Mass Audubon Blogs

Look for seals, go on a holly walk, make a wreath or ornament, watch a documentary, search for birds, and more at a wildlife sanctuary this weekend. Greater Boston Go on a Family Bird Walk to learn how to use binoculars to search for the most common birds found at the Boston Nature Center. Mini-activities along […]

Every few winters, several bird species abandon their normal wintering areas to our northwest, and move into Massachusetts by the thousands. While distantly related, redpolls, siskins, and grosbeaks all rely on food sources that go through boom and bust cycles, peaking and crashing every 3-6 years. When conifer and birch seeds are scarce in Canada’s […]

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has spoken out against wind energy on the grounds that it kills birds—but estimated bird deaths from wind turbines are small when compared to other human-caused sources of avian mortality, like building collisions. On top of that, climate change is by far the biggest threat to all birds living today. […]

Just as ornithologists predicted, 2018 is shaping up to be a banner winter for a number of nomadic finches in the Northeast, especially Evening Grosbeaks. Having steadily declined as winter visitors since the 1970s, these predictably unpredictable birds are a welcome sight this year. Irruption Years: Boom And Bust Evening Grosbeaks, like several species of “winter […]

Many Americans gathered with family and friends to give thanks last week.  Earlier this month, many of those who play a role in Mass Audubon’s land conservation efforts gathered to give thanks for the land.  Almost 100 people attended our eleventh Giving Thanks for the Land event, and nature smiled on us with a rare […]

There are two white pine trees that “died” of natural causes in the past two months.  You can see both of them from the trails.  See if you can find them.  Can you figure out what happened? This tree is on the Old Orchard Trail. This tree is between Signpost 3 and Signpost 12. Hint:  […]

The leaves are sparse, the chilling air has set in, and the Drumlin Farm Cooking Together class is preparing to make Drumlin Farm’s seasonal favorite, pumpkin waffles with homemade butter and apple cider syrup. Every week, this class of 3-5 year olds and their parents learn, and enjoy, a new recipe together. Perfect for a […]

The sun greeted us in the Gloucester Crossing shopping center parking lot on Wednesday, as Susan Yurkus and I got ready to lead a cheery group of birders around Cape Ann. It was easy to get to the Jodrey State Fish Pier from there, and we found lots of birds in Gloucester Harbor. There were […]

On November 27, a thin band of light illuminated the museum and dark, stormy clouds. The low fall sun illuminated the landscape around the museum. It was a beautiful and uplifting sight. Enjoy this photograph of the scene.

It is hard to believe that December is just around the corner and soon we will say goodbye to 2018 and ring in 2019! But, December isn’t over yet and you may find that you need to take a breath, immerse yourself in nature, or give yourself the gift of time with family and friends. […]

The idea that this fall’s cold-stun sea turtle period could be a memorable one occurred to us when turtles began stranding about 2 weeks earlier than usual, in mid-October. Only days before rescuing our first cold, immobile turtles, we’d found several live, swimming turtles out at sea—a pretty unusual occurrence. Our marine life cruise off […]

You might think that things quiet down around Wildwood once camp is ended for the season, but you’d be wrong! After the campers and counselors have all gone home (and after the staff gets a bit of much-needed vacation time), it’s time to squeeze in as many projects as we can before the snow flies. […]