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

We are pleased to announce the addition of three new members to the board of CWAS. Beginning with this issue, Peter Hatem will be our Newsletter Editor. Terri Kelleher will be in charge of Birdseed Sales. And, Bonnie Ackerman will be Co-Chair, along with Joan Conca, of Programs. We extend a warm welcome to our new board members and look forward to working with them in the coming months.

Jeanne Alpert
Peter da Silva
Gladys Goldmann

Wildflower & Native Plant Sale
The Native Plant Center's Fourth Annual

Wildflower & Native Plant Sale will be held at Westchester Community College on Saturday, April 26 from 10AM to 1PM, rain or shine. Tempting native varieties will include dwarf hardy ageratum, a non-invasive false dragonhead (nicknamed "Miss Manners"), and dwarf winterberries ("Red Sprite"). Also included on the list are such bird and butterfly friendly plants as lowbush and highbush, blueberries, Viburnum nudum "Winterthur," a mildew-resistant beebalm, and the excellent "Gay Butterflies" variety of butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa).

The Native Plant Center at WCC is dedicated to educating people about the environmental necessity, economic value and natural beauty of native plants of the Northeast. As the first national affiliate of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, they are extending the educational and environmental concepts of the Texas Center to this region. They have also created the Lady Bird Johnson Demonstration Garden containing native species of the Northeast on the WCC campus. In addition, they offer classes and lectures by native plant experts at the college.

If you would like to support their mission or find out more about them and their classes, please call The Center at (914) 785-7870 for their information packet. The Native Plant Center is a project of the West-chester Community College Foundation.

March & April Gardening Tips

Chores and Maintenance:
*Check on winter plant protection, add mulch and adjust plant stakes as necessary;
*Continue to inspect ornamental trees and shrubs for scale insects;
*Use wood ashes from the fire place as a good source of potash;
*Check on dahlias, canna, and gladiolus bulbs for rotting and/or drying out.
For more information visit www.nybg.org/plants/months .

CWAS Birdathon 2003

This marks my third year as Chair of the Birdathon, the most important fundraiser of the year for CWAS. While we raised an increasing amount of money in each of the past two years, we need to set our goals even higher for this year. National Audubon has reduced our dues share by 75%, creating a large gap in our budget for camp scholarships and other community programs. Therefore, we ask that you be as generous as possible with your pledge so that we can maintain our commitment to the communities we serve at the same high level as in the past.

On May 10th (rain date, May 17th), our CWAS Birdathon team will start early in the morning for Forest Park, Queens and then the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge to record as many species of birds as they can - last year they spotted a record 125 species. We ask that you support our birders by pledging either a specific dollar amount or a per-species-seen amount. If you fill out and mail the form below, you will be spared a phone call from one of our Board members asking for a pledge. In order to boost this year's proceeds, I am offering to match the highest pledge, received by May 15th, by 175%, up to $175. The choice is yours - a flat amount or a per-species amount. Your generosity will help a deserving student have a summer to remember at the Greenwich Audubon camp or one of the County ecology camps. . Please make your tax-deductible pledge today. Details of the Birdathon day will be in the next newsletter. Questions? Call me at 949-4429.

Herb Ruskin

Seen and Heard

Goshawk seen over North Broadway (Rt. 22) just south of I-287 in White Plains on Feb. 27^th by Jay Gartner.
Sharp shinned hawk seen hunting (sucessfully) at a back yard feeder, Purchase on March 2^nd by Jay Gartner.
Jeanne &Frank Alpert saw a flock of Horned Larks and a Snow Bunting at Read Sanctuary in early January.

News From The Long Island Sound

The Long Island Sound Watershed Alliance reports that in December 2002 a new Long Island Sound agreement was reached by the Departments of Environmental Protection of New York and Connecticut and the Regional Environmental Administrators.

The goal of the agreement is "to achieve a clean Sound by 2014." The agreement aims to restore aquatic habitats, swimmable beaches and fishable waters. Plans are being finalized to reduce nitrogen discharges, require the upgrade of sewage treatment plants, restore 2000 acres of habitat, and to make 100 river miles available for fish passage by 2008. Monitoring of all sites will be increased.

The group also called for increased allocation of funds from the $40 million per year authorized by Congress for Long Island Sound, to support their efforts.

The Long Island Sound Study is funding 15 projects in New York and Connecticut at a cost of $64,674. Among those projects are kids and family programs, multimedia presentations on the lobster industry, a video on Connecticut''s outer islands, education on boat waste reduction and control of flotable debris.

With the support of Save the Sound, West-chester County has entered an agreement with New Rochelle to acquire David's Island for 6.5 million dollars; it will be developed as public parkland.

The 13th annual Long Island Sound Summit will be held Saturday, March 29 at the New York Botanical Garden.

Louise N. Jones

Programs

Butterflies, Bees & Beetles
Thursday, March 20, 2003
7:00 PM in the Cafeteria
Church St. School
295 Church St., White Plains

Naturalists from the Greenburgh Nature Center will introduce us to the wonderful world of insects. We will learn about life cycles, adaptations and more through the use of mounted specimens and slides. Children ages 7 - 10 will especially enjoy this program.

Mr. Dave Gardner will present this beautiful slide show on birds (his passion,) as well as butterflies, flowers and small animals.

His slides of warblers are the highlight of the show. He will also share some of his fabulous techniques for photographing animals in flight and on the move! Dave will mesmerize us with slides of these small wonders of nature.

Adventures in the Field

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.

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.

Cranberry Lake Calendar of Events:
March 1, 9 am - Bird Walk
March 8, 2 pm - Hike to Kensico Quarry
March 15, 2 pm - Raptors for Kids
March 22, 1 pm - Hike the Perimeter
March 29, 1 pm - Animal Adaptions
April 5, 10 am - Birding
April 12, 1 pm - Wildflower Walk
April 19, 12 pm - Cranberry Lake History Lake

Read Sanctuary Calendar of Events:
March 8, 5 pm - Woodcock Walk
March 15, 2 pm - In Search of the Color Green
March 22, 10 am - Intro to Spring Birds
March 29, 2 pm - Low Tide Ramble
April 5, 2 pm - Signs of Spring
April 19, 9 am - Warbler Walk I
April 27, All Day - Pitch-In for Parks

Marshlands Calendar of Events:
March 9, 2 pm - Trees in the Landscape
March 16, 4:30 pm - Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Marshlands
March 23, 10 am - 4 pm - A Different Point of View exhibit closing. Reception at 2 pm
March 30, 2 pm - Close-up Look at the Meadow
April 6, 2 pm - Life in a Spring Pond
April 12, 10 am - Tiny Tot Discovery Walk
April 13, 2 pm - Early Spring Wildflower Walk
April 19, 7:30 am - 1^st Spring Migration Bird Walk
April 20, 5:30 am - Sunrise Over Marshlands
April 27, 7:30 am - 2^nd Spring Migration Bird Walk

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