Sounds In The Night
The Nature Conservancy has scheduled a children's walk through the Sagg Swamp Preserve in Bridgehampton beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Marnie Bookbinder, director of preserves, will lead kids aged 8 to 12 in search of the sounds of peepers, owls, and "creatures that glow."
Reservations are required, and may be made by calling the Conservancy at its East Hampton offices.
The Conservancy is also offering two tours this weekend of its Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island. The first, a hunt for woodland warblers, will assemble at 7 a.m. tomorrow at the entrance to the preserve, just off Ferry Road, for a two-hour trek led by Tom Damiani.
Tours Of Mashomack
On Saturday, a six-mile hike starting at 1 p.m. will pass by early-flowering trees including dogwood and shad as well as the remains of an early cottage, Miss Annie's homesite, and the Manor House, once known as the Bass Creek Cottage. Reservations for the walks may be made by calling the Conservancy on Shelter Island.
Earlier Saturday, the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society's Rick Whalen will guide walkers on a 10-mile hike through the rolling beechwood forest in Amagansett and the pitch pines, salt meadows, and beaches of Napeague. Hikers will look in on Fresh Pond and view Napeague's shad boom.
The society has recommended that liquids and lunch be brought along on the long walk, which will meet at the Hither Hills overlook on Montauk Highway at 10 a.m.
Mother Nature's Day
An interpretive hike through Montauk County Park on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. is the first in a series sponsored by the County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation. Those interested have been asked to call Debbie Epple at Parks Department headquarters in West Sayville.
Sunday is Mother's Day, and "Mother Nature's Day" as well, says the Group for the South Fork, which has planned a family-oriented hike through mixed habitats in the Westhampton area from 1 to 3 p.m. The leader, Vikki Hilles, will be looking for evidence of maternal activities: nest-building, egg-laying, and territorial defense.
Also on Mother's Day, the Group will take canoers around Accabonac Harbor in Springs from 9 to 11 a.m. Mike Bottini, the leader, will describe the harbor's history and abundant wildlife as the paddlers glide along. Reservations for both adventures can be made by calling the Group's headquarters on Main Street in Bridgehampton.
Kids And The Bays
In other news, the annual Peconic Bays Children's Conference gets under way tomorrow at Southampton College at 9 a.m. Schoolchildren from East Hampton, Southampton, Montauk, Hampton Bays, Riverhead, Southold, and Greenport will perform and exhibit projects celebrating the Peconic Bays system.
The conference is sponsored by the Peconic Estuary Program, the Moore Charitable Foundation, and the Towns of Southampton and East Hampton.
Finally, volunteers to help the Nature Conservancy erect fencing and predator control devices on Saturday have been asked to call the East Hampton office today to receive their assignments and meeting places.