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Winter 2012
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Northern Harrier
Adult Male
(Circus cyaneus)
By: Bob Steele
www.bobsteelephoto.com
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Reservations must be made for these walks, workshops, and programs.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
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. Fees include a visit to the
museum on the day of the program.
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.
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 · All of the Above
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"Night Before the Full Wolf Moon" Hike
1/6/2012
· 8 pm - 9 pm - Friday
South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo)
Leader: Dai Dayton, Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
Full moon names date back to the early days of Native Americans. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, wolf packs howled hungrily outside Native American villages: thus the name for January's full moon.
Take advantage of some “wolf moonshine” on this leisurely paced one-hour hike with Dai through the open Vineyard Field trails behind the SoFo museum. Then join us afterward for hot cider and donuts. Meet at the South Fork Natural History Museum parking lot.
Photo: Full Moon
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Nighttime Owl Prowl for Adults
1/7/2012
· 7:30 pm - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Joe Giunta
Joe Giunta is one of SoFo’s most engaging birding teachers and this foray is one of his most enjoyable. The evening starts with a brief slide show and taped calls to acquaint you with our native owls. Then Joe will take you into the woods to call owls in for actual sightings. There is a good possibility that you will see an Eastern Screech Owl and maybe even a Great Horned Owl, whose courtship period begins at this time of year. This walk is for adults, but children over the age of 12 may attend. Bring your binoculars and a flashlight. Limited enrollment, reserve now.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735
Photo: Eastern Screech Owl
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Observing Seals
1/8/2012
· Resceduled! 11 am - Sunday
Montauk
Leader: Lindsey Rohrbach, SoFo Nature Educator
Lindsey will reprise her popular nature walk to view seals that arrive inour waters in December to become winter residents. Join her on this walk through the deciduous forests of the scenic Seal Haul Out Trail in Montauk and down to the rocky shore, where at low tide you can expect to see Harbor Seals and an occasional Gray Seal sunning themselves on the exposed rocks. This is about a one-half mile walk, so keep that in mind when bringing very young children.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Harbor Seals
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E-chino - What? All About Echinoderms!
1/14/2012
· 10 am to 10:45 am & 11:15 am to 12 pm, Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Heather Abrams, SoFo Nature Educator
10 am - 10:45 am for Children ages 4 to 5 years
11:15 am - 12 pm for Children ages 6 to 7 years
Echinoderms! That’s a big word! But what are they? Sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers are all related and they are all echinoderms, meaning they have spiny skin. Come join Heather to learn some interesting facts about these fascinating creatures. Children will have an opportunity to hold and touch live examples in the SoFo marine touch tank and then to decorate their own fanciful cardboard echinoderm. There will be a $3 material fee for this program. Limited enrollment, reserve now.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735
Photo: Purple Sea Urchin
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Winter Waterfowl Count
1/14/2012
· Dawn to Dusk, Saturday
Amagansett to Shinnecock
Leader: Frank Quevedo, SoFo Executive Director
At one time a great variety of waterfowl wintered on Long Island. Now, due to habitat loss, food scarcity, and the introduction of nonnative species of water birds, our wintering population of waterfowl is slowly diminishing. To assess this situation and record the number of overwintering waterfowl, the New York State Ornithological Association sponsors an annual waterfowl count throughout the state. Experienced birder or otherwise, sign on as a member of this year’s Amagansett to Shinnecock count team. Call us at (631) 537-9735 for further information.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Red Head
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Family Forest Walk
1/15/2012
· 10 am - Sunday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Crystal Possehl, SoFo Nature Educator
Join Crystal as she takes you through three different habitats, an old-field, a pine forest, and an oak-hickory forest, looking for evidence animals have left behind. There will be clues to feeding behavior, territory marking, and maybe even indications of where animals have spent the night, asleep. With luck, you’ll be able to identify signs of White-tailed Deer, Red Fox, Muskrat, Raccoon, and various woodland and wetland birds, and maybe even an owl. With the leaves no longer on the trees it will be easier to find the location of last year’s birds’ nests, good indicators of nesting sites for this spring’s broods.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Family Winter Walk
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New Ways to Think About Nature
1/21/2012
· 10 am - Saturday
South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo)
Leader: Richard Gambino; Ph.D. in philosophy from NYU, and is a Professor Emeritus at Queens College (CUNY)
How we think about nature has very important practical consequences. Nature is seen as, “red, tooth and claw” to be dreaded, conquered, or exploited (hard-headed realisms) ; admired and loved (romanticism) ; “obeyed to be commanded” (pragmatic naturalism) ; or slavishly bowed to as our innate “wiring” (scientistic determinism). Today, greater advancements in understanding genetics and ecology suggest new concepts that alter, include, and transcend these views.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Fractal Image
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Beginning Papermaking
1/22/2012
· 10 am - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Carol Crasson, SoFo Education Director
In this beginning papermaking workshop you’ll learn to make paper from recycled post-consumer materials as well as natural materials that you might find in your backyard. We’ll experiment with recycled paper, dryer lint, and beaten local plant pulp. You’re encouraged to bring things for inclusion such as glitter, thread, and dried plant material. Prior to the workshop you will be instructed on how to make your own mold and deckle, the framework for making your paper at home. This program is for adults, and children over the age of 8. There will be a $7 materials charge for this workshop. Limited enrollment, advance registration is essential!
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Handmade Paper
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Screech Owl at Midnight Hollow - Owl Story and Pellet Dissection
1/28/2012
· 9:30 am & 11 am - Saturday
Bridghampton
Leader: Crystal Poseehl, SoFo Nature Educator
9:30 am - 10:30 am for Children ages 6-8
11 am - Noon Children ages 9 and older
Winter is a great time to learn about owls. It is the time of year when they start courting and setting up their breeding territories. But why do they need these territories? The story Screech Owl at Midnight Hollow will help to answer that question, while we follow a family of Eastern Screech Owls as they raise their young. We’ll learn about what they eat and the dangers they might face. After the story each child will be given a heat sterilized owl pellet to dissect, to find the contents of the owl’s previous meal. Owl pellets are masses of undigested parts of food that owl species occasionally regurgitate. The contents of the owl pellet depends on its diet, but can include the exoskeletons of insects, indigestible plant matter, bones, fur, feathers, bills, claws, and teeth. There will be a $6 materials fee for the owl pellet. Limited enrollment, reserve now.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Screech Owl at Midnight Hollow
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How to Make and Read a Topographic Map
1/28/2012
· 1 pm - Saturday
Bridgehampton (SoFo)
Leader: Julie Burmeister
Do you like to read maps? If you are a biker, hiker, diver, or navigator, you have an interest in maps. If you like treasure hunts, Google Earth, astronomy, meteorology, or geology, you have an interest in maps. If you are an earth science student, you have an interest in maps. Come join us and learn to decipher maps of many types, and you will build a 2-dimensional and a 3-dimensional topographic map.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Topographic map of Long Island
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Family Nature Movie Night: Beavers
1/28/2012
· 7 pm - Saturday
Bridgehampton (SoFo)
Leader: Museum Staff
Join us for Nature Movie Night at SoFo . . . with Popcorn! The movie will start at 7 pm; SoFo will provide the popcorn and drinks.
There is evidence that a North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) has taken up residence at Fresh Pond, in Hither Hills State Park. Originally sighted on a motion-sensor camera at Scoy Pond in East Hampton, where it made successive lodges (which were subsequently destroyed by human intervention), it appears to have moved on to Hither Hills in Montauk. How it got to the East End remains a mystery. Someone may have released it here, or it may have come across the Long Island Sound from Connecticut.
If you want to become knowledgeable about this remarkable animal so that you can try to help figure out how it arrived here, or just want to learn more about its fascinating life history, join us at SoFo, Friday evening, January 28 at 7 p.m. for Beavers, a 70 minute film, originally created for exhibition in IMAX theaters.
This documentary, “set in the pristine forests and lakes in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, follows the lives of a family of beavers as they grow, play, and transform the world around them.” Not only will you have the feeling you are actually swimming with beavers, and sharing in their experience of “engineering” their home, you will also have the chance to put yourself behind the camera and learn about the filmmaker’s yearlong efforts to create this extraordinary production.
The Wildlife Film Festival of the Hamptons sponsors this showing.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
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Shinnecock Bird Specialties
2/4/2012
· 8 am - Saturday
Shinnecock
Leader: Hugh McGuinness
The barrier beach area at Shinnecock is one of the few remaining undeveloped dune/salt marsh habitats on the eastern end of Long Island, an area that frequently has wintering Snowy Owls and Short-eared Owls. Join expert birder Hugh McGuinness on this birding expedition in Shinnecock, one of his most popular walks. If we’re lucky we may see either of these two owls and even an American Bittern, Snow Bunting, or a lingering Clapper Rail. This walk is for adults, although children over the age of 8 may attend.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Snowy Owl
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Family Beach Walk
2/5/2012
· 10 am - Sunday
Hampton Bays
Leader: Crystal Possehl, SoFo Nature Educator
Bundle up, bring your binoculars, and a collecting bag or two, and join Crystal as she explores the ocean beach and maybe the bay side of this scenic spot in Hampton Bays off Dune Road. There will be shells to find, thrown up on the beach by stormy winter seas, as well as birds to identify, such as eiders, mergansers, loons, and Brant. These birds spend the winter here, finding abundant food sources of mollusks, fish, and seaweeds, but go north in spring, so this is an ideal time to see them and learn how to identify them.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Winter Beach
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Winter Birding By Car - Using the SoFo Map and Guide
2/11/2012
· 10 am - Saturday
Southampton
Leader: Frank Quevedo, SoFo Executive Director
Here’s an opportunity to combine comfort along with winter birding on this adventure with Frank using
SoFo’s Winter Birding by Car. This map and guide, (its entire length includes the area from the Shinnecock Canal to Montauk), is designed to steer you to some of the more productive and accessible birding locations available by vehicle. At each of the stops on the map there is a list of highlighted bird species, birds which have occurred previously in the area and which you have a good chance of seeing. On this trip, Frank you will cover the area around Shinnecock Bay. The map and guide is to be used in conjunction with SoFo’s Birds of the South Fork checklist, which contains information about the relative abundance of Long Island’s bird species throughout the year. The map and guide, and checklist, are free to SoFo members; there is a charge of $5 for non-members.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Winter Birding by Car Map
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Feeding Birds in Winter
2/12/2012
· 10 am - Sunday
Noyac
Leader: Heather Abrams, SoFo Nature Educator
Winter is a difficult time for birds to find food. It is a particular problem in our area because development has removed much of the birds’ natural food resources. At a very special wildlife refuge, children and adults will have the delightful opportunity to provide backyard birds with extra nourishment. Join Heather as she takes young naturalists on a trail to experience the wonder of a bird eating out of your hand. Dress warmly; we’ll bring the birdseed. Limited enrollment, reserve now.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Black-capped Chickadee landing on a hand
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Eastern Tiger Salamander Search DATE CHANGE!
2/18/2012
· 7:30 pm - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Andy Sabin, SoFo Board of Directors President
Herpetologist Andy Sabin will take us into the nighttime woods in search of the largest of our native salamanders, the endangered Eastern Tiger Salamander. Don’t miss a rare opportunity to see this salamander as it makes its way to the pond to mate and to lay its eggs. Please bring a flashlight and wear boots, as late winter rains will make the ground soggy. This walk will take place only after heavy rains.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Eastern Tiger Salamander
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Family Nature Movie Night
2/18/2012
· 7 pm - Saturday
Bridgehampton (SoFo)
Leader: SoFo Museum Staff
Join us for Nature Movie Night at SoFo . . . with Popcorn! The movie will start at 7 pm; SoFo will provide the popcorn and drinks. You’ll receive an e-mail, announcing the name of the movie and a brief synopsis two weeks in advance of the showing giving you plenty of time to sign up. We’ll also list the movie information on the SoFo Web site and on our Facebook page.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
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Hike the Moraine
2/18/2012
· 10 am - 11 am, Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Jean Dodds, Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt Secretary
This hilly 1.5-mile hike will take you to the top of the moraine in Bridgehampton, a vantage point of 218 feet above sea level, from which you will have a panoramic view extending from Mecox Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. Join Jean as she introduces you to the concept of a moraine, and the terms glacial erratic, kettle hole, and coastal outwash plain, as well as the phrase “vernal ponds,” the special breeding places of our endangered Eastern Tiger Salamanders. Meet on Mill Path off Lopers Path East, in Bridgehampton
Photo: Winter Hike
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Get Pressurized: A Science Exploration
2/19/2012
· 10 am - Sunday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Lindsey Rohrbach, SoFo Nature Educator
The basic concepts of pressure can be observed in the world around us. Understanding these ideas is important to understanding how the natural world functions, and the effects of different actions. Join Lindsey as she performs simple scientific experiments to demonstrate why a hot air balloon rises, how hearts pump blood to sustain life, and how lungs enable animals to breathe . . . all because of pressure. Workshop attendees will participate in scientific investigations. Limited enrollment, reserve now.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Balloon
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A Salamander's Life
2/25/2012
· 10 am - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Crystal Possehl, SoFo Nature Educator
Join Crystal and her story-time puppet Lodo, the River Otter, as they get ready for the salamander-breeding season by reading A Salamander’s Life. The book’s colorful illustrations and simple text relate the life cycle of a female salamander as she grows from being an egg to a larva to an adult salamander. Children will learn about her life in the water and on land, how she hunts for food, faces her enemies, and interacts with humans. After the story, participants will make a paper salamander armband to take on nature walks. There will be a $2 materials fee. Limited enrollment, reserve now.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: A Salamander's Life Book Cover
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Something's Fishy! A Science Exploration
3/3/2012
· 10 am - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Frank Quevedo, SoFo Exectuve Director
Ever wonder what’s all that stuff removed from a fish before it’s cooked? In this program children will learn to identify and interpret the internal anatomy of a fish by seeing what’s inside. We’ll use dissecting tools such as scissors, scalpel, and forceps to open the fish up and analyze the different components that make up its body, in order to understand better how it swims, eats, and respires. We’ll focus on the internal aspects but we’ll discuss the external as well, removing scales from the fish and counting its growth rings just like a tree’s, to determine its age. Dissecting tools, gloves, and eye-protection will be supplied. There will be a $7 materials charge. Limited enrollment, reserve now.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Yellow Perch
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Get to Know Some Tough Trees and Shrubs
3/3/2012
· 10:30 am - Saturday
Sag Harbor
Leader: Bill Miller, SoFo Board of Directors Secretary
Tree man Bill Miller will lead you on an investigation into the trees and shrubs in several of the South Fork's diverse habitats. In his musings on the objectives of his walk, Bill says he will, “Hint at some History, Touch on Topography, Then . . . Honor the Oaks, Parse the Pitch Pines, Pause with the Pepperidges, Ponder the Posts (Oaks), Savour the Sassafrasses, And maybe . . . Tinker with Twigs, Brush up on Buds, Lie about the Lyonias, Bicker about Bark, But absolutely . . . Wonder at the Wet-Land.”
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Pitch Pine
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How to be a Wildlife Rehabilator
3/10/2012
· 10 am - Saturday
Bridgehampton (SoFo)
Leader: Virginia (Ginnie) Frati, Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons Executive Director and Founder
As the human population grows on Long Island, encounters between humans and wildlife increase as well. These encounters often cause injury to wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitators rescue and give medical care to injured wildlife. This can be very rewarding, but it requires time, resources, and dedication on the part of the rehabilitator. Learn what it takes to become a wildlife rehabilitator and the proper regulatory agency permits required from Ginnie, one of the leading rehabilitators on the East End.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo:
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Blue-spotted Salamander Search
3/10/2012
· 7:30 pm - Saturday
Montauk
Leader: Andy Sabin, SoFo Board oF Directors
Montauk’s vernal ponds are one of the few places in the world where the Blue-spotted Salamander, in its purebred form, can be found. Join SoFo on our nighttime foray with Andy Sabin, “Mr. Salamander,” as we search for this unique native species. Please bring a flashlight and wear boots, as late winter rains will make the ground soggy. This walk will take place only after heavy rains.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Blue-spotted Salamander
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Take a Hike in the Long Pond Greenbelt
3/17/2012
· 10 am to noon - Saturday
Sag Harbor
Leader: Joe Lane, Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt member
May you have warm words for a cold day on this St. Patrick's Day hike with a blessing and a poem or two from Joe on this easy paced journey through a portion of the superb Long Pond Greenbelt, including Long Pond, Little Long Pond, and Crooked Pond. Meet at Mashashimuet Park parking lot in Sag Harbor.
Photo: Winter trail in the Long Pond Greenbelt
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Bluebird Walk
3/17/2012
· 9 am - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Joe Giunta
In this program learn all about our native Eastern Bluebird from Joe, an experienced birder, engaging teacher, and birding tour leader. First, Joe will offer a short bluebird slide program, and then it's off to see firsthand this cavity-nesting bird of open country and woodland edge. This walk is for adults, but children over the age of 12 may attend.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Eastern Bluebird
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Seeing your Vision: Nature Photography Workshop
3/24/2012
· 10 am to Noon - Saturday
Bridgehampton (SoFo)
Leader: Jim Levison
Jim Levison, a nationally recognized nature photographer, whose work appears regularly in major U.S. outdoor publications and commercial retail ads, will be teaching this introductory workshop to digital outdoor photography. While technical issues regarding digital images will be discussed, emphasis will be on composition and seeing your vision through the lens. To learn more about Jim visit his Web site www.jimlevisonphoto.com. Bring your camera(s) and a tripod if you have one.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: "Blitz Under the Light" by Jim Levison
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Spotted Salamander Search
3/24/2012
· 7:30 pm - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Andy Sabin, SoFo Board of Directors President
On this walk to one of our vernal ponds we’ll be searching for the Spotted Salamander, one of our four native mole salamanders. This salamander is a beauty with its shiny black body and bright yellow spots. It, like the Eastern Tiger and the Blue-spotted Salamander, as well as the early-autumn breeding Marbled Salamander, is called a mole salamander because it spends most of its time underground. Please bring a flashlight and wear boots, as late winter rains will make the ground soggy. This walk will take place only after heavy rains.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Spotted Salamander
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What is the Tree? What is that Shrub?
3/31/2012
· 10 am to Noon - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Jackson Dodds, Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt Board Member
Join arborist Jackson Dodds on the William B. Sickles Tree ID trail, to learn how to identify many of the trees and shrubs found in the Long Pond Greenbelt. This particular trail is noteworthy because it is home to at least twenty species of native Greenbelt trees and shrubs — including bayberry, high and low bush blueberry, hickory, and three types of oak. You’ll also learn the answers to some interesting questions such as which leaves, when crushed, were used as poor man's soap and which made the best stuffing for mattresses. Meet at the Southampton Town Long Pond Greenbelt Nature Center, 1061 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton.
Photo: Mockernut Hickory
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Getting to Know our Marine Animals
3/31/2012
· 10 am - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: Heather Abrams, SoFo Nature Educator
Touch tanks amaze young visitors and bring learning to life. In this short program for very young children, Heather will introduce participants to some of the animals in SoFo’s marine touch tank, animals they will meet when they visit our ocean beaches and bays later in the year.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
Photo: Common Seastar
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Family Nature Movie Night
3/31/2012
· 7 pm - Saturday
Bridgehampton
Leader: SoFo Museum Staff
Join us for Nature Movie Night at SoFo . . . with Popcorn! The movie will start at 7 pm.; SoFo will provide the popcorn and drinks. You’ll receive an e-mail announcing the name of the movie and a brief synopsis two weeks in advance of the showing, giving you plenty of time to sign up. We’ll also list the movie information on the SoFo Web site and on our Facebook page.
To make a reservation for this program, please call the museum at 631-537-9735.
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