New Bedford Art Museum

Artist's Talk
Thursday, July 29
6 p.m.

At the New Bedford Art Museum, RSVP to (508) 961-3072

6 pm: “Audubon as Inspiration” - Alan Poole, editor, Birds of America, c/o Smithsonian and Cornell Labs. Cash wine & beer and hors d’oeuvres at 6pm followed by lecture at 7pm. $20/person.

alan poole Birds of North America (BNA) Online is a project of the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology where Dr. Poole is a senior research associate. As the site
notes, "In two centuries of American ornithology, The Birds of North America
(BNA) is only the fourth comprehensive reference covering the life histories
of North America's breeding birds. Following in the footsteps of Wilson,
Audubon, and Bent, BNA provides a quantum leap in information beyond what
those historic figures were able to assemble.. Now as an online project of
the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BNA is becoming a living resource. Account
contents are updated frequently, with contributions from researchers,
citizen scientists, and designated reviewers and editors. In addition, BNA
Online contains image and video galleries showing plumages, behaviors,
habitat, nests and eggs, and more."

Dr. Poole is the author of Ospreys: A Natural and Unnatural history,
published by Cambridge University Press in 1989. He worked closely with the
late Joseph and Gilbert Fernandez in their successful crusade to save the
osprey at Allen's Pond and on the Westport River and Dr. Poole continues to
monitor their progress.

Writing in This Famed Bird, a column written for David Gessner's website OspreyWorld.com, Dr. Poole noted:
"The habits of this famed bird differ so materially from those of almost
all others of its tribe that an accurate description of them cannot fail to
be interesting to the student of nature." So wrote John James Audubon over
150 years ago in Birds of America. He had the pleasure of seeing Ospreys
nesting in primeval American wilderness - while he was floating the
Mississippi by barge, sailing the Florida coast, riding weeks on end through
towering eastern forests. Reading him we weep for what's been lost. But we
haven't lost Ospreys, a blessedly adaptable beast, and we do have an
advantage over Audubon; thanks to research, publishing, and the Internet, we
know a lot more about this bird than he did. And this knowledge opens doors
to a bigger world. "

He went on to note: "For me, this is one of the great pleasures of having
caught the Osprey bug. I may be physically tied to a small town in upstate
New York, and to a comfortably stable Osprey breeding population in coastal
southeast Massachusetts, but discovering (and rediscovering) Ospreys has
taken me around the globe, even if only as an armchair observer. "

The NBAM is delighted to host Dr. Poole whose life's work has continued that begun by John James Audubon. Please join us at Audubon as Inspiration on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Reception with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar begins at 6:00 P.M. The lecture is at 7:00 P.M. Admission is $20
per person. For reservations or additional information, please call the NBAM
at (508) 961-3072.

Bird Walk
Saturday, August 7
8:30 ~ 11 a.m.

At Mass Audubon: Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary – Field House, 1280 Horseneck Road, Westport (508) 636-2437

“Salt Marsh” Bird Walk, 8:30 am Coffee & muffins. 9-11am Birding. Adults: $5, children under 11 free.

Download Audubon Exhibits Events Calendar (PDF)

AHA!
Thursday, August 12
6 ~ 8 p.m.

At the New Bedford Art Museum (508) 961-3072

6 pm: Barry Van Dusen, recognized wildlife artist living in central Massachusetts will showcase and discuss his work. His articles and painting have been featured in Bird Watcher’s Digest, Birding, and Birder’s World magazines. He has illustrated a variety of natural history books and pocket guides in association with Massachusetts Audubon Society.

8 pm: Bob Maker, naturalist, will speak.

Free & open to the public.

At the New Bedford Free Public Library, 3rd Floor, (508) 979-1787

6pm: “Audubon and American Identity”, Janice Hodson, co-curator Taking Flight! Audubon’s work coincided with efforts by 19th century artists and writers to uniquely native art forms reflecting the young United States. Through his birds, the French naturalist sought to interpret the grandeur of the untamed American wilderness. Free & open to the public.

Download Audubon Exhibits Events Calendar (PDF)

AHA!
Thursday, September 9
6 ~ 8 p.m.

At the New Bedford Art Museum (508) 961-3072

6 pm: “Coming Home”, Sandra Hall, artist and author, original illustrations and discussion from her book Coming Home, bringing alive the life of a family of barn swallows.

8 pm: Audubon and American Identity Talk by Janice Hodson, co-curator, on how Audubon interpreted the grandeur of the North American wilderness.

Free & open to the public.

Bird Walk
Saturday, September 11
8:30 ~ 11 a.m.

At the Mass Audubon: Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary – Field House, 1280 Horseneck Road, Westport (508) 636-2437

“Shore” Bird Walk, 8:30 am Coffee & muffins. 9-11am Birding. Adults: $5, children under 11 free.

Walking Tour
Saturday, September 11
10 a.m.

Walking Tour: In Audubon's Steps with New bedford Historians Peggi Medeiros and Bruce Barnes. Meet at The Wamsutta Club at 10 am.