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Spring 2019 Events Calendar

2019 Nature Series

We are pleased to introduce our slate of speakers and their topics for our forthcoming series of nature-related talks.

All events take place in the Meyer Room of Hanover's Howe Library located at 13 South Main Street. The talks run from 7:00 p.m. to approximately 8:30 p.m. They are free and open to the public.

James Kennedy

The American Woodcock; Ecology and Management

Tuesday, April 9

Jim Kennedy will give a presentation on the American woodcock, the migratory bird famous for its springtime mating ritual on the “singing grounds”. By most accounts, woodcock are declining in the Northeast. Jim will describe the woodcock’s unique anatomy and habits and where this adapted shorebird is found in our area. He will show the steps being taken to preserve and enhance the particular habitat of fields, brushy edges, and young forests which are critical to woodcock survival.

Jim is a wetland scientist, a landscape architect, and Chair of the Hanover Conservation Commission.  Jim is also a bird dog enthusiast who has navigated the thick woodcock “covers” throughout the Northeast, Midwest, and Atlantic Canada. He has competed, judged and reported on wild bird field trials and is a former winner of the International Amateur Woodcock Championship, held annually in New Brunswick (no birds are killed in these events).  Has worked on the Huntington Hill Wildlife Management Area in Hanover for 40 years, maintaining and enhancing woodcock and ruffed grouse habitat.

The talk is free and open to the public.





Upcoming Birding Events

Event Cancelled Due to Likely Poor Weather Conditions!

Spring Migratory Waterfowl

Saturday, March 23

8:00 – 11:00 am

Norwich, VT

This outing will begin at Norwich’s riverside Foley Park adjacent to the Ledyard Bridge. From there we’ll move up the Vermont side of the Connecticut River searching the river and its adjacent inlets, fields and woods for migratory waterfowl and early arriving spring songbirds. Likely stopping spots include “Pompy Flats,” Kendall Station Road and Campbell Flats

The event is free and open to the public.Meet in Dartmouth’s new, Lewiston parking lot adjacent to the Norwich end of the Ledyard Bridge to form car pools.

Walking conditions are level traveling over mostly paved surfaces. Bring binoculars and/or a spotting scope as you prefer. All experience levels welcome.

To be led by Mascoma Chapter Steering Committee members George Clark and Blake Allison.



Woodcock Walk

Dates and Locations to be announced

Hanover, NH

7:15 – 9 :00 pm

The male, American woodcock’s mating flight is one of the avian world’s great spectacles, an upward spiral followed by a plunging dive back to earth. This outing will seek to observe that memorable display.

Due to the uncertainty of weather and ground conditions at this time of year, the exact date and place of the walk will not be known until early April. Visit our website www.mascomabirds.org for updates.

Walking conditions are through fields over uneven, unpaved surfaces that may be damp. Appropriate footwear is highly recommended.

The event is free and open to the public. Bring binoculars and/or a spotting scope as you prefer. All experience levels welcome.

To be led by Mascoma Chapter Steering Committee member George Clark.

Co-sponsored with the Kendal Birding Club.



Spring Migrant Bird Walk

Saturday, April 27

Hanover, NH

6:30 – 9:00 am

The Mascoma Chapter’s annual outing along the Connecticut River’s New Hampshire side will look for migrating waterfowl and early-returning spring migrants. Stops along the way will include a visit to Hanover’s Wilson’s Landing before heading north on River Road towards Lyme’s Grant Brook.

Meet in the Sheridan Printing parking lot on NH Rt. 10 next to Hanover’s Richmond School to form carpools.

Walking conditions are level and over mostly paved surfaces. Bring binoculars and/or a spotting scope as you prefer.

The walk is free and open to the public. All experience levels welcome.

To be led by Mascoma Chapter Steering Committee member George Clark.

Co-sponsored with The Hanover Conservancy and Upper Valley Land Trust



Bedell Bridge Bird Walk

Saturday, May 25

7:00 – 9:30 amt

Bedell Bridge State Historic Site

Haverhill, NH

This visit to the former site of the Bedell Covered Bridge, lost in a September 1979 hurricane, offers an opportunity to see a wide variety of birds due to the park’s interesting combination of riparian, mixed woodlands and agricultural land habitats.

The park entrance is located on NH Rt.10 just north of the Haverhill Green. Meet in Dartmouth’s new Lewiston parking lot adjacent to the Norwich end of the Ledyard Bridge to form car pools.

Walking conditions are level but will be damp if there has been recent rain. The event is free and open to the public.

Bring binoculars and/or a spotting scope as you prefer. All experience levels welcome.

To be led by Mascoma Chapter Steering Committee members Jeff MacQueen and George Clark.

Mascoma River Greenway Bird Walk

Saturday, June 8

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Lebanon, NH

For the third consecutive year, Mascoma Chapter Steering Committee member Jeff MacQueen will lead a bird walk along the Mascoma River.

This year we will explore the newly opened (July 21, 2018) Mascoma River Greenway Trail (MRG). This paved, segment offers lovely views of the Mascoma River along its course beginning just east of Alice Peck Day Hospital (APD) then traveling westerly to its current terminus near Glen Road and the Miracle Mile. Expect to see a good variety of songbirds and perhaps some waterfowl.

Meet at the access point parking area opposite APD on Mascoma Street. From any starting point, head to I-89 Exit 17. Coming from the west, turn right at the bottom of the ramp and head towards Lebanon on Mechanic Street. From the east, turn left at the bottom of the Exit 17 ramp and also head toward Lebanon on Mechanic Street. After about a ½ mile, you’ll see a left hand turn that passes through the old granite underpass. On the other side, turn right onto Mascoma Street. The parking area will be on your right a few hundred feet farther along.

Foot travel will be on a level, paved surface. Bring binoculars and/or a spotting scope as you prefer. Bug repellant, particularly with tick prevention in mind, is highly recommended.

The walk is free and open to the public. All experience levels welcome.

The walk is co-sponsored by the Mascoma Chapter of NH Audubon and the Mascoma River Local Advisory Committee.

 

 Common Mergansers at Wilder Dam

Wayne Benoit - Reno, NH

Recurring May Birding Events

“Warbler Wednesdays”

May 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29

7:00 – 10:00 am

W. Lebanon, NH

Join our popular, early morning, May series of weekly searches for warblers and other returning spring migrants at Lebanon’s secluded gem, Boston Lot Lake. Meet in the more northerly of the two parking lots on NH Rt. 10 directly across from Wilder Dam.

Walking conditions include a fairly steep, uphill climb and surfaces that are unpaved and uneven. If rain has occurred recently ground conditions could be muddy or damp. Sturdy footwear is recommended.

The event is free and open to the public. Bring binoculars and/or a spotting scope as you prefer. All experience levels welcome.

To be led by Mascoma Chapter Steering Committee Chair Blake Allison.

“Feathered Fridays”

May 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31

7:00 – 10:00 am

Mink Brook Preserve

Hanover, NH

“Feathered Fridays” will be returning to the Mink Brook trails again this May. If last year’s walks are any indication, we should expect to see a good variety of migrating passerines as well waterfowl thanks to the varied habitat through which the trail system passes.

Meet in the parking area adjacent to the electrical substation on NH Route 10 about ¼ mile south of the Hanover business district. The trails are level but mostly dirt surface, which means they could be muddy should rain have occurred near the day of the walk.

Bring binoculars and/or a spotting scope as you prefer. The walk is free and open to the public. All experience levels welcome.

To be led by members of the Mascoma Chapter Steering Committee.

Recent Birding Outings



Annual Bald Eagle Watch

Wilder Dam - Wilder, VT

Saturday, February 16

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Saturday morning, under cloudy skies, the Mascoma Chapter of NH Audubon hosted its first bird watching event of the 2019 season. Fourteen birders were in attendance under cloudy skies with the temperature hovering in the mid-30s.

The chapter chooses the Wilder Dam site, because there is a bald eagle nest nearby, and the dam's outflow creates open water down stream attractive to bald eagles. Only one bald eagle was recorded Saturday and that was by an early arriving (9:30 a.m.) Blake Allison who observed an adult circling over the little island about 100 yards downstream from the dam. It was seen there for about five minutes before disappearing into a small stand of white pines on the river's New Hampshire shore. It did not appear during the scheduled 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. observation period.

Other activity was limited to a dozen of the dam's resident rock doves, two blue jays, a common raven and nine American crows. Four adult, common mergansers (two females and two male) flew in around 11:00 a.m. to fish in the open water about 50 yards below the dam.

Thanks to Mascoma Chapter Steering Committee members George Clark, Jeff MacQueen and Blake Allison for hosting. Thanks to Blake for keeping and
entering the eBird list.

Follow this link to that list:
https://ebird.org/nh/view/checklist/S52781578