Bethpage State Park Ecology

Did you know that this past Saturday, April 13th, was Citizen Science Day? If you are wondering what "citizen science" means, you are probably not alone. As a term, it is fairly new...however, as a practice, it has been around forever! Citizen science (also called community science) is the concept that members of the general public (non-scientists) can become more active and collectively aid the improvement of scientific knowledge and advancement! You might be thinking...well, how does that work? The answer is simple; when paired with the right tools and resources (many of which can be downloaded as an app on your smartphone!), anyone with an interest in science can collect and share data with the press of a button. If enough people get involved, this data can be analyzed and as a whole, provide more information than perhaps any one professional would be able to collect on their own. In this way, you become a contributor who can now consider themselves a valuable...

What does a PGA championship and a raptor nesting season have in common? You are probably thinking... not much right? Well this year they are both happening on our Black Course! What an exciting time here at Bethpage State Park! While our maintenance crew urgently prepares the courses for the tournament, our ecology staff is also up in the bucket truck, making sure our great horned owls are carrying on with nesting season as per usual. This year I am excited to announce we have two great horned owl pairs! One pair resides in the same tree as it has in previous years; this is on #7 of the Black Course, where an artificial nest was constructed and installed by part-time employee/biologist Jim Jones.  The second great horned owl pair is actually on the other side of the park, on our Yellow Course. This specific location is behind the 8th green and to the right of the 9th tee. Here the owl pair have adopted an old red-tailed hawk nest (as you might have already concl...