Be a trailblazer in your own yard.

Join Garden Director Mathew McDowell for his new Virtual Workshop: Landscape Alternatives and you’ll learn the benefits of doing something different. We often see the same plants used over and over in landscaping, with reason. They’re tough, attractive, and low-maintenance. But these plants can come with a hidden cost. For the most part they haven’t evolved in concert with local wildlife, and more and more we’re seeing them replace our native plant communities. This workshop will cover common landscaping plants known to become invasive, their environmental impacts, and more eco-friendly alternatives.

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

Take your birding up a notch with finesse!

It will be easy and fun to learn how to identify birds when you register for our Birding 101 Workshop and Birding ID Tutorial. First, we’ll have a virtual session during which naturalist Tait Johansson will show you what to look and listen for using photos, slides and videos through Zoom. Follow that up with an in-person tutorial the following day at Bylane Farm (our headquarters) where Tait will guide you in identifying the plethora of birds in our sanctuary using your new-found skills. We’ll look for early April migrants like Eastern Bluebird and Field Sparrow. The 2-part event is perfect for new birders (including kids!) or for those who want to further their skills.

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

Take your birding up a notch with finesse!

It will be easy and fun to learn how to identify birds when you register for our Birding 101 Workshop and Birding ID Tutorial. First, we’ll have a virtual session during which naturalist Tait Johansson will show you what to look and listen for using photos, slides and videos through Zoom. Follow that up with an in-person tutorial the following day at Bylane Farm (our headquarters) where Tait will guide you in identifying the plethora of birds in our sanctuary using your new-found skills. We’ll look for early April migrants like Eastern Bluebird and Field Sparrow. The 2-part event is perfect for new birders (including kids!) or for those who want to further their skills.

Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Registration required by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or by calling 914-302-9713. Registration is limited and priority will be given to participants of Birding 101.

Do you want to see a warbler that doesn’t act like a warbler?

We’re talking about the Palm Warbler – one that spends time hopping on the ground and wagging its tail up and down! If anyone can spot one, it’s naturalist Tait Johansson as he leads his Third Thursday’s Bird Walk in Katonah. Other mid-April songbird migrants that might be found include Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets and Pine Warblers.

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

Come with us to an increasingly rare old field/shrubland habitat in search of shrubland-dependent songbirds!

In partnership with Lewisboro Land Trust and the Lewisboro Library, Tait Johansson will lead a local Bird Walk at Oldfield Preserve in Waccabuc. Over 100 species have been observed on the preserve, but we’ll be seeking earlier migrating songbirds like Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow and more.

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

Not ready to travel? Take an armchair journey with migrating songbirds from our southern border through the heartland and beyond.

It’s the perfect season for the Bylane Book Club April selection of North on the Wing: Travels with the Songbird Migration of Springby Bruce M. Beehler. In it, Beehler describes both the epic migration of songbirds across the country and the gradual dawning of springtime through the U.S. heartland–the blossoming of wildflowers, the chorusing of frogs, the leafing out of forest canopies–and also tells the stories of the people and institutions dedicated to studying and conserving the critical habitats and processes of spring songbird migration. Inspired in part by Edwin Way Teale’s landmark 1951 book North with the Spring, this book–part travelogue, part field journal, and part environmental and cultural history–is a fascinating first-hand account of a once-in-a-lifetime journey.

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