CONSERVATION ISUUE:
From Dave Burg who sent me this message:
DATE SUNDAY JUNE 26TH 630 AM
WildMetro has been organizing what we hope will be the first annual complete bird census of Floyd Bennett Field. We plan to "spot map" all bird use and enter this info on maps using GIS systems. This will be a "citizen science" project The mapping will be done by college interns and volunteers.
We only decided to do this recently, partly in reaction to recent press coverage of plans for expanded use of FBF. For the same reason, we decided to conduct a survey independent of the park service, at least for this year. We hope this will make it easier to use the info we collect to inform our comments on long range plans for FBF. We will be providing birders with basic maps, and if there are enough folks we will divide into groups and tackle sections. We have previously done breeding bird work in the non-grassland part of the property so we have a fair idea of our priority areas. This work is meant to complement Ron and Jean Bourque's terrific long term grassland censuses. We hope to also do a lepidoptera/odonate census in a couple of weeks.
We can use all the good birder help we can get. We will be meeting at the southern entrance of the field at 6 30 am. This is the entrance that is the last left turn before crossing the Gil Hodges bridge, if coming from the mainland (and I am just barely old enough to have seen Hodges play in Ebbets field when I was a kid). My dad, a Bushwick native, was a huge fan.
I would appreciate your forwarding this to all and sundry. In the future, or even now, we would be happy to make this a coop event with the Brooklyn Bird Club and any other appropriate group. We realize that a one day survey this late in the season has it's limitations, but we expect to get some good basic idea of bird nesting across a variety of habitats. We welcome additonal info from anyone who has been birding FBF regularly.
We would appreciate getting an RSVP from anyone planning to join us, but we welcome last minute birders as well. To contact us, email wildmetro@gmail.com, or call me on my cell at 917 846 8300. Birders who are partying the night before and/or do not want to start that early can start later, just call to coordinate.
All the best,
David Burg
President,
WildMetro
