Every year, NH Audubon holds its annual gathering to bring members together for a day of outings, awards and to celebrate the year’s accomplishments. Join us for a day of exploration, education, and inspiration at NH Audubon’s McLane Center in Concord.
10am: Welcome and Choice of Activity
Mushrooms and Mosses of McLane
Are you a mycophile or a bryophile? Would you like to be one? Join environmental educators Claire Adams and Devin Guilfoyle in this woodland adventure to explore mushrooms and mosses around the McLane Center. Learn about the worldwide mycorrhizal (fungal) network expanding below our feet and how bryophytes (mosses) differ from other types of plants. Hand lenses will be provided and cameras are welcome..
All Person’s Trail Tour
The first of two All Person Trails was completed in the fall of 2022; the second, just last October. Join us in enjoying the sounds and flight of birds, the aroma and color of wildflowers, and the experience of differing habitats as Conservation Program Director Marc Nutter leads us around the pollinator meadow and grassland habitat into our wooded trail. This experience welcomes any with mobility considerations or devices. Please bring a hat in case of strong sun as the pollinator meadow is not shaded.
How to Keep a Phenology Journal
Close observations of the wildlife and plants around us can lead to understanding more fully how our environment changes over time. Senior biologist Diane DeLuca has been keeping a phenology journal at our Deering Wildlife Sanctuary for over a decade to observe and record these observations and changes. She will lead us in a workshop during this time to teach us how to keep our own journals and how to engage more attentively with all the nature around us.
Fall Bird Watch
Join President Doug Bechtel and other “bird nerds” on the trails of Silk Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in search of grassland and woodland bird species preparing for the oncoming winter or just passing through. This tour may visit the trails towards Turkey Pond or travel out onto Silk Farm Rd. Long pants and sturdy footwear are recommended. Binoculars, cameras, and eBird apps welcome; binoculars will also be available to borrow.
11am: Scientist Spotlight – MOTUS
No, it isn’t an acronym; Motus is Latin for movement! Join NH Audubon senior biologists Carol Foss and Diane De Luca discuss the Motus project, which spans partner organizations and species to learn more about wildlife movements and migration routes. Biologists attach small radio transmitters called nanotags to birds, bats, and even large insects like Monarch butterflies to study their migration patterns. A global network of automated receiving stations detect the tags and document the animals’ movements.
12pm: Picnic Lunch (provided)
12:45pm: Business Meeting
1:30pm: Annual Awards
2:30pm: Keynote Address – Songbird Study at the Appledore Migration Station with Sara Robertson Morris
Sara Robertson Morris has been the Director of the Appledore Migration Station on Appledore Island for the past three decades! She is responsible for all aspects of the station, researching bird migration through spring and fall bird banding efforts. Her ties to the island run the gamut from lecturing and teaching courses about marine science, field ornithology, and ecology, to supporting Shoals Marine Lab’s necessary functions. She recently accepted a position as the new Executive Director at Shoals Marine Laboratory and has been the President-Elect of the American Ornithological Society since 2022. Sara also holds Professor Emeritus status at Canisius University and teaches at the Audubon Ecology Camp in Maine. She is a well-respected leader dedicated to student academic experiences and a passionate ornithologist. As our keynote speaker, Sara will share her experience and findings on bird migration and the birds of Appledore Island.
Photo: Hawkwatching during an annual meeting field trip, by Dyanna Smith.
