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

Programs

Westchester Wild Life
Close Encounters With Our Natural Neighbors
Thursday, January 20, 2005
7:00 PM in the Cafetaria
Church Street School
295 Church St., White Plains

Speaker: Peter da Silva

An amazing variety of wildlife manages to flourish in both the man made and the still natural environments around us. Board member, Peter da Silva, will present a portfolio of images that he has captured while stalking wildlife in the metropolitan area. Join us for a fun evening of discovery.

Schedule of Field Trips

Unless otherwise indicated, all trips will start at Education House, 5 Homeside Lane in White Plains. Car pooling will be available. If you have questions call Jeanne Alpert at 914-946-1780 or Victor Ramos at 1-646-644-6025.
Although appreciation of nature transcends all languages, if requested, our trip leader, Victor, can provide Spanish translations. We strongly encourage beginning birders to take advantage of our field trips which are free and open to all. A few loaner binoculars will be available.

On all of our field trips, which are bilingual in English and Spanish, you should bring a snack, even for a half day trip. It is most important to bring water, especially in the warm weather. Always wear sturdy shoes and dress in layers. If you need loaner binoculars, please call us before the trip to reserve one of the few pairs we have. We encourage beginners to join in the fun of birding..

Directions to Education House. Homeside Lane is located off North St. in White Plains. Going south on Mamaroneck Avenue from downtown White Plains, make a left turn on Ridgeway. Go down Ridgeway to the traffic light (firehouse on the left) and turn right on to North Street. Homeside Lane is the third right and Education House is the first building on the left. Parking is available in the circular driveway.

Saturday, January 29, 8AM, Pelham Bay Park, Daytime Owl Prowl. A winter walk in search of Saw-whet, Great-horned and Long-eared owls. This is also a good location for a variety of wintering ducks. Meet at Orchard Beach parking lot, left front corner toward the beach as you enter the lot. This walk is co-sponsored with Hudson River Audubon. The leader is Mike Bochnik. If you need directions, please call Mike at 237-9331 or the Orchard Beach Nature Center at 718-885-3466.

Saturday, February 5, 8AM, Croton Point Park and possibly Georges Island. Please join us for our annual trip in search of wintering Bald Eagles. Last year, to everyone's delight we spotted more than two dozen Eagles. Meet at Ed House for car-pooling and directions. The trip is being co-sponsored with Hank Weber's Wild Bird Center.

Scholarship Committee: One or two people are needed to take charge. The position involves distributing applications to schools, libraries and nature centers, receiving and acting on student applications, communicating with the appropriate person in the Westchester Department of Parks and Recreation and Greenwich Audubon, and answering the occasional question from parents. Procedures for this job are well thought out and amply documented and help from current board members is always available. This truly is a fun job. If you are interested, please e-mail us at our website: cwas@centralwestchesteraudubon.org , or call Jeanne Alpert at 946-1780.

Telephoners for the Birdathon Pledge Drive: We need volunteers to help with phoning to secure pledges for our Birdathon. In mid-April you will be asked to call between 10 and 20 members to solicit pledges. This is a very important effort that will take only 1 to 2 hours of your time. The more volunteers we have, the more of our members we can contact. The Birdathon is our major fund drive of the year and its success is vital to the continuation of our various community programs. If you can help, please e-mail or telephone as indicated above.

Jamaica Bay
On a sunny but very windy day in November a small group of us made a trip to Jamaica Bay. In our brief visit we saw 14 species, most of them "regulars." Brandt were the only species present in large numbers. In addition, we got good looks at Buffleheads, American Wigeon, American Coot, Green-winged Teal, Red-breasted and Hooded Mergansers, and an immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron. On the way back to our cars , we oohed and aahed in appreciation as a small group of Snow Geese. flew overhead, their white bodies and black wing tips beautifully accented against a nearly cloudless blue sky. We were a chilled, but happy group.

Sheldrake Environmental Center
We enjoyed another sunny, but much warmer day, on our early-December trip to the Sheldrake Center. On the pond, there were several Hooded Mergansers: males with their spectacularly marked bodies and white crests, and females with their rather dull brownish gray bodies and brown crests. On the reservoir, in addition to the numerous Canada Geese and Herring Gulls, there was a large group of Ruddy Ducks, some showing their raised tails. Near the far bank of the reservoir, we spotted some Scaup, but could not determine whether they were Greater or Lesser. At the end of the walk, there was a sudden flurry of activity in the trees near the nature center with Red-bellied, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Titmice, Cardinals, and a Carolina Wren flitting about in the bare branches. The close proximity to each other of the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers allowed us to focus on the differences betwen these look-alike species.

While birding in late fall or winter does not offer the abundance of species encountered in the spring or early fall, it gives us an opportunity to view, compare, and study more closely the species that we do find. And, of course, there's always that chance of finding something special.

-- jsa

On November 17 at the Greenwich Audubon Center, The Westchester County Bird Area Program Advisory Committee met at the behest of Dr. Jack Robbins, Deputy Commissioner of the Westchester Parks Department. The committee is charged with "developing, overseeing, and monitoring conservation programs to enhance, protect, and promote Important Bird Areas throughout Westchester, with a view towards migration patterns, propagation, habitat protection, and natural resource management for the bird species of interest to Audubon New York." Attending were participants from Bronx River/Sound Shore Audubon, Central Westchester Audubon, Wildlife Conservation Society, Audubon New York and the Westchester Parks and Recreation Commission.

Dr. Robbins summarized the work that the parks department had done in preparation for the achievement of the objectives of the meeting, including the development of a species profile for each of the six named IBA's/ Westchester Parks and a Westchester County endangered species list.

Mike Burger of Audubon New York made a presentation of the continuing process that established the criteria for IBA designation as well as the ongoing verification and refinement of the data to keep IBA profiles current. Mike distributed copies of the profiles for each of the 6 Weschester IBA's and requested input and correction to data Some corrections were provided and the parks department representatives will review the profiles and forward any additional observations to Mike's office.

Some exciting new information included: the creation of a "Lower Hudson River Eagle Wintering Important Bird Area." This park will run from Croton Point park to Beacon, New York and is to include George's Island Park, a favorite roosting area for Bald Eagles.

With respect to David's Island, the county would like to purchase this property and turn it into a park. Cleanup costs are estimated at up to $20 million in addition to the purchase price.

Westchester County has identified 1700 acres of additional land to conserve and protect.

Sandra Maraffino of BR/SS Audubon has completed a well-documented shorebird survey.

Dr. Robbins closed the meeting by stating he was encouraged by the input and participation and called for a follow-up conference. It was agreed to meet at Croton Point in January, possible on a Monday afternoon.
Ms. Amie Worley will coordinate.

Westchester's IBA's currently include Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, Butler Sanctuary, Huckleberry Island, Lower Hudson River, Marshlands Conservancy and Ward Pound Ridge.

Nominations for additional IBA's in the county can be sent to Audubon New York for consideration.

-- Peter da Silva

We still have a supply of delicious Mammoth Georgia Pecans for sale at $9 a pound. To order please call Beth da Silva at 949-5249 or Jeanne Alpert at 946-1780.

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip: ______________________________________________________

Phone with Area Code: _______________________________________________

E-mail address: _____________________________________________________

Please mail your order form with a check payable to:
CENTRAL WESTCHESTER AUDUBON SOCIETY
PO Box 359
White Plains, NY 10602
Attn: Birdseed

Check and order form must be received by January 20. Orders can be placed at the January 20th open meeting. Upon receipt we will notify the Wild Bird Center. They will have a record of your order so that you can pick up your seed on any of the 5 pick-up days listed above. For prices and an order form click here.

copyright © 2005 Central Westchester Audubon Society
email questions or comments to webmaster@centralwestchesteraudubon.org