Laura’s Best Bird EVER: A Lifetime of Magical Encounters
Have you ever had such a perfect look at a bird, or watched it in such perfect circumstances, that you thought it had to be the best bird ever? Laura Erickson has found herself saying exactly that on many occasions, from special glimpses at Pileated Woodpeckers and a Five-striped Sparrow family to her one and only glimpse at one of the rarest birds on the planet, the Horned Guan. Some of the birds she’s seen in her travels to four continents made the grade, but so did some of the special individuals she’s seen in her own backyard. Sometimes looking for the best bird ever can open our minds and hearts to much, much more.
Saturday October 19, 2019
7:30 pm –8:30 pm (social hour with refreshments from 6:30 pm)
Geological Lecture Theater, Harvard University. 24 Oxford St, Cambridge.
FREE parking at the garage at 52 Oxford St.
About Laura:
LAURA ERICKSON, 2014 recipient of the American Birding Association’s prestigious Roger Tory Peterson Award, has been a scientist, teacher, writer, wildlife rehabilitator, professional blogger, public speaker, photographer, American Robin and Whooping Crane Expert for the popular Journey North educational website, and Science Editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She’s written eleven books about birds, including the ABA Field Guide to the Birds of Minnesota, National Geographic Pocket Guide to Birds of North America, the best-selling Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds (co-authored by photographer Marie Read); the National Outdoor Book Award-winning Sharing the Wonder of Birds with Kids; 101 Ways to Help Birds; and The Bird Watching Answer Book for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She’s currently a columnist and contributing editor for BirdWatching magazine. Since 1986 she has been producing the long-running “For the Birds” radio program for many public radio stations; the program is podcast on iTunes. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota, with her husband, one indoor cat, and her little birding dog Pip.
More about Laura at: https://www.lauraerickson.com.
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Embark on an evening of discovery as marine geochemist Scott Wieman recounts a recent month-long research expedition aboard the R/V Falkor(too) from Valparaíso to Puerto Montt, Chile. Scott’s talk blends his experiences birding the highly [...]
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The BBC Conservation and Education Committee is pleased to announce our two annual Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship recipients, Sydney Beard of Cambridge and Jonas Johnson of Canaan, CT. These scholarships cover the full cost [...]
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April 25 Annual Members Meeting – All Welcome
Please join us on April 25 for our Annual Members Meeting. The evening begins with a social hour at 6:30. The program starts at 7:30 with the BBC's annual business meeting and the election of [...]
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Mt Auburn Cemetery has announced changes to birder access starting this spring. In short the gates will open every day starting at 6:00 AM but the key program has been discontinued. Here is a portion [...]
eBird Tip – How to use eBird When Traveling
Thanks to Bob Ross for the following article, which started out as a MassBird listserv post: The eBird Alerts are an indispensable tool when traveling to a new city or region to go birding. I [...]
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Embark on an evening of discovery as marine geochemist Scott Wieman recounts a recent month-long research expedition aboard the R/V Falkor(too) from Valparaíso to Puerto Montt, Chile. Scott’s talk blends his experiences birding the highly [...]
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How have corvids mastered city life, learned human faces and learned to use tools? What settings and experiments help humans understand some parallels between human and crow cognition? Corvids—the ubiquitous crows, ravens, magpies, jays, nutcrackers, [...]
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Upcoming Field Trips
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge
Mount Auburn Cemetery 536 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA, United StatesMount Auburn Cemetery is lovely in all seasons. In late March, we may see the very earliest migrants from the south (Red-winged Blackbird, others) as well as the remaining seasonal visitors from the north (e.g. White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco). And our usual year-round resident species will have just started to sing!
Blue Hills
Blue Hills - Chickatawbut off Randolph MA, United StatesThis trip consists of several short (1-mile) hikes (the first is rather steep) to look for Turkey Vultures, Pileated Woodpeckers, Eastern Bluebirds, and early-arriving Eastern Phoebes and Pine Warblers.
Blue Hills Woodcock Walk in Fowl Meadow
Blue Hills - Burma Road 1361 Brush Hill Rd, Hyde Park, MAWe are usually successful in seeing the Woodcock's mating flight, and sometimes its mating display. We will hike 1 mile on a flat trail that may be wet.
Horn Pond, Woburn
Woburn - Horn Pond - Sturgis St 98 Sturgis St, Woburn, MA, United StatesLet's look for early Spring migrants such as Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and early warblers such as Palm, Pine, and Yellow-rumped. Co-sponsored with the Menotomy Bird Club.
Slow Birding at Revere Beach
Revere Beach 21 Revere Beach Blvd, Revere, MA, United StatesLed by DCR Park Staff. Come observe the beautiful details of birds and their behaviors and share observations with others in the group. Pose questions and memories that observations elicit. Birds we may see include Piping Plover, Manx Shearwater, resident gulls, with Common Tern arriving by May. Suitable for adults and children 8 years+. Children [...]