This sounds great! Can anyone provide info about paddling around MNWR? Is it even allowed or perhaps just at certain times? I remember an organized trip last year. Thanks.
On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 1:03 PM, Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> wrote: > This is the second year that the management of the Montezuma National > Wildlife Refuge is allowing a limited number of birding field trips onto > dikes around Knox-Marsellus and Puddler Marshes, where the refuge otherwise > prohibits public access. These are the scheduled trips and leaders of which > I am aware: > > Sunday 27 July, 8am, Dave Nutter of Cayuga Bird Club > Sunday 17 August, 8am, Eaton Birding Society > Saturday 23 August, 11am, Mike Tetlow of Rochester Birding Association > Sunday 31 August, 8am, Dave Nutter of Cayuga Bird Club > Sunday 21 September, 830am, Paul Anderson of Cayuga Bird Club > Saturday 27 September, 11am, Mike Tetlow of Rochester Birding Association > > The trips are hosted by members of various bird clubs, but all the trips > are open to all birders, whether or not they are members of any bird club, > and there is no fee. However everyone should pre-register with the Refuge > staff by calling 315-568-5987. All field trips will meet at the given > time at the Refuge Visitor Center on NY-5/US-20 then caravan to the site. > This includes a .8 mile drive on a single lane dirt road with deep puddles, > so consider car-pooling to reduce wear on the road and the number of muddy > cars. After that we will be walking on the dikes. Be prepared for dewy > vegetation and biting insects. Bring binoculars and, if you have one, a > spotting scope as well. Even though we will be closer to the birds than the > usual roadside viewpoints allow, the impoundments are huge, and many birds > will still be distant enough that a scope will make a big difference for > identification and enjoyment. Another great thing about a scope is that one > can aim it at a distant bird, then let someone else have a look at that > same bird, so please be willing to share views and ID skills, especially > with folks who don't have a scope. > > Maintaining inland habitat for migrating shorebirds is a challenge which > Montezuma NWR has taken on successfully for a number of years. As a result > this is a great place for birds and a great opportunity for us. The > southbound migration is already well underway for shorebirds which nested > in boreal and tundra regions far to our north and west. Already in addition > to the Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers which nest here, there have been > Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary, Pectoral, Stilt, Least, and > Semipalmated Sandpipers, Sanderling, and Short-billed and Long-billed > Dowitchers. Some of these have been few or transient, and others numerous > or growing in numbers. We expect several additional species of shorebirds > to pass through or join the throng for awhile as the season progresses. > Shorebirds will be our focus, yet we expect and welcome distraction by > multiple species of gulls, terns, raptors, ducks in challenging eclipse > plumage, herons, assorted other waterbirds such as cormorants, grebes, and > rails, plus swallows, sparrows, icterids, warblers, and other songbirds > along the way. That said, there are no guarantees as to what birds will be > present and cooperative. You just have to be there to find out. > -- 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/ --
