, but it looks like the courts have at 
best a mixed record in interpreting unintentional negative effects as 
violations of the MBTA. Take a look at this summary 
,
 
and also this one 
.
 
Based on these summaries, it looks like courts are divided on the 
question of whether criminal behavior under the MBTA is limited "to 
deliberate acts done directly and intentionally to migratory birds" or 
if actions that incidentally hurt birds/nests/etc also are covered.

A 43 yr old case from the 2d Circuit, which includes NY,
> "affirmed the conviction of a manufacturer of pesticides for migratory 
> bird deaths. /United States v. FMC Corp./, 572 F.2d 902 (2d Cir. 
> 1978). Still the FMC court stated misgivings (a “construction that 
> would bring every killing within the statute, such as deaths caused by 
> automobiles, airplanes, plate glass modern office buildings or picture 
> windows into which birds fly, would offend reason and common sense”) 
> and suggested possibly limiting incidental takes to “extrahazardous” 
> activities ... ."
  (Entire quote from second summary linked above.)  FWIW, I doubt that a 
farmer cutting hay would be considered engaged in an extra-hazardous 
activity in a legal sense, even though farming itself is a hazardous 
occupations.

Later cases in other circuits aren't as willing to assign criminal blame 
when the intent was not specifically to harm birds. The 5th Circuit 
ruled in 2015 that
> we agree with the Eighth and Ninth circuits that a “taking” is limited 
> to deliberate acts done directly and intentionally to migratory birds. 
> Our conclusion is based on the statute’s text, its common law origin, 
> a comparison with other relevant statutes, and rejection of the 
> argument that strict liability can change the nature of the necessary 
> illegal act.
Looking at a somewhat similar fact pattern, federal district courts have 
held that timber operations are /not /criminally liable under the MBTA 
for felling trees when that activity takes out nests, for example in 
/Curry v. U.S. Forest Service/, 988 F.Supp. 541, 549 (W.D. Pa. 1997); 
and /Mahler v. U.S. Forest Service/, 927 F. Supp. 1559, 1573-83 (S.D. 
Ind. 1996).  (Again, I am relying on the summaries above and haven't 
read the cases but the summaries seem evenhanded and well done.)

Conclusion?  This is not a clear area of the law.  At some point perhaps 
the US Supreme Court will agree to hear a case and clarify it, but I'm 
not holding my breath that this particular Supreme Court would rule the 
way we would wish if it came before them, particularly if it involves 
farmers cutting hay rather than, say, an oil spill caused by the 
negligence of a large corporation.

Alicia



On 6/15/2021 6:43 PM, david nicosia wrote:
> The MBTA is completely ignored in this case and has been for decades. 
> Why is that? Anyone know?
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android 
> 
>
> On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:27 PM, Kevin J. McGowan
>  wrote:
>
> I don’t think that’s true. Birds, nests, eggs, and their parts all
> come under protection from the MBTA. If feathers are covered,
> nestlings are covered.
>
> Kevin
>
> *From:* bounce-125714362-3493...@list.cornell.edu
>  *On Behalf Of *david
> nicosia
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 15, 2021 5:55 PM
> *To:* darlingtonbets ; Nancy Cusumano
> ; Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
> *Cc:* Linda Orkin ; CAYUGABIRDS-L
> 
> *Subject:* Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>
> Young nestling birds aren't protected by the migratory bird act. I
> guess that is true since this has been going on for decades. Wish
> they were.
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
> 
> 
>
> On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 5:33 PM, darlingtonbets
>
> mailto:darlingtonb...@gmail.com>>
> wrote:
>
> Good! And let's try to get some publicity into the Ithaca
> Journal.
>
> Betsy
>
> Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
>
>  Original message 
>
> From: Nancy Cusumano  >
>
> Date: 6/15/21 4:28 PM (GMT-05:00)
>
> To: "Kenneth V. Rosenberg"  >
>
> Cc: Linda Orkin  >, CAYUGABIRDS-L
>  >
>
> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>
> Ken,
>
> May I 

[cayugabirds-l] Shorebirds with Michael O'Brien

[Peter Saracino]

If anyone is interested in attending this please email me privately.
Pete Saracino

https://njaudubon.org/event/shorebirds-with-the-man-who-wrote-the-book-2/

--

Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

RE: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[david nicosia]

The MBTA is completely ignored in this case and has been for decades.   Why is 
that?   Anyone know?

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android 
 
  On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:27 PM, Kevin J. McGowan wrote:   
#yiv4178151928 #yiv4178151928 -- _filtered {} _filtered {} _filtered {} 
_filtered {}#yiv4178151928 #yiv4178151928 p.yiv4178151928MsoNormal, 
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#yiv4178151928 li.yiv4178151928msonormal, #yiv4178151928 
div.yiv4178151928msonormal 
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.yiv4178151928MsoChpDefault {font-family:sans-serif;} _filtered 
{}#yiv4178151928 div.yiv4178151928WordSection1 {}#yiv4178151928 
I don’t think that’s true. Birds, nests, eggs, and their parts all come under 
protection from the MBTA. If feathers are covered, nestlings are covered.
 
  
 
Kevin
 
  
 
  
 
From: bounce-125714362-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
On Behalf Of david nicosia
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 5:55 PM
To: darlingtonbets ; Nancy Cusumano 
; Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
Cc: Linda Orkin ; CAYUGABIRDS-L 

Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
 
  
 
Young nestling birds aren't protected by the migratory bird act.  I guess that 
is true since this has been going on for decades. Wish they were. 
 
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
 
  
 

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 5:33 PM, darlingtonbets
 
 wrote:
 
Good! And let's try to get some publicity into the Ithaca Journal. 
 
  
 
Betsy
 
  
 
  
 
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
 
  
 
 Original message 
 
From: Nancy Cusumano 
 
Date: 6/15/21 4:28 PM (GMT-05:00) 
 
To: "Kenneth V. Rosenberg" 
 
Cc: Linda Orkin , CAYUGABIRDS-L 

 
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
 
  
 
Ken, 
 
  
 
May I use your words in my letters? I think I will go straight to the top with 
this issue.
 
  
 
I will paraphrase...
 
  
 
Nancy
 
  
 
On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:07 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg  wrote:
 

Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, 
what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the 
primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other grassland bird 
populations. 
 
 
 
Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. In 
the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck and I 
wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various departments 
in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, University Farm 
Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they 
went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds 
hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their 
almost-fledged young.
 
 
 
The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire region 
as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued devastating 
consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether Cornell 
University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly supporting 
biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody and I 
presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of fields owned 
by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model for conserving 
populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the 
people in charge of this management were not very interested in these options.
 
 
 
And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds 
playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern 
Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird populations. I 
urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and maybe someone will 
listen.
 
 
 
KEN
 
 
 
Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
 
Applied Conservation Scientist
 
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 
American Bird Conservancy
 
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
 
k...@cornell.edu
 
Wk: 607-254-2412
 
Cell: 607-342-4594
 
 
 
 
 
From:bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Linda Orkin 

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
 
After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed 

RE: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Kevin J. McGowan]

I don’t think that’s true. Birds, nests, eggs, and their parts all come under 
protection from the MBTA. If feathers are covered, nestlings are covered.

Kevin


From: bounce-125714362-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 On Behalf Of david nicosia
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 5:55 PM
To: darlingtonbets ; Nancy Cusumano 
; Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
Cc: Linda Orkin ; CAYUGABIRDS-L 

Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

Young nestling birds aren't protected by the migratory bird act.  I guess that 
is true since this has been going on for decades. Wish they were.
Sent from Yahoo Mail on 
Android

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 5:33 PM, darlingtonbets
mailto:darlingtonb...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Good! And let's try to get some publicity into the Ithaca Journal.

Betsy


Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

 Original message 
From: Nancy Cusumano 
mailto:nancycusuman...@gmail.com>>
Date: 6/15/21 4:28 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: "Kenneth V. Rosenberg" mailto:k...@cornell.edu>>
Cc: Linda Orkin mailto:wingmagi...@gmail.com>>, 
CAYUGABIRDS-L 
mailto:cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu>>
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

Ken,

May I use your words in my letters? I think I will go straight to the top with 
this issue.

I will paraphrase...

Nancy

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:07 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
mailto:k...@cornell.edu>> wrote:

Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, 
what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the 
primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other grassland bird 
populations.



Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. In 
the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck and I 
wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various departments 
in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, University Farm 
Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they 
went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds 
hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their 
almost-fledged young.



The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire region 
as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued devastating 
consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether Cornell 
University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly supporting 
biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody and I 
presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of fields owned 
by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model for conserving 
populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the 
people in charge of this management were not very interested in these options.



And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds 
playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern 
Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird populations. I 
urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and maybe someone will 
listen.



KEN



Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)

Applied Conservation Scientist

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

American Bird Conservancy

Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

k...@cornell.edu

Wk: 607-254-2412

Cell: 607-342-4594





From: 
bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu
 
mailto:bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu>>
 on behalf of Linda Orkin mailto:wingmagi...@gmail.com>>
Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
mailto:cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu>>
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing 
meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early mowing 
there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of birds 
will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it’s 
still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass taken 
from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient process turning 
to food for 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[anneb . clark]

That is a critical piece that has made it hard for me, on Hile School rd, to 
help the farmers meet me more than half way. I end up saying after the 4th, but 
the later the better. 

After years of redwing work in and around the pond units in the 1990s, our 
usual pattern was a sharp decline in unfledged nests to low numbers by around 
the 4th. Year to year variation in first fledging week was strong. Could be in 
1st or second wk of June. I could go back and calculate a mean but it would be 
wrong in many years. 

My impression with the meadowlark and redwing activity here this year is that 
fledging is really going strong in last 4-5 days. Lots of parental yelling at 
my dog and I when we are in the road and a new call by the meadowlark pair.  So 
maybe “wait til the 4th” would do it this year. Warning though. There will be 
renests at that time and the later nestlings. Just fewer than now. And 
bobolinks are probably not on the same schedule quite and a miss is as good as 
a…

I have combed next door fields after a mowing with pictures and rescues in mind 
and nests are harder to find than you would think. Scavengers work fast and 
nests are pinned under swathes of grass. But pics would certainly be useful. 

So I will see if I can generate any 90s estimates for timing, but I think the 
4th is a pretty good date as compromise. 

Anne

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 15, 2021, at 6:07 PM, Sandy Podulka  wrote:
> 
>  Ken and all,
> 
> Thank you so much for this clear, concise summary of this issue. I have some 
> friends I am trying to convince to not mow too soon, so will use your words 
> there, too.
> 
> Can anyone tell me what is a "safe" date for mowing?  Until when should I ask 
> them to delay?
> 
> Thanks,
> Sandy Podulka
> 
> At 04:07 PM 6/15/2021, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote:
> 
>> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a 
>> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire 
>> U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other 
>> grassland bird populations. 
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
>> Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
>> Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. 
>> In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck 
>> and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various 
>> departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, 
>> University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns 
>> for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female 
>> bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills 
>> filled food for their almost-fledged young. 
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
>> earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
>> hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire 
>> region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued 
>> devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether 
>> Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly 
>> supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody 
>> and I presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of 
>> fields owned by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model 
>> for conserving populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other 
>> biodiversity, but the people in charge of this management were not very 
>> interested in these options.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland 
>> birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges 
>> of modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird 
>> populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and 
>> maybe someone will listen.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> KEN
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
>> 
>> Applied Conservation Scientist
>> 
>> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>> 
>> American Bird Conservancy
>> 
>> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
>> 
>> k...@cornell.edu
>> 
>> Wk: 607-254-2412
>> 
>> Cell: 607-342-4594
>> 
>>  
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> From: bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
>>  on behalf of Linda Orkin 
>> 
>> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
>> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
>> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>> 
>> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
>> gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
>> done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
>> feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing 
>> meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Patrizia Sione]

Cornell has a cooperative extension program with an agricultural section, which 
provides education on “good” agricultural practices to local farmers. I 
remember reading somewhere that fields are mowed in June to cut off seed heads 
from weeds.  I contacted cooperative extension asking if this is the reason and 
what the alternatives, if any, are (such as obviously postponing the mowing, 
but who knows, anything else?).

Patrizia


On Jun 15, 2021, at 5:25 PM, darlingtonbets 
mailto:darlingtonb...@gmail.com>> wrote:

Can someone take on writing a letter to the Ithaca Journal - if possible, with 
some photos?  How about a petition, too?
It's one thing if it's farmers who have to support themselves, but CORNELL?! I 
can just imagine all their rationalizations!
Betsy


Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

 Original message 
From: Melissa Groo mailto:melg...@gmail.com>>
Date: 6/15/21 4:53 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: Nancy Cusumano mailto:nancycusuman...@gmail.com>>
Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
mailto:cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu>>, 
"Kenneth V. Rosenberg" mailto:k...@cornell.edu>>, Linda Orkin 
mailto:wingmagi...@gmail.com>>
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

Also, if anyone would get photos of the distressed parents flying/hovering in 
the same frame as the mowers, those photos would go a long way too. (I would 
volunteer but I’m out of town right now.)

The photos could be used in an article or editorial of some kind, that needs to 
be written.

Melissa



On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 2:28 PM Nancy Cusumano 
mailto:nancycusuman...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Ken,

May I use your words in my letters? I think I will go straight to the top with 
this issue.

I will paraphrase...

Nancy

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:07 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
mailto:k...@cornell.edu>> wrote:
Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, 
what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the 
primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other grassland bird 
populations.

Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. In 
the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck and I 
wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various departments 
in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, University Farm 
Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they 
went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds 
hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their 
almost-fledged young.

The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire region 
as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued devastating 
consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether Cornell 
University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly supporting 
biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody and I 
presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of fields owned 
by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model for conserving 
populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the 
people in charge of this management were not very interested in these options.

And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds 
playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern 
Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird populations. I 
urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and maybe someone will 
listen.

KEN

Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
Applied Conservation Scientist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
American Bird Conservancy
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
k...@cornell.edu
Wk: 607-254-2412
Cell: 607-342-4594


From: 
bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu
 
mailto:bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu>>
 on behalf of Linda Orkin mailto:wingmagi...@gmail.com>>
Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
mailto:cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu>>
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing 
meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early mowing 
there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Sandy Podulka]

Ken and all,

Thank you so much for this clear, concise summary 
of this issue. I have some friends I am trying to 
convince to not mow too soon, so will use your words there, too.

Can anyone tell me what is a "safe" date for 
mowing?  Until when should I ask them to delay?

Thanks,
Sandy Podulka

At 04:07 PM 6/15/2021, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote:

>Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to 
>everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, what is 
>happening today in those fields, repeated over 
>the entire U.S., is the primary cause of 
>continued steep declines in Bobolink and other grassland bird populations.
>
>
>
>Last year, because of the delays in mowing due 
>to Covid, the fields along Freeze and Hanshaw 
>Roads were full of nesting birds, including many 
>nesting Bobolinks that were actively feeding 
>young in the nests at the end of June. In the 
>first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all 
>the fields. Jody Enck and I wrote letters and 
>met with several folks at Cornell in the various 
>departments in charge of managing those fields 
>(Veterinary College, University Farm Services) – 
>although they listened politely to our concerns 
>for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that 
>week as dozens of female bobolinks and other 
>birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with 
>bills filled food for their almost-fledged young.
>
>
>
>The same just happened over the past couple of 
>days this year, only at an earlier stage in the 
>nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) 
>recently hatched young in the nest. While mowing 
>is occurring across the entire region as part of 
>“normal” agricultural practices (with continued 
>devastating consequences for field-nesting 
>birds), the question is whether Cornell 
>University needs to be contributing to this 
>demise, while ostensibly supporting biodiversity 
>conservation through other unrelated programs. 
>Jody and I presented an alternative vision, 
>where the considerable acres of fields owned by 
>the university across Tompkins County could 
>serve as a model for conserving populations of 
>grassland birds, pollinators, and other 
>biodiversity, but the people in charge of this 
>management were not very interested in these options.
>
>
>
>And there we have it, a microcosm of the 
>continental demise of grassland birds playing 
>out in our own backyard, illustrating the 
>extreme challenges of modern Ag practices that 
>are totally incompatible with healthy bird 
>populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as 
>much noise as possible, and maybe someone will listen.
>
>
>
>KEN
>
>
>
>Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
>
>Applied Conservation Scientist
>
>Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>
>American Bird Conservancy
>
>Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
>
>k...@cornell.edu
>
>Wk: 607-254-2412
>
>Cell: 607-342-4594
>
>
>
>
>
>From: bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
> on 
>behalf of Linda Orkin 
>Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
>To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
>Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>
>After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese 
>Road fields across from the gardens have been 
>mowed late in the season allowing at least 
>Bobolinks to be done with their nesting and for 
>grassland birds to be lured into a false feeling 
>of security so they have returned and I’ve 
>counted three singing meadowlarks for the first 
>time in years,  Cornell has returned to early 
>mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem 
>ensues. How many more multitudes of birds will 
>die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow 
>the grass while it’s still nutritious but are we 
>paying attention to who is being fed. Grass 
>taken from the land to pass through animals and 
>in that inefficient process turning to food for humans.
>
>Linda Orkin
>Ithaca NY
>--
>
>Cayugabirds-L List Info:
>http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
>http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
>http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
>
>ARCHIVES:
>1) 
>http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
>2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
>3) 
>http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
>
>Please submit your observations to eBird:
>http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>
>--
>--
>Cayugabirds-L List Info:
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>Subscribe,
> 
>Configuration and Leave
>Archives:
>The 
>Mail Archive

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[david nicosia]

Young nestling birds aren't protected by the migratory bird act.  I guess that 
is true since this has been going on for decades. Wish they were. 

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android 
 
  On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 5:33 PM, darlingtonbets 
wrote:   Good! And let's try to get some publicity into the Ithaca Journal. 
Betsy

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
 Original message From: Nancy Cusumano 
 Date: 6/15/21 4:28 PM (GMT-05:00) To: "Kenneth V. 
Rosenberg"  Cc: Linda Orkin , 
CAYUGABIRDS-L  Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] 
Fields being mowed. 
Ken, 

May I use your words in my letters? I think I will go straight to the top with 
this issue. 

I will paraphrase...
Nancy

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:07 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg  wrote:


Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, 
what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the 
primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other grassland bird 
populations. 

 

Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. In 
the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck and I 
wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various departments 
in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, University Farm 
Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they 
went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds 
hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their 
almost-fledged young.

 

The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire region 
as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued devastating 
consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether Cornell 
University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly supporting 
biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody and I 
presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of fields owned 
by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model for conserving 
populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the 
people in charge of this management were not very interested in these options.

 

And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds 
playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern 
Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird populations. I 
urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and maybe someone will 
listen.

 

KEN

 

Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)

Applied Conservation Scientist

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

American Bird Conservancy

Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

k...@cornell.edu

Wk: 607-254-2412

Cell: 607-342-4594

 

 

From:bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Linda Orkin 

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing 
meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early mowing 
there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of birds 
will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it’s 
still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass taken 
from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient process turning 
to food for humans.

Linda Orkin
Ithaca NY
--

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[darlingtonbets]

Good! And let's try to get some publicity into the Ithaca Journal. BetsySent 
from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
 Original message From: Nancy Cusumano 
 Date: 6/15/21  4:28 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: "Kenneth V. 
Rosenberg"  Cc: Linda Orkin , 
CAYUGABIRDS-L  Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] 
Fields being mowed. Ken, May I use your words in my letters? I think I will go 
straight to the top with this issue. I will paraphrase...NancyOn Tue, Jun 15, 
2021 at 4:07 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg  wrote:







Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, 
what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the 
primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink
 and other grassland bird populations. 
 
Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests
 at the end of June. In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the 
fields. Jody Enck and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in 
the various departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, 
University Farm Services)
 – although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they went 
ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds hovered 
helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their almost-fledged 
young.

 
The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across
 the entire region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued 
devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether 
Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly 
supporting biodiversity conservation
 through other unrelated programs. Jody and I presented an alternative vision, 
where the considerable acres of fields owned by the university across Tompkins 
County could serve as a model for conserving populations of grassland birds, 
pollinators, and other
 biodiversity, but the people in charge of this management were not very 
interested in these options.
 
And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds 
playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern 
Ag practices that are totally incompatible with
 healthy bird populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as 
possible, and maybe someone will listen.
 
KEN
 

Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
Applied Conservation Scientist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
American Bird Conservancy
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
k...@cornell.edu
Wk: 607-254-2412
Cell: 607-342-4594

 
 

From:
bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Linda Orkin 

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.


After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured
 into a false feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three 
singing meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early 
mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of 
birds will die before
 we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it’s still nutritious 
but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass taken from the land to 
pass through animals and in that inefficient process turning to food for humans.


Linda Orkin
Ithaca NY
--

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[darlingtonbets]

Can someone take on writing a letter to the Ithaca Journal - if possible, with 
some photos?  How about a petition, too?It's one thing if it's farmers who have 
to support themselves, but CORNELL?! I can just imagine all their 
rationalizations!BetsySent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
 Original message From: Melissa Groo  Date: 
6/15/21  4:53 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Nancy Cusumano  
Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L , "Kenneth V. Rosenberg" 
, Linda Orkin  Subject: Re: 
[cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed. Also, if anyone would get photos of the 
distressed parents flying/hovering in the same frame as the mowers, those 
photos would go a long way too. (I would volunteer but I’m out of town right 
now.)The photos could be used in an article or editorial of some kind, that 
needs to be written.MelissaOn Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 2:28 PM Nancy Cusumano 
 wrote:Ken, May I use your words in my letters? I 
think I will go straight to the top with this issue. I will 
paraphrase...NancyOn Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:07 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
 wrote:







Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, 
what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the 
primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink
 and other grassland bird populations. 
 
Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests
 at the end of June. In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the 
fields. Jody Enck and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in 
the various departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, 
University Farm Services)
 – although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they went 
ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds hovered 
helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their almost-fledged 
young.

 
The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across
 the entire region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued 
devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether 
Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly 
supporting biodiversity conservation
 through other unrelated programs. Jody and I presented an alternative vision, 
where the considerable acres of fields owned by the university across Tompkins 
County could serve as a model for conserving populations of grassland birds, 
pollinators, and other
 biodiversity, but the people in charge of this management were not very 
interested in these options.
 
And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds 
playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern 
Ag practices that are totally incompatible with
 healthy bird populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as 
possible, and maybe someone will listen.
 
KEN
 

Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
Applied Conservation Scientist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
American Bird Conservancy
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
k...@cornell.edu
Wk: 607-254-2412
Cell: 607-342-4594

 
 

From:
bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Linda Orkin 

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.


After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured
 into a false feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three 
singing meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early 
mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of 
birds will die before
 we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it’s still nutritious 
but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass taken from the land to 
pass through animals and in that inefficient process turning to food for humans.


Linda Orkin
Ithaca NY
--

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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Melissa Groo]

Also, if anyone would get photos of the distressed parents flying/hovering
in the same frame as the mowers, those photos would go a long way too. (I
would volunteer but I’m out of town right now.)

The photos could be used in an article or editorial of some kind, that
needs to be written.

Melissa



On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 2:28 PM Nancy Cusumano 
wrote:

> Ken,
>
> May I use your words in my letters? I think I will go straight to the top
> with this issue.
>
> I will paraphrase...
>
> Nancy
>
> On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:07 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
> wrote:
>
>> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a
>> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire
>> U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and
>> other grassland bird populations.
>>
>>
>>
>> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along
>> Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting
>> Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June.
>> In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck
>> and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various
>> departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College,
>> University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns
>> for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female
>> bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills
>> filled food for their almost-fledged young.
>>
>>
>>
>> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an
>> earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had)
>> recently hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the
>> entire region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued
>> devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether
>> Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while
>> ostensibly supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated
>> programs. Jody and I presented an alternative vision, where the
>> considerable acres of fields owned by the university across Tompkins County
>> could serve as a model for conserving populations of grassland birds,
>> pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the people in charge of this
>> management were not very interested in these options.
>>
>>
>>
>> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland
>> birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges
>> of modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird
>> populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and
>> maybe someone will listen.
>>
>>
>>
>> KEN
>>
>>
>>
>> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
>>
>> Applied Conservation Scientist
>>
>> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>>
>> American Bird Conservancy
>>
>> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
>>
>> k...@cornell.edu
>>
>> Wk: 607-254-2412
>>
>> Cell: 607-342-4594
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From: *bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu <
>> bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Linda Orkin <
>> wingmagi...@gmail.com>
>> *Date: *Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
>> *To: *CAYUGABIRDS-L 
>> *Subject: *[cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>>
>> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from
>> the gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks
>> to be done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a
>> false feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three
>> singing meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to
>> early mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more
>> multitudes of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow
>> the grass while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is
>> being fed. Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that
>> inefficient process turning to food for humans.
>>
>> Linda Orkin
>> Ithaca NY
>> --
>>
>> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
>> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed - state land, too

[Alicia Plotkin]

More generally, another problem are policies by NYS Parks and the 
Wildlife Management areas.  Grassland areas under their control 
increasingly seem to be rented out for farming.  For example, part of 
Willard Wildlife Management area that 25 yrs ago was in grass that only 
got mowed in late summer, and that had the full range of nesting 
grassland birds (confirmed nesting by Meadowlark, Bobolink, Northern 
Harrier, several grassland sparrows), recently has been leased to 
farmers who plant & harvest row crops there.  Probably true lots of 
other places.  This is a situation where the Bird Club and the Lab of O 
might be able to work together to encourage regulation by NYS that 
ensured the land was used in a way that is consistent with grassland 
nesting.


On 6/15/2021 4:07 PM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote:
>
> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a 
> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the 
> entire U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in 
> Bobolink and other grassland bird populations.
>
> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields 
> along Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including 
> many nesting Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests 
> at the end of June. In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow 
> all the fields. Jody Enck and I wrote letters and met with several 
> folks at Cornell in the various departments in charge of managing 
> those fields (Veterinary College, University Farm Services) – although 
> they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they went ahead 
> and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds 
> hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their 
> almost-fledged young.
>
> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at 
> an earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) 
> recently hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across 
> the entire region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with 
> continued devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the 
> question is whether Cornell University needs to be contributing to 
> this demise, while ostensibly supporting biodiversity conservation 
> through other unrelated programs. Jody and I presented an alternative 
> vision, where the considerable acres of fields owned by the university 
> across Tompkins County could serve as a model for conserving 
> populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other biodiversity, 
> but the people in charge of this management were not very interested 
> in these options.
>
> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of 
> grassland birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the 
> extreme challenges of modern Ag practices that are totally 
> incompatible with healthy bird populations. I urge CayugaBirders to 
> make as much noise as possible, and maybe someone will listen.
>
> KEN
>
> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
>
> Applied Conservation Scientist
>
> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>
> American Bird Conservancy
>
> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
>
> k...@cornell.edu 
>
> Wk: 607-254-2412
>
> Cell: 607-342-4594
>
> *From: *bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
>  on behalf of Linda Orkin 
> 
> *Date: *Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
> *To: *CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> *Subject: *[cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>
> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from 
> the gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least 
> Bobolinks to be done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be 
> lured into a false feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve 
> counted three singing meadowlarks for the first time in years,  
> Cornell has returned to early mowing there as of today. And so the 
> mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of birds will die before we 
> believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it’s still 
> nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass 
> taken from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient 
> process turning to food for humans.
>
> Linda Orkin
> Ithaca NY
> --
>
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> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME 
> 
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> 
> 3) 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Nancy Cusumano]

Ken,

May I use your words in my letters? I think I will go straight to the top
with this issue.

I will paraphrase...

Nancy

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 4:07 PM Kenneth V. Rosenberg 
wrote:

> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a
> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire
> U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and
> other grassland bird populations.
>
>
>
> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along
> Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting
> Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June.
> In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck
> and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various
> departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College,
> University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns
> for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female
> bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills
> filled food for their almost-fledged young.
>
>
>
> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an
> earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had)
> recently hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the
> entire region as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued
> devastating consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether
> Cornell University needs to be contributing to this demise, while
> ostensibly supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated
> programs. Jody and I presented an alternative vision, where the
> considerable acres of fields owned by the university across Tompkins County
> could serve as a model for conserving populations of grassland birds,
> pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the people in charge of this
> management were not very interested in these options.
>
>
>
> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland
> birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges
> of modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird
> populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and
> maybe someone will listen.
>
>
>
> KEN
>
>
>
> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
>
> Applied Conservation Scientist
>
> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>
> American Bird Conservancy
>
> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
>
> k...@cornell.edu
>
> Wk: 607-254-2412
>
> Cell: 607-342-4594
>
>
>
>
>
> *From: *bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu <
> bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Linda Orkin <
> wingmagi...@gmail.com>
> *Date: *Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
> *To: *CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> *Subject: *[cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
>
> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the
> gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to
> be done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false
> feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing
> meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early
> mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more
> multitudes of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow
> the grass while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is
> being fed. Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that
> inefficient process turning to food for humans.
>
> Linda Orkin
> Ithaca NY
> --
>
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
>
> ARCHIVES:
> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
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> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
>
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>
> --
> --
> *Cayugabirds-L List Info:*
> Welcome and Basics 
> Rules and Information 
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> 
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Regi Teasley]

Ken,
   This is useful information.  And thank you for your serious efforts.
I sometimes think that what we need to do is bring this to a wider public.  
Some photos of trashed nests would go a long way to making the point.  Of 
course Cornell wants to look good while doing little (consider their endless 
posturing and foot dragging on building efficiency).  So, what remains in-house 
may never change.
   This is part of a larger problem: talk green and continue with business as 
usual.  And, let’s face it, sometimes you have to stand between the machine and 
the victim—with cameras rolling.

Regi


“If we surrendered to the earth’s intelligence, we could rise up rooted, like 
trees.” Rainer Maria Rilke


> On Jun 15, 2021, at 4:07 PM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg  wrote:
> 
> 
> Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a 
> nutshell, what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire 
> U.S., is the primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other 
> grassland bird populations.
>  
> Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
> Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
> Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. 
> In the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck 
> and I wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various 
> departments in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, 
> University Farm Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns 
> for the birds, they went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female 
> bobolinks and other birds hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills 
> filled food for their almost-fledged young.
>  
> The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
> earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
> hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire region 
> as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued devastating 
> consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether Cornell 
> University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly 
> supporting biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody 
> and I presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of fields 
> owned by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model for 
> conserving populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other 
> biodiversity, but the people in charge of this management were not very 
> interested in these options.
>  
> And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland 
> birds playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of 
> modern Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird 
> populations. I urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and 
> maybe someone will listen.
>  
> KEN
>  
> Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
> Applied Conservation Scientist
> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
> American Bird Conservancy
> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
> k...@cornell.edu
> Wk: 607-254-2412
> Cell: 607-342-4594
>  
>  
> From: bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
>  on behalf of Linda Orkin 
> 
> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
> 
> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
> gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
> done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
> feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing 
> meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early 
> mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes 
> of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass 
> while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. 
> Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient 
> process turning to food for humans. 
> 
> Linda Orkin
> Ithaca NY
> --
> 
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
> 
> ARCHIVES:
> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
> 
> --
> 
> --
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> Welcome and Basics
> Rules and Information
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> Archives:
> The Mail Archive
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> BirdingOnThe.Net
> Please submit your observations to eBird!
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Cayugabirds-L List Info:

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Kenneth V. Rosenberg]

Linda, thanks for bringing this mowing to everyone’s attention. In a nutshell, 
what is happening today in those fields, repeated over the entire U.S., is the 
primary cause of continued steep declines in Bobolink and other grassland bird 
populations.

Last year, because of the delays in mowing due to Covid, the fields along 
Freeze and Hanshaw Roads were full of nesting birds, including many nesting 
Bobolinks that were actively feeding young in the nests at the end of June. In 
the first week of July, Cornell decided to mow all the fields. Jody Enck and I 
wrote letters and met with several folks at Cornell in the various departments 
in charge of managing those fields (Veterinary College, University Farm 
Services) – although they listened politely to our concerns for the birds, they 
went ahead and mowed that week as dozens of female bobolinks and other birds 
hovered helplessly over the tractors with bills filled food for their 
almost-fledged young.

The same just happened over the past couple of days this year, only at an 
earlier stage in the nesting cycle – most birds probably have (had) recently 
hatched young in the nest. While mowing is occurring across the entire region 
as part of “normal” agricultural practices (with continued devastating 
consequences for field-nesting birds), the question is whether Cornell 
University needs to be contributing to this demise, while ostensibly supporting 
biodiversity conservation through other unrelated programs. Jody and I 
presented an alternative vision, where the considerable acres of fields owned 
by the university across Tompkins County could serve as a model for conserving 
populations of grassland birds, pollinators, and other biodiversity, but the 
people in charge of this management were not very interested in these options.

And there we have it, a microcosm of the continental demise of grassland birds 
playing out in our own backyard, illustrating the extreme challenges of modern 
Ag practices that are totally incompatible with healthy bird populations. I 
urge CayugaBirders to make as much noise as possible, and maybe someone will 
listen.

KEN

Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his)
Applied Conservation Scientist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
American Bird Conservancy
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
k...@cornell.edu
Wk: 607-254-2412
Cell: 607-342-4594


From: bounce-125714085-3493...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Linda Orkin 

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.
After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing 
meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early mowing 
there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of birds 
will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it’s 
still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass taken 
from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient process turning 
to food for humans.

Linda Orkin
Ithaca NY
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Sheila Ann Dean]

I don't know anything about why fields are mowed, or when, but I've noticed
this year and last that the far Mineah Road fields have been mowed when
Bobolinks are nesting. I believe that's Cornell land.
Sheila

On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 3:02 PM Linda Orkin  wrote:

> After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the
> gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to
> be done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false
> feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing
> meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early
> mowing there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more
> multitudes of birds will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow
> the grass while it’s still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is
> being fed. Grass taken from the land to pass through animals and in that
> inefficient process turning to food for humans.
>
> Linda Orkin
> Ithaca NY
> --
>
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
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>
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> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
>
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>
> --
>
>

-- 
Sheila Ann Dean
Natural Selection Editing and Research
1622 Ellis Hollow Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
USA
www.naturalselectionediting.com

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[cayugabirds-l] Fields being mowed.

[Linda Orkin]

After a couple year hiatus in which the Freese Road fields across from the 
gardens have been mowed late in the season allowing at least Bobolinks to be 
done with their nesting and for grassland birds to be lured into a false 
feeling of security so they have returned and I’ve counted three singing 
meadowlarks for the first time in years,  Cornell has returned to early mowing 
there as of today. And so the mayhem ensues. How many more multitudes of birds 
will die before we believe our own eyes and ears. Mow the grass while it’s 
still nutritious but are we paying attention to who is being fed. Grass taken 
from the land to pass through animals and in that inefficient process turning 
to food for humans. 

Linda Orkin
Ithaca NY
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[cayugabirds-l] DCL Community Cruise date correction_should be June 23rd!

[Astrid Jirka]

 Dear Cayuga Birders,

My apologies. It seems I can't keep up with the time flying by. The date of
our Birds of Cayuga Community Cruise is JUNE 23rd.  Description and correct
link are below.

~~~

I wanted to let you know about a cruise being offered aboard the MV Teal,
run by the non-profit Discover Cayuga Lake, which may interest you.


*Join Dr Stephen Kress, author and ornithologist, for an introduction to
some of the more than 100 bird species that frequent Cayuga Lake.  Steve is
well known in the Ithaca community and beyond as an entertaining teacher
for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Cayuga Bird Club who uses stunningly
beautiful photographs to enliven his presentations. This tour, for
beginning and avid bird enthusiasts, will focus on the summer birds of
Cayuga Lake.   *

It will be a COMMUNITY SUNSET CRUISE on Wed., June 23rd from 7:30-9pm.  DCL
Community Cruises are free though donations are greatly appreciated and
include a presentation by a community member on some aspect of our
watershed.  Dr. Stephen Kress will be our guest speaker.

Reservations are required and can be made at THIS LINK

.

If you can't make it to this cruise our Osprey Eco-Cruises are also
generally themed around birds and lake ecology and are offered several
times per week at 4:30 pm.


*Astrid Jirka*
Director of Tourism Initiatives
~~~
Discover Cayuga Lake - "Tourism with a Mission"
www.discovercayugalake.org 
Tompkins Center for History & Culture, Suite 303
607-327-LAKE (5253)

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[cayugabirds-l] Binocular eyepiece covers

[Suan Hsi Yong]

If you lost your binocular eyepiece covers at Myers Park (at last night's
Cayuga Bird Club picnic), let me know.

Suan

PS. It was fun seeings nests of both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, but the
Red-Headed Woodpecker did not show, though a couple of Red-Bellied
Woodpeckers did hang out high above the cavities.

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