SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM ‒ GEOLOGY WALK AT MOHONK PRESERVE
Meet Ray Haberski (
rhaberski@earthlink.net ) at the upper part of the West Trapps Parking Lot and hike to Undercliff Road. We will loop around to Overcliff Road and end up back at the parking lot. With a 20 minute stop for lunch at a spot overlooking the Catskills. Non Preserve members can purchase Day Passes for the weekend for $10
SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 8:00 AM-11:00AM- BLUESTONE FOREST/ONTEORA LAKE OPEN DISCOVERY WALK
Meet Joe Bridges (
jtpontes@aol.com ) at the Bluestone Forest/Onteora Lake DEC property on Rt. 28 in the Town of Kingston. An open discovery walk of about 2-3 miles for plants and animals in and around some abandoned bluestone quarries. If there's a convenient intermittent woodland pool nearby we'll explore for pool breeding salamanders.
SATURDAY, APRIL 27 , 8:00 AM- 10:00AM BIO-BLAST!
Mark your calendars: The second annual JBNHS Public School Partnership Bioblast will be held this year at J. Watson Bailey Middle School, Kingston, on Saturday, April 27 from 8-10 AM. You are cordially invited to join in this exciting outdoor experience as volunteer leaders. The majority of our participants will be between the ages of 10 and 12. For anyone interested in participating, we also welcome you to join us on a preliminary 'walk of the school grounds' scheduled for Sunday, April 14, at 8 AM. We will use this opportunity to become acquainted with the area. We will look for all creatures great and small-those flying, hopping, or crawling-as well as the plants, shrubs, and trees that grace this diverse landscape. Yes, bring your binoculars to this Sunday morning stroll. For more information, please contact Charlotte Adamis, Mark DeDea, or Donna Seymour.
SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 6:00 AM - NOON ‒ KENNETH WILSON STATE PARK
This park offers a variety of habitats and all are easily accessible, with much of the walk on pavement. Join trip leader Peter Schoenberger (
pds@netstep.net ) at the start of neotropical migration. Meet at the state park lot on Wittenberg Road in the Town of Woodstock at 6:00 a.m.. Field party will return to lot at 8:00 a.m. for those who are not early birds to enjoy the remainder of the outing. If time allows we may travel to nearby Yankeetown Pond as well.
SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013 ‒ BUS TRIP TO CENTRAL PARK FOR SPRING MIGRATION
A bus trip is scheduled for Saturday, May 4 2013. The bus will depart from Kingston’s Cornell Street parking lot at 5:00 am and will stop to pick up additional participants at the New Paltz Thruway Park and Ride at 5:30 am with arrival at American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West at roughly 7:00 am. Central Park is one of the best migrant traps in the northeast and offers birding without suffering from a case of warbler-neck. Participants are welcome to bird the park, visit museums, explore the city, or a combination of all. Time spent in New York City can be on your own or with the majority of the group focusing on birding the park but individuals will be expected back at the bus (where we were dropped off) for a prompt 3:00 pm departure to allow for arrival in Kingston around 5:00 pm. The ride home will include an opportunity to view the HBO documentary, Birders: The Central Park Effect as well. Personal belongings may be left on the bus but will not be accessible during the day. A small back pack is suggested for a lunch, field guide, and/or rain gear. The cost of the trip is $37.00 per person and payment is expected no later than March 31, 2013. Call or e-mail Mark DeDea, trip organizer at (845) 339-1277 or
forsythnature@aol.com . MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO:
Mark DeDea, 82 First Avenue, Kingston NY 12401.
SUNDAY, MAY 5, 7:30 AM - NOON or LATER ‒ SPRING BIRDS AND WILDFLOWERS The Esopus Creek Conservancy and John Burroughs Natural History Society are co-sponsoring a guided nature walk in woodlands and wetlands in the Town of Saugerties on Sunday, May 05, 2013. The first week in May is typically the peak migration period for neotropical birds at this latitude, and early morning is the best time to see and hear recently arrived songbirds in their brilliant spring plumage. We will explore a variety of ecologically rich habitats to experience this annual rite of spring, identifying birds by sight and sound while pausing along the way to observe a diversity of wildflowers and animal life.
Meet 7:30 a.m. in the Saugerties Village Beach parking lot on Rte. 9W, just north of the Esopus Creek bridge, at the foot of Partition Street in the Village of Saugerties. Participants can carpool and stay for the duration, or drive to each location and leave whenever necessary. Bring binoculars, field guides, and spotting scopes if you have them, and be prepared for wet, muddy trails, and early spring weather conditions. Light rain often makes for excellent birding and nature observation, but heavy rain will cancel the walk. Children are welcome and encouraged, but please do not bring pets. Contact the field trip leader, Steve Chorvas (
schorvas@verizon.net) for additional information or directions. This joint ECC/JBNHS Environmental Education walk is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required, but recommended in the event of unforeseen changes or cancellation. For additional information about upcoming ECC Nature Walks and Paddles, please visit
www.esopuscreekconservancy.org.
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 6:00 AM - NOON ‒ WARBLER WALK #1
Meet Lin Fagan (
faganlin@verizon.net or 339-2054) and Carol Weber (
carolorganistin@gmail.com 914 388-1569) at the New Paltz parking lot off Huguenot Street. The group will visit environs near town and travel towards Mohonk to search for neotropical migrants. Feel free to meet in the field or leave early for work.
SATURDAY, MAY 11, 10 AM - 12am ‒ MONITORING EASTERN BOX TURTLES IN GARDINER
Lend a hand at the Wallkill Valley Land Trust's Walk and Talk on the Smith Property, where the Smiths, with the aid of biologist Joe Bridges, have been monitoring the turtles on their 65 acres since 2005. Assist in the search for box turtles, which are active this time of year. So far 66 different individuals have been found and documented, some with the aid of the Smiths' Australian cattledogs, which have been trained to track turtles. You can learn more about this project at
www.boxturtlesny.com. To
Celebrate the Vernal Equinox by viewing one of the great events of the year. Join Christine Guarino (chrissy.guarino@gmail.com ) for an evening stroll in the Shawangunk Grasslands to hear and possibly see male woodcocks perform their courting flights. We should hear early amphibians and maybe an owl or two also. Meet at the refuge entrance on Hoagerburg Rd. (Ulster Cty. Rt. 18)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 8 PM – VERNAL EQUINOX FIELD ASTRONOMY
Tom Crepet (255-0324) will extend our celebration of the Vernal Equinox beyond the woodcock’s courtship and into the darkening night sky to learn more about constellation, star, and planet identification …..and maybe hear an owl while we are at it. This will be a continuation of the Woodcock Walk but you may choose to meet party in the field by walking in at the main refuge entrance on Hoagerburg Rd. (Ulster Cty. Rt. 18)
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 7:00 AM - 1:00 PM ‒ TIVOLI BAYS BIRDING
We will explore the tidal marshes and upland habitat of this DEC property. Careful, respectful observations of Bald Eagle family life will highlight walk but waterfowl and other early migrants can be expected. Meet trip leader Mark DeDea (forsythnature@aol.com or 339-1277) to carpool at Forsyth Nature Center in Kingston at 7:00 am or meet at DEC parking lot on Cruger Island Road (where Dutchess County Rt. 103 makes sharp turn) at 7:30 am.
SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 8:00 AM ‒ SIGNS OF SPRING NATURE WALK The Esopus Creek Conservancy is sponsoring a guided nature walk to observe early signs of spring in a variety of ecologically rich habitats in the Town of Saugerties on Sunday, March 24, 2013. We will visit The Great Vly Wildlife Management Area, Esopus Bend Nature Preserve, and possibly the Saugerties Lighthouse Trail on the Hudson River, depending on available time, conditions, and participant interest. Meet 8:00 a.m. in the Saugerties Village Beach parking lot on Rte. 9W, just north of the Esopus Creek bridge, at the foot of Partition Street in the Village of Saugerties. Participants can carpool and stay for the duration, or drive to each location and leave whenever necessary. Bring binoculars, field guides, and spotting scopes if you have them, and be prepared for wet, muddy trails, and early spring weather conditions. Light rain often makes for excellent birding and nature observation, but heavy rain will cancel the walk. Children are welcome and encouraged, but please do not bring pets. Contact the field trip leader, Steve Chorvas (schorvas@verizon.net) for additional information or directions. This ECC Environmental Education walk is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required, but recommended in the event of unforeseen changes or cancellation. For additional information about upcoming ECC Nature Walks and Paddles, please visit www.esopuscreekconservancy.org
SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM VERNAL POOLS AT EBNP
Enter the intimate living world of vernal pools with ecologist Spider Barbour. The Preserve boasts several vernal pools, teeming with biological activity at this time of year. In early spring amphibians wake from hibernation and head straight for wetlands and ponds where they engage in reproductive rituals different from ours, but just as fascinating and entertaining. With luck, the wood frogs will be calling in the pools, and there will be egg masses of spotted salamanders, perhaps larvae of marbled salamanders, and a few surprises. Meet 1:00 p.m. in the Saugerties Village Beach parking lot on Rte. 9W, just north of the Esopus Creek Bridge, at the foot of Partition Street in the Village of Saugerties. We will
carpool to the Preserve. Contact schorvas@verizon.net for additional information or directions. This ECC Environmental Education walk is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required. For additional information about upcoming ECC Nature Walks, please visit www.esopuscreekconservancy.org.