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.