If you think being called a birdbrain is an insult, July’s Book Club selection is a must-read! This myth will be debunked in Jennifer Ackerman’s “lyrical testimony to the wonders of avian intelligence.” - Scientific American 

With bird activity all around, this is the perfect time to pick up a copy of New York Times bestseller The Genius of Birds and join our Bylane Book Club discussion of this “journey of deep appreciation for the beautiful geniuses all around us.” This meeting will be held outdoors at Bylane Farm on the patio, with an option to connect virtually for anyone not ready for in-person events.

Cost: Free. Registration required by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or calling 914-302-9713. Please indicate if you will attend in-person or via Zoom when you register.

The Annual Meeting for members begins at 6:30pm. After a brief year-end review presented by Board president Simon Brocklehurst, our Board elections will take place. Two candidates are running for open Board positions. Bedford Audubon members in good standing are eligible to vote in the election.

If you are a current member and can’t attend the Annual Meeting virtually, you can vote by proxy. Please email Suzanne Cahill at executivedirector@bedfordaudubon.org to request a proxy (or if you have questions about your membership status).

Click here for info on the candidates running for positions on the board.

Please join us for a special presentation of Survival by Degrees by Ana Paula Tavares, Executive Director Audubon NY + CT.

The Fall 2019 issue of Audubon magazine explored Audubon’s climate change report, Survival by Degrees: 389 Species on the Brink. This report builds on Audubon’s original climate study and provides forecasts for birds in North America under various global warming scenarios. You saw the headlines – as many as 389 out of 604 bird species could be at risk without the immediate reduction in carbon emissions.

In her lecture, Ana Paula Tavares will speak about the ways this climate report is informing action on a local level, the reasons conservation efforts are essential, and what you can do to help your local community.

Click here for more info.

At which local hotspot did Kristen Johnson, our Summer Field Biologist, recently spot 41 species of birds?

You guessed it… at the Cross River Dam/Maple Avenue area in Katonah! Join Tait for the return of our Third Thursday’s Bird Walk this month and you might see or hear some of the species Kristen saw last month. These include Osprey, Double-crested Cormorant, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-throated Vireo, and more! As last month, registration is limited to five people and headsets will be provided so everyone can hear Tait without crowding around him.

Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Registration is limited and required by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or calling 914-302-9713

Take your child(ren) on an adventure without leaving your home!

Let Teen Council member Ashley Stagnari entertain your kids on a Virtual Story Walk. Ashley has updated our Story Trail with Worms for Walter, a “gem of a book” written and illustrated by local author + naturalist Jenny Muller. Ashely will present this enchanting, beautifully illustrated story about the adventures of a baby Woodcock who goes missing before his first meal. Sign up today!

Cost: Free. Registration required by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or calling 914-302-9713. A Zoom link will be emailed to you the day before the Story Walk.

They have taste receptors on their feet, can live in the adult stage from anywhere between a week and a year, and fly in a similar way to birds. Can you guess what they are?

Butterflies, of course! Learn all about them by enrolling in Naturalist Tait Johansson’s Butterfly Workshop.  Instruction will be held outdoors on our patio and will include the natural history and identification of our local butterflies. This will be followed by a butterfly walk through our sanctuary. Bring binoculars, close-focusing ones if possible, and lunch.

Cost: $20 for members; $55 for non-members. (Non-members will be credited with a one-year membership.) Level of Difficulty: Easy. Limited to 10 people. Please register with Susan by July 16th by emailing info@bedfordaudubon.org or calling 914-302-9713

By now, we all know that native plants are beneficial to wildlife, but do you know the different ways plants interact with pollinators and the broader environment?

Find out by enrolling in Mathew McDowell’s Workshop: Garden Ecology – Plants + Pollinators. Gardening with native plants can provide a lot of benefits for wildlife, especially pollinators, but plants have different adaptations and relationships to local wildlife. Seasonality, flower structure, and other factors all contribute to how plants interact with pollinating species and the broader environment. In this workshop you’ll learn how to structure your garden to support pollinators in different ways, allowing you to select plants that provide different services and even use your garden to help fill gaps that may be missing from your local community.

Cost: Free. Registration required by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or calling 914-302-9713. A Zoom link will be emailed to you the day before the workshop.

Good news – Various Woodpecker species are growing due to Emerald Ash Borer! 

But there is some bad news. Learn about it by going on a Woodpecker + The Emerald Ash Borer Field Trip. In this joint program with Lewisboro Land Trust, Krista Munger and Naturalist Tait Johansson will show you firsthand the devastating effect of this insect in a section of forest near the entrance of our Hunt-Parker Sanctuary. This area is under study as part of a national program to save ash trees from extinction. Woodpeckers of all kinds are growing in number in response to the insect invasion - not enough to keep the borers in check however.

Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Registration is limited and required by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org. Meet at the trailhead on east side of North Salem Road.

Check out some bird bling – virtually!

Bedford Audubon is in its 12th year of collecting banding data as part of the Institute for Bird Population’s Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program. Our participation might be old news to some, but don’t be fooled…  for the first time, we’re inviting you to a Virtual Bird Banding Session. You’ll witness Naturalist Tait Johansson and Summer Field Biologist Kristen Johnson as they set up mist nets, retrieve birds, add some bling (small metal band with unique ID number), examine the bird, and record data such as age, sex, breeding condition, weight, and more. The banding will be prerecorded and shared in a session that will allow for explanations and questions.

Cost: Free.  Registration required by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or calling 914-302-9713. A Zoom link will be emailed at the end of the day before the session.