Rye Playland and Environs

Date: Saturday, December 7, 2024

Leaders: Tom Burke and Gail Benson
Transportation: Carpool Trip – Drivers willing to provide rides are encouraged to attend. The Registrar will work with participants without a vehicle to organize rides and share the suggested carpool fee for the driver. This usually works out, but we can not guarantee a ride without enough volunteer drivers.
Meeting Point: After your registration is confirmed, the Registrar will share directions, the exact meeting place, and time with attendees.
Schedule: Full-day with several stops. Please prepare for cold weather and strong winds.
Relative Difficulty: Two to three miles of walking on mostly flat terrain with some mild inclines.

Trip Description: Rye Playland, located on Long Island Sound in northeastern Westchester County, is about 30 miles from New York City. We will begin our walk at Playland Park & Read Sanctuary and move later to the Marshlands Conservancy; at both, the terrain is easy, and we’ll walk about a mile at each location. We typically have lunch at Marshlands and finish by walking to the marsh in the early afternoon. We will search for birds on Long Island Sound, Playland Lake, and Milton Harbor, as well as in the woods and fields at both locations.

Leaders Tom Burke and Gail Benson will monitor recent sightings of rare birds in the region. If an exceptional rarity appears, the group might deviate from the standard itinerary to chase it. On past field trips, participants have been lucky to have seen a Calliope Hummingbird, a Gray Kingbird, a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, and a Hermit Warbler.

Please read The Linnaean Society of New York COVID-19 Field Trip Guidelines before registering.

Registration: Registration opens at 9 am on Monday, November 25. After that time, click here to register. Registration closes at 6 pm on Wednesday, December 4. Members (and those who have applied for membership) will be prioritized over non-members.

Please read the About Our Trips page, if you’re going on a field trip for the first time. It details our field trip policies, recommends what to bring on a trip, and offers other useful information, pro tips, and tricks.

If after visiting the About Our Trips page, you still have questions, feel free to contact the Registrar via email.