Recent News

The Cayuga Bird Club is proud to present Native Plants for Native Birds: A Guide to Planting for Birds In and Around Ithaca, New York.

Information

The Cayuga Bird Club (CBC), founded in 1913, provides its members and the community at large with opportunities to learn about birds, local birding localities, and the environment. CBC membership is composed of a diverse group of people from various professions and backgrounds, whose common bond is a keen interest in the observation and preservation of bird life. CBC field trips and monthly meetings offer members a chance to meet socially and to focus on a topic or locality of interest.

Monthly meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month from September through May. The meetings take place at the Lab of Ornithology, beginning at 7:30 p.m. An annual dish-to-pass picnic is held each June to close the program year.

Most field trips visit areas within the Cayuga Lake Basin, although the club regularly visits places farther afield, such as Amherst Island, Ontario; Niagara Falls, New York; and Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania.

Lectures and presentations offered at the monthly club meetings draw from the great variety of professional and amateur researchers at the Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, and Ithaca College, as well as the local community.

Programs on bird identification are often held in preparation for the Christmas Bird Count, which takes place each year on New Year's Day. The Christmas Bird Count is very popular, and many members of the bird club choose to participate in it.

A History

In 1913, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, one of the founders of the Cayuga Bird Club, worked to establish the Renwick Wildlife Sanctuary, now a part of Stewart Park. Saturday morning bird walks in May became a tradition of the members at that time. In 1973, members began to organize many more field trips along with monthly meetings to supplement the May walks. Currently, CBC is active from September to June. Members of the club continue to participate in maintenance of the trails at Renwick Sanctuary. You do not need to be an expert birder to participate in any of the club's activities.