I will lead walks at four Finger Lakes Land Trust preserves over Memorial Day weekend, as part of an annual event that we call the Spring Bird Quest (SBQ). The destinations are mostly different from past years, showing off some of the Land Trust’s newer major acquisitions, which are great for birds and well within an hour’s drive of Ithaca, but still barely known among many of our local birders.
Please see below for a list of walks. For more information and directions to all sites, including specific information about parking, please see http://www.fllt.org/events/. There is no charge for these walks, but I invite everyone to consider making a pledge in support of my SBQ tally of bird species found on these walks and possibly at other Land Trust preserves over the weekend. Over ten years, SBQ donations in support of the Land Trust’s continued conservation efforts have exceeded $44,000. Please contact me if you’d like to make a pledge, or donate a flat amount at http://www.fllt.org/donate/. If you do donate via the website, please specify the gift in honor of “SBQ.” Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I hope to see many of you later this month at the preserves! Mark Chao Ithaca PS. It appears that a pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS is trying to nest in a box installed by my wife Miyoko Chu in our yard in northeast Ithaca. I just saw a female enter the box with nest material. The male has been hanging around too. _______________________ Saturday, May 28 8:00 AM High Vista Nature Preserve Village of Scott Woods and streams near Skaneateles Lake. Breeding Hooded Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush have all been found here in recent years. Former spot for Cerulean Warbler. __________________ Saturday, May 28 10:00 AM Hinchcliff Family Preserve Town of Spafford 206 acres of fields and mixed hardwoods, with sweeping views of Skaneateles Lake. I’ve never birded here in spring, but I am optimistic that we will find a lot of charismatic species. This preserve is just a few miles up the road from the High Vista Nature Preserve. ___________________ Sunday, May 29 8:00 AM Logan Hill Nature Preserve Town of Candor Mixed woods and fields filled with birds and butterflies. On May 29, 2015, Betsy Darlington and I found Hooded and Prairie Warblers among 48 bird species. No promises, but this is the best place I know in the area for finding American Woodcocks on the ground by day. ____________________ Monday, May 30 8:30 AM VanRiper Conservation Area Town of Romulus A steep walk down to 1400 feet of lake shore, plus early successional upland woods. I think that Prairie and Blue-winged Warblers breed here, and possibly Hooded too. -- 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/ --
