VOL. 68 Issue # 2 The Osprey’s Dec 2017 Jan Feb 2018 Platform North Shore Audubon Society Serving Northern Nassau County Established1952 Evening Programs Help NSAS Cut Costs Manhasset Public Library One of our biggest expenses is printing and mailing 30 Onderdonk Ave. at Northern Blvd. 7pm the newsletter. You can opt to have the newsletter Open to the public and free of charge emailed to you as a pdf. Save paper and trees - PLUS you get the newsletter as soon as it is ready. Handicap accessible We can also send you updates, cancellations and http://manhassetlibrary.org changes. Please send an email with your name Membership meetings are the and address to: [email protected]. 4th Tuesday of the month, unless noted January 23rd Join us on the friendly walks Film Flight - the Genius of Birds Saturdays Photographed in North America, England, Peru, Green- September - December and March - May land, and Antarctica, FLIGHT probes mysteries and Wednesdays - year round. mechanisms of a bird’s anatomy, instinct, navigation, and embryology to reveal stunning provisions essen- February 27th tial for life in the skies. You’ll marvel at a hummingbird’s The Birds of a Native Grassland Project unique systems vital to its spectacular aerial acrobatics; the endurance and navigational abilities of an Arctic tern in Northern Nassau County as it travels from pole to pole during the longest migra- Stephane Perreault tion on the planet; the instinctive strategies that enable A grassland restoration project has been in place for a fl ock of 300,000 European starlings to evade preda- nearly a decade at the Greentree Foundation, a pri- tors at break-neck speeds; the elaborate network of a vate location in Northern Nassau County. The stunning million component parts that make a single feather an results of bird surveys performed during the fall migra- aerodynamic masterpiece, and much more. The poet tion at Greentree will be presented. We believe that William Blake wrote: to see an eagle in the air is to ob- these results are encouragement for all those involved serve a portion of genius. in grassland restoration projects on Long Island. We also hope to stimulate a collaboration between grass- land managers and birders, to start the creation a bird Happy Holidays! dataset for a conceptual “grassland corridor” on Long Island. No December Membership Stephane Perreault is a graduate of MgGill Universi- meeting ty, where he studied the American Redstart. Since his arrival to Southern New York in the mid 90’s, Stephane Join us on the has pursued a diversifi ed career in laboratory biology. Christmas Bird Count on December 16th He remained an avid birder, and he is currently part of the staff at the Seatuck Environmental Association. details on page 4 Seatuck, led by Enrico Nardone, has been performing Feeder counters welcome bird surveys for the Greentree Foundation since 2009. Thank You Whole Foods NSAS off ers members a quarterly print newsletter, or pdf for generously supplying the email delivery, redesigned website and both a Facebook refreshments at our general meetings. page and a group for more up to the minute information. Whole Foods is located at Northern Blvd. and Port Washington Blvd. www.northshoreaudbon.org From the President: Peggy Maslow Seatuck sponsors many other activities including All About Seatuck grassland restoration, sea duck counting and the bird- ing challenge which involves teams competing to fi nd the most birds in 12 hours. If anyone has a suggestion Having heard the name Seatuck mentioned many for a large area that could be restored as grasslands, times, I looked forward to the Long Island Audubon Seatuck is looking for another one. Right now Stepha- Chapters annual Fall meeting on November 4, at the ne Perrault does bird surveys at Greentree for Seatuck Seatuck Environmental Association in East Islip, host- and they also do controlled burns there. The river reviv- ed by Great South Bay Audubon Society. (There is al project that Nardone presented is part of Seatuck’s also a Spring meeting each year hosted by a diff erent campaign for Long Island wildlife. They strive to get chapter.) An hour presentation by Seatuck’s execu- people outside and connected to nature. You can also tive director, Ernrico C. Nardone, on Seatuck’s Long visit longislandfi eldnotes.org, another of Seatuck’s Island river renewal project proved fascinating. After- websites for photos and essays on LI wildlife. wards Jennifer Wilson-Pines and I volunteered to help identify fi sh at our nearby waterways. What is eBird? Why should a bird organization care about fi sh? Our waters suff er from invasive plants and runoff of poi- eBird is a real-time, online checklist program that you sons and fertilizer. Also many of the 130 golf courses can use on your smart phone or computer. Launched use surface water by the gallons to the detriment of the in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National waterways. These all impact our marine species and Audubon Society, eBird provides rich data sources on other wildlife. Long Island has four main migratory ma- bird abundance and distribution. rine species: Two species of river herring (alewife and eBird’s goal is to maximize the utility and accessibil- blueback herring), American eel and brook trout. As ity of the vast numbers of bird observations made each these fi sh move between ocean, estuary and river they year by recreational and professional bird watchers. It provide forage for countless other species. Osprey, re- is amassing one of the largest and fastest growing bio- turn to Long Island from their wintering grounds at pre- diversity data resources in existence. For example, in cisely the time, (mid-March) when adult river herring May 2015, participants reported more than 9.5 million are pouring into our estuaries. Besides eating the fi sh, bird observations across the world! birds devour the fi sh eggs, both great protein sources. The observations of each participant join those of American eels spawn in the Saragoso Sea in the Atlan- others in an international network. eBird then shares tic Ocean and then the baby eels come up Long Island these observations with a global community of educa- rivers to grow. River herring spawn in the rivers and tors, land managers, ornithologists, and conservation then the young swim out to live in the ocean only com- biologists. In time these data will become the foun- ing back to rivers to spawn. Go to www.seatuck.org dation for a better understanding of bird distribution to view a map developed by Seatuck of every coastal across the western hemisphere and beyond. tributary in Nassau and Suff olk County. It shows which How Does it Work? rivers are blocked by dams built usually for mill ponds eBird documents the presence or absence of species, and to create bogs for cranberry production. Seatuck as well as bird abundance through checklist data. eBird built fi sh ladders or fi sh passage structures at some of encourages users to participate by providing internet these locations and also removed dams which were tools that maintain their personal bird records and en- no longer functional, allowing the fi sh to move up and able them to see data with interactive maps, graphs, down the waterways. and bar charts. A birder simply enters when, where, and how they But much more needs to be done. The Diadromous went birding, then fi lls out a checklist of all the birds Fish Restoration Strategy identifi es priority restoration seen and heard. eBird provides many options for data targets in each of the thirteen towns in Nassau and Suf- gathering. Automated data quality fi lters developed by folk Counties. It sets a goal of growing Long Island’s overall river herring population to 1.5 million over the regional bird experts review all submissions before next two decades. they enter the database. Local experts review unusual records that are fl agged by the fi lters. 2 WINTER WEDNESDAY LEADERLESS SPECIAL DISCOUNT BIRD WALK SCHEDULE Bayles Garden Center Walks are for beginners and experienced birders alike. Weather permitting, 88 S. Bayles Ave., Port walks start at 9:30AM unless indicated otherwise ***. If in doubt, please call Washington is off ering a special the trip leader. Please note: all phone numbers are area code 516 unless noted. In most cases, the contacts are also leaders for the respective walks. discount to NSAS members. Go to our website at www.northshoreaudubon.org for directions. We encourage carpooling, where possible. Please note there is a $10 per 20% off on seed and feeders, car fee at Sands Pt. Call leader for parking ideas. excluding sale items. Bring Schedule note: *** indicates early offi cial start time *indicates new parking in your National Audubon location. Call Wendy Murbach for information at 546-6303. membership card, or this NSAS December newsletter. 12/6 St John’s Pond 12/13 Gerry Park and Cedarmere, Roslyn Sat. 12/16 North Shore Christmas Bird Count 12/20 Sands Point Preserve Port Washington PARKING FEE OFFICERS - 2016-2018 12/27 Stehli Beach Bayville Peggy Maslow, President 883-2130 January Jill Vomacka, Vice President 671-9823 1/3 Massapequa Preserve Belinda Nielsen, Secretary 628-1315 1/10 Oakland Lake-Special Tree Walk with Andrew Greller Micheal Henahan, Treasurer 627-7018 1/17 Point Lookout DIRECTORS and COMMITTEE 1/24 Hempstead Lake State Park RESPONSIBILITIES 1/31 Planting Fields Education - Peggy Maslow February Membership - Kathryne Natale 759-0925 2/7 Jamaica Bay WR Conservation - J.Wilson-Pines 767-3454 2/14 Target Rock WR Publicity - Nancy Tognan 718-225-8064 2/21 Twin Lakes-Wantagh Programs - Jill Vomacka, 671-9823 Jeanne 2/28 Belmont Lake State Park Millspaugh 723-0269 March Field Trips - Barbara Garriel 628-9022 3/1 Mill Pond-Bellmore Leaderless Walks-Wendy Murbach 546-6303 3/8 Jones Beach West End Coast Guard Station Editor - Jennifer Wilson-Pines 767-3454 Hospitality - Joyce Bryk Leeds Pond continued Special Projects - Jill Vomacka dog walkers and class trips all continued to march below the nest and it APPOINTED COMMITTEES Website Thomas Natale [email protected] has caused the ospreys to abandon the nest on a couple of occasions.