“Dig In” without getting your hands dirty!
Bedford Audubon board member Liz Stein will present Attracting Birds to Your Yard as the featured guest in Bedford 2020 virtual Dig In series. It has become vital for anyone with a yard to contribute to the survival of our local bird species. In this webinar, Liz will explain what we can do in our yard to invite and support our beloved bird friends.
Thursday, July 2, 5:00pm. Cost: Free. Registration through Bedford 2020 required. CLICK HERE to register.”

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 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.
Monday, July 13, 7:00pm. 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.

You saw the headlines – 2/3 of North American bird species are at risk. Is there any hope for improvement?
Find out at our Virtual Lecture and Annual Meeting. The lecture will be presented by Ana Paula Tavares, Executive Director of Audubon NY + CT, directly after our Annual Meeting.
Lecture: In her presentation, Ana will speak about the ways Audubon’s climate change report, Survival by Degrees: 389 Species on the Brink, is informing local action on a local level. She’ll explain the reasons conservation efforts are essential and what you can do to help your local community.
Annual Meeting: The Annual Meeting will include a year-end review, followed by elections of our board of directors. Only members in good standing are eligible to vote in the election. If you are a current member but can’t make the virtual meeting, you can still vote by proxy. Please email Suzanne Cahill at  executivedirector@bedfordaudubon.org to request a proxy.
Wednesday, July 15, 6:30pm (Annual Meeting); 7:00pm (Lecture). Cost: Free. A Zoom link will be emailed the morning of July 15.

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.
Thursday, July 16, 7:30-9:30am. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Registration now Full (as of July 6). To be placed on a wait list, please email 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 Literary Field Trip. 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!
Friday, July 17, 11:00am. 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.
Saturday, July 18, 10am-1pm. 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. CLICK HERE to register + purchase ticket online. Or register with Susan by July 16^th 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.
Wednesday, July 22, 6:30pm. 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 that we will show you on a Woodpecker + The Emerald Ash Borer Field Trip. In this joint program with Lewisboro Land Trust, Naturalist Tait Johansson and Krista Munger 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.
Sunday, July 26, 9:00-10:00am. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Registration now Full (as of July 6). To be placed on a wait list, please email Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org or calling 914-302-9713. Meet at the trailhead on east side of North Salem Road.

Check out some bird bling – virtually!
Bedford Audubon is in its 12^th 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.
Tuesday, July 28, 6:00pm. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. 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.

Photo Credit: House Wren by Kristen Johnson, 2020 Summer Field Biologist