From The Guardian:
California v nutria: state seeks to eradicate scourge of giant rodents
Alastair Gee
The call came from a wildlife trapper working in the wetlands of central California.
“I think I caught a nutria,” the man said.
Greg Gerstenberg, a state biologist, was thrown.
“I was like, ‘a what?’”
A year and a half later, Gerstenberg strode up to his waist into the sludgey wetlands, pulling a kayak through mats of green slime and the methane stink of decomposing plant matter. He checked dozens of traps piled with tempting watermelon slices and sweet potatoes. His .22 rifle was on his truck, ready.
The name “nutria” evokes something you’d find in a health food store, but in fact they are dog-sized invasive rodents with curved orange incisors that have decimated marshes and swamps worldwide and have, worryingly and mysteriously, appeared in California, perhaps 500 miles from the nearest known population in Oregon. Gerstenberg’s goal: total extermination.
Although nutria are native to South America, since the 19th and early-20th centuries they have been raised in North America, Europe and Asia by those who wanted to create a market for their glossy brown fur. “It’s just like a mink coat – gorgeous,” the nutria expert Gary Witmer, a biologist at the National Wildlife Research Center, said.
But fur is out of fashion, and escaped or released nutria have proven voracious. A nutria can consume a quarter of its body weight in plant material per day, chowing through the vegetation that holds wetlands together and burrowing through levees meant to prevent flooding. In Louisiana, it has been reported that nutria have converted more than 40 square miles of marshland to open water since 2000. To make matters worse, they are prodigiously fertile. Females can have litters three times a year, producing five or six pups each time.
Gerstenberg said it was hard to fathom why anyone would purposely introduce them to California. Some have hypothesized that a landowner wanted them to keep water hyacinth down, or that they were unwanted pets. “They’re kinda cute when they’re small,” he said. “But they don’t stay small.”
Less than 5% of California’s wetlands remain, and they are managed at great cost, providing one of America’s most important stop-offs for migrating birds. “We’ve spent millions rehabbing these wetlands in California,” said Gerstenberg. “If it gets to where there’s 50 nutria per acre, there won’t be anything green here.”
When the carcass of the first nutria was delivered to Gerstenberg, he found that it was a pregnant female, indicating it was not alone. Six weeks later, wildlife cameras provided proof of this. Gerstenberg was one of those put in charge of heading the response, though he says he is critically underfunded and can only rely on a team of six loaned staffers in the field.
Driving to a pond near the town of Los Banos, 120 miles south-east of San Francisco, he saw distant smoke billowing from the Ferguson fire, near Yosemite national park, on the horizon, and noted that it was being tackled by 3,000 firefighters. “When you compare it, that’s gonna be out in a couple weeks, it’ll be nothing. This is something – if we don’t deal with it now, it’s gonna keep growing.”
Paddling across the unruffled water in a kayak, he checked his traps. He had caught three mallards, a muskrat and a bullfrog, but no nutria. This does not mean his job in the pond was complete – it is a credo in the animal-extermination world that “a 99% successful eradication is a 100% failure”, because the escape of just one pregnant female can nullify the enormous expense and effort of mobilizing to kill them in the first place.
So far, more than 200 have been eliminated. Gerstenberg anticipates bringing in sniffer dogs to hunt the animals. And he wants to deploy “Judas nutria” – sterilized nutria fitted with radio collars that researchers hope will lead them to unlucky stragglers they might have missed.
Successful eradications have been notched in England, where their population was around 200,000 in the 1960s, and in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, where they were removed from over a quarter-million acres. The specter that looms in the background is Louisiana. “I hope we don’t get there,” Gerstenberg said.
An astonishing 1.8 million nutria pelts were produced in the state in 1976. But their wholesale destruction of wetlands has prompted the state to offer private hunters a bounty, currently $5 for at least 7in of severed tail. In the 2016-17 season, they killed 216,000 of them. The state has also tried other methods of stemming their numbers, for instance by promoting them as a culinary delicacy.
“I think they were calling them ‘swamp rabbits’ because they didn’t wanna call them rodents,” said Witmer, the nutria expert. “It just didn’t go over with people and died down pretty quickly.”
(Witmer had some nutria meat in his own freezer for a few years. “Maybe I was afraid to eat it or maybe I overlooked it, who knows,” he said. “They say it tastes like chicken, because that’s what people say about anything.”)
Arthuer Matherne, an airboat tour operator in the south- eastern Louisiana town of Des Allemands, has a message for California: a nutria problem can rapidly spiral.
When he started hunting them for the bounty, 15 years ago, he bagged 6,800 in just 15 days. “Just riding around with a .22 and shooting ’em,” he said. “An easy buck, and fun doing it.” He used to sell the fur to clothing companies and the meat to alligator farms, though now their numbers have fallen in his area.
“Everybody been after them and they knocked the population off pretty good,” Matherne said. “But it won’t take long for them to come back.”
Contents
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Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Monday, August 27, 2018
Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips
Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for Labor Day Weekend, Saturday, September 1, 2018 to Monday, September 3, 2018:
Bedford Audubon Society
Saturday, September 1, 2018, 9:00am
Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch
The fall Hawkwatch starts Saturday, August 25! Join us at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford Corners every day from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting, to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
See more details
Suday, September 2, 2018, 9:00am
Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch
The fall Hawkwatch starts Saturday, August 25! Join us at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford Corners every day from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting, to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
See more details
Monday, September 3, 2018, 9:00am
Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch
The fall Hawkwatch starts Saturday, August 25! Join us at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford Corners every day from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting, to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
See more details
**********
Brooklyn Bird Club
Sunday, September 2, 2018, 8:00am - 11:00am
Prospect Park First Sunday Walk
Meets at the Prospect Park Audubon Center at The Boathouse, the first Sunday of every month except July and August. Leaders are members of the Brooklyn Bird Club. Bring binoculars.
No registration is required for Prospect Park or Green-Wood Cemetery trips. For most other trips, advance registration is required; exact location and time of meeting will be provided at time of registration. Car pool fees are required for some trips and should be paid directly to your driver.
**********
Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, September 1, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
View Details
Sunday, September 2, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Every Sunday Weekly from 05/20/2018 to 09/30/2018
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details
**********
Linnaean Society of New York
Saturday, September 1, 2018 (rescheduled from 15th)
Central Park Horticultural Walk
Leader: Regina Alvarez
No registration.
Public transportation: Meet at 103rd Street and Central Park West at 10:00am
Join botanist Regina Alvarez for a walk in the North Woods and the Wildflower Meadow for a late summer look at the flowering plants and shrubs of Central Park’s north end. Along with fellow botanist Daniel Atha, Regina has been collecting herbarium specimens of every species growing wild in the Park. Already they have discovered new botanical records and have rediscovered plants not seen since the 1850s. Regina is a former director of horticulture and a woodland manager for the Central Park Conservancy. Currently she is an adjunct professor of botany at the City University of New York.
**********
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
**********
New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, September 1, 2018, 9:00am – 10:30am
Van Cortlandt Fall Bird Walks
Saturdays, September 1 - November 24, 9-10:30am
Guides: NYC Audubon 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.
**********
North Shore Audubon
Saturday, September 1, 2018, 9:30am – 12:00pm
Garvies Point Museum-Preserve, Glen Cove
See "Walk locations" for directions (map).
Wear water-resistant footwear, bring binoculars and drinking water. Wear long pants and socks so you do not touch poison ivy. "Leaderless" walk. May be cancelled in case of inclement weather.
**********
NYC WILD!
Sundays, 9:00am - June 3, 2018 through September 30, 2018
Hudson River Park Nature Walk
Meet: Christopher Street Fountain, north of Pier 40. Cross at Christopher Street.
Cost: Free
Duration: Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Distance: 1 1/2 to 2 miles
Subway and Bus lines: #1 Train to Christopher Street; M8 Bus
HUDSON RIVER PARK brings attention to its vital role in creating one of the scarcest resources in all of Manhattan - wildlife habitat! Learn about Hudson River Park's wildlife by joingin experienced naturalists on guided nature walks along the Park's esplanade.
Enjoy a meandering waterfront walk while viewing and learning about the park's flora and fauna, including some of the more than 100 different species of birds identified within Park boundaries. Peek into some of our gardens to discover butterflies, dragonflies and other interesting insects. Get to know the native plants that thrive in unexpected places in and around the river's edge. Each nature walk is unique and offers a one-of-a-kind treasure hunt-like experience.
Nature guides will meet participants at the Christopher Street Fountain (dry during Summer 2013), just north of Pier 40 (cross at Christopher Street) at 9AM sharp. Please wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. Loud noises and barking tend to startle wildlife and reduce viewing opportunites - please be considerate and leave your dog at home.
Hudson River Park WILD! is a project of Hudson River Park. Visit www.hudsonriverpark.org for full Hudson River Park Events and Information
Click HERE to make your FREE reservation on Eventbrite NOW.
**********
South Shore Audubon Society
September 2, 2018
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
From the Southern State Parkway, travel west to the Belt Parkway. Exit at Cross Bay Boulevard (Exit 17) south. Continue south on Cross Bay Blvd. through Howard Beach and over the North Channel Bridge (also known as the Congressman Joseph P. Addabbo Bridge). The entrance to the refuge parking lot is on the right side of the road, at a traffic light approximately one and a half miles past the bridge.
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.
Bedford Audubon Society
Saturday, September 1, 2018, 9:00am
Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch
The fall Hawkwatch starts Saturday, August 25! Join us at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford Corners every day from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting, to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
See more details
Suday, September 2, 2018, 9:00am
Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch
The fall Hawkwatch starts Saturday, August 25! Join us at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford Corners every day from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting, to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
See more details
Monday, September 3, 2018, 9:00am
Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch
The fall Hawkwatch starts Saturday, August 25! Join us at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford Corners every day from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting, to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
See more details
**********
Brooklyn Bird Club
Sunday, September 2, 2018, 8:00am - 11:00am
Prospect Park First Sunday Walk
Meets at the Prospect Park Audubon Center at The Boathouse, the first Sunday of every month except July and August. Leaders are members of the Brooklyn Bird Club. Bring binoculars.
No registration is required for Prospect Park or Green-Wood Cemetery trips. For most other trips, advance registration is required; exact location and time of meeting will be provided at time of registration. Car pool fees are required for some trips and should be paid directly to your driver.
**********
Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, September 1, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
View Details
Sunday, September 2, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Every Sunday Weekly from 05/20/2018 to 09/30/2018
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details
**********
Linnaean Society of New York
Saturday, September 1, 2018 (rescheduled from 15th)
Central Park Horticultural Walk
Leader: Regina Alvarez
No registration.
Public transportation: Meet at 103rd Street and Central Park West at 10:00am
Join botanist Regina Alvarez for a walk in the North Woods and the Wildflower Meadow for a late summer look at the flowering plants and shrubs of Central Park’s north end. Along with fellow botanist Daniel Atha, Regina has been collecting herbarium specimens of every species growing wild in the Park. Already they have discovered new botanical records and have rediscovered plants not seen since the 1850s. Regina is a former director of horticulture and a woodland manager for the Central Park Conservancy. Currently she is an adjunct professor of botany at the City University of New York.
**********
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
**********
New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, September 1, 2018, 9:00am – 10:30am
Van Cortlandt Fall Bird Walks
Saturdays, September 1 - November 24, 9-10:30am
Guides: NYC Audubon 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.
**********
North Shore Audubon
Saturday, September 1, 2018, 9:30am – 12:00pm
Garvies Point Museum-Preserve, Glen Cove
See "Walk locations" for directions (map).
Wear water-resistant footwear, bring binoculars and drinking water. Wear long pants and socks so you do not touch poison ivy. "Leaderless" walk. May be cancelled in case of inclement weather.
**********
NYC WILD!
Sundays, 9:00am - June 3, 2018 through September 30, 2018
Hudson River Park Nature Walk
Meet: Christopher Street Fountain, north of Pier 40. Cross at Christopher Street.
Cost: Free
Duration: Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Distance: 1 1/2 to 2 miles
Subway and Bus lines: #1 Train to Christopher Street; M8 Bus
HUDSON RIVER PARK brings attention to its vital role in creating one of the scarcest resources in all of Manhattan - wildlife habitat! Learn about Hudson River Park's wildlife by joingin experienced naturalists on guided nature walks along the Park's esplanade.
Enjoy a meandering waterfront walk while viewing and learning about the park's flora and fauna, including some of the more than 100 different species of birds identified within Park boundaries. Peek into some of our gardens to discover butterflies, dragonflies and other interesting insects. Get to know the native plants that thrive in unexpected places in and around the river's edge. Each nature walk is unique and offers a one-of-a-kind treasure hunt-like experience.
Nature guides will meet participants at the Christopher Street Fountain (dry during Summer 2013), just north of Pier 40 (cross at Christopher Street) at 9AM sharp. Please wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. Loud noises and barking tend to startle wildlife and reduce viewing opportunites - please be considerate and leave your dog at home.
Hudson River Park WILD! is a project of Hudson River Park. Visit www.hudsonriverpark.org for full Hudson River Park Events and Information
Click HERE to make your FREE reservation on Eventbrite NOW.
**********
South Shore Audubon Society
September 2, 2018
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
From the Southern State Parkway, travel west to the Belt Parkway. Exit at Cross Bay Boulevard (Exit 17) south. Continue south on Cross Bay Blvd. through Howard Beach and over the North Channel Bridge (also known as the Congressman Joseph P. Addabbo Bridge). The entrance to the refuge parking lot is on the right side of the road, at a traffic light approximately one and a half miles past the bridge.
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.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
New York City Rare Bird Alert
Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 24, 2018:
- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 24, 2018
* NYNY1808.24
- Birds mentioned
TRINDADE PETREL+
BLACK-CAPPED PETREL+
AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER+
LEACH'S STORM-PETREL+
BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL+
BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Northern Gannet
Cattle Egret
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Dunlin
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
White-rumped Sandpiper
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Red-headed Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Worm-eating Warbler
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
LARK SPARROW
DICKCISSEL
Bobolink
Orchard Oriole
- Transcript
If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm
You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}org.
If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:
Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883
Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070
Compilers: Tom Burke and Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber: Ben Cacace
BEGIN TAPE
Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, August 24th 2018 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are pelagic trip results including TRINDADE PETREL and BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS, BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL, LEACH'S STORM-PETREL, AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER, BRIDLED TERN and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and such shorebirds as AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, MARBLED GODWIT, HUDSONIAN GODWIT and BAIRD'S SANDPIPER and such passerines as LARK SPARROW, DICKCISSEL and GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER.
A good week for birds made spectacular by a pelagic trip leaving Brooklyn Sunday evening. This See Life Paulagics trip aboard the Brooklyn VI with its excellent crew arrived well out into Hudson Canyon by dawn Monday morning. A large chum slick bringing birds into the boat paid huge dividends when a TRINDADE PETREL (treeng-DAH-jee) appeared off the bow and spent the next few minutes making several close passes by and around the boat. Excellent photos were obtained. This petrel, also referred to as TRINDADE PETREL (treen-DAH-dee), in a more anglicized form, is named for the main island it breeds on off southeastern Brazil. Other species encountered included 21 BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS, 19 BAND-RUMPED, 23 LEACH'S and 716 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, 6 AUDUBON'S, 43 CORY'S, 39 GREAT and 1 SOOTY SHEARWATER, 2 POMARINE JAEGERS, 2 BRIDLED TERNS and 21 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES plus some exciting sea mammals and fishes. A great trip!
With shorebird season peaking so is the number of shorebirds appearing locally. A MARBLED GODWIT lingering at Breezy Point at least to Tuesday was joined by one found out at Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes on Monday and still present Wednesday. And this just in an HUDSONIAN GODWIT was present this evening just north of the Raunt at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge just in time and hopefully lingering for tomorrow's Shorebird Festival at the bay. Our initial local AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was spotted off the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End today while the sod fields out east have so far produced a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER as of Wednesday and still reported today on the east side of Yaphank Avenue south of Long Island Expressway exit 67. One or two WHIMBREL were noted at Brooklyn's Plumb Beach to Tuesday when 8 were on the beach near the Jones Beach West End jetty. Another was at Cupsogue Wednesday along with a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, 2 DUNLIN and a good assortment of species including 17 ROYAL TERNS.
An early morning seawatch at Cupsogue produced 23 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 3 NORTHERN GANNETS, [3] PARASITIC JAEGERS and a BLACK TERN. Two CASPIAN TERNS were noted both at Breezy Point Monday and Plumb Beach Thursday and a GULL-BILLED TERN was at Plumb Beach Sunday.
A CATTLE EGRET visited Brooklyn's Green-wood Cemetery from last Sunday at least to Tuesday and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was seen again Tuesday in Connetquot River State Park.
Among the passerines, last Saturday provided a LARK SPARROW at the volleyball courts at Robert Moses State Park field 2 and later that day two were seen together at Jones Beach West End just east of the turnaround with at least one continuing along the roadway there to Tuesday. A few DICKCISSELS, [...] overhead flybys featured 1 at Oak Beach last Saturday and 1 in Central Park and 2 at Robert Moses State Park all today.
Highlights among the warblers noted this week were GOLDEN-WINGED in Central Park from Tuesday and such others as WORM-EATING, HOODED, WILSON'S, CAPE MAY, BLACKBURNIAN, PRAIRIE and numerous other species.
Both BLACK-BILLED and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS were encountered, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS were spotted in both Central and Prospect Parks and other migrants featured PURPLE MARTIN, CLIFF SWALLOW, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, ORCHARD ORIOLE and BOBOLINK. COMMON NIGHTHAWKS are also now beginning to visit appropriate local sites in the evening as they move south sometimes in large numbers.
To phone in reports on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922.
This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.
- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 24, 2018
* NYNY1808.24
- Birds mentioned
TRINDADE PETREL+
BLACK-CAPPED PETREL+
AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER+
LEACH'S STORM-PETREL+
BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL+
BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Northern Gannet
Cattle Egret
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER
Whimbrel
HUDSONIAN GODWIT
MARBLED GODWIT
Dunlin
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
White-rumped Sandpiper
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Red-headed Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Worm-eating Warbler
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
LARK SPARROW
DICKCISSEL
Bobolink
Orchard Oriole
- Transcript
If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm
You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}org.
If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:
Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883
Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070
Compilers: Tom Burke and Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber: Ben Cacace
BEGIN TAPE
Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, August 24th 2018 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are pelagic trip results including TRINDADE PETREL and BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS, BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL, LEACH'S STORM-PETREL, AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER, BRIDLED TERN and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and such shorebirds as AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, MARBLED GODWIT, HUDSONIAN GODWIT and BAIRD'S SANDPIPER and such passerines as LARK SPARROW, DICKCISSEL and GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER.
A good week for birds made spectacular by a pelagic trip leaving Brooklyn Sunday evening. This See Life Paulagics trip aboard the Brooklyn VI with its excellent crew arrived well out into Hudson Canyon by dawn Monday morning. A large chum slick bringing birds into the boat paid huge dividends when a TRINDADE PETREL (treeng-DAH-jee) appeared off the bow and spent the next few minutes making several close passes by and around the boat. Excellent photos were obtained. This petrel, also referred to as TRINDADE PETREL (treen-DAH-dee), in a more anglicized form, is named for the main island it breeds on off southeastern Brazil. Other species encountered included 21 BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS, 19 BAND-RUMPED, 23 LEACH'S and 716 WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS, 6 AUDUBON'S, 43 CORY'S, 39 GREAT and 1 SOOTY SHEARWATER, 2 POMARINE JAEGERS, 2 BRIDLED TERNS and 21 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES plus some exciting sea mammals and fishes. A great trip!
With shorebird season peaking so is the number of shorebirds appearing locally. A MARBLED GODWIT lingering at Breezy Point at least to Tuesday was joined by one found out at Cupsogue County Park in West Hampton Dunes on Monday and still present Wednesday. And this just in an HUDSONIAN GODWIT was present this evening just north of the Raunt at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge just in time and hopefully lingering for tomorrow's Shorebird Festival at the bay. Our initial local AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER was spotted off the Coast Guard Station at Jones Beach West End today while the sod fields out east have so far produced a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER as of Wednesday and still reported today on the east side of Yaphank Avenue south of Long Island Expressway exit 67. One or two WHIMBREL were noted at Brooklyn's Plumb Beach to Tuesday when 8 were on the beach near the Jones Beach West End jetty. Another was at Cupsogue Wednesday along with a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, 2 DUNLIN and a good assortment of species including 17 ROYAL TERNS.
An early morning seawatch at Cupsogue produced 23 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 3 NORTHERN GANNETS, [3] PARASITIC JAEGERS and a BLACK TERN. Two CASPIAN TERNS were noted both at Breezy Point Monday and Plumb Beach Thursday and a GULL-BILLED TERN was at Plumb Beach Sunday.
A CATTLE EGRET visited Brooklyn's Green-wood Cemetery from last Sunday at least to Tuesday and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was seen again Tuesday in Connetquot River State Park.
Among the passerines, last Saturday provided a LARK SPARROW at the volleyball courts at Robert Moses State Park field 2 and later that day two were seen together at Jones Beach West End just east of the turnaround with at least one continuing along the roadway there to Tuesday. A few DICKCISSELS, [...] overhead flybys featured 1 at Oak Beach last Saturday and 1 in Central Park and 2 at Robert Moses State Park all today.
Highlights among the warblers noted this week were GOLDEN-WINGED in Central Park from Tuesday and such others as WORM-EATING, HOODED, WILSON'S, CAPE MAY, BLACKBURNIAN, PRAIRIE and numerous other species.
Both BLACK-BILLED and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS were encountered, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS were spotted in both Central and Prospect Parks and other migrants featured PURPLE MARTIN, CLIFF SWALLOW, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, ORCHARD ORIOLE and BOBOLINK. COMMON NIGHTHAWKS are also now beginning to visit appropriate local sites in the evening as they move south sometimes in large numbers.
To phone in reports on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922.
This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Treehugger Tuesday
From Mother Nature Network:
Nature reserve in Bolivia offers hope for wild macaws on the brink
Jaymi Heimbuch
A 2017 expedition in Bolivia revealed a wonderful surprise for the future of the rare Blue-throated Macaw: a newly discovered nesting area. And now, a little over a year later, Asociación Armonía (with support from American Bird Conservancy, the International Conservation Fund of Canada, IUCN Netherlands, and World Land Trust) has purchased 1,680 acres and turned that breeding grounds into a protected nature reserve.
As with many macaw species, the illegal pet trade has devastated wild populations. Only an estimated 300 individuals remain in the wild. Where they breed and nest had been a mystery for many years.
The expedition team discovered a handful of nests with breeding pairs, including two nests near a populated farm where the secretive birds seemed unbothered by proximity to humans. The expedition team hoped that the discovery will also help reveal information about the blue-throated macaw's breeding behavior and life cycle.
The hope is that the birds' population will increase on the protected land through the organization's artificial nest box program. Since the nest boxes were installed, 51 birds have fledged from the area and a pair of macaws returned last year to breed.
This new reserve combined with the organization's Barba Azul Nature Reserve creates a total protected land area of 28,862 acres for the blue-throated macaws.
"Increasing the Blue-throated Macaw population is more likely now that Armonía has secured this important site as a reserve," said Rodrigo Soria, executive director of Asociación Armonía. "This acquisition means that we can continue the successful nest box program without worry of changing land ownership and management."
The new nature reserve is called the Laney Rickman Blue-throated Macaw Reserve in tribute to Laney Rickman, founder of the Texas-based nonprofit Bird Endowment. Rickman expanded and supported the macaw nest box program in partnership with Asociación Armonía.
Nature reserve in Bolivia offers hope for wild macaws on the brink
Jaymi Heimbuch
A 2017 expedition in Bolivia revealed a wonderful surprise for the future of the rare Blue-throated Macaw: a newly discovered nesting area. And now, a little over a year later, Asociación Armonía (with support from American Bird Conservancy, the International Conservation Fund of Canada, IUCN Netherlands, and World Land Trust) has purchased 1,680 acres and turned that breeding grounds into a protected nature reserve.
As with many macaw species, the illegal pet trade has devastated wild populations. Only an estimated 300 individuals remain in the wild. Where they breed and nest had been a mystery for many years.
The expedition team discovered a handful of nests with breeding pairs, including two nests near a populated farm where the secretive birds seemed unbothered by proximity to humans. The expedition team hoped that the discovery will also help reveal information about the blue-throated macaw's breeding behavior and life cycle.
The hope is that the birds' population will increase on the protected land through the organization's artificial nest box program. Since the nest boxes were installed, 51 birds have fledged from the area and a pair of macaws returned last year to breed.
This new reserve combined with the organization's Barba Azul Nature Reserve creates a total protected land area of 28,862 acres for the blue-throated macaws.
"Increasing the Blue-throated Macaw population is more likely now that Armonía has secured this important site as a reserve," said Rodrigo Soria, executive director of Asociación Armonía. "This acquisition means that we can continue the successful nest box program without worry of changing land ownership and management."
The new nature reserve is called the Laney Rickman Blue-throated Macaw Reserve in tribute to Laney Rickman, founder of the Texas-based nonprofit Bird Endowment. Rickman expanded and supported the macaw nest box program in partnership with Asociación Armonía.
Monday, August 20, 2018
Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips
Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for Saturday, August 25, 2018 to Sunday, August 26, 2018:
Bedford Audubon Society
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 9:00am
Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch
The fall Hawkwatch starts Saturday, August 25! Join us at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford Corners every day from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting, to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
See more details
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 10:00am - 1:00pm
Butterflies With Naturalist Tait Johansson
Bylane Farm, 35 Todd Rd., Katonah
Learn the natural history and identification of our local butterflies with indoor instruction and an outdoor butterfly walk. Bring binoculars, close-focusing ones if possible, and lunch. Cost includes book and is $35 for members, $55 for non-members (and we’ll credit you with a $35 membership for the year). Level of difficulty: Easy. Limited to 8 people. Please register by August 21 with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914.302.9713.
See more details
**********
Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 7:30am to 5:00pm
13th Annual Jamaica Bay Shorebird Festival
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Learn about shorebird identification, behavior and biology during the peak shorebird migration time in NYC.
View Details
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
View Details
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 8:00pm to 9:30pm
Full Sturgeon Moon Hike
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Experience the park after dark and learn more about the nocturnal residents of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
View Details
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 10:00am to 12:30pm
Hike the Trails of the North Forty Natural Area
Location: Floyd Bennett Field- Ryan Visitor Center
Join American Littoral Society naturalist Mickey Maxwell Cohen and discover the birds, wildflowers, and unique foliage in this developing maritime woodland.
View Details
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Every Sunday Weekly from 05/20/2018 to 09/30/2018
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details
**********
Great South Bay Audubon Society
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 8:00am
Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Leader(s): John Gluth (631-827-0120), Bob Grover (516-318-8536)
Southern State Pkwy. to Belt Pkwy. to Exit 17, Cross Bay Blvd. South. Continue south for about 2 miles. Look for entrance of refuge on the right (west) side. There are signs for park entrance.
**********
Hudson River Audubon Society
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Marshlands Conservancy
7:00am – Meet at Marshlands Nature Center
We will walk to Parson’s Point looking for the first fall migrants, then shorebirds on the incoming tide.
http://www.hras.org/wtobird/marshlands.html
**********
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
**********
New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 7:30am – 4:30pm
13th Annual Shorebird Festival at Jamaica Bay
During the past 40 years, over 40 species of shorebirds (including rare and accidental vagrants) have been recorded at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East and West Ponds from mid-July through October, with the greatest diversity and abundance usually occurring in August. We invite you to attend our 13th annual celebration at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, August 25. Activities include guided shorebird walks, family programming, and talks from experts on shorebird conservation, shorebird identification, and Jamaica Bay.
Free bus transportation from Manhattan to Jamaica Bay is available for NYC Audubon members at the Student/Senior level and up. Meet at 71 West 23rd Street at 6:30am. Contact NYC Audubon at 212-691-7483 to reserve a seat. For more information, contact NYC Audubon at 212-691-7483, American Littoral Society at 718-474-0896, or Don Riepe at donriepe@gmail.com. The program is free, but suggested donations of $20 for adults (children are free) to NYC Audubon are most welcome to offset the festival cost.
The Shorebird Festival is a NYC Audubon partnership program with American Littoral Society and Gateway National Recreation Area.
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 8am – 11am
Prospect Park Birdwalk
Guide: Gabriel Willow
Join Gabriel Willow for a leisurely walk to see late arriving migrants and breeding bird residents of “Brooklyn's backyard.” Beautiful Prospect Park has a wide variety of habitats that attract a large number of migrants and breeding bird species—significantly more than Central Park, in fact. We will explore the park's meadows, forests, and waterways in search of waterfowl, warblers, tanagers, and some of the other species that call the park home. Limited to 15. $36 (25) per walk
Click here to register
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 2pm – 3pm
Governors Island Bird Walk
Guide: NYC Audubon
Meet at Nolan Park house #17. Join us for a bird walk around beautiful and historic Governors Island, which boasts over 192 species recorded on ebird.org. Learn about the island’s fascinating history and search for waterbirds, raptors, waterfowl, and more. Binoculars are available. No registration necessary. No limit. Free
**********
Protectors of Pine Oak Woods
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Arden Heights Woods
Participants will meet at the north end of Carlton Boulevard (off Woodrow Road), and then wander through Arden Heights Woods to get some idea of the changes the Department of Parks will be soon making. (It may be buggy in the low areas, so you might want to bring spray.) We’ll look at the woods to see what’s happening before the trees begin to wind down for the season.
Call Don Recklies at 718-768-9036 for more information.
Read More
**********
Queens County Bird Club
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Leader: Eric Miller 917-279-7530
Meet: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 175-10 Cross Bay Blvd, Broad Channel, NY 11693 (map)
**********
South Shore Audubon Society
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Mill Pond Park
Use street parking on the westbound side of Merrick Road. The park is four blocks west of the Wantagh State Parkway.
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.
**********
Urban Park Rangers
Saturday, August 25, 2018
White Island Sunset Canoe Trip (Advanced) at Marine Park, Brooklyn
5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Explore the waters of Gerritsen Creek and paddle by this special island where only wildflowers and wild birds reside. Prior canoe experience required. Registration is required.
Free!
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Birding at Arthur Kill Road and Brookfield Avenue (in Brookfield Park), Staten Island
11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Our Urban Park Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle.
Free!
Bedford Audubon Society
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 9:00am
Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch
The fall Hawkwatch starts Saturday, August 25! Join us at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary on Chestnut Ridge Road in Bedford Corners every day from 9 am to 5 pm, weather permitting, to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
See more details
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 10:00am - 1:00pm
Butterflies With Naturalist Tait Johansson
Bylane Farm, 35 Todd Rd., Katonah
Learn the natural history and identification of our local butterflies with indoor instruction and an outdoor butterfly walk. Bring binoculars, close-focusing ones if possible, and lunch. Cost includes book and is $35 for members, $55 for non-members (and we’ll credit you with a $35 membership for the year). Level of difficulty: Easy. Limited to 8 people. Please register by August 21 with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914.302.9713.
See more details
**********
Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 7:30am to 5:00pm
13th Annual Jamaica Bay Shorebird Festival
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Learn about shorebird identification, behavior and biology during the peak shorebird migration time in NYC.
View Details
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
View Details
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 8:00pm to 9:30pm
Full Sturgeon Moon Hike
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Experience the park after dark and learn more about the nocturnal residents of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
View Details
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 10:00am to 12:30pm
Hike the Trails of the North Forty Natural Area
Location: Floyd Bennett Field- Ryan Visitor Center
Join American Littoral Society naturalist Mickey Maxwell Cohen and discover the birds, wildflowers, and unique foliage in this developing maritime woodland.
View Details
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Every Sunday Weekly from 05/20/2018 to 09/30/2018
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details
**********
Great South Bay Audubon Society
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 8:00am
Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Leader(s): John Gluth (631-827-0120), Bob Grover (516-318-8536)
Southern State Pkwy. to Belt Pkwy. to Exit 17, Cross Bay Blvd. South. Continue south for about 2 miles. Look for entrance of refuge on the right (west) side. There are signs for park entrance.
**********
Hudson River Audubon Society
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Marshlands Conservancy
7:00am – Meet at Marshlands Nature Center
We will walk to Parson’s Point looking for the first fall migrants, then shorebirds on the incoming tide.
http://www.hras.org/wtobird/marshlands.html
**********
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
**********
New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, August 25, 2018, 7:30am – 4:30pm
13th Annual Shorebird Festival at Jamaica Bay
During the past 40 years, over 40 species of shorebirds (including rare and accidental vagrants) have been recorded at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East and West Ponds from mid-July through October, with the greatest diversity and abundance usually occurring in August. We invite you to attend our 13th annual celebration at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, August 25. Activities include guided shorebird walks, family programming, and talks from experts on shorebird conservation, shorebird identification, and Jamaica Bay.
Free bus transportation from Manhattan to Jamaica Bay is available for NYC Audubon members at the Student/Senior level and up. Meet at 71 West 23rd Street at 6:30am. Contact NYC Audubon at 212-691-7483 to reserve a seat. For more information, contact NYC Audubon at 212-691-7483, American Littoral Society at 718-474-0896, or Don Riepe at donriepe@gmail.com. The program is free, but suggested donations of $20 for adults (children are free) to NYC Audubon are most welcome to offset the festival cost.
The Shorebird Festival is a NYC Audubon partnership program with American Littoral Society and Gateway National Recreation Area.
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 8am – 11am
Prospect Park Birdwalk
Guide: Gabriel Willow
Join Gabriel Willow for a leisurely walk to see late arriving migrants and breeding bird residents of “Brooklyn's backyard.” Beautiful Prospect Park has a wide variety of habitats that attract a large number of migrants and breeding bird species—significantly more than Central Park, in fact. We will explore the park's meadows, forests, and waterways in search of waterfowl, warblers, tanagers, and some of the other species that call the park home. Limited to 15. $36 (25) per walk
Click here to register
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 2pm – 3pm
Governors Island Bird Walk
Guide: NYC Audubon
Meet at Nolan Park house #17. Join us for a bird walk around beautiful and historic Governors Island, which boasts over 192 species recorded on ebird.org. Learn about the island’s fascinating history and search for waterbirds, raptors, waterfowl, and more. Binoculars are available. No registration necessary. No limit. Free
**********
Protectors of Pine Oak Woods
Sunday, August 26, 2018, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Arden Heights Woods
Participants will meet at the north end of Carlton Boulevard (off Woodrow Road), and then wander through Arden Heights Woods to get some idea of the changes the Department of Parks will be soon making. (It may be buggy in the low areas, so you might want to bring spray.) We’ll look at the woods to see what’s happening before the trees begin to wind down for the season.
Call Don Recklies at 718-768-9036 for more information.
Read More
**********
Queens County Bird Club
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Leader: Eric Miller 917-279-7530
Meet: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 175-10 Cross Bay Blvd, Broad Channel, NY 11693 (map)
**********
South Shore Audubon Society
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Mill Pond Park
Use street parking on the westbound side of Merrick Road. The park is four blocks west of the Wantagh State Parkway.
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.
**********
Urban Park Rangers
Saturday, August 25, 2018
White Island Sunset Canoe Trip (Advanced) at Marine Park, Brooklyn
5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Explore the waters of Gerritsen Creek and paddle by this special island where only wildflowers and wild birds reside. Prior canoe experience required. Registration is required.
Free!
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Birding at Arthur Kill Road and Brookfield Avenue (in Brookfield Park), Staten Island
11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Our Urban Park Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle.
Free!
Saturday, August 18, 2018
New York City Rare Bird Alert
Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 17, 2018:
- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 17, 2018
* NYNY1808.17
- Birds mentioned
BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
BROWN PELICAN
UPLAND SANDPIPER
WHIMBREL
MARBLED GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Parasitic Jaeger
CASPIAN TERN
BLACK TERN
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Purple Martin
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Blue-winged Warbler
MOURNING WARBLER
Hooded Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
BLUE GROSBEAK
- Transcript
If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm
You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}org.
If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:
Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883
Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070
Compilers: Tom Burke and Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber: Ben Cacace
BEGIN TAPE
Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, August 17th 2018 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are BRIDLED TERN, BROWN PELICAN, MARBLED GODWIT, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, UPLAND SANDPIPER, WHIMBREL and other shorebirds, CASPIAN TERN, BLACK TERN, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER and MOURNING WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAK.
The adult BRIDLED TERN visiting Great Gull Island since August 3rd was still present yesterday but not seen there today thus perhaps moving on. The tern was mostly seen roosting on or feeding around the northeastern corner of this private research station for breeding Common and Roseate Terns. Also noted during the week were a few GREAT and CORY'S SHEARWATERS and up to 8 PARASITIC JAEGERS. This count from last Sunday.
The only BROWN PELICAN report this week was from last Saturday off Staten Island's Miller Field.
Otherwise it was mostly a week for shorebirds. At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge unfortunately a deluge of rain last Sunday had an adverse impact on both ponds raising the water to much less productive levels. The numbers of STILT and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were reduced as a result but the smaller shorebirds were impacted the most. Sunday morning a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and a few WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were on the East Pond and a CASPIAN TERN showed up on the East Pond Tuesday. At Plumb Beach in Brooklyn 3 MARBLED GODWITS appeared last Sunday after the storm. But today at Plumb there were a WHIMBREL and 4 CASPIAN TERNS. Two other MARBLED GODWITS this week included one hanging out with American Oystercatchers at Breezy Point Wednesday through today and one at Cupsogue County Park yesterday while other WHIMBRELS featured one Monday at Great Kills Park on Staten Island and 5 Wednesday at Cedar Beach in Southold on the north fork this a regular sight for this species. A nice find was an UPLAND SANDPIPER spotted last Saturday as it flew over Floyd Bennett Field. Five WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were also among the shorebirds at Floyd Bennett Sunday. A treat for whale watchers on a Cresli trip on a Viking boat out of Montauk last Wednesday were four RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and also noted were a small number of CORY'S, GREAT and SOOTY SHEARWATERS.
A BLACK TERN was spotted at Breezy Point today and some ROYAL TERNS continue along the south shore of Long Island.
Highlights among the slowly increasing number of landbirds this week were a female GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER in Central Park Wednesday and a MOURNING WARBLER in Prospect Park the day before. Other warblers have included BLUE-WINGED, NORTHERN PARULA, OVENBIRD, LOUISIANA and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES, BLACK-THROATED BLUE and BLACK-THROATED GREEN, BLACKBURNIAN, MAGNOLIA, PRAIRIE and CANADA. Also HOODED WARBLER near Golden's Bridge in Westchester County Monday.
Other migrants have featured both BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS. The onset of the COMMON NIGHTHAWK migration and scattered PURPLE MARTINS. Three BLUE GROSBEAKS were still around their nesting area at the Calverton Grasslands last Sunday.
To phone in reports on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922.
This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.
- End transcript
- RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 17, 2018
* NYNY1808.17
- Birds mentioned
BRIDLED TERN+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)
Cory's Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
BROWN PELICAN
UPLAND SANDPIPER
WHIMBREL
MARBLED GODWIT
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
Parasitic Jaeger
CASPIAN TERN
BLACK TERN
Royal Tern
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Purple Martin
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Blue-winged Warbler
MOURNING WARBLER
Hooded Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
BLUE GROSBEAK
- Transcript
If followed by (+) please submit documentation of your report electronically and use the NYSARC online submission form found at http://www.nybirds.org/NYSARC/goodreport.htm
You can also send reports and digital image files via email to nysarc44(at)nybirds{dot}org.
If electronic submission is not possible, hardcopy reports and photos or sketches are welcome. Hardcopy documentation should be mailed to:
Gary Chapin - Secretary
NYS Avian Records Committee (NYSARC)
125 Pine Springs Drive
Ticonderoga, NY 12883
Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert
Number: (212) 979-3070
Compilers: Tom Burke and Tony Lauro
Coverage: New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
Transcriber: Ben Cacace
BEGIN TAPE
Greetings. This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, August 17th 2018 at 9pm. The highlights of today's tape are BRIDLED TERN, BROWN PELICAN, MARBLED GODWIT, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, UPLAND SANDPIPER, WHIMBREL and other shorebirds, CASPIAN TERN, BLACK TERN, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER and MOURNING WARBLER and BLUE GROSBEAK.
The adult BRIDLED TERN visiting Great Gull Island since August 3rd was still present yesterday but not seen there today thus perhaps moving on. The tern was mostly seen roosting on or feeding around the northeastern corner of this private research station for breeding Common and Roseate Terns. Also noted during the week were a few GREAT and CORY'S SHEARWATERS and up to 8 PARASITIC JAEGERS. This count from last Sunday.
The only BROWN PELICAN report this week was from last Saturday off Staten Island's Miller Field.
Otherwise it was mostly a week for shorebirds. At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge unfortunately a deluge of rain last Sunday had an adverse impact on both ponds raising the water to much less productive levels. The numbers of STILT and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were reduced as a result but the smaller shorebirds were impacted the most. Sunday morning a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and a few WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were on the East Pond and a CASPIAN TERN showed up on the East Pond Tuesday. At Plumb Beach in Brooklyn 3 MARBLED GODWITS appeared last Sunday after the storm. But today at Plumb there were a WHIMBREL and 4 CASPIAN TERNS. Two other MARBLED GODWITS this week included one hanging out with American Oystercatchers at Breezy Point Wednesday through today and one at Cupsogue County Park yesterday while other WHIMBRELS featured one Monday at Great Kills Park on Staten Island and 5 Wednesday at Cedar Beach in Southold on the north fork this a regular sight for this species. A nice find was an UPLAND SANDPIPER spotted last Saturday as it flew over Floyd Bennett Field. Five WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were also among the shorebirds at Floyd Bennett Sunday. A treat for whale watchers on a Cresli trip on a Viking boat out of Montauk last Wednesday were four RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and also noted were a small number of CORY'S, GREAT and SOOTY SHEARWATERS.
A BLACK TERN was spotted at Breezy Point today and some ROYAL TERNS continue along the south shore of Long Island.
Highlights among the slowly increasing number of landbirds this week were a female GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER in Central Park Wednesday and a MOURNING WARBLER in Prospect Park the day before. Other warblers have included BLUE-WINGED, NORTHERN PARULA, OVENBIRD, LOUISIANA and NORTHERN WATERTHRUSHES, BLACK-THROATED BLUE and BLACK-THROATED GREEN, BLACKBURNIAN, MAGNOLIA, PRAIRIE and CANADA. Also HOODED WARBLER near Golden's Bridge in Westchester County Monday.
Other migrants have featured both BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO and YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS. The onset of the COMMON NIGHTHAWK migration and scattered PURPLE MARTINS. Three BLUE GROSBEAKS were still around their nesting area at the Calverton Grasslands last Sunday.
To phone in reports on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922.
This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.
- End transcript
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Treehugger Tuesday
From Treehugger.com:
Asbestos, the magic mineral, is back!
Lloyd Alter
August 9, 2018
The EPA is making it easier to get asbestos products approved, but it’s unlikely anyone will bite.
Asbestos really is a miracle material. In buildings, siding made from it lasted forever; Vinyl-asbestos floor tiles never wore out; Transite pipe was non-combustible; Asbestos fireproofing worked really well in steel buildings and all the ships at sea during the World Wars.
As Henry Grabar of Slate notes, the president is a former real estate developer of a certain age. I am too, and we both loved the stuff, although I am younger by enough years that it was already falling out of use.
He still thinks it’s great and blames the mob for pushing for its removal, and tweeted in 2012 that “If we didn't remove incredibly powerful fire retardant asbestos & replace it with junk that doesn't work, the World Trade Center would never have burned down.”
In some ways, he is not wrong; removing it can cause more harm and danger than just leaving it in place- if it is encapsulated in a Transite pipe or a floor tile, it’s not hurting anyone. Saw it up and create asbestos dust and you have a issues- as noted in an earlier post, "the problems come when you are the poor schlepper who is making something with it, renovating or demolishing; a single asbestos fiber in the lungs can cause “irreversible damage - leading to asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma.”
Asbestos was never banned in the USA.
Bans didn’t make asbestos go away; lawsuits did. Manufacturer Johns-Manville Corporation became the biggest corporate bankruptcy in history in 1982; payouts to victims run into the billions. Since then, use has fallen by 99.9 percent. Mines all over the world have closed; just about the only place you can still get it is from Russia, which some suspect might have something to do with this President’s change in the regulations.
In the USA, certain uses were restricted, but it was never banned; as Henry Grabar explains:
In 1989, the EPA tried to ban asbestos outright, under a 1976 law called the Toxic Substances Control Act. The phased prohibition was overturned by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991, and the agency succeeded in halting only six then-obsolete uses of asbestos, including corrugated paper and flooring felt.
It is still being imported for limited uses; as noted in our recent post on PVC production, 480 tons are brought in every year for diaphragms needed to make chlorine.
What has happened now under the Trump administration is that the EPA has issued a “significant new use rule” or SNUR, which allows companies to apply to make products on a case by case basis. They list the products open for consideration:
Adhesives, sealants, and roof and non-roof coatings; arc chutes; beater-add gaskets; extruded sealant tape and other tape; filler for acetylene cylinders; high-grade electrical paper; millboard; missile liner; pipeline wrap; reinforced plastics; roofing felt; separators in fuel cells and batteries; vinyl-asbestos floor tile; and any other building material (other than cement).
I don’t know why they excluded cement, it made terrific, durable, fireproof siding. But none of this matters; it is unlikely that any company is going to use the stuff. Lawsuits continue to be filed; lawyers are so into asbestos litigation that they are making youtube videos about it. Removal of anything involving asbestos is expensive. If it is in a building, it seriously hits the value of the property. In this case, the market is the new EPA.
Asbestos, the magic mineral, is back!
Lloyd Alter
August 9, 2018
The EPA is making it easier to get asbestos products approved, but it’s unlikely anyone will bite.
Asbestos really is a miracle material. In buildings, siding made from it lasted forever; Vinyl-asbestos floor tiles never wore out; Transite pipe was non-combustible; Asbestos fireproofing worked really well in steel buildings and all the ships at sea during the World Wars.
As Henry Grabar of Slate notes, the president is a former real estate developer of a certain age. I am too, and we both loved the stuff, although I am younger by enough years that it was already falling out of use.
He still thinks it’s great and blames the mob for pushing for its removal, and tweeted in 2012 that “If we didn't remove incredibly powerful fire retardant asbestos & replace it with junk that doesn't work, the World Trade Center would never have burned down.”
In some ways, he is not wrong; removing it can cause more harm and danger than just leaving it in place- if it is encapsulated in a Transite pipe or a floor tile, it’s not hurting anyone. Saw it up and create asbestos dust and you have a issues- as noted in an earlier post, "the problems come when you are the poor schlepper who is making something with it, renovating or demolishing; a single asbestos fiber in the lungs can cause “irreversible damage - leading to asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma.”
Asbestos was never banned in the USA.
Bans didn’t make asbestos go away; lawsuits did. Manufacturer Johns-Manville Corporation became the biggest corporate bankruptcy in history in 1982; payouts to victims run into the billions. Since then, use has fallen by 99.9 percent. Mines all over the world have closed; just about the only place you can still get it is from Russia, which some suspect might have something to do with this President’s change in the regulations.
In the USA, certain uses were restricted, but it was never banned; as Henry Grabar explains:
In 1989, the EPA tried to ban asbestos outright, under a 1976 law called the Toxic Substances Control Act. The phased prohibition was overturned by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991, and the agency succeeded in halting only six then-obsolete uses of asbestos, including corrugated paper and flooring felt.
It is still being imported for limited uses; as noted in our recent post on PVC production, 480 tons are brought in every year for diaphragms needed to make chlorine.
What has happened now under the Trump administration is that the EPA has issued a “significant new use rule” or SNUR, which allows companies to apply to make products on a case by case basis. They list the products open for consideration:
Adhesives, sealants, and roof and non-roof coatings; arc chutes; beater-add gaskets; extruded sealant tape and other tape; filler for acetylene cylinders; high-grade electrical paper; millboard; missile liner; pipeline wrap; reinforced plastics; roofing felt; separators in fuel cells and batteries; vinyl-asbestos floor tile; and any other building material (other than cement).
I don’t know why they excluded cement, it made terrific, durable, fireproof siding. But none of this matters; it is unlikely that any company is going to use the stuff. Lawsuits continue to be filed; lawyers are so into asbestos litigation that they are making youtube videos about it. Removal of anything involving asbestos is expensive. If it is in a building, it seriously hits the value of the property. In this case, the market is the new EPA.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips
Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for Saturday, August 18, 2018 to Sunday, August 19, 2018:
Freshkills Park
Sunday, August 19, 2018, 1:30pm
Kayak Tour
Kayak through Freshkills Park and enjoy a two-mile excursion along the tidal waterways.
Read More
Sign Up
**********
Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, August 18, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
View Details
Sunday, August 19, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Every Sunday Weekly from 05/20/2018 to 09/30/2018
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details
**********
Green-Wood Cemetery
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Birding in Peace
Summer Birding Sundays
Except for some lingering individuals, by the end of the first week in June nearly all the northbound migrants will have disappeared from the city. Locally nesting birds will be incubating eggs or busily raising their first broods. In July we should see the offspring of our resident Red-tailed Hawks bravely preparing to leave the nest. Warbler songs will be replaced by chirring Cicadas and the tweets of fledgling birds. Butterflies and dragonflies are abundant. By late-July, expect the arrival of the first southbound migrants.
Before our gates open to the general public, birding expert Rob Jett leads these peaceful Saturday/Sunday morning walking tours to discover the many birds that call Green-Wood home. Green-Wood’s official birding checklist is available to pick up from the security guard at the main entrance on 25th Street or to print here. Comfortable footwear is recommended.
$10 for members of Green-Wood and BHS / $15 for non-members
Click here for our inclement weather policy.
**********
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
**********
Linnaean Society of New York
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Jamaica Bay 25th Annual Tom Davis Memorial Shorebird Walk
Leader and registrar: Sean Sime — seansime@seansime.com or 917-324-2735
Registration opens: August 6
Public transportation
**********
New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, August 18, 2018, 8:00am – 9:30am
Birdwalk in North Brooklyn: McGolrick Park
Join Heather Wolf, author of Birding at the Bridge and web developer for Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird.org, for a leisurely walk to see spring migrants and breeding bird residents in North Brooklyn. Each walk requires separate registration.
No limit. Free.
Email njackson@nycaudubon.org for more information.
**********
Queens County Bird Club
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Cresli Whale Watch and Pelagics
Where: 440 W Lake Dr, Montauk, NY 11954
**********
South Shore Audubon Society
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Norman J. Levy Park and Preserve
From the Meadowbrook Parkway, use the Merrick Road M9 east exit. Enter the Department of Sanitation entrance immediately on right (if you’re driving west on Merrick Road, make a U-turn after Central Boulevard and before the Meadowbrook Parkway). Look for signs to Levy Park and Preserve parking lot.
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.
Freshkills Park
Sunday, August 19, 2018, 1:30pm
Kayak Tour
Kayak through Freshkills Park and enjoy a two-mile excursion along the tidal waterways.
Read More
Sign Up
**********
Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, August 18, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
View Details
Sunday, August 19, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Every Sunday Weekly from 05/20/2018 to 09/30/2018
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details
**********
Green-Wood Cemetery
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Birding in Peace
Summer Birding Sundays
Except for some lingering individuals, by the end of the first week in June nearly all the northbound migrants will have disappeared from the city. Locally nesting birds will be incubating eggs or busily raising their first broods. In July we should see the offspring of our resident Red-tailed Hawks bravely preparing to leave the nest. Warbler songs will be replaced by chirring Cicadas and the tweets of fledgling birds. Butterflies and dragonflies are abundant. By late-July, expect the arrival of the first southbound migrants.
Before our gates open to the general public, birding expert Rob Jett leads these peaceful Saturday/Sunday morning walking tours to discover the many birds that call Green-Wood home. Green-Wood’s official birding checklist is available to pick up from the security guard at the main entrance on 25th Street or to print here. Comfortable footwear is recommended.
$10 for members of Green-Wood and BHS / $15 for non-members
Click here for our inclement weather policy.
**********
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
**********
Linnaean Society of New York
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Jamaica Bay 25th Annual Tom Davis Memorial Shorebird Walk
Leader and registrar: Sean Sime — seansime@seansime.com or 917-324-2735
Registration opens: August 6
Public transportation
**********
New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, August 18, 2018, 8:00am – 9:30am
Birdwalk in North Brooklyn: McGolrick Park
Join Heather Wolf, author of Birding at the Bridge and web developer for Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird.org, for a leisurely walk to see spring migrants and breeding bird residents in North Brooklyn. Each walk requires separate registration.
No limit. Free.
Email njackson@nycaudubon.org for more information.
**********
Queens County Bird Club
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Cresli Whale Watch and Pelagics
Where: 440 W Lake Dr, Montauk, NY 11954
**********
South Shore Audubon Society
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Norman J. Levy Park and Preserve
From the Meadowbrook Parkway, use the Merrick Road M9 east exit. Enter the Department of Sanitation entrance immediately on right (if you’re driving west on Merrick Road, make a U-turn after Central Boulevard and before the Meadowbrook Parkway). Look for signs to Levy Park and Preserve parking lot.
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.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
New York City Rare Bird Alert
Below is the New York City Rare Bird Alert for the week ending Friday, August 10, 2018:
-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 10, 2018
* NYNY1808.10
- Birds Mentioned
ROSEATE SPOONBILL+
BRIDLED TERN+
AUDUBON’S SHEARWATER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)
BROWN PELICAN
WHIMBREL
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Orange-crowned Warbler
MOURNING WARBLER
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
BLUE GROSBEAK
Greetings! This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, August 10, 2018 at 11 pm.
The highlights of today's tape are BRIDLED TERN, BROWN PELICAN, AUDUBON’S SHEARWATER, WHIMBREL, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, BLUE GROSBEAK, MOURNING WARBLER, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, plus a ROSEATE SPOONBILL update.
The BRIDLED TERN first spotted roosting on Great Gull Island last Friday was still present today along with the many COMMON and ROSEATE TERNS. Please remember that Great Gull is an important research station, and the general public is not permitted to land on the island. The BRIDLED TERN can, however, often be seen either as it roosts with other terns on the northeast section of the island or as it is feeding around the island.
Only one report of BROWN PELICAN this week mentioned two apparently seen briefly as they flew by Heckscher State Park Wednesday. Watching the southern coast and inlets on Long Island could still produce further sightings this season.
A boat well south of Long Island last Monday encountered a few AUDUBON’S SHEARWATERS as well as other expected species. It was otherwise a much slower week for pelagic species in near-shore waters.
The shorebird season continues to percolate, with the first of the juveniles beginning to arrive to replace the departing adults. WHIMBRELS this week featured five out in Jamaica Bay last Sunday and ten counted off Watch Hill on Fire Island Tuesday, with a few others also about.
At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, both the East and West Ponds have been attracting shorebirds, the East Pond mainly during higher tides, while the vegetated flats in the southeastern corner of the West Pond have been surprisingly productive generally. Counts from last Sunday comparatively mentioned 35 STILT SANDPIPERS on the West Pond, 27 on the East Pond, but the East Pond variety also included 6 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 2 flyby WHIMBRELS and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. Two LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were also noted a couple of days later along with 40 STILT and 15 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS have also begun to appear there.
Notable among the continuing few LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS along the coast were six at Watch Hill on Fire Island Tuesday and five at Breezy Point Wednesday.
A GULL-BILLED TERN was still being seen at Brooklyn’s Plumb Beach at least to Tuesday.
Continuing unusual nesters include the RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS at Connetquot River State Park and the BLUE GROSBEAKS at the Calverton Grasslands around the former Grumman Airport.
Some interesting migrant land birds this week include several species of WARBLERS, notably separate MOURNINGS last Sunday in Central Park and Marshlands Conservancy in Rye and what would be a very unexpected ORANGE-CROWNED in Central Park today. A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was also reported from Central Park today, and other WARBLERS cited this week include BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, NORTHERN PARULA, and CANADA. Also noteworthy was an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER in Central Park Sunday plus some PURPLE MARTINS and CLIFF SWALLOWS.
As a note, the ROSEATE SPOONBILL at the Wallkill River NWR, mostly staying in the lower New Jersey section, last Sunday morning got up and headed north through Orange County, perhaps all the way up to Quebec, where their first record appeared there Tuesday.
To phone in reports, on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734 4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922 and leave a message.
This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.
- End transcript
-RBA
* New York
* New York City, Long Island, Westchester County
* Aug. 10, 2018
* NYNY1808.10
- Birds Mentioned
ROSEATE SPOONBILL+
BRIDLED TERN+
AUDUBON’S SHEARWATER+
(+ Details requested by NYSARC)
BROWN PELICAN
WHIMBREL
Stilt Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Orange-crowned Warbler
MOURNING WARBLER
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
BLUE GROSBEAK
Greetings! This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for Friday, August 10, 2018 at 11 pm.
The highlights of today's tape are BRIDLED TERN, BROWN PELICAN, AUDUBON’S SHEARWATER, WHIMBREL, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, BLUE GROSBEAK, MOURNING WARBLER, and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, plus a ROSEATE SPOONBILL update.
The BRIDLED TERN first spotted roosting on Great Gull Island last Friday was still present today along with the many COMMON and ROSEATE TERNS. Please remember that Great Gull is an important research station, and the general public is not permitted to land on the island. The BRIDLED TERN can, however, often be seen either as it roosts with other terns on the northeast section of the island or as it is feeding around the island.
Only one report of BROWN PELICAN this week mentioned two apparently seen briefly as they flew by Heckscher State Park Wednesday. Watching the southern coast and inlets on Long Island could still produce further sightings this season.
A boat well south of Long Island last Monday encountered a few AUDUBON’S SHEARWATERS as well as other expected species. It was otherwise a much slower week for pelagic species in near-shore waters.
The shorebird season continues to percolate, with the first of the juveniles beginning to arrive to replace the departing adults. WHIMBRELS this week featured five out in Jamaica Bay last Sunday and ten counted off Watch Hill on Fire Island Tuesday, with a few others also about.
At Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, both the East and West Ponds have been attracting shorebirds, the East Pond mainly during higher tides, while the vegetated flats in the southeastern corner of the West Pond have been surprisingly productive generally. Counts from last Sunday comparatively mentioned 35 STILT SANDPIPERS on the West Pond, 27 on the East Pond, but the East Pond variety also included 6 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, 2 flyby WHIMBRELS and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. Two LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were also noted a couple of days later along with 40 STILT and 15 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, and WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS have also begun to appear there.
Notable among the continuing few LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS along the coast were six at Watch Hill on Fire Island Tuesday and five at Breezy Point Wednesday.
A GULL-BILLED TERN was still being seen at Brooklyn’s Plumb Beach at least to Tuesday.
Continuing unusual nesters include the RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS at Connetquot River State Park and the BLUE GROSBEAKS at the Calverton Grasslands around the former Grumman Airport.
Some interesting migrant land birds this week include several species of WARBLERS, notably separate MOURNINGS last Sunday in Central Park and Marshlands Conservancy in Rye and what would be a very unexpected ORANGE-CROWNED in Central Park today. A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was also reported from Central Park today, and other WARBLERS cited this week include BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, NORTHERN PARULA, and CANADA. Also noteworthy was an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER in Central Park Sunday plus some PURPLE MARTINS and CLIFF SWALLOWS.
As a note, the ROSEATE SPOONBILL at the Wallkill River NWR, mostly staying in the lower New Jersey section, last Sunday morning got up and headed north through Orange County, perhaps all the way up to Quebec, where their first record appeared there Tuesday.
To phone in reports, on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734 4126 or call Tom Burke at (914) 967-4922 and leave a message.
This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.
- End transcript
Tuesday, August 07, 2018
Treehugger Tuesday
From Mother Nature Network:
China's forest city will soon gobble up carbon
Josh Lew
August 6, 2018, 8:21 a.m.
Liuzhou Forest City's foliage-covered buildings will be open in 2 years.
A seemingly far-fetched idea for dealing with one of the world's worst pollution situations will soon become a reality in China. Could the combination of architecture and plant life be the answer to the world's carbon problems?
Liuzhou Forest City might sound like fantasy, but if all goes according to plan, residents and businesses will be moving into the development's 70 foliage-covered buildings in about two years.
A dire problem
A 2015 study by scientists in Berkeley, California, found that 1.6 million people in China had died the year before as a result of pollution. That's the second-highest number of annual pollution-related fatalities in the world; only India suffered more.
The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, meanwhile, found that as many as 9 million people worldwide die annually from pollution-related illnesses such as cancer and pulmonary diseases. That's 15 times more than the number of people killed by war and all other types of violence.
China has taken steps to curb pollution, including building the controversial Three Gorges Dam hydroelectric project and the banning of hundreds of cars that don't meet emissions standards. Beijing also plans to create a large carbon market that will financially reward companies that make their operations greener.
One of the most attention-arresting CO2 reduction ideas seems like it belongs in a Hayao Miyazaki animated film: forest cities with vine and tree-covered skyscrapers. It may seem far-fetched, but this idea is about to become reality.
Living, carbon-eating buildings
Examples of living skyscrapers already exist, and Beijing is moving ahead with plans to build at least one urban district filled with such buildings. It could be habitable by 2020, and, if successful, could spawn similar projects around the Middle Kingdom.
There are two forest buildings, known as Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest), in Milan, Italy. The structures, one 350 feet and the other 250 feet, are covered with plants and trees that are meant to absorb carbon dioxide from the surrounding air.
A firm called Boeri Studio, headed by architect Stefano Boeri, built Bosco Verticale. The same group has an office in Shanghai and is in charge of the effort to create the much larger collection of forest buildings in Liuzhou, China. Liuzhou Forest City will have 70 buildings over 342 acres. These will include homes, hotels, schools and health care facilities.
Based on the planned plant life for the project (40,000 trees and a million shrubs and flowers), Liuzhou's vertical forest should absorb 10,000 tons of CO2 and 57 tons of other pollutants while creating 900 tons of oxygen annually. The design calls for solar panels and geothermal energy to reduce carbon emissions created by the buildings, therefore increasing the benefits of their air filtering. The design also calls for an electric rail line, which would be supplemented with electric cars and other vehicles.
Boeri's website says the forest city will be able to house 30,000 people. The site also discusses the potential for other foliage-covered projects in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Shijiazhuang and Nanjing.
Other benefits
The forest city will have quality-of-life benefits that go beyond cleaner air. It will combat the heat-island effect that makes cities hotter than rural areas. The foliage will help dampen sound and reduce noise pollution.
Then of course, there's the visual appeal of having plants and trees that flower and change color during the different seasons, and natural growth, though controlled, changing the appearance of the buildings as time progresses.
Testing forest cities on one of China's most polluted places
The biggest test could come after Liuzhou comes online sometime in 2020. Boeri has studied the idea of forest cities in different climate zones. One of the targets after Liuzhou could be Shijiazhuang, an industrial city in northern China. Shijiazhuang consistently ranks as one of China's most polluted cities.
In a country with more than a billion inhabitants, how much difference can one 30,000-person district (in a city of 1.5 million) make?
It will certainly make a difference for the 30,000 people working and living there, and if the concept is successful, it could spawn a wider movement. Boeri told the Guardian that he has "no problem if there are people who are copying or replicating. I hope that what we have done can be useful for other kinds of experiments."
This project will be completed in the near future, so people will be able to see a living example for a forest city. There's another reason why China is moving ahead with these sci-fi-like projects. With only one political party in Beijing making decisions, the country has the ability to move relatively quickly on such initiatives because there's no one to oppose them. Because of this dynamic, it's realistic to think that a successful first forest city could quickly lead to similar districts in cities all around China.
China's forest city will soon gobble up carbon
Josh Lew
August 6, 2018, 8:21 a.m.
Liuzhou Forest City's foliage-covered buildings will be open in 2 years.
A seemingly far-fetched idea for dealing with one of the world's worst pollution situations will soon become a reality in China. Could the combination of architecture and plant life be the answer to the world's carbon problems?
Liuzhou Forest City might sound like fantasy, but if all goes according to plan, residents and businesses will be moving into the development's 70 foliage-covered buildings in about two years.
A dire problem
A 2015 study by scientists in Berkeley, California, found that 1.6 million people in China had died the year before as a result of pollution. That's the second-highest number of annual pollution-related fatalities in the world; only India suffered more.
The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, meanwhile, found that as many as 9 million people worldwide die annually from pollution-related illnesses such as cancer and pulmonary diseases. That's 15 times more than the number of people killed by war and all other types of violence.
China has taken steps to curb pollution, including building the controversial Three Gorges Dam hydroelectric project and the banning of hundreds of cars that don't meet emissions standards. Beijing also plans to create a large carbon market that will financially reward companies that make their operations greener.
One of the most attention-arresting CO2 reduction ideas seems like it belongs in a Hayao Miyazaki animated film: forest cities with vine and tree-covered skyscrapers. It may seem far-fetched, but this idea is about to become reality.
Living, carbon-eating buildings
Examples of living skyscrapers already exist, and Beijing is moving ahead with plans to build at least one urban district filled with such buildings. It could be habitable by 2020, and, if successful, could spawn similar projects around the Middle Kingdom.
There are two forest buildings, known as Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest), in Milan, Italy. The structures, one 350 feet and the other 250 feet, are covered with plants and trees that are meant to absorb carbon dioxide from the surrounding air.
A firm called Boeri Studio, headed by architect Stefano Boeri, built Bosco Verticale. The same group has an office in Shanghai and is in charge of the effort to create the much larger collection of forest buildings in Liuzhou, China. Liuzhou Forest City will have 70 buildings over 342 acres. These will include homes, hotels, schools and health care facilities.
Based on the planned plant life for the project (40,000 trees and a million shrubs and flowers), Liuzhou's vertical forest should absorb 10,000 tons of CO2 and 57 tons of other pollutants while creating 900 tons of oxygen annually. The design calls for solar panels and geothermal energy to reduce carbon emissions created by the buildings, therefore increasing the benefits of their air filtering. The design also calls for an electric rail line, which would be supplemented with electric cars and other vehicles.
Boeri's website says the forest city will be able to house 30,000 people. The site also discusses the potential for other foliage-covered projects in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Shijiazhuang and Nanjing.
Other benefits
The forest city will have quality-of-life benefits that go beyond cleaner air. It will combat the heat-island effect that makes cities hotter than rural areas. The foliage will help dampen sound and reduce noise pollution.
Then of course, there's the visual appeal of having plants and trees that flower and change color during the different seasons, and natural growth, though controlled, changing the appearance of the buildings as time progresses.
Testing forest cities on one of China's most polluted places
The biggest test could come after Liuzhou comes online sometime in 2020. Boeri has studied the idea of forest cities in different climate zones. One of the targets after Liuzhou could be Shijiazhuang, an industrial city in northern China. Shijiazhuang consistently ranks as one of China's most polluted cities.
In a country with more than a billion inhabitants, how much difference can one 30,000-person district (in a city of 1.5 million) make?
It will certainly make a difference for the 30,000 people working and living there, and if the concept is successful, it could spawn a wider movement. Boeri told the Guardian that he has "no problem if there are people who are copying or replicating. I hope that what we have done can be useful for other kinds of experiments."
This project will be completed in the near future, so people will be able to see a living example for a forest city. There's another reason why China is moving ahead with these sci-fi-like projects. With only one political party in Beijing making decisions, the country has the ability to move relatively quickly on such initiatives because there's no one to oppose them. Because of this dynamic, it's realistic to think that a successful first forest city could quickly lead to similar districts in cities all around China.
Monday, August 06, 2018
Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips
Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for Saturday, August 11, 2018 to Sunday, August 12, 2018:
Brooklyn Bird Club
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge shorebirds
Leader: Tom Stephenson
Focus: peak shorebird season; other waterbirds
Car Fee: $10.00
Registrar: Bobbi Manian email roberta.manian@gmail.com
Registration Period: Aug 4th – Aug 9th
Note: High tide is 9:57am
Please review our trip guidelines here: http://brooklynbirdclub.org/information-registration
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Feminist Bird Club
Saturday, August 8, 2018
Marine Park Salt Marsh
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Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
View Details
Sunday, August 12, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Every Sunday Weekly from 05/20/2018 to 09/30/2018
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details
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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
**********
Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon
Sunday, August 12, 2018 - 8:00am
Makamah Preserve, Fort Salonga, NY
We don’t need to go far to find great birding. This spot in Huntington is a prime habitat for owls, woodpeckers, waterfowl and many other species.
Registration: 585-880-0915
Directions: Meet at parking lot along Fort Salonga Rd/25 just West of Makamah Rd.
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Linnaean Society of New York
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Central Park Horticultural Walk
Leader: Regina Alvarez
No registration. Public transportation: Meet at 103rd Street and Central Park West at 10:00am
Join botanist Regina Alvarez for a walk in the North Woods and the Wildflower Meadow for a late summer look at the flowering plants and shrubs of Central Park’s north end. Along with fellow botanist Daniel Atha, Regina has been collecting herbarium specimens of every species growing wild in the Park. Already they have discovered new botanical records and have rediscovered plants not seen since the 1850s. Regina is a former director of horticulture and a woodland manager for the Central Park Conservancy. Currently she is an adjunct professor of botany at the City University of New York.
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New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 9:00am – 1:30pm
Shorebird Walk in Jamaica Bay
Guide: Gabriel Willow
We'll search Jamaica Bay’s mudflats and ponds for breeding herons and egrets, Forster's and Common Terns, Clapper Rails, and American Oystercatchers, as well as migratory plovers and sandpipers that will already be headed south. Limited to 15. $40 (28)
Click here to register
Sunday, August 12, 2018, 8am – 3pm
Birding Gems of Staten Island: Freshkills Park
Guide: Cliff Hagen with NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
Take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry for a special opportunity to see Freshkills Park, currently 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. Transport by passenger van from the Staten Island St. George Terminal included. Limited to 12. $64 (45)
Click here to register
Sunday, August 12, 2018, 9:30am – 11:30am
Summer Birding Along the Hudson: Wave Hill
Guide: Gabriel Willow with Wave Hill
Meet at the Perkins Visitor Center. 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. Ages 10 and up welcome with an adult. NYC Audubon members enjoy two-for-one admission (see www.wavehill.org for more information)
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NYC H2O
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 10:00am
Ridgewood Reservoir Community Tours
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 Vermont Place.
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New York City WILD!
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 12:00 noon
Central Park North End, Manhattan Photography and Nature Walk including John Luther Adams World Premiere "In the Name of the Earth" at Harlem Meer (FREE)
Sunday, August 12, 2018, 5:00pm
Summer Sunset #6: Manhattan Westside: Fort Tryon Park to Inwood Hill Park
For the FULL INFORMATION ABOUT EACH WALK click HERE to take you to the Eventbrite Profile page where you will find all details (scroll down to the thumbnails) for each of the outings and how to SIGN UP
**********
Protectors of Pine Oak Woods
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 9:15am – 3:15pm
The Richard Buegler 10-mile Summer Walk @ Greenbelt
Join with like-minded hikers interested in crossing through Staten Island’s amazingly beautiful Greenbelt. Explore the back woods and wetlands at the heart of Staten Island’s park system. Search the hillsides and kettle ponds for summer flowers, nesting birds and signs of our diverse population of mammals. Participants will meet at the entrance to Deere Park located at the end of Staten Island Boulevard beside the Michael J. Petrides Education Complex. Dress for the season and carry water for rehydrating. If there is rain, it will be “fun in the mud.” Call Dominick Durso at 917-478-7607 or Don Recklies at 718-768-9036 for more information.
Read More
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Long Pond Park
We will look for evidence of animal life in the wetlands and woods of Long Pond Park. We’ll also look for the bird life, examine the geology of the area and observe evidence of past human use of the area. Meet at Public School 6, on Page Avenue and Academy Avenue about 3 blocks northwest of Hylan Boulevard. For more information call Clay Wollney at 718-869-6327.
Read More
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Urban Park Rangers
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Summer Birding with Gabriel Willow at Perkins Visitors Center (in Wave Hill), Bronx
9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Naturalist Gabriel Willow contributes his extensive knowledge of diverse bird species and their behavior on these walks through the gardens and woodlands.
Brooklyn Bird Club
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge shorebirds
Leader: Tom Stephenson
Focus: peak shorebird season; other waterbirds
Car Fee: $10.00
Registrar: Bobbi Manian email roberta.manian@gmail.com
Registration Period: Aug 4th – Aug 9th
Note: High tide is 9:57am
Please review our trip guidelines here: http://brooklynbirdclub.org/information-registration
**********
Feminist Bird Club
Saturday, August 8, 2018
Marine Park Salt Marsh
**********
Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
View Details
Sunday, August 12, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Every Sunday Weekly from 05/20/2018 to 09/30/2018
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details
**********
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
**********
Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon
Sunday, August 12, 2018 - 8:00am
Makamah Preserve, Fort Salonga, NY
We don’t need to go far to find great birding. This spot in Huntington is a prime habitat for owls, woodpeckers, waterfowl and many other species.
Registration: 585-880-0915
Directions: Meet at parking lot along Fort Salonga Rd/25 just West of Makamah Rd.
**********
Linnaean Society of New York
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Central Park Horticultural Walk
Leader: Regina Alvarez
No registration. Public transportation: Meet at 103rd Street and Central Park West at 10:00am
Join botanist Regina Alvarez for a walk in the North Woods and the Wildflower Meadow for a late summer look at the flowering plants and shrubs of Central Park’s north end. Along with fellow botanist Daniel Atha, Regina has been collecting herbarium specimens of every species growing wild in the Park. Already they have discovered new botanical records and have rediscovered plants not seen since the 1850s. Regina is a former director of horticulture and a woodland manager for the Central Park Conservancy. Currently she is an adjunct professor of botany at the City University of New York.
**********
New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 9:00am – 1:30pm
Shorebird Walk in Jamaica Bay
Guide: Gabriel Willow
We'll search Jamaica Bay’s mudflats and ponds for breeding herons and egrets, Forster's and Common Terns, Clapper Rails, and American Oystercatchers, as well as migratory plovers and sandpipers that will already be headed south. Limited to 15. $40 (28)
Click here to register
Sunday, August 12, 2018, 8am – 3pm
Birding Gems of Staten Island: Freshkills Park
Guide: Cliff Hagen with NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
Take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry for a special opportunity to see Freshkills Park, currently 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. Transport by passenger van from the Staten Island St. George Terminal included. Limited to 12. $64 (45)
Click here to register
Sunday, August 12, 2018, 9:30am – 11:30am
Summer Birding Along the Hudson: Wave Hill
Guide: Gabriel Willow with Wave Hill
Meet at the Perkins Visitor Center. 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. Ages 10 and up welcome with an adult. NYC Audubon members enjoy two-for-one admission (see www.wavehill.org for more information)
**********
NYC H2O
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 10:00am
Ridgewood Reservoir Community Tours
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 Vermont Place.
**********
New York City WILD!
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 12:00 noon
Central Park North End, Manhattan Photography and Nature Walk including John Luther Adams World Premiere "In the Name of the Earth" at Harlem Meer (FREE)
Sunday, August 12, 2018, 5:00pm
Summer Sunset #6: Manhattan Westside: Fort Tryon Park to Inwood Hill Park
For the FULL INFORMATION ABOUT EACH WALK click HERE to take you to the Eventbrite Profile page where you will find all details (scroll down to the thumbnails) for each of the outings and how to SIGN UP
**********
Protectors of Pine Oak Woods
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 9:15am – 3:15pm
The Richard Buegler 10-mile Summer Walk @ Greenbelt
Join with like-minded hikers interested in crossing through Staten Island’s amazingly beautiful Greenbelt. Explore the back woods and wetlands at the heart of Staten Island’s park system. Search the hillsides and kettle ponds for summer flowers, nesting birds and signs of our diverse population of mammals. Participants will meet at the entrance to Deere Park located at the end of Staten Island Boulevard beside the Michael J. Petrides Education Complex. Dress for the season and carry water for rehydrating. If there is rain, it will be “fun in the mud.” Call Dominick Durso at 917-478-7607 or Don Recklies at 718-768-9036 for more information.
Read More
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Long Pond Park
We will look for evidence of animal life in the wetlands and woods of Long Pond Park. We’ll also look for the bird life, examine the geology of the area and observe evidence of past human use of the area. Meet at Public School 6, on Page Avenue and Academy Avenue about 3 blocks northwest of Hylan Boulevard. For more information call Clay Wollney at 718-869-6327.
Read More
**********
Urban Park Rangers
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Summer Birding with Gabriel Willow at Perkins Visitors Center (in Wave Hill), Bronx
9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Naturalist Gabriel Willow contributes his extensive knowledge of diverse bird species and their behavior on these walks through the gardens and woodlands.