Boston Flora

Tag: birding

  • Monday, July 18, 7:00 pm – Lost Among the Birds

    In 2013, Boston birder Neil Hayward traveled almost 250,000 miles by plane, car, boat, and kayak, as well as almost 10 feet vertically up a tree (where, you’ll be glad to hear, he successfully navigated his way back down). His quixotic quest: to see birds. His peregrinations took him to the corners of this vast continent: Barrow in the leaden, frozen north; the Dry Tortugas, dangling off the Florida Keys to the south; Newfoundland, poking out to the east; and tiny Adak, an island adrift in the volcanic Aleutian chain of the west. And a place they call New Jersey. By the year’s end, he’d netted some 749 species of bird and broken an historic record many thought was unbreakable.

    Neil Hayward is a lifelong birder with a passion for science and travel. He grew up in the UK, where birding ranks high among soccer, tea, and sarcasm as national pastimes. After gaining a Ph.D. in genetics at Cambridge University, he joined a start-up biotech company and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the managing director for the US business. He also brought his binoculars and quickly started using them. In 2011, he left his job to set up his own biotechnology consulting company. Neil will speak at Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge, on Monday, July 18, and will sign copies of his new book Lost Among the Birds. For more information visit www.portersquarebooks.com.

  • Saturday, November 28, 8:00 am – Late Fall Migrants at Plum Island

    Joan and Larry Duprey will be leading this Athol Bird & Nature Club trip to one of the best birding spots in the Eastern United States, Plum Island. Migrating waterfowl and seabirds should be present in good numbers and anything can show up on the island. Meet at the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street, Athol at 8:00 am on Saturday, November 28. Those members to our East who may wish to meet in Amesbury call Larry and Joan for details. Info: Joan or Larry Duprey, 978-249-4964. Image from www.brooklinebirdclub.org.

  • Saturday, June 7, 6:30 am – 8:30 am – Birding at Fruitlands: Early Nesters

    Local ornithologist Pat White will lead novice and experienced birdwatchers in a guided early morning foray at Fruitlands, from 6:30 – 8:30 in the morning on Saturday, June 7. The group will walk about two miles on trails through meadows, woods and varied terrain. Meet at the Museum’s upper parking lot. Free. For more information and directions visit www.fruitlands.org.

  • Saturday, January 25, 5:00 am – 5:00 pm – Superbowl of Birding

    Winter is a wonderful time to bird in northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire. In celebration of this season, the Joppa Flats Education Center, 1 Plum Island Turnpike, Newburyport,  is hosting the Superbowl of Birding XI on Saturday, January 25, 2014 – 5am to 5pm (Snow date: Sunday, January 26).

    Superbowls I-X were great successes with teams from as far away as Delaware and Pennsylvania participating. The challenge is renewed this year, with prizes awarded in ten categories!

    This is a unique competition to find the greatest number of species and to earn the greatest number of points based on the rarity of the birds recorded. The Nikon Joppa Cup is awarded to the team that collects the most points by the end of the specified 12-hour birding day. Strategy and planning are essential in order to win this competition.

    The event consists of activities targeted for all levels of birders. Expert birders can compete for a number of awards, including the Nikon Joppa Cup, Essex County Award, or Rockingham County Award. Teams with young birders 18 years old or younger can vie for the Seekers Award. The Fledgling Award encourages young families to participate. Nikon is the lead sponsor, and complete information may be found at http://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/joppa-flats/news-events/superbowl-of-birding.

    http://www.massaudubon.org/var/ezdemo_site/storage/images/site_ma/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/joppa-flats/joppa-flats-gallery/superbowl-of-birding/160958-1-eng-US/superbowl-of-birding_gallerymedium.jpg

  • Friday, November 29, 7:30 am – Turkey Trot

    Join veteran trip leaders Larry and Joan Duprey for this look for late fall birds at one of the premier Massachusetts birding destinations, Plum Island. Warm up with a stop for some “chowda” before the end of the day. Carpool at 7:30 am from the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street, Athol, Massachusetts. Sponsored by the Athol Bird and Nature Club. For more information visit www.atholbirdclub.org.

    https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JjeLB-TMXQQ/TYzboSXsxWI/AAAAAAAAGFQ/ITQhfh5Ofzc/s1600/Z+3231.JPG

  • Wednesday, September 11, 7:00 pm – Willets at the Shore

    Join the Athol Bird & Nature Club on Wednesday, September 11 at 7 pm at the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street in Athol, for their regular meeting, when field biologist Ashley Green will describe her research into willets along the New Jersey shore, including the difficulty of recapturing banded birds, interpretations of the data, and other flora and fauna of a salt marsh. These remarkable birds nested along the entire Atlantic coast before 1800, but hunters and egg-gatherers reduced their numbers so drastically that by 1900 there were gone from Nova Scotia to New Jersey. Willets have made a come-back, however, and are again nesting along the New England coast.  Image from www.allaboutbirds.org. For more information visit www.atholbirdclub.org.

    http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/PHOTO/LARGE/willet_2.jpg

  • Wednesday, June 5, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Restoration of Consecration Dell

    Grow Native Massachusetts wraps up its 2013 Evening with the Experts at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge on Wednesday, June 5, from 7 – 8:30, welcoming Dave Barnett, President of Mount Auburn Cemetery, who will speak on The Restoration of Consecration Dell.  At the heart of Mount Auburn, Consecration Dell is a landscape of great beauty and a hot spot for birding. Yet not long ago, it was overrun by invasive species and suffering from erosion. With their commitment to stewardship, Cemetery staff have spent over a decade restoring this special place, establishing a thriving community of native plants and improving vital habitat for wildlife. This story is full of lessons about the significant challenges and rewards of ecological restoration. Dr. Barnett is a respected ecologist and horticulturalist, as well as the President of the Cemetery. Free and open to the public.  Photo from www.inktalks.com.

  • Arbotopia

    Birding in the Emerald Necklace is attracting lots of fans, and we’re not the least surprised. Recently, we’ve had reports of cardinals, Red-tailed hawks and a Red-headed woodpecker near the Shattuck Visitor Center and so we were excited to learn of Robert Mayer’s new blog on birds and other fauna of the Emerald Necklace, titled “Arbotopia.” Mayer notes sitings of Barred Owls in Boston’s greenspaces and in his first entry, he details his personal encounter with a Great Horned owl earlier in January. Visit www.arbotopia.com.

    http://www.arbotopia.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/P1290535-1024x917.jpg

  • Saturday, September 1, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – September in the Park

    Join expert birders Joan and Larry Duprey and amateur botanist Christine Beckert Long in a stroll through the Alan E. Rich Environmental Park and Cass Meadow near 50 Main St. in Athol to discover the nature of an environmental park and the long-term vision for the area. Info: Chris Long, 978-249-0246 or christyblue@juno.com. Co-sponsored with the Friends of the Park. Part of Athol Bird & Nature Club’s celebration of Athol 2012. Photo from naturenoob.blogspot.com.

  • Friday, February 17 – Monday, February 20 – The Great Backyard Bird Count

    The Great Backyard Bird Count 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. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

    Participants count birds anywhere for as little or as long as they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill out an online checklist at the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

    As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being reported from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada. They can also see how this year’s numbers compare with those from previous years. Participants may also send in photographs of the birds they see. A selection of images is posted in the online photo gallery.  For complete information, visit www.birdsource.org/gbbc.