Hi Dave and All, I should have said this in my original message about Renwick vs. Fuertes, and that is that my message was not meant in any way to criticize you or anybody else for using the name Renwick for the area in question. I apologize if my message was taken as criticism of any sort--it was not intended in that way. And, I also should have thanked you for getting out the word about the Yellow-throated Warbler so quickly--it allowed me and several others to enjoy this nice bird.
I also agree with your decision to use the term "Renwick" in your text message to describe where the bird was originally found. This seems to be the term that many (or most?) local birders currently use to describe this area, so using this name was undoubtedly the most effective way to help people find the bird. I have used the name Fuertes Sanctuary for many years (and raised this whole issue prior to the publication of the new birdfinding guide), but from a communication standpoint, there is not much point in using this name if it is not recognized by other birders. However, I am still puzzled as to why birders have not consistently used (let alone embraced) the name Fuertes Bird Sanctuary over the years. After all, we as a group seem quick to adopt new names (Fuller Wetlands), name changes (Park Preserve), and cumbersome names (Lindsay-Parsons Biodiversity Preserve) that lack a direct connection to our birding community. The name Fuertes Bird Sanctuary has existed for over 80 years, and yet, it appears to have been used sporadically at best. (It does appear in a few issues of The Kingbird from the 1950s...and the 1980s.) Perhaps this is due to confusion over what the name refers to. But, the City of Ithaca unambiguously uses the name Fuertes Bird Sanctuary for the wooded area south of Stewart Park, as does the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. It would be particularly interesting to learn why the City has applied this term to this specific area... Matt Medler Ithaca ________________________________ From: Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> To: Matthew Medler <m...@cornell.edu> Cc: cayugabirds-l <cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu> Sent: Tuesday, May 8, 2012 6:30 PM Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Renwick vs. Fuertes When Drew called me about the rare Yellow-throated Warbler, and I sent out the text message from my phone, I had to be concise but clear. "Fuertes" and "Renwick" are the same number of characters, but "Renwick" is, I think, a bit less ambiguous. "Renwick" refers to a couple streets in a neighborhood nearby, while I think there are several places named for Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Wasn't the pond- and feeder-viewing area inside the old Lab of O called the Fuertes Observatory? Isn't the auditorium at the current Lab which displays so many of his paintings also named for Fuertes? There are a couple of bronze plaques by the Swan Pond, one of which honors Fuertes, and the other talks about swans. Fuertes was a great artist, so I associate his name with his wonderful paintings and drawings more than with those woods. I see no disrespect in that. Official name or no, many people do and will call it the Renwick Sanctuary, including users of the new birding guide which the club just published (see p.21). --Dave Nutter On May 08, 2012, at 08:26 AM, Matthew Medler <m...@cornell.edu> wrote: Hi All, > > > >The discovery of the Yellow-throated Warbler in the woods south of Stewart >Park highlighted a question that I've wondered about for some time: why do >most Ithaca birders refer to this area as "Renwick Woods" or "Renwick Bird >Sanctuary" rather than "Fuertes Bird Sanctuary?" Based on the City of Ithaca's >web site, it appears that the official name for this area is in fact "Fuertes >Bird Sanctuary": > > >http://www.ci.ithaca.ny.us/parks/stewartpark.cfm > > >Even putting this aside, it's always puzzled me that Ithaca birders would >favor the name of an early Ithaca settler over Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Not only >is Fuertes one of America's greatest bird artists, but he is also one of our >most illustrious Ithaca birding ancestors, having been very active in the >Cayuga Bird Club and the local birding community for many years. I would think >that we would want to celebrate Fuertes's name and use it to refer to the bird >sanctuary that was named in his memory after his untimely death. > > >I am truly interested in learning why it is that so many use the name Renwick >to refer to the Fuertes Bird Sanctuary. But, in the absence of any compelling >reason for favoring Renwick over Fuertes, I'd also encourage birders to use >the sanctuary's official name and honor Fuertes's legacy in the process. > > > >Matt Medler >Ithaca >-- >Cayugabirds-L List Info: >Welcome and Basics >Rules and Information >Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >Archives: >The Mail Archive >Surfbirds >BirdingOnThe.Net >Please submit your observations to 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/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/ --
