It’s hard to believe that Ida Giriunas, well known Massachusetts birder and long-time director of the Brookline Bird Club (BBC), passed away two years ago on August 20.  We wanted to update friends and the birding community on the status  of the expansion of the Mass Audubon Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary’s bird habitat garden area in her name, funded by your generous contributions.  In spite of the uncertainty created by the pandemic for the last year and a half,  IRWS has been busy adding to the gardens and they are filling out beautifully.  A sanctuary volunteer is in the process of  creating a guide to the plants including their names and benefits to the birds. Additional plants will be added this fall, and a location for a plaque will be evaluated.  While we hoped to have a formal dedication, that is on hold till the current public health situation is resolved to satisfactory levels of safety for MAS staff and visitors.  Please stop by to see the gardens! The photos don’t do it justice.  But remember to go online beforehand and reserve a parking spot.

The BBC is again selling the Federal Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp.  We are doing this in support of the National Wildlife Refuge System and to support conservation of federal lands. Ninety-eight cents of every Stamp dollar goes to land acquisition from willing sellers through purchase or easements.  The new Stamp is good from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.
You can purchase a stamp directly from the BBC: Duck Stamps – Brookline Bird Club
You can also purchase stamps at any refuge, or through the American Birding Association.  Get your Stamp now and go visit  any one of the 567 National Wildlife Refuges open to the public !

The BBC, through our Conservation and Education Committee, is pleased to donate $250 to Wildlands Trust, a regional land trust working to conserve native habitats and lands of high ecological value in Southeastern Massachusetts. As part of a unified effort by the Association of Mass Bird Clubs, the BBC recently appealed to Wildlands Trust to help prevent development at Cumberland Farms, in Middleborough and Halifax. one of the prime grassland properties in our state. The Trust has long been working to conserve habitat at Cumberland Farms, and in the face of an upcoming land auction, it is now partnering with other conservation groups, as well as Mass Fish and Wildlife, to protect Cumberland Farms in the future. President Karen Gray graciously thanked the BBC for our donation, while donation director Sue Chamberlain noted that the “BBC was instrumental in moving the protection of this valuable habitat forward.” This is a worthy organization, and we hope that individual BBC members will consider donations to Wildlands Trust.

May 30-June 5

Organized by The BlackAFInSTEM Collective – a collective that “seeks to support, uplift, and amplify Black Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics professionals in natural resources and the environment through professional development, career connection, and community engagement.”

EVENTS IN YOUR AREA

National Audubon events
https://www.audubon.org/black-birders-week

Mass Audubon events
massaudubon.org/yourgreatoutdoors/black-birders-week-is-back/

Free speakers series
https://www.onbelongingoutdoors.org/

Black-led organizations to consider supporting
Outdoor Afro https://outdoorafro.com/
Black and Latinx Birder’s Fund https://linkin.bio/birdersfund
Backyard Basecamp https://backyardbasecamp.org/
Black Kids adventures https://www.blackadventurecrew.com/

National Audubon cancelled all its 2020 summer camps at Hog Island in Maine, but the BBC is delighted to announce that our 2020 scholarship recipients, May Adams of Wales, MA and Jackson Frost of Scituate, MA, will be attending a new National Audubon program, “Monhegan and Hog Island Birding for Teens,” on July 18-23, 2021. May and Jackson are excited about the program and grateful for the generous support of BBC members. The BBC will not be able to offer new scholarship opportunities in 2021, but we hope to offer two scholarships to Hog Island camps in 2022. Since we initiated our scholarships in 2015 to nurture interest in bird study and conservation, the BBC has awarded full scholarships to eleven excellent young birders. The Bill Drummond Young Birder’s Scholarships, named to memorialize one of our club’s most distinguished leaders, are supported entirely by member donations. BBC members can make a donation of any amount on the Join/Renew section of the BBC website.

With reports of too close encounters with owls, it’s time to check in and think about birding ethics.

It is NEVER okay to approach roosting owls closely.

The Brookline Bird Club’s code of Ethics says this – “Today’s birdwatchers are a powerful force for nature conservation. The number of humans interested in birds rises continually, and it is vital that we take seriously our responsibility to avoid any harm to birds or the environment on which they depend.”

Birds lead stressful lives. It’s wise for us to strive to minimize disturbance as we go out in the field regardless of season, whether or not the birds we seek to see are rare or not. From making noise to creating a visual disturbance to flushing birds or to harming habitat, our birding has impacts. We need to hold ourselves to high standards.

Winter is a time of often treacherous weather and limited food resources. So, keep your distance. Keep the visual disturbance down. Keep the conversation down. Photograph without disturbance. Give our birds a wide berth!

Roosting birds in particular, like Long-eared Owls, need to preserve their energy for when it is needed. Give them some extra space and respect their sensitivity to disturbance. This issue became clear several years ago when a roost site in Eastern Massachusetts was heavily visited.

The American Birding Association has a code of ethics you can view – ABA Code of Birding Ethics – American Birding Association.

Likewise, many local birding clubs and organizations have codes of ethics as well. The Brookline Bird Club code, for example, is here.

eBird has guidance for viewing and reporting Sensitive Species here.

A resource for photographers is Audubon’s Guide to Ethical Photography.

The North American Nature Photography Association provides this.

As a community, we want others to share our passion for birds. It’s also a good idea to remain on good terms with landowners and homeowners near birding locations. At the very least, in our own self-interest, we also do not want our opportunities to go out birding to be negatively impacted.

The BBC is urging each birding organization in the area to discuss birding ethics at your next gathering and to highlight this issue in your newsletters, websites and other outreach. With new folks joining the ranks of the birding community, it’s especially vital to introduce and discuss the topic.

So, please read these materials now, and pledge to act ethically, as well as model ethical behavior, in the course of your birding adventures this year!

Finally, please SHARE this post!

If you missed The Basics of Drawing Birds with Avery Whitlock, you might have failed to realize a hidden talent. Of course, if you’re a current member (or renew today) you can go to the Members Only section and view her entire webinar.

For now, we present some wonderful work by a few of her webinar attendees:

Please join us at our 2021 Virtual Winter Meeting

AUDUBON CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT: From 19th Century Conservation Action to 21st Century Community Science

What is the Audubon Christmas Bird Count? How and why did it begin, and how has it changed over its 120-year history? The CBC, like the Breeding Bird Survey, is one of the longest-running examples of Community (Citizen) Science. Learn how ornithologists and conservation biologists use CBC data to better understand how birds of the Americas are faring.

Geoff LeBaron has been the Christmas Bird Count Director for the National Audubon Society since 1987. He also works on other Community Science and field work projects, including Climate Watch, Hummingbirds at Home, and the Great Backyard Bird Count. He has been ornithological advisor for numerous organizations, and a guide for domestic and international bird and nature tours.

NOTE: This event requires all participants to register, and attendance is limited.