2023 Summer Kayak Conservation Cruise!
Our first Kayak Conservation Cruisein partner with Friends of the Bay went off without a hitch! Saturday morning was a beautiful day for a paddle. It was a great tour on the water. This tour shows off the beauty of Oyster Bay Harbor and sheds light on the significance of the rich history and wildlife important to its ecology.
Summer Cruise Route
This past weekend, our tour launched from The WaterFront Center and headed east towards the first stop Theodore Roosevelt Park. First, before heading off from The WaterFront Center, we discussed the area's history, touching on Jakobson shipyard and the importance of their boat building.
At Theodore Roosevelt Park, our education director Cameron addressed the importance of horseshoe crabs in our area and the work WFC does to tag them yearly during mating season to collect data. This survey of horseshoe crabs along designated monitoring sites helps us determine the true size of the horseshoe crab population. It gives scientists more information about where they go and what they do after they mate.
From there, we swung by OBMC and went towards Oyster Bay Cove. In these areas, we saw Cormorants and nesting Terns. Ospreys flew above as Heather, Friends of the Bay president, started talking about Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt, and other events in that area.
The tour paddled to Billy Joel's house on Centre Island. Cameron pointed out snowy egrets that lined the shore of the massive estates on the island. At the opposite end of Billy Joel's house is Brickyard Point. Heather explained the importance of brickyard point and the fascinating history of Centre Island and its natural clay deposits! After we paddled back to The WaterFront Center where we raffled off the west marine paddle!
