Lenox Library to Host Program on the Birds of Kennedy Park

Print Story | Email Story
LENOX, Mass. — Lenox Library will host a multimedia presentation by Mark Ameigh on the "Birds of Kennedy Park" on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. in the Library's Welles Gallery, located at 18 Main Street.
 
The program will highlight roughly 50 birds that can be found in Kennedy Park, most of which are summer-only residents that arrive in late April and are gone by early August. These include warblers, vireos, fly-catchers, Grosbeaks, and other migratory species, each staking out a territory in their favored habitats. Using drawings and a copy of the trail map displayed on kiosks throughout the park, Mark Ameigh will show where he encountered various birds in the summer of 2023.
 
Due to their diminutive size, elusive nature, and camouflaging plumage, many birds are nearly impossible to see and can only be heard. Cell phone apps recently have become available to capture their songs and identify which bird is calling. One such app is Merlin Sound ID from Cornell University’s Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY. Ameigh will demonstrate how this app works so attendees can identify more of the birds they hear in Kennedy Park. Attendees are encouraged to bring their favorite birding field guide for personal reference during the program.
 
Presenter Mark Ameigh lives in Lenox. A self-described "amateur naturalist" who moved from Buffalo, NY to Western Mass in 1983, he has spent years scouting the nature reserves of the region in search of birds, butterflies, wildflowers, and other wildlife that make the highlands of Western Massachusetts and the Berkshires so special. In the spring of 2023, he began to maintain a daily journal of bird species he encountered, primarily in Kennedy Park and Mass Audubon’s Pleasant Valley and Canoe Meadows wildlife reserves. After reading two articles on drawing birds published in the New York Times in the summer of 2023, he took up the challenge of learning to draw birds himself and looked to his journals for subjects to illustrate.
 
This program is free and open to the public. 

Tags: lenox library,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Ventfort Hall: Baseball in the Berkshires

LENOX, Mass. — Larry Moore, Director of the nonprofit Baseball in the Berkshires, and a retired Physical Education Specialist, will tell about the history of baseball in the Berkshires at Ventfort Hall on Tuesday, July 16 at 4 pm. 
 
A tea will be served after the presentation.
 
According to a press release:
 
The game of baseball has a long and storied history in the Berkshires. From the broken window by-law of 1791 and the first college game ever played in 1859, there were 60 years of minor league teams calling the Berkshires their home. There are 40 major league players coming from the Berkshires and two of them are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Over 220 minor league players were born, raised or settled in the Berkshires. Just when you think you have a grasp on those stories someone asks about women's baseball and black baseball in the Berkshires. Going back to the late 1800's both the history of women and people of color have strong roots here. The long list of famous baseball visitors that left parts of their stories here contains the names of "Say-Hey Kid," "Joltin' Joe," "The Iron Horse" and of course, "The Babe."
 
Larry Moore worked as a Physical Education Specialist in the Central Berkshire Regional School District for 37 years. He taught a popular yearlong unit about the history of baseball for 25 years, along with his regular Physical Education program, to his fifth graders culminating with a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He now volunteers at the National Baseball Hall of Fame as an Outreach Educator. Nine years ago he, along with Tom Daly, Jim Overmyer and Kevin Larkin, established a group of baseball enthusiasts who established the nonprofit organization, Baseball in the Berkshires. Its mission is to tell the fascinating stories of baseball in the Berkshires through exhibits and educational programming.
 
As director of this group he, and his fellow volunteers, have created numerous exhibits and educational programs throughout the Berkshires. He co-authored the book "Baseball in the Berkshires: A County's Common Bond." 
 
He is a resident of Lenox and has spent many years working with the young people of the Berkshires, as an educator, coach, official, and business owner.
 
Tickets are $40 for members and with advance reservation; $45 day of; $22 for students 22 and under. Ticket pricing includes access to the mansion throughout the day of this event from 10 am to 4 pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call at (413) 637-3206. Please note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.
View Full Story

More Lenox Stories