Date: 8/20/26 3:58 pm From: Brian Rusnica <14hawks8owls...> Subject: [Arlington Birds] Eastern Mass Hawk Watch Annual Meeting - 50th Anniversary: IN PERSON! Friday Sept 11th, 2026, 7pm at Middlesex Community College, Bedford Campus. Public Invited!
The 2026 Eastern Mass Hawk Watch annual meeting will be Friday, September
11th at 7pm. We will gather once again at Middlesex Community College in
Bedford, MA. The meeting will take place in the Cafe East section of the
Campus Center. Please find a detailed campus map and driving directions on
our website here: https://massbird.org/emhw/annual-meeting/
2026 marks 50 years of Eastern Mass Hawk Watch. We'd like to extend the
invitation to our meeting to the public and welcome all who are interested
in learning more about hawkwatching and our organization. The annual
meeting is the traditional kick-off to the Fall hawkwatching season in
Massachusetts - it won't be long before the first kettles of Broad-wings
gather over the skies of New England!
Our keynote speaker this year is Mark Wilson, Wildlife Photojournalist and
Teacher Naturalist, presenting his Ten Wild Photos, Ten Wild Stories talk.
Join noted wildlife photojournalist and teacher naturalist Mark Wilson in a
unique slide program that explores some of Mark’s best wildlife photos
taken over 30 years in some surprising places. Mark will present ten select
images. Each image will be discussed in-depth as to how and why it was
made. Supporting photos will help explain. Topics of discussion will
include photo techniques, equipment, ethics and natural history, and
staying comfortable and healthy in harsh environments. Aspiring beginner
photographers and traveled veterans alike will find inspiration to assess
and improve their own work. Non-photographers get to peek under the lens
cap and see how a pro comes up with knock-out photos.
Mark Wilson was a staff photographer for the Boston Globe for 23 years.
During those years he also wrote regular columns on photography and birds
for the Globe. His wildlife photos have appeared in a wide variety of
publications including National Geographic (Oct. 1992 cover, bullfrog).
Mark and Marcia Wilson work as a team in the field, exploring remote areas
that few people get to visit. In 2001 they completed a 19-day canoe trip
down a North Slope River in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge. That trip is the basis
for a chapter Mark wrote for the book Arctic Wings.
The meeting is free and open to the public (donations appreciated). A
social hour with beverages, appetizers and snacks starts at 6pm, followed
at 7pm by a brief business meeting and the keynote presentation. The
business meeting will review EMHW Watch Sites and how you can visit or
participate this upcoming migration season! We’ll also have the return of
our famous raffle, including many raptor-related and birding items and some
fantastic photography. Join us for a great evening!
If you are interested in contributing raffle items, refreshments, or
helping EMHW with the meeting, please let us know at
<e.masshawkwatch...> and we'll be in contact!
For complete information, including directions to the location in Bedford
(plenty of free parking), visit the Eastern Mass Hawk Watch web site at
massbird.org/EMHW.
