Events and Monthly Membership Meetings

Speaker(s): John Turner

Topic: The Diamondback Terrapin: The Turtle with the Clown Lips

Details: In May, our iconic diamondback terrapins emerge from their overwintering sites in the bottoms of harbors and bays. Join us to learn about the biology and ecology of the species and what we can do to protect it here on Long Island.

John Turner is Seatuck Environmental Association’s Conservation Policy Advocate and Four Harbor Audubon Society’s Conservation Chair, and he was a co-founder of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society. His long career included serving as Director of Conservation Programs for the Long Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, as Director of the Division of Environmental Protection for the Town of Brookhaven, and in legislative positions with the New York State Senate and Assembly.

The Zoom meeting invitation will be posted here and on the SSAS Facebook page. This meeting will also be streamed on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/SSAudubon/

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February 2021 Meeting

Click here to watch the recorded webinar

Speaker(s): Ken Elkins

Topic: All About Owls

Details: Open your eyes wide for a fascinating look into the secret lives of all eleven species of owls that have been known to appear on Long Island. A few species are much more common than most people realize, but we’ll discuss the threats to all owls created by humans. The group will learn more about their natural history by sharing their personal experiences with owls.

Ken Elkins, Community Conservation Manager, Audubon CT/NY. Ken’s interest in birds started when he was 10 years old, while watching the birds at his grandmother’s feeders in Vermont, and he has been obsessed ever since. After earning a degree in 1998 in Environmental Biology and Interpretation from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, he started his career in conservation education at Westmoor Park in West Hartford, CT and quickly moved on to the Connecticut Audubon Society. There, he was Director of Education, leading many EcoTravel trips, and led their World Series of Birding team for 8 years. In 2008, Ken moved on to National Audubon, where he is the Community Conservation Manager based at the Audubon Center at Bent of the River in Southbury. As a 2011 TogetherGreen Fellow, Ken co-developed the nationally recognized Bird Tales program and training materials with dementia care specialist Randy Griffin. He has trained over 100 dementia care staff and volunteers to implement the Bird Tales program in 10 states, Canada, and Great Britain. Ken is past President of the Connecticut Ornithological Association. He has served as the Christmas Bird Count compiler for the Woodbury-Roxbury CBC since 2012 and is a Regional Coordinator for the 2018- 2020 Connecticut Bird Atlas project.