Grassland Birds Talk

Date/Time
Date(s) - Jul 8th, 2023
10:00 am - 11:30 am

Location
William Cullen Bryant Homestead

A bobolink, a black, yellow, and white bird, perches atop a weathered fence post against a blurry green background. The Hilltown Land Trust and Trustees logos are overlaid on the right. Here in New England, our hayfields, pastures, and meadows serve as vibrant breeding grounds for threatened grassland bird species such as the beautiful bobolink. Learn about these sensitive species and how to manage habitat for them with a talk by Pete Westover. We’ll follow his talk with a birding session in the hayfield at The Trustees’ Bryant Homestead. We’ll have a few pairs of loaner binoculars to hand out. If you have your own and/or extras you’re willing to share, please bring them along! All levels of birders welcome.

This event is held in partnership with The Trustees.

The rain date for this event is Sunday, July 9th at 10 am.

About Pete Westover

Pete Westover, co-founder and Managing Partner of Conservation Works, LLC, has spent several decades in the Connecticut River Valley as an ecologist and bird enthusiast. He is co-editor of Bird Finding Guide to Western Massachusetts and has for many years been under contract with the Mass Dept of Fish and Game to carry out breeding bird surveys on many of the state’s Wildlife Management Areas, which this year again includes the Southwick WMA, a beautiful 1,000-acre tract of wonderful grassland habitat. He has also authored nearly two dozen federally funded wildlife restoration plans for properties all over New England.

Accessibility

Bathroom: Two large indoor, first-floor, single-stall restrooms, accessed by either a ~6-foot flush exterior wooden landing or two steps. The landing enters the building from a mown grass lawn, where it would be possible to drive a vehicle closer to the entrance.
Distance Traveled: We’ll be sticking close to the parking lot for this event – no hiking required! We’ll bird at a field directly adjacent to the parking lot, with an additional option to bird along a gently sloping mown grass path.
Fragrances: To be respectful of those with allergies and environmental sensitivities, we ask that you please refrain from wearing strong fragrances.
Parking: Unmarked parking spots in a compacted dirt parking lot.
Public transportation: Public transit is not available to the Bryant Homestead. Contact us if you are interested in coordinating a carpool.
Seating: Padded metal folding chairs during Pete’s talk, also available to sit on as we bird around the perimeter of the field. If you have a folding camp chair or other seating option you prefer, bring it! Please contact us if you’d like to arrange a seating option that’s more comfortable or accessible for you.
Surfaces: Mown grass fields and pathways, compacted dirt parking lot.

We’re happy to discuss your access needs for this event! For questions and accommodation requests, please reach out to sarah@hilltownlandtrust.org or call  (413) 628-4485 ext. 6.

Cost

This event has a sliding scale suggested donation of $0-25. Your donation supports future programs like this at HLT.

To become a member of Hilltown Land Trust for the year, make a gift in any amount to support our efforts to conserve and care for ecologically valuable land in the Hilltowns.