www.hobaudubon.org 1

September – October 2015 Volume 4, No. 1

Huntington–Oyster Bay Audubon Society A chapter of the National Audubon Society

Serving Huntington and Northern Oyster Bay Townships

Birdseed Sale 2015 Saturday, November 7

Our annual birdseed sale will

take place on Saturday,

November 7 at Huntington High

School, located at 188 Oakwood

Road in Huntington.

We sell high-quality bird seed,

including a blend that is made

specifically for the Long Island

area. All the seed mixes have no

“filler” seeds that you find in cheaper mixes, so there

is very little waste. Seed and suet must be ordered

in advance and picked up on the day of the sale.

Order forms should arrive in your mailbox in

September. If you do not receive your order form by

the last week in September, please call Sharon Brody

at 516-433-5590 for information and an order

form. The order form will also be available for

download at www.hobaudubon.org.

You and your feathered friends will love the seed and

the profits help to support the many programs and

projects of your local Audubon chapter.

Two Copies If you receive two copies of the Killdeer in the

mail, you have two memberships; that is,

National and Chapter memberships or in some

cases two National memberships. Your

membership expiration date is on the mailing

label. A date preceded by a “C” is a Chapter

membership. A date without a prefix is a

National membership. If you get two copies,

please pass the extra copy to a friend or

neighbor.

95 Shore Road, Cold Spring Harbor

In November 2012, ExxonMobil donated their 8-arce

former industrial property that fronts Cold Spring Harbor to

the North Shore Land Alliance. Since then, NSLA has

been working on developing this parcel into a native

grassland and bird habitat. Thanks to a $2,200 donation

from HOBAS, a pollinator garden was installed in June at

the entrance to the preserve. Over the next months,

interpretive signage will be installed to identify species

planted and to educate the public on the importance of

native plants. Keeping with the wildlife friendly theme,

there are brush piles at the edge of the property and we

have encouraged NSLA to allow these brush piles to

remain as they provide important wildlife habitat.

Killdeer

Inside This Issue

Volunteer Opportunities ............................. 2

From the President ................................... 3

Adopt-a-Highway, Water Conference .............. 4

Restoration Projects, Scholarships, Birders’ Box . 5

Meetings and Events .................................. 6

Field Trips and Activities ............................ 7

New Board Members ...................................... 8

Killdeer September – October 2015

2 www.hobaudubon.org

Volunteers Needed Call 516-695-0763 to register.

English Ivy Pull at Shu Swamp

Join the Shu Crew to help restore one of the finest

preserves on Long Island by controlling nonnative

invasive plant species that are threatening this sensitive

ecosystem. Wear clothes and shoes you don’t mind

getting muddy and please bring garden gloves and insect

repellent if you have them. Tasty snacks and extra

gloves will be provided to the volunteers. Join us today.

We work hard, but we have a great time while doing so!

Saturday, September 5 at 9 AM

Saturday, September 26 at 9 AM

Directions to Shu Swamp: From 25A take 106 north to

Oyster Bay. Make left onto Lexington Ave, then another

left onto West Shore Road. Directly after Mill Pond (on

the left) bear left and go up the hill on Mill Hill Road.

Make a right on Beaver Brook Road, which will become

Frost Mill Road. Shu Swamp is on the left, just before a

railroad trestle. Do NOT use your GPS. You will end

up in the wrong place.

Stillwell Woods Preserve

Saturday, September 12 at 9 AM – Weed Yank

Today we will work to remove invasive nonnative plant

species from Stillwell Woods. We will be working in the

large back field, pulling out mugwort and covering

several 10’x20’ areas with black plastic. Volunteers will

learn why nonnative invasive plants are so detrimental to

our ecosystems and will hear about HOBAS' efforts at

the preserve. Bring garden gloves and insect repellent if

you have them, extras will be provided to the volunteers

as will tasty snacks and water.

Saturday, October 24 at 9 AM – Native Plant Recovery

Today we will uncover our pilot areas and plant

milkweed seed after tilling the plots. Volunteers will

learn why nonnative invasive plants are so detrimental to

our ecosystems and will hear about HOBAS' efforts at

the preserve. Bring garden gloves and insect repellent if

you have them, extras will be provided to the volunteers

as will tasty snacks and water. If you have a portable

tiller, please bring it so that we can cover more ground.

Directions to Stillwell: Jericho Turnpike to South

Woods Road in Syosset. Go north about 1.5 miles. As

soon as you pass Syosset High School, look right for the

entrance to the park. Drive past the ball fields to the end

of the parking area near the gate to the trails. You may

have to park further up if there are soccer games in

progress. We will meet in front of the gate by the

entrance to the trails.

MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS Cold Spring Harbor Public Library

7:00 PM Refreshments

7:30 PM Speaker

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Living Dinosaurs - From T-Rex to Thrashers:

The Origins of Modern Birds with Dr. Douglas A. Robinson

TUESDAY, October 13, 2015

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge:

An Urban National Park with Don Riepe

See page 6 for details.

The mission of the Huntington-Oyster Bay

Audubon Society is to increase community

awareness about the environment and to

encourage others to enjoy and protect birds and

other wildlife in their natural habitats.

Killdeer is the newsletter of the

Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society

P.O. Box 735

Huntington, NY 11743-0735

a chapter of the National Audubon Society and is

published five times a year.

Officers

President Stella Miller 516-695-0763

Vice President Simone DaRos 516-987-7136

Secretary Charlotte Miska 516-922-9710

Treasurer Cathy Fitts 631-427-8623

Newsletter

Editor Charlotte Miska 516-922-9710

For Distressed Wildlife Call

Volunteers for Wildlife 516-674-0982

You can find us on the Web at

www.hobaudubon.orgH

email us at hobaudubon@gmail.com

NOTE: DATE

CHANGE

September – October 2015 Killdeer

www.hobaudubon.org 3

Message from the President

Stella Miller

Why Bats Matter At Huntington-Oyster Bay

Audubon, we work to protect

wildlife and preserve habitat.

We do this through conservation

action, advocacy, education, and

awareness. Awareness is an

important component of

conservation because in order to bring about action, one

first must be aware of the issue. An informed mind leads

to compassion, which in turn inspires action. In addition

to a lack of knowledge on the part of humans, many

animals are misunderstood or maligned without reason due

to myths and misinformation. One animal that has

received a bum rap is the bat. When it comes to these

flying mammals, the myths are never ending: bats are

blind, riddled with deadly diseases, dangerous, scary, and

let us not forget the old wives tale about bats becoming

entangled in people’s hair. Luckily for bats, more people

are becoming aware of how important they are to our

ecosystems, our economies, and our health. I hope to

dispel some of the myths here and guide you into looking

upon bats a little more kindly. Even if you do not grow to

love bats (as I do), there are very good reasons to respect

them.

Bats can be found all over the world, except for polar

regions. They belong to the order Chiroptera, the second

largest order of mammals in the world (rodents being the

largest). Over 20% of mammals worldwide are bats and

they are the only mammals that are capable of true

powered flight over sustained distances. Other “flying”

mammals, such as the flying squirrel do not actually fly,

they simply glide. Bats range in size from the larger

megabats which include the flying fox, found in Indonesia,

with a 6-foot wing span (and weighing over 2 pounds) to

the small microbats such as the diminutive Kitti’s hog-

nosed bat, weighing a mere 2 grams and measuring up to

1.3 inches in length. Up to 70% of bat species are

insectivores, while the remaining species feast on a diverse

diet that includes nectar, pollen, small fish and mammals,

fruit and in the case of the well-known vampire bat, the

blood of mammals. (As an aside, vampires do not suck

blood. They lap it up. Doesn’t that sound much more

refined to the squeamish?) Bats hunt by using

echolocation, which is the use of sound waves and echoes

to determine the location of objects. To do this, they send

out sound waves from their nose or mouth. As the sound

waves hits an object it will produce and echo which

bounces back to the bat’s ears. Bats are able to determine

the location, size, and shape of an object from these

echoes.

So, what can bats do for us? One service they provide is

pest control. Insectivore bats consume nocturnal insects

and a single, little brown bat, found here on Long Island,

can devour more than 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in just

one hour, positioning them as critical crusaders in the

battle against insect pests. This free service provided by

bats is worth billions of dollars each year. A recent study

found that the value of bats’ pest-control services in the

United States ranges from $3.7 billion to $53 billion per

year. Without bats our demand for chemical pesticides

would increase tremendously, affecting our economies,

and putting human health at risk, as well as our

ecosystems.

In addition to controlling insects, many bats are important

pollinators. As a keystone species (a plant or animal that

plays a critical and unique role in an ecosystem), bats are

essential to many ecosystems. In the tropics, up to 500

plant species depend on bats for seed dispersal and

pollination. This relationship is a priceless one as these

plants provide us with more than 450 economically

valuable products which are valued in the hundreds of

millions of dollars. Rain forests and agricultural plants

such as bananas, mangoes, dates, and cashews rely on bats.

Saguaro cacti in the Sonoran desert of Mexico and the

Southwestern US are incapable of self-fertilization and are

dependent upon the lesser long-nosed bat, which pollinates

this plant and is key to the entire Sonoran ecosystem. Do

you like a nice margarita on a Friday night? If you do,

please thank a bat. Tequila is produced from the agave

plant which is highly dependent upon bat pollination and

seed dispersal. Perhaps tequila producers ought to jump

into the public relations arena in order to bring about

awareness of the critical role bats play in our lives!

In addition, guano, aka bat droppings, are a popular

fertilizer and also support entire ecosystems within the

caves that bats dwell. Finally, an anticoagulant from

vampire bat saliva is being tested as potential medicine to

treat stroke victims. As for rabies, only about 1% of bats

will contract rabies, a disease that most mammals are

susceptible to. As long as you don’t handle bats, your

chances of contracting this disease are next to nil.

Remember, any animal will bite in self-defense, and bats

are no exception. And let us put one well-worn myth to

bed: bats do not become entangled in our hair. That one is

just utter nonsense.

As you can see, bats are pretty neat, and pretty important

to us. But unfortunately, bats are in trouble. Since 2006

an estimated 6.7 million bats have perished from an

insidious disease known as White-Nosed Syndrome

(WNS), a fungus that appears to have been introduced to

North America from Europe (interestingly, bats in Europe

seem to have developed an immunity to the disease).

Killdeer September – October 2015

4 www.hobaudubon.org

President’s Message (Continued)

Discovered in New York in 2006, this epidemic is

considered the worst outbreak of any type of wildlife

disease in North American history and it has left entire

colonies completely wiped out. In hibernating bats WNS

affects the skin of bats, including the wings, causing them

to wake up frequently during the winter, eating up precious

fat reserves and energy. These bats often have white fuzz

around their muzzles, giving the fungus its name. Sadly,

70 to 90% of bats (and in some cases 100%) in an affected

hibernation area will be killed once WNS invades their

sanctuary. To date, scientists, biologists, and universities

are seeking out the means to control this deadly disease as

it spreads westward.

Another threat facing bats are wind turbines. Surprisingly,

bats are impacted more often than birds by turbines and it

is estimated that tens of thousands perish each year. While

alternative energy is critical to our future, it is just as

critical that those planning wind facility sites collaborate

with conservation organizations so that wildlife and habitat

is not negatively impacted. We share our world with

wildlife and we must remember this and be mindful and

respectful of this.

The bottom line is this: bats are beneficial to our health,

economies, and ecosystems. But they are in trouble and

need our help. It is time that people understood just how

much we depend on bats and how devastating it would be

should we lose them. For more information about bats,

including some super cool facts and what you can do to

help, please visit our website at

http://www.hobaudubon.org/bats.asp. Here you will

find fact sheets, links, and a very cute video put together

by school children in Indiana.

Pulaski Road, Adopt-A-Highway Simone DaRos

Huntington-Oyster Bay

Audubon Society recently

completed our Fifty-fourth

and final Suffolk County,

Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup,

on August 1, 2015. Our

committed group of

volunteers engaged in nine

highway cleanups per year

since August 2009 along our

adopted 1-mile stretch of

Pulaski Road in Huntington.

We picked up an average of

nine 55-gallon trash bags

during each cleanup which, in total, added up to

approximately 81 bags of trash picked up each year. A

staggering 486 bags of solid waste trash was collected

over the past 6 years that HOBAS engaged in this project.

Our volunteers are proud to have made a difference in

helping to beautify Huntington and to have removed solid

waste pollution from the environment. We do, however,

feel saddened by the disregard motorists exhibit by tossing

their waste into the streets when traveling. Much of the

solid waste we collected could be easily discarded into

proper receptacles. The majority of the solid waste we

collected was plastic bottles, Styrofoam cups, plastic bags,

fast-food wrappers, alcoholic beverage containers, yard

waste, building materials, motor vehicle parts, landscaping

debris, and cigarette butts. It is our hope that our efforts

have had a positive impact and influence on passing

motorists and perhaps a few people will think twice before

tossing out their refuse. A heartfelt thank you to our

wonderful Friends of Pulaski Road volunteers. We look

forward to seeing you at future HOBAS events.

Water We Going To Do?

Coby Klein

On May 14, the Long Island Clean Water Partnership

presented its fourth annual Water We Going To Do?

conference to inform Long Islanders about the

campaign to improve drinking and surface water

quality. Water pollution is on the rise in Nassau and

Suffolk Counties, due to a number of factors,

including pesticides, fertilizers, and untreated

wastewater. Potentially harmful algae are more

common and aquatic plants and animals are

disappearing. Some advice about potential solutions

was delivered by a team from Massachusetts, who

have been working with the same set of problems on

Cape Cod. Although they have a long way to go, they

have been making progress by taking an approach that

engages local governments and communities and uses

an impressive array of pollution-fighting techniques.

Killdeer readers can make a difference in their own

neighborhoods. Stop using chemical fertilizers and

pesticides on your lawns and gardens. Consider

upgrading your septic system. There is legislation

before the state and federal governments to provide

funds for clean water projects and to upgrade sewage

treatment plants and our legislators need to hear our

voices. Everyone must do their part to keep Long

Island’s water clean.

September – October 2015 Killdeer

www.hobaudubon.org 5

Update on Restoration Projects Stella Miller

Many of you have been asking us about Underhill

Preserve, and if there has been any progress on the

property. When we received the $39K grant from the US

Fish and Wildlife Service in 2013, under advisement from

the NYSDEC, which is one of the property owners, we

allowed the funds to be transferred directly to the

NYSDEC for administration. We hired a consultant to do

a comprehensive invasive species inventory and when this

survey was complete in late 2014, we forwarded the report,

as well as suggestions for management, to the NYSDEC

for consideration. It is now up to the NYSDEC to begin

the work in the preserve. Unfortunately, over the last few

years as we worked to bring attention to the troubled

preserve, the invasives have become so pervasive and the

trails so overrun that it is now beyond our capacity to do

any volunteer work on the property. We continue to

encourage the NYSDEC to begin a restoration project in

the preserve, and recently resubmitted all relevant

documents. The NYSDEC has not yet notified us when

they will start their restorations efforts.

We continue our work in Stillwell Woods Preserve as we

partner with Nassau County and our many volunteers to

help control invasive nonnative plants in the field area,

while restoring milkweed, goldenrod, and other native

forbs.

In addition, the non-English ivy area in Shu Swamp is

getting bigger and bigger thanks to the dedication of our

volunteers!

See page 2 for scheduled invasion pull dates at Stillwell

Woods and Shu Swamp.

Scholarships to Nature Camps

This summer, HOBAS sponsored 17 nature-camp

scholarships to under-served kids in our community. The

scholarships allow these children to discover and connect

with nature. Ten kids attended the Summer Nature Day

Camp at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon

Center in Oyster Bay and seven kids went to the Sea Stars

Marine Camp at the Cranberry Hill Environmental Center,

Fuchs' Preserve, in Northport.

Too see pictures of some of our recipients having great

time while enjoying and learning about nature, please visit

the HOBAS Facebook page and look for the posting from

July 16 (https://www.facebook.com/hobaudubon).

Birders’ Box

April 25 – Jamaica Bay NWR. On a chilly spring morning, Sharon Brody led 8 birders on a trip to this NYC hot spot. Many species were seen in and around the water including Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Glossy Ibis, Black-crowned Night Heron, Dunlin, and Laughing Gull. Some other birds seen were Boat-tailed Grackle, Gray Catbird, Eastern Towhee, and Barn Swallow.

May 3 – Central Park. It was not a bad year for the Central Park bird trip led by Sharon Brody. Along with her 13 participants they saw 54 species of birds including many warblers. Some of the more exciting ones were Chimney Swift, Warbling Vireo, Veery, Blue-winged, Nashville, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Black–throated Blue and Green, and Blackpoll Warblers, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Waterthrush, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Rusty Blackbird, and Baltimore Oriole.

May 9 – Birding Big Day. A contingent of keen birders set to find as many species of birds at various popular hot spots such as Jamaica Bay, Alley Pond, Forest Park, and the Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area. It was successful as many birds were found including Red Knot, Black-bellied Plover, 3 tern species, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black and White Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, and Indigo Bunting.

May 10 – Hempstead Lake State Park. A pleasant morning was had by Blair Broughton and 16 participants at this busy State Park. Among the many bird species observed were a Great Horned Owl, Osprey, Gray Catbird, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireo, Wood Duck, Solitary Sandpiper, Eastern Wood-Peewee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Parula, and Baltimore Oriole.

May 17 – Sterling Forest. Coby Klein led a trip to this upstate area where his group found 62 species of birds. Highlights included Golden-winged, Prairie, and Magnolia Warblers, both Waterthrushes, Raven, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Broad-winged Hawk, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Wood Pee-wee, and White-crowned, Swamp, and Field Sparrows.

May 24 – Doodletown. Blair Broughton and 5 participants enjoyed a great day at this old mining town. The target bird, Cerulean Warbler was found as well as both Cuckoos, both Vultures, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-throated Vireo, Cedar Waxwings, Tufted Titmouse, and White-breasted Nuthatch. The bird of the day was a singing Kentucky Warbler providing all with good views.

Species seen on 2015 HOBAS trips: 141

Killdeer September – October 2015

6 www.hobaudubon.org

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Membership meetings and most activities of the Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society are free to members and nonmembers.

Meetings are held the second Wednesday of the month at the Cold Spring Harbor Library except for the months of July and August.

Our refreshments will be set up and ready for you at 6:45 PM so that you will have ample time for socializing. The program starts

promptly at 7:30. For full program descriptions as well as speaker biography, please go to www.hobaudubon.org.

Wednesday, September 9, 7 PM – Membership meeting

at the Cold Spring Harbor Library. Living Dinosaurs -

From T-Rex to Thrashers: The Origins of Modern Birds

with Dr. Douglas A. Robinson. Join us as Dr. Robinson

discusses the evolutionary link between dinosaurs of the

past and birds of today. From T-rex to thrashers, and from

velociraptors to Vesper Sparrows, we will explore the long

family history of dinosaurs and birds. Dr. Douglas

Robinson is an evolutionary biologist whose teaching and

research experiences have focused on organismal biology

and behavior. His research for the last 20 years has been on

the breeding biology and social behavior of birds, and has

most-recently focused on American Crows. Dr. Robinson

teaches organismal biology courses at Mount Saint Mary

College in Newburgh, NY.

Monday, September 14, 7:15 PM – Meeting of the Board

of Directors at the Cold Spring Harbor Library.

TUESDAY, October 13, 7 PM – Membership meeting at

the Cold Spring Harbor Library.

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge: An Urban

National Park with Don Riepe. Despite

being altered, abused, and next to the

heavily populated boroughs of Brooklyn

and Queens, Jamaica Bay is home to

many species of fish and wildlife. Over 330 species of

birds have been recorded there along with over 100 species

of finfish. The program includes photosdocumenting birds

and other wildlife as well as resource management activities

undertaken over the past 30 years. This program will also

include habitat management and some of the many

environmental issues surrounding Jamaica Bay since

Superstorm Sandy. Don Riepe founded the Northeast

Chapter of the American Littoral Society in 1985. With 25

years as a naturalist and manager of the National Park

System’s Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Don is

knowledgeable about and a staunch defender of wildlife and

habitat in the urban littoral zone.

Monday, October 19, 7:15 PM – Meeting of the Board of

Directors at the Cold Spring Harbor Library.

Monday, October 5 – Deadline for the November-

December Killdeer.

Wednesday, November 11, 7 PM – Membership meeting

at the Cold Spring Harbor Library. Tropical Fish on Long

Island with Todd Gardner. Todd Gardner has been

collecting and cataloging tropical fish species in our waters

around for over 30 years and in that time he has recorded

more than 100 species of tropical marine fish. Join Todd as

he discusses collection and husbandry techniques as well as

the fate and ecology of these tropical drifters.

Monday, November 16, 7:15 PM – Meeting of the Board of

Directors at the Cold Spring Harbor Library.

For $20 a year you can be a member of Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society. Your membership will help support

conservation efforts, and educational and youth programs. As a member you will receive our newsletter, an open invitation

to our monthly guest lectures, field trips, and events, along with special member’s only discounts and events.

Please fill out this form and mail with your

check payable to:

Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society P.O. Box 735 Huntington, NY 11743-0735

HOBAS never sells or shares your personal information.

Name

Address

City

State Zip

e-Mail

THANK YOU!

HOBAS Membership Form

September – October 2015 Killdeer

www.hobaudubon.org 7

FIELD TRIPS AND ACTIVITIES

Go to hobaudubon.org for detailed trip descriptions.

Field trips are free, unless otherwise specified, and open to the public. Newcomers are welcome. Binoculars are advised.

Carpooling is possible, gas and tolls are shared. The trip leader is not responsible for arranging carpools, but will provide

names of others who are interested in carpooling. Registration is necessary. Call the trip leader by 9:00 PM Thursday for a

Saturday trip and by 9:00 PM Friday for a Sunday trip. You may participate if you didn’t register, but we will not be able

to notify you of any changes or cancellations without your phone number. Call the leader if in doubt about the weather.

For the comfort and safety of all participants, there is no smoking on field trips.

Blydenburgh Park Sunday, September 6, 9 AM. Blydenburgh County Park,

in Smithtown, occupies 627 acres

of richly forested hills and

valleys at the headwaters of the

Nissequogue River. It is one of

the least developed and most

picturesque spots on Long Island.

Our walk will focus on migrating

songbirds. Leader: Coby Klein.

Call 585-880-0915 to register. Directions: Take the

Northern Parkway east and merge onto Route 347/454 E

(Veterans’ Memorial Highway). Make a U-turn at

Ledgewood Drive and enter the park.

Jones Beach Sunday, September 20, 9 AM. We will look for fall

migrants that take shelter on

the barrier beach before

continuing south. These

could include many of our

rarer shorebirds, neotropical

songbirds, and plenty more.

You never know when a

rarity may pop up! Leader:

Blair Broughton. Call 631-885-1881 to register.

Directions: Take Wantagh or Meadowbrook Parkway and

follow the signs to Coast Guard Station at the West End.

Meet at the Coast Guard parking lot near the restrooms.

Robert Moses State Park Hawk Watch Sunday, October 11, 9 AM. The best place to see

migrating raptors on Long

Island. Great viewing platform,

with some of the birds flying by

at eye level, always has expert

hawk watchers to answer any

questions you may have.

Exploring the surrounding

areas should turn up other migrants as well as possible

rarities.

Leader: Blair Broughton. Call 631-885-1881 to register.

Directions: Proceed south on Robert Moses Parkway, over

the bridge to Robert Moses State Park. From the water

tower circle (check for peregrine falcon), proceed east to

parking lot #5. We will meet in the NE corner of the

parking lot.

Dwarf Pine Plains, Westhampton Sunday, October 18, 11 AM. Dwarf Pine Plain

communities are rare ecosystems that exist in only a few

locations in the entire

world. The, the

Shawangunk Mountains

Dwarf Pine Plains, New

Jersey Dwarf Pine Plains,

and the Long Island

Dwarf Pine Plains are the

three existing

communities. The Dwarf Pine Plains earned its name from

the height of the vegetation that exists in the community.

Dominated by pitch pines and scrub oak, these trees will

rarely exceed 3 to 6 feet in height. Today we will be

exploring the Dwarf Pine Plains to enjoy its beauty and

look for the beautiful Buck Moth which can be seen

during their mating flight. Leader: Coby Klein. Call 585-

880-0915 to register.

Directions: Take Route 27 to County Road 31 south

toward Westhampton. The trail head is located about 1/10

of a mile off of the exit on the east side of County Road

31, turn left into the SCWA complex

Birding and Natural History

Field Trip Leaders Needed Are you interested in sharing your knowledge of birds, nature, and birding hotspots with others? HOBAS is looking for new field trip leaders to join our team. You do not have to be an expert to lead a trip and field

trips can cover any aspect of the natural world – not just birds. Volunteer to lead a field trip by sending an email to hobaudubon@gmail.com.

www.hobaudubon.org 8

Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society P.O. Box 735 Huntington, NY 11743-0735

Printed on recycled paper.

Welcome New Board Members

We are proud and happy to introduce you to the two newest

members of the HOBAS Board of Directors: Sonia Garrido

and Coby Klein.

Sonia Garrido is the

Publicity and Field Trip

Chair for the Huntington-

Oyster Bay Audubon

Society. She became

involved in the organization

in 2014 after attending a

beach cleanup and

connecting with the mission

of the organization. Having

been passionate about

wildlife and the environment

from a young age, she studied Environmental Policy in the

University of Kansas, where she became interested in

sustainable development. She worked in Peru at CAPIS

Nonprofit where she developed environmental projects

dedicated to increasing the financial means of less privileged

populations as well as addressing environmental concerns.

She currently works as Marketing Associate/Public

Relations Manager at Whitsons Culinary Group, where she

handles the company’s public relations campaign efforts,

developing press releases, and maintaining media relations.

She holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Stony

Brook University and a Certificate in Public Relations from

New York University. In her spare time, Sonia loves

reading, watching foreign films, traveling to faraway lands,

and playing with her dog Roxy (aka Poopsie).

Coby Klein is a doctoral

candidate in biology at the

City University of New

York Graduate Center and a

graduate teaching assistant at

Queens College. His

dissertation research focuses

on the evolution of pesticide

resistance in Colorado

potato beetles. For the past

12 years, Coby has been a

birder, bird bander, researcher, and general bird enthusiast.

He began leading field trips for HOBAS last spring and did

some survey work as well. Coby lives in Huntington with

his wife, Nomi and two children, Eliana and Ezra. Look for

Coby early in the morning at Makamah or Muttontown

Preserves and in the evening in the kitchen making dinner.

Killdeer Non-Profit

Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Huntington, NY Permit No. 546

September – October 2015