Newsletter, March - April, 2005

The World of Butterflies
Thursday, March 17, 2005
7:30 PM
Scarsdale Public Library
Olmstead Rd., Scarsdale

Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg

Open your vision to a whole new world of color and enjoyment provided by these fragile and fascinating creatures. Find our how and where to find butterflies, how to attract more species to your yard, and view slides of some of the butterflies of eastern North America.

Jeffrey Glassberg, editor of American Butterflies magazine and author of Butterflies through Binoculars, is also the founder and president of the North American Butterfly Association, and a Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institute.

Please join us for this special program which we are co-sponsoring with the Bronx River Sound Shore Audubon Society.

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Puffins and Sea Birds
Thursday, April 14, 2005
7:30 PM in the Cafeteria
Church St. School
295 Church St., White Plains

Speaker: Pete Salmansohn

Pete is the educational coordinator for Audubon's Seabird Restoration Program and has worked on the Maine coast since 1980. He has led more than 1,000 cruises to see the Puffin colony on Eastern Egg Rock. He is the author of Puffin Project: How We Brought Puffins Back to Egg Rock and was named as Maine's Environmental Educator Of the Year in 1998. During much of the school year, he works at Audubon's Constitution Marsh Sanctuary.

Please join us for an exploration of the habits and habitats of these fascinating birds.

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Conserve Our Clean Ocean Legacy
Thursday, May 19, 2005
7:30 PM in the Cafeteria
Church Street School
295 Church St., White Plains

Speaker: Robert Cowin

Mr. Cowin is the east coast representative for the National Environmental Trust, and runs their Marine Conservation campaign in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

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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, April 16, 9AM, Pruyn Sanctuary, Chappaqua.
Meet at Education House for carpooling. Explore the varied habitats of Pruyn Audubon Sanctuary with guided activities led by Audubon naturalist Anne Swaim of Saw Mill River Audubon. For adults and children ages 4 and up. Find out how animals and plants are getting ready for spring. The walk of 1 1/2 to 2 hours will be on fairly level ground.

Sunday, April 17, 8AM, Hart's Brook Park and Preserve, 156 Ridge Rd., Hartsdale. Meet at Hart's Brook Park parking lot. This perserve has woodlands and open meadow which draws bluebirds and a variety of warblers and other songbirds. On this walk, co-sponsored with Bronx River Sound Shore Audubon, we will look for early spring migrants. Leader is Doug Bloom of BRSS Audubon. Doug can be reached evenings at 834-5203.

Saturday, April 30, 8AM, Nicole Kelisky/John Ferone Memorial Walk. Meet at Ed House to carpool to the Ferone farm in Millwood. The Ferone family has graciously offered their home for this outing. Since space is limited, advance reservations for this walk are required. Please call Lois Steirhout at 948-1026 prior to April 30 if you wish to attend.

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Toward a Healthy Garden

Do you want to have an environmentally healthy garden but don't know quite how to go about it? Help is at hand through the Audubon At Home Program that encourages homeowners to make informed decisions about the products they use around their gardens and homes and to eliminate the use of pesticides. To see this program in action, visit the sanctuaries of Bedford Audubon and Saw Mill River Audubon where you will find demonstration areas that show the benefits and ease of managing your lawn and garden in a healthy, bird-friendly way. You can learn ways to eliminate pesticide use, view a diverse range of native plants, discover fun and easy tips to make your backyard more inviting to wildlife and learn what you can do to conserve water, protect water quality, and remove exotic plant pests.

The Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College is another source you can turn to for help. On Saturday, April 30th, from 10AM to 1PM, rain or shine, the Center is holding its Wildflower and Native Plant Sale, offering shrubs and perennials that have been locally (and ethically) propagated from existing wild populations in nearby Staten Island and Connecticut. Purchasing plants native to our region helps to insure a ready supply of the best food and habitat for our local wildlife, and to foster ecologically sound garden practices.

Sources: Audubon Advocate, Winter 2005 and The Native Plant Center Newsletter, February 2005.

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Pecans for Sale

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.

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Trip Reports

Pelham Bay Park
It was a cold, sunny morning for a group of about 30 people who ventured into Pelham Bay Park through its snowy paths, all eager to see those interesting birds called owls. All heads were looking up, scanning the trees, and there it was, a Long-eared Owl on a fairly open part of the tree. In a matter of minutes, several spotting scopes were focused on the bird so that we were all able to appreciate up close not only its body shape and plumage, but also its profound and enigmatic eyes.

Located not far from the Long-eared Owl was the Saw-whet Owl. Saw-whet Owls are extraordinarily tame when roosting, so we approached it very closely and got a really good look. Amazingly, this tiny owl (7-8 inches) becomes a rapacious hunter at night.

After this close encounter, we headed towards the shore all the while looking for the "big guy", the Great-horned Owl, a species known to be present in the park. Unfortunately, this owl was not to be seen.

Once we were close to the shore, Sandra Marraffino of the Bronx River Sound Shore chapter (also a co-sponsor of this field trip), told us about the state of David's Island and the efforts that she and her chapter are making to convince local authorities to clean it and keep it as a green area. At the shore we had a good collection of waterfowl: Buffleheads, Golden Eye, American Wigeon, Red Breasted Merganser, Gadwall, Canvasback, Black Ducks and a huge flock of 3 to 4 thousand Greater Scaup. Both a Great Blue Heron and Northern Harrier flew by.

Other species seen were: an immature Red-tailed Hawk, Blue Jays, White-throated Sparrows, Chickadees and Crows. The field trip was led by Michael Bochnik of Hudson River Audubon whose expertise made this a very interesting birding experience.

Victor Ramos

Croton Point Park & Georges Island
What is it about Bald Eagles that always attracts a large number of participants on a bird walk? Is it their large size? Their majesty and grace as they soar through the air (they are actually quite awkward looking on land)? Their fierce and predatory look? The fact that the Bald Eagle is our national bird? Whatever it is, there were a lot of people on the morning of February 5th looking for Eagles down by the Croton train station. And they were not disappointed. There were more than a half dozen Eagles of all maturities, sitting in trees, floating by on the ice, and flying through the air. Perhaps the most spectacular sight was the mature eagle, with gleaming white head and tail, soaring above in a cloudless sky. While Eagles were the focus at this spot, we also had a good look at three Canvas-back Ducks, their red heads shining in the sunlight - nice!

Back in the park proper we looked for Short-eared Owls without success. However, we had spectacular sightings of two Northern Harriers, their wings barely flapping, flying low over the fields, presumably in search of a tasty rodent. We also got word that there were Long-eared Owls in the area. Without the intelligence passed on by another friendly birder I doubt that we would have spotted the birds. After an acrobatic bend backward we were able to see parts of two owls - a round ball of feathers and an ear of one and just a round ball of feathers on the other - high up in the pine tree, considerably obscured by pine needles. Not entirely satisfactory and not a sighting I feel comfortable adding to my life list. But a sighting, nevertheless.

In search of more eagles, a small group of us went on to George's Island in Montrose, where the birds can be seen just a few steps from the parking lot. We saw at least 8 individuals, both mature and immature, perched in the trees. Although one or two birds flew off, there was not much activity. We also spotted a raft of Common Mergansers floating in the river and a Great Cormorant sailing by on a piece of ice.

Nature certainly shared her bounty on this beautiful morning in February. We encourage our members and the public to join us on our field trips and share in the pleasure of observing nature. Remember, you don't have to be an expert!

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Winter Sights and Sounds

Several members have reported flocks of Robins at their feeders - a cheery sight in the dead of winter.

Heard on two occasions, late night and early morning: A pair of Great Horned Owls calling in duet, one a soprano and the other an alto.

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Birdathon 2005

In a few short weeks, it will be time to get out the field guides and bird song tapes to brush up on warbler identification skills in preparation for the birding spectacular of the year, our annual Birdathon. We welcome all birders from beginners to the most experienced to join us in tracking down as many species as possible in the woods, the fields and on the water. The birds, in their breeding plumages, will be singing from the treetops, challenging us to find them with our binoculars. The 2005 date for our Birdathon is Saturday, May 14th with a rain date on Saturday the 21st. As is our custom members of the CWAS team will start early in the morning for Forest Park, Queens and then head for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge to record as many species of birds as they can - last year they spotted 114 species.

Besides being the outstanding field trip of the year, the Birdathon is also our biggest fund raiser. We hope that all CWAS members will help us fill our coffers by supporting our birders and pledging either a specific dollar amount or a per-species-seen amount. In order to boost this year's proceeds, I am offering to match by 175% up to $175. the highest pledge received by May 14th. Your generosity will help a deserving student have a summer to remember, sponsor an exciting program or provide Audubon Adventures to a few more classrooms. Please fill out and mail the pledge form to make your tax-deductible pledge today. Questions? Call me at 949-4429.

Herb Ruskin