On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 11:19 AM, Linda Orkin <wingmagi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Chris, > > Once again, I am sending you this first to make sure it is okay to send > out to the listserve. And will do a reminder each week as I did last year, > with some different info and ideas each time. Is this all right? > > Thanks. > Linda > > It's that time of year again. I have just sent out the information > packets to all of our wonderful area leaders for the nine sectors of our > count circle. As I was gathering the materials together, I had a chance to > peruse the participant sheets from last year's count and I was so > impressed, gratified and touched to see how many members of our great > community get involved in this data collection (treasure hunt). Last year > saw an especially high number of people joining in. I hope we can continue > and exceed that total this year. > > I am pasting the Cayuga Bird Club Newsletter article here as I do every > year. Stay tuned each week for a reminder and some updates and challenges. > Thanks in advance for coming on board, to all of you who are veterans and > to all who might consider a first time effort. > > And by next time, I will give you a link to the Cayuga Bird Club's new > website, courtesy of Paul Anderson, where this month's newsletter contains > the map that you will all find helpful. Thanks. Linda Orkin > And apologies for duplicated mailings as several of my lists may include you. > > This year will be Audubon’s 112th Christmas Bird Count. The Cayuga Bird > Club > again will organize the Ithaca count on their traditional date of January > 1. > That is a Sunday this year but the Monday following is still a holiday. > All members of the public are encouraged to participate and we are hoping > to > get some new people out there. > > If you would like more information or if you would like assistance in > choosing a count area or if you are a beginner and are concerned about > identifying birds accurately, you may call the Count Co-Coordinator, Linda > Orkin at 279-4253 or email at this dedicated email address, > cbccay...@gmail.com or just respond to me off list. I will be happy to > discuss some options for you. Also, check out this link for lots of > information and historical perspective on this event. > > www.audubon.org/bird/cbc<http://www.birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/www.audubon.org/bird/cbc> > > Within the 15-mile diameter Ithaca count circle, we have nine areas from > which to choose, all with their own hotspots. Here is a link to the map > which shows the circle and the areas > > http://www.birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/pdf/CBCMap.pdf. > > I have not included the phone numbers of the Area Leaders listed below, so > if there is an area you are particularly interested in, get in touch with > me, Linda and I will let the Area Leader know. > > Beginners can be paired with more experienced birders. The more eyes and > ears, the better. Dress warmly, be sure to have some hot beverages and > other provisions with you and get out and enjoy the day. This will be a > great start to your own personal 2011 bird list while contributing to this > monumental data collection. > > You can begin at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 by listening for owls (although > around 5AM may be better, that's when I've been hearing many recently) , or > you can head out at dawn (or later, it's up to you) to tally resident > songbirds. You can drive around in the afternoon to look for hawks, and/or > you can snuggle in at home and count birds at your feeders. As you can > see, > there are many options for participation and your input is invaluable at > all > levels. We want to thank all of you in advance for your time and > contribution. > > If you choose to stay home and count birds at your feeders, write down the > total time you spend watching, the species seen, and the maximum number of > birds of each species seen at any one time. This is the same protocol as > Project Feederwatch. Call the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at 254-2473 > between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (no later, please!) to report your totals > to > this year’s club volunteer, who has yet to be named. > > Compilation Dinner > > At the end of the day, join other Christmas Bird Count (CBC) participants > in > the observatory of the Johnson Center, starting at 6:00 p.m., for a potluck > supper at 6:30 p.m. followed by the compilation of sightings at 7:15 p.m. > Bring a dish to share, a beverage and your own table service. We are > hoping that > our count compiler will once again be, Kevin McGowan, who always brings > a fount of knowledge > and a wonderful historical perspective to this endeavor. > > *2012 Area Leaders * > > Area I > > *Colleen Richards* > > West Dryden, Hile School Road area. Open fields, secondary growth fields, > and woodlots. Possible Merlin, White-winged Crossbills, blackbirds, and > sparrows. > > Area II > > *Bob McGuire* > > Fall Creek area, Mount Pleasant. Woodlands and fields. Good for turkeys, > hawks, and herons. > > Area III > > *John Confer* > > The linear park in Dryden, Beam Hill, and Yellow Barn Road. Pine and spruce > forests, good for winter finches. > > Area IV > > *Laura Stenzler* > > Ellis Hollow area, Snyder Hill, Ringwood. Woodlands and fields. Good for > hawks, turkeys, bluebirds, sparrows, owls, and finches. > > Area V > > *Sandy Podulka* > > Six Mile Creek gorge, Brooktondale area. Our largest area, good birding and > hiking. Possible turkey and grouse. > > Area VI > > *Asher Hocket* > > Danby area, Finger Lakes Trail, and Buttermilk Falls. Noted for wintering > bluebirds and robins. > > Area VII > > *Marty Schlabach* > > West side of Cayuga Lake, Bostwick Road, Mecklenberg Road. Good for > waterfowl, including all three species of merganser. > > Area VIII > > *Lynn Leopold* > > Cornell campus, Cayuga Heights, and Stewart Park. Good for rare birds, Fish > Crows, and gulls. > > Area IX > > *Mark Chao* > > East side of Cayuga Lake, Lansing area. Fields, woodlots. Waterfowl and > field birds, including Northern Shrike and Short-eared Owl. > > $5.00 for Audubon > > Counts are submitted to Audubon, which compiles the data from all the count > circles. Audubon publishes a summary report each year and posts all CBC > data > on the Internet. This huge database is available for anyone to access--high > school students doing a project, newspaper reporters writing about bird > population trends, or scientists doing research. In order to compile, > publish, and present the data, Audubon asks each participant, age 18 and > older, to donate $5.00. In addition to helping to cover count costs, your > $5.00 entitles you to a printed copy of the report. Although the Cayuga > Bird > Club will cover the fee for any participant who is unable to do so, please > contribute to the historic work of the CBC. Give your participation fee to > your area leader or mail it to the Cayuga Bird Club Treasurer, c/o Cornell > Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. > > The Audubon Christmas Bird Count has always been held in the December 14 > through January 5 time span. In addition to count circles throughout the > United States, counts are conducted in Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, > Ecuador, Nicaragua, and the Pacific Islands. You can see results, view > photos, and get more detailed information at www.audubon.org/bird/cbc. > We > urge you to browse this site to evaluate the importance and scope of this > ongoing count. The data that is gathered through this huge and historic > effort is invaluable and we are all fortunate that we get to be a part of > this. > > --Submitted by Linda Orkin, December 2011 > > > > > > > > -- 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/ --
