At our April 9 th meeting, Wally Levernier, Senior Ecologist at Fermilab, and Glenn Perricone, Fermi Bird Monitor, shared fascinating details concerning Fermilab’s continuing restoration and management of its many important ecosystems which began in 1975 and continues to preserve the area’s unique and vital biodiversity. To view the full presentation, visit https://youtu.be/LmmIDZl576w.
During their talk, members learned about the preservation activities taking place in this 6,800-acre site in Batavia housing within its borders 2,600 acres which are wilderness areas open to the public. This acreage contains approximately 290 bird species within its five major habitats currently open to the public. These areas feature grassland, woodland, savannah, prairie and shrubland and are home to such diverse species as Lapland Longspurs, Short-eared Owls, Northern Shrikes, kinglets, flycatchers, Brown Creepers, vireos, tanagers, shorebirds, Osprey and even Bald Eagles.
Not only does Fermilab offer the general public a unique experience in birding, but it also maintains scientific data with its weekly Bird Species Occurrence monitoring and its 5-year survey mapping which captures the presence of species and offers a view of long-range environmental impact. This information is available in Fermilab’s survey portal and is invaluable to those in the science community and of general interest to citizen scientists.
Access to Fermilab’s public areas requires that you respect these rules:
1. To enter you must present a valid passport.
2. You must know how to access the public areas as those found in restricted areas will be
escorted off the property. A second offense is punishable by permanent exclusion from all of
Fermilab’s grounds.
3. It’s best to check out Fermilab’s map link for definitive details on access to the property.
http://www.fermilabbirds.com