THE CLAPPER RAIL WinterThe 2014 Clapper Rail Volume 20, Number 1 Volume 24, No. 1 www.brooklynbirdclub.org Gateway General Management Plan Update In This Issue Robert Bate The big news in conservation in our area continues to be the Gateway Management Plan ...............1 General Management Plan for the Gateway National Recreation Lookout Hill Restoration.................. 2 Area. NYSOA Meeting Report ............... ....3 http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=16091 Sparks! .......................................3 The National Park Service is soon to make a final determination Resources for Young Birders ......... ...5 between the three alternatives proposed in the GMP: A- Make no The Unfeathered Bird Review............ 7 changes to existing conditions and practices; B - Develop Gateway with significant increases in recreational activities (this Oaxaca Birding........... ...................8 is called the “preferred plan”), and C- Constrain recreational Art Exhibits in Brooklyn .................12 development and concentrate on significant habitat restoration and wildlife protection (this is called the “environmentally Audubon's Aviary ..........................12 preferred plan”). The comments period for the GMP is over. The Spring Field Trips .........................13 NPS is reviewing comments and they will be making their final “record of decision,” regarding the use and development of Evening Programs .........................16 Gateway NRA for the foreseeable future. Though the membership of the BBC may not have had absolute unanimity in our outlook, we all support habitat restoration and wish to see the impact of recreational activities upon wildlife and habitat minimized. To that end, Sandy Paci and I have attended The Brooklyn Bird Club the meetings and supported the efforts of a coalition of area bird clubs and wildlife organizations—spearheaded by Glenn Phillips, President: Rob Bate Susan Elbin and Harry Maas of New York City Audubon—in responding to the General Management Plan and the specific The Clapper Rail points it addresses, especially concerning the greater Jamaica Bay area. The coalition met with Joshua Laird, Commissioner of Editorial: Monica Berger, Bobbi Manian, Parks for New York Harbor, and Jennifer Nersesian, newly Tracy Meade, Ann Murray appointed Superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area. Production: Janet Zinn Additionally, we’ve attended Jamaica Bay Task Force meetings and expressed our joint concerns regarding wildlife and habitat © 2014 The Br ooklyn Bird Club issues. Protection of habitat and wildlife is an ongoing process and even after the NPS makes their final determination, we must ...continued on page 2 . 1 Winter 2014 continue to be involved as each individual part of Hoping to raise enough pledges to plant two Pin Oaks Jamaica Bay is developed. to replace the mature trees on Lookout Hill felled during Hurricane Sandy, we actually raised enough Since the shoreline of Jamaica Bay has historically been money to plant three of the soon to be mighty Pin Oaks, developed for human use, the availability of fresh as well as two smaller Serviceberry trees which, when water habitat in the area has virtually been reduced to full grown, will serve as understory to the oaks. zero. The East and West Ponds of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, though man made, have, since their inception, Many thanks to Birdathon Director Bobbi Manian. filled a need for the waterfowl migrating into and Thanks goes to Eric Landau, John Jordan, the Prospect through our area. The East Pond, breached during Park Alliance and their Natural Resources Crew as well. Hurricane Sandy, has been repaired but the water All the Birdathon teams and their financial supporters remains very salty. The West Pond, also breached, and the entire membership of the Brooklyn Bird Club remains unrestored as of this date, though the NPS is played their part in this big day. developing alternatives for restoration strategies. The restoration will require a significant logistical effort Special thanks goes to Susan Scioli, whose generous building berms, excavating future wetland areas and matching fund helped us exceed our wildest hopefully building wetland trails. The monies expectations. Of course, deep and continued thanks dedicated by congress for Hurricane Sandy relief are goes to Peter Dorosh, whose years of BBC leadership set to expire relatively quickly, so continued pressure helped established the Brooklyn Bird Club's tradition of on public officials to expedite this process is needed. If conservation. Prospect Park has provided us all with the restoration of the West Pond is of concern to you, many wonderful memories and rich experiences—our know that no letter, email or phone call is a waste of Lookout Hill efforts are a small token of our gratitude. time—your voice matters. The preservation and restoration of habitat in Jamaica Bay is really an international issue as this area is a pivotal part of the ancient Atlantic Flyway. It would be a shame if personal and local political interests held sway over the future development of this natural resource. Please stay involved. And now for a late breaking news flash! The US Fish and Wildlife Service has taken a strong stand against the NPS plan to increase human impact on the Jamaica Bay Habitat. In a letter they submitted to the NPS calling for stronger protections than are called for in Alternative C of the NPS General Management Plan, they have cited the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Endangered Species Act and several other federal laws which call for protection of threatened species and threatened habitat. As a result, the NPS has postponed On another note related to the BBC’s continued care for their decision-making process and seems to be Prospect Park, the Wednesday Weeding Volunteers, reconsidering the plans for Gateway NRA and Jamaica headed by Janet Zinn, cleared mugwort and other Bay. USF&WS took a stronger stand than we could invasives in Butterfly Meadow in preparation for the have possibly hoped for. tree planting. This committed group is ensuring that this natural area will flourish for years to come. As of Nov 13 th , the trees are in the ground, the bubbly Lookout Hill Restoration & Thank You! (non-alcoholic in line with park policy) was passed around, toasts were made and the ribbon was cut. The This past spring brought us the BBC’s hugely successful Butterfly Meadow is back in business and recovering Birdathon, which was held on International Migratory well after the devastation from from Hurricane Sandy. Bird Day, May 11, 2013. As usual, we outdid ourselves. We can all look forward to our migrating friends 2 . The Clapper Rail making use of this healthy habitat come this spring. examples of the lengths we will go to catch sight of a see on their face that they get it. I have met many rare bird. One incident included a close encounter with people that have become good friends as well as great a hunting pride of lions in Africa. birders. Sunday’s field trips largely duplicated Saturday’s but included a long jaunt all the way out to Montauk led by conference organizer Seth Ausubel, a nice and NYS Ornithological exhausting way to end a successful conference. Association 66th Annual Everyone had a great time at the conference and many Meeting/NY Birders of us look forward to a repeat performance in the not Conference, November 1 – too distant future. Thanks again to the Queens County 3, 2013 Bird Club for hosting this year’s NYSOA conference— their service to the NY State birding community is Last November the Queens County Bird Club bravely greatly appreciated. sponsored the 66 th NYSOA/New York Birders Conference in Uniondale, Long Island (http://nybirdersconference.wordpress.com). Normally this conference is held upstate and, though Sparks! lodging and other expenses are more reasonable in rural locales, many birders had expressed interest in holding the event downstate to give our upstate A daughter and her father get colleagues an opportunity to explore the abundant fall hooked on birding, by Eliesabeth birdlife along our waterfronts and barrier islands. Seth Gasser & Klemens Gasser Ausubel, Pat Aiken, Arie Gilbert, and all the other QCBC members and NYSOA event planners are to be Birding. For me birding used to be dreadful hours commended for a successful and productive conference walking with my dad in Central Park. I was never really that came off without a hitch. good at using binoculars, and my dad tried to help me by making me practice. We used to go to Central Park Friday’s list of conference speakers included Brooklyn’s and he would make me try to read the words on a sign own Tom Stephenson. Tom and Scott Whittle from far away. The first five signs were fun, but usually presented on their recently published The Warbler once you have read 20 signs about not feeding the Guide and some of the finer warbler identification ducks it gets kind of monotonous. Then there were the points. Brooklyn’s Doug Gotchfeld, a new member of Goldfinches. My dad would find one in a tree and I the NYSOA Records Committee, gave a presentation on would try to follow it. You might not think so, but for an the New York State Bird List with a focus on how eight year old, not being able to find a bright yellow rarities are verified and added to the permanent bird was pretty frustrating. You can ask anyone, record. Sean Mahar of NY State Audubon gave a whenever it was the weekend and my dad mentioned wonderful presentation on environmental advocacy the words Central Park, I would break down in a full-on and is one of the few people to come out publicly as a tantrum. Central Park wasn’t the only place where I “lobbyist.” had to experience the former dread of birding. We had a weekend house in South Hampton and my dad just Saturday included well attended trips all over Long LOVED to go Mashomack Park and walk along the bird Island and Queens at Jones Beach, Sunken Meadow paths.