Best of Long Island Wildlife Photography 2-23-2020

By Mike Busch

With the usual big help from Jim Botta, we have put together 9 pages of just some of the best photos shared by members of the Long Island Wildlife Photography group this week. These could easily go 20 pages but we have to stop somewhere.

Notable finds this week include Wilson’s Snipe, Razorbill, Turkey Vulture, and a River Otter.

This week’s cover photo goes to Dolores Albertuzzi with a Common Goldeneye in fantastic light.

Before we get to this week’s photos, our friends at Sea Tuck Environmental Association are asking for volunteers for this year’s River Hering Study. Below is some information from their website along with a schedule of upcoming training events.

We Need Your Help For the 2020 Long Island Volunteer River Herring Study

Alewife and Blueback Herring are species of river herring native to Long Island. Like salmon, they are diadromous, which means they split their life cycle between saltwater and freshwater. Each spring they return from the ocean to “run” up Long Island’s rivers and streams to spawn in freshwater. Unfortunately, dams and culverts have restricted their access to most of this important habitat.

Seatuck is working with partners across the region to improve access and restore local populations of these ecologically important fish. The Long Island Volunteer River Herring Survey – organized by Seatuck and our partners at the Long Island Sound Study, Peconic Estuary Program and South Shore Estuary Reserve – aims to find the waterways where “remnant” runs of river herring still exist and then to monitor the size and timing of those runs.

Participants in the survey are asked to commit to surveying a local waterway from mid-March through mid-May. The survey protocol involves visiting a neighborhood river or stream and spending 15 minutes looking for river herring or signs of their presence. The visits can occur daily, weekly or as often as possible. All data is good data – the more trained eyes we have on the water, the better! Observations and information from the survey visit are then submitted through an easy-to-use on-line application on your computer or mobile device and automatically becomes part of our study. The on-line app helps you to geo-locate your survey location and even submit photos.

2020 Volunteer Training Schedule (more dates to be added – check back soon):

Monday, February 24th – 6:00-7:00 pm – South Fork Natural History Museum, 377 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton
Tuesday, February 25th – 7:00-8:00 pm – Rockville Centre Public Library, 221 N Village Ave, Rockville Centre
Thursday, February 27th – 6:00-7:00 pm – Baits & Barrels, 1315 W Main St, Riverhead
Tuesday, March 3rd – 6:30 – 7:30 pm – Town of North Hempstead, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 220 Plandome Rd, Manhasset
Thursday, March 5th – 6:00 – 7:00 pm – Blue Point Brewing Company, 225 W Main St, Patchogue
Saturday, March 7th – 11:00 am – 12:00 pm – Seatuck Environmental Association, 550 South Bay Ave, Islip
Tuesday, March 10th – 7:00-8:00 pm – Bellmore Memorial Library, 2288 Bedford Ave, Bellmore
Wednesday, March 11th – 7:00-8:00 pm – Seatuck Environmental Association, 550 South Bay Ave, Islip
Wednesday, March 11th – 4:30-5:30 pm – Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, 301 Main St, Cold Spring Harbor
Thursday, March 12th – 6:00 – 7:00 pm – Save the Sound Office, 3rd Floor, 545 Thompkins Ave, Mamaroneck