Last month the Bronx River – Sound Shore Audubon Society hosted a Year of the Bird celebratory event at the Greenburgh Nature Center with over 120 people in attedance, including Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. All attendees were enthusiastic to learn more about the wonder and joy of birds.

The Year of the Bird is a joint endeavor between Audubon, National Geographic, BirdLife International, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)—a pivotal piece of legislation that continues to save countless birds’ lives. Across the country, Audubon programs are partnering with elected officials in municipalities, cities, and even states to issue Year of the Bird Proclamations. Read more about the Year of the Bird and ways you can get involved, here.

The event featured fun, hands-on learning activities, a bird walk, and a live Birds of Prey feeding. Head naturalist Travis Brady explained that each captive bird was injured, which prevented it from living in the wild. He also emphasized that without strong bird protection laws, such as the MBTA and the Endangered Species Act, we would have very few of these birds surviving in the wild.

Supervisor Paul Feiner honored Audubon for its work in educating the public and protecting birds and the places they need and proclaimed 2018 as the Year of the Bird in the Town of Greenburgh. The Town of Scarsdale had also declared it was the Year of the Bird at their last village board meeting.

Big thanks go to the Bronx River – Sound Shore Audubon board members and chapter president Sandy Morrissey, the Greenburgh Nature Center, along with all of the volunteers from the chapter who helped make this event a great success.

Find an Audubon chapter near you, here: https://www.audubon.org/about/audubon-near-you