Last week I went to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Although it was a little early (8 am!) it was well worth it. We first started off with a birding walk around the lab. We were led by very nice woman who would periodically point out different birds and their sounds. Seeing the birds with binoculars was tough and I ended up enjoying just listening as we trekked around the forest. At any one moment there were 3-5 different songs at once, and it was a real treat to listen to them and find the distinguishing features of each one. I also chose to mostly listen since it ended up being a foggy day which inhibited visibility. We did however see the amazing sight of a heron flying directly out of the fog at us, which was definitely a highlight.

After the walk outside we toured the inside of the lab. The lab holds thousands of specimens of birds from all over the world, some going back to the 1800’s. One interesting find they had was the skeleton of a 20-foot long reticulated python, cheekily named “Ralph”, that one of the financiers of the museum brought back from Southeast Asia. One night when he was camping, he heard a rustling in the bushes. Being that they were out in the jungle, he concluded the safest bet was to shoot at it and check what the disturbance was in the morning (can’t ever be too careful!). In fact, he had shot a python, which he brought back to America with him.

In addition to the snake, there were a bunch of specimens (birds) that we got to see up close. They included an owl wing, a cardinal, a finch and other birds. I thought it was cool to learn about the process of preparing the specimens: the eyes are removed and are stuffed with cotton, the interior of the bird is stuffed so it retains its natural shape, etc. For anyone interested in taxonomy or birds I’d highly recommend a tour.