Paul Szmal: FLX Morning continues. It is 8.39. We've made it above the freezing mark. We're at 33, but it does feel like it's about 25 outside. Joining us now is Chris Liszewski from the Montezuma Audubon Center. Good morning, Chris. How are you this morning?
Chris Lajewski: Good morning, Paul. It's another great day at Montezuma. And with the colder weather that has come in since the last time we talked, snow on the ground in some places and colder temperatures, how does that affect the bird migration?
Paul Szmal: We're pretty much in the peak of the waterfowl and sandhill crane migration right now across the Montezuma wetlands complex and really the Finger Lakes region more broadly. Montezuma is a critically important stopover habitat. We have about three dozen species of ducks, geese and swans that stop here during spring and fall migration. And right now we're seeing a great variety of ducks. We've got a lot of Canada geese coming in and sandhill crane numbers continue to increase.
All of or most of these bird species that we're seeing peaking right now were up in the central parts of Canada during their breeding season, a good 500 miles, in some cases a thousand miles north of Montezuma. And Montezuma, with its size, about 50,000 acres, with the variety of habitats that we have, also the location on the migratory corridor for these birds, they're going to be heading down further south into the southeast U.S. for the winter. That's why we have all these birds.
So the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge Wildlife Drive is open through the end of this month, and that's a great place to see many of these bird species. But also there's a lot of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation areas that are open to the public. There's about 10,000 acres of state land up here in Savannah where many of these ducks and geese and swans and cranes can be found. So yes, a little bit cooler right now, but bundle up. We've got areas that you can walk. We've got 20 miles of designated hiking trails for folks. There are many drivable roadways, including the wildlife drive down at the refuge, where people can get out and enjoy the wonderful Montezuma migration.
Chris Lajewski: Speaking of that, there is a driving tour of Montezuma that's scheduled for Thursday, November the 20th.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, coming up this Thursday, we've been leading these driving tours of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex all fall. And one of our last of the fall season is coming up this Thursday at 10 o'clock in the morning. We're meeting at Montezuma Audubon Center, which is on Route 89 in Savannah. We're just a short 15-minute drive north of the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
And we take folks to see the best birding hotspots that we have in the Montezuma Wetlands Complex. The driving tour lasts about two and a half hours. There are areas where we can get out of the van, and we'll have spotting scopes, field guides, and binoculars available for everyone. And we'll be focusing in on those waterfowl, those sandhill cranes, and birds of prey as well. Bald eagles are plentiful right now across the Montezuma Wetlands Complex.
We have the opportunity for folks to be in our van, of course, and that's just a $20 ticket for this entire experience. And if folks want to drive in their personal vehicle, there's a slightly reduced fee of just $15 per person. Space is limited, registration is required, and it's a great way to see the Montezuma Wetlands Complex, especially if folks aren't familiar with all the public areas that they can enjoy. This is a great opportunity to learn about these areas.
But every tour is different, and so we certainly encourage people who have joined us for previous tours to come back out to us. Tickets are available on our website. That's Audubon.org slash Montezuma, and click on our events to see this program, to register for the program, and all the other activities we have going on.
Chris Lajewski: Chris Lejewski from the Montezuma Audubon Center joining us here on FLX Morning. If you take one of these driving tours, like the one that is coming up Thursday, you might see the species that's in the spotlight this month. That's the ring-necked duck.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, this is one of my favorite duck species, the ring-necked duck. It's about a foot and a half long, and the males are quite striking. They are black on the head and on the back, a bright yellow eye, and the sides of the the male are a light gray color. And despite the name, the neck band is quite hard to see. It's kind of a brownish color on that black neck, so it's quite challenging to find. However, the ring on the bill is quite noticeable. It's a grayish bill overall with a white band on it, and the females of this species are mostly a grayish-brown overall.
This is a species that was way up in the central parts of Canada during the breeding season. It's stopping in large numbers. Hundreds of ring-necked ducks can be found in Montezuma's marshes and rivers and on our largest finger lakes like Cayuga and Seneca lakes. And they're just stopping here. Most are going to be passing on south and going down to the southeast United States for the winter.
This is a very active bird. When you do find it, you can see it often diving down into the water. And it's going to be in a fairly shallow water, maybe a few feet deep, but it forages by diving down under the surface. And it's an opportunistic hunter, and so it will go after aquatic insects and crustaceans, but it will also feed on the aquatic plants, the seeds, the stems, and the roots of the aquatic plants that we have at Montezuma and in some of the finger lakes.
This is a species that seems to be quite stable in terms of population, conservation of wetlands, our waterways is leading to an ample number of these ring-necked ducks. And Montezuma Wetlands Complex is one of the best places to see a sizable number of this species. So yeah, folks come out with us this Thursday. We're certainly going to see the ring-necked duck. And like I said, there are a lot of opportunities for people to just come out on their own and enjoy this species and many others during this fall season.
Chris Lajewski: All right, let's shift gears here and talk turkey for a second, since it's coming up on Thanksgiving. On the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, we have the Montezuma Turkey Trek.
Paul Szmal: Right, this is a program that we're going to be launching again at Montezuma Audubon Center, not down at the National Wildlife Refuge. So up here on Route 89 in Savannah at 11 o'clock in the morning, we are welcoming families to come out for a turkey trek. This will include about a two-mile stroll on our trails at Montezuma Audubon Center, where we're going to explore our forested areas, our wetlands for the ring-necked ducks, and many other waterfowl species that we have. And we're also going to be exploring the songbirds that are in our grasslands and forested habitats.
After the guided walk with one of our educators, we invite everyone to come inside the Audubon Center to make a turkey craft and learn a little bit more about the wild turkey that we have in the Montezuma Wetlands Complex. So this is a great family event for folks that are getting together with family and friends over the upcoming holiday. Join us at the Audubon Center. Again, space is limited. Registration is required. Folks can go to audubon.org slash montezuma for tickets.
Chris Lajewski: And we're getting ready for the Christmas Bird Count season as well.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, the Christmas Bird Count has been going on since 1900. So that makes it the nation's longest-running community science bird project in this country. And so this really guides Audubon's conservation work throughout the course of the year. And every year, the Christmas Bird Count occurs between the dates of December 14th and January 5th. It's a great way to collect data on number of species, number of individual birds, and it helps Audubon understand where we are doing enough conservation work, and now where do we need to do maybe a little bit more conservation work for birds and the places that they need.
This community science project started here in the United States, but has recently expanded across the Western Hemisphere. So from the boreal forest of Canada all the way down to South America and everywhere in between, Audubon follows birds. And we now work with our conservation partners across the Western Hemisphere to conduct this very important bird survey.
This is something that everyone can participate in, whether you're a novice birder, a backyard birder, or an experienced birder. There are opportunities to get involved. Now here locally at Montezuma, our Christmas Bird Count is going to take place on Monday, December 15th. And we are still looking for folks to join us. We've got spaces for people to participate with experienced birders. If they're not familiar with Montezuma, maybe not as familiar with all of our bird species, we can pair them up with an experienced birder. And then also we have a variety of routes for the birding opportunities. We can have folks just driving around if they want to stay warm. We've got opportunities also for people to get out and walk around many of our trails around Montezuma.
So if folks are interested in participating, give us a call at the Audubon Center, 315-365-3588, or simply email us montezumaataudubon.org. Now that's A-U-D-U-B-O-N dot O-R-G if you want to send that email out.
Chris Lajewski: As always, Chris, we appreciate it. Thank you very much, sir.
Paul Szmal: Thank you, Paul. Have a great day.
Chris Lajewski: Yes, you too. It is 8 51 on FLX Morning.
