The opinion that follows is strictly my own and does not reflect any official position of the Cayuga Bird Club. Although I wish it did.
I will not be one of the ones that says I have nothing against hunting because I do, sorry. But even if I thought hunting was a great thing, I feel it is totally bizarre to have this slaughter, harassment and disregard for life going on right INSIDE our own city limits in a public park where any and all are exposed to this carnage and risk. I am attaching a link to the article that Jane Graves discovered and published in our October newsletter re:the imposition of waterfowl hunting in 1933. Too bad it was ever started. I would support Dave's suggestion to petition the DEC to rescind this permission at the south end of the lake. http://cayugabirdclub.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-note-from-past.html Have a great count day on January 1. There's still time to sign up if you'd like. Email me. Linda Orkin Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 29, 2013, at 10:51 PM, Dave Nutter <[email protected]> wrote: > > Perhaps the line of fire & proximity of people & buildings was the reason the > DEC police called in the gunners who were in the SW corner of the lake tied > to a tree along the shore of Treman. I saw in the background 2 adults and a > child on the beach of the west shore, associated with the first house, a > large new one. > > I'd like to petition the DEC to have the south end of the lake, say the > portion within the City of Ithaca, which does not allow firing guns, off > limits to hunting. > --Dave Nutter > >> On Dec 29, 2013, at 08:47 PM, Anne Clark <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> It sounds as if some of these folks might be illegally close to buildings, >> although I suppose they argue that their guns are pointing down the lake. >> On the other hand, in the park area, trails and inlets make a complex >> problem for claiming that nothing could be in the line of fire when shooting >> at ducks flying in and over. Do they really stop firing when the ducks >> swing toward shore? >> >> Per the DEC hunting regulations >> >> Question: How far from a building do I have to be to discharge my firearm? >> Answer: You cannot discharge a firearm or bow within 500 feet of any school, >> playground, occupied factory or church. You cannot discharge a firearm or >> bow within 500 feet of a dwelling, farm building, or structure unless you >> own it, lease it, are an immediate member of the family, an employee, or >> have the owner's consent. This does not apply to the discharge of a shotgun >> over water when hunting migratory game birds and no dwelling, public >> structure, livestock, or person is in the line of fire. >> >>> On Dec 29, 2013, at 5:07 PM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg wrote: >>> >>> I birded at East Shore Park on Saturday mid-day, and at Stewart Park this >>> morning -- I must say that I have never seen so much hunting pressure at >>> the south end of the lake. I want to say clearly that I am not against >>> legal duck hunting in well managed areas (and I buy a Migratory Bird Stamp >>> to support wetland conservation), but what is going on this year does not >>> seem to be sustainable or an appropriate use of such a large public space. >>> Boats with hunters and decoys were anchored right under the trees at the >>> Swan Pen at Stewart Park, at the tip of the red lighthouse jetty, at the >>> wooden buoy marker, on the beach at Hogs Hole, and along East Shore -- >>> yesterday there was an additional boat cruising the center of the lake to >>> chase duck flocks. Needless to say there was not a single spot for ducks to >>> rest safely anywhere in the southern quarter-mile or so of Cayuga Lake (and >>> probably north past Myer's Point as well), and any flock that circled >>> around over the south end of the lake (no matter how high) was shot at. I >>> don't know if DEC would consider that proper management of this important >>> waterfowl wintering area. This seemed pretty different from the past few >>> years when a few hunters kept the duck flocks moving around but there was >>> plenty of place for them to rest -- notably along the Stewart Park >>> shoreline, which was not available today. >>> >>> This activity will undoubtedly affect the numbers of waterfowl on this >>> year's Christmas Bird Count on Wednesday (wasn't much to count today). If >>> this trend continues in future years, I strongly recommend that the Cayuga >>> Bird Club move its count to the days prior to the late hunting season -- >>> this slight straying from "tradition" will probably yield more accurate >>> numbers of local waterfowl populations. >>> >>> In spite of the hunting, I did manage to see a few distant LONG-TAILED >>> DUCKS and a single WHITE-WINGED SCOTER far to the north of East Shore Park, >>> and a flock of 12 RUDDY DUCKS, along with HORNED and PIED-BIILED GREBES, >>> COMMON LOON, and 3 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS -- all decent CBC birds if >>> they can hang in there. There were also TUNDRA SWANS around this morning -- >>> 2 on the ice at Stewart Park east end when I arrived, and a flock of 40-50 >>> in the center of the lake way out. Later in the morning, as I was scouting >>> around the Farmers Market and Community Gardens, several small flocks of >>> swans passed over Ithaca heading south. >>> >>> Yesterday, at Taughannock Falls State Park, there were 2 (MYRTLE) >>> YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS with chickadees at the lakeshore near the south end >>> of the park. >>> >>> Let's hope some birds survive the next deep freeze, >>> >>> KEN >>> >>> >>> Ken Rosenberg >>> Conservation Science Program >>> Cornell Lab of Ornithology >>> 607-254-2412 >>> 607-342-4594 (cell) >>> [email protected] >>> >>> -- >>> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >>> Welcome and Basics >>> >>> Rules and Information >>> >>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >>> >>> Archives: >>> The Mail Archive >>> >>> Surfbirds >>> >>> BirdingOnThe.Net >>> >>> Please submit your observations to eBird! >>> -- >> >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> >> Rules and Information >> >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> >> Surfbirds >> >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to 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/[email protected]/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/ --
