Tag Archives: birding

Birding Challenges to Tackle this Winter

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Kelly R.

There are joys that can be found close to home and like many of us, watching birds is at the top of our list. You don’t have to travel far to see frolicking chickadees or that elusive Fox Sparrow. However, if you’re looking to up-your-game and give yourself a fun challenge, we recommend participating in these community science birding projects. FeederWatch from the Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology, and the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count will motivate your birding and help scientists gather important population data.

FeederWatch

FeederWatch, along with Cornell’s NestWatch and eBird programs, has built an immense data bank of information about bird populations, migratory patterns, and breeding locations…all supplied by bird watchers like you!

It’s easy to get involved: register at the FeederWatch website and put out seed, then on your own schedule, record the number of each species you see and enter your data. Your findings, combined with those of thousands of other participants, provide ornithologists with a big picture view of winter birds across the country. How cool is that? Plus, it is a family-friendly activity that children can help with and be a part of.

Need to upgrade your feeder set-up? Browse Mass Audubon Shop feeders to make sure you’re ready to count!

Christmas Bird Count

For a bigger challenge, you can join the nation’s longest-running community science bird project for its 121st year: National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. Organizers assign birders to specific areas within predetermined 15-mile diameter circles, each of which is assigned a name. For example, Pam Sowizral, Mass Audubon Metro West’s Volunteer Coordinator and birding program leader, is birding this year as part of the Concord Circle.

The challenge takes place on one day for birders to venture out and record species and their numbers. Depending on the circle area, a date will be chosen between December 14 and January 5 so sign-up soon. During that 24 hour period, you can bird as much as you’d like! Some folks are out before first light to find owls then bird right through until evening, and others spend several hours giving their section a good comb through. How can you cover the most birds in your area?

Happy Winter Birding

By joining FeederWatch or the Christmas Bird Count you get the chance to do take part in a beloved hobby, while providing important scientific data – it is a win-win situation you can feel good about! Happy Birding!

May-be Our Favorite Month!

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Kelly R.

Drumlin Farm in May is filled with blooming flowers, warmer weather, and the laughs of visiting school children. If you’re looking for ways to get out of the house and reconnect with the outdoors after a long winter, you’ve come to the right place! We’re looking forward to…

Camp Registration – The end of school is fast approaching! Summer Camp is great for keeping kids physically active while learning in the off season, and having fun outdoors! Check out our offsite camps in Sudbury where kids can explore Assabet River ecology by canoe and learn classic camp activities like archery.
Campers exploring Assabet River by canoe
Spring CSA Beginning – Wednesday, May 16th marks the first day for Spring CSA Pick Ups 12-6 pm. Shareholders will receive tender greens, head lettuces, herbs, scallions, salad radishes, carrots, sweet salad turnips, and (weather permitting) sugar snap peas, strawberries, and beets along with tips, recipes, and updates from our farmers themselves. A limited number of shareholder spots are still available, so if you’re interested and haven’t registered yet, you can do so today.
Picking crops during the first week of last year’s Spring CSA.
Author Event: Do Doodlebugs Doodle? by Corinne Demas & Artemis Roehrig – On Saturday, May 5th at 10:30 am, this mother-daughter author team will be at the Audubon Shop signing copies of their two humorous question and answer books about insects, Do Doodlebugs Doodle? and Does A Fiddler Crab Fiddle? Afterwards, we’ll enjoy visitor education insect programs at 11:30 and 12:30 to get hands on with the lessons learned in this story.
Union Square Farmer’s Market – Drumlin Farm will be at the outdoor Union Square Farmer’s Market starting Saturday, May 12. Stop by any time between 9 am and 1 pm to say hello! We’ll have farm-fresh veggies and viola plants for sale.
Bird-a-Thon – It’s time to reclaim our winning title at this year’s statewide Bird-a-thon! Bird-a-thon, Mass Audubon’s largest fundraiser, brings together supporters from across the state to raise essential funds for nature conservation, education, and advocacy while competing in an exciting birding competition. Adults can join the Drumlin Farm team and participate at Mount Auburn Cemetery and Teens Birders can join in the fun at Drumlin Farm!
Wilson’s Warbler ©Rosemary Mosco
Hidden Treasures Program sponsored by the National Heritage – Join a Drumlin Farm Teacher Naturalist Saturday, May 19^th 10:0-11:30 am to learn about why habitats are so important to local animals. Meet a couple of our resident songbirds then take a walk out to our fields to discover what Drumlin is doing to manage our habitats for farming as well as native animals.
Learn about the conservation work behind managing habitats for bobolinks and farmers. ©Phil Doyle
Programs for Adults and Families – As always, Drumlin Farm is jam packed with special programming for adults, children, and families. Little ones can learn about tadpoles, pigs, bugs, and more while adults can take one of our many birding programs or take a tasty nature walk learning about edible plants. The opportunities to engage with the outdoor world are always new and eye-opening.

Fun in February

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Kelly R.

It’s the shortest month of the year but also one of the busiest! Before we’re looking back from March 1st, asking where the month just went and when it’ll warm up, take some time to check out all that’s going on at Drumlin.

See Ms. G’s Forecast on Groundhog Day – Friday February 2 at 10:00 am

Will we have 6 more weeks of winter or an early spring? Find out from the Official Groundhog of Massachusetts: Drumlin Farm’s Ms. G! After her annual forecast, explore the sanctuary for new activities and treats.

Move over Punxsutawney Phil, here comes Ms. G!

Go Birding In and Out of State

Need to get away? This month, we have two out of state birding trips that are sure to challenge your birding skills. Looking to stay local? Sign up for one of our birding programs that focuses on one of our favorite types of birds – raptors.

Preschool Open House – Saturday February 3 at 10:00 am

We can’t wait to learn with you! Give your child a fun, unique, and adventurous learning experience that will last a lifetime at Drumlin Farm Preschool. You’re invited to tour the sanctuary, meet staff, and learn more about our program at this upcoming open house.

Wonders of Wool: Needle Felting – Sunday, February 4 at 1:00 pm

Calling all crafters! Needle felting is a great way to relieve stress and create something from the heart. Take up this easy to learn, Pinterest-worthy, hobby perfect for practicing during the winter.

Doe – a deer – a needle felt deer!

Stew & Brew: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry – Friday, February 9 at 6:30 pm

Warm stew and cold brew, what could be better? Eat, drink, and be merry with stews made from local, seasonal ingredients, including Drumlin Farm-raised meats and veggies. Wash it down with a variety of beers from local breweries including Jack’s Abby, Rapscillion, and Cambridge Brewing Company.

Chickadee Birders: Birding 101 – Sunday, February 11 at 1:00 pm

Share your favorite hobby with your growing chickadees. Children ages 7-11, accompanied by an adult, are invited to learn the basics of birding and identifying. Fair warning, though, they may fall in love with it too!

Don’t Forget! Valentine’s Day is February 14

Love is in the air! Treat the special person in your life to a unique date at Drumlin Farm. Walk the trails hand in hand and enjoy the beautiful vistas from the top of the Drumlin, overlooking the expansive Boyce Field. Who knew farms could be so romantic?

Sign up for the Spring, Summer & Fall CSA – Early bird registration ends February 9th

Receive delicious, fresh, seasonal produce from our CSAs. You’ll thank yourself for signing up early when enjoying these fresh ingredients all year round.

Salads in the making

Get a Little Wild with Wild by the Fire: Sleepy Snakes– Friday, February 16 at 10:00 am

Our local reptiles have been sleeping, but a warm day in February might wake up a snake! We’ll learn how to slither and slide while we listen to sagas of serpents. We’ll also create a snake of our own to take home.

Three Day Weekend Celebration

President’s Day is Monday February 19th. At a loss for what to do with the kids on this free Monday? A trip to visit the animals is sure to excite them while keeping their brains engaged and spending important time outdoors.

Take a February Vacation – Monday February 19 to Friday February 23

Make February Vacation Week a real vacation with outdoor fun activities! With single-day and full-week options, we’re busy with sanctuary explorations, wildlife visits, and educational crafts and activities all week long.

Beekeeping for Beginners – Tuesdays, February 27 to March 27 at 7:00 pm

What’s the buzz? Take action in your life to personally support the hard working pollinators that make so much of our lives possible. Learn the basics of backyard beekeeping and look at honey in a whole new way.

Drumlin Farm Nesting Boxes: Spring Update

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Staff

Written by Drumlin Farm intern Elizabeth R., a high school senior learning about what makes our wildlife sanctuary tick!

eggs_blog

It’s nesting season here at the farm! We have two types of nesting boxes: one made from PVC pipe and the other from wood. Trained bird monitors have been checking the boxes and seeing the nests coming along wonderfully.*

Nesting right now, we have the tree swallow in the PVC boxes—beautiful birds with green plumage that are infamous for dive bombing those that pass by (I experienced this first-hand!)! We also have eastern bluebirds nesting—their vibrant blue-green eggs make them easy to spot in the nests.

Bird boxes 2016 PS 007

Speaking of birding, yes, you guessed it—the annual Mass Audubon Bird-a-thon is coming up this weekend! Help Drumlin Farm’s team win the very prestigious title of “most species spotted in 24 hours” among Mass Audubon sanctuaries for the 11^th year in a row! Support Drumlin Farm and our birders by donating here! Ready. Set. Bird!

*Visitors shouldn’t approach the boxes, as it could be harmful for the baby birds if their nests are disrupted.

Drumlin Farm Friday to Friday: April 15–22

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Staff

butterfly

Remember: Rainy days are a small price to pay for the incoming blooms, bird songs, and sunny skies of a beautiful New England spring.

Take a look at our program catalog for a full list of all of our springtime classes.

Here’s what’s coming up:

Friday, April 15

Barnyard Bricks
3:30–5 pm | Ages 4–11
Try a new twist on nature play using LEGO bricks! We’ll warm up with some design challenges to spark our creativity, then head outside to gain inspiration from nature, studying the habitats of Drumlin Farm through the eyes of an engineer.

Saturday, April 16

Birding Basics: Field Trip
8 am–noon | Adults
This field trip will be paced so that everyone has plenty of time to see the birds and to work through the identification process. This is a fantastic introduction to all of our spring birding programs!

Naturalist Walk
1–3 pm | Adults
We’ll cover habitats across the sanctuary from wetlands to uplands as we look for amphibians, reptiles, mammals, flowering plants, trees, shrubs, lichens, fungi, insects, and birds.

Sourdough Breadmaking
1–4 pm | Adults
Learn the age old tradition of sourdough bread making in this hands-on workshop. Practice each step of the bread making process as we mix, knead, and shape bakery-quality loaves to taste and take home.

Wednesday, April 20

Birding by Ear (Workshop)
7–9 pm | Adults
Spring migrants and returning breeders establishing territories offer wonderful opportunities for a tremendous variety of sounds to learn and practice.

And the 2015 Bird-a-thon Winner is . . . Drumlin Farm!

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Heather

Post by Drumlin Farm Volunteer Coordinator Pam Sowizral

The tallies are in: This year Drumlin Farm clinched its eleventh consecutive Bird-a-thon win, with our dedicated team of birders spotting a total of 221 species within 24 hours! (This, despite the fact that a warm-weather front had pushed migrants northward toward their summer breeding habitats in northern New England and Canada just prior to the annual fundraising event.)

Orchard Oriole by Henry Mauer

As competing teams assembled across the state, our team of 50 birders spread out to cover a variety of habitats—from the tree-covered hilltops of the Berkshires to the sandy beaches of

Martha’s Vineyard and all points in between. After 24 hours of exhaustive searching, Drumlin Farm team captains Kathy Seymour and Strickland Wheelock spent the evening gathering field reports.

Good identification skills, combined with being in the right place at the right time, helped our birders find spring rarities such as white-faced ibis, little blue heron, harlequin duck, Manx shearwater, northern goshawk, glaucous gull, black tern, black skimmer, common murre, red knot, warblers (including orange-crowned, cerulean, hooded, and Cape May), and vesper and Lincoln’s sparrows.

In addition to Drumlin Farm, several sanctuaries fielded excellent teams and the competition was fierce: Moose Hill in Sharon came in a (very) close second with a total of 220 species spotted, followed by Ipswich River in Topsfield, who counted 217. Congratulations to our fellow sanctuaries and their amazing supporters!

Piping Plover by Henry Mauer

All told, Drumlin Farm birders raised $50,000 to support our sanctuary’s programs and projects. We are heartened by the support we received and wish to thank all birders and donors involved in making this another successful Bird-a-thon for Mass Audubon!

To learn more about birds and birding programs, sign up to receive two of our popular e-newsletters: Drumlin Farm’s Birders Connection and Mass Audubon’s The Warbler. Or, head on over to the Birds & Birding section of our website.