Category Archives: News

Nature Notes for Orchard Cove: May 28, 2020

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Sean K.

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Pink Lady’s Slippers are blooming this week and next, especially in pine forests. Enjoy our latest Nature in a Minute blog post about Pink Lady’s Slippers.

Pink Lady’s Slipper Video from the University of Delaware

Lady Slipper Pollination

Enjoy this short video about pollination of lady slipper orchids. The lady slipper’s orchid is native to Europe, but this video shows how bees pollinator a lady slipper orchid and it is very similar to how the pink lady’s slipper is pollinated. If you are out for a walk and see large bumble bees – most likely queen bumblebees – flying around near pink lady slippers, take a few minutes to watch and see if the bumble bee flies into the slipper and has to maneuver out of the top of the orchid, it is a real treat to see this pollination in action.

Nature apps for your phone, tablet, or other device.

A nice article in the Boston Globe about 8 nature phone apps you can use when you go exploring.

Barry Van Dusen’s Blog Post about spring wildflowers, including Yellow lady slippers and other orchids.

High ledges wildlife sanctuary and paintings of yellow lady slippers.

West mountain wildlife sanctuary and paintings of the purple fridge orchis.

Painted Trillium at High Ledges Wildlife sanctuary.

Barry Van Dusen’s visit to Cook’s Canyon Wildlife Sanctuary, in Barre on July 11, and his painting of the Yellow blue-bead lily (Clintonia).

Green Frog Call

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Hi everybody, each week I (Sean Kent – MABA’s education and camp director) deliver a live online illustrated lecture called Nature Notes for the residents of Orchard Cove in Canton. I love nature and am infinitely curious with what is going on natural world. I am an educator, naturalist, accomplished landscape and wildlife photographer, and field biologist with expertise in native bee biology, species interactions, and ecology in general.

This post contains additional resources that correspond with the lecture, but might also be of interest to readers of Taking Flight in addition to the residents of Orchard Cove. Please contact me ([email protected]) if you or your organization/residence might be interested in live online illustrated lectures, including lectures on The Secret Life of Backyard Birds and Native Bees and other Pollinators. Be well and safe.

Nature Notes for Orchard Cove: May 14, 2020

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Sean K.

If possible, please participate in and support the Museum by donating to Our Bird-A-Thon team. We would love to have your support. Thank you!

Dogwood’s flowering at the Museum of American Bird Art

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Check out the iridescent red throat of the ruby-throated hummingbird that turns dark depending on the direction of the light.

Anna’s Hummingbird Building a Nest

A female Anna’s hummingbird builds a nest constructed of plant fibers and spiderwebs. From “Animal Homes” Nature on PBS. This first premiered April 8, 2015 on PBS.

Monarch Butterfly Overwintering Grounds in Mexico

Nature Notes: Thinking Like a Scientist

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Sean K.

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This blog post corresponds with a program for children and their caregivers by the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon about Thinking Like a Scientist, Bird Nesting, Searching for Signs of Spring, and making art by creating a bluebird and nest box out of household and common art materials.

Nature Story Time: Have You Heard the Nesting Bird

Eastern Bluebird Singing

What are Nests Made of?
From Nature on PBS

NATURE NUGGETS brings science and animals from NATURE on PBS to kids and their caregivers. Use the activities below to create active learning and engagement opportunities with your child.

Art Project: Create a Bluebird and Nesting Box

Build your own bird nest!

Use Mass Audubon’s Nature at Home resources and build your own bird nest!

Eastern Bluebird

Hooded Merganser Nest from Nature Nuggets on PBS

Trail Camera Scavenger Hunt

Check out our fun Trail Camera Scavenger Hunt on the Taking Flight Blog.

Mass Audubon’s Bird of the Day Series

Learn more about your neighborhood birds from Mass Audubon’s Bird of the Day Series.

American Robin

Northern Cardinal

Mass Audubon Bird Nest Resources

Become a Citizen Scientist
NestWatch

Using Citizen Science volunteers, Cornell’s NestWatch is a nationwide nest monitoring program. The Museum of American Bird Art participated in NestWatch, monitoring our nest boxes that usually have nesting Tree Swallows, House Wrens, Chickadees, and occasionally an Eastern Bluebird.
– Click here to learn more about common nesting birds from NestWatch.

Milly’s Bird of the Day: Eastern Phoebe

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Sean K.

Look and listen for Phoebes near you and please help Milly and her Bird-a-Thon team by visiting her fundraising page here.

Another early migrant, the Eastern Phoebe is a favorite bird of many, especially Milly. These talented builders use a small ledge to construct their mud nests. The nests often end up on the edges of people’s homes, above doorways or under eaves.

Milly is always thrilled to see our Phoebes returning in April and finding new nest spots on our Camp Building and Estate House.

Milly loves watching these birds flutter off of one point as they snatch insects in mid-air.

Phoebes are famous for their bobbing tails when perched and for singing their name when they call, Phoeeeeeeeebeee!

Look and listen for Phoebes near you and please help Milly and her Bird-a-Thon team by visiting her fundraising page here.

Taking Flight: An International Youth Bird Art ONLINE EXHIBITION featuring Evan

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Sean K.

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We are so inspired by the amazingly talented young bird artists that are exhibiting in this year’s Taking Flight exhibition. Since we all have to be isolated to stay safe, we wanted to bring you a virtual exhibit and a little background about the artists. We still hope to have a physical exhibition of the original art, but we want to share this wonderful work now.

Today, we are featuring Evan Whang (Age 5), an artist from Massachusetts.

Owls of North America by Evan Whang (Age 5)

Evan’s Message for Owls of North America

Evan became fascinated by owls after seeing a live bird presentation. He drew these birds based on photos from a book about owls of North America.

Dancing Rooster by Evan Whang (Age 5)

Evan’s Message for Dancing Rooster

Evan likes drawing chickens and roosters. He says that he would like to live on a farm and raise chickens and roosters one day.

Evan Creating Art

“I have always loved birds. I liked them because they were all different. Like a pelican is different from a robin.”

“I started drawing birds when I was 3 & a half years old. You just need to practice!!!!!”

“My first favorite bird was the pheasant, because I got interested in the colors. My second favorite was the cassowary (I got interested in the big lump on its head.) Then I got interested in owls. Mainly I got interested in birds because of how they look! I also like their songs, especially those of the wood thrush.” ~ Evan Jaesun Whang

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Nature Notes: Butterflies

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Sean K.

Monarch Butterfly overwintering grounds in Mexico

Nature is a production of THIRTEEN for PBS. Throughout its history, Nature has brought the natural world to millions of viewers.

This blog post complements a nature-based STEAM programming about butterflies and their life cycle.

Monarch Butterfly laying an egg on Common Milkweed

Monarch butterfly laying eggs on common milkweed, © Sean Kent

Monarch Caterpillar on it’s host plant Common Milkweed

Monarch caterpillar eating common milkweed, © Sean Kent

Engineer a Butterfly Habitat

To engineer a butterfly habitat, you need to think about and create a list of what a butterfly needs to survive during it’s entire life cycle as an (i) egg, (ii) caterpillar, (iii) chrysalis, and (iv) butterfly. The following are a few things to think about when engineering a butterfly habitat.

Food
- Host plants for caterpillars
- Nectar
Water
Places to shelter or hide

After thinking about how to create a butterfly habitat, design your habitat to contain everything a butterfly needs and draw it on a piece of paper. After drawing your butterfly habitat, if you have a couple of pots for plants, a garden, or another area you could modify, you could engineer your own butterfly habitat.

To attract black swallowtail butterflies, you can plant parsley in your garden.

My Parsley Is Attracting Butterflies - Learn About Attracting ...

File:Black swallowtail caterpillar.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

How to Create a Nature Journal

Get outdoors and record your nature observations in your very own nature journal. You can make one with materials you have at home!

Barry Van Dusen’s Sketchbook Page of a Painted Lady Butterfly

If you’d like to learn about nature drawing, including drawing butterflies, enjoy this wonderful blog post by acclaimed artist Barry Van Dusen about Getting Started with Nature Journaling. Below is a sketch of painted lady butterflies.

Barry Van Dusen’s Sketchbook Page of a Monarch Butterfly

During his artist in residence, Barry Van Dusen visit …. and closely observed Monarch Butterflies. Here is an image of his sketchbook page from that day.

“On one liatris plant, I count eight Monarch butterflies – a phenomenal concentration of these handsome migratory insects, whose populations have been down in recent years. There’s just time enough to do some sketches before I leave to catch the ferry at Vineyard Haven.”
~ Barry Van Dusen in Martha’s Vineyard

Nature Notes: May 7, 2020

Posted on May 7, 2020 by Sean K.

This blog post complements our weekly virtual lecture called Nature Notes for the residents of Orchard Cove. To learn more about our weekly virtual illustrated lecture series called nature notes, click here.

Support our Bird-A-Thon and Support Our Work at the Museum

Bird-a-Thon is an annual state-wide fundraising and birding event for Mass Audubon that began in 1983. Each spring birders from all over the state raise money to protect the nature of Massachusetts and count as many bird species as they can during a 24-hour period in mid-May. During this challenging time, all the money raised will go directly to supporting our work at the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon.

Check out Sean Kent’s Bird-A-Thon Page.

Check out Milly the Raccoon’s Bird-A-Thon Page and Blog.

Learn more about Bird Migration

Bird migration is in full swing and many new migrants have been arriving over the past week.

Yellow Warbler photographed on May 3, 2020 in Easton, Massachusetts

Migration Forecasting from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Click here to see amazing migration maps and forecasts at BirdCast
Click here to see the bird migration forecast for May 2020

Study of a Prairie Warbler by Barry Van Dusen

Weather Radar showing Bird Migration over the Florida Keys from February 17, 2020

The Yellow and Green hues represent bird migration being picked up on weather radar.

Annual nocturnal migration patterns from 1995 to 2018

Annual nocturnal migration phenology measured by weather surveillance radar from 1995 to 2018. Measures show the aggregate behavior of hundreds of species.

Click here to see these incredible resources at Colorado State University’s AeroEco Lab that studies Bird Migration, Light Pollution, and more.

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Acting Like a Scientist: Rachel Carson and Creating a Nature Journal

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Sean K.

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This blog post corresponds with a program for children and their caregivers by the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon about Rachel Carson, searching for the signs of Spring, and creating a nature journal to record your observations, questions, drawings, and thoughts.

Nature Story Time: Spring after Spring

How can you observe spring like Rachel Carson?

Create a nature journal and explore your neighborhood
- Draw leaves, seedlings, flowers, insects, landscapes, branches, and anything that you like in nature
- Write down or draw how certain things in nature make you feel
- Write down other observations, questions, and other notes

Create Your Own Nature Journal and
Observe the Natural World like Rachel Carson

Enjoy the following video created and produced by Dan Boudreau, a Terracorp member serving at MABA as a youth education coordinator.

Trail Camera Scavenger Hunt

Check out our fun Trail Camera Scavenger Hunt on the Taking Flight Blog.

Trail Camera Video from a vernal pool at the Museum of American Bird Art

Rachel Carson and Silent Spring

Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, was instrumental with saving many species of animals, especially birds. Here is a blog post about one of the birds that was saved from extinction, the Osprey.

Who doesn’t love dancing birds!!!
This Bird of Paradise also cleans his room too!

Mass Audubon’s Bird of the Day Videos

Discover a different bird species each day in this video series with Joan Walsh from our Conservation Science team!

American Robin

Northern Cardinal

Hear and learn more about a Cardinal Singing

Macaulay Library Curator, Greg Budney, talks about the brilliant song of the Northern Cardinal.
From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Learn more at: https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/built-to-sing-the-syrinx-of-the-northern-cardinal/

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Nature in a Minute: Trail Camera Scavenger Hunt

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Sean K.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be starting an exciting new activity for kids, families, and all our readers here on the Taking Flight blog: a trail camera scavenger hunt! Every few days, we’ll post videos from cameras around our sanctuary. You’ll get to see cool, close-up views of animals that you might not get to see in person. We might even see some videos of animals that only come out at night! The cameras will be by the vernal pool, our bird feeders, and other places around the sanctuary. Watch closely to find out how many of these things you can see!