Zaps are notes of awareness and pleas for action that appear in the corresponding print edition of Bird Observer. Here they are from the current issue.
April 1, 2022
2 MIN READ
Zaps
Friends of Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Inc.
Pines Trail Fundraiser
Alive with Birds: William Brewster in Concord
A special exhibition opening at the Concord Museum
Carol Thistle, Concord Museum, and Michael P. O’Connor, Mass Audubon
The Concord Museum is pleased to collaborate with Mass Audubon on the special exhibition, Alive with Birds: William Brewster in Concord, opening in the Museum’s Wallace Kane Gallery on March 4, 2022, through September 5, 2022. Alive with Birds is the first and most comprehensive exhibition on William Brewster (1851–1919), the first president of Mass Audubon and one of the country’s earliest advocates for the protection of birds and their habitats.
The exhibition also showcases 20 paintings and sculptures from Mass Audubon’s Museum of American Bird Art by acclaimed artists, including John James Audubon, Frank Weston Benson, Anthony Elmer Crowell, Charley Harper, David Sibley, Leonard Baskin, and Barry Van Dusen, each of whom depicted birds formerly or currently native to Concord’s landscape.
In 2019, Mass Audubon received a gift of 143 acres of the October Farm property, which has been renamed Brewster’s Woods Wildlife Sanctuary. A centerpiece of the show is a meditative exploration of Brewster’s Woods in a 10-minute media presentation. William Brewster’s own words, taken from his journal entries, guide the visitors in discovering the wonders of this natural landscape.
Alive with Birds will showcase items drawn from the wide-ranging collection of artwork, photography, and historical objects from Mass Audubon’s Museum of American Bird Art, and from the Concord Museum, accompanied by manuscript materials from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University and the Chesterwood Archives at Williams College.
Alive with Birds also explores the contributions of Robert Gilbert, a Black ornithologist who served as Brewster’s assistant for over twenty years, as well as Brewster’s lifelong friendship with the sculptor Daniel Chester French, for whom Brewster’s work served as an inspiration for his art.
PROGRAMS
The Concord Museum, in collaboration with Mass Audubon, is providing a wide range of related programming, informative and engaging to a broad range of audiences, including birders, environmentalists, land preservationists, and art lovers. For a full list of programs visit www.concordmuseum.org
About Mass Audubon: Mass Audubon is the largest nature-based conservation organization in New England. Explore, find inspiration, and take action at www.massaudubon.org.
About the Concord Museum: Founded in 1886, the Museum is a gateway to historic Concord for visitors from around the world and a vital cultural resource for the town and region. www.concordmuseum.org.