PAGE ADDED ON January 1, 2010

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GSC Announces Preliminary 2010 Lineup

(Canastota, NY) The GSC is crafting a very exciting 2010 Calendar of Events to be ready in early January.

Jan. 9, 1 p.m.: “Swamp Snappers” Camera Club. “Outside Snow Shots,” bring and share pictures you have taken. Guided by professional photographer Cheri Sassman, the Great Swamp photographers have planned several educational workshops and field trips for 2010.

Bring your camera and be prepared to go outside.

Jan. 10, 1 p.m.: GSC annual members meeting. We invite all members to taste a variety of wines and beers with hors d’oeuvres while Director Michael J. Patane reviews our past year of accomplishments and projections for the coming year.

Feb. 20, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Birds ‘n’ Bagels. Bird enthusiast Fred Zufelt will identify birds at GSC feeders, discuss bird feeder tips, and answer questions. Enjoy refreshments during this informal gathering. Children are invited to make a bird feeder out of recycled material.

Feb. 27, 3 to 7 p.m.: Winter Hibernation Fest. Cross country ski in the daylight or under the full moon, bonfire, outdoor winter camping demo, build a snow cave, ice skate and other interesting hibernation topics. Suggested donation of $3 per adult and $1 per child under 12. Volunteers will be on hand for cross country ski lessons.

Swamp Snappers

A funtastic new photography club has been organized at the GSC. The Great Swamp Conservancy Photographers, also known as “The Swamp Snappers,” will meet Jan. 9 to learn about outside snow shots.

The club meets at 1 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month except December, weather permitting. February’s program will be bird photography, and March involves a field trip to Peter Cann’s property outside of Canastota to photograph a variety of habitat.

Membership is open to all ages and abilities.

The purpose of the club is to enjoy nature while learning about photography, to further the understanding of nature through photography, and to promote the ethical practice of nature photography.

Activities include learning about photography through workshops, speakers and experienced photographers mentoring beginners, providing members the opportunity to share and critique their photographs, learning together through field work at the GSC, taking field trips, and sharing images with the community through exhibits at the GSC and elsewhere.

In November 2010, the Swamp Snappers will present at the Canastota Public Library.

The group has gone on some interesting field trips: Rome Sand Plains, finding the protected lupines, Remsen area, capturing (figuratively speaking) the Showy Lady Slipper, and locally shooting the Canada Lily.

At past meetings the club has learned about histograms, winter nature photography, how to protect equipment from the rain while shooting, photographer’s rights and much more.

Come Ski at the GSC

Enjoy winter and exercise at the same time by skiing our old and new trails. A generous donation of 36 pairs of gently-used cross country skis, boots, and poles, from child to adult sizes will be ready for rental when the first good snowfall arrives.

Skis may be rented for $3 per person for use on GSC trails. No fee for trail use for those with their own skis.

Contact our nature center office at 315.697.2950 for rental reservations and for more information.

West Side Trails

Our 115-acre west-side parcel was purchased with matching funds from the Gorman Foundation and the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Additional assistance was provided by Walmart, UPS Foundation, Canastota Community Chest, and CNY Air and Waste Management.

The trail opening ceremony was presided over by Sen. David J. Valesky (D – Oneida); Madison County Dairy Princess Arica Cassoratti, delegate Lyndsey Becker; and her father, Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman John M. Becker (R,C,I – Sullivan).

We have constructed more than two miles of new trails for easy hiking. Dress season-appropriately, and remember, it is a wetland. Thanks to the design and construction genius of the USDA-NRCS, a portion of our valley was transformed into a beautiful wetland area. As you walk down the trail, you will cross the dike that holds back the water in the wetland area. Look down the valley that contains mallards, teal, woodies, great blue herons and many other species.

Once across the dike, you start to go up a gradual hill. Here you’ll find a mowed area in the center of the hill to be used for picnicking and camping by reservation. A little further down the trail, you’ll find another restored wetland. This upper level area is home to many deer, turkeys and other creatures.

To complete these upper trails, we will extend our walk through the mature hardwoods in the Spring 2010.

Don’t forget your skis.

Newest Board Members

In 2009, we gained two new board members. Julie Valesky of Oneida has been an Oneida City school teacher for 18 years. She and her husband have three children.

When not working or spending time with her family, Julie loves to be outside. Often with her dog, Ginger, Julie spends countless hours hiking and exploring the woods. Julie says she’s proud to take her love of nature into the classroom and to now utilize her skills at the Great Swamp Conservancy.

Another new GSC board member is Elysia Warner. Elysia is a May 2008 SUNY ESF graduate with a bachelors degree in Wildlife Science. She first came to the GSC as an ESF summer intern.

One of Elysia’s major contributions is the interpretation signs displayed along our east-side bluebird trails. Another is the development of the CD, “Songbirds of CNY,” on sale at the GSC for $3.

Her love for nature and animals first came from watching television shows such as Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom as a child. The “Big Cats” (tigers and cheetahs especially) are Elysia’s passion, and she hopes to someday travel to Africa to experience its wildlife and hopefully see some of these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.

At the Feeders

By Fred Zufelt

This fall, the blue jay has been the number one bird at the feeders. Day after day, there have been six to eight jays at the feeders almost continuously, collecting seeds and then flying off to hide them for leaner times.

Jays have a pouch in their neck that expands, similar to the chipmunk’s cheeks, so they can stuff their mouths full of seeds and make fewer trips. We watched one day while a jay packed 11 Cheerios in its mouth before flying off to stash them in a tree. The best, though, was the one I watched pack away 15 sunflower seeds. Now that’s a mouthful.

Besides the blue jays, we have seen white-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, red-breasted woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees, house sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, mourning doves, brown-headed cowbirds, red-winged blackbirds, common grackles, tufted titmice, American goldfinches, house finches, American crows and, of course, northern bobwhite quail.

Having all these delightful birds coming to the feeders also means we get daily visits from our local sharp-shinned hawk and/or Cooper’s hawk.

The viewing is great at the GSC window, so stop by and enjoy the thrill of watching birds.

Directions to the GSC: To get to the GSC Nature Center, take interstate 90 to exit 34 in Canastota. Take a left on Route 13 South (100 yards), turn right on Maple Street and right on North Main Street. The nature center complex is about three miles north of the village of Canastota on the corner of North Main Street and Pine Ridge Road. From Route 31, turn south onto North Main Street and go about three miles to Pine Ridge Road.

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GSC Announces Preliminary 2010 Lineup

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