It's a wonderment to me that Cornell with its extensive holdings would see some advantage to repurposing that site considering how small it is. Maybe there is something special about its riparian proximity, or to the adjacent Dyce bee research facility, but otherwise it seems a strange decision.
On Fri, Oct 9, 2015 at 1:17 PM, Mark Chao <markc...@imt.org> wrote: > Gardeners have received notice that next spring, the Cornell Community > Gardens along Freese Road will be converted to agriculture instead of > community horticulture. I’ve heard vague speculation that the plots will > be moved elsewhere, but I have no confirmation. So now is the time to > enjoy this remarkable site while we still can! > > > > This weekend I’ll lead two more Cayuga Bird Club walks at the gardens, one > on Saturday and one on Sunday. I expect a lot of turnover of sparrows and > other birds with the changing weather – including, I hope, some new > arrivals. Both walks start at 8:30 AM in the site’s parking lot -- > https://goo.gl/maps/FUWhqwBzb172. > > > > I paid brief midday visits the gardens on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday > this week. The species mix was about the same each day as Suan and I > reported last weekend, with multiple INDIGO BUNTINGS and LINCOLN’S, SONG, > SWAMP, SAVANNAH, CHIPPING, FIELD, and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS. I saw a > western PALM WARBLER on Saturday and again yesterday, but not in between. > I haven’t seen White-crowned Sparrow since the one I reported last Friday. > > > > On each visit this week, I kept hearing dull “thgk” notes that I thought > were from Lincoln’s Sparrow. I confirmed the ID of these birds many times, > without any false positives. But the calls were so frequent and > widespread, and so many remained unconfirmed, that I still can’t be sure if > I was hearing something else, like the click of grasshopper wings. If > indeed all the dull notes were from Lincoln’s Sparrows, then I’d conclude > that there were at least half a dozen of them among the plots. > > > > On Wednesday, I forgot my binoculars. I was mad at myself for a few > seconds, but then remembered that Meena grew up watching wildlife with an > unaided eye, maybe becoming a better observer than she would have been with > optics. So I stayed and birded by ear and impression and the LCD screen of > my camera. I had limited success but good fun. I did manage to find and > photograph two Lincoln’s Sparrows together, and to get a rewarding portrait > session with one. Photos start at https://goo.gl/photos/1yHryZfebUGZfwJcA. > > > > > I look forward to seeing many of you this weekend! > > > > Mark Chao > > > > > -- > *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/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/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/>!* > -- > -- asher -- 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/ --
