February 7 BBC Winter Meeting – Social Hour, Used Book Sale & Norman Smith!
Mark your calendar for Saturday, February 7 at 2PM for the BBC’s annual in-person Winter Meeting featuring a social hour with refreshments, our popular used bird book sale table, and our speaker Norman Smith, Director of the Snowy Owl Project. The Winter Meeting is free and open to all. There is plenty of free parking. Please note that this event will be in person only, with no Zoom link.
We will meet up once again at the John Glenn Middle School in Bedford, MA at 99 McMahon Rd. This year we are trying something new. Our winter meeting will take place during the afternoon to make the event more family friendly and make driving there and back easier on our members. The afternoon includes:
- A social hour with refreshments will precede the meeting from 2PM to 3PM.
- We will again host our popular used book sale table where you can sell your unwanted books about birds, birding, and other natural history topics.
- For the first time we will have a family table with displays and activities of interest to kids.
- Our program, including speaker Norman Smith, will start at 3PM. The program will include presentations about the BBC School Book Fund and by the 2025 winners of the Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship to National Audubon’s Hog Island Camp.
The Used Book Sale
Once again we will offer a selection of used books about birds, birding, and other natural history topics for sale. This activity proved very popular last year. Please bring your gently used but unwanted books to donate to the sale table. All proceeds will go to Manomet Conservation Sciences to help support research on the Tawny-Throated Dotterel in Peru. A team of researchers there is in need of optical equipment to support field work on this colorful shorebird.
If you would like to donate books please plan to arrive between 1:30 and 2PM.
The Program
We hope to start our program with presentations by our 2025 Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship winners and a few words about the BBC’s School Book & Optics Fund.
Our main speaker will be Norman Smith. Norman is a self-taught naturalist who has worked for the Massachusetts Audubon Society since 1974. He recently retired as Director of Blue Hills Trailside Museum and Norman Smith Environmental Education Center in Milton, Massachusetts where he worked for 50+ years. He continues in a part time role to continue his research on raptors at The Snowy Owl Project and elsewhere. Learn more about Norman’s work with Snowy Owls in this short, award winning video.
Since 1981, Norman Smith has spent countless days and nights, in every imaginable weather condition, observing, capturing, banding and relocating Snowy Owls at Logan International Airport. Data has been collected on roosting, hunting and behavior while on their wintering grounds. Since 2000 satellite transmitters have been attached to owls to learn more about their movements. Find out what has been learned to date, what questions remain and how this project developed to include research on Saw-whet Owls. His mission is to use the information gathered from his research to stimulate a passion in everyone he meets to help us better understand, appreciate and care for this world in which we live.
Optional Registration
As we all know February weather in New England can be an… adventure. Make sure you get up to date info on weather related changes by registering in advance. Registering is completely voluntary and will help both us and you plan for the event. Thanks!
For More Information
Please email us at president@brooklinebirdclub.org with any questions.
Pelagic Webinar – How do you protect the invisible?
How do you protect the invisible? Conservation challenges and opportunities for Marine Birds For most people, seabirds are out of sight and out of mind, while seabird populations have dropped a staggering 70 percent globally
Introduction to the New England Shorebird Guide
Introduction to the New England Shorebird Guide For over 50 years, Soheil Zendeh has been monitoring shorebirds populations in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Over the past 35 years there have been drastic drops in most shorebird
2026 Daytime Pelagic and Marsh Cruise Program
2026 Daytime Pelagic and Marsh Cruise Program Join us on summer daytime pelagic trips and marsh cruises this summer. Note that these popular trips regularly sell out. Once sold out we will keep a waitlist
Bring Back Bobolinks!
Bring Back Bobolinks! This year the BBC is introducing new Endangered Species Program. Each year we plan to focus on a single bird species facing serious threats in Massachusetts and elsewhere. With this effort we
Trip to New Hampshire Lake Umbagog Region
Trip to New Hampshire Lake Umbagog Region During early June two groups of BBC birders traveled around the Errol, NH area in search of nesting neotropical migrants, boreal species and whatever else we could find
Hydrographer Canyon Overnight Pelagic Registration
Hydrographer Canyon Overnight Pelagic Registration The Brookline Bird Club's 2026 overnight pelagic trips to the edge of the continental shelf at Hydrographer Canyon are now open for registration! About the Trip Join the BBC on
Pelagic Webinar – How do you protect the invisible?
How do you protect the invisible? Conservation challenges and opportunities for Marine Birds For most people, seabirds are out of sight and out of mind, while seabird populations have dropped a staggering 70 percent globally
Introduction to the New England Shorebird Guide
Introduction to the New England Shorebird Guide For over 50 years, Soheil Zendeh has been monitoring shorebirds populations in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Over the past 35 years there have been drastic drops in most shorebird
2026 Daytime Pelagic and Marsh Cruise Program
2026 Daytime Pelagic and Marsh Cruise Program Join us on summer daytime pelagic trips and marsh cruises this summer. Note that these popular trips regularly sell out. Once sold out we will keep a waitlist
Bring Back Bobolinks!
Bring Back Bobolinks! This year the BBC is introducing new Endangered Species Program. Each year we plan to focus on a single bird species facing serious threats in Massachusetts and elsewhere. With this effort we
Trip to New Hampshire Lake Umbagog Region
Trip to New Hampshire Lake Umbagog Region During early June two groups of BBC birders traveled around the Errol, NH area in search of nesting neotropical migrants, boreal species and whatever else we could find
Hydrographer Canyon Overnight Pelagic Registration
Hydrographer Canyon Overnight Pelagic Registration The Brookline Bird Club's 2026 overnight pelagic trips to the edge of the continental shelf at Hydrographer Canyon are now open for registration! About the Trip Join the BBC on
Pelagic Webinar – How do you protect the invisible?
How do you protect the invisible? Conservation challenges and opportunities for Marine Birds For most people, seabirds are out of sight and out of mind, while seabird populations have dropped a staggering 70 percent globally
Introduction to the New England Shorebird Guide
Introduction to the New England Shorebird Guide For over 50 years, Soheil Zendeh has been monitoring shorebirds populations in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Over the past 35 years there have been drastic drops in most shorebird
2026 Daytime Pelagic and Marsh Cruise Program
2026 Daytime Pelagic and Marsh Cruise Program Join us on summer daytime pelagic trips and marsh cruises this summer. Note that these popular trips regularly sell out. Once sold out we will keep a waitlist
Bring Back Bobolinks!
Bring Back Bobolinks! This year the BBC is introducing new Endangered Species Program. Each year we plan to focus on a single bird species facing serious threats in Massachusetts and elsewhere. With this effort we
Trip to New Hampshire Lake Umbagog Region
Trip to New Hampshire Lake Umbagog Region During early June two groups of BBC birders traveled around the Errol, NH area in search of nesting neotropical migrants, boreal species and whatever else we could find
Hydrographer Canyon Overnight Pelagic Registration
Hydrographer Canyon Overnight Pelagic Registration The Brookline Bird Club's 2026 overnight pelagic trips to the edge of the continental shelf at Hydrographer Canyon are now open for registration! About the Trip Join the BBC on
News Categories
Upcoming Field Trips
Field Trips / Events
-
-
Forest Beach Conservation Area
Chatham - Forest Beach 375-331 Forest Beach Rd, South Chatham, MA, United StatesCo-sponored with Cape Cod Bird Club. We’ll walk the marsh trail to where it meets Mill Creek and return via the beach, less than a mile round trip. We’ll then head towards the overlook where we’ll likely view herons, egrets, shorebirds, passerines, gulls, osprey and Northern Harrier. This is another area with mixed habitat, a
-
Squantum – Quincy
Quincy - Squantum - Moswetuset Hummock Quincy, MA, United StatesWe'll check the marshes and the mudflats in Squantum for shorebirds, starting at Moswetuset Hummock and visiting other spots nearby. We'll try checking the high tide roosts for shorebirds as well. Be prepared for the possibility of biting insects. Cosponsored with South Shore Bird Club.
-
Parker River Marsh Cruise
Newburyport - Yankee Clipper Tours Waterfront Promenade Park, 36 Merrimac Street, Newburyport, MA, United StatesExplore Parker River National Wildlife Refuge from a new perspective on a cruise through the Parker River marshes! Join us on the Yankee Clipper docked in Newburyport Harbor for a leisurely cruise through the Refuge. Enjoy close views of shorebirds, gulls, terns, and Saltmarsh Sparrows on this tour. Group discount tickets are available by registering
-
Millennium Park
Boston - Millennium Park Canoe Launch 300 Gardner Street, Boston, MA, United StatesJoint with Mass Audubon BNC. Join us to observe resident birds and fall migrants in a unique urban habitat that is a favorite for many bird species, including uncommon and rare birds. Birders of all levels will enjoy this walk. The trails are (generally) flat though there are some hills. A water bottle, water proof
-
Shorebirds at Winthrop Beach with Soheil Zendeh
Winthrop - DCR Winthrop Beach Reservation - Sturgis St 59 Winthrop Shore Drive, Winthrop, MA, United StatesWe are happy to offer this shorebirding field trip at Winthrop Beach led by Soheil Zendeh. Shorebirding beginners welcome. We meet at the corner of Winthrop Shore Drive and Sturgis St in Winthrop. A scope will probably be useful if you have one. Definitely bring binoculars. Meeting at 9 am, timed with the tide. Soheil