I love winter in New England and I always have. Let me be more specific. I have lived in Missouri and the Bay Area of California and I do not enjoy those winters as much. Winter should be cold, full of snow, and provide opportunities to get outside and embrace the season! And even if you are not as enthusiastic about the winter season as I am, there are plenty of outdoor activities you can take part in to experience winter in Massachusetts and all over New England. If you are looking for ways to get outside this winter and experience nature in a different way, consider these activities to do by yourself, with your family, or with a group of friends.

Cross Country Skiing
For me there are few activities like gliding through a winter forest landscape on a pair of cross-country skis. You get to experience the woods and fields in a different way. Faster than a walk, but not so fast that you miss details such as tracks or bird calls. You can become wrapped in the blanket of winter sounds and sights as you explore.
If you have never been cross country skiing I suggest renting a pair from a local ski resort or an outdoor store that does rentals or offer classes. Start slow, and don’t try and ski 10 miles your first time out. Take it slow. And if you want to challenge yourself, there are races too. One thing to remember with cross country skiing, and many winter activities, is that you will work up a sweat as you go so dress accordingly. Wear layers and when you start off, being a little cool is a good plan. Bring a warmer layer for when you stop to rest, you will cool off quickly. Also make sure you have a way to carry water and food. Dress for success.

Snowshoeing
If you are looking for an activity that has a lot of similarities to cross country skiing and has some very distinct differences, go snowshoeing! It is not as graceful as cross country skiing, and you get to experience nature a little slower. The best part of snowshoeing for me is the adventure of not knowing how deep the snow is under your feet! In many places you can find groomed areas for snowshoeing which can be great and allow you to move at decent pace. And there are other places where you can go explore “off trail” and this is where the adventure of discovering snow depth can be found.

Tracking
Getting out and seeing what animals have been there before you can be a rewarding experience. Tracking in winter can be done on foot, skis or snow shoes. It can be done as a standalone activity or a great additional activity to do while you are doing something else. In winter learning to read tracks on the landscape when there is snow, even a dusting, can be a rewarding experience. You can go tracking almost anywhere, including your backyard, and learning the basics of tracking and identifying prints can be done fairly easily.

Check out our upcoming program, Tracks and Traces!

Maple sugaring
There is nothing like tasting real, pure maple syrup. And the smell of the sugaring process is almost magical! In New England there is a multitude of opportunities to see the sugaring process first hand. It is a great opportunity to experience a food to table process and get a great treat as well. Maple sugaring is a great group experience as well. Head out as a family or as a group of friends and find a local sugaring operation and learn more about this great New England tradition.

Check out our upcoming programs and events on maple sugaring!

Astronomy
The night sky in winter is a wonderful treat. Not that the summer sky isn’t grand, but the sky tends to be clearer in the winter. The challenge comes from staying warm while essentially standing still in the cold night air.

There are a few reasons why the winter sky is thought of as a special treat for backyard astronomers. The first is that cold air doesn’t hold as much moisture as warm air can. A second reason is that nights are also longer in the winter, giving us a greater window in which to enjoy the beauty of the night sky. And a third reason is in December, January and February, the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere looks out to the edge of our galaxy where there are fewer stars clustered together.

Check out our next Free Star Gazing Night!

For all of these activities there are some things to keep in mind in terms of being outside safely in winter weather. Remember this number; 98.6. That is the temperature in Fahrenheit that you want to keep your body as close to as possibly. Being safe outside in the winter boils down to keeping your body warm and dry and avoiding hypothermia. One of my favorite sayings about being outdoors goes something like this: “There is no bad weather, only poor clothing choices”. I have these words of wisdom in my head whenever I am planning on being outside for any real length of time, but especially in winter.

1) What is the level of my exertion going to be?
2) How long am I going to be outside?
3) How much fuel am I going to need? How much food and water should I take?
4) What are the temperatures and weather forecast?
5) What are the chances of things going wrong?
Answering these 5 questions will help you decide what you need to bring on your adventure. In general this will help you decide what clothes to wear and bring, how much food and water to take, and what other equipment you might want. Regardless of what activity you are doing, making good choices around these topics, can greatly increase the enjoyment of your activity.

Clothing is really a portable shelter. What we wear can make a huge difference in how we regulate our body temperature. In winter if you are going to be outside and you want to be warm and dry try to avoid wearing cotton. At least as a base layer. Cotton tends to hold in moisture and keeps it next to your body causing your body to spend energy trying to heat that moisture. Synthetic fabric or wool can keep your warm even when it is wet. If you are going to be moving slow, or maybe sitting for longer periods of time, say while you are tracking or looking for the northern lights, you are going to want clothing that has a lot of insulation. Something like a good base layer of synthetic fabric or a wool or wool blend layer. And then layers of insulation. A fleece or down layer, and then a shell or water proof layer. One quick point about down as an insulator – down is amazing at keeping you warm, unless it gets wet. Many companies now make down jackets and vests with a water resistant shell. If you are not moving much or very quickly, dress for warmth. Good gloves or mittens, a warm hat, good boots, and layers for your body.

If you are going to be moving a lot and generating body heat, then start your activity off feeling a little cool. As your body warms up and starts perspiring, you want to let that heat escape. Have extra layers available for when you stop to rest or refuel. You don’t want to let your body cool down too quickly. When I have been dog-sledding the high temperatures were around 5 degrees, but I was only wearing a thin base layer and light weight fleece on my top with a thin fleece hat. I had water proof pants with a thin under layer and warm boots and gloves. When we would stop to rest or eat, I would put on enough clothes to look like I was on Mt. Washington in January. Invest some time and maybe some money to make sure you are warm and comfortable.

Making sure that your body has enough fuel and water to stay warm in winter weather is very important, and can be lots of fun. You need to make sure that you are replacing the calories that you are burning while be outside. We lose a lot of body heat and moisture through simple things like breathing and sweating. And in the winter we can also lose a good deal of body heat through convection, radiation, and conduction cooling. When the air temperature is below 68 degrees Fahrenheit the body can lose a good deal of heat through radiation and conduction-the movement of heat from a warmer to colder environment. You need to keep those internal fires burning!

One of my favorite things about outdoor winter activities is that it gives me a reason to eat more. Even on a short run or cross country ski jaunt, it can be a good idea to make sure you give yourself some extra calories to burn. On average we burn between 1500-3000 calories a day. Winter camping or backpacking can burn upwards of 4000-5000 calories a day. Even if you are just out for a couple of hours of skiing or taking winter photos, make sure you pack enough food to keep you going. And make sure you have enough water! Even though you might not be sweating, your body is losing water through cooling and respiration. And if you are going to be out in really cold weather, make sure your water is kept warm enough to not freeze.

In addition to whatever equipment you need for your activity, you might consider bringing along a few extra things just in case. A basic first aid kit, a phone, a small thermal emergency blanket, a way to start a fire, a map of where you are going, and a good whistle. Not a lot of extra weight, but the essentials in case something does not go according to your plan. Or if you meet someone else whose plans have gone awry.

As for all the activities you can do during the winter, get out and enjoy them! Take classes, rent equipment, try something new. Go explore your local Mass Audubon sanctuaries and see what they look like in winter, and explore the classes we offer. Winter is natures’ way of slowing down and recharging it’s systems to get ready for the explosion of spring growth. Take this opportunity to do some recharging of your own. Go outside and explore!

Moose Hill was delighted to have Maria Armour, Bat Biologist and Instructor at Bridgewater State University present a bat lecture and walk in early August. Our thanks to her for taking the time to share her passion with us – we loved it!

Maria began the evening with a talk about bat ecology, behavior, and conservation. Participants learned about white nose syndrome and its effect on bat populations. They also learned about the endangered bats of Massachusetts: Little Brown bat, Indiana bat, Northern Long-Eared bat, Tricolored bat, and Eastern Small-footed bat. During the talk, a variety of bat specimens from the Bridgewater State University Natural History Collection were available.

The enthusiasm that Maria shares about bats had everyone ready to take their new-found appreciation of these flying mammals and head out on the trails to see what might be found at Moose Hill. At early dusk, everyone turned on their headlights and enjoyed an easy walk to the Bat Barn.

Throughout the early evening, over fifteen individual bats were observed flying just above our heads; feeding on moths and mosquitoes. Yes, mosquitoes – what a great natural way to bring down the mosquito population! Did you know that a bat will consume half it’s body weight each night in insects, but they also eat plants (fruit and nectar).

We discovered that Maria has learned that Moose Hill’s most abundant bat is the Big Brown bat.

Big Brown bat caught at BSU this summer

Our hope was to observe the Little Brown bat, but we were saddened to not find any that evening. We did document the Eastern Red bat, Hoary bat and the Tricolored bat (so exciting as this is an endangered species in MA)!

Tricolored bat; photo by the National Park Service

And, the group used a spectrogram to record the voiceprints of the bats – helping in the identification process!

image of a recording taken on a spectrogram

Partnering with Bridgewater State University has been great and we look forward to learning more about our bat population and habitat use from the acoustic surveys that are being conducted on the sanctuary.

Be sure to look for more bat programs at Moose Hill in the future, and, check out our program catalog for more opportunities to join us as we explore Moose Hill after-hours.

Moose Hill was delighted to have Steven Whitebread provide an evening all about the moths just a few weeks ago. This was the sixth year that National Moth week has been held and events like this evening help to engage “moth-ers” of all ages and abilities to learn about, observe and document moths while celebrating the beauty, life cycles and habitats of moths.

Thank you to Steven for sharing a little about the evening and some great pictures – we had no idea that there could be so many moths. It really is amazing what you find, and learn, when you take the time to look:

Moth Evening at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary by Steven Whitebread

Most people think that moths are those drab annoying things which come to porch lights at night and hide behind curtains during the day (and probably eat them). The first part of the evening was a presentation which gave a more complete overview of the world of moths (and mothing) demonstrating that moths are not all drab and are much more diverse and interesting than most people realize.

Next on the program was a tour around nearby tree trunks that had previously been treated with a sugar bait to attract moths. Christine Whitebread made some cup-cakes for the participants based on the ingredients used in the sugar bait (these were enjoyed by all)! Unfortunately, no moths were found on the bait, possibly because we were a little early in the evening and maybe the bait had dried out too much.

Two mercury vapor lights had been set up earlier on the South side of the main building, one against a vertical sheet together with a ‘black light’ and another in a ‘live’ trap. Moose Hill had a Family Camp-out happening that evening and after the families had returned from their walk, many joined us at the lights. The children especially enjoyed seeing not just the moths, but the other insects which were attracted by the lights: beetles, flies, wasps, ants, caddis flies, and plant hoppers to name just a few.

The last participants left about 11pm, by which time many species of moths had been seen. However, between 11pm and 1am many more species arrived especially several Sphinx moths and two species of silk moth – two Luna Moths and one Polyphemus Moth.

The night was forecast to be completely dry, but a few sprinkles started after about an hour and then, after midnight, a couple of showers passed through. The lights were therefore packed away by 2am.

So far 119 species of moth have been identified, with probably about another dozen still to be identified. Two species appear to be new to the Massachusetts list, but need confirmation – both feed on Hickory. Here are a few that we saw that night:

And, to round out the evening, around midnight, a Barred Owl slowly passed by to the South, calling occasionally.

Mark your calendars now for National Moth Week 2018: July 21-29, and be sure to look for events like this so you too can become a “moth-er”.

Here at Moose Hill we are excited about a new feature on our property for people to explore. It is called Cookie’s Garden: Moose Hill’s Nature Play Space. The play area is located just outside our main building right next to our bird feeder area in our front yard.

welcome to Cookie’s Garden

While many parks and playgrounds have a traditional wood, plastic and metal play structure, our nature play space combines the surrounding landscape and vegetation with intentionally designed stations that allow children to explore, create, and design their nature play experience.

boulder field

snake walk, a.k.a. stump jump

Research indicates that when children play and learn in nature, they do so with more enthusiasm, connection, imagination and cooperation than in an artificial or traditional playscape type of environment. And in many cases symptoms of attention deficit and depression are reduced while creativity and imaginative play increases.

Naturalist, researchers and educators like David Sobel, Richard Louv, Jon Young, and Dr. Scott Sampson agree that children need access to nature the same way they need good nutrition and adequate sleep. Cookie’s Garden will help children develop an attitude of curiosity and provide the opportunity to connect directly with the natural world.

While Cookie’s Garden is a constructed landscape, the features within the area are designed to mimic areas and features in the natural world. Logs and stumps to balance on, tunnels to crawl through, hills to stand on, mud to play with, and opportunities to create using items found in the natural world. There are also spaces designed to help children appreciate nature in other ways, like the giant paint easel and the musical area. Allowing children the opportunity to explore and wander without time constraints or set plans can allow children to explore their curiosity and learn at their pace.

hill and tunnel

musical area

While Cookie’s Garden is not fully complete, we encourage people to come out to Moose Hill and let your kids explore the area. Of course adults are welcome to explore too. We will be adding the remaining features over the next several months. In the spirit with which we have created the play area, I want to leave you with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience”.

If you would like to learn more about Cookie’s Garden, contact sanctuary director Karen Stein or make a donation to Cookie’s Garden so that we can complete all the projects for the play space.

If you have any questions about our camp, schools, or adult education programs, please contact me, Shawn, at [email protected] .

There are still spaces available in our camp – learn more about our program, what a day at camp looks like, our philosophy and credentials, and register today!

We look forward to seeing you at the sanctuary and exploring Cookie’s Garden.

What’s the first thing that pops into your head when I say Mass Audubon? I am guessing that for most people it will be birds and while Mass Audubon does an incredible number of things – conservation, education, and advocacy – you would be right, we always go back to the birds and for great reason.

Birding, the observation of birds in their natural habitats, continues to grow in popularity. Many people start with just bird watching – the feeder in the back yard or the occasional turkey in the fields.

male turkeys on display

Then they get hooked and want to know more and the true hobby of birding begins with the quest to increase the number of birds you have seen (life lists) to being ready to go on a moments notice when a rare bird is reported in hopes that you too will see it.

Every year, Mass Audubon takes this hobby and highlights it during Bird-a-thon. Since the event began in 1983, it has continued to grow and today Bird-a-thon is Mass Audubon’s largest fundraiser. The centerpiece of Bird-a-thon is a competition where teams representing wildlife sanctuaries and programs attempt to identify the most species of birds in a 24-hour period. And while this competition is a great way to feed our need to bird, it also serves as a reminder of the variety and abundance of wildlife that surrounds us and our role in protecting their habitats.

Over the years, the team here at Moose Hill has continued to grow in team members and increase our standings among the teams within Mass Audubon. With a great team leader, Vin, who not only is an amazing birder but a fantastic strategist, Moose Hill has been in the top 5 for the last 4 years, coming in second place for the last 2. And then Bird-a-thon 2017 came…

The Brewster Cup for most species seen

This year Moose Hill had another full team of 50 birders of all ages and experience as we prepared to spread out across the state to see if we could finally take the cup as the team that identifies the most species in 24-hours. The weekend came, May 12-13, and off we went. Reports were sent to our team leader throughout the 24-hours and Vin reported back to us with words of encouragement and updates on sightings; he was excited about the variety of birds we were seeing. We finished the weekend, turned in our identifications, and waited to hear the results….which came on a Friday evening announcing the winner. To our surprise and excitement, Moose Hill WON!!! Our team had identified 229 species of birds in the 24-hour time frame, and this year, that was more than any other team. We couldn’t have been more excited.

Last week we had our wrap-up cookout to share our birding stories and spend time with each other. For those who were able to make it, the cup was passed around. As there hadn’t yet been time to have our name officially added to the cup, we made our own plaque and we enjoyed all that goes with winning!

some of Team Moose Hill 2017 with the Brewster Cup!

With all the excitement of winning, we cannot forget that this competition is a fundraiser and while we have increased the amount Moose Hill raised this year, there is still time to support this winning team. Donating is easy – every dollar counts and goes to the conservation and education we do at Moose Hill. You can donate online or send us your donation today!

We have already marked our calendars for next year (May 11-12, 2018) – let the strategy sessions begin!

Enjoy some happy team members and their time with The Cup!

Vin, team leader

Leslie and John

Liam and Maili

Zack and Kay

Ryan and Mathew

Pete

Hans

Tom

Jeff

part of the winning crew proudly displaying a winning shot!