Hi Jay, Pete, and Everybody, Thanks for reaching out regarding shorebird habitat. As we discussed last year, the refuge’s goal every year is to provide habitat for shorebirds somewhere on the refuge from April through May for the northbound migration and again from July 1 to November for the southbound migration.
Currently there are mudflats/shallow water habitats in the south end of the Main Pool (visible from the tower), Seneca Flats, Eaton Marsh, and Tschache Pool (not visible from the tower). We were happy to see shorebirds in both Seneca Flats and Eaton Marsh despite the amount of vegetation in those marshes. We are keeping an eye on those areas and have Benning Marsh in reserve for if/when those areas play out in the near future. We expect to have good habitat in Knox-Marsellus Marsh sometime in August, weather permitting. We are currently working on controlling the invasive plant water chestnut in Knox-Marsellus Marsh so we cannot lower the water level prior to August. You can find information about opportunities to help with these efforts here - https://friendsofmontezuma.org/projects-programs/join-marsh/. We’d love for you to join us, and it’s a great way to get out into the marsh! Discing and pumping water into the Visitor Center Wetland are dependent on the distribution of the invasive plant flowering rush (which is spread by discing), the availability of staff time and equipment, and the weather – we can’t get equipment into the unit if there has been too much precipitation. For the time being, we set everything prior to the recent heavy rains to minimize short-term negative impacts to shorebird habitat and will check the units again next week after water levels in the lake and canal have had a chance to rise. For information regarding access to closed areas via volunteer-led walks or opening up normally restricted areas, per our Visitor Services Manager Andrea Van Beusichem we are under some operational constraints this year and have decided not to offer the guided shorebird walks. We will reconsider on a year-by-year basis moving forward. If you have additional questions about public use programs, please contact Andrea at [email protected]. For all of you birders who are still reading this rather lengthy email, I have a request. It would be really helpful for you to record bird sightings separately for all of the impoundments along the Wildlife Drive when you bird the refuge. If you don’t want to enter it into ebird that way, you could just email me your separate lists for the separate units. We use these data to supplement weekly counts conducted by volunteers. Thank you for your support of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex! Linda ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Linda Chorba Ziemba Wildlife Biologist Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge 3395 US Route 20 East Seneca Falls, NY 13148 315-406-0052 [email protected] (my pronouns:<https://www.mypronouns.org/what-and-why> she, her) Live bird friendly - keep your cat indoors! <https://www.fws.gov/story/2021-09/backyard-birds#:~:text=Keep%20Your%20Cat%20Indoors%20or,your%20feline%20in%20harm's%20way.> ________________________________ From: Peter Saracino <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2024 4:58 PM To: Jay McGowan <[email protected]> Cc: Cayugabirds-L <[email protected]>; Ziemba, Linda <[email protected]> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [cayugabirds-l] Timing of Fall Shorebird Migration - BSBO This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding. Hi Jay. Great questions all....which I will put in Linda's very capable hands. Be well. Pete On Wed, Jul 10, 2024, 3:31 PM Jay McGowan <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi Pete (and Linda), As you point out, returning adult shorebirds are already moving through in large numbers, and indeed mid-late July can be some of the highest density of shorebird numbers (as well as potential for unusual species) in our area. Does the refuge have any plans to develop any shorebird habitat for this early season? Currently things are very highly vegetated, very dry, or very wet in most of the refuge. I know this is a complicated undertaking, but if some unit could be disked at this stage it would open up some pretty amazing habitat for the birds desperate for places to feed. Relatedly, are there any plans to allow any access to some of the more productive areas this fall (again, fall being now!) via volunteer-led walks or opening up normally restricted areas? This has been critical in past years for getting good coverage and documenting of less common migrant species, as well as allowing birders to interact with and appreciate the refuge in the same way that hunters and others do at other times of the year. Hoping we can work something out, and the Cayuga Bird Club can undoubtedly help arrange those if that would be helpful. Looking forward to seeing some shorebirds at the refuge this season! On Tue, Jul 9, 2024 at 8:29 AM Peter Saracino <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: For those among us needing a yearly reminder. Pete Sar P.S. we are beginning to see a few species of shorebirds arriving at Montezuma: both flavors of yellowlegs and yesterday Reuben S. reports seeing some short-billed dowitchers, a solitary sandpiper and a few least sandpipers at Seneca Flats. And so it begins..... https://www.bsbo.org/timing-of-fall-shorebird-migration.html#:~:text=The%20first%20juveniles%20show%20up,through%20the%20end%20of%20November. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME.htm> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> ABA<https://www.aba.org/birding-news/> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") Cayugabirds-L List Info: NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsWELCOME_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsRULES_DOT_htm NortheastBirding_DOT_com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave_DOT_htm ARCHIVES: 1) mail-archive_DOT_com/cayugabirds-l@cornell_DOT_edu/maillist_DOT_html 2) surfbirds_DOT_com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) aba_DOT_org/birding-news/ Please submit your observations to eBird: ebird_DOT_org/content/ebird/ --
