Darwin Day 12th of February

Greetings illustrious and noble friends and fellows of the society!

I write now to inform all that this 12th of February we will celebrate the nascence of the founder of modern biology, Mr. Charles Robert Darwin FRS (Fellow of the Royal Society), or as we like to call him Chucky-D. Please join us for an afternoon of cake-competition (evolution-themed) and evolution/Darwin trivia. Bake a cake, alone or with friends, and bring it to be judged, or just come and taste those cakes baked by your fellow natural historians.

Space is limited, RSVP via facebood or by emailing  jessilynnallen[at]gmail[dot]com

This gathering will be at the home of eminent fellow Jessi Allen, for directions see the facebook page or email Jessi at the address above.

Yours by natural selection,

Ornithorhynchus, Patrician

Afternoon at the Museum

The society’s “Dino Dreamin’ ” event was a huge success, with the largest turnout so far for an MSNH event. We want to extend a great thank-you to our two guides through ~300 million years of evolution,  Eugenia and Shaena, who regaled us all with some of the best tidbits of Natural History over 3 geological eras, all in less than two hours. Starting with the earliest gnathastomes, our intrepid guides walked us through some of the biggest transitions recorded beautifully in the AMNH’s fossils. From the development of tetrapod limbs to the great majestic reptiles of the mesozoic and the domination of the synapsids following the K/T mass extinction, imaginations soared and minds were opened at the awesomeness of natural history.

 

Up coming events of the society include a night at the explorers club on march 26th where Dr. David Haskell from the University of the South will talk about his new book, The Forest Unseen.

Come April we will also be organizing a salamandering “minute people” group, to be ready to pick up their boots and flashlights at a moments notice to drive up north seeking the spotted salamanders that move in hordes towards the ephemeral ponds come the first rains of spring- more information on that as we get closer to the date.

 

Yours in descent with modification,

Ornithorynchus, Patrician

 

“Dino Dreamin’ “

Fellows and friends of the society: I am posting to bring it to the attention of the society that we plan to converge on the American Museum of Natural History on the 29th of January for the event above named, which shall consist of a guided tour of the dinosaur hall. Quoting from the facebook page: “This renowned institution has one of the best collections of dinosaurs in the world so this is best place to see these magnificent creatures. When?- Sunday, January 29th @ 1pm. Where?- Main Entrance, 2nd floor on Central Park West between 81st and 77th St. American Museum of Natural History. Trip leaders, two AMNH paleontologists: Shaena Montanari aka Cretaceous Time Machine, Eugenia Gold aka CT Scan Worshiper. Have your ears ready to listen as they provide us with vivid descriptions of these extinct wonders! Admission is FREE but sign up for there is limited space. [sign up by emailing us at metropolitannaturalhistory[at]gmail[dot]com, or by “attending” the facebook event]. Directions: Take the C train to 81st St. or take the 1 train to Broadway and 79th St. and walk east (2 blocks) to Central Park West.”

lithicly,

Ornithorynchus

Presiding Patrician

2011 in Review

Well fellow natural historians, it has been a busy and fruitful first couple of months for the society, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all fellows of the society for their contributions and participation in this venture. Our kick-off outing to Staten Island’s Greenbelt Park was a great for the society, with fun had by all and a startling amount of biodiversity seen for being in the middle of a city; turns out there’s more to Staten Island than just where we send our garbage.

 

Our October camp out was my personal favorite activity so far- always good to get out of the city even if it does mean sleeping in a tent in 33 degree weather. The mountain view overlooking North-South lake and the river beyond was truly breathtaking; and rock-throwing, log-smashing good times were had by all.

A great crew assembled for our Geology at the Palisades hike, and all enjoyed learning about the rocks we were veritably sitting on and how they came to be (although several charismatic Desmognathus and Falconiforms tried to steal the show).

Finally, I’m told the Christmas bird count was a huge success, with owls as well as sea birds making the list.

We look forward now to the year ahead, with a museum tour likely in the next month and hopefully some salamandering once the ponds thaw.

Yours in biophilia,

Ornithorhynchus

The founding of the Metropolitan Society of Natural Historians

On the ninth of September, A.D. two-thousand and eleven, the natural historians Stephanie Frances Loria and Sean Keane McKenzie did conspire to found a society, based in New York City, for the purpose of fostering intellectual advancement in and enjoyment of natural history. To this end was founded the Metropolitan Society of Natural Historians, bringing together diverse persons in the metropolitan area with interest in the various branches of natural history to share knowledge and love of the amazing works of nature. This is the blog of said society, to serve as a repository for records and comments upon the activities of the society.