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From the Director
On June 13, 2003, our staff, board, and founding families were privileged to participate in the dedication of a superb new building for science and education overlooking Sapsucker Woods Pond, the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity. The event marked a milestone in the history of the Laboratory of Ornithology, an institute that originated in 1915 when the young Arthur Allen, new professor in the Department of Entomology and Limnology, coined the phrase to describe his lab in McGraw Hall on the Cornell campus. The Lab became a recognized administrative unit at Cornell in 1956 when it moved into a humble brick observatory overlooking Sapsucker Woods Pond. Funds for the property and building had been given by Lyman K. Stuart in appreciation for Allen’s long dedication to involving amateurs in ornithology. For nearly 50 years, the Stuart Observatory served as a crucible for many historic firsts in ornithology—photography of diving grebes in a water tank (by Arthur Allen and his son, David); development of a Library of Natural Sounds and production of the classic Field Guide to the Songs and Calls of Eastern North American Birds (Peter Paul Kellogg); creation of the first home study course in bird biology (Olin Sewell Pettingill); demonstration of “blending inheritance” in the courtship displays of lovebirds (William Dilger); discovery of male parental care among the tinamous (Douglas Lancaster); rearing and wild release of Peregrine Falcons as a strategy for recovering endangered species (Tom Cade); captive breeding of Whooping Cranes and founding of the International Crane Foundation (George Archibald); experimental proof of the perception of magnetic fields by homing pigeons (Charles Walcott); use of acoustic recordings as a conservation tool (Christopher Clark); demonstration of the scientific and educational validity of citizen-generated data and coining of the now popular term “citizen science” (Richard Bonney and Greg Butcher)—to name just a few. By the late 1990s, the Stuart Observatory had grown old and limiting. Inadequate for a diversifying staff conducting cutting-edge research, it was also impractical as an education center for students and the public. Our capital campaign for a new home yielded donations from 1,000 people. Every gift was significant, but one deserves special recognition. The S. C. Johnson Company, its retiring CEO Sam Johnson, and his four offspring (Curt, Helen, Fisk, and Winnie) pledged the crucial lead gift for our campaign. They sought a fitting tribute to Imogene Powers Johnson, who besides being a loving wife and mother has been a steadfast friend and supporter of the Lab of Ornithology for more than 25 years. Gene, a devoted citizen scientist, counts mathematics, astronomy, art, architecture, birds, and bogs among her many loves. We could not imagine a more fitting name than Gene’s to grace the front of a science building at Cornell dedicated to birds and biodiversity.
We challenged architect Alan Chimacoff to create a building with the highest values in both design and function. In partnership with colleagues on campus, we incorporated state-of-the-art facilities for housing Cornell’s extraordinary vertebrate collections, including 38,000 bird specimens. We re-created the teak-paneled room displaying our hallmark oil paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and with support from the National Science Foundation designed interactive displays in the building’s public space. Slowly, a genuine masterpiece emerged just inches outside our windows. By April 2003 we were paying final calls on the beloved but worn-out little building where the modern Lab of Ornithology had begun. The Stuart Observatory was retired, and in its place now grows a vibrant wetland landscape. The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology today is the world’s foremost center for the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds. Our staff of nearly 150 includes 25 Ph.D. scientists and an equal number of master’s degree professionals, all dedicated to interpreting and conserving biological diversity. We interact with Cornell undergraduate and graduate students, campus colleagues, visiting professionals, agency biologists, conservationists, teachers, and tens of thousands of interested public citizens. We are convinced that scientific understanding is essential for the long-term protection of birds and their habitats, and that engaging citizens opens vast opportunities for new discoveries, both scientific and personal. A hallmark of the Lab is technical innovation in the service of science, education, and conservation. Our famous Macaulay Library is converting to fully digital format for efficient storage and Internet distribution of sounds and videos. We have acquired two outstanding natural history video collections, allowing us to incorporate video images of nearly 3000 bird species into our scientific archives, educational products, and web sites. These resources also provide raw materials for superb surround-sound productions featured in our Bartels Family Multi-media Theater. We recently began incorporating our sound and video collections into the revolutionary new National Science Digital Library. Our Internet projects continue to win awards—explore them at www.birds.cornell.edu. Our Bioacoustics group routinely “pushes the envelope” to invent new ways to detect, tract, and census the world’s most elusive bird and mammal species. Current ventures include miniature FM radio devices for tracking Macaws and large mammals in the Peruvian Amazon, and unmanned balloon flights over Fort Hood, Texas, to record Black-capped Vireos. From composing management guidelines for Cerulean Warblers or thrushes, to studying the effects of West Nile virus on our backyard birds, to implementing hands-on learning curricula for inner-city science classes, the Lab of Ornithology holds dear the conviction that birds are natures most enjoyable and accessible window into how she works. We hope you enjoy this special edition of Living Bird, featuring photographs of our lovely new home and brief descriptions of a few of our programs. Thanks to you, the Lab’s scope has never been broader. We greatly appreciate your support and invite you to pay a visit to our new meeting place for science and education at Sapsucker Woods.—John W. Fitzpatrick For permission to reprint all or
part of this article, please contact Miyoko Chu, editor, Cornell
Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, New York. Phone
(607) 254-2451. Email mcc37@cornell.edu
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