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July UPDATED 6/18

August UPDATED 6/18

September

Future Field Trips UPDATED 7/2

July 2008
Reminder: Vacation time! In July there is no meeting and no newsletter.

American Robin nest
Photo by CPooth

	Look for young, particularly large broods of poults (young Wild Turkeys) and ducklings following their mothers.
	American Goldfinches have started nesting; Eastern Bluebirds and American Robins may be on second brood.
	By mid-month sandpipers have started migration south.

For this year's free NYSDEC canoe trips, see the schedule below. 6/16/08

July 2 # Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP (tentative) -Buttercup East *pg. 22. Meet there at 8:00am. Click on the link for driving directions.
July 9 Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP -Yellowframe Farm - Meet at the Farm & Home Center, Rt.44, Millbrook at 7:30am.
July 12 Saturday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - Greig Farm/Tivoli Bay WMA – Leader: Barbara Butler. Meet at Greig Farm at 8:00am. Please call Barbara if you plan to attend (see Wings Over Dutchess for phone number).
July 16 # Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - Pond Gut *pg. 84 – Meet there at 8:00am. Hot dog roast after walk (optional); bring your own.
July 22 Tuesday	HUDSONIA WORKSHOP for professionals - Wetland habitat creation and turtle conservation. Click on the link for more information and registration. NEW 6/18/08
July 23 # Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP -Thompson Pond *pg. 112. Meet there at 8:00am. For driving directions, click on the link.
July 26 Saturday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - Deep Hollow Road – 8:00am. Meet there & park just in off Rt. 22. Click on the link for driving directions. Leader: Barbara Michelin. Please call ahead if you plan to attend (phone number in Wings Over Dutchess)
July 30 # Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - Locust Grove / Samuel F. B. Morse Historic Site - Meet at the parking lot on US 9 just south of Poughkeepsie, across from Beechwood Avenue at 8:00am.

Field Trips: Dress for the weather and bring lunch & beverage. Rain cancels walk. Any questions call Barbara Michelin about weekend walks; for other walks call Carol Fredericks or Barbara Butler. Member phone numbers can be found in the member newsletter, Wings Over Dutchess or in the Member List.
* Page reference for the writeup in Where to Bird in Dutchess County (for those who have a copy--others please note that this book is out of print).
# Bad weather date is Thursday.

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August 2008
Reminder: Vacation time! In July there is no meeting and no newsletter.

Dunlin
Photo by Barbara Mansell

	Watch for migrating* sandpipers and Common Nighthawks.*
	Look for casual migrants, which wander after nesting, or accidentals blown in by a coastal storm.

For this year's free NYSDEC canoe trips, see the schedule below. 6/16/08

August 5 Tuesday	HUDSONIA WORKSHOP for professionals - Phragmites ecology and management. Click on the link for more information and registration. NEW 6/18/08
August 6 # Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - Wilderstein. Morton Rd. (CR 85), Rhinecliff. Meet at the trailhead parking lot north of the house at 8am. Take Rte. 9 north past Dinsmore Golf Course and Staatsburg, turn left onto CR 85 (South Mill Rd.) and stay on CR 85 as it turns left onto Morton Rd. for 1/4 mile to the Wilderstein entrance. Drive past the entrance to the trailhead parking lot. This lot is next to the road and has a kiosk with a trail map at the far end.
August 13 # Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site *pg. 126. Meet at the visitors' parking lot. For driving directions, click on the link. Hot dog roast after walk (optional) - bring your own.
August 16 Saturday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - *Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES/Cary Arboretum) - p.24 - Leader: Barbara Michelin.** Meet at the Gifford House, Rt.44, Millbrook at 8:00am. Please call if you plan to attend.
August 20 # Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - Andrew Haight Road *pg.10. Meet at the Farm & Home Center, US 44, Millbrook.
August 27 # Wednesday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP - Dennings Point to Long Dock, Beacon. Meet there at 8:00am (click on link for driving directions). Plan to carry lunch.
August 30 Saturday	RTWBC FIELD TRIP -Oil City Rd. & Black Dirt Sod Farms for shorebirds. Leader: Barbara Michelin. Call for time and meeting place.

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Future Wednesday Field Trips (tentative schedule) UPDATED 7/2/08
Note: Changes may be made to this schedule due to weather or for other reasons. Be sure to check the detailed calendar above as the date approaches. SCHEDULE AFTER OCTOBER IS TENTATIVE.

September 3 #	Ferncliff Forest	November 5	Roosevelt's Home (FDR NHS) UPD 7/2/08
September 10 #	Buttercup East	November 12	Millbrook School
September 17 #	Rockefeller U. Fld Station	November 19 #	Stony Kill Farm UPD 7/2/08
September 24 #	Lakeside Park	November 26 #	Vassar College Campus
October 1 #	Buttercup West	December 3 #	Harlem Valley Rail Trail - Amenia
October 8 #	Thompson Pond Preserve	December 10	Holiday Party - Verbank Snow Date 12/17
October 15 #	Tymor Forest	December 17 #	James Baird State Park
October 22 #	Bowdoin Park	December 24 #	Norrie Point
October 29 #	Staatsburgh (Mills Mansion)	December 31 #	Madam Brett Park, Beacon

# Bad weather date is Thursday.

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Club Meetings -Details

Unless otherwise noted below, meetings are held at 7:30pm at the Freedom Plains Presbyterian Church parish hall, Rte. 55, Freedom Plains (about 3/10 mile west of the Taconic State Parkway, across from Arlington High School). Join us for refreshments after each meeting.
In case of bad weather, meetings will be cancelled. Please listen to local radio stations for cancellation information. If in doubt, call club president Maury Lacher.

June 23 , 2008 (Members Only) 6/15/08

June Picnic
Joint program of Stony Kill Foundation, Putnam Highlands Audubon, and Waterman Bird Club

What : June Picnic - Special Members Only Program at Stony Kill
Where: Stony Kill - Manor House yard for picnic (not the barn), Wappingers Falls, Rt. 9D 21/2 miles north of Rt 84.
Time: 5:30 PM picnic
6:30 bird walk
7:00 program by Dr. Norman Smith - Snowy Owls to Saw-whet Owls
Please Bring: Your own picnic food and drink; a dessert to share
Program: Snowy Owls to Saw-whet Owls by Dr. Norman Smith

About Our Speaker:
Norman Smith has studied birds of prey (raptors) for over 30 years, including rehabilitating the injured and successfully fostering over 600 orphaned hawk and owl chicks of various species into adoptive nests. He has held a bird-banding permit for raptor research for over 20 years. His ongoing long-term projects include trapping and banding migrating hawks and owls in the Blue Hills Reservation, banding nestling hawks and owls, and monitoring (and banding) snowy owls and other raptors wintering at Boston's Logan International Airport. He has also traveled to Alaska to study snowy owls in their native tundra habitat, and assisted Nature Science Network with two video tapes produced for the National Audubon Society, Hawks Up Close and Owls Up Close. His research work has been published in the following magazines and journals: National Geographic, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, Yankee, Massachusetts Wildlife, Bird Observer, Birding, Sanctuary, Geo, Nature, Grolier Encyclopedia, Owls of the Northern Hemisphere and Owls of the World.

Binnie Chase

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Future Membership Meetings
Note: Changes may be made to this schedule. Be sure to check the detailed calendar above as the date approaches.

August 25	Annual Potluck Picnic - Show 'n' Tell Slideshow
October 27	Carena Pooth - Topic TBD

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Other Events

September 19-21, 2008 - NYSOA's 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting

This Fall's 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting of the New York State Ornithological Association takes place in Rochester, Sept. 19-21. Don't miss this exciting weekend! It is open to all birders and offers a chance to connect with like-minded enthusiasts from all over New York.

The weekend will feature great fall birding, cutting-edge ornithological and conservation research presentations, a world-renowned speaker, a chance to connect with members of the new Young Birders organization, and good food and fellowship.

The keynote speaker, Peter Harrison, is the world's foremost authority on seabirds, an ardent conservationist, and an entertaining and highly-sought speaker. It promises to be a memorable event.

Early response attendees get a $5 discount on the registration fee if it's mailed before Aug 15th.

We are looking forward to seeing you in September!

Registration form and further details are available at the NYSOA website.

Sandy Mauceli
Rochester Birding Association

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Sandy Mauceli Rochester Birding Association

Sandy Mauceli
Rochester Birding Association