A Birding Cruise around Cape Horn with the Lakes Region Chapter
2026-03-19 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | The Loon Center, 183 Lees Mill Road, Moultonborough, NH, 03254, United States
Join Becky Suomala on a boat trip from Santiago, Chile around Cape Horn to Buenos Aires. In addition to seabirding for albatross and the other pelagic species in southern waters, there were landbird stops in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. One of the highlights was a visit to a penguin colony on the Falkland Islands. See some of the great seabirds, landbirds, and even some mammals like guanacos as well as the beauty of Cape Horn, the Strait of Magellan, and the Beagle Channel.
Cover photo by Becky Suomala.

Ecology and Conservation of Grassland Bird program with the Seacoast Chapter
2026-04-08 19:00 - 20:30
Ecology and Conservation of Grassland Bird – Wednesday, April 8
Grassland birds such as the Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark are declining throughout their ranges. In this talk, we review the history and ecology of these species, with a focus on New Hampshire and the Northeast US, then shift to the conservation challenges they face and some of the things people can do to overcome these threats.
Bio: Pam Hunt has been interested in birds since the tender age of 12, when an uncle took her to Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge in NJ. She went on to earn a B.S. in biology from Cornell University, M.A. in zoology from the University of Montana, and then a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College in 1995. Pam came to NH Audubon in 2000 after five years as adjunct faculty at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH. In her current position as Avian Conservation Biologist, she works closely with NH Fish and Game to coordinate and prioritize bird research and monitoring in the state, and also authored NH’s “State of the Birds” report. Specific areas of interest include habitat use by early successional birds (particularly whip-poor-wills), conservation of aerial insectivores (e.g., swifts and swallows), and the effects of events outside the breeding season on long-distance migrants. Pam also coordinated the “NH Dragonfly Survey,” a five-year project that mapped distributions of these insects throughout the state and remains active in the dragonfly field.
Contact: Dan Hubbard, 603 978-0218, danielhubbard@peoplepc.com

Returning North with the Spring with the Lakes Region Chapter
2026-04-16 19:00 - 20:30 | The Loon Center, 183 Lees Mill Road, Moultonborough, NH, 03254, United States
Returning North with the Spring: Retracing the Journey of Naturalist Edwin Way Teale

In 1947, Edwin Way Teale, the most popular naturalist in the decade between Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, followed the progress of spring over four months from the Everglades to the summit of Mount Washington. His best-selling book, North with the Spring, recounts the epic journey he and his wife Nellie undertook.

In 2012, John Harris set out to retrace Teale’s route, stopping at unfamiliar wild places on the same calendar date on which Teale visited. Using Teale’s journal notes and photographs, Harris examined and compared changes in the flora, fauna, and lives of the people along the way. His account documents the losses, details the transformations, and celebrates the victories, for a remarkable number of east coast refuges have grown wilder during the intervening years.

John R. Harris is currently an adjunct faculty member in Environmental Science at Franklin Pierce University. He holds a Ph.D. in British and American literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has taught courses in nature writing, environmental literacy, regional history, American literature, and composition at Franklin Pierce University. In addition, he has organized and helped to edit two regional anthologies, Where the Mountain Stands Alone and Beyond the Notches: Stories of North Country New Hampshire.

Belize, a Perfect Winter Birding Getaway program with the Seacoast Chapter
2026-05-13 19:00 - 20:30
Belize, a Perfect Winter Birding Getaway – Wednesday, May 13
Join Becky Suomala on a (virtual) birding trip to tropical Belize in Central America. This English-speaking country has great birding, but also unique archeological sites, and snorkeling from its islands in the Caribbean. From birds to butterflies, fish and scenery, Becky will share highlights from these special places. Her photos are from a recent February trip with several friends that was a perfect winter birding getaway.
Bio: Rebecca Suomala is a Biologist Emerita with NH Audubon. She worked for NH Audubon from 1988 until 2024 in a variety of positions. In 2005, she completed her Master’s in Wildlife Ecology from the University of New Hampshire, conducting research into songbird migration stopover for her thesis. She studied Common Nighthawks for almost 20 years and has banded birds on Appledore Island since 1994. As an avid birder, she has explored much of New Hampshire and has traveled to many national and international birding destinations.
Contact: Dan Hubbard, 603 978-0218, danielhubbard@peoplepc.com

Behind the Scenes Habitat Management At Odiorne Point State Park program with the Seacoast Chapter
2026-06-10 19:00 - 20:30
Behind the Scenes Habitat Management At Odiorne Point State Park – Wednesday, June 10
Odiorne Point State Park is not only a favorite birding Hot Spot, it is also where one of the largest and most successful invasive plant control projects in NH has been improving habitat for birds and other wildlife. During this program, we will look for birds and learn from the Rockingham County Conservation District about all of the incredible habitat work that has been completed and still planned at Odiorne.
Bio: Arianna Spear, Tracy Degnan and Lenny Lord of the Rockingham County Conservation District and Matt Tarr of the UNH Cooperative Extension.
Contact: Dan Hubbard, 603 978-0218, danielhubbard@peoplepc.com

The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save the Planet program with the Seacoast Chapter
2026-07-08 19:00 - 20:30
The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save the Planet – Wednesday, July 8
At a time when the news for birds (for the planet!) has rarely seemed more grim, there is reason for hope. Despite the odds today, all around the world people are actually reviving bird populations, providing a roadmap for wider recovery. In his newest book, The Return of the Oystercatcher, best-selling author and researcher Scott Weidensaul shows why creating a world that works for birds will work for everything, including us. He’ll trace this inspiring arc from a tiny island off the Maine coast to the bird-rich Danube Delta on the Ukrainian border, and vulture restoration in the mountains of Bulgaria to across the world’s largest and most intact forest in Canada where Indigenous communities are permanently protecting hundreds of millions of acres of some of the most important migratory bird habitat on Earth. This is a dose of optimism we all need.
Bio: Scott Weidensaul is the author of nearly 30 books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Living on the Wind and his New York Times bestseller A World on the Wing. His latest book, Return of the Oystercatcher coming in April 2026, showcases what’s working for bird conservation around the world. Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon magazine, a columnist for Bird Watcher’s Digest, and writes for a variety of other publications including the Cornell Ornithology Laboratory’s Living Bird publication. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and an active field researcher, studying Saw-whet Owl migration for 30 years, as well as winter hummingbirds in the East, bird migration in Alaska, and the winter movements of Snowy Owls through Project SNOWstorm, which he co-founded.
Contact: Dan Hubbard, 603 978-0218, danielhubbard@peoplepc.com
