A take away from Tom Gavin’s fascinating presentation in Danby this past Tuesday is that if one can hold off on local hay cutting until after July 4, most Bobolinks will have fledged by then. Mid-July even better.
While March was -4 F degrees off average and April –6.5, May was nearly 5 degrees above average (NE Regional Climate Center data). This likely has led to taller grass height than average in central NY this spring, and farmers cutting earlier than average (some fields in Danby have already been cut). Since Bobolink nesting is relatively synchronous from year to year, anticipate greater regional haying mortality for juvenile Bobolinks in 2018. Bill On Tue, May 29, 2018 at 1:11 PM, Bill Evans <wrev...@clarityconnect.com> wrote: Tom Gavin, biologist and author, will be giving a talk titled “Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation of Bobolinks in Upstate New York” at Danby Town Hall tonight (1830 Danby Rd./Rte. 96B – about five miles south of Ithaca College). A Professor Emeritus from Cornell’s Department of Natural Resources, Dr. Gavin studied Bobolinks in New York over several decades and is one of the world’s experts on the species. The ecology & behavior of the Bobolink is astonishing. Folks with hayfields can make a difference in protecting this species if they are able to delay their mowing until after nestling Bobolinks have fledged. Come learn more tonight. Sponsored by the Danby Community Council. Refreshments will be served. Free and open to the public; seating limited. Bill Evans -- 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/ --
