The date of July 17, 1918 was marked in the calendar of Bostonians as the fifth anniversary of the Brookline Bird Club. There was a birthday party at “Lake Walden” to celebrate the event, and attendees were encouraged to “Take Luncheon”!

Sadly, the BBC’s birthday party ended up not being the major news from that year. As we now take action to protect ourselves from Covid–19, there are many reminders in our current news of the pandemic that started in 1918. But it was also an interesting time for our fledgling bird club. The BBC has a rich archive of club records, much of which was recently scanned into electronic format. If you’re stuck inside, want to see what life was like for the club over 100 years ago, take a look at the club bulletins (blue book) from 1918. (Click on the image to the right.)

Highlights include a lecture given on March 25, 1918 by the State Ornithologist, Edward Howe Forbush, which was illustrated with “colored lantern slides”. Like most club meetings, this was held in the public library in Brookline. And who wouldn’t want to be a fly on the wall of the meeting later that year, on December 3, when Dr. Eugene W. Afford gave “whistling imitations of Notes and Songs of our Common Birds”.

Perhaps surprisingly, there were no trips to Mt Auburn Cemetery in 1918, a staple of our modern spring schedule. According to club historian John Nelson, Mt Auburn doesn’t appear in his archival notes until after the war, when a Chuck-will’s-widow was recorded on a club trip there in 1952.

On a larger scale, 1918 was important for conservation as the year of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Signed by the United States (under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson) and Great Britain (on behalf of Canada), the law prohibited (with some exceptions granted by federal permit) the hunting and killing of birds. We are indebted to that act for the rich avifauna that we can still enjoy today.

Stay healthy during this time. And, if you’re interested, do to take a minute to read through the archive from 1918 to see where the club was leading walks, and how much a return on the trolley would have cost you to get there.

Click on the image above to view the 1918 club bulletin.

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Member Webinar September 16: Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep with Roger Pasquier

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Upcoming Field Trips

The Quiet Beauty of Birding at Winthrop Beach

Winthrop - DCR Winthrop Beach Reservation - Sturgis St 59 Winthrop Shore Drive, Winthrop, MA, United States

Join DCR park staff for a leisurely walk across sandy stretches and areas of loose rocks at this Massachusetts State Reservation, a well-known hot spot for birdwatching. We'll be on the lookout for shorebirds, waterbirds, and gulls. Binoculars are recommended. Suitable for adults and children ages 8 and up (with an accompanying adult). Sponsored by [...]

Fruitlands Museum, Harvard

Harvard - Fruitlands Museum 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard, MA, United States

All the nesting birds will still be around, with good views of young out of the nest being fed by parents: Veery, Indigo Bunting, Catbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Tree Swallow, Bobolink, Wood Thrush, Baltimore Oriole, and Warblers. Expect to walk about 2 miles on trails through meadow and woods with some steep sections. Heavy rain cancels [...]

Birch Hill WMA

Royalston - Birch Hill WMA Royalston, MA, United States

Includes three to five miles of walking relatively flat terrain. Might include some bushwacking. Driving on hard packed dirt roads. Co-sponsored with the Athol Bird & Nature Club.

Southwick WMA

Southwick WMA - Suffield WMA entrance Point Grove Road, Suffield, CT, United States

We will hike the fields focusing on grassland breeders, particularly Eastern Meadowlark and Grasshopper Sparrow.

Millennium Park

Boston - Millennium Park Canoe Launch 300 Gardner Street, Boston, MA, United States

Join the Brookline Bird Club in collaboration with Boston Nature Center to look for birds in a unique urban habitat that often draws numerous uncommon and rare birds.Target birds include bobolinks, egrets, flycatchers, grosbeaks, herons, owls, rails, ravens, sandpipers, swallows & swifts, vultures, warblers, and woodpeckers. Birders of all levels will enjoy this trip. The [...]

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