Monthly Archives: August 2013

Return of the Eagles

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Hillary T.

For the first time that we can recall, a pair of bald eagles has successfully bred at a Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuary (Arcadia in Easthampton and Northampton).

This is no small feat and needless to say, we were all very excited. But to really appreciate what a marvel this is, you need to look at the rise and fall and rise again of the bald eagle.

A Look Back
Revered by Native Americans and considered a symbol of strength, courage, and freedom to the European settlers, the bald eagle became a powerful icon of the United States. Yet in the 1950s and 1960s something alarming happened. The bald eagle population suffered dramatic declines, which were linked to the introduction of the pesticide DDT.

Once DDT was banned in the 70s, the bald eagle population began to slowly come back. Here in Massachusetts, though, a breeding bald eagle was a rare occurrence. Prior to 1989, the last presumed nesting of this species was at the beginning of the century.

In 1982, however, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife teamed with Mass Audubon to launch a project to restore the bald eagle as a breeding bird in the Commonwealth. In 1989, two pairs of eagles successfully reared young at Quabbin.

In the years that followed, the number of nesting eagles has increased and spread across the state. In 2010, 17 bald eagle nests in Massachusetts produced a total of 28 chicks who survived the nestling stage and fledged.

The Present
In 2012, a pair of bald eagles built a nest and produced two eggs at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. Sadly one egg never hatched and the other nestling didn’t survive. This year, though, we had a much happier ending. Two eaglets successfully hatched, were reared, and most recently fledged the nest.

Keeping a close eye: Mary Shanley-Koeber, sanctuary director at Arcadia. Mary, who has been with Mass Audubon for 30 years (26 years as sanctuary director), is retiring this fall and she couldn’t have asked for a better send off.

View a photo slideshow of this year’s eagles and share your eagle sightings and experiences in the comments!

One Night Only: The Art of the Birds

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Hillary T.

Art and bird lovers take note: On September 19 at the Massachusetts Archives’ Commonwealth Museum in Boston, Mass Audubon will present “The Art of Birds,” a rare, one-night exhibition displaying 28 original watercolors by Louis Agassiz Fuertes.

These pieces, commissioned for Edward H. Forbush’s Birds of Massachusetts (and Other New England States) in 1925, have not been seen by the public for more than 30 years. Members of Mass Audubon’s Bird Conservation program will present the paintings and share the stories of the birds shown.

About the Artist
Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927), whose skill at depicting birdlife was arguably greater even than that of John James Audubon, was meticulously accurate. His bird portraits convey a sense of the living bird by showing them in active poses within appropriate habitats. He set a new standard for bird illustration that had a profound influence on the great bird artists that succeeded him such as George Miksch Sutton and Roger Tory Peterson.

Connecting Art, Birds, and Conservation
Protecting birds for future generations was central to the founding ethos of Mass Audubon back in 1896, and many of our programs today carry on that heritage. From its earliest years, Mass Audubon used the power of art to promote conservation through the publication of numerous books, pamphlets, periodicals and posters. In fact, Forbush, who hired Fuertes, was one of the founding members of Mass Audubon and our president for 12 years.

Our continuing belief in the power of art to enable people to see the value in protecting the natural world is now most prominently on display at our Museum of American Bird Art (MABA) in Canton.

Mass Audubon’s Bird Conservation department is on the forefront of understanding the ever-changing patterns of bird populations, and what these changes may mean for the nature of Massachusetts.

Proceeds from the exhibit will help support Mass Audubon’s Bird Conservation program as well as the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon.