Events Update
Dave Small
Athol Bird & Nature Club
Field Trips & Meetings 2012
Unless otherwise noted, programs meet at
the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street, Athol.
If weather is questionable on a field trip day,
please call the trip leader at least an hour before the scheduled meeting time.
<<>> Wednesday, January 11, 7 p.m. Attracting Wildlife for the Nature Photographer
At our regular meeting here at the Center, award-winning nature photographer Gail Hansche Godin will show us how to find wildlife photo opportunities close to home and all year round, luring subjects with their favorite foods, flowers, shrubs, trees and water attractions. She’ll demonstrate how backyard photography lets us learn about the nature in our own back yards and prepares us for those important trips to exotic locales.
Saturday, January 14th 9am to Noon - Clean-up day at the Center
Join us at the Center this Saturday morning. New bathroom fixtures have reopened two of the restrooms and it's time for a general cleaning and straightening up at the Center. Bring cleaning supplies, gloves, and your good humor... Refreshments will be served...
<<>> Wednesday, February 8, 7 p.m. Wild Things of North Quabbin
At our regular meeting here at the Center, New Salem resident and nature lover Henry Cramer will present “Wild Things of North Quabbin,” an entertaining and educational documentary with natural sounds and narration. The film is a collection of action scenes featuring a wide variety of local animals, including some rarely observed behaviors of herons, turkeys, fish, bobcats, otters and more.
<<>> Wednesday, March 14, 7 p.m. Butterflies Near and Far
Join expert naturalist Sue Cloutier here at the Center for our regular monthly meeting, an evening of butterfly photos that will take you from your own neighborhood to the Arctic in search of these beautiful insects.
Tuesday, April 10, 8-10 a.m. Accessible Birding with Joe
Join Joe Superchi on the second Tuesday of the month visiting local sites. Open to birders of all abilities. Meet at the Center. Call ahead for wheelchair van access, 978-248-9491.
Note Change of date below:
SAVE JANUARY DATES TO COUNT EAGLES
As part of an annual nationwide Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey, anyone spotting an eagle in Massachusetts from January 4, 2012 - January 18, 2012 is strongly encouraged to report their sighting to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW). Please provide date, time, location, and town, number of birds, juvenile or adult bird, and observer contact information. Images are welcome, but not required. Report sightings either to: Mass.w...@state.ma.usor by postal mail to "Eagle Survey", MassWildlife, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA, 01581.
Dr. Tom French, DFW’s Assistant Director of Natural Heritage and Endangered Species, noted that citizen interest in the eagle survey has been very help ful. "With higher numbers of eagles dispersing throughout their range, we can't possibly cover the entire state. Citizen spotters play an increasingly important role in our survey efforts. In January of 2011, we received 61 emailed reports from people who saw eagles during the 2-week survey period."
A target date of January 13, 2012 will be used for a concentrated survey of major rivers, lakes, reservoirs and the coast by staff from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and volunteers across the state. In 2011, a record 107 bald eagles were documented in Massachusetts during the one-day event. A fact sheet on bald eagles can be found at: www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/species_info/nhfacts/haliaeetus_leucocephalus.pdf.
MASS AUDUBON BIRDERS MEETING
I am contacting you and your bird club to inform you that the Annual Massachusetts Birders Meeting will be held this spring on Saturday, 3 March at Bentley University in Waltham. This event will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Birders Meeting, and also that of our co-host in 2012, the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. As you may know this popular get together is typically enjoyed by more than 250 attendees every year. The 2012 program, Birds, Baleen, and 20 Years of Marine Conservation, will feature a star-studded cast of presenters each highlighting a different aspect of marine bird, shorebird, and marine mammal conservation and research. Among the familiar names on this year’s program are:
· Dr. Steven Kress, well-known for his efforts to re-establish breeding Atlantic Puffins in the Gulf of Maine
· Debi Shearwater, founder of the well-known California tour company, Shearwater Journeys, Inc.
· Dr. David Wiley, Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary scientist highly acclaimed for his underwater studies of humpback whale foraging behavior
· Shawn Carey and Jim Grady (Migration Productions), professional nature photographers and videographers who will premier their new shorebird video, Epic Journeys
· Anne-Marie Runfola, Stellwagen Sanctuary Volunteer Coordinator who developed the highly successful Stellwagen Sanctuary Seabird Stewards volunteer program
· Dr. Julie C. Ellis, professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and Executive Director of the Seabird Ecological Assessment Network (SEANET) who has been studying breeding gulls at the Isles of Shoals for many years
· Brian Harrington, retired shorebird biologist at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences who has studied Red Knots for most of his professional career
· Joan Walsh, Director of Bird Monitoring at Mass Audubon and Coordinator of the Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas 2 sharing findings from the recently released State of the Birds of Massachusetts report
The Birders Meeting also includes lunch, vendors, and a variety of tantalizing raffle prizes. Proceeds from the Birders Meeting go toward supporting the Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program. As an international initiative working to identify, prioritize, and monitor bird habitats which are essential to one or more species of breeding, wintering, and/or migrating birds in Massachusetts, the IBA Program has taken on added significance as a result of the findings released in Mass Audubon’s recent State of State of the Birds report.
If you have any questions, I encourage you to contact me and I’ll be happy to give you more information. To see full program details and obtain registration information for the Birders Meeting, visit: http://www.massaudubon.org/birdersmeeting
I look forward to seeing you at the Birders Meeting on 3 March.
Very sincerely,
Wayne
Wayne R. Petersen, Director
Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program
Mass Audubon
208 South Great Road
Lincoln, MA 01773
(781) 259-2178
Protecting the Nature of Massachusetts
Register now for Audubon Camp in Maine birding programs!
For over 75 years the National Audubon Society has offered residential birding programs for adults, teens and families at the historic Audubon Camp in Maine on Hog Island. Pete Dunne, Scott Weidensaul, Steve Kress, Lang Elliott, Don Kroodsma, Bill Thompson III and many more expert ornithologists, naturalists, educators and authors will be in residence during the 2012 sessions. Most programs sell out months in advance, so it is worth registering early. Nearly 100 scholarships are offered each year by local Audubon Chapters and birding clubs.
Website: http://hogisland.audubon.org
2012 Programs:
Maine Seabird Biology & Conservation - June 3-8 & Sept 9-14
Joy of Birding - June 10-15 & June 24-29
Field Ornithology - June 17—22
Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens - June 17—22 & June 24—29
Sharing Nature: An Educator's Week- July 19—24
Family Camp - August 19—24
Audubon Chapter Leadership Program - August 26—31
Living on the Wind: Fall Migration and Monhegan Island - September 16—21
All 2012 programs are run by the Seabird Restoration Program (Project Puffin) of the National Audubon Society. Summer sessions include a trip to nearby Eastern Egg Rock, where Dr. Steve Kress and his team of biologists have successfully restored an island colony of Atlantic Puffins, and Roseate, Arctic and Common Terns. In addition, you will enjoy trips to fresh and saltwater marshes, blueberry barrens, coastal beaches, islands, and spruce-fir forests. Participants live in restored wooden buildings on 330-acre Hog Island and are treated to fabulous meals by chef extraordinaire Janii Laberge.
The Audubon Camp in Maine is considered by many to be the birthplace of the environmental education movement in the United States. Those who attend join a legacy of naturalists inspired by Hog Island including Roger Tory Peterson, the camp’s first birding instructor in 1936, naturalist Rachel Carson, and Mabel Loomis Todd, editor of Emily Dickinson’s poetry transcribed on Hog Island.
Recent post by Hog Island instructor, blogger and NPR commentator Julie Zickefoose:
http://juliezickefoose.blogspot.com/2011/01/hog-island-hard-sell.html
For more information or to enroll, visit http://hogisland.audubon.org. You may also contact Erica Marx, Program Coordinator, at hogi...@audubon.org or call (607) 257-7308 x 14. There is a $25 earlybird discount for registrations received by January 15th (all programs except Maine Seabird Biology & Conservation).
Dave Small
Athol Massachusetts