Putnam Highlands Audubon Society
Winter 2022 Newsletter
Local Birding Stories, Sightings and Coming Events
Hello Members and Friends!
As spring approaches we are looking forward to lots of great birding.
Our biggest current story is the return of our Annual Dinner, in-person, at at the fabulous newly renovated Taconic Outdoor Education Center and on-line.
Saturday, March 19th at 5 pm.
Back at last after two long years. Let’s join together again for an evening of great friends, food, and fun. Click Here for more details, how to register, etc.
We have many more events planned for the coming months 2022 Calendar
Acting Co-Presidents Kyle Bardwell and Sean Camillieri
Notable Bird Sightings: October 15, 2021 – January 30, 2022
By Anthony Macchariola
Rusty Blackbird Photo: Blake Matheson/Flickr Audubon
All of the notable sightings listed below were compiled using eBird.org. eBird is a fantastic website that allows to you to find birds and places to go birding (both locally and while travelling somewhere new), as well as a way to keep track of your bird lists and photos. All of the data you input into eBird contributes to science and to the conservation of birds and their habitat. We encourage everyone to join eBird (it is free, you just need to create an account) and record all of your bird sightings there. And remember, eBird is not just for notable sightings! Please visit ebird.org/about to learn more and to sign up. And visit eBird Putnam County to see Putnam County’s eBird page. Read More
Our Audubon Christmas Bird Count: January 2nd, 2022
by Charlie Roberto
The Putnam Christmas bird count day, Sunday, January 2nd, was another challenging day weather-wise, with rain overnight and fog and mist on and off all day, making birds harder to see. That aside, the warmer than normal December temperatures and ample food supply kept many birds in the region. Despite the continuing decline of Hemlocks and almost no White Pinecones, many plants and trees had a bumper crop this year.
This helped account for record count numbers in a number of species of birds on the Putnam CBC 68th year. Our total was 90 species - a new record - with an additional "one new species during count week. Read More
Snowy Owl by Sean Camillieri
January 2022 Bird Walk Point Lookout and Jones Beach State Park
by Anthony Macchiarola
We were excited to announce our first trip to Long Island in recent history! The day met all our expectations.
Our group met early in the parking lot at Point Lookout and were greeted with single digit temperatures and strong, gusty north winds. A few Black Bellied Plovers huddled in the parking lot looked to be about as cold as we were! But as we crossed the dunes on to the beach we were a bit more sheltered from the wind and that made more tolerable. Within minutes one of our participants spotted the group of five wintering Harlequin Ducks near one of the jetties. It’s amazing to watch these small, colorful ducks dive and navigate the crashing surf around the rocky jetties. Full Article
NY Parks, Audubon, and Little Stony Point Collaborate on Nature Programs
2-24-22 Update
By Pete Salmansohn
Winter Tree Identification – January 9th A dozen participants gathered at Hubbard Lodge for both an indoor slide show and an outdoor exploration of the varied and many different trees found in this lovely parkland. Lauren Martin, our newest board member, led the program and was helped with two other NYS Parks staff.
Bird Identification Workshop – February 6th A dozen or so adults and a few young folks gathered at Hubbard Lodge on a seasonal winter day to learn the basics of bird identification. Parks naturalist Lauren Martin presented a highly interactive program, engaging participants in several hands-on activities designed to test their powers of observation over some 20+ backyard feeder birds. Read More
February 2022 Hudson Valley Eagle Watch at Boscobel
Photo Credit: Barry Rosen Photography
by Scott Silver
We’ve just celebrated the continuation of what has become a very popular, and much anticipated annual event at Boscobel House and Gardens, the annual Constitution Marsh Eagle Watch. Co-sponsored by Boscobel, Constitution Marsh Audubon Center & Sanctuary, and the Putnam Highlands Audubon Society, visitors came out to Boscobel’s great lawn overlooking the 240 acre Marsh, and observed Bald eagles that make the marsh their home, or at the very least, visit the marsh over the winter.
Approximately 400 people took advantage of the lovely weather and joined Audubon staff and volunteers to observe eagles throughout the day perched on the large trees adjacent to the Hudson River; sitting on the ice drifting down the river or covering the cove; or sometimes flying overhead. Full Article
New Bluebird Houses in Garrison
by Deb McLeod
It took a team, as most good projects do, and now there are two new Bluebird houses near the Appalachian Trail, where Routes 403 and 9 come together.
My friend Jim Caposella had previously mentioned to me that he’d seen bluebirds flying around in this open, marshy area and I remembered that fellow Board member Lew Kingsley had not only previously given me two bird houses he had made at his home in Cold Spring, but that he had offered to make others when the need came up. A while later, using poles donated by Campanella Fence in Mahopac, and Perry Pitt’s “pole hammer,” Jim, my friend Bob Walters, and I put the houses in place several months ago. So spread the word to the bluebirds in that area – there is vacant housing available, right near the Appalachian Market!
Support Local Bird and Nature Conservation Programs
Today we serve Putnam and Dutchess Counties. We maintain bird sanctuaries deRham Watergrass Sanctuary in Philipstown and Reese Sanctuary in New Hamburg. We offer monthly 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
Annual Scholarships
Chapter Newsletters
We appreciate your support.