Young Birders Club to Visit Braddock Bay

By Lynn Bergmeyer

The New York State Young Birders Club (NYSYBC) is conducting a field trip to Braddock Bay on April 22 from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. We plan to visit both Braddock Bay Raptor Research (BBRR) and the Kaiser-Manitou Beach (songbird) banding stations, as well as walk through the nearby Owl Woods in hopes of finding Northern Saw-whet and Long-eared Owls. We will visit the Hawk Watch platform and share the excitement of the spectacular hawk migration along with hawk counter, Luke Tiller, and other observers. 

The annual BBRR Birds of Prey Festival is this same weekend (Friday-Sunday), and the NYSYBC group will be able to take in some of the festival exhibits/events. The group also will have an opportunity to visit other nearby areas, like Island Cottage Woods, known for the occasional coveted “fallout,” which can produce an astounding variety of color and bird song.

Braddock Bay is a migration hot spot located on Lake Ontario just west of Rochester. Millions of birds migrate through the area every spring as they head north to their breeding grounds. Spectacular raptor migrations occur each spring when the hawk counts conducted at Braddock Bay number in the thousands. Last year over 100,000 raptors were tallied from March through May. This area is also a focal point of songbird activity, especially during migration when it is possible to see over 130 species of songbirds. 

The field trip will start at 6 a.m. at the lot next to the lodge at Braddock Bay (near the Hawk Watch) and head over to see birds banded as they come off the mist nets. We will either grab something light to eat at the festival or stop at a nearby diner for a hot lunch. The trip will officially end at 2 p.m., but I plan on birding until dusk with anyone who wishes to continue.

Young birders, age 10–19, are invited to attend with their parents. Anyone under age 12 must be transported and accompanied throughout the trip by a parent. Registration is required, and the registration deadline is April 6. Please contact me at L_Bergmey@frontiernet.net if you have questions and/or wish to sign up. Or visit the NYSYBC website  at www.nysyoungbirders.org for further details regarding the Young Birders Club, this field trip, and others field trips for young birders.

Red-tailed Hawk Nestcam

A new nest camera high above a Cornell University athletic field is streaming crystal-clear views of a Red-tailed Hawk nest via the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website at www.allaboutbirds.org/cornellhawks. The new camera stream puts viewers 80 feet off the ground
and right beside the nest, where they can watch the hawks arrive and see them taking turns
incubating eggs.

Cam viewers can compare the two parents, both of whom are banded birds. The male has a more golden-tawny face and is slightly smaller than the female, who has been nicknamed “Big Red” for her alma mater. The nest should be active for at least the next two months.

The parents have raised young here for the last four years or more. Earlier this spring, the pair added sticks and green pine boughs to the nest, and the male started bringing prey, such as squirrels and pigeons, to offer the female. On March 16, the first egg appeared. The birds will incubate for 28–35 days from the date the first egg was laid. More information is provided on the cam web page. The Cornell Lab plans to launch a full-featured BirdCams site in late April with many more species, including Osprey, Black Vulture, and Great Horned Owl.

Editorial Change for Cayuga Bird Club Newsletter

By Anne Marie Johnson

As was reported in the March newsletter and mentioned at club meetings, I am stepping down as newsletter editor after the June issue. I have enjoyed editing and assembling the newsletter over the years, but my enthusiasm has waned, and I think it’s time for new ideas and fresh energy. 

Like many club members, I prefer to read newsletters on paper. However, the majority of club members now opt to receive only a digital copy of the newsletter. Digital communication is the future, and the time seems right for the club’s newsletter to transform from a publication designed for print to a resource designed for the digital age. 

I am excited about the new direction for the newsletter, and I am equally excited that Cyndy and Richard Tkachuck have volunteered to take over the editing duties. As their introduction below shows, they bring a wealth of editing and life experiences to the task.

Introducing the New Editors: Cyndy and Richard Tkachuck

Cyndy and Richard Tkachuck with a Long-eared Owl in
Northeast Turkey, July 2011

Cyndy and Richard Tkachuck will become joint editors of the Cayuga Bird Club Newsletter in the fall of 2012. Cyndy earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Cornell University, where she worked for more than 30 years as a staff writer and fund raiser. She also served as managing editor of the university’s volunteer newsletter and has written many articles and provided content for brochures, fundraising letters, proposals, and volunteer profiles. In the early 90s, Richard cofounded a small enterprise that created the websites for the Asia Society and US Information Agency, and Cyndy edited all the content that was posted on these sites. Many years ago, Richard was the editor of the California Rare Fruit Growers Association’s journal as well as managing editor of the journal Origins. Richard received his PhD from UCLA in zoology and has published both scientific and popular articles.

Since their retirement, Cyndy and Richard have traveled throughout the world compiling a volunteer portfolio as field helpers, assisting with research and scientific activities. They spent two months working as guides at an ecolodge in Brazil, three months working on a bird-banding project in the Yucatan Peninsula, one month conducting field observations of loafing gulls on Appledore Island in Maine, and three weeks participating in a migratory bird survey in South Korea. In 2011, they assisted with a bird banding program in Northeast Turkey for four weeks, and they did field work on Striated Herons and Green Herons in Panama for two weeks.

Although their interests are sometimes away from the Cayuga Lake Basin, they have an avid interest in local birding opportunities and look forward to promoting birding in their home area.