Fall-o’-ween returns to Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln on October 24 and 25. There will be hayrides, s’mores, wildlife encounters, crafts, music and more. For directions and more information visit https://www.massaudubon.org/places-to-explore/wildlife-sanctuaries/drumlin-farm
Birdability Week is a celebration of birders with disabilities and other health concerns, as well as an opportunity to share resources and ideas to help the birding community become accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to everybody! It is an annual collection of events the third week of each October, drawing inspiration from other inclusive celebrations such as #BlackBirdersWeek, Latino Conservation Week and Let’s Go Birding Together. For complete details visit https://www.birdability.org/birdability-week
The Offbeat Photo and Video Contest is back for Birdability Week 2025. Birds doing weird things? Accidental beauty? Blurry but beloved? Submit your offbeat bird photos and feeder cam videos starting August 1 for a chance to win and have your work featured during Birdability Week. The event organizers want your weirdest shots and the best stories about them!
Entries will be open through September 15, and you can find full details and entry guidelines at https://www.birdability.org/birdability-week.
John James Audubon’s Birds of America is a portal into the natural world. Printed between 1827 and 1838, it contains 435 life-sized watercolours of North American birds, all made from hand-engraved plates, and is considered to be the archetype of wildlife illustration. Nearly 200 years later, the Audubon prints are coming to life once again, thanks to the Audubon Society’s vibrant digital library. Roam around http://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america and enjoy one of the most treasured pieces of Audubon’s grand and wild legacy. Each print is also available as a free high-resolution download.
The 22nd Annual Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show will be held Thursday, February 19, 2015 – Sunday, February 22, 2015 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. Hours of operation are 10 – 8 Thursday through Saturday, and 10 – 6 on Sunday.
The 2015 Flower Show promises to be the best ever. The theme Garden Adventures delivers plenty of excitement and fun for the whole family. Children will love digging deep in the soil and discovering where our food comes from. Many displays will be interactive and encourage children and adults alike to PLEASE TOUCH! Unique gardens will feature a life-sized fairy house, a tunnel garden, and a tree house. As you stroll through our breathtaking garden displays, immerse yourself in spring and leave winter far, far behind. Don’t simply spend time looking at the gardens this year. BE A PART OF THEM. Our magnificent garden displays offer countless ideas and inspiration for wonderful outdoor living spaces. Speakers and demonstrations will provide you with valuable, cutting edge information, giving you the knowledge to produce and cultivate your own spectacular garden at home.
This year, the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association (RIEEA), a collaborative network of individuals and organizations committed to environmental education, is helping to coordinate fun and educational programming for the Kids Adventure Zone on the fifth floor. The scheduled presentations include storytelling, puppet shows, and animal demonstrations. The on-going nature activities, offered throughout each day of the show, are longer, self-guided activities, such as touch tanks, nature discovery tables, and scavenger hunts. Some highlights include the Roger Williams Park Zoo Zoomobile, Audubon’s owl presentations, Save the Bay’s marine touch tank, and Norman Bird Sanctuary’s puppet show. Awesome activities, ideas and adventures await the whole family! Tickets available on line at www.flowershow.com.
Ailene Kane Ettinger will speak at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts, on Sunday, November 17, from 1:30 – 3:30 on the topic Ecological Impacts of Climate Change in New England, in a program sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association, the New England Wild Flower Society, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society Drumlin Farm. The fee is $26 for members of any sponsoring organization and $32 for non-members.
Are alpine environments threatened because forests may expand uphill with global warming? Is maple syrup likely to remain a viable product in New England? How will salt marshes and other coastal habitats be affected by sea level rise? Will we see more invasive plants in New England. Learn what scientists know about climate change, including past warnings, and what we can expect for the future. Dr. Ettinger will discuss what remains uncertain and what can be expected for New England’s flora, fauna, and unique habitats. For more information email ela.info@comcast.net or call 617-436-5838. Register online at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1010800.
Established in 1989, The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America is a consortium of 14 garden clubs in the greater Boston area, from Buzzards Bay to the South, and coastal Maine to the north, with a total membership of 1,100 individuals. The Garden Club of the Back Bay is an affiliate member of The Boston Committee.
Over the past years, the Boston Committee has awarded $110,000, through its Blossom Fund, to various not for profit groups in the City of Boston, for the purpose of beautifying our urban spaces. The Fund has been most effective when used to leverage larger grants. It has been at the forefront of projects such as the construction of the Blackwell Path at the Arnold Arboretum, which allows access to the Arboretum from public transportation. The Blossom Fund has helped with the construction and planting of a butterfly garden and maple tree allee at Massachusetts Audubon Society’s George Robert White Nature Center, in Mattapan. It has provided money for the restoration of the Kelleher Rose Garden on the Emerald Necklace. The Esplanade Association purchased irrigation equipment, the Charles River Conservancy restored the landscape surrounding the Eliot Bridge, and a garden was established at the Neighborhood Charter School, all with the help of the Blossom Fund.
Now, the Boston Committee is soliciting proposals for a project in the vicinity of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. We expect to award a single grant for $50,000, with the potential to collaboratively raise additional funds in the future.
The Committee members agree that innovation, positive community impact, and horticultural achievement must be the hallmarks of a successful Greenway proposal. Sustainability and future maintenance are important considerations. The grant will not be awarded for general fund drives, endowments, or for operating or staffing costs. The successful applicant must work with us to raise additional monies in the final year of the fund drive. Importantly, applicants must be an exempt organization under the IRS code.
Complete details may be obtained by email. Contact Michele Hanss, current Chairman of The Boston Committee, at m.hanss@comcast.net. Applications are due February 10. We have received notice that applications may be forthcoming from the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park, The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the Boston Aquarium, and the Boston Harbor Walk. After a full review and interviews, member Clubs will vote for the winning application, to be announced at our Annual Meeting in the fall of 2012, after which we will embark on the final year of fund raising. We encourage all groups in or around the Greenway to submit applications.
Join Stephen Kress, author of The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds and Vice President for Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society, for a lively presentation on desirable gardening practices-from a bird’s viewpoint. An expert in seabird conservation, Kress successfully led Audubon’s Project Puffin in Maine. He is also an associate at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology where he teaches a Field Ornithology course. He will explain bird-plant interactions and suggest landscaping options for creating enticing and safe habitats. He’ll provide solutions for reducing bird encounters with windows and cats, as well as some tactics for preventing the spread of avian diseases. He will also share tips for learning to recognize common backyard birds by sight and song. His book will be available for purchase and signing. $40 for ELA, WCFH members, Audubon Society members and Arnold Arboretum members, $48 for non-members. Registrations are limited – call 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net. This Saturday, March 19 event is offered in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum, Boston Nature Center, Grow Native Massachusetts/Cambridge, and Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture, and will take place from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, 125 The Arborway, Boston.
No leaves? No problem! Use a combination of branching patterns, bud and bark characteristics, habitat, persistent fruits, galls and marcescent leaves to identify shrubs in winter. The New England Wild Flower Society program on January 29 will begin at 10 am with a short session indoors. Then head out into MA Audubon Habitat’s 86 acres in Belmont for a close look at 15-20 native shrubs plus a couple of non-native invasives. You will end up back indoors for a twig or slide quiz and a cup of something hot. Review for those who have taken “Native New England Shrubs†and a good introduction to shrub ID in winter. Bring lunch and a hand lens if you have one. Roland “Boot” Boutwell leads, and the fee is $32 for NEWFS and Massachusetts Audubon Society members, $36 for non-members. Click on www.newfs.org to register. Image of willow below from the Royal Horticultural Society.
The 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) will be held from February 12 – 15th, 2010. The GBBC is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent and in Hawaii.
Each checklist submitted by these “citizen scientists” helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how the birds are doing—and how to protect them and the environment we share. Last year, participants turned in more than 93,600 checklists online, creating the continent’s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.
Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org.
Bird populations are always shifting and changing. For example, 2009 GBBC data highlighted a huge southern invasion of Pine Siskins across much of the eastern United States. Participants counted 279,469 Pine Siskins on 18,528 checklists, as compared to the previous high of 38,977 birds on 4,069 checklists in 2005. Failure of seed crops farther north caused the siskins to move south to find their favorite food.
On the www.birdcount.org website, participants can explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting during the count. The site has tips to help identify birds and special materials for educators. Participants may also enter the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count. Many images will be featured in the GBBC website’s photo gallery. All participants are entered in a drawing for prizes that include bird feeders, binoculars, books, CDs, and many other great birding products.
For more information about the GBBC, visit www.birdcount.org. Or contact the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at (800) 843-2473 or (outside the U.S., call (607) 254-2473) or GBBC at Cornell University, or Audubon at Citizen Science at the Audubon Society or (202) 861-2242 ext 3050.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is made possible, in part, by generous support from Wild Birds Unlimited.
