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Spring 2008
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Trailing Arbutus
(Epigaea repens)
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SoFo provides exciting and educational nature experiences through
out-of-doors nature walks and indoor workshops and programs.
Each event is led by an expert naturalist.
There is no charge for SoFo Members (unless otherwise stated).
Non-Members are charged $7 per adult and $5 per child (ages 3-12).
Children 2 years and Under are free of charge.
Reservations must be made for these walks, workships, and programs.
Benefits of a Membership
Join as a member and receive all the benefits of a membership, including free admission to programming, and museum admission, plus the quarterly newsletter with listings of nature walks, talks and workshops for both children and adults.
Want to learn more about natural history & SoFo's nature programs?Sign-up for our E-mail List
by emailing SoFo at sofo@hamptons.com
Click on the E-mail link above to let us know the subjects that are of particular interest to you. In your E-mail please indicate the natural history areas you would like to know more about so that we can send you a list of programs geared to your special interests.
Birds · Insects · Mammals · Marine Life · Plants & Fungi
Reptiles & Amphibians · Activities for Children · Community Events · All of the Above
For information, reservations, and directions to meeting places for any scheduled programming, please contact the South Fork Natural History Museum at (631) 537-9735 email: sofo@hamptons.com |
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The Diamondback Terrapin - Past & Current Threats to its Survival
4/5/2008
· 11:00 a.m. - Saturday
Bridgehampton - SoFo
Leader: Russell Burke - PhD
The Diamondback Terrapin lives year-round in the bays and estuaries of Long Island. It is named for the diamond patterns on its shell. Prized for its meat, from the mid-1800s until the early twentieth century this turtle was harvested in huge numbers to make soup. By the mid-1930s terrapins had become so rare in the Long Island-New York City region that naturalists thought the species was locally extinct. Fortunately, since that time, terrapin populations in many areas have slowly and steadily recovered. This recovery is now threatened by a number of new pressures.
Russell Burke has for many years studied the Diamondback Terrapin population of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, a unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, one of the most important urban wildlife refuges in the United States. In this talk he will introduce you to the fascinating Diamondback, discuss past and current threats to its survival, and tell you about the research he is doing to better understand the population of these reptiles.
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The Buzz About Insects
4/13/2008
· 9:30 -10:30 a.m. - for Children ages 3-5 11:00 a.m. - Noon for Children ages 6-9
Bridgehampton - SoFo
Leader: Lindsey Rohrbach - SoFo Nature Educator
Did you know that there are many more kinds of insects on earth than any other kind of living creature? In this program with Lindsey, children will put together an insect - using Play-doh, pipe cleaners, and egg cartons - while they learn that insects are animals with exoskeletons, six pairs of legs, and three body parts. There will be an extra $5 fee for materials.
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Birding By Ear- For Children
4/19/2008
· 9:00 a.m. - Saturday
Sag Harbor
Leader: Crystal Possehl
When it is once again warm enough outside to open windows, many people look forward to hearing the songs of birds. Often the feathered composer is not visible, but it is still possible to identify the mystery bird by its song. Join Crystal on this family nature walk to learn how to identify some of our more common birds by their songs and calls, and be sure to bring binoculars so you can catch a glimpse of the birds you hear.
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Cavity-Nesting Birds of Long Island
4/27/2008
· 9:00 a.m. - Sunday
Sag Harbor
Leader: Joe Giunta
Many birds use holes in trees for nesting. The size of the hole in the tree determines what bird is likely to nest there. Join Joe, SoFo’s engaging birding enthusiast, on this walk as he searches for the many cavity-nesting birds we have on the South Fork, including woodpeckers, nuthatches, titmice, chickadees and bluebirds. *Children over the age of 12 may attend.
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Visit to the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery in Montauk
5/3/2008
· 2:00 p.m. - Saturday
Montauk
Leader: Frank Quevedo, Hatchery Staff & Bay Management Specialist
Join SoFo and Frank Quevedo of the Town Hatchery staff to see how the Town raises ten million seed shellfish --- hard clams, oysters, and bay scallops --- for the purpose of restocking public shellfish beds in Town and surrounding State waters, beds that were devastated in the mid-1980s by the region-wide series of smothering algae blooms (brown tide).
On this tour of the hatchery, housed in one of the last remaining structures from the World War II Naval Torpedo Range in Montauk, you will have an opportunity to understand shellfish breeding and spawning, see the larval stages and early juvenile rearing of millions of these animals, plus the food production systems that allow them to grow. This visit is a prelude to a summertime flat-bottom boat ride to the inlet of Napeague Harbor to see where and how the Town “grows-out” these clams, scallops, and oysters for later seeding.
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Warbler Migration
5/10/2008
· 8:00 a.m. - Saturday
Flanders
Leader: Eric Salzman
Enjoy migrating warblers on this Maple Swamp walk, one of the best places on Eastern Long Island to catch the spring migration. More than 30 species of warblers have been seen here in addition to raptors, cuckoos, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, tanagers and an assortment of finches, some nesting, some headed to Canada, and some merely off course. Eric is not only an experienced birder he is also a well-known music composer so he’ll help you learn to keep your ears tuned to the calls and sounds of the birds you find. *Children over the age of 12 may attend.
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Introduction to the Salt Marsh : Part 1 - Powerpoint Presentation & Talk
5/17/2008
· 10:00 a.m. - Saturday
Bridgehampton - SoFo
Leader: Crystal Possehl - SoFo Nature Educator
Salt marshes are the places where land meets the ocean by way of calmer bays. Here there is an almost endless variety of plants and animals. In this first of a two-part series learn about the unique salt marshes of Long Island when you join Crystal for a Power Point presentation and bingo game that will introduce you to some of the many plants and animals found in the marsh and how they acclimate to their environment.
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Introduction to the Salt Marsh: Part II - Field Walk
5/18/2008
· 10:00 a.m. - Sunday
Southampton
Leader: Crystal Possehl
In the first session of this two-part program you’ve learned about the plants and animals that live in a salt marsh. Now here’s your chance to see some of these animals and plants up close in their natural habitat. Be sure to wear “mucky” clothing and shoes and insect repellent, and bring along binoculars if you have them.
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Build a Butterfly Garden
5/24/2008
· 10:00 a.m. - Saturday
Bridgehampton - SoFo
Leader: Heather Abrams - SoFo Nature Educator
Do you want to attract butterflies to your garden? Then come to this program which will introduce you to SoFo’s first-ever butterfly garden. Join Heather as she discusses the how and why of attracting these magnificent pollinators to your garden, covering such topics as which plants to use to attract butterflies and which to use to provide incentives for them to linger and lay their eggs. Attracting butterflies to your garden not only enriches the aesthetic pleasure of gardening, it can also create a small nature reserve to help to preserve some of the world’s most beautiful creatures.
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Shorebirds at Shinnecock
5/31/2008
· 8:00 a.m. - Saturday
Hampton Bays
Leader: Jim Ash
Join birder Jim Ash, SoFo’s Executive Director, on this shorebird migration walk. In addition to seeing migrating shorebirds you’ll also be on the lookout for the Seaside Sparrow, Salt marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Clapper Rail, Boat-tailed Grackle, and other specialties of the area. You can also check out the ocean for pelagic birds, which sometime come in close at this time of year. *Children over the age of 12 may attend.
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Salamander Seining.. And Some Frogs Too!
6/7/2008
· 10:00 a.m. - Saturday
Bridgehampton - SoFo
Leader: Andy Sabin
Many salamanders breed in the water, and here’s your chance to see the larval aquatic stage of the endangered Eastern Tiger Salamander before it comes on land to live. You’ll also see some of our local frog tadpoles, as Andy Sabin, “Mr. Salamander” and SoFo Board president, using a seining net (a large two-person fishing net with weights at the lower edge and floats at the top) wades into a freshwater pond and brings to the surface the pond-life stages of these young animals, members of the Class Amphibia.
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Butterflies in My Garden
6/14/2008
· 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. for Children ages 3-5 11:00 a.m.- Noon for Children ages 6-9
Bridgehampton - SoFo
Leader: Heather Abrams - SoFo Nature Educator
What is your favorite animal? Could it be . . . a butterfly? In this indoor-outdoor nature activity program children will have fun building a butterfly mobile while learning about the process of metamorphosis. Program leader Heather, using SoFo’s new butterfly garden, will explain why certain plants attract certain butterflies, how caterpillars get bigger and bigger, and how an adult butterfly sips nectar.
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Caribbean Daze... Don't Worry, Be Happy
6/21/2008
· Cocktail at 6:30 p.m., Dinner and Dancing from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Bridgehampton, SoFo
SoFo's Annual Dinner Dance
Caribbean Daze... Don't Worry, Be Happy
A night of reggae, rock, and relaxation at SoFo's tropical paradise.
For information call (631) 537-9735 or email us at sofo@hamptons.com
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Breeding Warblers
6/22/2008
· 8:00 a.m. - Sunday
Montauk
Leader: Joe Giunta
Thirteen species of warblers have been recorded as breeders on Long Island; nine are confirmed breeders in one area in Montauk. Joe will lead you on a search to find these active small songbirds and with luck you will hear them singing and possibly see them carrying food to their nest. *Children over the age of 12 may attend.
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Orchids of the South Fork
6/29/2008
· 10 a.m. - Sunday
Bridgehampton - SoFo
Leader: Dave Taft
It had begun the night before. The voice on the phone was hushed, surreptitious; he spoke in clipped phrases. “Thought you’d be interested …Corallorhiza odontorhiza…” That’s the voice of Dave Taft letting us know about a clump of Coralroot Orchids which are a rare find on the East End. Dave is an avid orchid enthusiast and the Conservation Chair for the Greater New York Orchid Society; he has served as the Site Manager of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and is presently an Assistant Superintendent with the National Park Service. Wild Long Island and southeast New York State are home to many orchid rarities. Come to the Museum and meet some of the rare orchids of southern New York and afterwards, if you choose, go out to Napeague with Dave to see some of these orchids live.
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