From Stewart Avenue yesterday (Monday 5 Jan) I saw a COMMON RAVEN cruising
west over Cascadilla Gorge. It would be so cool if they nested there!
I also had a chance to stop briefly in Stewart Park yesterday. Among the few
Mallards were two GADWALL, a day too late for Count Week, which was rather a
bust due to gunnery all weekend. There were very few waterfowl visible on the
lake from Stewart Park on Saturday at dawn. By Saturday mid-day zero waterfowl
were visible by scope on the lake, and several guys in camo walked up and told
Bob and me that they intended to shoot the geese and Mallards sleeping on the
narrow ice shelf in front of us, despite being informed of the City's ban on
hunting and the location of the border of the City far out in the lake. Perhaps
the domestics I pointed out in the flock gave all these birds a reprieve for a
few hours, because eventually the guys said they wouldn't do it that day. But
Sunday morning the guys were sitting on a log, a skiff beached beside them, a
few yards from solid land west of the dock in Stewart Park, making Mallard
calls and shooting at ducks, while Canada Geese packed the southeast corner of
the lake. I give those guys some credit in that they did not fire at the GREAT
BLUE HERON which flew close in front of them, but honestly it seems pathetic,
after emptying the lake, to resort to going to a City park to shoot birds which
graze and rest on the lawns, wander among picnickers, and get fed by little
kids.
Legally the shallow south end of the lake is a refuge: Hunting is banned in the
City of Ithaca (City Code, Section 219-2.A. (1) http://ecode360.com/8390734).
The City of Ithaca includes the south end of Cayuga Lake, with the boundary
extending north just past 940 East Shore Drive (northernmost of the first few
houses on the east side and home of domestic ducks), west across Cayuga Lake,
and along the west shore from 883 Taughannock Boulevard south past about 20
houses. However, the land on the east and west shores is outside the City,
except the southernmost house on the west side appears to be in the City, being
recently built on land which was apparenly added after the boundary was set).
By my GoogleMap calculations, the City's north boundary is about 800' north of
the east end of the shoreline at Stewart Park, over 2000' north of the shore of
the swan pond (where I met gunners in December), over 1400' north of the white
lighthouse, and about 800' north of the red lighthouse (where gunners often
park a boat), which is almost halfway to the piling cluster. In addition to all
of the southwest corner of the lake, the City of Ithaca encompasses all the Hog
Hole in Treman State Marine Park (where gunners also are active along the
lakeshore), because the City line follows the east edge of Taughannock
Boulevard for over 1500' north from Williams Brook (where the speed limit
changes) before dropping down to the lake. City of Ithaca waters are a valuable
feeding and resting area for many species of waterfowl, and afford great
viewing from the shoreline of parks in the City. City waters do not extend the
half mile north to the Town's East Shore Park and the Cornell boating center.
The City boundary is mapped here (zoom in; click on properties for addreses):
http://geo.tompkins-co.org/html/?viewer=tcpropmo and described rather arcanely
in the City Charter here (lines 49-60 describe this area):
http://ecode360.com/8385257 .
Stewart Park extends north to the north City line (City Code Section 336-10
http://ecode360.com/8395295), and includes a couple more protections in that
no motorboat shall land at the beach in the park, nor shall any motorboat
approach close to any such beach. (336-19 http://ecode360.com/8395307), and
No person shall carry, transport or possess any firearm of any nature in the
park, but this section shall not apply to duly constituted peace officers.
(336-22 http://ecode360.com/8395310).
Clearly many parkgoers have been offended by the guys with guns, because they
said they've had cops called on them numerous times. So far they have talked
their way out of all problems except one failure to wear a life vest in a boat.
The gunners contend that, regardless of City laws, they may shoot from anywhere
in the lake below the high water line, even if it is dry land when the lake is
drawn down for the winter. I have not yet seen that regulation about the
high-water line of Cayuga Lake, but I have gotten support for the City ban
being in effect regardless. At the Goose Summit this past fall, Tom Bell of
the Cortland office of NYSDEC said that the City's hunting ban takes
precedence, but that DEC doesn't enforce the City law. I later asked for
confirmation and clarification, and he emailed me:
about the hunting issue at the south end of the lake. DEC has no jurisdiction
in the matter, its completely a city ordinance. If Ithaca chooses to enforce it
(or not), we have no say. In terms of the
