Mute Swans of the Hudson River

Cornwall-on-Hudson — Join the Museum of the Hudson Highlands at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Painter’s Tavern in Cornwall-on-Hudson, for a Fall Evening Speakers Series: Mute Swans of the Hudson River. Dr. Fred Koontz, executive director of Teatown Lake Reservation and member of the Adjunct Faculty, Department of Ecology, Environmental Biology and Evolution at Columbia University, will discuss the natural history and ecology of the mute swans living along the Hudson River. These swans are actually an introduced species from Europe. Some scientists are concerned that the swans increasing numbers might threaten the river’s submerged aquatic plants and the biota that depend on these plants. Koontz will discuss a yearlong project in which he and Dr. Susan Elbin from the Wildlife Trust conducted monthly aerial surveys along the River to determine their numbers and access their threat to ecological health. The Speakers Series is funded in part by The New York council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. All Evening Speakers Series events take place at the Painter’s Tavern on Hudson Street. For directions, visit www.paintersrestaurant.com. Admission is $7 for the public, $4 for museum members. Seating is limited, but reservations are not required. For more information, call 845-534-5506, x204, or visit www.museumhudsonhighlands.org.