February 2025 Programs
February may be short, but Bedford Audubon is long on activities to connect you to nature!
Registration is required for all programs by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org unless otherwise specified.
We have binoculars!
If you’d like to borrow a pair, please ask when you register.
Wondering where to find raptors in winter?
Take part in “Science in Action” this winter by joining Naturalist Tait Johansson and the team from Bedford Audubon and Saw Mill River Audubon for EagleWatch. This community science research entails monitoring roosting Bald Eagles within the Lower Hudson Valley Important Bird Area (IBA) to facilitate decision-making that impacts this Important Bird Area. This event is family-friendly and a fun way to introduce ecology to your kids!
Thursday late afternoons from January 16-February 20, approximately 1.5 hours before sunset. If you’re interested in checking it out, call 914-232-1999 or email Tait directly at tjohansson@bedfordaudubon.org.
Wing it to Croton Point Park and your spirits will soar!
Bedford Audubon is a collaborator for Teatown’s 21st Annual Hudson River EagleFest which celebrates the Bald Eagle’s winter migration to the lower Hudson Valley and its recovery from the brink of extinction. Be sure to stop by our table at the pavilion in the main headquarters of the event. Tait will be there along with staff, volunteers, and board members throughout the day. The program for this all-day celebration includes thrilling live bird shows spotlighting birds of prey, bird walks where you can view eagles through spotting scopes, heated tents filled with educational displays and exhibits, crafts and games for children, food trucks, and more! Don’t miss this highly anticipated festival!
Saturday, February 1, 9:00am-4:00pm.* Croton Point Park, 1 Croton Point Avenue, Croton-on-Hudson. Visit the Eaglefest event page for more information and to purchase tickets. *Snow date is Sunday, February 2.
We’re going to the ‘gunk!
Register now for Naturalist Tait Johansson’s popular Field Trip to Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge before it fills up. We’ll explore this 600-acre wildlife refuge, established in 1999 to protect grassland migratory birds and wintering raptors. Bundle up for this rare late-afternoon outing, as we’ll be mostly stationary looking for wintering Short-eared Owls which begin hunting over the grasslands at dusk or just before. We hope to also spot Northern Harriers and possibly Rough-legged Hawk.
Monday, February 3, 3:30-5:30pm. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Please email Susan to register.
Pleistocene fossils of Belted Kingfishers (to 600,000 years old) have been unearthed in Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas. – All About Birds
Gear up for the cold and meet us at Deans Bridge in Somers for our monthly First Wednesday’s Bird Walk with Naturalist Tait Johansson. The water on the river at Deans Bridge and south of it by the Rt-116 bridge is still completely open at time of writing, and still has some waterbirds on it. Depending on the ice coverage, we’ll be on the lookout for Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, and yes, Belted Kingfisher. In the woodlands and other habitats we walk through, we will be looking for Brown Creeper, and Golden-crowned Kinglet, among other possibilities.
Wednesday, February 5, 7:30-9:30am. Cost: Free. Free. Level of Difficulty: Moderate (there is a steep incline on the trail). Please email Susan to register.
The symbolic Bald Eagle is an opportunistic feeder – it hunts, scavenges, and even steals from Osprey or other birds.
Come on Naturalist Tait Johansson’s Hudson River Eagle Trip and you just might see a Bald Eagle in action, a thrill whether it’s your first or 101st sighting! The stretch of the Hudson River that borders northwestern Westchester holds the largest concentration of wintering Bald Eagles in the Northeast, north of Chesapeake Bay. The river and its banks provide food and nesting opportunities, which will give us the chance to spot these majestic raptors along the river at multiple stops from Peekskill to Croton Point. Based on his early EagleWatch counts, Tait says there are already decent numbers of eagles around with more arriving from the north in the next week or two if these cold temperatures persist. It’s shaping up to be a great year to join us for one of these popular trips (we’re offering two again this year!), and we should get some sightings in both the morning and afternoon visit.
Saturday February 8, 1:00-5:00pm and Tuesday, February 11, 9:30am-1:00pm. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Please Email Susan to register. Please specify which trip you will be joining when you register.
Come together for the love of birds!
Join bird enthusiasts around the world as we watch, count, and report as many birds as possible as part of The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Our data will help scientists better understand and protect birds worldwide. Naturalist Tait Johansson will lead our group for Bedford Audubon’s Backyard Bird Count at Bylane Farm. Tait will share his bird identification tips and tricks and answer any questions we may have while we stay cozy indoors, sip hot cocoa, coffee, or tea, and observe the sanctuary’s busy bird feeders through the windows. After we enter our data, Tait will lead a short, guided bird walk through our sanctuary (weather permitting). This is a great opportunity to introduce your children and other family members to the joys of birding while adding to this global community science project. Binoculars are available for those who need to borrow them.
Saturday, February 15, 9:30-11:00am. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Registration is required by emailing Susan at info@bedfordaudubon.org – please tell us your party’s size on registering.
A habitat garden never sleeps!
On this winter morning, please join Naturalist and Board Member Steve Ricker for Habitat Renewal Day as he leads work to enhance the rare shrub habitat for our winter bird friends. We’ll work outside in Bedford Audubon’s Leon Levy Native Habitat Garden to tackle removing non-native shrubs and plants to reveal the historic farmhouse stone wall with a unique carriage stone. Winter pruning will also be performed. 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.
Saturday, February 15, 11:00am-12:30pm. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy-moderate. Please email Susan to register.
Be prepared for the unexpected
Join Naturalist Tait Johansson for his Third Thursday’s Bird Walk in the Cross River Reservoir area of Katonah. It’s difficult to predict what we might see, but there are often surprises at this local hotspot. There’s always a fairly good chance of Bald Eagles and Common Ravens. If there is any open water – meaning the reservoir isn’t completely frozen – we should also see water birds such as Bufflehead and Common Merganser, and up in the trees maybe a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, together with Brown Creeper, Winter Wren and possibly Eastern Towhee.
Thursday, February 20, 7:30-9:30am. Cost: Free. Level of Difficulty: Easy. Please email Susan to register.
