Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, prefer short trips or birding all day, you will feel at home!
The Queens County Bird Club Inc. is a “Full Service” organization of naturalists:
Monthly Meetings – Noted speakers, vivid presentations
Field Trips – half-day, all-day, weekend
Conservation – projects, advocacy, support
NEXT MEETING is LIVE – Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 7:30 – 9:30 pm.
Presentation – “Birding in Eastern Australia” with Donna Schulman
Donna believes that there is never enough Australian birding, so she returned to the land of kookaburras, cockatoos, and koalas in 2024 to bird Queensland, New South Wales, and a bit of Victoria. She saw the sky fill with flying foxes in Sydney, fed trail mix to Australian King-Parrots at O’Reilly’s Retreat, cooed over baby Brown Boobies on Michaelmas Cay (Great Barrier Reef), and watched a Southern Cassowary cross the road at Etty Bayright in front of her camera (too close!). Like her previous trip, this one combined a group tour, private guiding, and birding on her own. The presentation will include photographs, videos and comments on the pluses and minuses of each mode of birding travel when down under.
BIO
Donna learned how to bird with QCBC and has branched out to Central & South America, Africa, SE Asia, and Australia. A former labor educator and library director, she reviews books for 10,000 Birds, Birding magazine, and discusses birding books as part of the Birding Book Club on the American Birding Association Podcast. Donna’s photographs have been featured in Birding and Birdwatching Magazine; the publications,print and social media, of New Jersey Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology; the educational signage of Negri-Nepote Grasslands in N.J. and a tern colony somewhere in Germany; and just recently, the 2025 Town of Southampton Report on Threatened and Endangered Species Management and Protection Program. She is a past editor of QCBC’s News and Notes.
Venue: Alley Pond Environmental Center – NEW BUILDING
229-10 Northern Blvd
Douglaston, NY 11362 (map)
Upcoming field trips – see Calendar link for details and registration info
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Montauk – Joe Schiavone – 203-640-2927 *** POSTPONED ***
When: Sunday, February 1st, 2026 – 8:00am – 4:30pm *** POSTPONED ***
Where: Start point – Georges Lighthouse Cafe, 1999 Montauk Point State Pkwy, Montauk, NY 11954 – near Montauk Point
Description:We will start the trip viewing from the back of the restaurant specified by the map. Parking is in the lot on the opposite side of Montauk Hwy.
If you have a scope, it will be useful here. Razorbills and gannets are possible here, and you will definitely see Common Eider and Scoters.
We will proceed to various birding spots in the Montauk area. We usually end the trip with a visit to the Shinnecock Inlet and dinner at a restaurant near there.
Bring lunch.Contact the trip leader to register and for additional information.
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NJ Shore/Barnegat – Ian Resnick – 917-626-9562
When: Sunday, February 15th, 2026 – 8:00am – 4:30pm
Where: Barnegat Lighthouse and environs
Description:Please contact the trip leader to register for the trip and to find out the start time and location.
As per all QCBC trips, there is no charge to register, but we want to know who is planning on attending, in case there is any change in plans.
This is a full-day trip that starts early and ends with dining out in central New Jersey. Of course, you may leave at any time that your schedule requires. We are planning on having lunch at a restaurant, so there is no need to pack a lunch.
Itinerary: Meeting location will be posted closer to the trip date. We will explore many of the duck ponds in coastal New Jersey, including Takanasee Lake, Shark River, and southward. We will view Manasquan Inlet from several locations. The highlight of the trip will be Barnegat Lighthouse for a walk on the jetty to view sea ducks, including Harlequins. Order of stops will be dependent on weather conditions. In addition, itinerary may be modified if there are any reported unusual sightings of birds in the area.
Contact the trip leader to register and for additional information.
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QCBC Monthly Meeting – Donna Schulman – “Birding in Eastern Australia”
When: Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Where: Alley Pond Environmental Center – NEW BUILDING
229-10 Northern Blvd
Douglaston, NY 11362 (map)
Description:Donna believes that there is never enough Australian birding, so she returned to the land of kookaburras, cockatoos, and koalas in 2024 to bird Queensland, New South Wales, and a bit of Victoria. She saw the sky fill with flying foxes in Sydney, fed trail mix to Australian King-Parrots at O’Reilly’s Retreat, cooed over baby Brown Boobies on Michaelmas Cay (Great Barrier Reef), and watched a Southern Cassowary cross the road at Etty Bayright in front of her camera (too close!). Like her previous trip, this one combined a group tour, private guiding, and birding on her own. The presentation will include photographs, videos and comments on the pluses and minuses of each mode of birding travel when down under.
BIO
Donna learned how to bird with QCBC and has branched out to Central & South America, Africa, SE Asia, and Australia. A former labor educator and library director, she reviews books for 10,000 Birds, Birding magazine, and discusses birding books as part of the Birding Book Club on the American Birding Association Podcast. Donna’s photographs have been featured in Birding and Birdwatching Magazine; the publications,print and social media, of New Jersey Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology; the educational signage of Negri-Nepote Grasslands in N.J. and a tern colony somewhere in Germany; and just recently, the 2025 Town of Southampton Report on Threatened and Endangered Species Management and Protection Program. She is a past editor of QCBC’s News and Notes.
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Fort Totten Park – Marcia Abrahams 917-608-8832
When: Saturday, February 21st, 2026 – 8:00am – 12:30pm
Where: Fort Totten Park – Start point – restrooms in the Little Neck Bay parking lot
Description:We will meet at the restrooms in the Little Neck Bay parking lot, which is before the entrance to Fort Totten Park. Then we will begin by visiting the pond on Duane Road and from there, walk through the north side of the park near the Visitors Center, Fort and the bay.
A pair of Bald Eagles are frequently spotted flying through the park. The surrounding bird species this time of year include resident Red-tailed Hawks and other raptor species, including a pair of Peregrine Falcons which are nesting close by.
Bird enthusiasts congregate to observe migrating waterfowl which includes Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Scaup, Horned Grebes, Common Loons, Red-throated Loons, Red-breasted Mergansers, Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal and if you are lucky, possibly American Wigeons and Ring-necked Ducks.
The pine trees also attract Brown Creepers, White-breasted Nuthatch and I have also seen Red-breasted Nuthatches.
Call the trip leader to register for this mini trip and for more information.
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Baisley Pond – John & Mary Borowski 347-705-2963
When: Saturday, February 28th, 2026 – 9:00am – 12:00pm
Where: Baisley Pond Park in Queens
Description:This mini-trip starts at 9am and ends before lunch. It is a great trip for beginners, but birders of all levels can enjoy the diversity of waterfowl we will see.
Join us as we look for birds in Baisley Pond Park, the winter home for hundreds of ducks and other waterfowl. The path around the lake is paved.
Please call the trip leader to register for this trip.
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QCBC Monthly Meeting – Shai Mitra – “Avian Vagrancy: The Sport and the Science of Rare Birds”
When: Wednesday, March 18th, 2026 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Where: Alley Pond Environmental Center – NEW BUILDING
229-10 Northern Blvd
Douglaston, NY 11362 (map)
Description:Vagrant birds – individuals occurring far beyond the expected geographical limits of their taxa have fascinated people for centuries. Long dismissed as the stuff of mere sport and as biologically meaningless accidents, these records are emerging as a valuable dataset.
Shai Mitra begins this multimedia presentation with a discussion of the sport of finding and documenting rare birds, which is still more of an art than a science, despite technological revolutions in meteorology and surveillance. The resulting body of records constitutes a rapidly growing and increasingly accessible dataset that offers insights into important scientific questions: demographic trends in distant populations, the causes and consequences of long-distance dispersal, the biological properties of local sites, the forces shaping community composition, and ultimately, a more rational approach to conservation.
Shai Mitra has studied birds in the northeast and around the world for 40+ years. He has a BA in Biology from Cornell University and a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chicago. From 1996 to 2000, he operated a major bird-banding station at the Fire Island Lighthouse on the South Shore of Long Island. Currently, he is anassistant professor of biology at the College of Staten Island, with research interests in the areas of avian ecology, evolution, and conservation.
Shai is editor of The Kingbird, the quarterly publication of the New York State Ornithological Association; co-compiler of bird records for the New York City and Long Island region; chair of the Rhode Island Avian Records Committee; and co-compiler of the Southern Nassau County and Napatree, Rhode Island, Christmas Bird Counts.
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Breezy Point Tip – Joe Schiavone – 203-640-2927
When: Saturday, March 21st, 2026 – 7:30am – 12:30pm
Where: Breezy Point tip and environs
Description:Details to follow.
Please contact the trip leader to register for this trip.
Hear a podcast of “It’s In Queens” featuring an interview with QCBC President Ian Resnick here.
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