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: March 20, 2012
All Rights Reserved

  • ON THIS PAGE:

    MONTHLY PROGRAMS

    WHAT'S NEW?

    PUFFIN PROJECT'S GEOLOCATOR REPORT

     BIRDING NORTH CAROLINA

     USEFUL WEBSITES

    SPRING 2012 BIRD WALK SCHEDULE
    MONTHLY PROGRAM CALENDAR

    MONTHLY PROGRAMS

    Except in summer, 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

    Bring your used batteries to the membership meeting. Secretary Lindy Nielsen will recycle them. Join us on our friendly walks.

    Tuesday, April 24
    The Pine Barrens
    By John Turner


    John Turner co-founded the Long Island Pines Barrens Society in 1977. Explore one of the “Last Great Places on Earth” with a resident expert.

    The Pine Barrens is Long Island’s premier ecosystem. Once it covered one-fourth of the Island’s land mass. Today, only 105,000 acres remain, but are preserved thanks to the efforts of the Society. The Pine Barrens sits atop the greatest quantities of the purest drinking water left on Long Island and boasts the greatest diversity of plant and animal species anywhere in New York State. Animals in the Pine Barrens include over 100 bird species; an outstanding population of butterflies and moths including the threatened buck moth; and such threatened vertebrates as the tiger salamander, eastern mud turtle and northern harrier.

    Tuesday, May 22
    Bringing Nature Home

    Film Presentation:
    “BRINGING NATURE HOME -
    How you can sustain Wildlife with Native Plants”

    This is a film of a program by Douglas Tallamy, author of the above-mentioned book, and professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware.

    This excellent speaker gave the program at the Cape Fear Audubon Society meeting. It is interesting not only for gardeners and bird lovers who want to make their yards attractive to birds, using native plants, but also for all people who want to help preserve earth’s biodiversity.

    An excellent website,
    http://bringingnaturehome.net/native-gardening/gardening-for-life
    provides valuable information about
    * Gardening for life
    * We have takn it all
    * We need biodiversity
    * Parks are not enough
    * Redesigning suburbia
    * Your garden has a function

    Meeting and refreshments at 7 p.m.
    Program starts at 7:30 p.m.

     

     

    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


    JOIN NOW! Click here for membership application form
    		•

    WHAT'S NEW?

     

    NSAS Officer Elections
    Every two years, the North Shore Audubon Society
    elects the officers of the board;
    President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.
    These elections will be held at the May 22 membership
    meeting.
    All current members are eligable to vote,
    but must be in attendance to vote; there are no
    proxies.
    Other positions are appointments by the Board.

    Nominated for these positions are:
    Co-Presidents: Joyce Bryk, Jennifer Wilson-Pines
    Vice President: Peggy Maslow
    Treasurer: Michael Henahan
    Secretary: Belinda Nielsen

    Newsletter Publication Changes Starting in January 2012, this chapter will be publishing five newsletters per year; January-March, April-May, June-August, September-October and November-December.

    Hog Island Audubon Camp
    Registration is open for the legendary 6-day residential birding and environmental education programs at the historic Audubon Camp in Maine on Hog Island.

    Programs are for adult birders, teens, families, educators, and Audubon Chapter leaders.
    Pete Dunne, Scott Weidensaul, Steve Kress, Lang Elliott, Don Kroodsma, Bill Thompson III and many more expert ornithologists, naturalists, educators and authors will be in residence during the 2012 sessions.
    All summer programs include field trips to nearby Eastern Egg Rock, where Dr. Steve Kress and his team of biologists have successfully restored an island colony of Atlantic Puffins, and Roseate, Arctic and Common Terns.
    The 330-acre wildlife sanctuary is located in mid- coast Maine, on Muscongus Bay.

    Participants live in restored wooden buildings dating back to the early 1900’s and are treated to three fabulous meals each day, prepared by chef extraordinaire Janii Laberge.

    For more information on the programs, visit http://hogisland. audubon.org. For questions, contact the Hog Island registrar, Erica Marx (VanEtten), at evanetten@ audubon.org or (607) 257-7308 ext 14

    Bayles Garden Center Discounts
    88 S. Bayles Ave., Port Washington is offering a special
    discount to NSAS members.

    20% off on seed and feeders,
    excluding sale items.
    Bring in your national Audubon membership card, or a NSAS
    newsletter.


    Puffin Project’s Geolocator Report
    This program is to determine where the puffins travel
    after the breeding season in Maine.

    Year 1 (June 2009 to May 2010)
    Puffin Cabot was tagged with a geolocator on August 2nd 2009. He departed Seal Island in mid-August, heading northeast. He spent October through December in the outer Gulf of Maine, moving northward along the continental shelf of Nova Scotia on his way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence where he spent most of January, before heading south to the far offshore waters of the Mid-Atlantic States, nearly to Bermuda. He stayed in this region from February to April, before returning to Seal Island in May, 2010.

    Year 2 (May 2010 to July 2011) After spending the summer at Seal Island, Cabot departed Seal Island in late July, repeating his travels northeast along the ocean coast of Nova Scotia, past Sable Island and on to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In this second year, he kept moving north, eventually to the deep waters of the northern Labrador Sea. As in year one, Cabot then moved south to the offshore Mid- Atlantic waters, a distance of 2,800 miles. By May, he had returned to Seal Island, where he was captured on June 23, 2011. His eight month journey covered a remarkable round trip distance of about 4,800 miles.

    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
    STAR Foundation, http://www.savetheanimalsrescue.org/
    NYS Rehabilitation Council, http://www.nyswrc.org/rehabbers.html#nassau

    LI GROUPS AND ACTION ISSUES
    Preserve Plum Island www.preserveplumisland.org
    Plum Island Petition www.thepetitionsite.com/1/preserve-plum-island Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor/HH 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/
    Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington http://pwresidents.org


     

    Birding North Carolina
    By Peggy Maslow

    Like many of you, I have birded all over the US and outside of the country too. I will be going to the Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine again this June for my fourth stay. I recommend that you go to projectpuffi n.org online (see info on page 5) and look at the different five day stays available on Hog Island which will include excellent leaders and boat trips, including one to see puffins on Eastern Egg Rock.

    My recent three month winter visit to North Carolina was to babysit our twin grandchildren, who will turn one on March 28. But I still had plenty of time for birding. We rented a house for the three months in Durham, in the central part of North Carolina, and also took one weekend trip to the south coast of the state and birded with leaders from the Carolina Bird Club. There I saw birds I missed in New York such as harlequin ducks and lesser black back gulls. Bonaparte gulls are common here. Rare red-cockaded woodpeckers are found in long leaf pines a short distance away from the coast. White-winged and black scoters drifted along the coast of Fisher Island and horned grebes and red and common loons dove in the surf near Wrightsville Beach.

     

     

    Some of my favorite sightings of inland birds, not common at on Long Island, were red-headed woodpeckers and brown-headed nuthatches. The latter come to feeders. Eastern blue birds are abundant and come to suet feeders. Some warblers such as the yellow-rump, prairie and pine are year-round residents. The fish crows on the Duke University golf course were quite vocal. I got good looks at several different sparrows, including swamp and field. Often in my yard I see yellow-bellied sapsuckers and a red-shoulder hawk. Two pairs of these hawks nest in the extensive native plant section of the Duke Botanical Garden and I lucky enough to see one hawk swoop down and pick up a small snake and then swallow it.

    North Carolina has three birding trails; Coastal, Piedmont and Mountain. Trail guides can be ordered and downloadable maps obtained at this website; http://www.ncbirdingtrail.org/ There are also many groups that offer bird walks, such as Audubon Societies, http://nc.audubon.org/audubon-locations , bird clubs (Google “North Carolina bird club”) and guided walks at state parks that are helpful as well.

    SPRING 2012- BIRD WALK SCHEDULE
    Walks are for beginners and experienced birders alike.
    Trips start at 9:30 a.m. unless otherwise indicated.
     Please note: all phone numbers are area code 516 unless otherwise indicated.
    In most cases, the contacts are also leaders for the respective walks.
    Click Site Finder for directions. We would like to encourage carpooling, where possible.

    DUE TO PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 5/10 AND 5/16 TRIPS WILL REMAIN LEADERLESS

    DATE DESTINATION

    LEADER

    PHONE
    Wed. 3/14 Twin Lakes Preserve Ralph Metragrano 785-3375
    Sat. 3/17 Stehli Beach Mike Henahan 627-7018
    Wed. 3/21 Jones Beach Coast Guard Station Wendy Murbach 546-6303
    Sat. 3/24 Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Lenore Figueroa 718-343-1391
    Wed. 3/28 Hempstead Lake State Park Field 2/3 Wendy Murbach 546-6303
    Sat. 3/31 Alley Pond Park, 76th Avenue Lenore Figueroa 718-343-1391
    Wed. 4/4 Shu Swamp Helen McClure 671-4758
    Sat. 4/7 Muttontown Preserve Helen McClure 671-4758
    Wed. 4/11 Alley Pond Park Rick & Linda Kedenburg 631-734-7144
    Sat. 4/14 Nature Study Area, Oceanside Ralph Metragrano 785-3375
    Wed. 4/18 Robert Moses State Park, Field 5 Ralph Metragrano 785-3375
    Sat. 4/21 Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Lenore Figueroa 718-343-1391
    Wed. 4/25 Roslyn Park & Bar Beach Nature Trail,
    (Park at Duck Pond)    		 Jennifer Wilson-Pines 767-3454
    Sat. 4/28 Garvies Point Preserve Don & Joyce Bryk 621-6678
    Wed. 5/2 St. Josaphat's Barbara Garriel 628-9022
    Sat. 5/5 Bailey Arboretum & Upper Francis Pond Lindy Nielsen 628-1315
    Mon. 5/7 Muttontown Preserve Helen McClure 671-4758
    Tue. 5/8 Garvies Point Preserve Don & Joyce Bryk 621-6678
    Wed. 5/9 Forest Park (with QCBC); Read Note 1 Jean Loscalzo 917-575-6824
    Thu. 5/10 Welwyn Preserve no leader  
    Sat. 5/12 BIG DAY. Alley Pond Park; Read Note 2 Barbara Garriel 628-9022
    Wed. 5/16 Planting Fields Arboretum no leader  
    Sat. 5/19 Nassau Fine Arts Museum, Roslyn Peggy Maslow 883-2130
    Wed. 5/23 Jamaica Bay Refuge Lenore Figueroa 718-343-1391
    Sat. 5/26 Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary Lindy Nielsen 628-1315
    Wed. 5/30 Garvies Point Preserve Barbara Garriel 628-9022

     

    Note 1. For the Wednesday, 5/9 trip, it starts at 8:00 a.m. at the corner of Mayfair Street and Park Lane South, and lasts to 11:00 a.m.
    Please confirm your attendance to Jean at dm5078@aol.com or by phone.

    Note 2. For the Saturday, 5/12 trip, it starts at 6:30 a.m. in the 76th Avenue Parking lot.
    The QCBC leader will be Ian Resnick.
    After lunch, the trip continues for those who choose to participate, at Jamaica Bay Refuge.

     
     

    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
    September 17 Beach Clenup (at Garvies Point Museum)

     
    October 25 An Oriole in WHAT tree?? Kathryne Natale
    November 22 Birds of Costa Rica and Panama Joe Guinta Magnificent
    January 24, 2012 Everything you never knew about Bees Frank Hurley
    March 27 Nocturnal Bird Migration Andrew Farnsworth
    April 14 The Pine Barrens John Turner
    May 22 Bringing Nature Home Film Presentation