April / May 2013 Issue 333 SPRING FIELD TRIPS & PROGRAMS Audubon Programs & Walks 1 Join us! For more information call 914.666.6503 2 Chapter News or visit www.sawmillriveraudubon.org Chapter Roundtable Raptors Uncorked Welcoming Our Southern Neighbors Monday Morning Birding: Rockefeller State Park Monday, April 8  8:30 am–10:30 am 3 More Spring Programs Join us for a walk at this local birding hotspot–Rockefeller State & Field Trips Park Preserve. Beginners encouraged! Meet in the main parking 4 Contact Us! area off Route 117 (note $6 per car fee collected by NY State People  Memberships & Donations Parks). Call or email us for directions or to borrow a pair of binoculars for the walk. Photo: C. McCluskey Board Proxies Due Second Saturday Walk at Brinton Brook Sanctuary Our annual election of board Saturday, April 13  9:00 am–11:00 am members and officers will be held Our monthly walks will continue year-round on second Saturdays at our largest sanctu- on Saturday, April 13. Please fill ary: Brinton Brook in Croton-on-Hudson. Good for ages 6 and up. No pre-registration out and mail your proxy or necessary. Held regardless of weather except in cases of severe weather or road cast your vote online at closures. Meet at main parking area off Route 9A. sawmillriveraudubon.org/Proxy SMRA Anniversary Dinner & Program: Exploring the Hudson River Raptors Uncorked! Saturday, April 13  6:00 pm  New Castle Community Center, Chappaqua An evening of wine and wildlife. We’re celebrating our 60TH Anniversary with a spring Sat. June 1. Details on page 2 potluck dinner. After a brief business meeting, we’ll enjoy a special program from Steve Stanne of the Hudson River Estuary Program, “Exploring the Hudson River from the Adirondacks to the Atlantic.” We’ll also have a presentation Final Bird Seed Sale on SMRA’s birding trip to Texas. Reserve a place online at for Spring will be Photo: W. Kellner sawmillriveraudubon.org/Dinner Saturday, April 20 Monday Morning Birding: Croton Point Park 9:30 am––12:30 pm Monday, April 22  8:30 am–10:30 am Pruyn Sanctuary  Join us for our monthly walks at local birding hotspots. Beginners encouraged! Meet at the Nature Center parking Stock up on our high-quality seed! lot within Croton Point Park. Call or email us for directions or to borrow a pair of binoculars for the walk. Weekday sales are available Photo: J. Kellner Mon/Wed/Fri 10:30 am-3:30 pm Arbor Day Tree Walk: Lasdon Arboretum, Somers Call 914.666.6503 for details Saturday, April 27  9:00 am–11:00 am Join Arborist John Grant on this spring walk as we learn about the value of native trees, All sales benefit with tips on tree identification. Meet in garden/mansion parking area off Route 35. For Saw Mill River Audubon adults and children 10 and up. No pre-registration necessary. SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE AUDUBON FIELD TRIPS & PROGRAMS 2 Saw Mill River Audubon C H A P T E R N E W S

SMRA Hosts Audubon Chapters Welcoming Our Saw Mill River Audubon hosted a Lower Hudson Audubon Roundtable on Saturday, March 2, joining with six other local Southern Neighbors Audubon chapters and Audubon New York to share chapter Our daily encounters with Latin American immigrants are successes and challenges. numerous and varied. We meet them on the train, at the office, and at restaurants; really, in all walks of life. The One of the roundtable workshops focused on planning for Latino population in our area has grown significantly in recent better connections between local Audubon chapters and the decades, as it has in much of the United States. We see Hispanic community. Chapters represented were: Audubon specialty stores Society of the Capital Region, Bedford Audubon, Bronx serving the cultures of River Sound Shore Audubon, Central Westchester Audubon, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hudson River Audubon of Westchester, Rockland Audubon Mexico, and many and Saw Mill River Audubon. other countries. So how do we, at The roundtable costs were partially underwritten by Saw Mill Audubon, welcome River Audubon's Together Green planning grant from them into our fold? National Audubon, funded by Toyota. It turns out that there Raptors Uncorked! is a common migra- tory thread which we Saturday, June 1, 20135:00—7:00 pm can use to connect Kitchawan Lodge immigrants to the Audubon Society—their lands of origin also Croton Point County Park happen to be the places where many of our bird species go for the An evening of wine and wildlife celebrating Saw Mill River Audubon’s winter—the neotropical migrants 60TH Anniversary who spend part of the year south of Tickets: $25 each the Tropic of Cancer. There are approximately 200 species which Enjoy a spectacular sunset over the Hudson make this annual journey. while you sample hors d’ouevres and fine wines Cerulean warbler (wines supplied by Deprez Wines of Croton). People long for any connection to their homeland—hence the popularity of specialized music venues and restaurants. But Guests will be folks also remember the wildlife of their native lands and feel treated to an exciting an instant pang of recognition when seeing, for example, a program by falconer cerulean warbler. They may have different names for it, James Eyring and surely (reinita cerúlea or verdin azulada, among them, his entourage of even Paruline azurée in French-speaking Haiti or French hawks, owls and Guiana) but it is the same bird. falcons. Watch these birds of prey in flight and learn about the fascinating world of raptors. We discovered this phenomenon at a recent event co- sponsored by Saw Mill River Audubon and Bedford Audubon, Reservations Required which invited members of the community to a talk by John Call our office at 914-666-6503 or visit Beavers of Audubon’s International Alliances Program. www.sawmillriveraudubon.org/Raptors April / May 2013 3 CHAPTER NEWS SPRING WALKS & PROGRAMS (cont. from p. 1)

Southern M A Y M A Y (cont.) Neighbors Monday, May 6  7:30 am Saturday, May 18  6:00 am (continued from p. 2) Bird Walk: Muscoot Farm Bear Mountain NOTE EARLIER START TIME State Park The program, The Atlantic Flyway Our Monday walks at local birding hotspots Doodletown Connection / La Conexión vía continue at Muscoot Farm County Park on Mine Road Birding Migratoria del Atlántico, showed quite Route 100 in Somers. Beginners encour- Doodletown, inside Bear clearly that we share a lot of birding aged! Call or email for directions or to Mountain State Park, is history and habitat with our new borrow a pair of binoculars for the walk. a famed location for spring warblers including neighbors. Wednesday, May 8  7:00 pm cerulean and hooded warblers. We’ll meet Hooded warbler Public Program: Native Plants We have a local organization, Neigh- early to catch the height of morning activity bors Link, to thank for helping us begin Croton Unitarian Fellowship and song. Optional extensions to nearby to think about new outreach possibili- Carol Capobianco, Executive Director of Iona Island and Mine Road habitats for ties. About 70 people attended the the Native Plant Center of Westchester, additional birding. For this walk, email will present a program about native February 13 event. Folks had fun registration is required. Send your name plants and the work of the Native Plant looking at pictures of different birds, Center. Unitarian Fellowship is located at and a contact phone to: and identifying on the map where they 2021 Albany Post Road (Route 9A) just [email protected]. came from—both birds and people. north of Route 9 Montrose exit. Tuesday, May 21  8:00 am Saturday, May 11  9:00 am Mianus River Gorge Birding Events like this help us in our goal of Second Saturday Walk at Audubon being a more inclusive The Mianus River Gorge Preserve was Brinton Brook Sanctuary organization, while diversifying and established in 1953 to protect an old Our monthly walks will continue year-round growth hemlock grove on the banks of adding youth to our ranks. To all our on second Saturdays at our largest sanctu- the Mianus River in eastern new neighbors, bienvenidos! ary: Brinton Brook in Croton-on-Hudson. Westchester County. We will meet with --Brian Kluepfel Good for ages 6 and up. No pre-registration Preserve staff to view their bird banding necessary. Held station and go birding for spring mi- regardless of grants in the gorge. For this walk, email weather except in registration is required. Send your name cases of severe and a contact phone to: weather or road [email protected]. closures. Meet at main parking area Monday, May 27  7:00 am off Route 9A. Bird Walk: Croton Point Park Saw Mill River Audubon's NOTE EARLIER START TIME exploration on how to build bridges between local Black locust grove at Brinton Brook Meet us at the Nature Audubon chapters and the Wednesday, May 15  7:00 am Center parking lots in Hispanic community was Croton Point County supported by a planning grant Bird Walk: Rockefeller State Park.Beginners are from the Together Green Park Preserve encouraged! program from Toyota and NOTE START TIME National Audubon. Meet in the main parking area off Route 117 No pre-registration is (note $6 per car fee collected by NY State required for this walk. Parks). For this walk, email registration is Check our web site or required. Send your name and a contact phone message if any American goldfinch phone to: [email protected]. question about weather. Photo: B. Talluto Saw Mill River Audubon PERIODICAL POSTAGE 275 Millwood Road PAID Chappaqua, New York 10514 at Chappaqua, NY and additional offices

Save the Date! Geocaching Day at Brinton Brook Sanctuary Saturday, June 15, 2013. See website for details.

Deadline for next newsletter: May 1

Saw Mill River Audubon 275 Millwood Road EXPERIENCE NATURE Chappaqua, New York 10514 E N 914.666.6503 “To learn something new, take the path that you took [email protected] yesterday.” John Burroughs www.sawmillriveraudubon.org Visit one of Saw Mill River Audubon’s OFFICERS President, Robert McCrillis sanctuaries and experience the natural Vice-President, William Kellner world. Chairman of the Board, Richard Saravay Secretary, Donna Lee Ubertalli Treasurer, Tom McEnerney Your gift helps us to preserve and protect Bulletin Editor, William Kellner these special places close to home. Circulation Director, Jean Sparacin Thank you! STAFF Executive Director, Anne Swaim ISH TO ONATE ______Office Manager, Ellen Heidelberger I W D Marketing & Fundraising, Barbara Campbell Enclosed is: Name(s) Educator, Patricia Mutolo $500 $250 $100 ______Sanctuary Maintenance, Danny Ferguson Address $50 $30  $____ ON THE WING is published five (5) times a ______year (Sept/Oct/Nov, Dec/Jan, Feb/Mar, Apr/  My employer will match my gift. City/State/Zip May, and June/July/Aug) for $7.50 a year by Saw Mill River Audubon, 275 Millwood Road, I’’’ D LIKE TO JOIN ______Chappaqua, NY 15014. Periodical Postage Saw Mill River Audubon! Please make checks payable to: #013281 at Chappaqua, NY 10514. ISSN: Basic Chapter Membership: 1545-5254 at Chappaqua, NY and additional Saw Mill River Audubon mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Address  Enclosed is $30 275 Millwood Road changes to: Saw Mill River Audubon, 275  Please send me planned giving info Chappaqua, NY 10514 Millwood Road, Chappaqua, NY 10514