Cornell has made a birdwatcher out of me. Who knows, I might even become a Citizen Scientist. The university operates the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and established the country's first graduate program in ornithology in 1915. The lab is now in a modern building in the nicely named Sapsucker Woods, after the lab's founders discovered the first breeding yellow-bellied sapsucker ever reported in the Cayuga Lake Basin. This woodpecker is now common in the area and is part of the Cornell Lab's logo.
The lab is a great place to visit on a rainy or snowy day. Come with a hot beverage and sit in a rocker or chair, all adorned with donor plaques, and gaze out at the marsh and birdfeeder stations through immense floor to ceiling windows. Here you see Benjamin and Samuel taking in the view.
A world map of birds, living and extinct, wraps the back wall, and upstairs is an unique collection of stuffed hummingbirds. There's also a bird library (not open to the public) and private offices for the 200+ staff that study birds.
Of course, you can also get out in the elements and walk through Sapsucker Woods, which we did.
And if you still haven't gotten your fill of nature, Cornell has a long stretch of botanic gardens right on campus. We visited the rhodendron and herb gardens, near an old elementary school turned into offices.
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