Upcoming Nature Trips

Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for the weekend of Friday, May 1, 2015 to Sunday, May 3, 2015:

Audubon Center in Prospect Park
Saturday, May 2, 12–1 pm
Introduction to Bird Watching
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
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Ridgewood Reservoir and Forest Park, Brooklyn-Queens Border
Leader: Steve Nanz
Focus: peak of spring migrants
Car fee: $10.00
Registrar: Heidi Steiner-Nanz, email heidi.steiner@verizon.net or call before 8 pm 718- 369-2116
Registration Period: April 21st - April 30th

**********

Linnaean Society of New York
Friday, May 1, 2015
3rd Annual Starr Saphir Memorial Spring Migration Walk
Leader: Lenore Swenson – information only lenoreswenson@gmail.com or 212-533-9567
No registration: Public transportation
Meet at Central Park West and 81st Street at 7:30 am

Saturday, May 2, 2015 (rain date May 3)
New Jersey Pine Barrens for Early Spring Butterflies and More
Leader: Rick Cech
Registrar: Lenore Swenson – lenoreswenson@gmail.com or 212-533-9567
Registration opens: Monday April 20
Ride: $45

**********

Littoral Society
Saturday, May 02, 2015, 10:00am - 01:00pm
Spring Migration Workshop
Meet at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center for a slide presentation on spring migration followed by a hike around the ponds and uplands to look for spring migrants. This is a partnership program between the American Littoral Society, NYC Audubon and Gateway NRA, and is free and open to the public.
Carpool to American Ball Field Beach Area.
To register, contact Don Riepe at (718) 474-0896 or donriepe@gmail.com
Location : Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

**********

New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Saturday, May 2, 2015
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

**********

New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, May 2, 2015, 8:00am – 9:30am
Van Cortlandt Bird Walks, The Bronx
Guides: NYC Audubon, Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy With the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy Meet at Van Cortlandt Nature Center. The history of birding and Van Cortlandt Park are inseparable. Influential birders such as Roger Tory Peterson and Allan D. Cruickshank got their starts on Van Cortlandt’s ecologically diverse grounds. These walks celebrate the tradition set forth by these great ornithologists. Participants will look for various species of residents and migrants and discuss a wide range of avian topics.
For more information, please call 212-691-7483. No registration necessary. No limit. Free.

Saturday, May 2, 2015, 10am – 1pm
Spring Migration Workshop at Jamaica Bay
Guides: Don Riepe
With Gateway National Recreation Area
Meet at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center for a slide presentation on spring migration followed by a hike around the ponds and uplands to look for spring migrants.
To register, contact Don Riepe at 718-474-0896 or donriepe@gmail.com. Limited to 25. Free

Saturday, May 2, 2015, 12pm – 3pm
Outreach - On a Wing Festival
Meet live bats, birds of prey, butterflies and bees! Join us for a day of learning about these exquisite winged beings - including which ones live in Central Park - with presentations throughout the day, guided bird walks in the Ramble, live music and stories, and microscopic exploration of feathers and wings that give the miraculous gift of flight. Then make the Park even more beautiful when you release live Painted Lady butterflies into the Shakespeare Garden!
Co-presented with the Urban Park Rangers, Organization for Bat Conservation, and Maraleen Manos-Jones. All ages welcome. Free!

Sunday, May 3, 2015, 8am – 11am
Spring Warblers (trip)
Class: Thursday, April 30, 6:30-8:30pm
Trip: Sunday, May 3, 8-11am
Instructor: Joe Giunta, Happy Warblers LLC
First learn to identify the 30-plus species of warblers that migrate through our area each spring, using field marks and other techniques. Then go out in the field and reinforce what you've learned! Field trip to Central Park. Limited to 15. $72 (50)
Click here to register

Sunday, May 3, 2015, 10am – 11am
Birding Basics for Families
Guides: NYC Audubon
Offered by the Central Park Conservancy
Meet at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, inside the Park at 110th Street between Fifth and Lenox Avenues. Experience Central Park when it becomes a precious bird habitat and migration hot spot! Join Conservancy Discovery Guides and NYC Audubon Society on this walk to learn how to spot our feathered neighbors and their foreign cousins as they make their annual trip along the Atlantic Flyway. Witness firsthand how the Conservancy's work has made the Park a sanctuary for these birds. Binoculars can be borrowed from the Visitor Center.
For weather cancellation information, call 212.772.0288 . Limited to 20. Age 5 and up. Free.

**********

Protectors of Pine Oak Woods (Staten Island)
Saturday, May 2, 2015, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Reed’s Basket Willow Park
Discover this hidden natural park in Dongan Hills. We’ll visit the three bodies of water in the park and stroll through the steep woodlands. Although none of Reed’s basket willow still grow near the swamp from which the park gets its name, the woodlands and stream still host a wide variety of flora and fauna. Meet at the Spring Street entrance in Dongan Hills.
For more information call Clay Wollney at 718-869-6327.

Sunday, May 3, 2015, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Moses’ Mountain and Buck’s Hollow
We’ll move at an easy pace, climbing up Moses’ Mountain to see a view from one of the highest points in the Greenbelt, before descending to explore Buck’s Hollow. We’ll meet at the stone wall on Meisner Ave, located by the intersection of Rockland Avenue and Meisner Avenue (hp://goo.gl/maps/YP1HI).
For more information please call John Paul Learn at 718-619-5051 or e-mail him at john.paul.learn@gmail.com.

**********

Queens County Bird Club
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Forest Park
Leader: Jean Loscalzo 917-575-6824
Meet: 7:30am on Park Lane South between Mayfair Rd. and Grosvenor Rd.

Please be advised the start location of the walk THIS SUNDAY MAY 3 at 7:30am AT FOREST PARK IS BEING CHANGED TO THE RAILROAD BRIDGE ON PARK LANE SOUTH. Con Edison is engaged in an extensive project and has a lengthy staging area that effectively blocks off parking for quite some distance. Chances are people are going to have to park where I am suggesting to start anyway, and rather than have everyone stressed about parking and then getting back up the hill, I am changing the location.

To get there by car: go the same as to the original location (Mayfair Rd & PLS) and continue down the hill and around the long sharp curve (safety zone will be on your left side) until you pass the bus stop on your right. Park anywhere you can, the RAILROAD BRIDGE AND PARK LANE SOUTH meeting place will be just ahead of this. If you go as far as 112th St (T-intersection with your left side) you have passed the bridge, park and walk back.

By bus: take whatever you were taking to get to original location, and continue walking along Park Lane South down the hill and around the curve as described above for those arriving by car. If you are on the Q37 bus, you can get off at that bus stop on the curve and then walk up to the bridge.

MINI TRIPS: Break after lunch +/-
ALL DAY TRIPS: BYO lunch, dinner out. {optl}
WEEKEND TRIPS: Two + days / Overnight

Trip Etiquette
Please register for trips

- Register. Let leaders know you're coming!
- Car pooling or skipping requires planning
- Be advised if there are last minute changes or cancellations. These cannot be communicated to unknown persons.
- Be on time! Most trips begin birding by 8am!
- Please arrive before the starting time so we do not waste precious early morning bird activity.
- Plan your travel time.

**********

Urban Park Rangers
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Nature Walk and Bird Watching at Ridgewood Reservoir at Ridgewood Reservoir, Queens
8:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Catch the warbler wave and welcome them back at this spring bird watching workshop led by the Brooklyn Bird Club.
Free!

Birding: Ospreys at Fort Totten Visitor's Center (in Fort Totten Park), Queens
10:00 a.m.
Our Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle.
Free!

Pop-Up Audubon: Wonderful Warblers at Eastwood (in Prospect Park), Brooklyn
11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Through fun games, experiments and citizen science projects, learn why warblers are so wonderful.
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!

On A Wing Festival at Belvedere Castle (in Central Park), Manhattan
12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Meet live bats, butterflies, and birds of prey at the Belvedere Castle.
Free!

Sunday, May 3, 2015
Early Morning Birdwalk: Marvelous Migrants at Audubon Center at the Boathouse (in Prospect Park), Brooklyn
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.
Join the Prospect Park Alliance to search for some of the dazzling birds that visit the park before flying to northern breeding grounds.
Free!

Birding Basics for Families at Charles A. Dana Discovery Center (in Central Park), Manhattan
10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Experience Central Park when it becomes a precious bird habitat and migration hot spot!
Free!

Pop-Up Audubon: Wonderful Warblers at Eastwood (in Prospect Park), Brooklyn
11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Through fun games, experiments and citizen science projects, learn why warblers are so wonderful.
Free!