Putnam Highlands Audubon Society Summer 2021 Newsletter
A Chapter of the National Audubon Society, Founded in 1976, Serving Putnam and Dutchess Counties
Local Birding Stories, Sightings and Tips
July 2021
Solitary Sandpiper
Photo Credit: Steve Rappaport
Hello Members and Friends!
We are pleased to welcome summer with a hopeful view of the future, cautiously resuming our many birding events and initiatives. Watch for announcements of upcoming walks and events.
Please welcome newly elected board member Anthony Macchiarola, who teaches Earth Science at Carmel H.S. and is an avid birder who lives in Dutchess as well as the reelection of Pete Salmansohn, author, educator and longtime National Audubon staff member and reelection of Kyle Bardwell, award-winning photographer, engineer, and expert birder. They join our Current Board of Directors.
Our 2021 Birdathon Fundraiser was a great success, both in birds sighted and money raised. Thank you for all your support.
Connie Mayer-Bakall - President
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Photo Credit: Kyle Bardwell
April 2021 Bird Walk West Point Foundry Cove, Cold Spring, NY
by Sean Camillieri
It was a typical spring morning, with cool temperatures in the beginning transitioning to a more welcoming spring-type feeling by the end of the walk. Eleven participants enjoyed the easy walking trails at Foundry Cove Preserve in Cold Spring. Thirty-eight species of birds were seen, with a nice mix of our hearty resident winter birds along with some spring arrivals. We were pleased to see birds such as Palm Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Peregrine Falcon.
As temperatures warmed up, more birds became active and while standing on the platform we observed two Common Loons flying north along with two Broad-winged Hawks. Birds like these are more likely to be migrating once it warms up later in the morning. Board member Sean Camillieri spotted a Blue-headed Vireo which made a very brief appearance in the canopy of a tree. Unfortunately, it flew off before everyone else could get their eyes on it.
Check Putnam County eBird page for all of your up-to-date sightings in the area, and please submit your sightings using eBird!
Photo Credit: Anthony Macchiarola
May Birdathon 2021 Results
By Kyle Bardwell
The night before a Birdathon is always a mixed bag of emotions for me. The excitement builds for a 24-hour period of competitive birding. At the same time, the anxiety strengthens on what the weather will produce in terms of concentrations of migrants. I can spend hours watching the same wind forecast and radar loop, thinking in my head if we made the right decision on where to start in our given territory.
Regardless of the weather and concentration of migrants during the Birdathon, it always ends up a great time with great birds and this year was the same case. Read More
We raised over $3,000 in funds vital to our ongoing operations. We would like to heartfully thank our generous Birdathon 2021 donors.
Photo Credit: Anthony Macchiarola
June 2021 Bird Walk Indian Brook Road, Taconic Outdoor Education Center Cold Spring, NY
by Sean Camillieri
On a hot, balmy day, ten participants enjoyed a two mile walk on Indian Brook Road (IBR) in Fahnstock State Park. We began at the intersection of the Taconic Outdoor Education Center and went south on IBR, about one mile.
We’re in the midst of the breeding season, so the birds are very busy completing tasks such as building nests and feeding young. Birders enjoyed nice looks at singing Indigo Bunting, by PHAS Board Member Sean Camillieri and Purple Martin.
Unfortunately, many of the birds decided it would be best to remain deep in the woods and only let us know of their presence by singing. Thirty species were identified despite the hot, muggy conditions.
The section of Indian Brook Road that we were on is inside a priority block for the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas. This is a five year inventory survey of the breeding birds in the state. You don’t need to be an expert to participate! Even recording breeding activity in your backyard is valuable information.
To participate, please visit the Atlas Website eBird List
Taconic Outdoor Education Center Taconic Outdoor Education Center Facebook
Environmental Education Happenings
By Pete Salmansohn
With a slow but steady and heartening return to pre-pandemic normalcy, we’re now able to report.
1.The Garrison Union Free School has hired its first ever Environmental Education Teacher (K-8). Here is their late June press release –
The Board of Education appointed Mrs. Rachel Arbor as the K-8 Environmental Education Teacher of the Garrison Union Free School District. For the past three years, Mrs. Arbor has served as the 7th and 8th Grade Science Teacher at Altona Middle School in Longmont, Colorado. Prior to this, she was the Girls’ Head Counselor/Outdoor Educator at the Keystone Science School, and worked as a Certified Ski Instructor in Vail, Colorado.
Mrs. Arbor has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Franklin and Marshall College, and is in the process of completing her M.A. in Education for Biological & Environmental Sciences at Miami University. Mrs. Arbor’s professional honors and awards include the Henry Ford Teacher Innovator Grand Prize Winner 2021, the Altona Middle School’s Teacher of the Year 2021, and Vernier Engineering Contest Notable Entry in 2020.
Superintendent Carl Albano stated, “Mrs. Arbor’s experience, strong collaborative skills, and passion for environmental education make her the right choice for this newly created position. I am confident that Mrs. Arbor will work with our entire school community to successfully integrate environmental education and sustainability into Garrison’s K-8 programs.” After her appointment was approved by the Board, Mrs. Arbor said, “To see how much you celebrate each other as a family just reaffirms that this is my dream job. This position at The Garrison School is the perfect combination of all of my experiences and values in the best possible way. I can't wait to support other teachers in implementing really meaningful cross curricular science projects. My goal is to make kids feel science and experience science instead of just learning about it.”
2. The Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries began a 3 week science day camp for middle-schoolers from Beacon and Newburgh on July 6th, at their Dennings Point campus. About 30-35 students arrive at 9 am for a quick snack and then go right into activities and lessons such as using their senses to learn about nature, science games on the water cycle and the ecology of the Hudson River estuary, Qui Gong and movement, getting close to live animals like snakes and turtles, and getting out into the river for seining in hopes of catching fish. The goals of the camp, which is overseen by Clarkson University, are to spark a passion for environmental stewardship, and to foster leaders in sustainability and environmental science and research.
3. Putnam Highlands Audubon Society will resume in-person nature presentations in late September, and continuing through the fall. It’s likely that these will take place on weekend afternoons at the Desmond-Fish Library in Garrison. Stay tuned to our website for future announcements about this.
Summer Birding Tips For You
Birdwatching Tips: It’s Summer… Where Did The Birds Go? - Cornell Lab In the dog days of summer, birds seem to disappear—the dawn chorus wanes and an odd silence takes hold in woodlands. Many birds look bedraggled, no longer sporting their bright breeding colors. A lot of birders hang up their binoculars until fall migration. (July and August are typically the two lowest months for eBird checklist submissions.) Read More
Bird disease spreads in east, excessive heat threatens birds in west - BirdWatching The mysterious disease or condition that has killed untold numbers of birds in Washington, D.C., and surrounding states has now been documented in three additional states — Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana Read More
Six New York Birds of Summer -NY Audubon Keep an eye out for these birds as you enjoy the outdoors this summer! Read More
We Appreciate Your Support.
All our programs and activities are delivered by 100% volunteers, however we have hard costs for maintaining the three bird sanctuaries that we own.
We need your support now more than ever to meet expenses for insurance, professional fees, warden fees and other ongoing expenses.
Today we serve Putnam and Dutchess Counties. We maintain bird sanctuaries deRham Watergrass Sanctuary in Philipstown and Reese Sanctuary in New Hamburg. We offer guided bird walks and educational programs in Beacon, Cold Spring, Garrison, Philipstown and other local towns.
Public programs for children & adults
Care of PHAS’s wildlife sanctuaries: , Reese, and deRham Watergrass
Support for bird conservation programs, including bird walks and public programs
Summer internships at Constitution Marsh for high school students
Annual Scholarships
Chapter Newsletters
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Photo Credit Least Sandpiper by Steve Rappaport