Hello Dave, I think it would be a wonderful idea to work toward a Cayuga Lake Birding Trail! Given the foundation that already exists through the great book about where to bird in the Cayuga Lake Basin that involved a number of members from the Cayuga Bird Club, I think it is a logical next step to work towards the goal of having a recognized birding trail. I definitely am willing to help out. I encourage others to join in, too.
Thanks Jody On Thu, Jun 15, 2017 at 11:14 PM, Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@mac.com> wrote: > As you have gone birding around the lake, you may have noticed an > occasional sign, "Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway," along the loop which includes > NYS-34B, NYS-90, NYS-5/US-20, & NYS-89. Like me, you may have said, "Yep, > it's scenic, glad someone noticed." And, like me, you may not have realized > that this Scenic Byway is not simply a recognition by NYSDOT, it is also > managed by a non-profit whose board consists of government & business folks > from Cayuga, Seneca, & Tompkins Counties. Given that knowledge, however, I > was not surprised that one of their goals is to promote tourism. > > It turns out that this board wants to develop a "Cayuga Lake Birding > Trail," and that a member of that board has asked me to help. That person > is Andrea Van Beusichem, who has previously asked me to lead late-summer > shorebird field trips into otherwise off-limits parts of Montezuma NWR. > Given that the commitment is only one meeting every other month, I said, > "Sure!," even though I'm not fond of commitments to be indoors, nor am I > sure exactly what they have in mind as an end product, nor do I bring all > the necessary skills to the group. > > I figure birding and birders will benefit if we do a decent job. Birders, > particularly from out of the area, may have an easier time knowing where to > go, when to go there, and what to look for. People who are not (yet) > birders, may get some interest, or at least some respect for the activity. > Families vacationing in the area can split their time if some members are > more outdoorsy than others. Landowners may be more willing to permit > birders access to lakeshore viewing points and even take pride in unusual > birds found there. Businesses may take an interest in selling the things > that we seek, such as gasoline, coffee and donuts, sandwiches, or ice cream > as the price for access to a bathroom, or full sit-down meals, or hotels > rooms for out of town folks, or outdoor gear, or optics, particularly if we > highlight their business and send patrons their way. Governments may > recognize that birders, along with birds and their habitats, are a > constituency worth maintaining. > > I'm looking for additional people who may be interested (Jody or another > Cayuga Bird Club representative &/or someone from the Campus Bird Study > Group?). > > I'm looking for opinions as to what a "birding trail" should entail. I > figure at a minimum there should be some on-line information, signage at > important sites, enthusiastic promotion of _The Cayuga Bird Club guide to > Birding the Cayuga Lake Basin Edited by Bob McGuire_, an invitation to > subscribe to CayugaBirds-L, and basic instruction on the use and usefulness > of eBird. > > Are there potentially great birding sites around the lake that could use > more definite permission to access, or clearer terms? I'm hoping that we > can scan the lake from some of the places which the Cayuga Lake Blueways > Trail is using for lake access for people using canoes, kayaks, & > paddleboards. > > I also want to encourage people using bikes to bring binoculars, go slow, > listen and look for birds, stop frequently, enjoy birding, gorges, trees, > and vistas at rest stops, and generally cultivate the opinion that these > values can outweigh the distance, speed, or exercise tallied on a ride. > > In addition to the birds that particularly thrill us as unusual, what > species are people not from here most likely to be impressed by even though > they are not hard for us to find? > > If we want to negotiate access to more sites, I want help from a more > "people-person." If we want to get grant money to develop the trail, then > that's another specialist I'm looking for. > > Are there existing businesses that you particularly appreciate as a birder > or ones that you miss or wish existed? > > Anyway, please send me feedback. If it gets cumbersome, send it to me > off-list, but I hope the subject is of general birding interest at least > for a couple days. Thanks for reading and thinking about this stuff. > > --Dave Nutter > > > Sent from my iPad > -- > > 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: 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/ --
