NH Audubon

Birding Walk at Massabesic Center
2021-12-03 08:00 - 09:30 (America/New_York) | Massabesic Center, 26 Audubon Way, Auburn, NH, United States
Join NH Audubon for a birding walk along the trails at Massabesic Center (MAC) in Auburn.
Red-bellied Woodpecker, by Pam Hunt.
This is an hour-long, informal birding walk that begins at MAC and explores the trails with Slater, Massabesic Center’s Education Coordinator. All ages and skill levels of birders are welcome. If you are new to birding, come and learn the basics! If you are an avid birder, come to learn new techniques, network with other birders, or share your expertise with the group.

The walks happen every Friday until the end of the year, except for holiday weekends (Dec. 25 and 31).
Cost: $8 Members/$10 Non-members. Registration is required; please purchase your tickets (below), although there are no actual hard-copy tickets.

Brockway Nature Outing for Preschool Ages
2021-11-23 10:00 - 10:45 | Brockway Nature Preserve, Farrington Corner Road, Hopkinton, NH, United States
Join New Hampshire Audubon at Brockway Nature Preserve in Hopkinton for nature exploration with your 3-5 year old. The programs will be held the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month. Each Tuesday will be an exciting theme relating to the seasons and wildlife (see below). It will begin at 10am and run for about 45 minutes.
This is an outdoor location with no bathroom facilities. Please dress children for the weather and be ready to walk on the trail, sit on logs and the ground, and dig in the dirt!
Programs will be cancelled if poor weather is predicted during the program time, participants will be notified by email.
Directions: To find the meeting circle, park at the Brockway Nature Preserve parking area along Farrington Corners Road in Hopkinton, then follow the entrance trail across the bridge to the circle. For detailed directions, visit hop-kintonconservaland.org/Brockway-preserve.
Cost: Free to Hopkinton Residents*; Non-resident NH Audubon members: $5/family; Non-resident non-members: $10/family
Registration is required. For questions, please email Shelby Morelli.
Maximum: 10 children
*Thanks to an endowment from Dorothy Brockway Osborn this program is free for Hopkinton Residents.
Themes:
November 23: Oh Deer!
December 14: Evergreens and Cones
December 28: Sleepy Critters
January 11: Wildlife Homes
January 25: Who made that Track?
February 8: Flighted Friends
February 22: Animal Babies
March 8: Hide and Seek
March 22: Welcome Spring!
April 12: Who lives in a Shell?
April 26: Busy Beavers
May 10: Who lives in the Pond?
May 24: Insect Investigation

NH Audubon’s Coastal Sanctuaries
2021-11-21 08:00 - 12:00
Join Phil Brown to explore some of NH Audubon’s lesser known sanctuaries. As the date approaches, see the Seacoast Chapter website for more details to include pandemic requirements.

Cancellations will be posted on the Seacoast Chapter website.

Pollinator Meadow Site Visit
2021-11-20 10:00 - 12:00 | McLane Center, 84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH, 03301, United States
Join New Hampshire Audubon and collaborators from UNH Cooperative Extension and the Xerces Society for a site visit on Creating Pollinator Habitat
Saturday, November 20: 10AM – 12 Noon
As a follow up to the Webinar, an in-person walkthrough of the McLane Center project to learn more will occur on November 20 from 10am-12pm. We will gather at the McLane Center in Concord to view the progress of converting one acre of old field to a pollinator meadow. NH Audubon with the help of our collaborators are using a variety of techniques across one acre to better access what preparation methods work best at this scale. The field trip will allow participants to see and more fully discuss the details of field prep and seeding.
This event is free and open to the public. Registration/RSVP is requested. This project is being funded by the State Conservation Commission’s Moose Plate Grant Program.
Photo: Volunteers help create pollinator meadow habitat at McLane Center, by Marc Nutter.

Fall Clean Up Day at MAC
2021-11-20 09:00 - 15:00 | Massabesic Center, 26 Audubon Way, Auburn, NH, United States
Join us for a Volunteer Fall Cleanup Day at the Massabesic Center!
Saturday, November 20th, 9am-3pm
We’ll be preparing the grounds for the winter! Tasks throughout the day will include garden maintenance, bittersweet vine management, installing new predator guards on our bluebird boxes, and cleaning up the barn.
Please contact Kimmie Whiteman to sign up as a volunteer!

Birding Walk at Massabesic Center
2021-11-19 08:00 - 09:30 | Massabesic Center, 26 Audubon Way, Auburn, NH, United States
Join NH Audubon for a birding walk along the trails at Massabesic Center (MAC) in Auburn.
Red-bellied Woodpecker, by Pam Hunt.
This is an hour-long, informal birding walk that begins at MAC and explores the trails with Slater, Massabesic Center’s Education Coordinator. All ages and skill levels of birders are welcome. If you are new to birding, come and learn the basics! If you are an avid birder, come to learn new techniques, network with other birders, or share your expertise with the group.

The walks happen every Friday until the end of the year, except for holiday weekends (Nov. 26 and Dec. 24).
Cost: $8 Members/$10 Non-members. Registration is required; please purchase your tickets (below), although there are no actual hard-copy tickets.

Where Migratory Birds Need Us Most
2021-11-17 19:00 - 20:30
This presentation will focus on an array of familiar breeding species that undertake the perils of migration, where they go, the threats they face, and what must be done to conserve them. Scott will talk about the efforts he is currently involved with protecting some of our most threatened shorebirds: Piping Plover, Red Knot, Hudsonian Godwit, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper, as well as some of our songbirds that show serious declines, and the current and potential projects to address this. You will hear how science in recent years has pin-pointed the whereabouts of these species during migration, how long they linger from site to site, and where they seem to do well or do poorly. Take heart in knowing that there are hundreds of bird conservationists working at hundreds of IBAs, and success stories abound.
Register for this free webinar through Zoom.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.
Speaker Bio:
Scott Hecker has worked to conserve threatened birdlife for over forty years. His graduate studies at Antioch University took him to Belize in the 1980s where he successfully helped establish the largest private tropical forest reserve in Central America. For the next 30 years he led efforts for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, National Audubon Society, and the Goldenrod Foundation to conserve the nesting habitat of Piping Plovers, terns, and other beach-nesting species. His tenure in Massachusetts helped Piping Plovers increase from 126 pairs in 1987 to 611 pairs in 2011. He summarized this work in “The Piping Plover as an Umbrella Species for the Barrier Beach Ecosystem” in Saving Biological Diversity, edited by Askins, R.A. et al. In 2008 he founded the non-profit Conservian, Inc to develop comprehensive fieldwork to protect plovers and terns on their non-breeding grounds as well as resident beach-nesting species on the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas. In 2016 he began his current position as the Director of Bird Conservation for the International Conservation Fund of Canada, where he has broadened his activities to fund and oversee conservation efforts for North America’s most threatened migratory birds as well as globally endangered species occurring within the Tropics of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Scott lives in Temple, New Hampshire where he serves as the Chair of the Conservation Commission and the boards for local non-profit organizations focused on conservation and the arts.

From Finches to Launching of the Finch Research Network
2021-11-10 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom Link, United States
Irruptions of finches from the north in recent years inspired Matthew Young to launch the Finch Research Network (FiRN) in fall 2020. Join us for his lively presentation about redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, the distribution and ecology of different Red Crossbill flight calls, and the launching of FiRN and its future.
November and December Zoom programs begin at 7:30 pm, but feel free to sign on early after 7 pm to socialize. You may need to download Zoom to attend the program. Please register in advance for this Zoom meeting at the chapter website. You can register right up through the start time. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the program.
Bio: Matthew A. Young, M.S., President and Founder of the Finch Research Network (FiRN): Matt has been observing and enjoying nature since a very young age. He’s lived in Central New York the past 23 years and it was during this time, when he’s worked as a social worker for 10 years, that he really started studying everything from birds to orchids, and bogs and fens. Matt received his B.S in Water Resources with a minor in Meteorology from SUNY-Oneonta and his M.S. in Ornithology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry/Syracuse University in 2003. Matt did his masters research on avian diversity in restored wetlands of central New York at the Great Swamp Conservancy. He was a Regional Editor of The Kingbird, the state ornithological journal in New York, for 10 years, was an Adjunct Professor in Environmental Studies at SUNY-Cortland, and currently teaches an Intro to Birding class for Cornell University and is the Board Chair at The Wetland Trust.
He worked at the Cornell Lab across 15+ years where he did extensive field work for the Lab’s Cerulean and Golden-winged Warblers atlas projects, and was project lead on the Lab’s first Finch Irruptive Bird Survey for Bird Source in 1999. He was the Collections Management Leader/Audio Engineer at the Macaulay Library ~12 years where he edited sounds for several Merlin packs around the world in addition to being the lead audio engineer on guides, the Songs of the Warblers of North America, Audubon Society Voices of Hawaii’s Birds, and the Cornell Lab’s Guides to Bird Sounds, the North America Master and Essential Sets. He’s been a tour guide leader for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, written finch species accounts for breeding bird atlases and Birds of the World, has published several papers about the Red Crossbill vocal complex, and is the President and Founder of the Finch Research Network (FiRN). Email: may6@cornell.edu or info@finchnetwork.org.

The Seacoast Chapter meets monthly on the second Wednesday except the months of July and August unless there is a special program. 7 pm social and the meetings begin at 7:30 pm unless otherwise noted (entrance doors locked at 7:45 pm). The public is welcome free of charge. Meetings are held at the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne State Park, Route 1A, Rye, NH. Wheelchair accessible. For more information on chapter programs, please contact: Dan Hubbard, (603) 332-4093 or danielhubbard@peoplepc.com. Cancellations will be posted on The Seacoast Chapter web site: http://www.seacoastchapter.org.

NH’s Winter Birds
2021-11-09 18:30 - 19:30
NH Audubon’s “Backyard Winter Bird Survey” is a citizen science project that has been collecting data on the state’s birds since 1967. In this program, Dr. Pamela Hunt uses the Survey’s data to illustrate how populations of our common winter birds have been changing over time. In the process, we’ll explore many other aspects of bird biology.
November 9, 2021 – 6:30-7:30 pm (virtual via MS Teams)
Click here to join the meeting
Goffstown Public Library

Pollinator Panel Discussion: Lessons from the Field
2021-11-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom Link, United States
Join New Hampshire Audubon and collaborators from UNH Cooperative Extension and the Xerces Society for a Webinar Panel Discussion on Creating Pollinator Habitat
Thursday, November 4: 7PM – 9PM
The panel discussion will share best practices around establishing pollinator habitat in New England. Discussion topics will include techniques for creating pollinator meadows, native plant selection, benefits to pollinators and invasives through the lens of insects. Presentations by the panelists will be followed by an open Q&A by the audience. Panelists include: Marc Nutter, NH Audubon; Alina Harris, Xerces Society; Emma Erler and Matt Tarr, UNH Extension Cooperative Extension.
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is requested. This project is being funded by the State Conservation Commission’s Moose Plate Grant Program.
(Free) Registration via Zoom
Saturday, November 20: 10AM – 12 Noon
As a follow up to the Webinar, an in-person walkthrough of the McLane Center project to learn more will occur on November 20 from 10am-12pm. We will gather at the McLane Center in Concord to view the progress of converting one acre of old field to a pollinator meadow. NH Audubon with the help of our collaborators are using a variety of techniques across one acre to better access what preparation methods work best at this scale. The field trip will allow participants to see and more fully discuss the details of field prep and seeding.
See that event, here, for more details and a registration link.
Photo: Volunteers help create pollinator meadow habitat at McLane Center, by Marc Nutter.

MOTUS: A Revolution in Migration Research
2021-11-03 19:00 - 20:30
Join Carol Foss, NH Audubon’s Senior Advisor for Science and Policy, for an introduction to the Motus Wildlife Tracking System — a new research network that is revolutionizing the study of winged migration by tracking the movements of small birds, bats, and even dragonflies and monarch butterflies who have been fitted with tiny radio transmitters (nanotags). Carol will discuss how Motus works, what we’re learning from it, and efforts that are underway to expand the network in the Northeast.
Register for this free webinar through Zoom.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.

Forest to Forest: Bicknell’s Thrush
2021-10-26 19:00 - 20:30
A rare migratory songbird, with a very restricted range, is a catalyst for exploring issues of sustainable development on the island of Hispaniola, where Haiti and the Dominican Republic (DR) are co-located, where the bird spends the winter and the high peaks of the Northeastern US where the bird breeds on high peaks in Maine, NH, VT, and NY in the summer. This presentation is about raising awareness of the plight of this bird through an interdisciplinary, multicultural, international, collaborative project involving art, poetry, citizen science and fieldtrips up Cannon Mountain, NH to see the bird.
Register for this free webinar through Zoom.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.
Speaker Bio:
Mary Ann McGarry is the former Natural Resource Educator for the Maine Department of Conservation, Director of Maine Lakes Conservancy Institute, and Director of Education for the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, NH. She has been a professor of environmental science and policy at Plymouth State University (PSU) since 2004, having helped create the master’s and undergraduate programs. She is currently the Endowed Abbott Professor of Environmental Studies. MaryAnn is also one of the founding members of the Sustainability Council which offers a minor. McGarry has led a two major interdisciplinary projects on campus: 1) Forest to Forest: Bicknell’s Thrush– Raising awareness about the Bicknell’s Thrush as a catalyst for focusing on international sustainable development on the island of Hispaniola and in the northeastern U.S. where the birds come to breed on the peaks over 2800 feet; and 2) Valuing Our Campus Trees and Community Forests which led PSU in becoming NH’s first and only higher education institution with Tree Campus USA and Bee Campus USA status. This latter project has involved having her students calculate the ecosystem service of trees on campus using the USFS i-tree software and conducting tree tours of the 106 species on the campus for the community and prospective students. McGarry has conducted environmental place-based writing workshops and courses for local, national and International audiences. She has completed 23 graduate credit hours towards a masters in creative writing, focused on environmental writing. McGarry enjoys uses rhyming poetry to educate citizens about environmental topics.

Avian Protection at NorthWestern Energy in Montana
2021-10-13 19:30 - 20:30 | Seacoast Science Center, Odiorne State Park, Route 1A, Rye, NH, United States
Power companies, wildlife agencies, and conservation organizations have collaborated for decades to reduce bird electrocutions and collisions with power lines. NorthWestern Energy in Montana implements an Avian Protection Plan across its entire electrical system. New power lines are constructed following bird-friendly standards and existing lines are retrofitted with bird protection devices where electrocutions or collisions have occurred. This presentation by Marco Restani, Biologist at NorthWestern Energy, will review the legislation protecting birds, the biology and engineering behind bird-power line interactions, and management to reduce conflicts. Examples from waterfowl to raptors to songbirds will illustrate the diversity of challenges experienced in Montana.
Bio: Marco Restani began birding with the Seacoast Chapter of NH Audubon in the late 1970s and the mentorship he received launched him on a lifetime journey with birds. Originally an ‘Army Brat’, he attended high school in Durham before heading west to the University of Montana, Montana State, and Utah State. Following post-doctoral research at the University of Washington, Marco was Professor of Wildlife Ecology for 15 years. He is a Biologist at NorthWestern Energy in Montana responsible for developing and implementing the company’s Avian Protection Program.
The Seacoast Chapter meets monthly on the second Wednesday except the months of July and August unless there is a special program. 7 pm social and the meetings begin at 7:30 pm unless otherwise noted (entrance doors locked at 7:45 pm). The public is welcome free of charge. Meetings are held at the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne State Park, Route 1A, Rye, NH. Wheelchair accessible. For more information on chapter programs, please contact: Dan Hubbard, (603) 332-4093 or danielhubbard@peoplepc.com. Cancellations will be posted on The Seacoast Chapter web site: http://www.seacoastchapter.org.

A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds
2021-10-12 19:00 - 20:30
Even as scientists make astounding discoveries about the navigational and physiological feats that enable migratory birds to cross immense oceans or fly above the highest mountains, go weeks without sleep or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch, humans have brought many migrants to the brink. Based on his newest book “A World on the Wing,” author and researcher Scott Weidensaul takes you around the globe — with researchers in the lab probing the limits of what migrating birds can do, to the shores of the Yellow Sea in China, the remote mountains of northeastern India where tribal villages saved the greatest gathering of falcons on the planet, and the Mediterranean, where activists and police are battle bird poachers — to learn how people are fighting to understand and save the world’s great bird migrations.
Register for this free webinar through Zoom.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.
Speaker Bio:
Scott Weidensaul holding a Snowy Owl (©Chris DeSorbo).
Scott Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist “Living on the Wind,” “Return to Wild America” and “The First Frontier.” His newest book, “A World on the Wing” about global migration, was released in March by W.W. Norton. Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon, a columnist for Bird Watcher’s Digest and writes for a variety of other publications, including Living Bird. He is also an active field researcher, studying saw-whet owl migration for more than two decades, as well as winter hummingbirds, bird migration in Alaska, and the winter movements of snowy owls through Project SNOWstorm, which he co-founded. A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in New Hampshire.

Jeffreys Ledge Fall Pelagic Birding Trip - Sold Out
2021-10-11 08:00 - 17:00 | Rye Harbor, 1870 Ocean Blvd (Rte 1A), Rye, NH, 03870, United States
This trip is sold out.
Location: Rye Harbor, NH
Monday, Oct 11, 8 am – 5 pm
Cost: $70 M/$90 NM
Join NH Audubon aboard the MV Granite State as we explore Jeffreys Ledge, 20 miles off the New Hampshire coast. Steve Mirick will lead us as we spend all day at sea, searching the length of Jeffreys Ledge for pelagic seabirds, whales, dolphins, and anything else that happens to cross our course. Once you register, you will receive confirmation and further information. Meet dockside at Rye Harbor at 7:30am for an 8am departure. Max. 50.
Pre-registration required.
(To register for Intro to Pelagic Wildlife, see the event for Oct. 9.)
Photo: Great Shearwater, by Amanda Boyd, USFWS

Intro to Pelagic Wildlife
2021-10-09 15:00 - 16:00
Saturday, October 9, 3 – 4 pm
Cost: $5 (free to those attending Pelagic Trip on Oct. 11)
Leader: Jon Woolf
Watch an educational slideshow about some of the wildlife you might see just off NH’s coast. We’ll teach you how to identify some of our common pelagic birds as well as a few of our frequently sighted whale species.
This is a zoom event.
Pre-registration is required. Registration for this zoom session will close one hour before the program. If you are attending the boat trip, please RSVP below for this free zoom talk. If you are not going on the boat but would like to attend this zoom talk, please purchase a $5 “ticket”; the zoom link will be sent to you by email prior to the event.
To register for the Pelagic Birding Boat Trip, see the event for Oct. 11.
If you have any trouble registering for this zoom talk or getting the link, please email Jon.
Photo: Great Shearwater, by Amanda Boyd, USFWS

The State of New Hampshire’s Birds
2021-10-05 19:00 - 20:30
In the last 50 years, scientists estimate that North America has lost roughly 3 billion birds, meaning that there are only three quarters as many birds around as there used to be. New Hampshire Audubon has been tracking bird populations for almost as long, and in our “State of the Birds” report we present a summary of how birds are doing here in the Granite State. Almost 300 species occur regularly here, and this report outlines general population trends, major threats facing birds and their habitats, and some of the conservation strategies that might help them recover. The bad news is that birds are declining here as well. The good news is that there are things we can do about it.
Register for this free webinar through Zoom.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.
Speaker 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 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. 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.

Native Pollinator Biodiversity: The Contributions of Native Pollinator Meadows
2021-09-28 19:00 - 20:30
Native pollinators play a vital role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem and food system. Attendees will gain an understanding of the intricate biodiversity of native pollinators, which have co-evolved with native plants. This webinar will discuss the steps of installing pollinator meadows, composed of herbaceous perennial flowering plants and native grasses. This diverse habitat not only supports pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and beetles, but also other wildlife, such as birds! Pollinators significantly contribute to feeding birds in two main ways: First, through the act of pollinating flowers, seeds are formed and are eaten by birds. Second, the pollinators themselves can be a protein source for birds! About 9 in 10 bird species eat insects at some point in their life. So, whether it be through the conservation lens of birds, pollinators, or both – join us to learn about how native perennial meadows can contribute to wildlife diversity and abundance in your community.
Register for this free webinar through Zoom.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.
Speaker Bio:
Alina Harris works in collaboration with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and with the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Cooperative Extension. She is a liaison between growers/landowners and these organizations by providing technical assistance in Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM). Alina is a NH native with a Bachelor’s in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production Systems (Diversified Farm Management) and a Master’s in Agricultural Sciences (Insectary plants that promote biological control of insects) from UNH. She brings over a decade of agricultural experience, including co-managing a diversified farm in NH, teaching as a Farm Coach, and serving as the Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the University of Hawaii.

Creating Compost – A Hands-on Workshop
2021-09-26 13:00 - 16:00, 2021-09-21 18:30 - 20:00
Composting is the process of recycling organic debris into material that both reduces items in the waste stream and creates a useful garden product. At the end of this two-part workshop, participants will have the information and experience needed to create and use their own compost system.
Part 1 – Tuesday, September 21, 6:30-8:00 pm on Zoom. UNH Extension Advanced Master Gardener, Ron Trexler will teach the reasons for using compost in gardens and landscapes, some of the science of how composting works and how to establish and manage a compost system.
Part 2 – Sunday, September 26, 1:00-4:00 p.m. in person at the Massabesic Audubon Center in Auburn. UNH Extension Master Gardener Program Manager, Ruth Smith with a team of volunteers will lead participants in the construction of a 3-bin composting station. The completed bin will be used at the new Extension Demonstration/Teaching Gardens on site.
This workshop is free but pre-registration is required because space is limited.
Sign up here.
Registered participants will be sent a Zoom link for the 9/21 session and directions and suggestions for what to bring to the 9/26 session. All building materials will be provided. The workshop is designed for home gardeners and co-sponsored by UNH Extension and NH Audubon.

Strafford County Farm Fall Beginning Bird Walk
2021-09-19 08:00 - 12:00
NH Audubon Seacoast Chapter volunteer Dan Hubbard will lead three Beginning Bird Walks (BBW) this Fall. Although these walks are geared with the beginner birder in mind, birders of all levels of expertise are encouraged to participate and share their experiences.
BBW: Strafford County Farm Sunday, September 19, 8 am – 12 pm
This walk will include the Don Black Trail and the hedgerows around the fields of the conserved property. The walk will last as long as participants choose, but not beyond noon.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this field trip will be limited to 20 participants. Visit the Seacoast Chapter site for more information and to sign up.
Contact: Dan Hubbard at danielhubbard@peoplepc.com or 603 -332-4093.
Cancellations will be posted on the Seacoast Chapter website.

107th Annual Gathering and Meeting
2021-09-18 10:30 - 15:30 | Massabesic Center, 26 Audubon Way, Auburn, NH, United States
NH Audubon’s 107th Annual Gathering and Meeting will take place on Saturday, September 18 from 10:30am-3:30pm.
The meeting will be held at NH Audubon’s Massabesic Center, Auburn.
Keynote speaker: Sy Montgomery, nationally bestselling author of 28 books for both adults and children, will present about Birdology: What Makes A Bird A Bird (based on the book of the same title) as shown by cassowaries, hummingbirds, chickens, hawks and other birds.
Celebrate the contributions made by volunteers, explore Massabesic Center, learn about the latest about migration tracking, and after an unprecedented two years, gather with your NH Audubon conservation family!
Choose one of four activities from 10:30am-noon:

Massabesic Nature Walk with President Doug Bechtel
Tour the Pollinator Gardens with Master Gardener Maureen Sinclair
Ponemah Bog Field Trip with Director of Lands Management Phil Brown (people are encouraged to carpool from Massabesic Center to the location in Amherst)
Presentation by Motus Project Director Carol Foss, updating the latest on migration research

Join us at 12:30pm for lunch and our annual business meeting, awards, and keynote address by Sy Montgomery. Plan your own day – whether you join us for just one field trip or stay through the afternoon – we can’t wait to see you!
Field trip, lunch & keynote: $35 for members, $45 for non-members
Registration extended! Register by 5pm on September 6 (see tickets below). Select your ticket (member or non-member) plus choice of activity. To ensure safe social distancing due to COVID-19, we have a maximum capacity for guests, so please register early!

Special thanks to this year’s sponsors:

Pickering Ponds Fall Beginning Bird Walk-Wednesday
2021-09-15 08:00 - 12:00
NH Audubon Seacoast Chapter volunteer Dan Hubbard will lead three Beginning Bird Walks (BBW) this Fall. Although these walks are geared with the beginner birder in mind, birders of all levels of expertise are encouraged to participate and share their experiences.
BBW: Pickering Ponds Wednesday, September 15, 8 am – 12 pm
This walk will traverse Rochester city park trails along the Cocheco River and around the old wastewater treatment facility settling ponds. Meet at the Pickering Ponds parking area. The entrance is about a mile south of the Rochester Wastewater Treatment Plant on Pickering Road (opposite mailbox #374).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this field trip will be limited to 20 participants. Visit the Seacoast Chapter site for more information and to sign up.
Contact: Dan Hubbard at danielhubbard@peoplepc.com or 603 -332-4093.
Cancellations will be posted on the Seacoast Chapter website.

Beauty and Reciprocity
2021-09-13 19:00 - 20:30
Like many of us who experience biophilia, when it comes to our most existential lifeline—the natural world—I exist in a personal and anthropogenic dissonance of celebration and mourning, vision and blindness. I want to explore these tensions, and the questions they raise about reciprocity, through the topic of beauty. Why do we find other life and geological forms so compelling and yet not sufficiently connect their survival with our own? What does nature’s beauty have to do with us, and us with it? This presentation is from the viewpoint of a poet—not a scientist—who is attempting to go more deeply into her intertwined senses of wonder at what we are given and grief at what we are losing, and find some beauty there.
Register for this free webinar through Zoom.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.
Speaker Bio:
Alice B. Fogel is the previous New Hampshire poet laureate (2014-2019). She is the author of 5 poetry collections, including Interval: Poems Based on Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” which won the N. Schaffner Award for Music in Literature and the NH Literary Award. Another poetry book is due out around the end of 2021, and she is also the author of Strange Terrain, on how to appreciate poetry without necessarily “getting” it. Among other awards, Alice has been given a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Best American Poetry. She teaches reading and writing workshops in a wide range of areas, works one-on-one with students with learning differences at Landmark College, and hikes mountains whenever possible.

Pickering Ponds Fall Beginning Bird Walk-Saturday
2021-09-11 08:00 - 12:00
NH Audubon Seacoast Chapter volunteer Dan Hubbard will lead three Beginning Bird Walks (BBW) this Fall. Although these walks are geared with the beginner birder in mind, birders of all levels of expertise are encouraged to participate and share their experiences.
BBW: Pickering Ponds Saturday, September 11, 8 am – 12 pm
This walk will traverse Rochester city park trails along the Cocheco River and around the old wastewater treatment facility settling ponds. Meet at the Pickering Ponds parking area. The entrance is about a mile south of the Rochester Wastewater Treatment Plant on Pickering Road (opposite mailbox #374).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this field trip will be limited to 20 participants. Visit the Seacoast Chapter site for more information and to sign up.
Contact: Dan Hubbard at danielhubbard@peoplepc.com or 603 -332-4093.
Cancellations will be posted on the Seacoast Chapter website.

Birding the Lesser Antilles
2021-09-08 19:30 - 20:30 | Seacoast Science Center, Odiorne State Park, Route 1A, Rye, NH, United States
Bob and Dana Fox visited 10 islands in the Lesser Antilles, a chain of islands in the southeast Caribbean in 2020. Their talk will discuss the amazing geology of the region, its rich history of sugar plantations and rum making and its wonderful birds. These islands exhibit a high degree of endemism and each island introduced them to many new and interesting species and varied sub-species.
Magnificent Frigatebird, by Bob and Dana Fox.
They visited four of the islands on their own with local guides moving from island to island by ferry or plane. They then flew to Barbados and boarded the elegant Sea Cloud, a four-masted sailing vessel from which they explored the remaining five islands. It was a fascinating trip which they managed to squeeze in just before the pandemic changed the world.
Bio: Dana and Bob Fox both began bir ding in their youth. They have birded the US (list 750 species) and the world (6300 species) visiting 6 continents and over 40 countries. They have given numerous talks in MA and NH about the birds of countries they have visited. Dana has spent 50+ summers in NH where she became fascinated by loons. The Loon Preservation Committee presented her with their Spirit of the Loon Award. She is a past Secretary of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, Past President of the Merrimack Valley Bird Club and frequent speaker. She has written articles on birding and crows in the American Birding Association’s Birding magazine and one on the Lawrence Crow Roost in Bird Observer. Bob has co-authored Birds of New Hampshire, a 477 page book describing the status and distribution of birds known from NH (2013). He has published in A uk and Wilson Bulletin, written species accounts for the first MA Breeding Bird Atlas as well as articles in publications of both NH and Mass Audubon Societies. His MA species list is 451. In the past, Bob collected specimens for five museums including Museum of Comparative Zoology. In addition, he helped found Manomet Bird Observatory, and is past President of South Shore Bird Club. He received the Goodhue-Elkins Award (2014) from NH Audubon for “contributions to the ornithology of NH”. This is the Seacoast Chapter annual business meeting for the election of executive board officers.
The Seacoast Chapter meets monthly on the second Wednesday except the months of July and August unless there is a special program. 7 pm social and the meetings begin at 7:30 pm unless otherwise noted (entrance doors locked at 7:45 pm). The public is welcome free of charge. Meetings are held at the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne State Park, Route 1A, Rye, NH. Wheelchair accessible. For more information on chapter programs, please contact: Dan Hubbard, (603) 332-4093 or danielhubbard@peoplepc.com. Cancellations will be posted on The Seacoast Chapter web site: http://www.seacoastchapter.org.

Nature Connection in NH Schools - POSTPONED
2021-09-07 19:00 - 20:30
September 7, 7pm – this program is being postponed until a later date, tbd
Jamie Hannon
Professor of Adventure Education, Plymouth State University
Children aged 6-17 spend most of their weekday waking hours in school. For most students in NH this time is spent primarily indoors or in constructed outdoor environments. As children everywhere experience a decreasing sense of connection to nature, schools that keep their students indoors are missing an opportunity to improve their kids’ wellness, social-emotional development and academic achievement.
This program takes a close look at one NH public school that has taken a different approach: the Mountain Village Charter School of Plymouth. Serving grades 1-8 with an educational program dedicated to immersive, daily nature experiences, the school has experienced numerous successes, and some challenges too, as it seeks to bring all its students into a deeper connection with the landscape of NH.

Register here.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.
Speaker Bio:
Jamie Hannon has taught outdoor and environmental education for 35 years and is currently a professor of adventure education at Plymouth State University. He dwells with his family in the Asquamchumaukee River valley in the southwestern foothills of the White Mountains. He is a founding member and board chair of the Mountain Village Charter School, the only nature-based, Montessori, public school in the world.

Poetry, Place, and Peace of Mind
2021-08-24 19:00 - 20:30
Poetry offers a medium for expressing mindful connections with nature, while experiencing the mental health benefits nature provides. Dr. Maria Sanders, a philosopher, poet, and researcher of eudaimonia, the Greek concept for living full and flourishing lives; will facilitate a discussion on the effect nature has on emotions, mood, and sense of well-being. Utilizing poetry from Sanders’ Sunrise Sunset collection, participants will explore various ways poetry can serve as a conduit between nature and positive mental health.
Register for this free webinar through Zoom.

This webinar is part of the year-long Exploring Connections to and Stewardship of the Natural World talks. This series is supported by a grant through the NH Humanities Council and aims to provide a public and personal space for the examination of environmental ethics, fostering a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and care of, our natural world. Programs are free to the public, and streamed via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live.
For more information and to see the entire slate of talks, visit our series webpage.
Speaker Bio:
Maria Sanders, a Philosophy professor at Plymouth State University and licensed attorney, has dedicated three decades to researching scientific variables for living full and flourishing lives, including the development of resilience and the exploration of how spaces become meaningful places. During the Fall of 2019, Dr. Sanders traveled for five months to all fifty states in the United States filming interviews that documented people’s experiences with place. As a public philosopher, she has written blogs, curated art exhibitions, hosted radio and television shows, and taught philosophy at the college level for over 30 years. Dr. Sanders’ philosophy holds that intentionally selecting, creating, and protecting the physical environments within which we feel a natural affinity is essential for living a full and flourishing life. The places where we live, work, and spend our leisure must be a good fit for our health and well-being if we are to thrive in our existence. Just as the farmer cares about the soil, water, and air around their crops in order to maximize excellent growth of those crops; caring about our natural environments provides an essential place for our physical, mental, and spiritual growth and well-being.

Connecting Land Use to Water Quality in Newfound Watershed
2021-08-24 19:00 - 20:15 | Red Barn, 41 North Shore Road, Hebron, NH, United States
Red Barn Series, Newfound Audubon
No registration necessary – just come and join us!
Speaker: Rebecca Hanson, Executive Director Newfound Lake Region Association (NLRA)
Water quality is connected directly to the activities in the land that surrounds it. At the center of the Newfound community, Newfound Lake is a healthy, thriving ecosystem. The NLRA has gathered decades of data, which informs decisions about how to best protect the lake. Rebecca Hanson, NLRA Executive Director will talk about the health of Newfound Lake and important work throughout the watershed that ensures Newfound is healthy into the future.
Please park across the street at Ash Cottage. Download a map here.
Rebecca Hanson is the Executive Director of the Newfound Lake Region Association. She has spent a lifetime in and around lakes. After nearly a decade in Wyoming, she returned home to New Hampshire and spent eight years working for the Squam Lakes Association. Rebecca holds a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Plymouth State University. Rebecca enjoys exploring the world by foot, bicycle, skis, and canoe. She joined the NLRA in 2019.
Special thanks to our series sponsor:

Native Plant Sale
2021-08-23 - 2021-09-06
August 23 – September 6
online sale, pick up in person on September 12
Bagley Pond Perennials and McLane Center
Fall is a great time to refresh and enhance your garden with native plants! Bagley Pond Perennials is hosting an online Native Plant Sale to benefit to the McLane Center Pollinator Garden. The two-week event will take place on the Bagley Pond website. People interested in purchasing native plants for their gardens can do so online, followed by a scheduled pickup at NH Audubon’s McLane Center on September 12, from 12-4pm.
