The DOAS 2023 Native Plant Sale Fundraiser is now available for Pre-Order!

Full details are available at https://doas.us/native-plant-sale-2023/.

Thank you for your suppot!

The DOAS 2023 Native Plant Sale Fundraiser is now available for Pre-Order!

Full details are available at https://doas.us/native-plant-sale-2023/.

Thank you for your suppot!

On Tuesday, April 11, 7:00pm DOAS will present (on Zoom) a pre-recorded program with
Doug Tallamy – and his presentation “Bringing Nature Home: The Importance of Native Plants”. Local botanist, Connie Tedesco will be on hand following the video to answer questions. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND the April 11 Zoom Program

In collaboration with Otsego Land Trust

In honor of Parslow Road Conservation Area’s new extended trails, we have partnered with Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society to offer a Woodcock Walk!

REGISTER to attend at https://otsegolandtrust.org/events/woodcockwalk

On Thursday, April 13 from 6:45 to 7:45 PM, join Otsego Land Trust and Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society for a Woodcock Walk at the Parslow Road Conservation Area.  DOAS local environmental educators Charlie Scheim and Sandy Bright will lead a walk to observe the spring mating ritual of the woodcock. 

The woodcock usually spends its time hidden on the forest floor probing for earthworms in moist soil, but on spring evenings males perform a dance in scrub fields to attract potential mates. This wonderful display occurs in three parts: the strut, the launch skyward, and the spiral back to earth accompanied by buzzy calls and twittering wing sounds. The walk will begin at 7:00 PM in the parking lot with a short introduction to the woodcock and its habits, and a walk on the trail listening and looking for the birds that inhabit this protected property. The sun is expected to set around 7:30 pm at which time the group will position itself in the best location to view and count the Woodcocks. Then, participants will walk on the trail discussing the varied habitats on the property as they make their way to the best spot to observe the woodcocks. Waterproof footwear, a headlamp or flashlight, and binoculars are recommended.

American Woodcock spend most of their time hidden in fields and on the forest floor, where they probe for earthworms. But on spring nights, males perform very conspicuous displays, giving a buzzy “peent” call, then launching into the air. Their erratic display flight includes a distinctive, twittering flight sound and ends with a steep dive back to the ground. The wet thickets, shrubby swamps, and open fields at Parslow Road Conservation Area are ideal habitats for these interesting birds that have unfortunately seen a population decline over the years.

Parslow Road Conservation Area is owned and protected by Otsego Land Trust for public enjoyment. The mission of Otsego Land Trust is to improve the quality of life throughout the Upper Susquehanna region by working with landowners and partners to protect and conserve our farmland, forests, and waterways in perpetuity.

The Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society, a chapter of the National Audubon Society, envisions a healthy world where people and wildlife thrive and natural resources are protected. The mission of Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society is to protect our natural environment and connect people with nature to benefit birds and other wildlife through conservation, education, research and advocacy.

REGISTER to attend at https://otsegolandtrust.org/events/woodcockwalk

Image credit: American Woodcock Flickr Guizmo_68 2007

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We are looking forward to seeing everyone again this year at Earth Festival! Stop by for some fresh-brewed bird-friendly coffee and take a bag or two home for your morning pleasure! We’ll have information on membership available as well as Native Plant Sale order forms, non-lead Ammunition information and our Golden Eagle Display!

Join Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society IN PERSON on Friday, April 21, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. at the Elm Park United Methodist Church, 401 Chestnut Street, Oneonta for a spring program with Special Guest, Casey Coomes. Casey will present
a slideshow about how rising temperatures are affecting birds all over the world. Climate change poses a huge threat to the persistence of songbirds in North America—in fact, we have already lost almost 30% of our species in the last 50 years. During her presentation, Casey will discuss how heat can influence bird survival, reproduction, and even the songs they sing!

Winners of the DOAS Optics Raffle will be announced at the conclusion of the program.

About the Presenter

Casey’s work with birds began when she attended college at Transylvania University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Biology. She then went on to receive a PhD from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, where she focused her research on the effects of high temperatures on communication in zebra finches. She is currently a Visiting Instructor and PRODiG Fellow at SUNY Oneonta, where she teaches Avian Physiology and Behavior.

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Meet at 8 a.m. in the parking lot by the fields near the school district bus garage, just past the transfer station for a two-hour walk to view returning migrant birds on the Greenway trail, located on Silas Lane, off Rte. 205 in Oneonta. This will be an easy hike on level ground. Contact Charlie Scheim at 607-434-4880 or scheimc@hartwick.edu for more information.

Returning migrants at this location should include warblers, vireos, orioles, tanagers, and possibly waterfowl and raptors. The walk will last approximately two hours, and will require some hill-climbing and hiking over uneven and possibly muddy ground. For further information, contact Andy Mason, 607- 267-8491. Directions to the
DOAS Sanctuary can be found at the doas website: https://doas.us

The 2023 Jean Miller Memorial Wildflower Walk at Gilbert Lake State Park, in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation – Central Region, will take place this year on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Participants will meet at the beach area at 10am.

The walk is approximately 2-3 hours in the Park on easy to medium terrain and will be led by DOAS member and local botanist, Connie Tedesco. Bring water, insect repellent, binoculars if on hand, and your curiosity!

This is a free program. Pre-registration is required using the form below. This helps us contact participants in case there is an issue with the weather. Contact info@doas.us for additional information.

Join Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society on Friday, May 19, 2023 at 7:30pm at the Elm Park United Methodist Church in Oneonta, NY for a return visit from Dr. Pam Lea. Dr. Lea will treat us with a photo-journey from her adventures in Antarctica where she traveled in February 2022. This program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available before the program.

About the Presenter

Dr. Pam Lea is a local retired veterinarian who has had a lifelong passion for travel. In February 2022, she was able to visit her seventh continent with 58 fellow travelers on Overseas Adventure Travel’s first trip back to Antarctica since Covid. Join Dr. Lea, by way of a compilation of her photographs and those of her expedition leaders, to the spectacular South Shetland Islands by way of Buenos Aires (her birthplace), Ushuaia (“City at the End of the World”) and the Drake Passage. Iguassu Falls (wider and higher than Niagra Falls) rounded out the trip.

Saturday, May 20 is this year’s Big Day for DOAS.

The Big Day is a group effort in which birders, working alone, in pairs, or in small groups, can maintain social distance and adopt infection-avoidance procedures while enjoying the outdoors. We will try to locate as many bird species as we can in a single fun day on Saturday May 20. Birders can spend any amount of time they choose within that 24 hours, and report on their efforts to the Big Day coordinator, Charlie Scheim.

Everyone is welcome, novice or experienced.  If you are interested and have not participated before, please contact Charlie at 607-434-4880 (voice or text) or scheimc@hartwick.edu to get information on joining in the fun.

DOAS Bird Checklist – revised 2020.

DOAS BIG DAY BIRD COUNT RULES (Modified from ABA):

A Big Day Count is a single-team effort in which the primary objectives are (1) to identify as many bird species as possible during a single calendar day and (2) to strive to have all team members identify all species recorded.

Counting

1. Count only species listed in a recognized field guide.
2. Birds must be conclusively identified by sight or sound. Use common sense: if in doubt about the bird’s identity, don’t count it.
3. An introduced species may be counted. 
4. Birds counted must be alive, wild, and unrestrained. Domestic species are not to be included. Birds attracted to tape-recorders or feeders may be counted. Injured birds may be counted if wild and unrestrained. Eggs do not count as birds.

Time – All counting must be within a single 24-hour period, on a single calendar day, determined by where the Count begins or ends.

Area– Any geographic area within the region served by DOAS may be covered. A team’s coverage area may overlap that of other teams.

Travel – Travel may be by any means, provided that all participants remain within direct voice-contact distance during all travel (except for separate motorized travel or for “timeouts” for gas, food, rest, etc.).

Participants

1. Any number of participants may constitute a team.
2. Nonparticipating companions may accompany the team and may record or may drive vehicles. 

Conduct

Each participant must:

1. remain within direct voice-contact distance of all other participants at all times, except during time-outs.
2. make every reasonable effort to identify personally and to help other team members identify every species counted by the team.
3. count only birds personally and unquestionably identified.
4. review the Big Day Count Rules before the start of the Count.

Outside Information

1. During the Count, teams must make every reasonable effort to avoid receiving bird-finding help from nonparticipants.
2. Any information received prior to the Count may be used during the Count.
3. Ethics– Each participant should strive to maintain proper birding ethics at all times.

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Pick up your plants between 11am and 1pm at the EV Car Show at Damaschke Field Parking Lot, Neahwa Park in Oneonta.

DOAS will host an EV Car Show at Damaschke Field Parking Lot on Saturday, June 3 from 11am to 2pm.

Full details can be found at https://doas.us/ev-2023/

We are seeking EV Owners to exhibit their vehicles as well as event sponsors and partners. Details are at the link!