Nathan Feinfeld, a seventh-grader at Westwood’s Thurston Middle School, will celebrate his bar mitzvah in August at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton. Nathan’s brother and he have attended Massachusetts Audubon summer camps for nine years, and Nate is an avid fan of birds. For his bar mitzvah project, then, Nate worked with Property Manager Owen Cunningham at the Museum of American Bird Art, a Mass Audubon sanctuary in Canton.
Nate worked with Owen to hang owl boxes at the Bird Art Sanctuary in summer, fall, and winter. The naturalists there are hoping that owls will nest in the boxes so they can gather data and study them. As soon as the trails are safe to open, Nate and his family will begin observing the boxes, too.
The second part of Nate’s project will happen on May 15-16, when people from all over Massachusetts will participate in Mass Audubon's annual Bird-a-thon fundraiser. Teams representing different Mass Audubon sanctuaries and programs will come together to collectively identify as many species of birds as possible in 24 hours.
This carbon-free event is easy for anyone to join. Like Nate and his family, you can observe and identify bird species at home and submit them to raise funds for Mass Audubon’s nature conservation efforts.
“Now I think of birds as the wildlife that is keeping us company as we stay home and try to keep everyone safe,” says Nathan.
To join or donate, visit www.massaudubon.org/birdathon, and click on the Museum of American Bird Art Team Page.
