Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips

Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for Saturday, December 2, 2017 to Sunday, December 3, 2017:

Audubon Center in Prospect Park
Saturday, December 2, 2017, 12 pm – 1 pm
Introduction to Bird Watching
Join Prospect Park Alliance for a birdwatching walk and learn about Prospect Park’s magnificent array of birds and how to identify them!

Sunday, December 3, 2017, 8am – 9am
Early Morning Bird Walk: 12 Birds of Winter
Not everyone flies south for the winter. Join Prospect Park Alliance to spot Prospect Park’s most common winter birds during their busiest time of day. Led by the Brooklyn Bird Club, this tour leaves promptly at 8am.

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Bedford Audubon Society
December 2, 2017, 8:30am - 1:00pm
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge with Naturalist Tait Johansson
Join Tait on an outing to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a haven for wintering waterfowl, often including impressive numbers of Snow Geese. Now that the West Pond has been repaired and is fresh water again, the Refuge should be an even better winter birding spot than it has been for the last 5 years.
Meet at Bylane at 7am for carpooling or at the Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center at 8:30.
Level of difficulty: Easy to moderate.
Please let us know if you’d like to borrow binoculars.
Register with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914.302.9713.
See more details

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Brooklyn Bird Club
Saturday, December 2, 2017, 7:30am
Prospect Park
Leader: Sean Zimmer
Meet: 7:30 AM at Grand Army Plaza (Stranahan Statue) entrance of Prospect Park
Focus: first winter songbirds, raptors, and lake species

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Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Snow Birds Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Search for cardinals, yellow-rumped warblers, white-throated sparrows, and more.
View Details

Sunday, December 3, 2017
Winter Hike at Breezy Point
Location: Meet at Fort Tilden, Building 1 and carpool to Breezy Point
Join Mickey Maxwell Cohen, American Littoral Society naturalist, to the little known and winter-deserted western tip of the Rockaway Peninsula during a full-moon low tide.
View Details

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Green-Wood Cemetery
Sunday, December 3, 7:00am - 8:30am
Birding in Peace
Just because it’s winter, doesn’t mean that there aren’t interesting birds to discover in Green-Wood. For some bird species that migrate south after the breeding season, Brooklyn is their Miami during the cold months. Spend the early morning exploring the cemetery, looking for overwintering waterfowl, nuthatches, woodpeckers, sparrows, finches and any half-hardy birds that decided to stick around. By February we’ll see some of the early north-bound birds beginning to trickle back into the area.

$10 for members of Green-Wood and BHS / $15 for non-members

For this program you will check in at the Gothic Arches, right at the main entrance.
Click here for our inclement weather policy.

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Hudson River Audubon Society
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Croton Point Park
Meet at 8am in the large parking lot
We will search the meadow for American Pipit and other grassland birds.
http://hras.org/wtobird/croton.html

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Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon
Saturday, December 2, 2017 - 9:00am
Montauk Point
Winter waterfowl abound including scoters, eiders, loons, gannets, and numerous pond ducks.
Registration: 631-885-1881

Directions: LIE to exit 70, Manorville. Go south on Route 111 to Route 27. Take Route 27 east all the way to Montauk Point Lighthouse. There may be a parking fee. Meet at the concession building at Montauk Point State Park.

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Linnaean Society of New York
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Rye Playland and Environs
Leader: Tom Burke
Registrar: Louise Fraza — louisefraza@yahoo.com or 212-534-6182
Registration opens: Monday, November 20
Ride: $15 or public transportation

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New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Saturdays -- 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
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Included in All-Garden Pass
Get Tickets

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Protectors of Pine Oak Woods
Saturday, December 2, 2017, 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Old Mill Road – Richmond Town
Enjoy a walk back through Staten Island’s past as participants visit the ruins of three, pre-Revolutionary War mills, Bedell’s, Ketchum’s and Crocheron’s mills. Explore the watercourses which fed each mill. Discover the wildlife, the rich diversity of species which now call the mill-creeks home.
Participants will meet in the parking lot on Old Mill Road beside Saint Andrew’s Church.
For more information call Ray Matarazzo at 718-317-7666.

Saturday, December 2, 2017, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
The Intertidal Zone at the Page Avenue Beach
We’ll begin with a look at the local geology then move to examining the flotsam and jetsam accumulated at the high tide lines to see what nature’s debris has to tell us. As the water recedes with the tide, we’ll move into the intertidal zone to find out what sorts of living things survive in this challenging environment. A variety of crabs, snails, clams, worms and small fish are likely to be discovered. It’s going to be muddy so dress appropriately.
Meet at the parking lot at the bottom of Page Avenue below Hylan Boulevard.
For more information call Clay Wollney at 718-869-6327.

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Queens County Bird Club
Saturday, Dec 2, 2017
Montauk Point
Leader: Arie Gilbert (917) 693-7178
Where: Montauk Point Lighthouse, 2000 NY-27, Montauk, NY 11954, USA (map)

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South Shore Audubon Society
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Alley Pond Park

Take the Long Island Expressway west to Exit 29 (Springfield Blvd.). Turn left onto Springfield Blvd. south. Go five blocks and turn left onto 76th Ave. Quickly turn left into the 76th Ave. parking lot. We will meet at the far end of the lot. For a street map that shows the parking lot (and the entire neighborhood), go to www.nycgovparks.org/parks/alleypondpark/map. For online directions, enter "76th Ave 11364" as the location.
Directions via Google Maps

Bird walks led by a member of SSAS are conducted nearly every Sunday morning from late August through early June. Walks are open to the public and are free of charge. We especially encourage youngsters to attend.
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.

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Urban Park Rangers
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Birding: Owls at Isham Street and Seaman Avenue (in Inwood Hill Park), Manhattan
5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
Our Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle. Birding programs are appropriate for all skill levels.
Registration is required for this program.
Free!