Udalls Cove Preservation Committee

08/23/2026

08/12/2026

Here's an incredible video by Vincent Panaro, taken at a mooring not far from the Douglas Manor dock in Little Neck Bay. It shows a whole school of baby rays! (Many different species of rays live in Long Island Sound -- I'm not certain which species these are.) These babies are reportedly only the size of a man's hand. WOW!

08/01/2026

Following the lead of our friends at the Douglas Manor Environmental Association (DMEA), today we installed these two signs on the Back Road (Sandhill Road). One faces the traffic coming from Douglaston towards Aurora Pond, and the other faces the traffic coming from Little Neck towards the pond. (A few weeks ago DMEA installed a similar sign near the boat launch ramp at Douglas Manor's Memorial Field.)

06/23/2026

On June 21 four Scouts from Troop 71 were formally awarded the coveted rank of Eagle Scout in a ceremony called a Court of Honor. Two of those four Scouts did their Eagle projects with the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee -- James Griffith and Nick Tonorezos. James built 500 linear feet of trail in the Old Oak Pond section of Alley Pond Park (between Douglaston Parkway and the Douglaston golf driving range). Nick built 500 feet of trail along the edge of the Udalls Cove wetlands in the Village of Great Neck Estates -- the first of what will be ultimately be a 5-phase trail construction project. Both Scouts carried out their projects in 2024 (and both are now in college). Since these two young men completed their projects, three other Scouts from Troop 71 have also completed their Eagle projects with our organization, continuing the trail project started by Nick. Brothers Chris and Nic Katsoulis were formally inducted as Eagle Scouts a few months ago, and we are certain that Max Tonorezos -- Nick's brother -- will in due course also be inducted. Congratulations to James and Nick, and thanks to all the Troop 71 Scouts!

06/20/2026

Congratulations to Phoebe Paek of Scout Troop 1923 in Queens! Yesterday she completed her Eagle Scout project. She built four Bluebird nesting boxes and installed them near the Alley Pond Environmental Center. The boxes are constructed of red cedar; the roofs are plywood treated to be weather-resistant. Each has a door that can be opened to clean out the box.
The Bluebird is New York State's official bird, but its population has fallen over the years. We hope that some lucky Bluebirds will take up residence in the nesting boxes Phoebe built. We know there are Bluebirds in the area -- three of them were photographed last Fall by an APEC staff member.

06/11/2026

The baby eagles are growing up! Here's a recent photo by Victor Ancelson showing the Bald Eagle nest in the Udalls Cove watershed. All three "chicks" -- now almost full size -- are there, along with one of the parents. We think that one of the young birds has already learned to fly; the others should be close behind. The young won't get the iconic white head until they are 3-5 years old.

06/02/2026

This past weekend two Eagle Scout candidates completed their projects, working with the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee in portions of Alley Pond Park. On Saturday, Kleon Kuka and his team from Troop 888 installed 48 linear feet of wooden walkway over a muddy section of the "Yellow Trail" south of the Alley Pond Environmental Center. And on Sunday, Matthew Wu and his team from Troop 153 installed a 16-foot long heavy duty walkway in the Old Oak Pond section of Alley Pond Park. Matthew's team also addressed a number of invasive Norway Maple saplings. Bravo to both Scouts for great work!

05/26/2026

On May 11 we posted a great picture of an adult Bald Eagle on a nest with one of its babies. Here's another photo of the nest, also by Victor Ancelson, showing three chicks! As we wrote previously, the nest is not far from Udalls Cove.

05/20/2026

Once again this year the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee will march in the annual Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade, to honor those in uniform who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the nation. PLEASE JOIN US! The parade steps off at 2 PM on Monday, May 25. We meet at 55 Northern Boulevard, near the Starbucks store.

05/15/2026

Are you a “NIGHT OWL”? And are you curious about Horseshoe Crabs? You might be interested in joining the annual Horseshoe Crab Monitoring conducted at the Douglas Manor Dock and coordinated by our friends at the Douglas Manor Environmental Association (DMEA).
The monitoring is conducted late at night or very early in the morning on 12 specific nights between mid-May and early July. We could use a few additional volunteers on those nights when the monitoring is scheduled to occur after midnight. (Specific times range from 12:16 AM to 2:18 AM.) Each monitoring event usually takes less than an hour, and will be led by an experienced volunteer.
Horseshoe crabs are living fossils, virtually unchanged for 360 million years -- long before the age of dinosaurs. They are harmless; and they aren’t really crabs, but are more closely related to spiders. They mate in May and June, usually at night near the time of a full or new moon. That’s why Horseshoe crab counting is done late at night (or very early in the morning), using flashlights. DMEA’s monitoring is part of a larger region-wide citizen science program intended to track their population.
If you’re interested in learning more, send an email to: [email protected] and we’ll send you the details!