Natural Winter Wonders, Mass Audubon

Getting outside and enjoying the New England’s winter season

Blue sky, wintry day with snow on the ground and snow on maple tree branches

A wintry sugar maple tree

Photograph courtesy of Mass Audubon

Layer up and get outside for a series of winter walks with Mass Audubon. The conservation organization has 60 scenic sanctuaries, from the Berkshire Mountains to the Atlantic Coast, many of which offer year-round events for adults and families. Check the website for a comprehensive list of programs, but here’s a glimpse of what’s on tap.


A barred owl, named for its striated markings 
Photograph courtesy of Mass Audubon

The preserve at the Museum of American Bird Art, in Canton, hosts “Family Owl Prowl” (February 16). The two-hour excursion through wooded trails offers the chance to learn about these fascinating nocturnal creatures. Families can listen for hooting calls, look for tree cavities where birds hunker down, find other signs of owl life, like pellets, and even make nests out of natural fodder. In Plymouth, venture out after dusk for the “Snow Moon Hike” at Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary (February 16, ages 10+). Enjoy sharing the terrain with creatures who make their home along the streams, ponds, and marshes of this former cranberry farm. “Wildlife Tracking for Beginners” (February 26, ages 14+) offers a two-hour morning jaunt through Princeton’s Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary. Assistant sanctuary director Cindy Dunn leads the search for hints of animal life in the snow, mud, and frozen earth. Basic tracking techniques, like identifying scat, imprints, and feeding signs (gnawed bark, acorns, and bones) are covered, along with how to find animal pathways and hibernation haunts. The hilly sanctuary is a former farmstead with 12 miles of trails through meadows, woods, wetlands, and scenic overlooks.

Unable to get outside? Stay cozy and check out Mass Audubon’s six-part online “Wonders of Winter” series exploring snowy owls, the starry sky, and winter crow roosts, January 13 to February 17.

Read more articles by Nell Porter-Brown

You might also like

Harvard Film Archive Spotlights Japanese Director Mikio Naruse

A retrospective of the filmmaker’s works, from Floating Clouds to Flowing

Ciderdays Festival Celebrates All Things Apple

Visiting small-batch cideries and orchards in Massachusetts

A Paper House In Massachusetts

The 1920s Rockport cottage reflects resourceful ingenuity.

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

Human Impact On New England Ecology Was Minimal before Europeans Arrived

Before Europeans arrived in New England, local ecology was driven by climate shifts, not by human interventions.

This Harvard Scientist Is Changing the Future of Genetic Diseases

David Liu has pioneered breakthroughs in gene editing, creating new therapies that may lead to cures.

Explore More From Current Issue

Whimsical illustration of students rushing through ornate campus gate from bus marked “Welcome New Students.”

Highlights from Harvard’s Past

The Medical School goes coed, University poet wins Nobel Prize. 

David McCord in suit reading a book at cluttered wooden desk in office filled with framed art and shelves.

The Pump Celebrates Its 85th Birthday

Giving Harvard traditions their due 

Man in gray sweater standing in hallway with colorful abstract art on wall.

How Do Single-Celled Organisms Learn and Remember

A Harvard neuroscientist’s quest to model memory in single-celled organisms