Sagamore Hill’s Centennial BirdBlitz a Success

Volunteers for Wildlife educator Alice Hackett with a kestrel

NPS/Scott Gurney

News Release Date: June 3, 2016

Contact: Josh Reyes, 516-922-4788

Oyster Bay, NY – On Sunday, May 29, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, in partnership with the Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society, hosted visitors of all ages who connected with local bird life at the Centennial BirdBlitz. The strong turnout demonstrated the importance of birds to the Long Island community.

“The NPS Centennial celebration efforts at Sagamore Hill have highlighted a variety of community and public engagement opportunities,” said Superintendent Kelly Fuhrmann. “The BirdBlitz brought community members to the park to learn about the natural history of Sagamore Hill that is abundant in the fields, beach, and forest. The opportunity to work with community partners such as Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society, to promote and implement such an informative event, is a valuable opportunity. We look forward to building on the success of the day and making more programs available this summer.” 

From 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., 20 citizen-scientists identified and counted birds across the park. This survey found 48 species and 246 individual specimens. Park scientists can compare this list to Theodore Roosevelt’s own observations to see how Oyster Bay has changed over the last century. 

Later in the morning, naturalist Lois Lindberg introduced new birders to the park's woods and beaches. At noon, dozens of children and adults met native birds of prey brought by Volunteers for Wildlife. 

At the end of the day, the Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society offered a special program on "bird-friendly communities." Attendees learned how their homes, gardens, and communities can attract winged visitors and residents. 

Visitors are invited to add sightings of birds and other life to the park's iNaturalist page: https://www.inaturalist.org/places/sagamore-hill-national-historic-site