Boston Flora

Tag: migratory birds

  • Saturday, May 10 – World Migratory Bird Day

    World Migratory Bird Day is a special day to celebrate these incredible birds and help protect them. World Migratory Bird Day is officially celebrated on the second Saturday of May in Canada and the US, and the second Saturday of October in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. However, every day is Bird Day, and you can celebrate birds and host events any day of the year! This year, we’re focusing on making our cities, villages, towns, and communities, from rural to urban, more bird-friendly. In 2025, WMBD will raise awareness about the many challenges migratory birds face due to human activities and expanding urban development. The campaign will advocate for strategic urban planning and conservation efforts that incorporate bird-friendly practices, making sure that our communities become havens for these remarkable travelers. The 2025 theme encourages action from all sectors, including national and local governments, businesses, community groups, and individuals worldwide. he 2025 poster, illustrated by Annamaria Savarino Drago of Mexico, features birds that depend on safe spaces. Look closely in the image to find the ways that you can create bird-friendly cities and communities.

    What does “bird-friendly” mean? “Bird-friendly” means making our environment safe and welcoming for birds. We can do this by planting native plants, providing clean water, and avoiding the use of harmful chemicals. By creating and protecting shared spaces, we can help birds on their long journeys and make our communities more beautiful and healthy. Throughout the year, we will explore the many actions communities can take to make their spaces more bird-friendly. For more information visit https://worldmigratorybirdday.org

  • Wednesday, April 10, 7:00 pm Eastern – Fine-Tuned for Performance: How Migratory Bird Bodies Enable Incredible Feats of Endurance, Live and Online

    Dr. Cory Elowe will describe some of the research that shows the incredible ways that migratory birds seasonally change their bodies to allow them to make the perilous trip from their wintering grounds to their breeding grounds and back. He will also talk about how the environment plays a role in shaping how successful they’ll be and why conservation efforts and physiology research go hand-in-hand. This program on April 10 at 7 pm Eastern is sponsored by the Athol Bird & Nature Club. Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_snWtv2xXTZObEdmAANuJgg After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

    Dr. Elowe is a postdoctoral research associate in the Biology Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, having earned his Ph.D. 2016-2022.  As an undergraduate he attended Bowdoin College in Maine, and then earned his M.S. at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

    Growing up in central Maine, Cory spent a lot of time outdoors, exploring the woods around the house and trying (in vain) to get the winter birds to eat out of his hands. His father was a state wildlife biologist, so for Cory it seemed completely normal to have close encounters with wild animals regularly. An interest in biology was a part of his childhood. Cory is active in local bird clubs, an avid birder, and a regular contributor to eBird. Although he loves birds, the river otter will always be his favorite animal.

  • Thursday, February 22, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – Brewing Up a Bird-friendly Cup, Online

    Did you know that your morning cup of coffee has the power to protect birds—or to destroy their habitat? In the 1980s, North American scientists noted that migratory songbirds were in trouble: Each year, fewer and fewer of them were found singing on their summer breeding grounds, but what happened to these birds during the winter remained a mystery. It took many trips to Latin America for researchers to discover that lush, shaded coffee farms from Mexico to Peru were the winter homes for many migratory songbirds. But not all coffee farms protected these birds. Smithsonian Associates presents an online program on February 22 at 7 pm with Ruth Bennett. $25 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org

    Ruth Bennett, a research ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Migratory Bird Center, journeys south to the misty coffee farms responsible for migratory songbird survival, exploring why some coffee farmers are actively protecting bird habitats by growing coffee under native shade trees, while others are eliminating their winter habitat by cutting down cloud forest to grow more coffee. She also reports on how the Smithsonian is taking action to reverse the loss of winter habitats by creating a market for coffees certified to be Bird Friendly®.

  • Friday, December 5, 7:15 pm – 9:15 pm – Chasing Ice and Birds in a Changing Climate

    The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem has announced a special event to take place Friday, December 5, from 7:15 – 9:15.  Attend a special screening of the award-winning film Chasing Ice by environmental photographer James Balog, a featured artist in the Museum’s Branching Out exhibition. His videos of Arctic glaciers reveal ancient mountains of ice disappearing at a breathtaking rate. Following the film, researcher and author Trevor Lloyd-Evans presents the effects of climate change on migratory birds. Chasing Ice, 2012, 75 minutes. Book signing follows. Co-sponsored by Mass Audubon and Essex County Ornithological Club. A brief business meeting of the E.C.O.C. is held 7-7:15 pm. Reservations not required.  For directions, visit www.pem.org.

  • Thursday, April 28 – Sunday, May 1 – Birds and Bards: A Festival Celebrating Birds, Poetry, and Nature

    Visit the Arnold Arboretum, Boston Nature Center, Forest Hills Cemetery, Franklin Park Coalition and the Franklin Park Zoo,  Thursday, April 28 to Sunday, May 1 for Birds and Bards: A Festival Celebrating Birds, Poetry, and Nature. Spend the weekend exploring birds, poetry, and nature in over 1000 acres of green space along Boston’s Emerald Necklace. The festival includes activities for children and adults, most of which are free!

    For complete event listings and information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/birds-and-bards.

     

  • Thursday, July 17, 5 pm – Flight Path Exhibit, 7 pm – Living on the Wind: The World of Migratory Birds

    Plymouth Beach is part of the breathtaking panorama seen from Plimoth Plantation. Few visitors know that this beautiful shoreline plays a crucial role in a complex and ancient system of shorebird migration routes running from the tip of South America to the Arctic tundra. In addition to the threatened and endangered species that breed and nest on this local barrier beach, more than 20,000 migratory birds use the bay as a fuel stop.

    Eighty-five striking images by nature photographer Jim Fenton provide a close-up of coastal water bird life to reveal their beauty and behavior. The exhibit was developed in partnership with the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Goldenrod Foundation and Massachusetts Audubon Society, and produced with generous financial support from the Bobolink Foundation, Goldenrod Foundation, Sheehan Family Foundation and others.

    At any moment of every day, migratory birds fill the skies of the western hemisphere, journeying from the High Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, across the Atlantic and Pacific, moving by day and night.  Join naturalist and author Scott Weidensaul on an exploration of how and why birds migrate, and the conservation challenges that face them, based on his book, Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds.  The program ranges from the doorstep of the Aleutians in Alaska and the frozen edge of Hudson Bay in Canada to landscapes as exotic as the grassy pampas of Argentina, and as familiar as the barrier islands of the Massachusetts coast.  A presentation filled with the drama of this remarkable phenomenon awaits.  No reservation needed.  Members of Plimoth Plantation $6.50, non-members $8.50.  Flight Path: Plymouth Beach will be open free of charge from 5 pm to 7 pm to all current members of Mass Audubon, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, and Goldenrod Foundation members.

    For directions to Plimoth Plantation and more information, log on to www.plimoth.org.

  • Thursday, May 28 – Sunday, May 31 – Birds and Bards: A Festival Celebrating Birds, Poetry, and Nature

    Visit the Arnold Arboretum, Boston Nature Center, Forest Hills Cemetery, Franklin Park, and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site  Thursday, May 28 to Sunday, May 31 for Birds and Bards: A Festival Celebrating Birds, Poetry, and Nature. Spend the weekend exploring birds, poetry, and nature in over 1000 acres of greenspace along Boston’s Emerald Necklace. The festival includes activities for children and adults, most of which are free!  Presented by the Arnold Arboretum, Boston Nature Center/Mass Audubon, Forest Hills Educational Trust, Franklin Park Coalition, Franklin Park Zoo, and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.

    Activities begin on Thursday with a 7 a.m. morning bird walk at the Arnold Arboretum.  That evening at 7:30, enjoy the Birds & Bards Kick-Off at Forsyth Chapel for a festive evening of song, pictures and poetry celebrating birds and nature.  Learn about the landscapes that sustain and protect migratory birds in the heart of the city. Art inspired by our feathered friends will include photographs by Eduardo del Solar, jazz vocals by Valerie Stevens, and a reading by poet Brendan Galvin.  $5 suggested donation.

    Friday begins with a 7 a.m. bird walk in Franklin Park, and a 6 p.m. family bird walk, also in Franklin Park, plus a 7 p.m. movie night at the Franklin Park Clubhouse.

    Saturday centers around the Boston Nature Center, with an early morning birdwalk, followed by continental breakfast and conversation with Chris Leahy, a talk at 11:00 on Urban Orchards and Bird Habitats, and a noontime live raptor demonstration.  At 1:30, enjoy the Great American Song Book Concert with Marianne Ryan, Stanley Macht, and the young singers of Catching Joy as they perform classics celebrating birds by Gershwin, Kern and Porter.  Finally on Saturday move to the Arnold Arboretum at 3:00 for a Haiku Hike.

    Sunday begins at Forest Hills with a 7 a.m. birdwalk, a tour at 10 a.m., a guided bird walk at Franklin Park Zoo at 10:30, and the culminating event, a 2:00 Family Concert with Solar Winds at Forsyth Chapel ($10).

    For complete event listings and information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.