May Environmental Education: What to Do

Spring Migration: May Environmental Education Events with Bedford Audubon

Don’t miss the wonders of spring migration! Join us for a walk, field trip and/or lecture this May to see what our feathered friends are up to!

There is a salt marsh very close to home, and it’s a migration hotspot!
Join Naturalist Tait Johansson on a Field Trip to Marshlands Conservancy/Rye Nature Center. You’ll look for warblers and other newly arrived songbirds at this 147-acre wildlife sanctuary composed of diverse habitats. Thursday, May 2, 7:30am-12noon. Depart Bylane Farm at 6:30am or meet at Marshlands at 7:30am. Cost: Free. Level of difficulty: Moderate. Please register with Susan Fisher at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914-302-9713.

Come “Jay Walking” with us… we promise you’ll see more than jays!
In partnership with Friends of John Jay Homestead, Naturalist Tait Johansson will lead you on a Bird Walk at the beautiful John Jay Homestead in Katonah. The woods, fields, and shrublands of this State Historic Site should hold many migrant land birds on this prime date for migration. Saturday, May 4, 8:00-9:30am. Meet at the main parking lot. Cost: Free. Level of difficulty: Easy to moderate. Please register with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914-302-9713.

How would you like to flock with us to a migrant trap that is an “oasis of woodland surrounded by urbanity?”
If that sounds good, you won’t want to miss our Field Trip to Garrett Mountain Park in Paterson, NJ.  Naturalist Tait Johansson will lead the group on trails around a beautiful pond in search of migrating songbirds, especially warblers. The reservation is comprised of 568-acres and provides sweeping views of northern New Jersey and the NYC skyline. Sunday, May 5, 13, 8:00am-1:00pm. Cost: Free. Level of physical difficulty: Moderate. Register with Susan Fisher at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914.302.9713.

What metropolitan oasis crams forested areas, seven bodies of water, meadows, gardens, and much more into less than 1.5 square miles?
You guessed it… Central Park! More than 200 species of birds pass through there on their migratory routes each spring and fall, and leader Tait Johansson hopes to show you many of them when you join our Field Trip to Experience Central Park during Migration. We will stop in the boathouse for lunch (or bring your own). Tuesday, May 14, 7:30am-1:30pm. Depart Bylane Farm at 6am or meet at 72^nd & Central Park West at 7:30am. Cost: Free. Level of physical difficulty: Easy-Moderate. Please register with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914.302.9713.

Raven or crow… do you know?
Pop over to our Third Thursday’s Bird Walk on Maple Avenue, Katonah and you might find out! Naturalist Tait Johansson can point out the difference, especially if ravens are nesting near the dam again this year. Who knows, you might even see a beaver in the area as Board President Simon Brocklehurst recently did!  In addition to all of that, participants of this walk in May have seen 20+ warbler species! Thursday, May 16, 7:30-9:30am. Meet at the dam. Cost: Free. Level of physical difficulty: Easy. Please register with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914.302.9713.

Come with us to a special place where everyone goes to find Hooded and Cerulean Warblers.
Naturalist Tait Johansson will guide you on a Field Trip to Doodletown Road which is not only known as the best place in the area to find these breeding warblers but is also a fine spot for many other songbirds, migrants and breeders alike. Enjoy the walk up the rugged trail past the ruins of a “lost civilization.” Saturday, May 18, 7:30am-12noon. Depart Bylane at 6:30am or meet at the Doodletown Trailhead at 7:30am. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Moderate. Please register with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914-302-9713.

The madness continues… that is, Migration Madness!
Naturalist Tait Johansson for Migration Madness on the North County Trailway, Yorktown. It’s a local hotspot for spring warblers and other songbirds. Tuesday, May 21, 7:00-9:00am. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of the Trailway and Route 118 in Yorktown, less than a mile west of Rt. 100’s intersection with Rt. 118. Cost: Free. Level of physical difficulty: Easy. Please register with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914.302.9713.

What favorite local destination has shrubland, wet meadows, woods, and beautiful wildlife? Bedford Audubon Society’s sanctuaries! Join Naturalist Tait Johansson for Migration Madness at Bylane Farm, our breathtaking home! Tait will help you find Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Orchard Oriole and lots of other migrants and summer resident birds. Thursday, May 23, 7:00-9:00am. Cost: Free. Level of physical difficulty: Easy-Moderate. Please register with Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or 914.302.9713.

Photo Credit: AMRO Associated Press.jpeg