Events update
Dave Small
Athol Bird & Nature Club
Field Trips & Meetings 2025
http://www.atholbirdclub.org
Help Wanted
Many programs can use some extra help: We need Garlic and Arts volunteers both for working at the ABNC Booth and volunteer time with the festival committee to help ABNC’s festival commitment.
Contact Dave if you want to assist
Da...@atholbirdclub.org
Field Trips in Brown Text – Indoor Meetings in Black Text
Friday, June 27th @ 3 pm at MREC How has flooding affected you? Please join us at a Listening Session
Basements are flooding, culverts have been failing and, needless to say, flooding is once again a popular topic. So the timing is opportune to announce a "listening session" on flooding for the Millers River watershed community, scheduled for Friday, June 27th from 3-4:30 pm at the Millers River Environmental Center in Athol at 100 Main St. The focus of this event is to hear from senior/elder (50+) residents of our watershed towns how they have been affected by flooding in recent years. The building is wheelchair-accessible, and refreshments will be served.
Big storms and flooding are expected to increase in both frequency and intensity as the climate continues to warm and become less stable. The listening session will inform strategies being developed by regional planning agencies in the Connecticut River watershed to assist and support seniors in dealing with the hazards associated with flooding. We want to hear directly from elders on how you/ they have been affected by flooding--anywhere in the Millers River watershed or surrounding towns. Please email cou...@millersriver.net to register for the event.
Sunday July 6, 2025, 1:30 pm in-person Join Linda and Ernie Leblanc at “The New England equestrian center of Athol is a 250-acre municipal equestrian park located at 802 New Sherburn Road in Athol. There are several 
multi-use trails winding through the parks pine/hemlock/oak forest, a vernal pond, meadow, and more. We'll be walking the forested “Join Up Trail” which has been enhanced with the addition of Chrissy Dorn’s beautiful artwork in the form of 20 original native plant identification signs throughout the trail. Although parts of the park may also be explored depending on the interests of the group. Linda will share her love and knowledge of Natural History of NEECA as you walk along the parks well maintained trails. Meet at 1:30 PM at the spectator parking area. There are clear signs directing one into the park and to that parking area. Bring insect spray and sun hat, and water if you like. To learn more about NEECA check on the website https://www.neeca.org ,
Sunday July 13, 2025, 1:00 pm in-person Sunday Open House A close look at Pond Life - Aquatic biologist Cathy Szal 
and Katrina Walton Aquatic biologist Cathy Szal and science teacher Katrina Walton will offer a hands-on exploration of pond life. There will be a brief introduction to ponds and different types of pond life. They will bring in live aquatic invertebrates, plankton samples and aquatic vegetation. There will be microscope tables with both compound and dissecting scopes for visitors to observe microscopic pond life and aquatic vegetation. There will be pans of live aquatic invertebrates and magnifying glasses. They will also have drawing materials for nature journaling.
Saturday July 19th ,2025, 9:00 PM to whenever. The infamous "MothBall" Kicks off National Moth Week in 2025. 
The Mothball returns, Shelley and I invite our friends and neighbors to our Annual MothBall at our home at 1542 Pleasant Street, Athol. July 19th, 2024, 9:00 PM to whenever… Bring Flashlight, camera, lawn chair, a beverage and/or snack to share (keep it simple grab and go) and your sense of adventure. No rain dates. This will be an all-outdoor event with portable toilets in place. Please register with Dave just to let us know who is coming. We are Looking forward to a fun evening, Welcome to the dark side 😊 Dave at Da...@atholbirdclub.org to register or if you have additional questions.
Sunday 1:00 pm July 20, 2025, in-person (Will Close – "4 Season Nature Journaling- a Series" Will Close is an artist, designer, educator, and wildlife tracker who specializes in the intersection of nature, art, design, and teaching. He holds a degree in Fine Art Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and studied wildlife track and sign under Dan Gardoqui and Daniel Hansche. Bring your sketch pad, pencils, and a portable chair for comfortable drawing in the field. Meet at the Millers River Environmental Center 100 main Street Athol Ma
Friday, July 25th 1:00-3:00 p.m. 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).
Sunday July 27, 2025, 1:00 pm in-person Dragonflies of the Ware River Watershed Sheila Carrol. Stay tuned this program is part of the Northeast Chapter of the Dragonfly Society of the Americas regional meeting to be held at MREC. Watch for additional details. Meet at the Millers River Environmental Center 100 main Street Athol Ma
Sunday August 3, 2025, 1:00 PM , in-person Junior Duck Stamp open house -Please join us in celebrating the 2025 Junior Duck Stamp Artists on Sunday August 3, 2025, between the hours of 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. at the Millers River Environmental Education Center, 100 Main Street, Athol, MA. The MREC is wheelchair accessible. No RSVP required.
Attend this open house to leisurely enjoy the artwork of students in grades K-12. Take some time to meet other student artists, educators, and guests. In addition to the artwork, you are invited to enjoy the natural history exhibits, native pollinator gardens, and the adjacent Alan Rich Environmental Park. Lite refreshments will be offered.
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.
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.
The WARE RIVER NATURE CLUB newsletter for June is available with the link below.
It can also be accessed by copying and pasting this link into your browser:
https://www.warerivernatureclub.org/uploads/4/4/1/6/44166651/wrnc_june_newsletter_2025.pdf
