THE NEWSLETTER OF CITY AUDUBON SUMMER WINTER 2018 2014 / VOLUME / VOLUME XXXIX XXXV NO. NO. 2 4

THE URBAN AUDUBON

Feathers at the New-York Historical Society

Legacy Profile: Lisa Holzkenner

Win-win for Robotics Team and Birds: NY Youth Invent Device to Deter Birds from Glass

Summer 2018 1 NYC AUDUBON MISSION & STATEMENT Mission: NYC Audubon is a grassroots community that works for the protection of Bird’s-Eye View Kathryn Heintz wild birds and habitat in the five boroughs, improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers. uly 3, 2018 marks the centennial of the signing of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Vision: NYC Audubon envisions a day when (MBTA). This extraordinary law saved countless North American species. The Ro- birds and people in the five boroughs enjoy J a healthy, livable habitat. seate Spoonbill, Wood Duck, and Snowy Egret had been hunted nearly to extinc- tion. A century later, all three enjoy conservation status of low or least concern. Con- THE URBAN AUDUBON servation works. Editors Lauren Klingsberg & Marcia T. Fowle Managing Editor Andrew Maas But now, 100 years later, the MBTA is under siege. A shocking Department of Newsletter Committee Ellen Azorin; Interior opinion issued to federal wildlife police on April 11 clipped the wings of this Lucienne Bloch; Ned Boyajian; seminal conservation legislation. Bad actors who incidentally or accidentally “take” Suzanne Charlé; Diane Darrow; Meryl Greenblatt; Catherine Schragis Heller; (kill) protected migratory birds will no longer be held accountable for their conduct, Mary Jane Kaplan; Abby McBride; even when the resulting bird death is anticipated and could be prevented. This mis- Hillarie O’Toole; Don Riepe; guided opinion is incredibly harmful to birds. Let your member of Congress know you Carol Peace Robins disapprove! (See News and Notes on page 19 for more information.) Printing & Mailing Kase Printing, Inc. I am, however, even more concerned that the broader bird conservation com- Design Whitehouse & Company munity fails to acknowledge the destruction in our midst. The horrific incidental and Art Director Andrew Maas Publisher NYC Audubon accidental slaughter that will go unpunished by the Department of Interior’s adminis- trative change—from oil pits and spills, wind turbines, fishing by-catch, high-tension BOARD OF DIRECTORS or high-voltage power lines, pesticides, and contaminants—collectively is dwarfed by President Jeffrey Kimball Executive Vice President Robert Bate the annual massacre of birds due to collisions with glass and predation by our domestic Vice President Catherine Schragis Heller house cats. Habitat loss and climate change too will take their toll over time. But year Vice President Lawrence Levine after year, billions of birds die from encounters with our homes, offices, cars, and pets. Treasurer Fredric Spar Secretary Alexander Ewing What are we prepared to do? Immediate Past President Harrison D. Maas Here are some ideas. Continue to support your local Audubon chapter and en- Directors Seth Ausubel; Karen Benfield; vironmental organizations that are working hard to conserve birds through science, Drianne Benner; Christian Cooper; Richard H. Fried, VMD; Sarah Jeffords; education, engagement, and advocacy. Encourage the children we know to lead envi- Lauren Klingsberg; Deborah Laurel; ronmentally friendly lives, and teach them to appreciate the inimitability of wild birds. Jenny Maritz; Rachel Quiñones; Set a good example for our neighbors by addressing our own windows and keeping our John Shemilt; David Speiser; Alan Steel; Tom Stephenson; Michael Tannen; cats indoors. In November, vote with an environmental agenda in mind. Richard Veit, PhD This summer, I hope to see you at one of Audubon’s events, at , at Kingsland Wildflowers, at , or in the parks. Let’s get ADVISORY COUNCIL: Co-Chair Marcia T. Fowle*; outside and enjoy the birds we are bound and determined to protect, as we have for Co-Chair James R. Sheffield; the past 100 years. Oakes Ames*; Richard T. Andrias; Sarah Grimké Aucoin; Claude Bloch, MD; Marsilia A. Boyle; David Burg*; Albert K. Butzel; Clifford Case; Rebekah Creshkoff; Andrew Darrell; Joseph H. Ellis; Andrew Farnsworth, PhD; Lynne Hertzog; Mary Jane Kaplan; Annual Meeting & Conservation Update Robert J. Kimtis; Kimberly Kriger; All lectures are free and open to the public. This series has been made possible by the Janice Laneve; Pamela Manice; support of Claude and Lucienne Bloch. Peter Rhoades Mott*; Dorothy Peteet, PhD; Don Riepe; Lewis Rosenberg NYC Audubon conducts scientific monitoring in all five *Past President ANNUAL MEETING & boroughs to understand how birds are using our urban EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CONSERVATION UPDATE environment and how this environment affects them, via Kathryn Heintz By Susan Elbin, PhD, and Project Safe Flight, our Jamaica Bay program, and our Conservation Staff Waterbirds of project. Join us as Director DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AND Thursday, June 14, 6pm of Conservation and Science Dr. Susan Elbin and our SCIENCE The Arsenal, , conservation team provide updates on what this research Susan Elbin, PhD Fifth Avenue at 64th Street, has taught us in the past year. Our board election and annual Third-Floor Gallery meeting will precede the lecture. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

RECYCLED 2 www.nycaudubon.org Supporting responsible use of forest resources In This Issue Summer 2018 © Catherine Schragis Heller

NYC AUDUBON 71 West 23rd Street Suite 1523 New York, NY 10010 Tel: 212-691-7483 Fax: 646-606-3301 www.nycaudubon.org

Cover Photograph: Prothonotary Warbler © Carla Rhodes Small Banner Photographs: Susan Elbin, Steve Nanz, and Don Riepe *This work is licensed under a Creative Commons 6 Attribution License. 6 © Don Riepe

FEATURES 6 Win-win for Robotics Team and Birds: NY Youth Invent Device to Deter Birds from Glass by Catherine Schragis Heller

9 The Art of Mentorship: Nurturing a Young Birder, Part 2 by Hillarie O’Toole 6 8 14 Snowy Egret: Sophisticated Dancer

© Steve Nanz by Suzanne Charlé

15 A Valuable Addition to the Trip Leader Team by Mary Jane Kaplan

16 Feathers at the New-York Historical Society by Suzanne Charlé

17 Legacy Profile: Lisa Holzkenner by Carol Peace Robins

12 14 20 Fall Roost: Save the Date © NYC Audubon

DEPARTMENTS 2 Annual Meeting & Conservation 10 Events and Adventures Program Update 12 Kingsland Wildflowers 4 Conservation Notes 15 Book Review 5 Volunteer! 17 Remember the Birds 17 7 Summer of Fun on Governors Island 18 Acknowledgments: Partnerships 16 8 13th Annual Jamaica Bay 19 News & Notes Shorebird Festival 19 Support NYC Audubon’s Mission

Summer 2018 3 Conservation Notes Susan Elbin, PhD © Andrew Maas lthough the vernal equinox on March 20 ushered in spring, snow and chilly Aweather continued well into April. Nonetheless, this time of year when spring migration and summer breeding season over- lap is always invigorating for those who study the birds of New York City. Here is a glimpse of what NYC Audubon’s Conservation and Science team is working on.

PROJECT SAFE FLIGHT Conservation Biologist Kaitlyn Par- kins led two training sessions for Project Safe Flight citizen science volunteers to get them ready for the program’s April 1 start date. This is our second year monitoring mid- town and lower to collect colli- sion data for our artificial light study with Dr. Greg Dobler of NYU Center for Urban Sci- Bumblebee Foraging from Blanket Flowers at Kingsland Wildflowers, September 23, 2017 ence and Progress (CUSP), and Dr. Andrew Farnsworth of Cornell University. This sum- mer a team of four CUSP students will be Green Roof Researchers Alliance (GRRA)— WATERBIRDS OF NEW YORK HARBOR completing a capstone project, working with an initiative made possible by a grant from He’s back! Edward the Great Egret, NYC Audubon, NYU, and Cornell to analyze the New York Community Trust. Green tagged with a solar-powered SMS trans- and chart artificial light, bird migration radar, Roof Ecologist Dustin Partridge coordi- mitter on in 2015 in a part- and collision data into a multi-layered map. nates the group, which is composed of over nership project with Dr. Nellie Tsipoura of We continue to inform building own- 50 researchers, educators, and policy makers New Jersey Audubon and Dr. John Brzorad ers and architects on how to make buildings from 17 different institutions. The GRRA is of 1,000 Herons, has come back to nest on bird-friendly. NYC Audubon’s Bird-friendly holding its first annual conference on June after spending his winter in Building Design guidelines will be featured dur- 7 (see below for more information), spon- South Carolina. Another Great Egret, yellow ing the American Institute of Architects an- sored by NYC Audubon, the Department wing tag C19, has been seen foraging in the nual meeting as part of the presentation of Environmental Conservation, and the shallows of the New Jersey Meadowlands. “Javits Center - A Case Study in Urban & New School, with a keynote address by NYC This bird was tagged on July 10, 2014, on Environmental Revitalization.” Audubon Board Member and CEO and Elders Marsh in Jamaica Bay. President of the Jacob K. Javits Center Alan Research Associate Tod Winston led the GREEN ROOFS Steele. Harbor Herons team in mid-May to conduct © Bob Reith Our study of the Jacob K. Javits Center NEW YORK CITY GREEN ROOF green (sedum) roof continues for the fifth RESEARCHERS ALLIANCE CONFERENCE consecutive year. Last year we found ants on Thursday, June 7, 9am-5pm the roof for the first time. Ant activity could Rooftops in New York City are an underutilized significantly change the community dynamics space and represent critical opportunities for on the roof in the coming years. On the two- improving social life and ecological habitat year-old Kingsland Wildflowers green (sedum in our dense city. Please join us at The New and native wildflowers) roof in Greenpoint, School for the first annual conference of the , an American Robin was spotted, NYC Green Roof Researchers Alliance to hear, the first-ever robin spotted on that roof. respond, and interact with the latest research The increasing interest in the city’s green on the science, education, and policy of green roofs, whether it is studying them to ana- roofs in NYC. This conference is free and open lyze their effects on urban wildlife or utiliz- to the public. Seating is limited. Pre-registra- Great Egret Tagged “C19” Photographed ing them for nature education programming, tion is required. For more information and to Foraging at Dekorte Park, New Jersey on has led to the creation of the New York City register, visit www.nycaudubon.org. March 31, 2018 4 www.nycaudubon.org Conservation Notes Susan Elbin, PhD

© NYC Audubon the 34th annual nesting survey. This compre- far north as James Bay in Canada. hensive dataset is being analyzed by our team led In addition to our work with waterbirds on by Field Biologist Emilio Tobón for long-term islands and beaches, we are also studying birds population trends in the harbor. Preliminary re- that nest on built structures: Herring Gulls nest- sults indicate the population is maintaining its ing on roofs and Common Tern colonies nest- size even as birds shift their nesting sites among ing on decommissioned piers. These studies will the 17 different islands in the harbor. help answer larger questions about how urban- Horseshoe Crabs are spawning on City nesting waterbirds use the city landscape for re- beaches. Their eggs are a valuable food source sources they need throughout their life cycle. for migrating shorebirds that arrive in our area Partners include the Trust for Governors Island, en route to their northern breeding grounds. the College of Staten Island, Stony Brook Uni- In addition to our regular Horseshoe Crab and versity, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, shorebird monitoring, we are participating in a and the Port Authority of NY & NJ. multi-chapter Audubon project to assess levels Sharing the results of our work leads to a of human disturbance on shorebirds as they for- broader understanding of how to protect birds age or roost on mudflats along the Atlantic Fly- and their habitat for the long term. We invite way. We are continuing our own project tracking all New Yorkers to join us in the many festivals Semipalmated Sandpiper Tagged Semipalmated Sandpipers with NanoTags that and outreach opportunities that NYC Audubon “4MX,” One of 24 Sandpipers Nano- transmit to a network of receivers along the At- is holding this summer. And be sure to visit us at Tagged by NYC Audubon at Jamaica lantic Coast. Sandpipers that we NanoTagged in Nolan Park House 17 on Governors Island. (See Bay in May 2017 2017 were detected by receivers last summer as page 7 for details.)

Volunteer!

ake a difference for the PROJECT SAFE FLIGHT The NYC Shorebird Blitz is a tion will be held on Tuesday, MCity’s wildlife. There are Begins Saturday, September 1 citizen-science initiative that September 4, 6-7pm. many ways to help. Unless Light and glass pose major aims to find the total number otherwise noted, contact threats to migratory birds as of shorebirds using our city INTERNATIONAL citizenscience@nycaudubon. they move through the City. during a 24-hour period, COASTAL CLEAN-UP org if interested in any of the Help NYC Audubon biologists helping us answer important Saturday, September 15, projects listed below. All orien- collect data on bird-building conservation questions such 10am-1pm tations require registration in collisions during migration by as how many shorebirds are With American Littoral Society, advance. For information on monitoring designated buildings coming through our area during National Park Service, Sadhana fall volunteer events such as for collisions. This opportunity peak fall migration, how they are Join us at North Channel Bridge beach clean-ups, visit us at www. requires a time commitment of distributed throughout the City, to take part in a multi-state effort nycaudubon.org/volunteer-events. about one hour one morning a and what disturbances they face. to improve coastline habitat. The week from September through North Channel Bridge area, used OFFICE PROJECTS early November. Orientations TRIBUTE IN LIGHT by species like the American Help with mailings, filing, and will be held on Tuesday, August MONITORING Oystercatcher, is also a stone’s general office work. Computer 14, and Thursday, August 16, Tuesday, September 11, throw away from the Harbor skills and birding knowledge are 6-7pm. begins at 8pm Heron Islands and the Jamaica helpful, but not required. With National September 11 Bay Wildlife Refuge. Help FALL NYC SHOREBIRD BLITZ Memorial & Museum us clear the beach and raise THE URBAN AUDUBON Sunday, August 26 Each year a tireless group of awareness of the importance of Join the newsletter committee Contribute to NYC Audubon’s volunteers monitors the Tribute coastal areas to birdlife. Please and contribute your writing conservation efforts by helping in Light to ensure that migrating check www.nycaudubon.org/ skills to four seasonal issues. us take a one-day snapshot birds do not become entrapped volunteer-events in the coming Meetings are bi-monthly in the of fall shorebird activity in the light beams. An orienta- months for more details and early evening. throughout New York City. registration. Summer 2018 5 Win-win for Robotics Team and Birds: NY Youth Invent Device to Deter Birds from Glass Catherine Schragis Heller

s Neha Gaol concentrated on a © Catherine Schragis Heller test at school in June 2016, she was Astartled by a loud thump. A bird had smashed into her classroom window. There was no time to do anything about the alarming situation that day, but it got the 14-year-old Ardsley, NY student thinking. Neha, her younger sister Khushi, and their Chappaqua friends Anika Puri and Anvi Datta had already entered the Animal Allies Challenge of the FIRST® LEGO® League Global Innovation Award. The contest asked students to identify a problem that arises when people and animals interact, and to design a robotic solution. Because of that crash, Neha and her “Team Gryffindor” found their problem. The students soon learned that up to a billion birds are killed in the U.S. each year by glass collisions. Solutions initially concen- trated on pasting sparsely-spaced decals on windows, which was not very effective. Cur- rent solutions include using window film, Team Gryffindor Demonstrating Vfly at Their Chappaqua Home (from Left to Right): Anvi opaque shades, patterned glass, and special- Datta, Khushi Gaol, Anika Puri, and Neha Gaol ized window design features. These middle school girls, however, appear to be the first about 15 feet away from the camera. When a A year after that fateful bird crash, Team to devise a robotic solution. bird is identified, the box blares out a preda- Gryffindor presented Vfly at the LEGO® For their solution, they equipped a tor’s call tailored to the species so that the Global Innovation contest, where their small plastic box, approximately six by four bird veers off and avoids the window. They entry was awarded second place. This year by two inches, with a motion sensor, digital named their invention Vfly. the team entered Vfly in the Conrad Spirit camera, Raspberry Pi computer loaded with It’s a modern and clever solution to a of Innovation Challenge, which was held in IBM Watson visual recognition software, and major problem in the interaction between April at the Kennedy Space Center. NYC speaker. The students wrote a computer pro- people and animals. The box can be attached Audubon encouraged this project from the gram that allows the visual recognition soft- to windows on office buildings or suburban time we learned about it. We take great pride ware to identify bird species when they are homes, and could also be useful in deterring in hearing that the team took first place in birds at cell towers and wind farms. the “Energy and Environment” category and were selected as Pete Conrad scholars. This is © NYC Audubon an important win for migrating birds as well as Team Gryffindor. Neha, Khushi, Anika, and Anvi range in age from 11 to 15. Their creativity, intel- ligence, and enthusiasm are admirable. Per- haps their very youth and inexperience as birders are what allowed them to adopt a fresh approach to a vexing problem. Their future is bright, and we hope that Vfly may point the way for other technologically savvy young people to find further innovative ways Inside Team Gryffindor’s Vfly Box: A Digital Camera, Motion Sensor, Raspberry Pi to help prevent bird and building collisions. Computer, and Speaker 6 www.nycaudubon.org Summer of Fun on Governors Island © NYC Audubon Pop-up Nature Center at Nolan Park House 17

June-August: Open Wednesday-Sunday, 11am-5pm (and Memorial Day)

oin NYC Audubon once again at our seasonal residence on Governors Island. This year’s nature center will feature displays Jon conservation, a children’s room with books and activities, bird-inspired artwork, and studio space showcasing artists creating work inspired by Governors Island and its wide variety of avian spe- cies. This year we’re welcoming back Artist-in-Residence Autumn Kioti, who will be creating work all summer in her open studio space. Guests can borrow binoculars and participate in one of our free guided birdwalks, or strike out on their own to discover the bright and bustling bird life all over the island. Last year we spot- ted 109 bird species, so grab your field guides and help us build this year’s list. Visit us and learn all about the feathery friends who share our urban environment and what we can do to help them out. Please continue to check www.nycaudubon.org/gov-island for up- dates on house hours, birdwalks, and special events. Gabriel Willow (Right) Leading One of Over 50 Birdwalks on Governors Island Last Season © Lloyd Spitalnik Fifth Annual “It’s Your Tern” Festival Saturday, July 14, Noon-4pm South Battery, Governors Island

With Trust for Governors Island, Friends of Governors Island, National Park Service, New York Harbor School, Earth Matter NY ome celebrate Governors Island’s treasures: Common Terns and oysters! Common Terns, Clisted as a threatened species in New York State, have nested for several years on decommissioned piers on Governors Island’s waterfront. The colony has expanded over time and benefited recently from the introduction of oyster shells as a nesting material. Free activities at this year’s festival will include birdwalks and talks, Common Tern colony viewing through a telescope, and hands-on activities for the whole family. Get to the festival by taking a ferry to Governors Island. For more information and directions to the Tern Festival, visit www.nycaudubon.org/tern-festival. No limit. Free In case of rain, festival will move indoors to Nolan Park House 17 Common Tern with Chick

Summer 2018 7 13th Annual Jamaica Bay Shorebird Festival © Blake Matheson*

AT JAMAICA BAY WILDLIFE REFUGE, SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 7:30AM-4:30PM

uring the past 40 years, over 40 species of shorebirds 7:30am Meet at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center (including rare and accidental vagrants) have been for registration and continental breakfast (coffee, do- Drecorded at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East and nuts, juice, etc.) West Ponds from mid-July through October, with the greatest diversity and abundance usually occurring in August. We invite 8am Hike to the East Pond with experts (Kevin Karlson, you to attend our 13th annual celebration at the Jamaica Bay Lloyd Spitalnik, et al.) to view and identify shorebirds Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, August 25. Activities include 10:30am Welcome from the National Park Service (Gateway Su- guided shorebird walks, family programming, and talks from perintendent Jennifer Nersesian) experts on shorebird conservation, shorebird identification, and Jamaica Bay. 10:45am Overview of Jamaica Bay resource management proj- ects and conservation issues (Jamaica Bay Guardian Free bus transportation from Manhattan to Jamaica Bay Don Riepe) is available for NYC Audubon members at the Student/Senior level and up. Meet at 71 West 23rd Street at 6:30am. Contact 11:15am Shorebird Photography (Lloyd Spitalnik) NYC Audubon at 212-691-7483 to reserve a seat. For more Noon Lunch (bring lunch or drive to deli located in nearby information, contact NYC Audubon at 212-691-7483, American Broad Channel) Littoral Society at 718-474-0896, or Don Riepe at donriepe@ gmail.com. The program is free, but suggested donations of 1pm Hike with experts to West Pond for shorebirds and $20 for adults (children are free) to NYC Audubon are most other fall migrants welcome to offset the festival cost. 3pm Kevin Karlson presentation The Shorebird Festival is a NYC Audubon partnership program with American Littoral Society and Gateway National Recreation Area. 4pm Discussion and wrap-up

8 www.nycaudubon.org The Art of Mentorship: Nurturing a Young Birder, Part 2 Hillarie O’Toole © Noah Strycker n the spring 2018 Urban Audubon, we What early experiences set the stage for interviewed teenager Ryan Zucker that? Iand his mother Karen Benfield about the importance of supporting a young When I was 14, my dad and I took a trip to person’s natural curiosity about birds Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, in the re- through community. For this issue we hear mote high desert of southeast Oregon. We from Noah Strycker, a young man whose stayed at a rustic field station on the refuge early interests in birds and nature have and explored the wild country on our own, rewarded him immensely. Now in his early meandering down long gravel roads with 30s, he recently completed his “world Big nobody else in sight. Malheur has become Year” of birding, visiting 41 countries and a special place for me. I’ve visited the area setting records by observing more than half Noah Strycker spent a field season on the Far- almost a hundred times in the past 15 years, the world’s bird species. Noah shares how allon Islands off the coast of San Francisco in and each time it inspired a love of the wil- he got started on his path and where his derness. The more remote, the better! 2010, where he banded this Magnolia Warbler. passions might lead him next. figuring that there are worse things a teen- How did you gather the skills necessary When did you first know you were fasci- ager could be addicted to than birds—but to become an outdoor enthusiast/ nated with birds? they weren’t birders. I started attending adventurer? monthly meetings of my hometown bird When I was in fifth grade, my teacher club in Eugene, Oregon, and found that its I was obsessed by birds long before college suction-cupped a bird feeder to the outside members were delighted to have a young, or any formal internships, and still consider of our classroom window. She’d stop class enthusiastic birder in their midst. Some of birding to be a self-driven passion. I took every time a new bird showed up: Evening them invited me to tag along on field trips, every bird course available at my univer- Grosbeaks, Lazuli Buntings, Black-capped and that’s when I started getting really seri- sity—all two of them—and aggressively Chickadees, and Purple Finches. That’s all it ous. I realized that other people liked watch- pursued opportunities for field work, but took—I was hooked. ing birds, too. unless you want to become a professor, there isn’t a clear academic career path in Who were some of your earliest mentors? It is not just your knowledge of ornithol- birding. I’ve followed my interests from ogy, but your thirst for adventure that project to project, combining research, My mom and dad were very supportive— made your Big Year journey possible. guiding, and writing about birds to become

© Noah Strycker a full-time bird nerd.

You have already seen more than half the bird species on earth. What is the next big challenge that drives you?

My goal is not to see every bird on Earth. That’s probably impossible. I’m driven less by life-listing than by individual projects. The world Big Year took three years. A year to plan the logistics, a year to travel, and a year to write the book (Birding Without Borders, reviewed in the spring 2018 Urban Audubon). Now I’m looking ahead to the next adventures: a photo-essay book for National Geographic, a TEDx talk, and a field season in Antarctica. If all of my work After graduating college, 22-year-old Strycker was dropped by helicopter in a remote Antarctic shares a theme, it’s to convey the fascina- field camp in 2008 with two other bird scientists, a tent, and a three-month supply of frozen food. tion of birds in entertaining ways. His research subjects: more than a quarter million Adélie Penguins, including this fluffy chick. Summer 2018 9 Events and Adventures

• NYC Audubon Events City in over 100 years. It also has search of egrets, night-herons, and mature forest in search of Baltimore • Partnership Events a significant history as the site of kingfishers—along with nesting and Orchard Orioles, Eastern Overnight Trips the former Fresh Kills Landfill. The Osprey, Peregrine Falcons, and Towhees, Wood Thrushes, Warbling landfill has been covered with layers Marsh Wrens. We'll travel along the Vireos, and other summer residents. • VAN CORTLANDT BIRDWALKS, of soil and infrastructure, and the Hackensack River to both man-made We will then move to the shores of site has become a place for wildlife, and restored wetland sites and learn the park's saltmarshes to search for Saturdays, May 19-July 21, recreation, science, education, and about the area's environmental herons and ducks. Some hilly walking 9-10:30am art. Trails and paths normally off- history. Bring lunch. Transport by required. Limited to 15. $36 (25) Guides: NYC Audubon, Van limits to the public will be open on passenger van included. Limited Cortlandt Park Conservancy this day and offer views of the park’s to 11. $108 (75) • AUDUBON MURAL PROJECT With hills, creeks, and wildlife. Activities TOURS IN NORTHERN Conservancy include guided birdwalks, hiking, • SUMMER BIRDING AT WAVE MANHATTAN Meet at Van Cortlandt Nature running, bike-riding, kayaking, HILL, THE BRONX Sundays, June 17, July 22, August 19, Center. The history of birding and free shuttle buses into the park Sundays, June 10, July 8, August 12, and September 16, 10am-12pm Van Cortlandt Park are inseparable. and to the top of a hill offering and September 9, 9:30-11:30am Guide: Leigh Hallingby Influential birders such as Roger panoramic views of New York, and Guide: Gabriel Willow The Audubon Mural Project is an Tory Peterson and Allan D. educational tours and displays. With exciting effort to create murals Cruickshank got their starts on Van Visit www.freshkillspark.org for Meet at the Perkins Visitor Center. of over 300 birds in the northern Cortlandt’s ecologically diverse more information. No registration Naturalist Gabriel Willow contributes Manhattan neighborhoods of grounds. These walks celebrate the required. No Limit. Free his extensive knowledge of bird Hamilton Heights and Washington tradition set forth by these great species and their behaviors on these Heights. As all the birds painted are ornithologists. Participants will look • BIRDING GEMS OF STATEN captivating walks. Wave Hill’s garden threatened by climate change, the for various species of residents ISLAND: setting overlooking the Hudson River project is designed not only to help us and migrants and discuss a wide Saturday, June 9, 8am-12pm flyway provides the perfect habitat appreciate the beauty of the birds, but range of avian topics. For more Sunday, September 16, 9am-1pm for resident and migrating birds. also make us aware of the challenges information, please call 212-691- Guide: Gabriel Willow Walks run rain or shine. Ages 10 they face. In addition to seeing about 7483. No registration required. Journey to the "forgotten borough" and up welcome with an adult. NYC 30 murals, we will visit John James No limit. Free to discover some of the beautiful Audubon members enjoy two-for-one Audubon's impressive gravesite in the forests and incredible birding spots admission (see www.wavehill.org for Trinity Church cemetery. Binoculars • BREEDING BIRDS OF of Clove Lakes Park. Look for ducks more information) will be an asset on this walk. Limited JAMAICA BAY and seabirds in New York Harbor to 20. $30 (20) per tour Saturday, June 2, 7am-1pm on our way across on the ferry • FIFTH ANNUAL “IT’S YOUR Guide: Tod Winston ride and then catch a bus to the TERN” FESTIVAL • BREEDING BIRDS OF THE Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is park. Numerous warblers, vireos, Saturday, July 14, Noon-4pm HUDSON HIGHLANDS, NY home to nesting Cedar Waxwings, tanagers, and other migratory See page 7 for details Saturdays, June 23 and July 7, Brown Thrashers, White-eyed songbirds can be seen here, as well 8am-5pm Vireos, Tree Swallows, Yellow as nesting Eastern Screech-Owls • THE SUMMERING BIRDS OF Guide: Gabriel Willow Warblers, American Redstarts, and Great Blue Herons. We'll even , MANHATTAN Join Gabriel Willow on a day-long Osprey, Willet, and seven species of see one of the largest and oldest Saturday, June 16, 9-11:30am trip to some of the most exciting wading birds. We'll walk the refuge trees in New York City. Limited to Guide: Annie Barry and beautiful birding locations in the trails and observe these species 15. Bus fare ($2.75 each way; please Join Annie Barry for a hike through a Hudson Valley: Doodletown Road, and many more on their breeding bring your MetroCard or exact © David Speiser Constitution Marsh, and Indian Brook grounds. Bring lunch. Transport by change) not included in registration Farm. We'll look for uncommon passenger van included. Limited price. $43 (30) per walk breeding warbler specialties at to 12. $93 (65) Doodletown, such as Cerulean, • EXPLORE THE Hooded, Blue-winged, Golden- • DISCOVERY DAY AT MEADOWLANDS BY PONTOON winged, and Worm-eating Warblers. FRESHKILLS, STATEN ISLAND BOAT, We will then head to the Constitution Sunday, June 3, 11am-4pm SECAUCUS, NJ Marsh Audubon Sanctuary, home to Guide: NYC Audubon Saturday, June 9, 7:30am-12:30pm breeding Wood Ducks, Bald Eagles, With NYC Parks Guides: Tod Winston, NJ Least Bitterns, Marsh Wrens, and At 2,200 acres, Meadowlands Docent more. After a picnic lunch, we will is almost three times the size of With NJ Meadowlands Commission drive to Indian Brook Farm in search Central Park and the largest park Explore the Meadowlands on of breeding Field and Savannah to be developed in New York a relaxing pontoon boat ride in Sparrows, Bobolinks, and Indigo Eastern Towhee (Male) 10 www.nycaudubon.org © Lloyd Spitalnik Buntings. Transport by passenger Overnight Trips van included. Limited to 12. $129 (90) per trip • MONTAUK SPRING WEEKEND, LI • BOREAL BIRDING IN THE the Cape May hawk watch on two Friday, June 1-Sunday, June 3 ADIRONDACKS, NY days, once late in the day and then • THE PARAKEETS OF GREEN- Guides: Mike Bottini, Mickey Cohen, Friday, June 29, 8am-Monday, early to get a good variety of hawks. WOOD CEMETERY, BROOKLYN Don Riepe July 2, 8pm Also visit birding hotspots such as Sunday, June 24, 10am-1pm With American Littoral Society Guide: Gabriel Willow Higbee Beach, Jake's Landing, Cape Guide: Gabriel Willow Join us at the luxurious Montauk NYC Audubon returns to the May Meadows, and Nummy Island. With Green-Wood Cemetery Manor and enjoy indoor/outdoor Adirondacks, NY State’s wildest Transport by passenger van included. Explore Green-Wood Cemetery, heated pools, Jacuzzi, and spacious region. The diversity of habitat Limited to 10. $350 ($50 single rich in both history and wildlife, suites. Registration price includes within Adirondack Park’s six million supplement) in search of late migrants and its five meals, five guided field trips, two acres leads to an astounding variety unique avian residents: the huge evening slide programs, an evening of plant and bird species, including • CAPE MAY FALL MIGRATION, NJ flocks of brilliant green Monk star watch, and free pickup at the several boreal specialties of the Friday, September 28, 9am-Sunday, Parakeets that nest there. Native LIRR station in Montauk. For more mountain spruce and fir forests such September 30, 7pm to South America, these charming information and reservations, contact as Gray Jays and Boreal Chickadees. Guide: Gabriel Willow immigrants flourish even in our Don Riepe at 718-474-0896 or Join Gabriel Willow on a four-day Cape May, NJ, is the East's capital of harsh winters. Limited to 15. [email protected]. $395 ($140 tour of this wild region, featuring a birding, and is particularly bird-rich $46 (32) single supplement) day with local Adirondack resident, in the fall. On good fall migration guide, and President of the NYS days, the area's forests and marshes • BIRDING BROOKLYN • BASHAKILL, SHAWANGUNK Ornithological Association Joan are swarming with warblers, vireos, NWR, AND DOODLETOWN, NY Collins. We’ll stay in the town of thrushes, and other songbirds, Saturdays, June 30 and August 4, Saturday, June 9, 8am-Sunday, Saranac Lake, spending our days and of course the hawk watch is 9-10:30am June 10, 6pm exploring the mountains and legendary as well. We'll visit Cape Guide: Heather Wolf Guide: Joe Giunta, Happy valleys in the region, and dining at May Point, Higbee Beach, Cape May Meet at Pier 1 park entrance where Warblers LLC restaurants in Saranac Lake and Meadows, and more in search of Old Fulton Street ends/intersects Look for breeding Eastern nearby Lake Placid, NY. Transport by songbirds, raptors, wading birds, with Furman Street. Join Heather Meadowlarks, American Bitterns, passenger van included. Limited to ducks, and terns. Transport by Wolf, author of Birding at the Cerulean Warblers, and more at 10. $720 ($220 single supplement) passenger van included. Limited to Bridge, for a picturesque birdwalk these three great birding areas. An 10. $450 ($100 single supplement) along the Brooklyn waterfront. overnight stay will facilitate being in • CAPE ANN WHALE WATCH, MA Target species include Barn the right spot at the right time. Bring Thursday, July 26-Sunday, July 29 • CHINCOTEAGUE REFUGE/ Swallow and Gray Catbird (both lunch for the first day, binoculars, and Guide: Don Riepe ASSATEAGUE ISLAND, VA of which nest in the park and will a spotting scope (if you have one). With American Littoral Society Thursday, November 8, 9am-Sunday, be raising young at this time), Transport by passenger van included. Visit scenic Gloucester, November 11, 6pm Laughing Gull, Common Tern, and Limited to 10. $325 ($75 single Massachusetts and enjoy a whale- Guide: Don Riepe more. No registration required. supplement) watching boat tour, an evening With American Littoral Society No limit. Free cruise on the Essex River, easy A great natural history weekend on • BASHAKILL, NEVERSINK, AND canoeing on the quiet Ipswich the Virginia coast. See wild ponies, • NYC PLOVER DAY FESTIVAL AT STERLING FOREST, NY River, a guided hike along a scenic Snow Geese, Bald Eagles, migrating THE ROCKAWAYS, Saturday, June 16, 8am-Sunday, shoreline, and a lobster dinner. For hawks, waterfowl, shorebirds, and Saturday, July 7, 12-3pm June 17, 6pm more information and reservations, lots more. Includes three nights With NYC Parks, American Guide: Joe Giunta, Happy contact Don Riepe at 718-474-0896 lodging at the luxurious Refuge Littoral Society, Gateway National Warblers LLC or [email protected]. $425 ($150 Inn (heated pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, Recreation Area Look for breeding American Bitterns, single supplement) exercise room, and observation Join us at Beach 86th and Rockaway Cerulean, Hooded, and Golden- deck), breakfast, Safari bus tour of Beach Boardwalk, Queens, to winged Warblers, and more at these • CAPE MAY FALL back dunes area, five guided hikes, celebrate nesting shorebirds. three great birding areas. An overnight MIGRATION, NJ evening programs, plus an "all-you- Discover one of New York City's stay will facilitate being in the right Saturday, September 22, 9am- can eat" oyster & seafood dinner. For endangered species, the Piping spot at the right time. Bring lunch Sunday, September 23, 7pm more information and reservations, Plover, and ways you can help for the first day, binoculars, and a Guide: Joe Giunta, Happy contact Don Riepe at 718-474-0896 protect it by sharing the beach. spotting scope (if you have one). Warblers LLC or [email protected]. $395 Enjoy educational activities and Transport by passenger van included. Cape May, NJ, is one of the best ($150 single room supplement) Limited to 10. $325 ($75 single birding venues in the United States, supplement) especially during fall migration. Visit . . . Continued on Page 12 Summer 2018 11 Events and Adventures (continued) crafts at this family-friendly event Street and Riverside Drive and with Tod Winston that are a little • CITY OF WATER DAY that raises awareness of this explore Riverside Park on this hard to get to for car-less New Saturday, July 14 amazing shorebird. No Registration family-friendly birdwalk. Who Yorkers. Departing early to beat the Guide: Gabriel Willow required. No Limit. Free knows what birds we'll discover heat, we’ll first seek out breeding With the Waterfront Alliance while taking in views of the Hudson Common and Least Terns, American Boat launches TBA. As part of • RIVERSIDE PARK SUMMER River? No registration required. Oystercatchers, Piping Plovers, and City of Water Day, a celebration ON THE HUDSON BIRDWALKS, No limit. Free Black Skimmers at Nickerson Beach. of the waterways and harbors of MANHATTAN Then we’ll walk the boardwalks of New York City, NYC Audubon is Fridays, July 13 and September 14, • BREEDING BIRDS OF the nearby Marine Nature Study offering a special ecocruise past 6-7:30pm NICKERSON BEACH AND Area in search of nesting Saltmarsh Hoffman and Swinburne Islands Guide: NYC Audubon MARINE NATURE STUDY AREA, LI and Seaside Sparrows, as well exploring the natural history of With Riverside Park Summer Saturday, July 14, 6:30am-1pm as Osprey, herons, egrets, and the area. The tour leaves from on the Hudson Guide: Tod Winston shorebirds. Transport by passenger Governors Island. Find more info Meet at the park entrance at 120th Explore two popular birding spots van included. Limited to 12. $98 (69) about City of Water Day and ferries to Governors Island at www. nycaudubon.org. Registration required. Limited to 150. Free Kingsland Wildflowers • JAMAICA BAY FESTIVAL

© Marni Majorelle, Alive Structures Saturday, July 14, 10am-4pm The Kingsland Wildflowers green roof and community engagement center is gearing up for another season of fun and educational activities. Check out the With Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks beautiful wildflower meadow in Greenpoint at these upcoming events. Unless Conservancy, American Littoral otherwise noted, all programming takes place at 520 Kingsland Avenue, Society Brooklyn, and requires advance registration. Visit www.kingslandwildflowers. As part of City of Water Day, com or email [email protected] to learn more about the project, join us at Beach 108th Street in register for events, and see a full listing of programming. Rockaway Park, NY, for a fun family day celebrating Jamaica PLANTS, POLLINATORS, Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird. Bay with activities for all ages AND PEOPLE org, for a leisurely walk to see including nature walks, an art Wednesday, June 20, 6:30pm-8:30pm spring migrants and breeding bird show, a fishing clinic, arts and National Pollinator Week is a time residents in North Brooklyn. Each crafts, games, and more. Explore to celebrate pollinators and spread walk requires separate registration. the wild side of New York City the word about what you can do to No limit. Free with walking tours of Jamaica Bay

protect them. Come out for a walking Wildlife Refuge and Dead Horse THIRD ANNUAL KINGSLAND tour and cocktail hour on the green BATWATCHING BY CANOE ON Bay. Transportation from Beach WILDFLOWERS FESTIVAL roof during NYC Pollinator Week. NEWTOWN CREEK 108th Street to activities will be Saturday, September 22, 12-4pm Join green thumbs from Growing Sunday, August 26, 6-9pm provided. For more information, Join us for a fun day celebrating Chefs in a seed packet-making activity (Rain Date: Tuesday, August 28, contact Elizabeth Stoehr at 347- our third season of programming, using saved seeds from Eagle Street 6-9pm) 690-0931 or [email protected]. education, and research at Rooftop Farm's wildflower collection, Guide: Kaitlyn Parkins No registration required. Kingsland Wildflowers. Visitors look at Annie Novak's photos from With Newtown Creek Alliance No Limit. Free her studies of Monarch migration Join NYC Audubon Conservation can explore the half-acre, green roof habitat and native plant in Mexico, and talk with pollinator Biologist and bat expert Kaitlyn • BIRDWALK garden. North Brooklyn community experts and enthusiasts: Rebecca Parkins as we canoe through Sundays, July 15, July 29, and organizations will be tabling and Reitz, The Honeybee Conservancy, Newtown Creek in search of bats and August 26, 8-11am featuring activities to engage and others. No limit. Free other nocturnal wildlife. We'll seek Guide: Gabriel Willow families and children. The festival out these fascinating mammals as Join Gabriel Willow for a leisurely offers an opportunity to learn about BIRDWALKS IN NORTH BROOKLYN they hunt and dive for insects and walk to see late arriving migrants local environmental initiatives Guide: Heather Wolf learn about their great importance to and breeding bird residents of while exploring green infrastructure McGolrick Park: Saturday, our environment. Space is “Brooklyn's backyard.” Beautiful dedicated to native plants and birds. August 18, 8-9:30am limited. $15 Prospect Park has a wide variety No registration required. No Greenpoint Bridge to Calvary of habitats that attract a large Cemetery: Sunday, September 23, limit. Free number of migrants and breeding 8-9:30am bird species—significantly more Join Heather Wolf, author of Birding Funding provided by the Office of the New York State Attorney General and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation than Central Park, in fact. We'll at the Bridge and web developer for through the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund. explore the park's meadows, 12 www.nycaudubon.org forests, and waterways in search of already be headed south. Limited • FALL WARBLERS falcons. Note: this trip requires a waterfowl, warblers, tanagers, and to 15. $40 (28) Friday, September 7, 6:30-8:30pm 35-minute hike up and down the other species. Limited to 15. $36 (25) (class) mountainside. Bring binoculars, per walk • BIRDING GEMS OF STATEN Sunday, September 9, 8-11am (trip) water, and a bag lunch to enjoy ISLAND: FRESHKILLS PARK Instructor: Joe Giunta, Happy Warblers atop the mountain watching the • CROTON POINT PARK, NY Sunday, August 12, 8am-3pm LLC hawks fly overhead. Transport by Sunday, July 22, 8:45am-4pm Guide: Cliff Hagen Identifying “confusing fall warblers” passenger van included. Limited to Guide: Gabriel Willow With NYC Department of Parks can be tricky, even for the experts. 12. $99 (69) Meet at Grand Central Station and and Recreation Come study some of the most puzzling travel in comfort aboard Metro- Take a ride on the Staten Island species that stop through our area EARLY MEMBER REGISTRATION North to visit Croton Point Park, Ferry for a special opportunity to during fall migration with expert Joe FOR UPCOMING EVENTS overlooking the Hudson River see Freshkills Park, currently in Giunta, and then enjoy a second More fall and early winter about one hour north of the city. transition from what was once session in the “classroom” of Central events will be posted at www. This beautiful 500-acre park is a the world’s largest landfill into an Park. Limited to 12. $65 (45) nycaudubon.org and available wonderful mix of forest, wetlands, expansive park. Currently closed for registration for contributing and grasslands that are home to the general public, the park is EVENING FALL MIGRATION • NYC Audubon members starting to hard-to-find breeding bird home to rolling grasslands, tidal WALKS IN CENTRAL PARK on Monday, August 6, at 9am. species such as Indigo Bunting, marshes, successional woodlands, Mondays, September 10-October 15, (Registration will open to all on Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, and a freshwater pond system, Tuesdays, September 11-October 16, Monday, August 20.) and Eastern Meadowlark. Great which host an array of breeding Wednesdays, September 12-October Horned Owls, Willow Flycatchers, birds, butterflies, mammals, frogs, 17, 5-6:30pm and Orchard Orioles breed in nearby and turtles. Grasshopper Sparrows, Guide: Gabriel Willow TO REGISTER FOR ALL NYC woodlands. Bring lunch for a picnic Osprey, Yellow Warblers, and Blue Witness the spectacle of autumn AUDUBON EVENTS and for more in one of the riverside pavilions. Grosbeaks nest alongside wrens, migration as songbirds follow the information, visit www.nycaudubon. Limited to 20. Round-trip Metro- blackbirds, orioles, and shorebirds. Atlantic Flyway to their tropical org or call Danielle Sherman at North fare ($20.50) not included in Wading birds feed on the mudflats wintering grounds. Look for tanagers, 212-691-7483 x304 unless otherwise trip price. $50 (35) at low tide while hawks and vultures warblers, and other neotropical specified. soar above. Transport by passenger migrants in the wilds of Central Park. • SHOREBIRD IDENTIFICATION van from the Staten Island St. Limited to 15. $146 (102) per series IMPORTANT INFORMATION WORKSHOP George Terminal included. Limited • Contributing Members Thursday, August 2, 6:30-8:30pm to 12. $64 (45) • INTRO TO BIRDING: BIRDWALK (Student/Senior level and up) (class) IN CENTRAL PARK receive a 30% discount on Saturday, August 4, 11am-2pm (trip) • 13TH ANNUAL JAMAICA BAY Saturday, September 15, 8-10:30am most local trips and classes Guide: Joe Giunta, Happy SHOREBIRD FESTIVAL Guide: Tod Winston (on discounted events, the Warblers LLC Saturday. August 25, Are you curious about "birding" but discounted price appears Shorebirds are one of the most 7:30am-4:30pm don't have much (or any) experience? in parentheses after the challenging groups of birds to See page 8 for details Come on a relaxed walk through nonmember price). See identify, yet beautiful and fascinating Strawberry Fields and the Ramble to go membership form on page 19. once they can be distinguished. • MORNING FALL MIGRATION over birding basics and see warblers, • Classes meet at 71 West 23rd Learn to identify plovers and WALKS IN CENTRAL PARK tanagers, sparrows, waterbirds, and Street, Suite 1523. sandpipers (including "peeps") Wednesdays, September 5- more. Binoculars available. Limited • For paid trips requiring by learning behavior, field marks, October 24, 7:30-10:30am to 15. $36 (25) advance registration, and calls—then take a field trip to Thursdays, September 6- the meeting location will Jamaica Bay to practice your new October 25, 7:30-10:30am • HOOK MOUNTAIN HAWK be disclosed in your trip skills. Limited to 12. $65 (45) Guide: Joe Giunta, Happy WATCH, NY registration confirmation Warblers LLC Sunday, September 16, 9am-4pm email. • SHOREBIRD WALK IN Birders of all levels can enjoy this Guide: Joe Giunta, Happy Warblers LLC • For coach and van trips, the JAMAICA BAY fun and educational series of eight Part of the Palisades Interstate meeting location is in front Saturday, August 11, 9am-1:30pm walks, observing the diverse and Park system, Hook Mountain has of 71 West 23rd Street unless Guide: Gabriel Willow ever-changing waves of migrants commanding views of all nearby otherwise specified. We'll search Jamaica Bay’s mudflats that stop over Central Park during mountains ridges and the Hudson • We depart promptly at the and ponds for breeding herons fall migration. Limited to 15. $180 River. From this inland hawk-watch stated start time. and egrets, Forster's and Common (126) per series spot we expect to see many species • For all overnight trips, Terns, Clapper Rails, and American of migrating raptors, including membership in NYC Audubon Oystercatchers, as well as migratory Broad-winged and Red-shouldered at the Student/ Senior level plovers and sandpipers that will Hawks, Bald Eagles, accipiters, and and up is required. Summer 2018 13 Snowy Egret: Sophisticated Dancer Suzanne Charlé

n 1831, John James Audubon brilliantly depicted one of the © Audubon aviary world’s stars: the Snowy Egret. In Snowy Heron, or White I Egret (Ardea candidissima), a male Snowy Egret stands in a marsh near a rice plantation, its dazzling white feathers set off by a long black beak, bright yellow lores, long dark legs, and radiant yellow feet. The extravagant spring plumage, the long, airy feathers of mating season, curve elegantly. With keen eyes, the wader warily watches us—and a nearby hunter. The Snowy Egret’s beauty was dangerous. Their colonies were being devastated at the end of the 19th century, feeding the desires of women of the “private carriage crowd” for fashions bedecked with aigrettes; egret mating feathers were fetching two times the price of gold. (One stunning example is a diamond-studded aigrette gold headband on view at New-York Historical Society’s Feathers ex- hibit. See page 16 for more details.) Though perhaps not as numerous as they were when Audu- bon reported thousands of “snowies” in Charleston, SC, the Snowy Egret is once again a common sight in coastal wetlands, thanks to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Islands in New York/New Jersey Harbor are host to colonies of Snowy Egrets from April to mid-November. According to NYC Audubon’s Harbor Herons Project: 2017 Nesting Survey Report, 290 pairs were counted last season, a 23 percent increase over the previous year. Snowy Egrets frequently move their centers of nesting activity. Snowy Heron, or White Egret (Ardea candidissima) Plate 242, Several formerly productive colonies in the harbor—Huckleberry, from Birds of America Goose, and Mill Rock Islands—are abandoned. In 2017 Hoffman © Lloyd Spitalnik Island was by far the most popular, with 130 pairs, a 63 percent in- crease from the previous year. The population on Subway Island also increased in size. You might catch a view of the colony if you ride the A train: sit on the left heading out to the Rockaways. This graceful egret is one of the avian world’s finest dancers. In its search for food it will attract small fish by stirring the mud with its bright yellow feet (“golden slippers” NYC Audubon Ad- visory Council member Don Riepe calls them). Nimbly running back and forth, flicking its wings, swaying its head, the Snowy Egret startles prey. The Snowy Egret’s greatest moves, however, come as breeding season approaches. Audubon wrote of the birds, uttering a “rough guttural sort of sigh, raising at the same moment their beautiful crest and loose recurved plumes, curving the neck, and rising on their legs to their full height, as if about to strut on the branches.” He contin- ued: “Then the male, with great ardour, and with the most graceful motions, passes and repasses for several minutes at a time before and around the female.” Snowy Egret Foraging at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

14 www.nycaudubon.org A Valuable Addition to the Trip Leader Team Mary Jane Kaplan

eaders may have noticed that the “Events © Corey Finger and managing editor of the “10,000 Birds” and Adventures” section of The Urban blog (www.10000birds.com), a popular source R Audubon has expanded over the past few of bird photos and birding information of all seasons. The expansion represents an effort to in- kinds. troduce birders, both beginning and experienced, But his home territory is Queens, a borough to productive but lesser-known birding locations that had not hosted many NYC Audubon throughout the city. Veteran NYC Audubon trip birding adventures apart from Jamaica Bay leaders have led some of these new offerings, but and . Corey has added a new new leaders such as Corey Finger have been added series of walks at the , to the roster. recommended especially for beginning birders Corey, who has been leading NYC Audubon and those whose interests extend to plants and walks for a year, began birding in 2005 when his other living creatures—like Italian Wall Lizards, first sighting of a Green Heron got him hooked. the only lizard species remaining in Queens. His He learned quickly, and today his impressive famil- other walks in Queens include Baisley Pond, iarity with the birds and birding hotspots of New , and . York State is displayed in his authorship of the Though busy with a family and a full-time 2016 American Birding Association Field Guide to the job as a union organizer with the New York Birds of New York (reviewed in the fall 2017 Urban Audubon). State Nurses’ Association, Corey hopes to keep adding to NYC Corey has also birded in exotic locales like Kazakhstan and Audubon’s walks in Queens and elsewhere. Hungary, and is well known to birding community as the co-owner

Book Review Hillarie O’Toole

hat are you curious about? If They urge you to both trust your instincts, it’s something about the natural become a self-taught expert about your own W world, of course you can quickly backyard (providing several exercises for find information online or in books, but doing so), and connect with others in your why not let nature itself provide it? In The community who share your interests. Naturalist’s Notebook, authors Nathaniel T. The book includes the authors’ nostalgic Wheelwright and Bernd Heinrich encourage meditations as they recount their methods you to slow down, get outside, and seek the and examples of what you might observe answers on your own. They show that it is throughout the seasons, in both rural and well worth deepening your connection to urban settings. Additionally, this beautifully nature on your own time. And, believe it or designed book includes a calendar section not, there are still mysteries and unanswered to track and compare observations across The Naturalist’s Notebook: questions when it comes to the natural a five-year span, with room in the margins An Observation Guide and world. to insert your own sketches and musings 5-Year Calendar-Journal Wheelwright and Heinrich offer a side by side with the book’s charming illus- for Tracking Changes in the systematic approach to observing and trations. Whether you choose to share your Natural World around You documenting your experiences. They prompt findings as a citizen scientist or to keep the By Nathaniel T. you to unplug and observe, to move through journal for your own enjoyment, the book your surroundings slowly, and to take note promises a journey that will allow you to Wheelwright & Bernd of small changes day by day. Instead of be more present in the moment and more Heinrich typing notes on your phone, they suggest connected to the subtle and intriguing Storey Publishing, 2017 you engage in hand-written journaling, changes in your environment. and drawing instead of photographing. Summer 2018 15 Feathers at the New-York Historical Society By Suzanne Charlé

n celebration of the centennial of the © New-York Historical Society other female activists educated the public Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of through writings and lectures about impor- I 1918, the New-York Historical Society tance of birds. offers Feathers: Fashion and the Fight for Wildlife, In the final section, the curators exhibit a compelling and timely exhibition tracing part of the museum’s renowned collection the people and events behind the animal of John James Audubon’s Birds of America rights movement that led to the Act. watercolors. On view are Audubon’s magnif- “The MBTA is seminal,” said Dr. Ro- icent portraits of Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy berta J. M. Olson, curator of drawings, who and Great Egret, Golden Eagle, Tundra created the show with Dr. Debra Schmidt Swan, Herring Gull, Mallard, Blue-winged Bach, curator of decorative arts. Aimed at Teal, and Common Eider—the birds, says the commercial feather and bird trade, the Olsen, “that were exploited to the point of MBTA protected some 800 species by pro- extinction, then saved.” hibiting the hunting, killing, trading, and The exhibition, which runs through July shipping of migratory birds, and regulated 15, is particularly prescient. According to the commercial plume trade. The Washington Post, the Interior Department Olson explained that the battle against recently issued new guidance to federal Accessory set, American, including muff and the commercial trade in bird feathers in the tippet, 1880–99. Metropolitan Museum of wildlife police specifying that the “take late 19th and early 20th centuries was one Art, Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection, [killing] of birds resulting from an activity is of the first popular movements in defense 2009. not banned by the MBTA when the under- of the environment. New York City was lying purpose of that activity is not to take its epicenter: stores in “Ladies’ Mile”—the an elegant winter ball gown are showered birds.” In other words, incidentally killing shopping district around Broadway and 23rd with the down of swans. Fans made of birds—for instance, from oil spills, poorly Street—sold quite literally a ton of feathers plumes of warblers, eagles, and grebes were sited wind turbines, or reflective glass— of Great and Snowy Egrets, White Ibises, de rigeur for a night at the opera. no longer breaks the law. The National Great Blue Herons, and other birds. By 1886 over five million birds were Audubon Society is fighting back, and you In an exhitibition section called “A killed annually for the millinery trade. Wom- can help: call on Congress to uphold the Fancy for Feathers,” clothes and accessories en from local Audubon clubs in New York, MBTA at www.audubon.org/takeaction. are festooned with feathers and avian body Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Florida © New-York Historical Society parts. Heads of Red-legged Honeycreepers began to rally in the late 1890s to protect peer out of earrings. The neck and train of America’s birds. Audubon members in New

© New-York Historical Society York City pushed milliners to abandon feath- ers. In 1904 millinery merchants agreed to find alternative materials—including feath- ers from domestic birds. Ads in local papers promoted “Audubonnets,” hats with simu- lated feathers made of synthetic fabric. The exhibition introduces us to the city’s female avian activists. When she wasn’t performing at the Metropolitan Opera, Lilli Lehmann made public appearances, appealing to her fans not to wear feathered hats, which she called a “gruesome folly.” Woman wearing an Audubonnet, Through writing and lectures, Florence From Bird-Lore, volume 15 (1913), page 400. Courtesy American Museum of Augusta Merriam Bailey, Mary S. Sage, Olive Audubonnet, 2018, Reproduction, by J. Leia Natural History, Special Collections Thorne Miller, Mabel Osgood Wright, and Lima Baum 16 www.nycaudubon.org Legacy Profile: Lisa Holzkenner Carol Peace Robins

ot many Manhattanites can say © Lisa Holzkenner they have photographed a Cat- Ntle Egret mere steps from their apartments. Or written poems about the Common Ravens they’ve seen outside their windows. Lisa Holzkenner can. It has been a long, circuitous, and bird- filled route to Lisa’s present perch on West 24th Street. Born in Casablanca, she moved as a child to France and later to Israel, where her grandfather awakened her love for birds. Lisa met her husband in Israel and moved with him to Manhattan. She enjoyed a career as a psychoanalyst, concentrating on family therapy, early childhood development, post-traumatic stress, and couples therapy. But her avocation as a devoted birder, bird photographer, and poet has defined her life story. It’s a happy coincidence that she lives within shouting distance of New York City member and enthusiastic regular on its bird- who first introduced her to them. So Lisa Audubon’s office. walks. She frequently and cheerfully brings has decided to leave a legacy gift to NYC “I share their vision to instill a renewed luscious cakes, cookies, and pies over to the Audubon. sense of understanding of our relationship office staff. Trip leader Tod Winston is par- “I’ve received much more enjoyment and connection with the natural world tial to her plum cake. from bird watching through organized field and the importance of appreciating and Lisa has traveled to many countries in trips and conservation activities than I could protecting birds and wildlife,” Lisa says. search of birds, but since Manhattan has ever give back to nature and to New York Lisa’s involvement with New York City been her home for 54 years, she especially City Audubon.” Audubon began in 2007 when she became a loves the birds of our city and the people

Remember the Birds

here are many ways to play • Name “New York City Audubon” as a The tax benefits of these options a significant and lasting role residual beneficiary, or co-beneficiary, can be very attractive, too. Be sure T in supporting New York in your retirement account, bank to speak with your financial advisor City Audubon’s mission to protect account, or insurance policy. It’s about any arrangements you make wild birds and their habitat in the five very easy! Many times it can be done on behalf of New York City boroughs of New York City: online. Retirement plans include Audubon. • Include New York City Audubon IRAs, 401(k) plans, profit-sharing in your will or irrevocable trust. plans, Keogh plans, and 403(b) plans. To learn more about ways to plan Specify “New York City Audubon • Have payments from your retirement a gift to New York City Audubon, Society, 71 West 23rd Street, New account made directly to New York contact Director of Development York, NY 10010” as a beneficiary. City Audubon. You must be 70½ or Kellye Rosenheim at krosenheim@ You can change your bequest or older. Payments made this way are not nycaudubon.org or 646-502-9611. designation at any time. included in your gross income.

Summer 2018 17 Acknowledgments

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center South Shore Audubon Society PARTNERSHIPS Jamaica Bay Birders’ Coalition St. Bernard’s School Conservation and outreach are not possible without Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry working partnerships. NYC Audubon collaborates Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy Swarovski with government agencies and other nonprofit and Kings County Brewers Collective Trout Unlimited community organizations to reach broader audiences Kingsborough Community College The Trust for Governors Island and achieve common conservation goals. Recent Linneaen Society The Unitarian Church of All Souls partnerships have included the following organizations: Macaulay Honors College U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences U.S. Geological Service Massachusetts Audubon Society U.S. Green Building Council of New York Alive Structures McGolrick Park Neighborhood Alliance U.S.D.A. APHIS/Wildlife Services American Bird Conservancy Metropolitan Society of Natural Historians Untapped Cities American Birding Association Michael Ahern Production Services Urban Parks Rangers American Institute of Architects Mohonk Preserve Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy American Littoral Society Moynihan Station Development Corporation The Waterbird Society American Museum of Natural History National Audubon Society Waterfront Alliance AmPark Neighborhood School - X344 National Park Service Wave Hill Arader Galleries Gateway National Recreation Area Wild Bird Fund ArchWild National September 11 Memorial & Museum Wildlife Conservation Society Atlanta Audubon The Nature Conservancy Woodlawn Conservancy Atlas Obscura Natural Areas Conservancy Audubon Connecticut Natural Resources Group Audubon New York Neighbors Allied for Good Growth NEW YORK CITY AUDUBON THANKS THE Audubon Pennsylvania New Jersey Audubon Society FOLLOWING FOUNDATIONS, CORPORATIONS, Conservancy New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Birds & Beans The New School AND GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES FOR THEIR Broadway Stages The New York Botanical Garden FINANCIAL SUPPORT Bronx River Alliance New York City Department of Education Brooklyn Bird Club New York City Department of Environmental AmazonSmile Foundation Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Protection Atlas Obscura Corporation New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Bank of America Canadian Wildlife Service New York City Economic Development Corporation Bay and Paul Foundations Central New Mexico Audubon New York City Soil & Water Conservation District Broadway Stages Central Park Arsenal New York Harbor School William C. Bullitt Foundation Central Park Conservancy New York State Department of Environmental Central Park Conservancy Chicago Bird Collision Monitors Conservation The Chervenak-Nunnalle Foundation Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Con Edison Christodora Historic Preservation The Dobson Foundation Columbia University New York State Ornithological Association The Durst Organization Conserve Wildlife New York University Center for Urban Science and The Eppley Foundation for Research Constitution Marsh - Audubon Center and Sanctuary Progress (CUSP) FedEx Cornell Cooperative Extension New York University Wallerstein Collaborative for First Cornerstone Foundation Cornell University Urban Environmental Education FXCollaborative Drexel University New-York Historical Society Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund DSNY Newtown Creek Alliance Hudson River Foundation Duke’s Liquor Box North American Marine Environment Protection Investors Bank Foundation Eagle Street Rooftop Farm Association Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Earth Matter NY The North Shore Waterfront Conservancy of Staten Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy Eco-Schools USA - National Wildlife Federation Island Kekst Ennead Architects NYC H2O Kimball Foundation The Evergreens Cemetery NYC Urban Soils Institute Kings County Brewers Collective Evergreen Exchange Ocean Conservancy Leaves of Grass Fund Fordham University Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn Leon Levy Foundation The Fortune Society The Ornithological Council Lily Auchincloss Foundation Freshkills Park Alliance Pace University Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences Friends of Parsons School of Design The Marta Heflin Foundation Friends University Patagonia Materials for the Arts FXCollaborative Plant Group Moore Charitable Foundation GoGreen! Brooklyn Port Authority of New York & New Jersey National Audubon Society Golden Gate Audubon Prendergast Laurel Architects National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Governors Island Alliance Prospect Park Audubon Center National Park Service Great South Bay Audubon Society Protectors of Pine Oak Woods The Nature Conservancy Greenbelt Conservancy Queens Botanical Garden New York Community Trust Greenbelt Native Plant Center Queens County Bird Club New York State Department of Environmental Greening Greenpoint Randall’s Island Park Alliance Conservation Greenpointers.com The Raptor Trust Patagonia Green-Wood Cemetery Riverkeeper Peak View Foundation Grounded Truth Productions Rockaway Waterfront Alliance Robert and Joyce Menschel Family Foundation Growing Chefs Rocking the Boat The Strachan and Vivian Donnelly Foundation Harbor Estuary Program Rooflite U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Sadhana Walt Disney Company Foundation The Horticultural Society of New York Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society Weinshel Goldfarb Foundation Hunter College SCAPE Studio William C. Bullitt Foundation Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay The Williams Companies International Dark Skies Association Shoals Marine Laboratory The Wood Thrush Foundation 18 www.nycaudubon.org News & Notes Support NYC Audubon’s Mission

TAKE ACTION TO DEFEND THE THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO PROTECT NEW YORK CITY’S WILD BIRDS MIGRATROY BIRD TREATY AND ENDANGERED SPECIES ACTS n addition to becoming a member or GIVE A MATCHING GIFT This year, as we celebrate the 100th making a one-time donation, there Supporters can double or triple the value of anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are several ways to play a larger role donations through their employers’ matching (MBTA), our most important bird protection I in supporting NYC Audubon’s mission to gift programs. Contact your company’s law is under attack. Legislation in Congress protect wild birds and their habitat in the five personnel office to learn how. Be sure to (HR 4239) and a new interpretation of the boroughs of New York City: specify New York City Audubon as the law by the Trump administration would end designee. the government’s ability to hold industries GIVE MONTHLY accountable for bird deaths. These proposals Provide ongoing monthly support to ensure LEAVE A LEGACY would prevent enforcement of “incidental” our birds are protected throughout the year. When you designate New York City Audubon bird deaths, removing incentives for You can make a huge difference for as little as a beneficiary in your will, IRA, life insurance companies to adopt practices that protect as $5 per month. See the membership form policy, or investment/bank account, your gift birds from threats such as oil spills, poorly- below or donate online at www.nycaudubon. sited wind turbines, or reflective glass, and will support the conservation of the birds eliminating penalties for companies that kill org/donate. you love for many years to come. Visit www. substantial numbers of birds. nycaudubon.org/leave-a-legacy, or contact us The Endangered Species Act is also BECOME A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN to learn more. under attack. According to reporting in The KESTREL CIRCLE Hill, an April 26 guidance from the Interior Soar above the rest by making a donation To learn more about any of the above, contact Department stated that the U.S. Fish and of $2,500 or more. American Kestrel Circle Director of Development Kellye Rosenheim Wildlife Service (USFWS) can no longer patrons enjoy special access and exclusive at [email protected] or 646-502- advise builders that they need to obtain tours. See the membership form below or 9611. Save paper, time, and money by making a permit, mandated by law, to maintain donate online at www.nycaudubon.org/ your contribution online 24/7 at endangered species habitat. "This new donate. Contact us to learn more. www.nycaudubon.org/support-us. memorandum essentially muzzles USFWS biologists from telling private landowners that they need to apply for an incidental take permit when they will harm threatened or endangered species, even though it is BECOME A MEMBER Contributing members are essential to our conservation and outreach work. USFWS's job to ensure listed species are not As a member of NYC Audubon, you will receive The Urban Audubon newsletter and The eGret email newsletter; enjoy discounts on field trips and classes; and make a difference in helping to protect the harmed," said Noah Greenwald, endangered City’s wildlife and natural areas. species director at the Center for Biological [ ] I would like become a member by making a recurring donation in the amount of $______Diversity. each month. Remind your members of Congress that I would like to become a member by making a one-time donation: you, as a voter, care about the original intent [ ] American Kestrel Circle $2,500 [ ] Conservationist $250 [ ] Supporter $100 of these laws and the environment. An easy [ ] Family $75 [ ] Dual $50 [ ] Friend $25 [ ] Student/Senior(65+)$15 way to send that message can be found at [ ] Dual Senior (65+) $30 [ ] New [ ] Renewal www.audubon.org/takeaction. [ ] Additionally, I would like to make a donation to NYC Audubon in the amount of $ ______. [ ] I’m already a member but would like to make a gift in the amount of $ ______. SPREAD THE WORD, NOT FISHING LINE [ ] Please direct my gift to D-Bird research NYC Audubon was saddened to learn that a Great Horned Owl recently died Name: ______in Prospect Park after getting tangled in fishing line left in the park's meadow. We Address: ______are concerned with the lack of enforcement of NYC Parks & Recreation's rules that Phone: H: ______C: ______Email: ______regulate fishing in permitted areas and urge the department to act. You can help prevent [ ] Enclosed is my check payable to NYC Audubon further tragedies like this one: be sure to [ ] Charge my credit card: [ ] VISA [ ] MC [ ] AMEX [ ] DSC properly dispose of all hooks and lines after CARD #: ______Exp. Date: ______Security Code: _____ you fish, and make certain other fishermen Mail this form with your payment to: are aware of the harm that tossed aside NYC Audubon • 71 West 23rd Street, Suite 1523 • New York, NY 10010 fishing supplies can cause birds. Membership in NYC Audubon does not include National Audubon membership or Audubon Magazine. Donations to NYC Audubon are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. NYC Audubon is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Summer 2018 19 New York City Audubon NON-PROFIT 71 West 23rd Street ORGANIZATION Suite 1523 U.S. POSTAGE PAID New York, NY 10010 Permit No. 02743 New York, NY

DATED MATERIAL: Summer 2018 Newsletter

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