Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips

Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for Saturday, October 15, 2016 to Sunday, October 16, 2016:

Brooklyn Bird Club
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Fall in Prospect Park
Meet 7 AM at Bartel Pritchard entrance of Prospect Park
Leader: Ed Crowne
Focus: peak of sparrows, raptors, early winter birds
Meeting site: Bartel Pritchard Square entrance: http://tinyurl.com/PPBPent

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Gateway National Park
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Greenbelt to Great Kills Hike
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Location: Carousel at Williwbrook Park (end of Eton Place)
Fees: free
Join the Greenbelt educators and NPS rangers for a hike from forest to field to coastal habitat.

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Hudson River Audubon Society
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Lenoir Nature Preserve
Hawk Watch
19 Dudley St. Yonkers
Meet at 10 AM behind the Lenoir Mansion
http://www.hras.org/wtobird/lenoir.html

Joint Trip with BRSS Audubon
Sunday October 16, 2016
Read Sanctuary and Marshlands Conservancy
Sign up by calling Doug Bloom, 914-834-5206
Meet at 8 AM at Read Sanctuary. We will be looking for late migrants.
http://hras.org/wtobird/edith.html

Hudson River Audubon Society field trips are free. Non-members/ newcomers are welcome and are encouraged to join us as members ($20 introductory offer).

Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them. Some are available for loan for those who need them. Dress appropriately for the weather. For more information call Michael Bochnik at (914) 237-9331

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Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society
Saturday, October 15, 2016 - 9:00 AM
Massapequa Preserve and Wantagh Twin Ponds

We will bird the ponds at Massapequa Preserve, then head east in search of variety of shore ducks and land birds.
Registration: 516-433-5590
Directions: Meet at the Massapequa Preserve entrance at Pittsburgh Avenue and Parkside Blvd.

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Linnaean Society of New York
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Floyd Bennett Field
Leader: Rob Jett aka "The City Birder"
Registrar: Monica Berger— monicabergerbklyn@gmail.com or 718-857-2714
Registration opens: Monday, October 3
Ride: $15 or public transportation

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New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Saturdays -- 9/3/2016 - 6/24/2017: 11:00 a.m.
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, September 3-November 26, 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

Saturday, October 15, 8am-8pm
NYC Audubon Day at Hawk Mountain, PA
Guides: Gabriel Willow, Hawk Mountain Education Specialist
Mid-October is the perfect time to visit Hawk Mountain, one of the premier hawk-watching spots in the East. Gabriel Willow and a Hawk Mountain education specialist will introduce us to the variety of raptors that may be seen, including golden eagles, buteos, and falcons The path to the hawk watch site is a 3/4 mile hike through mountainous woodland. Bring lunch. Group program, trail admission, and transportation by van included. Limited to 12. $139 (97)
Click here to register

Saturday, October 15, 2016, 8:30-11am
Fall Migrants of Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Guide: Annie Barry
Meet at the entrance of Inwood Hill Park at the corner of Isham Street and Seaman Avenue. Join Annie Barry for a hike through a mature forest in search of kinglets, warblers, flycatchers, sparrows, thrushes and more, then search the shore of the Inwood Hill Park saltmarshes for herons and ducks. Some hilly walking required. Limited to 15. $36 (25)
Click here to register

Sunday, October 16, 2016, 8am-3pm
Birding Gems of Staten Island: Freshkills Park
Guide: Cliff Hagen
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. Each autumn, migrant species abound as they travel along the North Atlantic Flyway. Sparrows, osprey, a collection of waterfowl, and lingering warblers seek refuge in the park. Overhead, raptors soar along the terminal moraine as they make their way south for the impending winter. Late-blooming flowers attract an assortment of butterflies and dragonflies as they, too, fly south for the winter. Transport by passenger van on S.I. included. Limited to 12. $57 (40)
Click here to register

Sundays October 9, November 13, December 11, 9:30-11:30am
Fall Birding at Wave Hill, The Bronx
Guide: Gabriel Willow
With Wave Hill
Naturalist Gabriel Willow contributes his extensive knowledge of bird species and their behaviors on these captivating walks. Wave Hill’s garden setting overlooking the Hudson River flyway provides the perfect habitat for resident and migrating birds. Advanced registration is recommended, either online at www.wavehill.org, at the Perkins Visitor Center, or by calling 718-549-3200 x251. (Walks run rain or shine; in case of severe weather call the number above for updates.) Ages 10 and up welcome with an adult. NYC Audubon members enjoy two-for-one admission (see www.wavehill.org for more information). Limited to 20. Meet at Perkins Visitor Center at 9:30am

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NYC H2O
​Saturday, October 15, 2016, 10am
Ridgewood Reservoir Community Tour

NYC H2O is offering free tours of the Ridgewood Reservoir to community members and the public.

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. Please make a reservation.
We will meet in the parking lot at 1 Vermont Place.

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North Shore Audubon Society
Saturday, October 15, 2016, 8am
Hoffman Center
Leader: Barbara - 628-9022

Walks are for beginners and experienced birders alike. Weather permitting, walks start at 9:30 AM unless indicated.
If in doubt, please call the trip leader.
Please note: all phone numbers are area code 516 unless otherwise indicated. In most cases, the contacts are also leaders for the respective walks. We would like to encourage carpooling, where possible.
Please note there is a $10 per car fee at Sands Pt. Call leader for parking ideas.
Schedule note: *** indicates 8 am official start time
*indicates new parking location

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Protectors of Pine Oak Woods (Staten Island)
Saturday, October 15, 2016 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Conference House Park
Enjoy a fall, natural history tour of Staten Island’s southernmost woodland at Ward’s Point and a discussion of the Lenape Indians. Utilizing stone tools from the Archaic and Woodland periods Ray Matarazzo will demonstrate hunting, building an survival skills.
Participants will meet at the Conference House Park Visitors Center at 7455 Hylan Boulevard. For more information contact Ray Matarazzo at 718-317-7666.

Sunday, October 16, 2016 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Crooke’s Point at Great Kills Park
Maritime sand spits such as Crooke’s Point are dynamic topographical features formed and sculpted by water and wind action. Join naturalist Paul T. Lederer in a “talk and walk” where he will discuss the geology and human history of the site as well as the plants and animals that call this place home.
We will meet at the Beach Center Parking Lot in Great Kills Park. To get to the Beach Center Parking Lot take Hylan Boulevard to Buffalo Street and drive down Buffalo Street to just where the dirt permit road begins.
For more information or directions contact Paul at his cell phone 718-354-9200.

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Queens County Bird Club
Sunday, Oct 16, 2016
Prospect Park
Leader: Arie Gilbert - 917-693-7178
Meet by 7:45am on Flatbush / Empire Blvd. and Ocean Ave.
Please contact leaders at least 2 days before trip to let them know you are attending

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South Shore Audubon Society
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

All walks start at 9:00 A.M.
There is no walk if it rains or snows or temperature is below 25°F.
For more information or in case of questionable weather conditions, please phone Joe at 516 467-9498
For directions to our bird-watching locations, click here

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Urban Park Rangers
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Bird Walks at Van Cortlandt Nature Center (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
8:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m.
About 230 different bird species have been recorded in Van Cortlandt Park and over 60 species breed here!
Free!

Bird Watching at the Ridgewood Reservoir at Main entrance across from the Vermont Place Parking Lot
8:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Catch the fall migration at a bird-watching workshop led by the Brooklyn Bird Club.
Free!

Birding: Fall Migration at Union Turnpike Parking Lot (in Cunningham Park), Queens
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Our Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle. Birding programs are appropriate for all skill levels and beginners are welcome.
Free!

Discovery Walks for Families: Living Laboratory at Chess and Checkers House (in Central Park), Manhattan
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Discover what plants and animals call this secluded park woodland their home!
Free!

Nocturnal Wildlife at Van Cortlandt Nature Center (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Our Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle.
Free!