Hi all, I knew I would regret starting this annual conversation, but it is an important one to keep having. I will just point out that if waterfowl hunting (and associated population management) had not started in the U.S. in 1933, we would have no huge migratory flocks of ducks and geese, and no refuges and other beautiful preserved wetlands to visit. We would be like most other countries in having a combination of unregulated hunting and horribly depleted wildlife populations and degraded wetland habitat. OUr system is the world model for adaptive wildlife management -- and it is all based on the voice and monetary support of the hunting constituency (will also point out that their support is mandatory, through license fees and taxes on hunting related merchandise). That is how the whole system of wildlife refuges and management is set up. If the vast and growing birding community would like to have more of a say in all of this then the answer is simple -- we need to build a system that will contribute the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to implement the conservation of bird habitat (including forests, grasslands, and other non-wetland habitats). Attempts to set up such a system based on non consumptive wildlife user support have met resistance from our own industries and our own organizations, and have ultimately failed. It is past time for birders to put our money where our mouths are.
Tirades aside, the simplest solution for us locally is to move the Ithaca CBC to accommodate the conflicting use of our count area. As Laura suggests, an earlier count date will attract more area birders and will have negligible affect on our long-term data, compared with the major disturbance caused by the late hunting season. KEN Ken Rosenberg Conservation Science Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 607-254-2412 607-342-4594 (cell) [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> On Dec 30, 2013, at 7:52 AM, Linda Orkin <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: 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]<mailto:[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]<mailto:[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]<mailto:[email protected]> -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<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/[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/ --
