NORTH SHORE AUDUBON SOCIETY

SERVING THE WESTERN NORTH SHORE OF LONG ISLAND, N.Y.

Our mission is: to promote, protect and preserve the environment and the birds that inhabit it through education, advocacy and leadership.


This site maintained by Herbert Roth at Email Me

Last updated:
April 27, 2013
All Rights Reserved

    • MONTHLY PROGRAMS

    Evening Programs at the
    Manhasset Public Library

     30 Onderdonk Ave. at Northern Blvd. 7 p.m.
    Open to the public and free of charge
    Handicap accessible
    http://www.nassaulibrary.org/manhass

    Membership meetings are the 4th Tuesday of the month, unless noted. Bring your used batteries to the membership meeting. Secretary Lindy Nielsen will recycle them.

    Bring your used toner & ink cartridges, or old cell phones to the meetings. Barbara Garriel will donate them to a green recycle program, Recycle4Education to benefit the Wolf Conservation Center.

    Join us on our friendly walks

    Tuesday, May 28
    Come Dive with Whales
    By Paul Mila


    A view of the undersea world of whales and sharks will be featured at this meeting. Paul Mila has been filming sharks and diving with whales in the Caribbean and Pacific for many years and will provide us with a special vantage point for watching whale behavior.

     


    66th Annual NYSOA Meeting
    November 1-3 in Uniondale, NY.
    Contact: nysoainfo@gmail.com

    Mark your calendars now for the 66th Annual Meeting of the New York State Ornithological Association (NYSOA) on November 1-3, 2013 at the Long Island Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Uniondale, western Nassau County, New York. Hosted by the Queens County Bird Club, the meeting will feature keynote speaker James Currie of Birding Adventures TV, exciting field trips, stimulating workshops and research papers, and the NYSOA business meeting and Awards Banquet. To celebrate the first NYSOA conference in southern New York State since 1994, we are calling this weekend The New York Birders Conference.

    Papers and talks throughout the weekend will appeal to birders of all levels as well as scientific audiences. Presenters include Dr. Mark Hauber, speaking about his research on recognition of brood parasites, John Turner, discussing the ecological importance of the Long Island Pine Barrens, and Susan Elbin, Director of Conservation and Science for NYC Audubon, presenting the latest findings from the NY Harbor Herons project.

    The conference will also feature photography and bird identification workshops, including a Digiscoping Workshop with Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik, and an introduction to bird photography with celebrated photographer Lloyd Spitalnik. Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle, authors of the forthcoming book, The Warbler Guide, will present a workshop on “Using Often Overlooked ID Points to Identify Confusing Warblers”.

    Field trips are always one of the highlights of NYSOA meetings. This year, participants will be selecting from field trips to Kissena Park, Alley Pond Park, Jones Beach, Robert Moses State Park, Fort Tilden, and Frances Purcell Preserve (all trips dependent on site condition).

    Keynote speaker James Currie’s presentation, “Not Your Grandmother’s Audubon,” is scheduled for the annual banquet, Saturday evening.

    The meeting is open to NYSOA members and non-members. For more information and to register for the 66th Annual NYSOA Meeting/New York Birders Conference please visit our web site at http://nybirdersconference.org. Questions? Contact Seth Ausubel and our Planning Committee at NYSOAinfo@gmail.com.

    USEFUL WEBSITES

    BIRDING RESOURCES
    North Shore Audubon www.northshoreaudubon.org
    South Shore Audubon http://www.ssaudubon.org/index.html Huntington/Oyster Bay Audubon http://www.huntingtonaudubon.org/ Audubon NY http://ny.audubon.org/
    LI Birding www.libirding.com
    Garden City Bird Sanctuary http://www.gcbirdsanctuary.org/
    American Bird Conservancy http://www.abcbirds.org/
    American Birding Association http://www.aba.org/
    Cornell Lab of Ornithology http://www.birds.cornell.edu/netcommunity/
    E Bird www.ebird.org
    Birding on the Net http://www.birdingonthe.net/

    INJURED WILDLIFE
    Volunteers For Wildlife, www.volunteersforwildlife.org
    STAR Foundation, http://www.savetheanimalsrescue.org/

    LI GROUPS AND ACTION ISSUES
    Preserve Plum Island www.preserveplumisland.org
    Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee http://hempsteadharbor.org/
    Manhasset Bay Protection Committee http://www.manhassetbayprotectioncommittee.org/
    Friends of the Bay http://friendsofthebay.org/ (Oyster Bay)
    PW Green http://pwgreen.yolasite.com/

    WE WANT YOU FOR NSAS

    You've already joined - how about getting more involved?
    You don't need to be an expert birder to serve on a committee or on the Board.
    Are you good with computers, writing, meeting people, publicity or organizing?

    Our Board meetings are friendly and informal. We welcome your talent and time.
    Please call Peggy Maslow at 883-2130 or e-mail pmaslows@gmail.com


    If you have not yet joined,
    JOIN NOW!
    Click here for membership application form

    WHAT'S NEW?

     

    SAVE THE DATES FOR OUR FESTIVALS
    Join us at our booth
    for family friendly outdoor events:

    ECO FEST
    Displays, kids crafts, live music and
    animals
    April 27 - 28
    Clark Botanic Garden
    193 I U Willets Road, Albertson

    HARBORFEST
    Displays, craft vendors, art show,
    children’s games, food
    Sunday June 2
    Port Washington Town Dock

    HELP RESTORE GARVIES PRESERVE
    Removing invasive plants from the Preserve is an important way to restore the natural balance. We’re targeting three invasive plants this spring

    GARLIC MUSTARD
    Sat. April 27
    Easy - even small kids can join in

    ROSA MULTIFLORA
    Sat. May 18
    Tougher - it has thorns

    MILE-A-MINUTE VINE
    Sat. June 15
    This new to LI vine lives up to its other commmon name,
    Devil’s tear thumb.

    Wear long pants and closed shoes, bring heavy work
    gloves. Pruners and shovels for the roses and vines will
    be helpful. Call Veronica Natale at Garvies, 571-8010
    for more information.

    GARVIES POINT SUMMER PROGRAMS
    Garvies Point Museum & Preserve, 50 Barry Drive,
    Glen Cove, NY is offering our popular Children’s
    Summer Workshops, hands-on activities for children
    ages 5-7 and 8-12, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
    Thursdays in July and August.
    Visit the Garvies Point website
    www.garviespointmuseum.com
    for fees and schedule, and to print out an application form.

    THEODORE ROOSEVELT SANCTUARY SPRING PROGRAMS
    For an interesting set of bird programs, contact Genna Tudda at the Sanctuary (922-3200).



    HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

    Governor Cuomo is in the process of deciding whether to permit Hydraulic Fracturing (Hydro Fracking) for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale in New York State.

    While we’re conserving water, this process uses millions of gallons of fresh water for each well. The water and sand and toxic chemicals are pumped into the ground at high pressure to crack dense rock formations and release the gas. Waste water returned from these wells contains these toxic chemicals. In states where fracking has already taken place, there have been many leaks of this toxic mix into the air and ground water, poisoning livestock, making people sick, and damaging agriculture and the economy. People have been unable to sell their homes because of the contamination.

    Food & Water Watch, an international organization concerned with public health and the environment, has chapters on Long Island and New York City. Check the website foodandwaterwatch.org for additional information.

    F&WW and other environmental organizations are working to educate people about the dangers inherent in this process and are asking Governor Cuomo to ban fracking.

    We support this effort and encourage you to call the governor at (518) 474-8390 Albany office or (212) 681-4580 New York City office to urge him to ban fracking.

     

    Audubon New York Selects Erin Crotty
    as New Executive Director

    Audubon New York, the 50,000 member state program of the National Audubon Society, announced today that Erin Crotty will be the organization’s Vice President and Executive Director and first woman leader. Ms. Crotty, who was the first woman to lead the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), currently directs Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s State and Community Relations program.

    Audubon’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and the Earth’s biological diversity. Audubon New York achieves this by engaging people in bird conservation through science, policy, education, and on-the-ground conservation action. Through an extensive grassroots network including a staff of more than 30 professionals, 8 Audubon Centers and Sanctuaries, and 27 local Audubon Chapters, the organization works to advance sustainable solutions to the state’s environmental problems, and continues to educate future generations on the importance of protecting birds and the environment.

    With experience in the private, public, and not-forprofit sectors, Ms. Crotty brings decades of experience to Audubon New York. Ms. Crotty was Commissioner of DEC from 2001-2005, leading a professional staff of over 3,300 and managing an annual budget of approximately $1 billion. “I am honored to lead Audubon New York at a time of tremendous growth and opportunity,” said Erin Crotty. “Audubon’s strategic plan is an inspiring call to action for hemispheric conservation of migratory fl yways. I am looking forward to working with the talented and dedicated Audubon staff, unparalleled network of centers, sanctuaries, chapters, members, and partners to build on Audubon New York’s impressive conservation track record in new and creative ways for the protection of Atlantic Flyway birds,” Crotty continued. “I am excited about the important work ahead”.


     

     

    From the President
    Jennifer Wilson-Pines

    The cover of the March April issue of Audubon magazine asks, “Why Do Birds Matter?” If you are reading this I can pretty well assume you would agree that yes they do and I’m preaching to the choir. However, the inability to understand the integration of humans with the environment and other living things on this planet spouted by many allegedly educated people continues to astonish me. In a Facebook post, someone (not one of my friends) complained about being kept off a beach for Piping plover protection, and said, “I suppose it’s nice to spend money on the environment and all that but it could be better spent on people.” To which I snarkily replied, “Since you are not living in a hermetically sealed capsule in outer space, guess what… You too live in the ENVIRONMENT, and unless you can figure out how to do without clean water, air and untainted food, you’d better care about it.”

    I recently had an email exchange with someone who styled herself as a long time Audubon member and science teacher, but who was in reality a cat nut. Why she chose me I do not know, but she was demanding an apology for an article in a newspaper in which contributing Audubon Magazine writer, Ted Williams, made some very blunt comments on the problem of feral cats. I refused to apologize and pointed out the inconsistencies in her championing of feral cats, i.e., her total lack of any sympathy or empathy for the painful deaths suffered by millions of small birds and animals at the claws and fangs of cats every year vs. her horror at a proposal to euthanize feral cats. Her complete lack of a solution (because Trap Neuter Release does not lower cat populations or prevent cats from hunting) and her choice to ignore sound scientifi c studies in favor of anthropomorphizing. With some people you will never win because their heads are firmly planted - well, someplace I’d rather not have mine.

    But let’s enjoy some of the wonderful quotes that Audubon Magazine had in the article….and keep believeing that we will make a difference in the long run.

    And just in case you wonder, I do like cats - we have five formerly feral cats - who never, ever go outside. JWP

    You can reach us at www.northshoreaudubon.org
    Voicemail at 516-671-5725
    North Shore Audubon on Facebook

    Birds make any place a chance for discovery, they make a garden seem wild, they are a little bit of wilderness coming into a city park, and for a bird watcher every walk is filled with anticipation. What feathered jewel might drop out of the sky next?
    David Sibley, Author

    Birds are important because they keep systems in balance: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds, scavenge carcasses and recycle nutrients back into the earth. But they also feed our spirits, marking for us the passage of the seasons, moving us to create art and poetry, inspiring us to flight and reminding us that we are not only on, but of, this earth.
    Melanie Driscoll, Director of bird conservation for the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Flyway

    Conjuring a world without birds is a thing I don’t dare imagine, like the death of a child. Their fate is our own.
    J oel Sartore, Photographer

    Birds are wherever we are. They are our companions. Birds are mediators between heaven and earth.
    Terry Tempest Williams, Author, When Women Were Birds

    Why do birds matter? It’s a funny question. Imagine asking a cardinal, “Why do humans matter?” He would sing if he could, from the top of a telephone pole, “They don’t! Not at all! Look at me!” Every species basically thinks we’re the real one, and all others are food or set decoration. If you could step back and register all our noise at once, you might get a glimpse of the real deal: life on earth.
    Barbara Kingsolver, Author, Flight Behavior

    Birds remind us that there are angels.
    Jane Alexander, Actress

    Birds matter because they give us wings. And because if we save the birds, we will save the world.
    Pepper Trail, USFWS forensic ornithologist

    In an age when we experience so much of our world through glass—screens, windows, windshields—birds are a vital connection to the wild. They reach across any barrier, flitting, surprising, and dazzling, always there to refresh my sense of wonder.
    Thor Hanson, Author, Feathers, The Evolution of a Natural Miracle

    Without birds, nature would lose her voice and the planet its most engaging envoys. Birds matter precisely because they matter to us. Environment is a concept. Nature a label. Birds are real, elements that live within our sensory plane. They spread their wings and bridge the gap between our world and the natural world.
    Pete Dunne, Author, director Cape May Bird Observatory



     

    SPRING 2013 - BIRD WALK SCHEDULE
    Walks are for beginners and experienced birders alike.
    Weather permitting, walks start at 9:30 a.m. unless indicated otherwise.
    If in doubt, call the trip leader.
    Please note: all phone numbers are code 516 unless otherwise shown.
    In most cases, your contacts are the trip leaders.
    For directions, click sitefinder view.
    We encourage carpooling where feasable.

    Wed. 3/13 Bayard Cutting Arboretum 10:00 a.m.

    Leaderless Walk

    		  
    Sat. 3/16 Stehli Beach Mike Henahan 627-7018
    Wed. 3/20 Jones Beach Coast Guard Station Wendy Murbach 546-6303
    Sat. 3/23 Twin Lakes Preserve Ralph Metragrano 785-3375
    Wed. 3/27 Hempstead Lake State Park, Field 2,3 Wendy Murbach 546-6303
    Sat. 3/30 Alley Pond Park, 76th Avenue Trudy Horowitz
    Lenore Figueroa    		 718-224-8432
    718-343-1391
    Wed. 4/3 Shu Swamp Lindy Nielsen 628-1315
    Sat. 4/6 Muttontown Preserve Ralph Metragrano 785-3375
    Wed. 4/10 Alley Pond Park Trudy Horowitz
    Lenore Figueroa    		 718-224-8432
    718-343-1391
    Sat. 4/13 Nature Study Center, Oceanside Ralph Metragrano 785-3375
    Wed. 4/17 Robert Moses State Park, Field 5 Ralph Metragrano 785-3375
    Sat. 4/20 Jamaica Bay Lenore Figueroa 718-343-1391
    Wed. 4/24 Roslyn Park and Bar Beach Nature Trail Mike Henahan 627-7018
    Sat. 4/27 Garvies Point Preserve Don & Joyce Bryk 621-6678
    Wed. 5/1 Muttontown Preserve Lindy Nielsen 628-1315
    Sat. 5/4

    Alley Pond Park

    		 Stephane Perreaults 423-0947
    Wed. 5/8 St. Josaphat's Monestary Barbara Garriel 628-9022
    Sat. 5/11

    BIG DAY 6:30 a.m.
    Alley Pond Parking Lot, 76th Ave.
    After lunch, continues at JAMAICA BAY

    		 Ian Resnick
    NSAS leader: Ian Resnick    		 917-626-9562
    Wed. 5/15 Welwyn Preserve Lindy Nielsen 628-1315
    Sat. 5/18 Nassau Fine Arts Museum Peggy 883-2130
    Wed. 5/22 Jamaica Bay or your choice location Lenore Figueroa 718-343-1391
    Sat. 5/25 Bailey Arboretum/Upper Francis Pond Mike Henahan 627-7018
    Wed. 5/29 Planting Fields Arboretum Mike Henahan 627-7018
    Wed. 6/5 Nature Study Area, Oceanside see Note 1  
    Wed. 6/12 Upland Farm see Note 1  
    Sat. 6/15 Garvies Point Preserve (Mile-A-Minute Pull) see Note 1 571-8010
    Wed. 6/19 Shu Swamp see Note 1  
    Wed. 6/26 Welwyn Preserve see Note 1  

    Note 1: Summer leaderless walk
    Contact Wendy Murbach at 546-6303 for information.


    MONTHLY PROGRAM CALENDAR

    These programs are held on Tuesdays at the the Manhasset Public Library, 30 Onderdonk Avenue, Manhasset, unless otherwise stated, at 7 p.m.

    DATE TOPIC SPEAKER
    January 22, 2013 Owls Joe Giunta
    March 19 Binoculars and Photographing Birds Brad Berger
    April 23 Warblers David Speiser
    May 28 Whales and Sharks Paul Mila