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Shifting Tides
For nearly a decade, Anne Hayden’s work at Manomet has focused on restoring marine habitats and rebuilding sustainable fisheries. Throughout her career, Anne’s work has focused on planning and management for Maine’s watersheds, building engaging and inspiring educational programs and courses, restoring marine habitats, and rebuilding sustainable fisheries. Through social and natural science, she has worked to understand the dynamics of the marine ecosystem and align economic incentives with environmental stewardship. In addition, she has worked to restore sustainable and resilient fisheries in the Gulf of Maine and strengthen adaptive co-management to promote healthy marine ecosystems and thriving coastal communities. At the end of June 2021, Anne will be retiring from Manomet, leaving behind a long list of accomplishments and...
Massachusetts Young Birders Club Takes Flight
“Look! Cooper’s Hawk!” The group of children, teens, and adults swiveled to find a small, striped hawk perched in a tree, deterring songbirds from using the bird feeder they were so eagerly monitoring. Led by Jeremy Spool, a Massachusetts birder and ornithologist, the socially distanced team was watching the new feeders at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club, hoping for a songbird or woodpecker to make an appearance. Their efforts to tally birds on this cold December morning were part of the annual Springfield Christmas Bird Count. In partnership with the Eagle Eye Institute and the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club, this outing was one of the first official events of the revitalized Massachusetts Young Birders Club (MYBC) with Manomet...
Manomet’s 2021 spring banding season is here!
Manomet’s bird banding lab opened for spring migration on April 15. Migratory and resident birds have been banded at Manomet since 1966 – a Black-capped Chickadee banded by Manomet’s by Manomet's Founding Director Kathleen (Betty) Anderson. Migratory bird banding operations like ours represent an important source of data about bird migration. Long-term ecology data sets can lead to discoveries often missed in shorter-term studies, and are critical for establishing baselines and tracking changes in the natural world. Because birds are widely surveyed by professional and amateur observers alike, and their natural histories are often well-understood, wild bird populations can be useful sentinels of environmental change and ecosystem health. Joining the banding lab this year are four talented banders from across...
In gratitude: Part 2
Manomet’s volunteers amplify the impact that Manomet has on the world. Manomet has volunteers throughout the western hemisphere and they assist us with shorebird research, gardening, education, and so much more. Kathy Lyons is a certified Massachusetts Master Gardener whose greatest interest is in Native Plant Gardening, making her the perfect volunteer for Manomet’s Garden for Wildlife. Kathy generously donates a few hours every week throughout the season, not only gardening but also recruiting and coordinating a team of students from the Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association (MMGA) to work along-side her. In 2019, Manomet was awarded a $250 grant from MMGA due to Kathy’s efforts. Her gentle, warm spirit brings a ray of sunshine to the garden whenever she’s there....
Fall 2020 Banding Season, Week 6: September 21—25
Fall colors have started to spread along the net lanes. Virginia Creeper and Poison Ivy vines have turned a brilliant shade of red, while the maple tree that changed color last week dropped all its leaves by the end of this week, covering the path in orange and yellow leaves. The drought in our area has been upgraded to severe, no doubt causing the trees some stress and accelerating leaf change and loss. We've seen very few frogs and salamanders this fall; this is in stark contrast to last fall when we would find several Gray Tree Frogs and Spring Peepers each day. We finished the week with 182 new birds banded, 112 recaptures processed, and seven new species. This...
Fall 2020 Banding Season, Week 1: August 17—21
Our first week of fall banding for the 2020 season is complete! After testing negative for COVID-19 and traveling under the restrictions that Massachusetts has put in place, the banders were ready for work. The jungle that had grown up along the net lanes during spring and summer has been fought back to make room for the 50 nets. Portions of the net lanes that are usually bare dirt are overgrown with low growing Path Rush (Juncus tenuis) from the lack of banders traveling the paths in the spring. We banded 166 new birds our first week; an even 100 of which were Gray Catbirds. The first bird we captured was a hatch-year Carolina Wren with a Gray Catbird not...
Summer 2020 Census, Week 11: June 22—26
EVAN: MONDAY, JUNE 22—CENSUS High humidity and a cool seabreeze made for a very foggy morning at Manomet. The soft purple blooms of wild geraniums have given way to the fluorescent fuchsia Deptford Pinks. Summer had truly arrived and the netlanes were mostly silent. While watching a female Yellow Warbler darting about in a lichen-covered tree, gathering food for her nestlings I couldn’t help but think that the tropical weather of her winter home had caught up with her. On the farm, recently fledged Baltimore Orioles begged for food, Green Frogs plunked away in the dwindling water of the big bog. Our patches of Common Milkweed have begun blooming and I spotted an early Monarch Butterfly searching amongst them for...
Manomet expands forestry work with new staff
Manomet is proud to announce that Dr. Neil Williams has joined our staff as an Applied Forest Scientist. Neil will be working to help forest managers implement solutions that enhance forest carbon storage and foster resiliency against a changing climate. "Dr. Neil Williams brings a mix of professional experience and education that will be of great benefit to the Climate Services Program," says Eric Walberg, Senior Program Leader, Climate Services. "Neil completed his PhD in Sustainable Forest Management at Oregon State University in August of 2019. Prior to that he was employed as a Carbon Program Officer with the World Land Trust. We are looking forward to having him on our team." Neil will be focusing his work over the...
Celebrating Citizen Science Month
April is citizen science month! There are plenty of ways you and your family can participate in citizen science projects this spring while being safe and also having fun. Check out some activities from our science staff to learn how you can become a #ManometCitizenScientist! Use this hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share your family’s adventures in field science with us. Migration Magic Did you know that billions of birds fly north every spring from South and Central America to breed and nest during the summer? Right now, warblers, vireos, orioles, and more are heading to a forest, park, or yard near you to rest and feed before continuing their northward migration. Many will even stay for the summer!...
The Top 10 Bird Sightings of 2019 at Manomet Headquarters
Manomet’s 40 acres of coastal property boasts a variety of habitats, including freshwater wetlands, mixed forest, grassland, and saltwater. In addition to our natural wealth, Manomet is home to a rich history of ornithological observation and research, dating back to the early 1900s and continuing to this day. For this story, we are counting down the 10 most exciting bird sightings of 2019. In 2019, a total of 231 bird species were recorded on our property by dozens of different contributing observers. Our pool of observations includes birds observed in the field, birds banded, and those recorded by our nocturnal flight call recorders. We selected the rankings based on a combination of the number of previous sightings on the property...