Upcoming Nature Trips

Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for the weekend of Saturday, January 31, 2015 to Sunday, February 1, 2015:

Audubon Center in Prospect Park
Saturday, January 31, 2015, 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.

Sunday, February 1, 2015, 10 am – 11 am
Early Morning Birdwalk: Backyard Birds
Join the Prospect Park Alliance to learn about the Great Backyard Bird Count, and search for your favorite "backyard birds" such as woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches. Led by the Brooklyn Bird Club.

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Brooklyn Bird Club
Saturday, January 31, 2015
New Jersey Winter Tour
Leader: Rick Wright
Car fee: $35.00
Registrar: Sandy Paci, email sandypac56@gmail.com or cell # 347-834-5881
Registration period: Jan 20th - Jan 29th

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Littoral Society
Sunday, February 01, 2015, 10:00am - 12:30pm
Explore Dead Horse Bay, New York's Best Kept Secret
Hike the trails and shoreline of Dead Horse Bay with Mickey Maxwell Cohen, American Littoral Society naturalist, author of Discovering the Trails of Dead Horse Bay. Explore the nature and fascinating history of this little known area. Sturdy footwear is essential.
This program is an American Littoral Society / G.N.R.A. Partnership Program and is free and open to the public.

DIRECTIONS TO Dead Horse Bay: Subway: IRT #2 to Flatbush Ave. Q35 bus south to Floyd Bennett Field, last stop before the Gil Hodges Memorial (Marine Pky.) Bridge. Car: Belt Pky. to Exit 11S. Take Flatbush Ave. south to park. Bus: B41 to Nostrand Ave. then Q35 to the park entrance on your left. Meet group at parking lot near ranger station and walk across Flatbush Ave. to Dead Horse Bay trail.

Location : Floyd Bennett Field Ranger Station
Contact : To RSVP: Call (718) 474-0896, or email donriepe@gmail.com

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New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Saturday, January 31, 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

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New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, January 31, 2015, 10:30am – 4:00pm
Snow Birds of Floyd Bennett Field and Fort Tilden, Queens
Guide: Gabriel Willow
Winter brings many rare birds to NYC that can’t be found here at any other time! Perhaps most exciting are the “snow birds”, such as snow buntings and snowy owls, of the Arctic tundra that can occasionally be found in tundra-like habitats further south, . We will travel to the abandoned runways of Floyd Bennett Field (America's first municipal airport) in search of these and other winter visitors (such as horned lark, American tree sparrow, and rough-legged hawk). We will then head to Fort Tilden and Breezy Point to look for wintering ducks, grebes, loons, and other seabirds along the beaches.
Transport by passenger van included. Limited to 12. $97 (67.50) Click here to register

Sunday, February 1, 2015, 10:30am – 4:00pm
Snow Birds of Floyd Bennett Field and Fort Tilden, Queens II
Guide: Gabriel Willow
Winter brings many rare birds to NYC that can’t be found here at any other time! Perhaps most exciting are the “snow birds”, such as snow buntings and snowy owls, of the Arctic tundra that can occasionally be found in tundra-like habitats further south, . We will travel to the abandoned runways of Floyd Bennett Field (America's first municipal airport) in search of these and other winter visitors (such as horned lark, American tree sparrow, and rough-legged hawk). We will then head to Fort Tilden and Breezy Point to look for wintering ducks, grebes, loons, and other seabirds along the beaches.
Transport by passenger van included. Limited to 12. $97 (67.50) Click here to register

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Protectors of Pine Oak Woods (Staten Island)
Saturday, January 31, 2015, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Long Pond Park
Participants will look for evidence of animal life, especially deer, raccoons and other mammals in the winter woodlands surrounding Long Pond. We’ll also look for signs of bird life, examine the geology of the area and observe evidence of past human use of the area during this unhurried stroll through about one and a half miles of the park. Participants will meet beside PS 6, at the corner of Page Avenue and Academy Avenue.
For more information call Clay Wollney at 718-869-6327.

Sunday, February 1, 2015, 11 a.m. to 1 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 the Meisner dam at Meisner Avenue and Manor Road. Parking is available along the road to Eger Nursing Home.
For more information, e-mail Hillel Lofaso at hillel5757@gmail.com or call 718-477-0545.

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Urban Park Rangers
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Birding: Eagles at Payson Park House (in Inwood Hill Park), Manhattan
9:00 a.m.
Join us for this early morning program and enjoy learning more about the natural history and basic biology of bald eagles.
Free!

Introduction to Bird Watching at Audubon Center at the Boathouse (in Prospect Park), Brooklyn
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
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.
Free!

Owl Prowl at Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum (in Pelham Bay Park), Bronx
2:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.
Join naturalist and photographer Debbie Becker to look for nature's most exclusive and elusive avian creatures—owls. While we can't promise they’ll be found,…
Free!

Sunday, February 1, 2015
Early Morning Bird Walk: Backyard Birds at Audubon Center at the Boathouse (in Prospect Park), Brooklyn
10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Join the Prospect Park Alliance to learn about the Great Backyard Bird Count, and search for your favorite "backyard birds" such as woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches.
Free!