Wings of Change

 For the past several years, the GSBAS has written, printed and mailed a beautiful 8-page quarterly newsletter to members and non-members alike. The Sandpiper has been a labor of love and exists as an expression of our collective experiences, photos, knowledge and stories all about our beloved birds. 

Our mission at the GSBAS is to advocate for the conservation of habitat for native birds and other native wildlife on Long Island. While in many ways we work tirelessly to do all of this, we have delayed a very obvious area of conservation until now. 

After this last issue that you hold in your hand – we are no longer printing and mailing our Sandpiper in its current form. We are moving to a monthly online Sandpiper, which will save many trees and eliminate waste – two things we feel are necessary in today’s world. Because it is monthly, there will be more engaging stories, beautiful photos and timely information about the many programs available at GSBAS. 

We feel strongly that member dues and donations should have a direct line to programs and events and not get caught up in operational expenses. 

We hope all will welcome this change and grow along with us. We will still accept bird photos, articles and information from members and the simple redesign will feel very familiar. We may even be able to capture a newer generation of tech-savvy bird enthusiasts who will join our beloved organization. 

We are offering mailed Sandpiper copies to members at $4 each. Please pay for 12 months in advance. Checks should be payable to GSBAS and mailed to GSBAS PO Box 267, Sayville, NY 11782. 

In September, we will be starting our third Thursday general meetings again at Seatuck Foundation. We hope to see more people taking advantage of our speakers, who are always informative and interesting. 

We pride ourselves on having a membership that is forward-thinking and interested in learning about and improving our natural world. We strive to offer speakers that reflect those values. 

On September 15th, Miguel Valentin will be joining us again. Miguel is a local Master Bee Keeper who joined us 2 years ago when the world was reopening. You don’t want to miss the knowledge and love of bees that he has – as well as – an opportunity to buy some local honey. 

Jordan Raphael will be speaking on October 19th. Jordan is a Parks Biologist with Fire Island National Seashore. He will bring updates on our a favorite shore bird, the Piper Plover. 

Byron Young will be with us on November 16th. President of Eastern Long Island Audubon Society (ELIAS), Byron is involved in many environmental programs and projects as this has been his life. Byron will be filling us in on some of the environmental challenges of the East End – in particular EPCAL. 

Our December meeting is usually a lighter party atmosphere meeting (a personal favorite kind of meeting). January we will take a break and will meet again in February via Zoom so everyone can stay snuggled indoors. Stay tuned for what that program will be.