HawkWatch is here!
Spectacular flocks of Broad-winged Hawks pass through our area in mid-September, but Accipiters such as Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks provide the most consistent flight throughout the fall hawk-watching season. Join us for Science in Action: Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch to experience the miracle of raptor migration. Our data is combined with other Hawkwatch sites to create population and migration analyses that help us better protect raptors and their habitats.
HawkWatch takes place daily through mid-November from 9:00am-5:00pm (weather permitting) at the Arthur Butler Sanctuary, 265 Chestnut Ridge Road, Mount Kisco. The viewing platform is open to the public so registration not necessary. Look for specific HawkWatch programs beginning in September.

Migration is happening!
Join us as we head back to Deans Bridge in Somers for this month’s First Wednesday’s Bird Walk with Naturalist Tait Johansson. Peak fall migration for many warbler species is approaching, so we’ll be on the lookout for these little birds. There’s a good shot at seeing Wood Duck, and if we’re lucky, possibly some early-migrating waterbirds like Pied-billed Grebe, Blue-winged Teal and Green-winged Teal. This is a great walk covering a variety of habitats including water, wetland, grassland, and woodland areas.
Wednesday, September 4, 7:30-9:30am. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Moderate (the trail is steep in places and can be slippery depending on the weather). Please email Susan to register.

Find your calm…
Take an hour out of your busy schedule for our September Nature Meditation with Master Reiki Practitioner and newly certified ANFT Forest Therapy Guide, Catherine Downs. The session will begin with a seated, guided reiki inspired meditation and finish with an immersive slow walk in the garden and sanctuary focusing on using the senses to connect to the natural world. The session will take place outdoors in the lower part of our Hunt-Parker Sanctuary.
Thursday, September 5, 4:00-5:00pm. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy-Moderate (may include an incline on the trail). Please email Susan to register.

Come with us to the oldest public park in the United States!
Central Park is an 843-acre rectangle and was designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) in 1988. Situated directly in the Atlantic Flyaway, it’s a welcoming place for birds migrating along the East Coast to rest and store up energy for the next leg of their journey. Check out fall migration with Naturalist Tait Johansson on his popular Field Trip to Central Park, a regular stopover for fall-migrating warblers, thrushes, sparrows, and other songbirds. The group will meet at 7:15am at 72^nd Street and Central Park West, the entrance to Strawberry Fields. We’ll stop at the boathouse where you can purchase lunch or bring your own.
Saturday, September 7, 7:15am-1:00pm*. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Please email Susan to register. *Rain date Sunday, September 8.

Unlock your creativity in our expanded art workshop series!
Connect with nature by putting pencil to paper over the course of three sessions of Drawing Birds with Charlotte Holden. These in-depth classes will focus on drawing birds, from finding basic shapes to defining accurate anatomy and building value through shading. Participants will work from provided photographs of birds to learn the stages of creating a representational drawing. You’ll learn the basics of bird anatomy specifically as it applies to the drawing process including simple skeletal structure, feather groups, and proportions. By the end of the series, participants will have an anatomically accurate fully rendered bird drawing. Come draw some birds with us and learn a little bit about them in the process!

Charlotte Holden is a local artist and illustrator who has worked with Bedford Audubon for several years, initially running our first Paint Night while still a student at RISD, and a series of introductory workshops earlier this year.

Saturdays September 7 and 21, October 5, 10am-12pm. Experience Level: All Levels welcome. Series Cost: $135 (members), $185 (non-members; includes an annual membership). The fee will help offset the costs of running the program, three 2-hour workshops, all art supplies and materials. Single-class registrations are not available. Class size is limited to 10 participants. Please email Susan to register.

Dive into watercolors with us – you won’t have to wing it!
Join Charlotte Holden for Birds in Watercolor, a trilogy of classes exploring watercolor techniques to create a beautiful painting. Charlotte’s instruction will include a brief watercolor tutorial and will touch on color theory and how it applies to birds. Participants will create a drawing from provided photographs then transfer their drawings to watercolor paper for a more finished painting. You’ll learn how birds get their beautiful colors and the way it applies to painting them. This series is a fun way to practice drawing, expand your painting skills, and learn about the beautiful colors of birds!

Charlotte Holden is a local artist and illustrator who has worked with Bedford Audubon for several years, initially running our first Paint Night while still a student at RISD, and a series of introductory workshops earlier this year.

Saturdays October 26, November 9 and 23, 10:00am-12:00pm. Experience Level: Intermediate to Advanced (or anyone from the first drawing workshop). Series Cost: $135 (members), $185 (non-members; includes an annual membership). The fee will help offset the costs of running the program, three 2-hour workshops, all art supplies and materials. Single-class registrations are not available. Class size is limited to 10 participants. Please email Susan to register.

Last year’s Hawkwatch saw record-breaking numbers – what will this year bring?
In 2023, Bedford Audubon’s team observed more than 34,000 raptors in flight at the Hawkwatch platform. This season’s Field Trip to Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch is timed for peak Broad-winged Hawk migration – join the team to see if last year’s number will be topped! Naturalist Tait Johansson and Counter Rich Aracil will be on site to explain the why’s and how’s of Hawkwatch research. We hope to see “kettles” of the magnificent Broad-wings along with other raptors and birds from the viewing platform that is perched high above I-684 with views across the Arthur Butler Sanctuary and beyond, all the way to Long Island Sound.
Saturday, September 14, 11:30am-2:00pm. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Moderate (the trail to the platform is about 1/4 mile, and somewhat steep in parts, with exposed root and rocks, including some smaller loose rocks in places). Please email Susan to register at info@bedfordaudubon.org.

Learn something new this September!
After a summer break, our Monthly Lecture Series is back! We can’t wait to welcome you to the Katonah Village Library for The Fruits of our Labor: Fleshy Fruit and its Vital Service for Our Native Birds with Nina Vigil. While countless citizens have mobilized to reduce the effects of habitat loss by planting native plants on their property, a key component of a healthy ecosystem has been largely overlooked: fleshy fruit. These fruits, and the trees and bushes that bear them, turn out to be critical for the well-being of native American birds – and you have the potential to help spread them!

Nina Vigil is a senior at John Jay High School, a student in the Science Research Program, and a member of the New York State Young Birders Club. Working under the mentorship of famed entomologist Douglas Tallamy, Nina has developed a year-long independent research project examining the vegetation preferences of birds. Using plots in local Katonah yards and in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation she studied the impact of fleshy-fruit bearing plants on local bird populations.

This month’s presentation is a collaboration between Bedford Audubon and our hosts, Katonah Village Library and will feature a free raffle for two signed copies of Doug Tallamy’s books, Nature’s Best Hope and The Nature of Oaks.

Wednesday, September 18, 7:00pm. Cost: Free. No registration is required. Join us for refreshments from 6:45pm ahead of Nina’s presentation.

Let’s put Naturalist Tait Johansson’s expertise to the test to help spot warblers in their fall feathers!
The colorful feathers associated with many warblers become more muted at this time of year, making these little birds hard to spot. Fear not! Tait can help on this month’s Thursday’s Bird Walk which will coincide with peak warbler migration. Other birds spotted on previous September walks at this location: Double-crested Cormorant (which All About Birds describes as a gangly, prehistoric-looking, matte-black fishing bird with yellow-orange facial skin!), Bald Eagle, Ring-billed Gull, and more! This popular, easy-going monthly walk takes place at Reservoir Road in Katonah and is a favorite for birders of all levels.
Thursday, September 19, 7:30-9:30am. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Please email Susan to register.

Spread your wings to learn about raptor photography…
Capturing birds in flight can be incredibly tricky and requires a lot of patience, familiarity with your camera and your surroundings. Join Bedford Audubon Board President and amateur nature photographer John Hannan for his new Workshop: Photographing Raptors in Flight to be held outside at the Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch platform where we expect a great view of birds that will make excellent subjects to shoot during the session. You’ll learn about camera settings, best techniques for capturing stunning images of birds in flight, and tips and tricks for capturing the sharpest image possible of a soaring raptor or songbird. Bring your camera and be ready to step up your nature photography game!
Saturday, September 21, 10am-1pm.* Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Moderate (the trail to the platform is about 1/4 mile, and somewhat steep in parts, with exposed root and rocks, including some smaller loose rocks in places). Please email Susan to register. *Rain date is Sunday, September 22.

“A significant, beautiful, meditative, and wholly down-to-earth memoir with high appeal for book groups and nature lovers.” – BOOKLIST (Starred Review)
Join Melanie Brocklehurst for this month’s Bylane Book Club discussion of Soil: The Story of a Black Woman’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy, “a seminal work that expands how we talk about the natural world and the environment as National Book Critics Circle Criticism finalist Camille T. Dungy diversifies her garden to reflect her heritage.”

In this memoir, Dungy recounts the seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden in the predominantly white community of Fort Collins, Colorado. When she moved there in 2013 with her husband and daughter, the community held restrictions about what residents could and could not plant in their gardens. In resistance to the homogenous policies that limited the possibility and wonder that grows from the earth, Dungy employs the various plants, herbs, vegetables, and flowers she grows in her garden as metaphor and treatise for how homogeneity threatens the future of our planet, and why cultivating diverse and intersectional language in our national discourse about the environment is the best means of protecting it.

Monday, September 23, 6:30pm. Cost: Free. Please email Susan to register. This will be an in-person meeting at Bylane Farm.

Fall Flowers, Birds and Berries
Come visit the newly renovated Bedford Audubon Habitat Garden showcasing native plants for birds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators. Docents will be on site to answer questions and give tips on creating a bird-friendly habitat in your own yard.
Saturday, September 28, 11:00am-2:00pm. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. No registration is required, just drop in!

Volunteers needed!
Roll up your sleeves and get stuck in for Habitat Renewal with Naturalist and Board Member Steve Ricker who leads this vital restoration work to enhance the quality of the rare habitat that surrounds Bylane Farm. Various projects are underway, and work may include transplanting native plants, removing invasive vines, and rescuing native habitats from other invasive species. At the start of the session, Steve will provide tips to discern native plants from invasives and will be happy to answer questions throughout the session.
Sunday, September 29, 11:00am-12:30pm. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy-moderate. Please email Please email Susan to register. Tools and gloves will be provided, or you can bring your own (loppers and hand pruners are the most used tools). Plants with thorns, and poison ivy may be present.