Boston Flora

Tag: Birds

  • Wednesday, October 17, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Landscaping for Bird Diversity

    This Landscaping for Bird Diversity workshop, to be held Wednesday, October 17 from 5:30 – 7:30 at Great Hall Lodge at Cedar Hill, 265 Beaver Street in Waltham, is organized by Grow Native Massachusetts, and taught by Claudia Thompson, the founder of Grow Native.

    Do you aspire to create landscapes with genuine ecological value for a wide array of avian species from songbirds, to raptors, owls, woodpeckers, and more? Claudia will lead an in-depth exploration of the principles and practices for achieving this objective, based on understanding the essential habitat requirements for bird survival.

    Our examination starts, of course, with the importance of native plants. Then we will take a deeper look at the value of different canopy layers, preferred planting strategies, techniques for providing water, and the critical role of active ecological systems to avian survival. We finish by considering our human interactions with birds. What are the pros and cons of feeding birds directly, through seed and suet? Do nest boxes really help our native songbirds to breed? And given the threats from both human activity and non-native bird species, how can we tilt the balance in favor of our native songbirds?

    Claudia Thompson founded Grow Native Massachusetts in 2010. She is nationally recognized as a leader in the native plant movement, and was featured as one of the Wild Ones in Garden Design magazine along with Doug Tallamy, Darrel Morrison, and others. She has had an extensive career as an ecologist and environmental educator. Claudia’s happiest moments are spent in her own garden where she has recorded 77 species of birds including woodpeckers, migrating songbirds, and even rare woodcocks, all using the habitat she and her husband have created on their small urban parcel in Cambridge.

    $28 for members of Grow Native Massachusetts, $38 for nonmembers. Sign up at www.grownativemass.org, or email mgallogly@grownativemass.org.

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  • Saturday, July 28 & Sunday, July 29, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm – Drawing Birds in Their Habitats

    This two day New England Wild Flower Society workshop taught by Dorie Petrochko will introduce students to the fascinating world of drawing and painting birds. We will learn how to observe the structure and form of various bird species by field-sketching birds. A small field-painting kit with graphite pencils, micron pens, a small watercolor set, and colored pencils is all you will need to render successful bird studies. Hands-on demonstrations and individual guided instruction and critiques will be offered. Participants will produce a finished portrait of the bird of their choice in its habitat. The sessions will take place at Garden in the Woods on July 28 and 29 from 10:30 – 2:30. $100 for NEWFS members, $115 for nonmembers. Materials not included. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/drawing-birds-in-their-habitats

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  • Wednesday, June 27, 7:30 pm – Encouraging Healthy Bird Population In Massachusetts

    Birds are not only winged harbingers of spring, they are harbingers of healthy ecosystems. 2018 is the ‘Year of the Bird’ and new research exposes the critical role that farmland and other diverse habitats provide for birdlife. In New England, birds associated with grass- and shrublands represent some of the most treasured wildlife in Massachusetts, but they are also some of the most imperiled and rapidly declining bird groups. Most of these birds depend significantly on privately-owned lands, agricultural landscapes, and the efforts of individual landowners in order to survive.

    On Wednesday, June 27 at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, Dr. Kim Peters and Isabel Brofsky will discuss the status of farmland-associated birds, why spaces like Wright-Locke Farm are important for their preservation, and what we can all do to help curb their decline.

    Dr. Kim Peters is a Senior Biologist at a global risk management and consulting firm, where she provides environmental and wildlife support to wind and solar developers. Over the last 20 years, she has led research and conservation programs on migratory shorebirds, grassland birds, wind energy bird and bat fatalities, and bird-aircraft strike-risk. Her primary interests are in migration ecology, coastal ecology, and full life-cycle analysis with a focus on potential conflicts at the human-wildlife interface.

    Isabel Brofsky is a Master’s student in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research focuses on the conservation of shrubland birds on small, diversified farms in New England and she has spent the past two summers conducting bird and habitat surveys across 23 farms.

    The session will be held at 7:30 on Wednesday in our beautiful 1827 Barn, and will be followed up with a Q&A session. We will also offer a casual supper before each presentation. For more details, check out our website, http://wlfarm.org, or to RSVP, email Kim Kneeland at kkneeland@wlfarm.org.

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  • Through May 13 – The Birds & The Bees: In Celebration of the Pollinators

    Mary O’Malley’s work begins with a fascination with nature, combined with a love of pattern, decoration, and ornamentation. In this series, she explores pollinating species, from hummingbirds to moths, bees to beetles, as well as other beneficial insects and the plants they pollinate. Many pollinator species are threatened with extinction, which will have deep and troubling consequences to biodiversity and our own sustainability. O’Malley depicts the pollinators and plants enshrined in golden grids that recall religious altars, expressing a reverence for these essential creatures that are so vital to our ecosystem, and ultimately, our survival.

    Mary O’Malley’s primary medium is drawing. Inspired by forms and patterns in nature, her work is characterized by intricate detail and a labor-intensive process that becomes a meditative experience for both artist and viewer. O’Malley graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1997. In 2005, she received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has an extensive exhibition history, including shows at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA, the Fitchburg Art Museum in Fitchburg, MA, as well as at galleries in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles. Her work has been included twice in the juried publication, New American Paintings. She is the recipient of multiple grants, including two Massachusetts Cultural Council grants and the St. Botolph Club Grant-in-Aid Award. In 2010, her work was acquired by the United States Embassy in Dubai, as part of the Art in Embassies program. Currently, her work can be found at Walker Contemporary in Vermont and 13 Forest Gallery in Arlington, MA. She lives and works on the Seacoast of New Hampshire, not far from the ocean.

    Visit Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s Alice Milton Gallery now through May 13 to view Mary O’Malley’s exhibit, free with admission. For more information visit http://towerhillbg.org

  • Saturday, April 28, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – Ware River Nature Club Spring Conference: Our Aerial Insectivorous Birds – Current Conservation Issues

    The Ware River Nature Club’s Spring Conference will take place Saturday, April 28 from 8:30 – 4:30 at the Harvard Forest in Petersham. The guild of northeastern avian insectivores—birds that specialize in feeding on flying insects—includes Whip-poor-wills (picture below, courtesy of www.allaboutbirds.org), Common Nighthawks, Chimney Swifts, several species of swallows and flycatchers, and Purple Martins. Most of these species are experiencing dramatic population declines and range contraction. The plight of aerial insectivores is gaining increasing attention since the magnitude of the declines over the past 25 years has been alarming. This conference will address ecology, current status, and theories regarding population decline in several species. Some citizen science opportunities will be explored.

    GUEST SPEAKERS:

    Kim Spiller, UMass ECO Graduate School—Overview: Aerial Insectivore Conservation Concerns

    Pam Hunt, New Hampshire Audubon—The Whip-poor-will: Biology and Conservation of a Crepuscular Enigma

    Marja Bakermans ,Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Andrew Vitz, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife—Migratory Connectivity of the Eastern Whip-poor-will

    KEYNOTE: Margaret Rubega, University of Connecticut—The Disappearance of an Almost-Invisible Bird: The Mysterious Biology and Decline of the Chimney Swift

    Mara Silver, Northeast Swallow Conservation—Conservation of Cliff and Barn Swallows, Two Species in Decline in the Northeast

    Mary Keleher, Cape Cod Bird Club—Mary’s Mashpee Martins

    Jessie Knowlton, Wheaton College—Threats and Coping Strategies of Neotropical Migrants on the Wintering Grounds: Examples from Southern Mexico

    Hollie Sutherland, UMass ECO Graduate School—Using Trail and Web Cameras for Bird Study

    $35 for WRNC members, $45 for nonmembers, lunch included. Contact warerivernatureclub@yahoo.com to register or for more information.

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  • Saturday, February 3, 9:30 am – 12:30 am – Avian Coloration: An Art and Science Workshop

    The world of birds is full of diverse feather colors that combine to form amazing plumage patterns– from neon yellow to somber black. How and why do birds achieve these decorative feats? Beginning with a microscopic look at feathers and expanding out to a broad perspective of patterns across bird families, Harvard University graduate student Dakota McCoy will use feather and bird specimens from the University’s collections to explore how and why this diversity of forms arose. Artist Erica Beade will show participants how to capture the nuance of avian color and form in their drawings. This Harvard Museum of Natural History class will take place Saturday, February 3 from 9:30 – 12:30 at the Museum, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Fees: $45 HMNH members/$55 nonmembers. Advance registration required: https://reservations.hmsc.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=11

  • Thursday, July 27, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Twenty Great Natives for Birds Webinar

    On Thursday, July 27 at 6:30 pm, join Dan Jaffe of New England Wild Flower Society for a live webinar. Discover 20 of the best plants for supporting native birds. The plants on this list will help you create a paradise for our feathered friends, providing them with everything from berries to nuts, and attracting the insects that are important source of protein. $10 for NEWFS members, $13 for nonmembers. Image of waxwing on native blueberry from www.ecolandscaping.org.  Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/live-webinar-twenty-great-natives-for-birds

  • Tuesday, May 9, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – On the Wing

    What do you get from a bird-lover who is a materials science engineer? A close look at feathers. In this talk, Lorna Gibson, PhD, Matoula S. Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology will speak  at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum about the microscopic structure of feathers and explain how their structure makes hummingbirds feathers iridescent, ducks feathers water repellent and owl ruff feathers collectors of sound.  Free, registration requested.  Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

  • Saturday, December 19 – Christmas Bird Count

    Visit http://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count to learn everything you need to know to help with this Citizen Science project, the longest continuously running bird data survey nationwide.  The event takes place all day Saturday, December 19.  You can add to a century of science by signing up now.

  • Saturday, March 7, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon – Biodiversity in the Avian World

    Who would guess that parrots are closely related to songbirds, or that falcons are only distantly related to their look-alikes, hawks and eagles? How is it that hummingbirds have the rare ability (in the avian world) to detect sweet tastes? Explore the newly renovated Birds of the World gallery with Harvard doctoral students Allison Shultz and Maude Baldwin and consider the suite of adaptations that allows birds to live across the globe, even in the most extreme environments. Hear about the role of genomics in deciphering the bird family tree, the surprising relationships this has revealed, and the special abilities birds have evolved that help them exploit their environment. This Harvard Museum of Natural History adult education class will be held Saturday, March 7 from 9:30 – noon at the Museum, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge. Fee: $35 Museum members/$40 nonmembers. Advance registration required. Register online at http://reservations.hmsc.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=11.