eBird and the New Birding Technology
Wed., Nov. 13
7:00 pm
|  | After leaving college, Drew Weber spent summers doing surveys for the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania. Thus began his work in melding evolving digital technology with birding skills.
In this presentation, sponsored by Onondaga Audubon, Drew will share what he has learned about creating bird lists across digital platforms, including eBird and BirdsEye for iPhone, and what that data can tell you about birds-and your birding.
Fayetteville Free Library 300 Orchard St., Fayetteville (Directions)
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Resources for teachers and homeschoolers
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For middle school teachers Citizen Science: 15 Lessons that Bring Biology to Life The goal of this new book is simple: to inspire you to engage your students through citizen science, thereby connecting students with relevant, meaningful, and real science experiences. Citizen science can support independent inquiry as well as learning both content and process skills. It illustrates the power of citizen science through case studies of middle school classes and also provides 15 lessons so educators can build data collection and analysis into their science teaching. For homeschoolers Science Investigator's Kit for HomeschoolersThis is a curriculum created especially for homeschoolers who want to get outside to observe nature and build science skills. A ready-to-go resource, the lessons propel your child to consider the local environment through creative thinking, the scientific processes, and citizen science. More resources for schools on My Habitat Garden website:Science for kidsHabitat gardening at schoolNote: You can click on each section of the menu to "pin it down" as you navigate through the menu levels.
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HGCNY Officers
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| President:
Janet Allen
Vice-President:
Carol Biesemeyer
Treasurer:
Randi Starmer
Secretary:
Soule Leiter
Membership:
Linda Rossiter
Program Chair:
Carol Biesemeyer
Newsletter Editor:
Janet Allen
Additional Planning Committee Members:
Beth Mitchell
Dave Mitchell
John Allen
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| Our Habitat Garden |  |
Visit Our Habitat Garden website for information on providing habitat, earth-friendly gardening practices, plants, and various creatures here in Central New York. TIP: Click on each sliding menu item as you navigate through the menus to pin them down instead of sliding away.
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| HGCNY on Facebook |
As as more of us participate on our Facebook page, this will become a useful resource for asking (and answering!) local HGCNYers' questions about habitat gardening. |
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Join HGCNY!
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Becoming an official member of HGCNY is easy: just join Wild Ones! Basic household membership is $37/year, but there are other options, too. (See membership application or website.)
Wild Ones
P.O. Box 1274
Appleton, Wisconsin 54912-1274
Make checks payable to Wild Ones.
Or telephone toll-free 877-394-9453.
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Our Edible Garden
|  | Visit OurEdibleGarden.org to see an example of a Central New York edible garden, the perfect companion to your habitat garden.
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 | | Image: PA DCNR |
We are thankful that for the first time, our Sunday November 24 meeting does NOT fall on Thanksgiving weekend!
The topic is an important one: the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an invasive insect that is expected to kill all of the area's untreated ash trees.
Ash species comprise about 13% of all trees in Onondaga County, so their loss will impact Central New York's environment.
In addition, there are concerns about
* the effects of treating the trees with pesticides,
* human safety,
* cost and coordination challenges, and
* how to maintain the beauty of our natural areas.
Jessi Lyons, a natural resource educator from Cornell Cooperative Extension, will discuss the current status of EAB in our region, the challenges brought by this beetle and possible solutions to reduce its damaging effects.
NOTE: We do not meet in December. Have a joyful holiday season!
We meet at Liverpool Public Library on the last Sunday of the month at 2:00 pm. Free and open to the public. Invite a friend! ( Directions) And a TIP about using the Our Habitat Garden website: Simply click on each menu item as you navigate through the multilevel menus. This pins them down so they don't slip away.
Janet Allen
President, HGCNY
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Time for Project FeederWatch
 | | A goldfinch eating anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) seeds |
Project FeederWatch has started this week, and it's never too late to join.
Project FeederWatch is a winter-long November through early April survey of birds that visit feeders and other habitat foods in our yards or in other community areas.
It's perfect for us HGCNYers since our native plants provide so many additional sources of food. You can count birds using all our habitat, not just at feeders.
The data we submit help scientists track movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.
Anyone interested in birds can participate. FeederWatch is conducted by people of all skill levels and backgrounds, including children, families, individuals, classrooms, retired persons, youth groups, nature centers, and bird clubs.
(Ed. Note: I was a complete novice when I first became a FeederWatcher. It's a great way to learn to identify birds, especially now that the Lab of Ornithology has such helpful bird identification tools at All About Birds at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/.)
Participants watch their feeders as much or as little as they want over two consecutive days as often as every week (less often is fine).
Those of us who have participated for years -- some even for decades since its start in the '70s! -- eagerly look forward to the start of FeederWatch season.
It sharpens our powers of observation, helps scientists learn how best to conserve bird populations, and gives us a good excuse for spending a bit more time watching birds! It's fun! Join the more than twenty thousand FeederWatchers. Sign up at http://feederwatch.org!
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Woodpeckers and EAB
 | Downy woodpecker looking for some tasty morsels
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Although ultimately the loss of our native ash trees to the non-native Emerald Ash Borer will be detrimental to wildlife and to forests in general, at least for the moment, a few birds, feasting on its larvae, might disagree.
Recent research shows this insect has fueled a population boom for four species of birds in the Detroit area (where the study took place): the downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers, as well as the white-breasted nuthatch.
In addition to the additional insect food source, these species--all cavity-nesting birds--will also benefit from the additional snags that will become available as the ash trees die.
Citizen scientists are key
How did the scientists obtain the information needed to learn about this? From citizen scientists! As one of the researchers said,"FeederWatchers are a particularly dedicated group, contributing more than 4.2 million hours of observation since 1987 and allowing us to track changes in the abundance and distribution of birds across North America." (See the article above to learn how you can become a FeederWatcher, too, or go directly to www.feederwatch.org .) Read more about this study at www.nrs.fs.fed.us/news/release/woodpeckers-and-eab ... |
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The journey south
 | | Note that "Bird-friendly" is NOT the same as Organic and NOT the same as shade-grown |
Monarch butterflies started arriving in their winter home in Mexico last Wednesday. (Read more about it at Journey North ...)
But some of our other favorite creatures have been making the trip to warmer climates, too. Warblers, Baltimore orioles, catbirds, and hummingbirds are just a few of the birds we enjoy in the summer who fly to coffee country in the winter.
They enjoy our habitat we provide here in Central New York, but will they find the winter habitat they need in Central America? Increasingly, the answer is "No."
Why? Because much of their ancestral winter home has been converted to sun coffee plantations, which are biological deserts for our migratory birds as well as for creatures indigenous to those areas.
An important action we can take is to buy Bird-Friendly coffee, certified as such by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Wegmans' brand specialty coffee - Guatemalan origin is certified Bird-Friendly as well as coffee available at Wild Birds Unlimited. Birds & Beans coffee can also be purchased online at www.birdsandbeans.com.
IMPORTANT: Look for the Bird-Friendly logo. Coffee that is labeled Shade-grown may not have the habitat properties birds need.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology explains why bird-friendly coffee is important and also has a good 4-minute video (in the right sidebar) that explains the difference between shade-grown and bird-friendly.
Our Habitat Garden has additional links to information about coffee and birds.
Bird-friendly coffee would be an ideal holiday gift for your bird-loving recipients -- or for anyone who wants a great cup of coffee!
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President John F. Kennedy
May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963
 "It is our task in our time and in our generation, to hand down undiminished to those who come after us ... the natural wealth and beauty which is ours."
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