This coming Saturday morning, 18 August, there will be another shorebird walk into normally restricted areas at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. I will be leading it, substituting for Dave Nicosia, but the plans remain the same:
At 7am we will caravan from the Montezuma NWR Visitor Center to the East Rd overlook. Directions: The Montezuma NWR Visitor Center address is 3395 U.S. Route 20 East, Seneca Falls, a road also known as NY-5/US-20 or simply “5 & 20”. The refuge entrance is between intersections with NY-90 and with NY-89 and located just west of the bridge over the Seneca River which forms the border between the Cayuga County Town of Montezuma in and the Seneca County Town of Tyre. >From that driveway: Turn right/west on NY-5/US-20, and go 1.6 miles to the traffic light, Turn right/north on NY-89, and go 3.9 miles, Just after crossing the big bridge over the Clyde River and Erie Canal, turn right/east onto North Mays Point Rd, and go 1/10 mile, Turn left/north onto unmarked East Rd, and go 7/10 mile to the gravel parking area for the Knox-Marsellus Marsh overlook. Assemble about 7:15am at the parking area overlook on East Rd, joining people who have gone there directly. After a brief introduction & scan of the marsh from the overlook, we will walk down to the north dike of Knox-Marsellus Marsh, probably continuing to the northeast dike of Puddler Marsh, and possibly along the dike in between the two impoundments as well. Our primary goal is to observe shorebirds on their southbound migration who stop here to feed and rest in the shallow water, on the mud, and in the nearby short vegetation within the impoundments. Other birds and wildlife are also of interest. Bring binoculars and a field guide. If you have a spotting scope, please bring it. The trip is open to the public and there is no fee, but I ask that people participate in these ways: If you have ID expertise, please share it. If you have ID questions, please ask them. If you notice birds or behaviors that other folks seem not to have yet noticed, please point them out. Although shorebirds are fairly tolerant of people, other birds may move away from us, such as herons, ducks, and songbirds. Please try to stay with the group enough that we can communicate and enable the most people to observe any birds before or when they flush. I will be compiling a list of the birds we observe to share with CayugaBirds-L and refuge staff, so please tell me what you find. These trips are a great opportunity to learn about shorebirds, and with luck we will see and compare several species. This will be a slow walk with much stopping and standing on grass & weeds which have been mowed awhile back and also driven upon by refuge vehicles. Most of it is level, but East Rd is atop a drumlin above the impoundments, so there is a substantial hill at the beginning and the end of the walk. The round trip distance is only a couple miles, but we could be out until noon, although certainly anyone can leave early. Dress for the weather, as there is no shelter. Bring water & a snack. Insects have not been much of a problem, but you should probably make some effort to deter ticks and check for them afterward. Thank-you to the refuge staff for maintaining the habitat for shorebirds. It’s actually not easy to have expanses of mud and shallow fresh water on demand for several months in a place where vegetation can quickly overgrow it, or evaporation can dry it out, or rains can flood it. Thanks particularly to Biologist Linda Ziemba and Visitor Services Manager Andrea Van Beusichem for arranging these trips to happen. - - Dave Nutter -- 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/ --
