Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips

Below is a list of upcoming birding and nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for Saturday, February 15, 2020 to Monday, February 17, 2020:

Bedford Audubon Society
February 14, 2020 - February 17, 2020
Cape Ann/Plum Island

Looking for a winter adventure?
You’re in luck ... our Special Winter Birding Week-end Field Trip to Cape Ann/Plum Island mightbe just what you’re looking for! The coast of northeast Massachusetts is the winter home to a spectacular array of seabirds. Our masterful Naturalist Tait Johansson will guide this special trip around the region in search of such stunners as Harlequin Duck, King Eider, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Red-necked Grebe, Rough-legged Hawk, Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, Purple Sandpiper, Black Guillemot, Black-legged Kittiwake, Razorbill, Short-eared Owl, Snowy Owl, and Northern Shrike. The many other possibilities include Dovekie, Thick-billed Murre, and Eastern Screech Owl, and this winter, Townsend’s Solitaire. Add these to your year (or life) list this month!

Cost: $100/members, or $135/nonmembers (and we’ll credit $35 to an annual membership). Travel, lodging, and meals not included in the cost. We will provide an itinerary, hotel suggestion, and coordinate meeting times +locations when you register.
Please register with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914-302-9713
See more details

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Brooklyn Bird Club
Saturday, February 15, 2020, 8:00am - Sunday, February 16, 2020, 5:00pm
Members Only: Monmouth and Mercer County Winter Weekend
Trip caps at 12 members.
Leader: Ryan Goldberg
Car Fee: $60

Focus/Trip synopsis: Waterfowl and grassland birds in central New Jersey.
Itinerary includes Manasquan Reservoir, Mercer Meadows, and Assunpink WMA. In the winter Manasquan Reservoir and Assunpink attract close to a dozen waterfowl species, including Common Merganser and Canvasback, not to mention Bald Eagles and Trumpeter Swans. At Mercer Meadows, near Princeton, we’ll hope to see Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls. We’ll depart early Saturday morning for Manasquan Reservoir before heading to Mercer Meadows in the afternoon.
Dress accordingly; we’ll stay at the meadows until dusk. Sunday we’ll go to Assunpink. Hotel TBD but will be near Princeton.
Registrar: Chris Laskowski email celaskowski@yahoo.com
Registration Period: Jan. 2-Feb. 5

Please review our trip guidelines here: http://brooklynbirdclub.org/information-registration

Saturday, February 15, 2020, 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Prospect Park: Birdwatching for Beginners
Leader: Cyrus Baty
Birdwatching for Beginners meets at the Prospect Park Audubon Center at The Boathouse at 12 noon. Bring binoculars if you have them; otherwise, binoculars are available for loan.

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Eastern Long Island Audubon Society
Saturday, February 15, 2020
MONTAUK – The End!
Leader: Eileen Schwinn
Meet at 8:30 am at the lower parking lot at Montauk Point. (Heated restrooms are available at this parking lot). The tip of Long Island is the go-to winter place − if you are an ocean-loving sea bird! Huge rafts of birds are usually seen from the (closed) restaurant patio, as well as other points along the shoreline. We will be visiting other well-known birding spots in Montauk, all dependent upon which birds have been reported in the area − rare geese, shorebirds, overwintering hardy songbirds are all possibilities. Plan to spend at least three hours on this field trip − and dress for the weather!
Please contact Eileen Schwinn, trip leader, for information, and please let her know if you plan to attend this field trip (beachmed@optonline.net).​

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Green-Wood Cemetery
Saturday, February 15, 2020, 11:00am - 1:00pm
Winter Tree ID Walk
Join Sam Bishop, Education Director and Arborist for Trees New York, and Ashleigh Pettus, Operations Manager for Trees New York, to learn how to identify some of the common conifers of Green-Wood and New York City. Learn how to use needles and cones to help with identification, the role that conifers play in the urban environment, and how different varieties of conifers can have a place in any urban garden.
Click here to register directly for this day’s program.
The meeting location is Green-Wood’s main entrance at 25th Street and 5th Avenue in Brooklyn.

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Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society
Sunday, February 16, 2020, 10:00am
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Jamaica Bay is known for its world-class shorebirding.
Registration: 585-880-0915
Directions: Meet at Visitor Center parking lot.

ABOUT THE FIELD TRIPS
Field trips organized by Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon are free, unless otherwise specified, and open to the public. However, some special activities may be open only to Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon members.

Newcomers are most welcome. Binoculars and field guides are strongly advised, but leaders usually have some field guides to share.

Directions to the site are published in our newsletter, website and Facebook page. We urge you to save the directions.

Please arrive before the departure time listed in the trip description. Trips will leave promptly at the time given.

Carpooling is possible, gas and tolls are shared. Contact the trip leader to see if anyone has expressed interest. The trip leader is not responsible for arranging carpools, just giving you names of others who are interested in carpooling.

Registration is necessary. Call the trip leader by 9:00 PM on Thursday for a Saturday trip and by 9:00 PM Friday for a Sunday trip. Be sure to leave your phone number. You may participate if you didn’t register, but we will not be able to notify you of any changes or cancellations without your phone number.

Dress for the weather realizing you’ll be outdoors for long periods of time. Bring water, proper footwear, snacks and if the trip is for a full day, bring a bag lunch. Bring money to cover your share of any carpooling expenses as well as any required entry fees at our destinations.

Rain or temperature below 20° F cancels (sometimes!). Be sure to check our Facebook page the night before or morning of to check if inclement weather has caused us to cancel the trip.

For the health, safety and comfort of all field trip participants, please refrain from smoking or wearing perfumes or colognes on HOBAS field trips

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New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Saturdays -- 11:00 a.m.
Debbie Becker leads a free bird walk at the Garden every Saturday from 11am to 12:30pm beginning at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Included in All-Garden Pass
Get Tickets

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New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, February 15, 2020, 9:30am – 4:00pm
Winter Eagles on the Hudson
Guide: Gabriel Willow
Join NYC Audubon in seeking out one of the most incredible avian spectacles in New York: Bald Eagles wintering along the frozen Hudson River by the dozens or even hundreds. We will travel in comfort by Metro-North to Croton Point Park, where we will look for eagles before hiking up to Croton Point to seek out wintering Short-eared and Snowy Owls, Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, and other cold-weather specialties. Limited to 20. Round-trip Metro-North fare ($20.50) not included in trip price. $53 (37)
Click here to register

Sunday, February 16, 2020, 10am – 4pm
Snow Birds of Floyd Bennett Field and Fort Tilden
Guide: Gabriel Willow
Winter brings many rare birds to the City that can’t be found here at any other time. Perhaps most exciting are the “snow birds” of the Arctic tundra, such as Snow Buntings and Snowy Owls, that can occasionally be found in tundra-like habitats further south. Look for these and other winter visitors such as Horned Larks, American Tree Sparrows, and Rough-legged Hawks, as well as wintering ducks, grebes, and loons. Transport by passenger van included. Limited to 12. $100 (70) per walk
Click here to register

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New York City WILD!
Saturday, February 15, 2020, 9:30am
Winter Wonderland & Bald Eagles! Westchester: Georges Island State Park

Sunday, February 16, 2020, 11:00am
Winter Wonderland! Staten Island: Wolfe's Pond 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 !

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South Shore Audubon Society
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Massapequa Lake
Use street parking on the westbound side of Merrick Road. Massapequa Lake is at the south end of Massapequa Preserve, between Lakeshore Boulevard and Ocean Avenue.
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.