Saving a Place for Birds

Birders helped convince a town board to stop development of a birding hot spot

By Chris Tessaglia-Hymes

When I was a child in Ithaca, New York, I used to frequent a 12-acre area of hawthorns which I nicknamed the "old orchard." As I got older and moved away from home, my secret spot became a place of my past--until I received notice one day that my childhood haven was being proposed for development.

I began revisiting what I now call the Hawthorn Orchard in spring 2000, this time as a seasoned avid birder--knowing that any year could be the last for migrants in the orchard. On May 16, I was elated to find a great collection of birds, among them 6 Philadelphia Vireos, 4 Cape May Warblers, at least 50 Yellow- rumped Warblers, 15 Bay-breasted Warblers, and 10 Blackpoll Warblers--all in this small woodlot surrounded by houses, a shopping plaza, a tennis center, and an equestrian center. Shocked by the number of birds I saw, I decided to tell other local birders about my secret spot. I thought it might be the only way to save it from development.

The Hawthorn Orchard acts like a faucet for Neotropical migrants that rely upon flowers and insects. The birds appear to be attracted to the millions of insects buzzing around the small hawthorn flowerets that bloom in a sea across the canopy. Once the hawthorns bloom, the birds suddenly appear in droves. The woodlot consists primarily of hawthorns, buckthorns, honeysuckle, and a mix of a few odd apple and pear tree varieties, with most of the trees just 20 feet high or less. It's a phenomenal birding site that has close-range birds, excellent views, and minimal "warblerneck" at the end of the day.

When the hawthorn flowers blossom in May, migratory songbirds descend on the Hawthorn Orchard, seeking insects attracted to the blooms. Photo courtesy of Emmet J. Judziewicz and the Wisconsin State Herbarium

Birders scan the trees and shrubs of the Hawthorn Orchard for passage migrants. The site was proposed for development but its value as a stopover area for birds helped convince the town board to preserve it as a natural area.

Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes

I began sitting in on the town board meetings that discussed the proposed development. I also researched alternatives, looked into the potential for the site to become an Important Bird Area, and drummed up support in the birding community. In 2002, I discovered that the developers were reporting to be taking a small fraction of the Hawthorn Orchard but the actual drawings in the site plan showed a much greater take. I presented this find at the town board meeting. Amazingly, the town rejected the draft site plan and required the developer to exclude the 12-acre area altogether. I was so thrilled to hear of this change!

In the end, none of the Hawthorn Orchard was touched. Further, I was able to work with the county Natural Areas committee to designate the Hawthorn Orchard and surrounding lands as a county Unique Natural Area. Since then, the Hawthorn Orchard has been acquired and minimally managed by the Cornell Plantations Natural Areas division.

To top off all of this excitement, the spring of 2002 was the best in memory for many local birders. A stationary weather front caused a massive build-up of migrants that collected in the Hawthorn Orchard for feeding and refuge. I estimated that 255 to 375 birds were holed up in this 12-acre lot of land. The sound emanating from the Hawthorn Orchard was an absolute cacophony of music. There were so many birds singing that it was difficult to differentiate between species.

The beautiful Magnolia Warbler (above) is just one migratory bird species that uses the 12-acre Hawthorn Orchard.

Pamela Wells

During the fallout of May 14?15, 2002, sightings included, but were not limited to, a female Whip-poor-will and a Worm-eating Warbler (both extremely rare migrants in this area), 3 Orange-crowned Warblers, 20 Northern Parulas, 20 Yellow Warblers, 18 Chestnut-sided Warblers, 15 Magnolia Warblers, 20 Black-throated Blue Warblers, 8 Black-throated Green Warblers, 7 Blackburnian Warblers, 20 American Redstarts, 1 Mourning Warbler, 15 Common Yellowthroats, 5 Canada Warblers, 10 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, 6 Indigo Buntings, 15 Baltimore Orioles, and several other species also in excellent numbers. One birder, who has spent a lot of time birding along the Gulf Coast, remarked that this spectacle in a suburban woodlot was the biggest migratory fallout that he has ever seen outside of the Gulf Coast!

What really amazed me, through this entire conservation process, was learning just how much difference one person can make, with the help of a local community. With the collective support of the birders in the area, and a very keen town board, the ominous development plans were mitigated to save a small patch of special habitat.

If each birder knew of some special piece of habitat used by birds; if each birder took it upon himself or herself to protect that habitat from development; if each birder was able to place each of these small parcels of land in a land easement or a land trust; collectively, the birders around the world could help conserve thousands of acres of habitat for birds and other animals alike. These areas that we all love and cherish for their natural beauty and for what they have to offer to our friends, the birds, will only persist for generations to come if they are protected; once development takes place, there is no turning back. A message to those of you who know of a special place that is good for birds: You can make a difference.

For more information about the Hawthorn Orchard, visit www.birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/hawthorn.html.

Chris Tessaglia-Hymes is a research assistant in the Lab's Bioacoustics Research Program.

For permission to reprint all or part of this article, please contact Laura Erickson, editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Phone: (607) 254-1114. email: lle24@cornell.edu