Visitors Welcome !

By Allison Childs Wells

Photo credit: Tim Gallagher

A colorful view of the newly expanded wetlands area, including the new boardwalk, from a sanctuary trail in Sapsucker Woods. More than 230 bird species have been recorded along the trails.

Nestled beside the 10-acre wildlife pond at Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary, tucked unobtrusively under a treeline of maples, birches, beeches, and pines, sits the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity, the new home of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Inside the graceful walls, Lab staff are busy analyzing citizen-science data, exploring avian diversity in the DNA laboratory, archiving sounds and images from the natural world, and developing new acoustic monitoring tools. Indeed, the Johnson Center was created to facilitate the Lab’s ground-breaking research. But it also houses a first-class visitors’ center where you and your family can get a hands-on understanding of this research, and a lot more.

Your experience begins even before you step inside. Moving from the parking lot to the building, the bird-friendly native landscaping and elegant stonework are as welcoming as the grounds of a beloved home, which is exactly the intent. Trees and wildflowers lead the way from the parking areas to an irresistible pedestrian bridge made of Llenroc stone that reaches through Gogo’s Garden, a small pond surrounded by plantings that are inviting to wildlife. It’s a nice little spot to stop and ponder the meaning of life or just to wonder what that bird is that’s been singing since you got out of the car. The bridge leads to a sprawling stone portico that sets you up for a difficult choice: Should you head out first to the sanctuary trails or wander inside to explore the many exhibits? Either way, you win.

As you enter the Morgens Observatory, located in the visitors’ center, you might feel like you’re still outdoors. A huge wall of windows overlooks Sapsucker Woods pond, where Belted Kingfishers dive for fish and Great Blue Herons dart their bills into the water for frogs. You can sit in beautifully crafted chairs and watch as Mallards put on a show. An interpretive panel describes what the various behaviors mean. That odd-seeming head-bobbing, for example, may be part of a fascinating mating display. Spotting scopes, donated by Swarovski Optik and Carl Zeiss Optical, are provided near the windows to help you get a better look at the Hooded Merganser at the far edge of the pond.

Photo credit: Jon Reis

A young visitor uses an interactive bird kiosk to test her knowledge of local birds, while other visitors enjoy great views of Sapsucker Woods pond and the Treman Bird-feeding Garden through the expansive wall of windows in the Morgens Observatory.

Bird-feeding enthusiasts will especially enjoy the Treman Bird-feeding Garden, located next to the pond and also visible through the wall of windows. The garden drips with feeders of every type—tube feeders, suet feeders, hummingbird feeders, thistle feeders—and there are always feathered guests enjoying the feast. A panel next to the window shares the secrets of some of the birds that visit the garden. (Why is that nuthatch flying off with a seed? Maybe it’s going to cache it under a piece of tree bark to eat later.) And just like the old Lab building, the sounds of the outdoors are broadcast over speakers inside.

Not sure what you’re hearing and seeing? Thanks to a generous grant from the National Science Foundation to create interactive exhibits, you can look up the species at the bird identification kiosk. This popular exhibit allows you to choose a category of Sapsucker Woods birds based on the habitat where you made a sighting—woods and trails, bird-feeding area, or pond. From there, you can view images and listen to songs and calls of the birds commonly found in those habitats. The exhibit lets you compare species that look alike, view maps of where the birds occur, and read interesting natural history information about each species.

Photo credit: Phyllis Dague

A sound studio, based on those used by the Lab’s Macaulay Library staff, invites visitors of all ages to learn about and experiment with sound using Raven, a software program developed by the Bioacoustics Research Program staff.

From there, you might step into the Bartels Family Multimedia Theater. Currently, the theater features an eight-minute surround-sound video presentation on the plight of native Hawaiian birds. Soon, you’ll be able to choose from a number of science or conservation videos, all of which will feature amazing video footage from the Macaulay Library’s growing collection.

One of the most frequently asked questions at the old Lab was, What is it like inside the Macaulay Library sound studios? Now when you visit the Johnson Center, you can find out for yourself. In fact, you’ll be able to sit inside a replica of a studio and enjoy some hands-on experience working with sound, using Raven, a software program developed by the Lab’s Bioacoustics Research Program. You can select a bird song and see how closely you can imitate it by recording your call and playing it back, speed up a recording or slow it down, or make a sonogram. The studio is fun and easy to use—a great way to get your kids hooked on sound and science.

A kiosk just outside the studio lets you sample the collection of natural sounds archived in the Macaulay Library. You can hear cuts from the vast selection of audio guides produced by the Lab and take a quiz that tests your knowledge of which creatures—birds, mammals, amphibians, and other animals—make which sounds. You can even listen to sounds selected by Lab staff and read the personal anecdote behind why each person chose that particular sound.

As you leave the sound studio area, you’ll see an exhibit that is familiar to decades of Lab visitors. The collection of hummingbirds from throughout the Americas was a mainstay of the old Lab’s visitors’ center and continues to be extremely popular. The display is strategically placed so that when light hits the feathers just right, the specimens glow with shimmering, iridescent color. Most people are thrilled to view these gorgeous little creatures, which they had previously seen only in the pages of field guides.

Photo credit: Sean Serrell

Using real objects, sounds, and video, the Object Theater shows and tells visitors about the Lab’s Citizen Science program, explaining what scientists have learned about birds based on citizen-science data and showing ways that anyone with an interest in birds can get involved.

The most important reasons for developing the visitors’ center were to make it easy for people to understand the importance of citizen science and to invite them to join our research team. The Lab achieved those goals by creating an Object Theater, located in the visitors’ center auditorium. In the Object Theater, you take your seat as the music fades and the lights dim. Soon the room fills with the sounds of singing birds. Up in the front corner, a TV screen lights up, and Lab researchers and other staff appear, talking about various aspects of the Lab’s Citizen Science program. Citizen scientists themselves—kids and adults alike—each share their unique perspective. The narrative is complemented with video clips that appear on a big screen in the front of the room as a spotlight shines on objects—a park bench, a kitchen table at a window with a bird feeder outside, a patch of forest, a telephone and notepad—stationed around the front of the room. Twelve minutes later, you leave with a richer understanding about what the Lab does, what citizen science has helped reveal about bird populations, and, we hope, the inspiration to become a citizen scientist yourself.

Although the sights and sounds of the Object Theater fill the room during the show, the setup leaves plenty of space for the Lab’s Monday Night Seminars, which are held in the same auditorium. The popular series, which had been put on hold during the move, has now resumed so that scientists, authors, illustrators, photographers, and others can share their knowledge and experiences with other bird enthusiasts.

Adjacent to the auditorium—and part of it when the partition is open—is the famed Fuertes Room, reconstructed here in a nearly exact replica of the original personal library of Frederick Foster Brewster, who donated it from his Connecticut mansion. Original teak woodwork complements the elegant oil paintings of renowned bird artist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes. No wonder the Fuertes Room is known among birders as the “Sistine Chapel of birding.”

Just outside the Fuertes Room, an interpretive panel gives an overview of Fuertes himself, one of many interpretive panels placed throughout the observatory. The panels are colorful and lavishly illustrated. They present topics ranging from the meaning of the word“ornithology” and a brief Lab history to a who’s-who in the world of sound pioneers.

Visitors are also welcome to visit a portion of the second floor, and ascending the stairs is an experience in itself. The beautiful wooden staircase narrows near the top, creating an elegant effect that is enhanced by exquisite paintings gracing the walls. They are part of the Williams Gallery of Art, which includes works not only by Louis Agassiz Fuertes but by Roger Tory Peterson, John James Audubon, George Miksch Sutton, Francis Lee Jacques, Alan Brooks, Tony Angell, and other well-known artists. You can stop to admire the paintings as you make your way along the hallway around the corner at the top of the stairs toward the Allen Bird Observation Tower. Named for Lab founder Arthur Allen, the tower has affectionately become known as “the treehouse.” Although a relatively small space, it is peaceful and strategically located for excellent views into the back side of the pond. Spotting scopes boost your viewing power, and comfy chairs make the treehouse a relaxing place to sit and read.

Next to the treehouse is the Adelson Library, home to thousands of books about birds and other wildlife. The library is part of the Cornell University library system and serves a critical function for Lab staff. Adult visitors are also invited to use this resource. Roomy tables make it easy to conduct your work right in the library. Work stations line a beautiful wall of windows, which afford a nice view of the pond but may make it delightfully difficult to concentrate on your research.

After trying your hand at the exhibits and exploring the splendid visitors’ center space, it’s time to make your gift purchases at Wild Birds Unlimited at Sapsucker Woods. Although located inside the visitors’ center, the store is privately operated. Lab members receive a 10-percent discount on all items in the store, which include audio guides and other Lab products. There are also bird jewelry, clothing, books, and lots of toys for the kids.

Put your purchases in the car, then head out for some birding on the trails. Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary offers more than four miles of well-kept trails that wind through a variety of habitats and across lovely boardwalks. Trails are clearly marked, and benches are provided here and there. Observation platforms placed throughout the sanctuary provide excellent views of the pond. Be sure to bring your binoculars, because more than 230 species of birds have been identified in this 224-acre sanctuary.

The visitors’ center is open Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The trails are open every day, dawn to dusk. Plan on visiting soon!

A colorful view of the newly expanded wetlands area, including the new boardwalk, from a sanctuary trail in Sapsucker Woods. More than 230 bird species have been recorded along the trails. On the facing page, a young visitor uses an interactive bird kiosk to test her knowledge of local birds, while other visitors enjoy great views of Sapsucker Woods pond and the Treman Bird-feeding Garden through the expansive wall of windows in the Morgens Observatory.