Birding walk coming to Caleb Smith park
Biologist, outdoorsman Eric Powers plans special event at Smithtown spot as spring weather arrives
The warmer weather has Smithtown residents spreading their wings and one upcoming event at a town park offers a literal translation of the phrase.
Biologist and outdoorsman Eric Powers will be hitting the North Shore next week to conduct a birding walk at Smithtown’s own Caleb Smith State Park Preserve on Jericho Turnpike.
Having extensively explored the historic Caleb Smith park, Ranger Eric — as most North Shore students know him — will lead attendees to some of his favorite locations to see birds and other wildlife, as well as highlighting plants and freshwater springs, the lifeblood of the park.
A former park ranger in Colorado, Powers led nature hikes until he joined the Peace Corps as an environmental education officer for two years. In 2005, he started his own company, Your Connection To Nature, dedicated to meaningful environmental education programs and ecotourism. These programs connect classrooms to field studies and give people a deeper understanding of their local environment.
Powers’ latest endeavors include a monthly cable TV series about Long Island nature, the Marine Explorers Summer Camp in Babylon and the original bobwhite quail vs. ticks project.
For more information, visit his website at www.yc2n.com.
The event, slated for Saturday, May 9, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., includes a preregistration requirement as space is limited. For more information, residents can call 366-3288 or 265-1054. The free event is part of the 2015 lecture series sponsored by the Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve, and will involve walking about two miles.
Walkers are urged to wear sensible footwear and bring binoculars and a camera with a telephoto lens, if they are able.
For more information about the activities and events of the park’s friends, visit www.friendsofcalebsmith.org.
