Dear Friend,

Last year I was forced by Covid to confine my participation in BAT to my apartment!  I have looked forward to BAT every spring for more years than I can remember, so you can imagine my disappointment in 2022 when I couldn’t participate, just as much as this year I’m excited by the prospect! From egrets to orioles, whip-poor-wills to warblers, and swallows to shorebirds, BAT takes place at the zenith of spring migration in Massachusetts. Despite this fact however, birds increasingly need our help these days. From contaminant threats from rodenticides and neonicotinoids, unrelenting loss of wildlife habitat due to suburbanization and urbanization, a continued reliance on fossil fuels in place of wind or electric power, under-regulation of many fishery and horseshoe crab quotas, threats to coastal resources resulting from sea level rise, and forest and overall landscape changes as a product of overall climate change, many bird species are in serious trouble.

With the waning throes of Covid hopefully in our rearview mirror, I am optimistic that you will generously support my Bird-a-thon efforts this spring as I continue my work on behalf of bird conservation at a time when birds more than ever need our help.

As the senior member of our Bird Conservation team, I have tragically witnessed the steady decline of many once common or more widespread bird species, including American Black Duck, Northern Bobwhite, Upland Sandpiper, Red Knot, Roseate Tern, American Kestrel, Cliff Swallow, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Bobolink, and Eastern Meadowlark to name but a few.

The deterioration of important avian habitats such as barrier beaches, saltmarshes, grasslands, shrublands, and managed forests are but one of many challenges currently facing our feathered friends.  Having devoted much of my life working on behalf of bird conservation, I hope you will support me and my colleagues this spring as we continue to work to ensure the future well-being of birds in Massachusetts. 

The dollars raised through my BAT team’s efforts go directly toward advancing Mass Audubon's bird conservation program.

 A generous donation to my fundraising page by clicking on the gold box to the right of this page will go a long way toward supporting our effort.  With heartfelt thanks in advance for your support!

Wayne