Author Archives: Ryan D.

About Ryan D.

Where: Mass Audubon Headquarters, Lincoln | Who: A Vermont ex-pat, lifelong skier, musician, photographer, motorcycle enthusiast, budding native plant gardener, and pun master | Favorite part of the job: Working with wonderful colleagues to make nature accessible to everyone

Monarch Chrysalis © Oscar Esposito

Take 5: August Facebook Favorites

Over the course of the summer, we’ve been sharing photos from among the previous month’s entries to our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors photo contest on Facebook and asking our followers, “Which one is your favorite?”

This is just a fun way of sharing some of the amazing entries and doesn’t have to do with the official judging process, but you can vote for your favorite by “liking” it or commenting on Facebook. Not a Facebook user? Let us know your top pick in the comments below.

And there’s still time to enter the contest with your own beautiful nature photography—the deadline is September 30, so don’t delay!

Monarch Chrysalis © Oscar Esposito
Monarch Chrysalis © Oscar Esposito
Barred Owl © Van Lam
Barred Owl © Van Lam
Halloween Pennant © Bart Devine
Halloween Pennant © Bart Devine
Peregrine Falcon © Diane Lomba
Peregrine Falcon © Diane Lomba
River Otter © Bill Marquardt
River Otter © Bill Marquardt
Red Maple leaves turning orange © Renee Sack

Take 5: The Nature of Fall

September is here and autumn is rolling in! The leaves are just beginning to change—especially the earliest species to lose its summer green hue, the red maple—and we are looking forward to the change of season with a fun lineup of fall-focused online programs.

Learn how to identify hawks in flight just in time for the height of fall hawk migration, dive deeper into the unique nature of fall, take your feeder watching and backyard birding to the next level with the beginner birdwatching series, and more. Our expert instructors and online platform make learning about autumn more accessible than ever!

And don’t forget—the 2021 Picture This: Your Great Outdoors photo contest closes on September 30, just a few short weeks away, so submit your beautiful nature photography today. Here are five photos submitted to the contest in past years, highlighting the awesome nature of autumn.

Red-tailed Hawk in fall © David Morris
Red-tailed Hawk in fall © David Morris
Red Maple leaves turning orange © Renee Sack
Red Maple leaves turning orange © Renee Sack
Canada Geese flying south in a V formation © Steve Nikola
Canada Geese flying south in a V formation © Steve Nikola
Eastern Gray Squirrel (black morph) gathering acorns © Claudia Carpinone
Eastern Gray Squirrel (black morph) gathering acorns © Claudia Carpinone
Sandhill Crane in Hanson, MA © Paul McCarthy
Sandhill Crane in Hanson, MA © Paul McCarthy