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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.
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| This site maintained by Herbert
Roth at Email Me
Last updated:
May 10, 2009
All Rights Reserved |
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ON THIS PAGE:
MONTHLY PROGRAMS
WHAT'S NEW?
LIST Of TEN ACTIONS
SPRING 2009 BIRD WALKS
SUMMER LEADERLASS WALKS
FROM THE PRESIDENT
MONTHLY PROGRAM CALENDAR
| MONTHLY
PROGRAMS
Held at the Manhasset Library,
30 Onderdonk Avenue, Manhasset
(at Northern Boulevard), at 7 p.m.
Open to the public and free of charge.
Handicapped accessible
May 26, 2009
Horseshoe Crabs
By Dr. John Tanacredi
Dr. John Tanacredi, Professor and
Chair of the Department of Earth and Marine Sciences
at Dowling College, will present a power point program
on horseshoe crabs. As prehistoric creatures these
crabs may have something to teach us! Dr. Tanacredi,
together with students and other volunteers, also
does a horseshoe crab count on the beach in June and
July at high tide under a full moon. You may wish
to join the volunteers.
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SPECIAL REPORT:
THE EARLY HISTORY OF OUR CHAPTER
CLICK HERE
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WHAT'S NEW?
HarborFest: Sunday,
June 7
at the Port Washington Town Dock
Visit our booth under the tent in the environmental
section. Lots of fun for the whole family, with Craft
Fair, Art in the Park, Food Court, Musical Entertainment,
Cruises on the Bay, Family Fun Stage, Children's Fun Park,
Model Boat Regatta & Nautical Museum Exhibit.
Movies, walks and talks at the
Garvies Point Museum
This Glen Cove museum offers a variety of new
programs.
Click for
details.
National Audubon Board of Directors
Elect New Chair and Members.
B. Holt Thrasher, a Connecticut business and conservation
leader, has been elected Chairman of the Board. He succeeds
Carol Browner, who resigned to accept the newly created
post of President Obama's assistant for energy and climate
change.
George Pataki. During his tenure
as NY Governor (1995-2006), Pataki was instrumental in
conserving important habitat across the state, was a vital
advocate for cleaning up the Hudson River, and pushed
for stricter environmental regulations and penalties.
His achievements include the protection of over one million
acres of open space, adoption of the Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative, implementation of the nation's first green
building tax credit, and programs to enhance the use of
alternative energy. Pataki created the nation's first
Bird Conservation Area (BCA) initiative, based on Audubon's
Important Bird Areas program.
Victor Emanuel of Austin, Texas
is the founder of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. He is on
the Board of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and
the American Bird Conservancy. For half a century he has
served as a compiler of the Freeport Christmas Bird Count.
and on the Board of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
Marina Skumanich of Seattle, WA is the regional
candidate for Audubon's Northwest Region. She has served
as Interim Director, Conservation Chair, and President
of the Board of Seattle Audubon Society. She is a former
senior research scientist, and is currently self-employed
as an environmental policy consultant.
Alexander E. Zagoreos of NY is a recently retired
partner of Lazard LLC. He is the Treasurer of thend a
member of the Delopment Committee of Audubon New York,
and a former President of Scenic Hudson, Inc, a former
Trustee of Scenic Hudson Land Trust, and a former Trustee
of Hudson Riverkeeper, Inc.
EPA Announces 3rd Annual Rachel
Carson Contest
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency invites the public
to submit creative projects to the 3rd annual Rachel Carson
intergenerational "Sense of Wonder" contest.
There are four categories: photography, essay, poetry
and dance.
Also honored by Audubon's own award to Women in Conservation,
Rachel Carson is considered the founder of the contemporary
environmental movement inspired by her landmark book,
Silent Spring. The deadline for entries is June 10. Winners
will be announced in September 2009.
More info at
http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/index.htm
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Top 10 list of actions
reducing your contribution to global warming.
1. Project Switch: Change your light bulbs to compact fluorescent
light bulbs (CFLs) that last for years, use a third less than
regular bulbs and produce more light.
2. Drive your car differently – or drive a different car
altogether! Drive less. Leaving your car at home two days a
week will reduce your CO2 emissions by 1,590 pounds a year.
Get your car tuned up. Slow down, don’t race your car’s
engine, and watch your idling.
3. Your house – not too hot, not too cold! Tune up your
heating system. Clean vents, close unused vents, and change
filters in the vents. Buy a programmable thermostat, which can
regulate different temperatures at different times of the day.
Add two degrees to the AC thermostat in summer, and two degrees
in winter. Make sure windows and doors are sealed. Ceiling fans
use 80 percent less energy than central air conditioners.
4. Tame the refrigerator monster! Don’t set the thermostat
too high. If your refrigerator is near a heating vent, or always
in the sun, then change the location, cover up the heating vent
near it or cover the window. Turn on your “energy saver”
switch near the thermostat. Clean the condenser coil. Get rid
of your second refrigerator. Make sure the doors seal properly,
and keep the cool in.
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5. Twist the knobs on your other big users
of energy; hot water heater, washer and dryer, and dishwasher.
Turn the hot water heater down to 120 degrees, or turn on the
“energy conservation” setting. Insulate your hot
water heater and pipes. Install a timer on your water heater
to turn off at night and on in the morning. Wash a few dishes
by hand. Don’t pre-rinse dishes. Wait until you have a
full load to run the dishwasher. Wash clothes in warm water,
not hot. Don’t over-dry your clothes.
6. Green plants with less water, more trees to provide shade.
Choose hardier plants, plant things in groups that need more
water and put in mulch to help keep moisture in. Mow your grass
with sharp blades set at 4”. Water your lawn sparingly.
7. Buy Green Energy, and invest in green energy stocks.
8. Go organic. Chemicals that kill pests also kill microorganisms
that keep carbon contained in the soil. When they are gone,
carbon is released into the atmosphere as CO2 and the soil is
no longer naturally fertile. Eat locally grown food. If the
food doesn’t have to travel far, there’s less CO2
from the trucks that ship it. Eat fruits and vegetables in season.
Plant your own vegetable garden. It’s not as hard as you
might think.
9. Buy recycled. It takes less energy to manufacture a recycled
product. Aluminum and tin cans, glass containers, and pulp cardboard
have a fair amount of recycled content. The recycled logo is
three arrows forming a triangle.
10. Be a minimalist. An easy way to conserve energy is to use
and buy less. Every time you buy, energy has gone into making
and moving. Buy in bulk. In short, bulk items use less packaging,
which translates into less energy. Buy one of something, not
21 of something. Go through your closet and donate or recycle
what you don’t need. Buy quality products that will last
longer. Be creative in what you use for work, play and leisure.
Re-use in creative ways.
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SPRING 2009 BIRD WALKS
Walks for beginners and experienced birders
alike.
Weather permitting, walks start at 9:30 a.m. except as noted,
and end at noon.
All area codes are 516 unless noted.
Use the sitefinder for directions. |
Sat. 5/9
6:30 a.m. |
BIG DAY 1 Alley
Park
76 Ave |
Mary Normandia |
671-4359 |
| Mon. 5/11 |
Muttontown Preserve |
Helen McClure |
671-4758 |
Tues.
5/12 |
Garvies Point |
Don & Joyce Bryk |
621-6678 |
| Wed. 5/13 7:30 a.m. |
Hoffman Center |
Barbara Garriel |
628-9022 |
| Thurs. 5/14 |
Welwyn Preserve |
Helen McClure |
671-4758 |
Fri.
5/15 |
Planting Field Arboretum |
Mike Henahan |
627-7018 |
| Sat. 5/16 6:30 a.m. |
BIG DAY 2 Alley Park
76 Ave |
Mary Normandia |
671-4359 |
| Wed. 5/20 |
Clark Gardens |
Wendy Murbach |
546-6303 |
Wed.
5/27 |
Nassau Fine Arts Museum |
Mike Henahan |
627-7018 |
| Sat. 5/30 |
Jamaica Bay WR |
Lenore Figueroa |
718-343-1391 |
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SUMMER LEADERLESS WALKS
Walks for beginners and experienced birders alike.
Weather permitting, walks start Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. except
as noted, and end at noon.
Contact Wendy Merbach at 516-546-6303 for further information
| 6/3 |
Roslyn Museum (parking fee) |
| 6/10 |
Norman J. Levy Park and Preserve |
| 6/17 |
Marine Study Center, Oceanside |
| 6/24 |
Shu Swamp |
| 7/1 |
Upland Farm, Cold Spring Harbor |
| 7/8 |
Target Rock NWR |
| 7/15 |
Cow Meadow |
| 7/22 |
Old Westbury Gardens (parking fee) |
| 7/29 |
Welwyn Preserve |
| 8/5 |
Planting Fields Arboretum |
| 8/12 |
Caumsett State Park |
| 8/19 |
Clark Garden, Albertson |
| 8/26 |
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge |
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From the President:
Peggy Maslow The NSAS board invites
all NSAS members to join our Yahoo listserve. Go to this website-
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsasbirding . Click on the link
that says, “join this group.” Follow the directions.
If you have any difficulty you can email me at pmaslows@gmail.com
and I can send you an invitation to join which may be easier
for some people. Jennifer Wilson-Pines and myself are both moderators
of the listserve and we check to make sure all people who join
are members and that all messages are appropriate. There have
been many times when I wanted to get a message out to members
that I thought would interest them and there wasn’t a
quick way to do this. Last summer I wanted to alert members
to the Jamaica National Wildlife Refuge Shorebird Festival but
had no way to do it. As a result I was the only one from NSAS
to attend this fantastic event. As president I receive correspondence
on events and issues that I think many members would appreciate
knowing about. Also the members often have information they
could pass on to each other. It can be used for rare bird alerts
or to even post birds seen at our usual walks. So please join
the NSAS listserve right away.
Another group I want to encourage members to join is even more
informal, become a shade-grown coffee drinker. I may have some
difficulty joining this “club” myself because most
distributors of shade-grown coffee do not sell decaf coffee.
However, other members of my family do drink regular coffee,
so I plan on buying it for them and also as presents for friends.
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At the Audubon NY Chapter Council at the end of March, I saw
Ken Kaufman present a Powerpoint slide show of a program with
an unusual topic for a naturalist; why we should buy a certain
product- shade grown coffee or Birds and Beans brand coffee.
Some birders may recognize the name Ken Kaufman, since he has
published popular nature guides, and his one on birds has been
chosen by many experienced birders as their primary guide.
Birds and Beans Coffee can only be bought online at www.birdsandbeans.com
. It costs much than regular store bought coffee, because this
coffee is certified by Smithsonian auditors as shade grown and
good for birds, has higher costs. Go to another website to read
about the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and their criteria
for certifying bird-friendly coffee- www.si.edu/smbc.
If you go to these websites you will find much more information
than I can include here. Ken Kaufman argues that it is worth
buying shade grown coffee for the habitat it provides migrating
birds. He remarked, “The kind of coffee that you drink
can have an impact on bird populations. Buying shade-grown for
use at home and asking for it in restaurants may be a little
inconvenient, but by increasing the demand for it, we can help
maintain good bird habitat in the tropics.”
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From a Smithsonian Institution handout given at Ken Kaufman’s
presentation comes this quote, “In the time it takes you
to drink your next cup of coffee, acres of tropical forest will
be lost. Along with it will go the diversity of birds and other
wildlife that depend on it. Wouldn’t it be gratifying
to know that by choosing to buy shade-grown coffee, you’d
be helping to conserve wildlife habitat? Shade-grown refers
to the way coffee traditionally has been farmed. For generations,
coffee shrubs have been planted in the shade provided by tall
trees, making traditional coffee plantations excellent homes
for birds and other forest-dwelling wildlife.”
I am planning on buying two pound bags of Birds and Beans coffee
on the Internet for $19.25 each. Up to 25 bags can be bought
and delivered for a total of only $8 shipping charges. Please
email me if you are interested in buying Birds and Beans Coffee
and I will order in bulk. $8 is the cost of shipping whether
it’s two pounds or fifty pounds.
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MONTHLY PROGRAM CALENDAR
These programs are held on Tuesdays at the the
Manhasset Public Library,
30 Onderdonk Avenue, Manhasset, unless otherwise stated.
| DATE |
TOPIC |
SPEAKER |
| Wednesday, September 17, 2008 |
Live Owls and Owl Prowl
at Garvies Point Museum |
Volunteers for Wildlife |
| October 28, 2008 |
New York Breeding Bird Atlas |
Kim Corwin |
| November 25, 2008 |
Swimming with Whales |
Paul Mila |
| January 27, 2009 |
The Exciting World of North American Birds 0f Prey |
Peter Capainolo |
| March 24, 2009 |
L.I. Bird Conservation Program |
Carolyn Spilman |
| April 28, 2009 |
Fascinating generalities about birds |
Gigi Spates |
| May 26, 2009 |
Horseshoe Crabs |
Dr. John Tanacredi |
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