Upcoming Nature Trips

Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for the weekend of December 20, 2014 to December 21, 2014:

Please note that the scarcity of trips next weekend is due to the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Audubon Center in Prospect Park
Saturday, December 20, 12 PM – 1 PM
Introduction to Birdwatching
Look! Up in the sky, it’s a bird! But what kind of bird is it? Join the Prospect Park Alliance to learn about the magnificent array of birds that call Prospect Park home. Led by the Brooklyn Bird Club.

**********

Brooklyn Bird Club
Saturday, December 20, 2014
115th Christmas Bird Census
http://conservation.audubon.org/programs/christmas-bird-count
Compiler: Rick Cech, Assisted by Paul Keim
Comments: As of Dec 15th, teams are full. If you have not already signed up for the Christmas Count, but would like to participate, you can join teams leaving from the Prospect Park Boathouse at 12 noon. They will be in the field for about 2 hours.
The count dinner is held at the Prospect Park Audubon Center (Boathouse). Help and assistance is needed for dinner setup. The coordinator is Heidi Steiner-Nanz, email heidi.steiner@verizon.net to get details.

**********

New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Debbie Becker leads a free bird walk at the Garden every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. beginning at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center

**********

Protectors of Pine Oak Woods (Staten Island)
Saturday, December 20, 2014, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Forest Restoration Workshop at the Gretta Moulton tract in High Rock
Meet in the Nevada Avenue parking lot at High Rock. If you arrive late, walk to the first bend of the entry road and follow the Yellow Trail to the Green Trail. We will be working by Manor Road where we will remove invasive vines from shrubs and saplings. If you don’t have your own, Protectors will supply gloves and pruners (and refreshments). After a two-hour work session we will take a short walk over nearby trails.
For more information, call Don Recklies at 718-768-9036 or Chuck Perry at 718-667-1393.

Saturday, December 20, 2014, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Old Mill Road
We’ll stroll along the multi-use trail next to Fresh Kills, below the hills of LaTourette Golf Course, and return along the Blue Trail. From the remains of colonial structures to the Hessian Spring and the remains of Ketchum’s Mill, we will take a look into the influence of man and nature on the ecosystems bordering the Fresh Kills estuary. Parking is available at the end of Old Mill Road, behind St. Andrew’s Church.
For more information, call Clay Wollney at 718-869-6327.

Sunday, December 21, 2014, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Buck’s Hollow and Heyerdahl Hill
Walk a 3.2-mile loop in one of the wild valleys in New York City. Learn about the ecology of serpentine barrens. Meet at Meisner dam at Meisner Avenue and Manor Road. Parking is available along the road to Eger Nursing Home. Rain postpones the event to the same time on Sunday, December 28.
For more information, e-mail Hillel Lofaso at hillel5757@gmail.com or call 718-477-0545.

Sunday, December 21, 2014, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
North Mt. Loretto State Forest
From phragmities marshes to mature forests, we will observe a variety of ecosystems as we search for evidence of animal life from deer and raccoon to rabbits and muskrats. Traces of the geologic history and human influence of this diverse area will also be seen. Meet at the parking lot for North Mt. Loretto on Amboy Road in Richmond Valley.
For more information, call Clay Wollney at 718-869-6327.

**********

Staten Island Museum
Saturday, December 20, 2014, ALL DAY
Christmas Bird Count
Location: Staten Island Museum, 75 Stuyvesant Place (Round up)
Free/Donations welcome

In conjunction with the National Audubon Society, members of the Museum's Section of Natural History will venture forth, no matter what the weather, in an attempt to count every bird on Staten Island. Organized teams will go to designated areas during the day/night to count birds and meet at the Museum later that night for a round up and tally of results.

For further details on participation, contact Ed Johson at 718.483.7110.