Central Westchester Audubon Society
	Elmsford, Greenburgh, Harrison, Purchase, Rye, Rye Brook, Port Chester and White Plains
	P.O. Box 359, White Plains, NY 10602 email: cwas@centralwestchesteraudubon.org

New on the Web

Log on to www.projectpuffin.org to see film clips from a new video, Fish out of Water, produced by filmmaker, Daniel Breton. This award-winning film includes the first Maine video footage of puffins feeding and raising their young in underground burrows.

This web site also has information on the various seabird restoration projects of the National Audubon Society which is engaged in restoring puffins, terns and other seabirds to the Maine coast islands.

In 2002 more than 47,000 check lists helped create maps of winter bird distribution in the United States including a number of rare and unusual birds like a Gyrfalcon in Massachusetts. More important, the reports helped document the ranges of common winter bird species such as Dark-eyed junco, Black-capped Chickadees, Mourning Doves, Northern Cardinals and others - the very species you see at your backyard feeders. By participating in the GBBC you become a citizen scientist, helping the professionals answer questions about the health of our bird populations. It doesn't matter whether you count and report the 5 species that come to your backyard feeder or the 75 species you see on a day's outing to a wildlife refuge. Everyone's contribution is important and welcomed.

This is an exciting project for parents to share with their children. If your children have ever been in Joan Conca's third grade class at Church Street School, they already know how to do the count. For full instructions and to report your results, log on to the GBBC website: www.birdsource.org.

CWAS will again offer camp scholarships to elementary school students who reside in the communities served by our chapter. Children entering grades 2 through 6 by September 2003 are eligible for 1-week scholarships this coming summer to the Westchester County Ecology Camps at Marshlands Conservancy in Rye, Cranberry Lake in North White Plains, or the Audubon Adventures Summer Programs for Children at the Audubon Center in Greenwich.

Around mid-January we will be mailing applications to the principals of the schools in the communities we serve for distribution to teachers in the appropriate grades. If you have or know of an eligible child please contact the classroom teacher or principal of your school to obtain an application. You may also call Bob Canfield (949-6322) or Ann and Jack O'Brien (835-2178), who are in charge of the scholarship program, for information.

Seen and Heard

Return of the Pileated

On the morning of December 24th, my heart skipped a beat as I caught a glimpse of a rather large woodpecker on a bare tree at the edge of the woods. My identification of a Pileated Woodpecker was confirmed when the bird flew to a tree closer to the street and began to peck and scatter bark in search of a meal. This was a beautiful female, her red crest lustrous in the sun. We had observed a pair of Pileateds in the spring but had not seen either one since. Presumably this was the same female. I was able to observe the bird for a good 15 minutes with my binoculars. What a treat on a winter morning!

jsa

Programs

Wings Over Botswana
Thursday, January 16, 2003
7:30 PM in the Cafeteria
Church St. School
295 Church St., White Plains
Speaker: Peter da Silva

This slide program combines visits to three African countries and a great many unique environments. Kenya is the prototypical African environment and the place most people visit first. Here we enjoy the Masai Mara and its plains animals, the Mara River, as well as Mt. Kenya, Samburu, Lake Bogario and its flamingo population.

In Zimbabwe we visit the Matopos region with its rocky landscapes and Camp Amelinda, built into and integrated with a rocky hillside. Victoria Falls, one of Earth's most impressive shows, is well documented from above.

The landlocked Okavango Delta in Botswana provides another series of unique wildlife habitats that completes the show. Please join us for a great armchair travel experience.

Have you ever watched a mockingbird hopping across a lawn repeatedly opening its wings; or a pair of nuthatches puffing up their feathers as they face off over sunflower seeds at your feeder; or a male cardinal steadily fluttering against your windows in the spring? Mr. Gilman will use slides and other materials to discuss these and many other bird behaviors as we learn to read some of the body language of birds and see how their many postures and movements fit into their daily and annual patterns of body maintenance, feeding, migration, territory, courtship, breeding, etc. Bring your stories of bird behavior to share with the rest of us.

A lifelong birder, Ted Gilman has worked as an educator and naturalist at the Audubon Center in Greenwich since 1977. He has also served as an instructor at the Audubon Camp in Maine and on Audubon trips to Kenya and Trinidad and Tobago. A graduate of Earlham College, Mr. Gilman also did graduate work in Science and Environmental Education at Cornell University.

This will be an entertaining and informative program. Don't miss it.

Adventures in the Field

Audubon Field Trips

February 15, 2003, Saturday: Shepaug Dam
Eagles anyone? Join us for our annual trip to Shepaug Dam on the Housatonic River near Southbury, CT to see wintering Bald Eagles. While there is no guarantee, we have consistently been able to observe these magnificent birds in numbers ranging from just a few to as many as twenty-two.

Entry to the viewing area is limited and by reservation only so please call Joe Ferrari at 946-5741 to register. We will meet at the Ed House parking lot, 5 Homeside Lane, White Plains at 8:30 AM to arrange for car pooling. Driving time to the dam is about an hour but once we get there the walk is less than 100 yards to the viewing area. Dress warmly.

February 1, 2003, Saturday, Greenwich Point, CT, 8:00 AM.
Meet at Hank Weber's Wild Bird Center store, 713-0630, 400 Central Park Avenue in Scarsdale, across from Office Depot. Once again Hank will help us find winter passerines and ducks at this favorite spot on the Connecticut shore. Dress warmly.

Suggested Field Trips Around the County

Following are suggested nature programs provided by Westchester County at Cranberry Lake (CR) 428-1005, Read Sanctuary (RE) 967-8270, and Marshlands Conservancy (MA) 835-4466. For bird walks at Marshlands and Cranberry Lake, you should bring binoculars. Read has some loaner binoculars if you don't have your own.

Jan. 4, 1PM: Winter Ecology Walk - animal and plant adaptations to the cold and lack of food. RE

Jan. 4, 9:30AM: Resident Bird Walk. CR

Jan. 5, 8AM: Winter Bird Walk. MA

Jan. 11, 4:30PM: Winter Duck Flyover. Witnessing the noise and sight of thousands of ducks flying close overhead at sunset as an astonishing experience. Wear warm clothing as the program continues past sunset. RE

Jan. 18, 10AM: Ducks on the Lake. Most of the arctic breeders will have made their way down to the lake by now. More than twelve species of birds on the lake are possible. RE

Jan. 18, 1PM: Learn about owls and take a hike to look for signs of owls and explore their habitat. Pre-registration required. Cost $5.00. CR

Jan. 25, 10AM: "It's for the Birds." Especially for children. Come to the sanctuary to make pine cone feeders for a tree that's "For the Birds." RE

Jan. 26, 2PM: Winter Tree and Shrub ID. MA

Feb. 1, 10AM: Peak time for ducks on the lake. Last year there were as many as 4,000 ducks on the lake in February. RE

Feb. 1, 9AM: Winter Bird Walk. CR

Feb. 9, 10AM to 5PM: Submit visual art ( not photos) inspired by Marshlands Conservancy. Works should be framed and wired for hanging. MA

Feb. 15, 1PM: Winter Life in a Vernal Pond - A Search for Aquatic Creatures. CR

Feb. 15, 10AM: Winter Duck Walk. RE

Feb. 16, 10AM to 5PM: Opening of "A Different Point of View" Art Exhibit. MA

Feb. 22, 5:30PM: Return of the Timberdoodle. Witness the aerial flight of the male American Woodcocks as they stake out their territories over the field. MA

Feb. 23, 2PM: Of Cabbages and Spring. Discover a dozen signs of spring on a hike through the conservancy. MA

copyright © 2002 Central Westchester Audubon Society
email questions or comments to webmaster@centralwestchesteraudubon.org