Athol Bird and Nature Club President Dave Small reports, “We are still in lockdown mode, but we are keeping active. If you missed the Turtles of Massachusetts, Butterfly watching Webinar or our Dragonfly webinar, they were recorded and posted on the ABNC website. Please check out all the online events from around the area below.
“We continue to honor the passing of our friend, gifted naturalist, and ABNC board member Lula Field. Donations in her honor may be made to the Athol Bird and Nature Club online or send donation to “ABNC” 100 Main Street Athol, Ma 01331. She will be missed by all who had the privilege and pleasure to know her.”
Wednesday, June 17, 7 p.m. Introduction to Moth Watching: Welcome to the Darkside — Online Webinar.
In preparing for our MIIDGE Massachusetts Invertebrate Interlude Days, join Small for an introduction in attracting and watching moths in your socially distancing backyard. Learn how to use lights and bait to attract moths and get a glimpse of some of the moths you might encounter on a warm June evening.
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uvBZwY_RSj6H63dBfK-cDw
■June 19-21 MIIDGE Massachusetts Invertebrate Interlude Days Using iNaturalist
In normal years, the Athol Bird and Nature Club hosts a Moth Ball in June, concentrating on attracting moths to lights and baits at night. This year, instead, the club will host a virtual Moth Ball and, in fact, widen the net to include all invertebrates. Join the first Massachusetts Invertebrate Interlude Days with Great Expectations, or MIIDGE for short, on June 19-21. This project is set up to automatically collect all observations of invertebrates in Massachusetts made on those three days, but if you join this project, you’ll get notifications of all of those observations as they’re posted, as well as any announcements leading up to the event and afterward. “Pull your moth lights out of the closet, pile all the field guides next to the couch for easy reading, and get ready for a bit of fun in this crazy year,” Small said.
Sign-up for iNaturalist, a very easy to use and helpful app for your phone, on computer. Learn about Blacklighting for nocturnal insects with Ryan, “the Bug Man.”
■Thursday, June 25 at noon: Restoring Bog Turtles in Massachusetts Zoom Webinar with Angela Sirois-Pitel, The Nature Conservancy Stewardship Manager and Mike Jones, MassWildlife’s State Herpetologist.
Hidden away in the wetlands of western Massachusetts, a small but mighty bog turtle population is stabilizing, thanks to the ongoing study of this endangered species and careful management of its habitat. Angela and Mike will share stories about days spent wading through bogs in search of nesting, basking, and foraging turtles. They will also answer your questions about this important species. Interested participants must register for this free webinar at this link: https://tnc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYoc-2vrjooH9MznfJ5v5Ag6A4PvzFyzjYh
Check out Dave (Small) and Dale’s (Monette) Nature Journal and other topics on AOTV 1301 on your local Athol/Orange spectrum, or visit online with this link: Nature Videos by ABNC and AOTV