CU Lab of Ornithology offers potential visitors a '10 best' list

Bioacoustician Tim Krein says the interactive sound studio is the best place in Ithaca to howl like a wolf, and this visiting family seems to agree. Phyllis Dague/Lab of Ornithology

To lure summer Cornellians off campus to the nearby Lab of Ornithology, staffers at the renowned center have compiled a "10 best" list of their favorite places at the lab.

The center's outdoor nature trails are open daily from dawn to dusk, while indoor attractions at the lab's Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity are available Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sundays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The best driving or bicycling route from campus is on Hanshaw Road to 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, or take the TCAT 31 bus. Call 254-2473 for more information.

Best place to howl like a wolf, quack like a duck, bark like a dog and cluck like a chicken without embarrassing yourself

Sound Studio: This interactive exhibit allows visitors to listen to and visualize more than 150 sounds made by animals. Visitors also can record their own voices. "Bring some friends and try to re-create the sound of a wolf pack howling at the moon, or see how closely you can make your voice resemble the call of a great-horned owl," said Tim Krein of the lab's Bioacoustics Research Program. Sounds can be played in reverse, sped up or slowed down, just like in a real sound studio.

Best place to see a hummingbird

Treman Bird Feeding Garden: Enjoy close-up views of dazzling ruby-throated hummingbirds as they hover and alight on feeders in the garden just outside the observatory windows. David Bonter, project leader of Project FeederWatch, also recommends the garden as "an excellent place to see birds at any time of year, from brightly colored American goldfinches in summer to hardy chickadees and woodpeckers in winter." Hummer enthusiasts should also check out the Parlor Hummingbird Display Case in the visitors' center, a historical collection of 98 hummingbirds from Central and South America and Mexico.

Best place to hear a walrus

Natural Sounds Kiosk: Listen to sounds of animals from around the world, play a game to match the sounds of animals with their photos and sample the lab staff's favorite animal sounds. "I first heard the walrus sounds coming from a fellow archivist's office," said Shelagh Smith, assistant curator of the lab's marine audio collection. "It sounds completely foreign and non-animal. I think this sound shows how alien so many marine mammal vocalizations are to our ears."

Best place to travel through space and time

Bartels Family Multimedia Theater: This 10-seat theater offers surround-sound video presentations. "Sit back and travel to Hawaii to learn about vanishing birds," said science editor Miyoko Chu. "Or step back in time to the early 1900s to learn about the first animal sound recordings ever made. For a fast-paced adventure, accompany the lab's World Series of Birding team on its quest to find the most bird species in New Jersey in 24 hours."

Best place for a quiet getaway

East Trail Pavilion: For a pleasant walk to a quiet spot, park at the trailhead on the east side of Sapsucker Woods Road and follow the East Trail loop. Eric Banford, a Web developer at the lab, said, "At the most easterly point, there is a small pavilion next to a reflective pond, where turtles sun themselves, Eastern wood-pewees hawk for insects and ovenbirds sing." For another scenic hike (though a more traveled one), try the 3/4-mile Wilson's Trail loop around the pond, beginning from the visitors' center. Look for kingfishers, herons and ducks around the pond and colorful songbirds in the woods along the shore.

Best place to browse bird books

Adelson Library: Choose from more than 10,000 books about birds and other wildlife in Cornell's 20th library. A favorite place of Phyllis Dague, assistant to the Lab of Ornithology's director John Fitzpatrick, the Adelson Library is a wonderful place to sit, read and enjoy the expansive views of Sapsucker Woods through the wall of windows.

Best place to watch dragonflies and damselflies

Fuller Wetlands: Visit the boardwalk on the north side of the visitors' center to look for a dazzling array of dragonflies and damselflies as they mate, chase one another and lay eggs in the water. More than 15 species have been seen here, including 12-spotted skimmers, common green darners, blue dashers and ruby meadowhawks, according to research associate Meena Haribal.

Best place to see fine art

Visitors' Center Galleries: View beautiful bird paintings by renowned artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes in the Fuertes Room. Stroll through the lab's auditorium for the current exhibit of local artists Karen Allaben-Confer and John Perry Baumlin. The Williams Gallery of Art showcases additional paintings by Fuertes and others. Lab artist Evan Barbour said, "Be sure to follow the row of paintings along the upstairs corridor to the Adelson Library, where you will find Dr. Ronald E. Kagarise's exquisite peregrine falcon statue."

Best place to ask about birds

Visitors' Center Reception Desk: If the person at the desk doesn't know the answer, she'll know how to get it for you. "I recommend the front desk as the best place to meet an extremely pleasant individual," said Jan Pfleiderer, who passes the receptionist each day on her way to work at the store in the visitors' center, Wild Birds Unlimited at Sapsucker Woods.

Best place to learn how you can make a difference in the world

Object Theater: Watch a unique multimedia presentation and learn how you can participate in citizen-science projects and what your observations can do for science and conservation. "Part movie, part TV, part theater production -- it's a fun way to learn about the lab's work and how you and your family can get involved to help birds," said Allison Wells, the lab's director of communications and marketing.

Lab re-releases 'An Evening in Sapsucker Woods'

The CD features the voices of birds and other animals in Sapsucker Woods and is narrated by Doc Allen himself. For many people, the original recording helped launch their interest in birds and nature, according to John Fitzpatrick, current director of the laboratory.

The CD's first track introduces the inhabitants of Sapsucker Woods, the off-campus home of the laboratory, as Allen -- by then a world-famous ornithologist -- identifies 32 species most often heard by visitors to the wildlife sanctuary. Track 2 begins with the liquid song of the veery, which blends smoothly into the song of the wood thrush. The sounds of nature continue without the interruption of the human voice to the final chorus of frogs, toads and owls -- just as they might still be heard on an early-summer evening.

The CD sells for $17.95 in the lab's birding shop, at Ithaca-area bookstores and at the lab's online store at http://www.withoutbricks.com/clo.