Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips

Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for the weekend of Saturday, July 23, 2016 to Sunday, July 24, 2016:

Eastern Long Island Audubon Society
Saturday, July 23, 2016 – 7:30am
Dune Road Drive
Meet at the Shinnecock Inlet, near the communication tower. Join us in our annual Stop and Look along Dune Road, from Hampton Bays (Shinnecock Inlet) to the Post Ave. Bridge (Quogue), with stops along the way. We will hopefully see some lingering and nesting shorebirds, as well as some early migrants heading south. Rain or shine – only a lightning storm will cause cancellation! Bring bug spray, and sun screen – Temporary Town of Southampton Parking Permits for the trip will be available to non-Southampton Town Residents for the trip. Binoculars are necessary, and scopes are helpful.
For info, please contact Eileen Schwinn, the Trip Leader, by email: beachmed@optonline.net or call 516-662-7751 the day of the trip.

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Gateway National Recreation Area
Every Sunday Weekly and Every Saturday Weekly from 06/04/2016 to 09/03/2016 11:00AM to 12:00PM
Birding for Beginners
Join us for an introduction to this fun hobby. Learn the basics of birding. Bring binoculars and a field guide or borrow them from wildlife refuge!
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fee Information: Free

Every Sunday Weekly and Every Saturday Weekly from 05/28/2016 to 08/28/2016 9:30AM to 11:30AM
Camp Gateway Walk-up and Paddle
Try kayaking! Open to the public, ages 6 and up with an adult. No reservation required. Bring a snack, water and sunscreen.
Bus: Q35
Location: Floyd Bennett Field – Brooklyn, Seaplane Ramp
Fee Information: FREE
Contact Name: Ryan Visitor Center
Contact Phone Number: 718-338-3799

Every Saturday Weekly from 05/28/2016 to 08/27/2016 1:00PM to 3:30PM
Canarsie Walk-up and Paddle
Kayak tryouts for those who have never done it before. Open to the public, ages 6 and up with an adult. No reservations required.
Location: Canarsie Pier, Brooklyn
Fee Information: FREE
Contact Name: Ryan Visitor Center
Contact Phone Number: (718)338-3799

Every Sunday Weekly from 06/05/2016 to 09/04/2016 11:00AM to 12:00PM
Fort Tilden Bunkers Walking Tour
Join a Park Ranger for an exploration of Fort Tilden's gun batteries, and find out about the fort's role in the defense of New York Harbor.
1 mile.
Location: Fort Tilden-Building 1
Fee Information: Free

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New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Debbie Becker leads a free bird walk at the Garden every Saturday from 11am to 12:30pm beginning at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center

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New York City Audubon Society
Saturdays, May 7-July 30, 8-9:30am
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

Sunday, July 24, 2016, 8am-3pm
Birding Gems of Staten Island: Freshkills Park
Guides: Cliff Hagen, Tod Winston
Meet at the Staten Island Ferry and start your trip with a journey across the Upper Bay! This is a special opportunity to see Freshkills Park in transition from what was once the world’s largest landfill into an expansive park. Currently closed to the general public, the Park is home to rolling grasslands, tidal marshes, successional woodlands and a freshwater pond system, which host an array of breeding birds, butterflies, mammals, frogs, and turtles. Grasshopper sparrows, osprey, yellow warblers, and blue grosbeaks nest alongside wrens, blackbirds, orioles and shorebirds. Wading birds feed on the mudflats at low tide while hawks and vultures soar above. On calm, sunny days, one can expect to find nearly two dozens species of butterflies as they nectar among the grasses and woodlands. Transport by passenger van on S.I. included. Limited to 12. $68 (47)
Click here to register

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NYC H2O
Wednesday July 20 at 6:30pm
Sunday July 24 at 10am
Ridgewood Reservoir Community Tour

Due to high demand, NYC H2O will be offering two additional free tours of the Ridgewood Reservoir to community members and the public on Wednesday July 20 at 6:30pm and Sunday July 24 at 10am.

The Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park is a 50+ acre natural oasis that straddles the border of Brooklyn and Queens. Built in 1859 to supply the once independent City of Brooklyn with high quality water, it became obsolete with the addition of new reservoirs in the Catskills in the 1950's and was decommissioned in the 1980's. Since then, nature took its course in a perfect case study of ecological succession. A lush and dense forest has grown in its two outside basins while a freshwater pond with waterfowl sits in the middle basin.

Join us to explore this incredible natural resource in the heart of NYC.

We will meet in the parking lot at 1 Vermont Place, Brooklyn NY 11207 across the street from the reservoir.

The tour is free but please RSVP here.

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Protectors of Pine Oak Woods (Staten Island)
Sunday, July 24, 2016 @ 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Discover Dragonflies with Paul Lederer
Cost: Free
Contact: Paul Lederer 718-354-9200
Dragonflies have been a part of the fauna of this planet long before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Learn about the identification, behavior and biology of these fascinating insects. Bring binoculars if you have them. Participants will meet at the Greenbelt’s Pouch Boy Scout Camp at 1465 Manor Road by the totem poles in the parking lot.
For more information contact Paul at his cell phone 718-354-9200.

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Staten Island Museum
Saturday, July 23, 8:30pm - 10:30pm
Moth Night: Snug as a Bug
Location: Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A
Cost: $10/ Children under 12 Free
All ages are welcome to bring cameras, flashlights, containers and field notebooks. Stay up late and celebrate National Moth Week with night walks and glowing observation attractors. Friends include: the Greenbelt Nature Center, Staten Island Academy, and an outdoor dance performance of Bad Woods, by the Wild Hive Collective. To learn more go to NationalMothWeek.org.
Register here
Walk-ins welcome.

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Urban Park Rangers
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Bird Walks at Van Cortlandt Nature Center (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
8:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m.
Bird Walks focus on wildlife happenings in the park and are led by NYC Audubon experts.
Free!

Sunday, July 24, 2016
Orchard Beach Lagoon Birding Canoe Excursion (Intermediate) at Pelham Bay Park, Bronx
12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Explore the Orchard Beach Lagoon, as we look for birds that live there. Prior canoe experience preferred.
Free!