Summer fun continues - join us for one of our exciting programs
Da...@dhsmall.net
Athol Bird & Nature Club
Field Trips & Meetings 2025
http://www.atholbirdclub.org
Note: August calendar error resolution is explained at the bottom of this email
Field Trips in Brown Text – Indoor Meetings in Black Text
Sunday August 10, 2025, 1:30 PM Sunday Open House: Divers and Dabblers Learn about the various waterfowl that 
can be seen in the Quabbin and Massachusetts areas. Using specimens from the club collection and images taken, Ernie LeBlanc will discuss identification criteria as well as the habits and adaptations of ducks and other water birds.
While visiting the Center please check out the Junior Duck Stamp art exhibit on display through September. The exhibit includes the “Best in Show” art by Annabelle Xu. The intention of the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation through the Arts Program is for students to communicate visually what they have learned about waterfowl, habitat, and wetland conservation by creating and submitting artwork of a native North American duck, goose, or swan. In Massachusetts, the Junior Duck Stamp Program is sponsored by MassWildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with support from the Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Council. The Millers River Environmental Center is located at 100 Main Street in Athol. Doors open at 1:00 PM the building is accessible; the program is free and open to all.
Monday, August 11th 2:00-4:00 p.m. (Note New Day and time) Family Stream Walk at Gifford Family Memorial Forest, 101 Tully Road, Orange. 
Parking is available at the opening just south of the Gifford Family Memorial Forest entrance and along the road just to the north. Free, all ages. Please rsvp to Caitie at dwyer-...@mountgrace.org.
Join Mount Grace in an adventure with Athol Bird and Nature Club Board member and biologist Cathy Szal with science teacher Katrina Walton for a family stream walk in Gifford Memorial Forest by the West Branch of the Tully River. We’ll explore the stream and look at the aquatic invertebrates living within it. We’ll discover what the invertebrates can tell us about the stream’s health. Did you know that you can read a stream?! Cathy and Katrina will teach us how by looking at its banks, bottom and water flow patterns. We’ll have fun child-friendly activities at the stream side. Boots or water shoes are suggested. Prepare for bugs. Long sleeves, hats and perhaps bug repellent might be helpful. https://www.mountgrace.org/get-involved/events/event/family-stream-walk
Directions to Gifford Family Memorial Forest: From Main Street in Athol, drive north on Exchange Street for 1/3 mile, then take a left onto Pinedale Avenue. Pinedale Ave turns into Tully Rd. Continue on Tully Rd for 2 miles just past Noel’s Nursery. The Gifford Family Memorial Forest sign is on the left (west).
DCR Les and Terry Campbell Quabbin Visitor Center
Thursday, August 14, 2025, 10am – 11:30am Barrens Restoration Habitat Site Walk
1.5 miles Moderate – footing will be uneven
Meet at Gate 29 and we will caravan over to the hike location
Gays Hill Barrens is a habitat restoration project underway at DCR-DWSP Quabbin Reservoir. Barrens habitats are globally rare, supporting many rare and endangered species. Explore how DCR-DWSP is creating a network of "refugia" for these specialized species to flourish and expand their populations.
Terrain is a mix of flat and small hills with mostly easy slopes; however we will be walking off trail on uneven ground, so caution is advised. Much of the area is very open so bring protection from sun as well as ticks, mosquitoes, etc. Please wear appropriate footwear and bring water. Dogs are not allowed anywhere at Quabbin.
Register here: Thursday, August 14, 2025, 10am – 11:30 am Barrens Restoration Habitat Site Walk
Friday August 15th at 9:30 am The North Central Mass. Nature Journal collaborative is having another outing on August 15th at 9:30 at Eagle reserve conservation area in Royalston, Ma. It is a short but very uneven trail with incredible views. Everyone is welcome to join us to investigate and draw our surroundings. Please contact Trina at thewa...@gardnerale.com if you can attend in case our trip is changed due to weather.
Sunday August 24, 2025, 1:30 PM Chris Coyle had the wonderful experience of growing up part of each year in Maine in 
a rustic backwoods cabin. In the days before cell phones, computers, and even before his folks owned a television set, he found my own amusement and learned from the world around him.
Chris has recently completed a book, We Lived in the Woods, a memoir from a bygone era and time, with a chapter written by Chris’s father, Bob Coyle, founder of the Athol Bird and Nature Club. The book was published by Haley’s of Athol.
On August 24 Chris will present a program about how the book came to be, show some images from the book and tell a few stories about this special time in his life. Books will be available for purchase.
Wednesday 7:00 pm September 10th, The Impact of Rodenticides on Wildlife in New England.
A zoom presentation with Stephanie Ellis and Laura Kiesel. Hawks, owls, eagles, foxes and other predators are highly effective at keeping rodent populations in check and ecosystems in balance. But the increased use of rodenticides, particularly second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, poses a growing threat to wildlife. These highly toxic and persistent pesticides are having a wide-ranging impact on predator and prey species in both urban and rural environments, sickening and killing non target species and becoming widespread in the wildlife food web. Several states have introduced legislation to restrict or ban anticoagulant rodenticides, and some municipalities in Massachusetts have successfully worked to pass regulations restricting or prohibiting their use.
Stephanie Ellis, wildlife rehabilitator and Director of Wild Care, Inc. in Eastham, and Laura Kiesel, journalist and founder of Save Arlington Wildlife and the nonprofit Save Massachusetts Wildlife, will lead a discussion around the reasons behind the rise of the use of anticoagulant rodenticides, how they are impacting wildlife, and how citizens can advocate for safer and more effective alternatives to rodent poisons in their communities.
We love our Garlic and Arts volunteers.
We hope you will join us once again on September 27th and 28th in 2025 to work with the Organizers on the field. Sign up to volunteer as an individual or a team.
2025 ABNC Calendar Error
As previously communicated, an error was identified on two pages of the 2025 ABNC calendar. The starting day for August was shown as occurring on Saturday, when it should have been Friday. The starting day for September was shown as occurring on Tuesday when it should have been Monday.
There are several options for correcting this mistake:
- Request corrected sheets with an adhesive back peel-off cover for each of the two months. Complete the request on the ABNC website, including your mailing address and the number of calendars you are amending. The sheets will be sent to this address free of charge.
- PDF copies of the corrected months are available on the ABNC website. Simply download the corrected months, print, and either tape or glue the PDF copies over the impacted months. If you would like to have the PDF copies sent to your mailing address, please complete the request on the ABNC website, including your mailing address and the number of calendars you are amending. The sheets will be sent to this address free of charge.
- You can simply make a notation on the impacted months indicating the change in the starting date.
Use this link to request corrected pages - ABNC Calendar Revision - Athol Bird & Nature Club
We regret this error and appreciate your continued support when purchasing this unique calendar.
Dave Small
978-413-1772
Athol Bird and Nature Club
Millers River Environmental Center
100 Main Street, Athol Ma 01331
The Environmental Center is now open by appointment and available for use by our partners
