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5 <br /> • Summer Tanagers <br /> All of these birds travel thousands of miles from where they overwinter in Central <br /> and South America to nest and raise their chicks in Blackwood Farm. <br /> The Wood Thrush is considered the most beautiful songster in the eastern United <br /> States. The flute like song of the Wood Thrush, however, is slowly fading away, as <br /> this shy bird declines across its range. The Wood Thrush's population has <br /> decreased by 50 percent in the last four decades, which has made it the second- <br /> most rapidly declining songbird in North America. About the size of an American <br /> Robin, the Wood Thrush seeks dense, undisturbed forest to make its nest typically <br /> close to the ground. Development is the biggest threat to this species. Maintaining <br /> areas of healthy deciduous forest is crucial to the future of the Wood Thrush. <br /> These birds have high site fidelity — meaning they return to exact same location <br /> year after year. <br /> Similarly, Ovenbirds also require extensive, uninterrupted forests with relatively <br /> closed canopies. <br /> 1 <br /> Since 2021, New Hope Bird Alliance has reached out to Orange County Parks and <br /> Rec expressing our concerns about the location of the proposed disc golf course at <br /> Alice's Loop in Blackwood Farms. In 2021, we began meeting with the County and <br /> were told that the disc golf course was budgeted and would be built. At that point <br /> we entered negotiations to try and lessen the extent of the damage to the bird <br /> populations. <br /> I want to be clear that our first priority would always be that the course be built <br /> elsewhere. The impact of the numerous holes and people walking through the <br /> woods as well as the disturbance of the discs will be detrimental to many species <br /> nesting in the undergrowth at the park. it will be most harmful for the Wood <br /> Thrush and Ovenbirds as they require undisturbed forest. The current trails are <br /> not an issue in that people rarely leave the paths. The actual movement of <br /> players within the woods, clearing of the underbrush, and walking between holes <br /> is a greater disturbance and we cannot ensure that the birds will continue to nest <br /> 2 in the area. <br /> 3 <br /> 4 <br />