Friday, May 23, 2025
Ornithologist Roger Pasquier captivated an audience at Raynham Hall Museum on March 7 with a lecture titled “Birds of Long Island,” a deep dive into the region’s past and present avian population. As part of the museum’s monthly Townsend Talks series, Pasquier traced the history of Long Island’s bird species from the 18th century, when the Townsend family lived in what is now Raynham Hall, to the present day, highlighting extinct and introduced species as well as those adapting to climate and habitat changes.
Pasquier, an associate in the ornithology department at the American Museum of Natural History, began by discussing birds that were common in the 1700s but have since vanished. The most dramatic example, he said, was the passenger pigeon, once the most abundant bird in the world.
“There were billions of them,” Pasquier said. “They fed on acorns, chestnuts and other tree nuts, and in the autumn they were common on Long Island as they migrated across the Sound.”
Despite their numbers, passenger pigeons were driven to extinction by the early 20th century due to overhunting and habitat loss. Pasquier noted that then future President Theodore Roosevelt himself shot at least one of the birds in Oyster Bay on July 8, 1878, a specimen that is now housed at the Smithsonian Institution.
Another vanished species, the heath hen, once thrived on the Hempstead Plains but disappeared as grasslands were replaced by development. “The heath hen was essentially the eastern version of the now-endangered lesser prairie chicken,” Pasquier said. “They were a staple food source for early Long Island residents.”
Pasquier also described the Labrador duck, the first recorded North American bird to become extinct, and the Eskimo curlew, a species of sandpiper that was hunted to extinction in the early 20th century.
“These birds were part of the landscape the Townsends knew,” he said. “By studying them, we learn about the habitats that once existed and what has changed.”
Pasquier explained that despite the loss of some native species, Long Island remains a vital stopover for migratory birds from across the Western Hemisphere. “It’s a crossroads for birds from the high Arctic to the tropics,” he said. “In the spring and summer, we see songbirds that spend winters in the Caribbean and Central America, while in the fall, Arctic nesters like the tundra swan pass through on their way south.”
He cited the bald eagle as an example of a species that has rebounded after being nearly extinction. Wild turkeys, too, have made a comeback.
“They were common when the Townsends lived here, then disappeared from Long Island by the 19th century,” Pasquier noted. “Reintroduction efforts in the 20th century brought them back, and now they’re a familiar sight once again.”
He also discussed birds introduced to Long Island, whether by accident or intent. One of the most infamous cases is the European starling, brought to the U.S. in the 19th century by a Shakespeare enthusiast who wanted to introduce every bird mentioned in the playwright’s works. Another non-native bird, the mute swan, was introduced in the early 1900s to decorate estates on the North Shore.
Another non-native bird, the ring-necked pheasant, was brought for sport hunting, while species such as house sparrows and pigeons were also deliberately introduced to New York, and to many other places in the United States.
“The starling is now one of the most abundant birds in North America, often outcompeting native species,” Pasquier said. “(Swans) may look beautiful, but they uproot aquatic vegetation, which damages the habitat for fish and other wildlife.”
Pasquier emphasized that understanding Long Island’s bird history offers important lessons for conservation. “By knowing what birds were here in the past, we know what habitats were supporting them and what climate was supporting them,” he explained. “We only have to know what habitat they were occupying to know what habitats were once more widespread and are now diminishing. These are the habitats we want to focus on to preserve and restore.”
Pasquier also discussed his new book, released in February, title "Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep."
Justinne Lake-Jedzinak, Raynham Hall’s director of education and public programs, said the lecture aligned with the museum’s mission to connect local history with broader environmental and cultural themes.
“Learning about the extinct bird species really make you think how quickly things can change, how quickly the tides can turn,” she said. “I think it’s a very timely story as well when we think about our dependence on technology and climate change, and the ways in which we’re all sort of contributing to environmental issues, and yet our lives have become enriched and sometimes dependent on those same things.”
