Spring Migration is in Full Swing!

Grab a friend and hit the trails for FREE guided birding walks, pick up a paintbrush at the new Maxwell Mays Art Studio, or explore the trails and search for emerging pollinators. Get out and enjoy the warmer weather on the wildlife refuges – it’s spring!

Unless noted, registration is required for all programs. Register online and view a complete listing of programs through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Audubon Free Birds Walks in May - Locations Across Rhode Island
May brings the best birding of the year, so grab your binoculars and search for spring migrants with an expert on a FREE May birding walk. Learn about local species and the habitats they depend on. May is the perfect time to get outside, enjoy the warmer weather, and learn more about our feathered friends! All free birding walks require advance registration - visit the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Editor’s Note: See separate release for complete listing of free birding walks, dates, and locations.

New! First Fridays: Watercolor from Nature 101
Two-session Class
Audubon Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge, Coventry, RI
May 3 & June 7, 2024; 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Head to the new Maxwell Mays Art Studio for a beginner watercolor painting class! Discover the use of brushes, paper, paint, and palettes to begin, then pick a brush and get to work! The class is guided by demonstrations. Your new skills will be used to create a simple landscape. A sample of birds can be chosen and added to complete the masterpiece! In the second session, color theory and drawing basics will be introduced with another completed painting. No experience necessary, all materials provided. Meet in the parking lot.
Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge, 2082 Victory Highway, Coventry, RI; Fee: $100/member for two sessions, $125/non-member for two sessions. Ages: Teen to Adult. Register online through the events calendar at asri.org/calendar.

Free Family Fun Day
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, Bristol, RI
May 4, 2024; 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
The Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium is open free to the public the first Saturday of every month. Join us for nature stories, animal discoveries, hikes and more. No need to register!
10:00 am - 3:00 pm: Craft Table
10:00 am: Nature Story
11:00 am and 2:30 pm: Animal Interview
1:00 pm: Wetland exploration - Join Audubon for a walk down to a freshwater wetland. Search for macroinvertebrates, listen for frogs, and discuss this unique and ever-changing ecosystem. Please dress for the weather. For ages 6 and up.
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI; Free. Ages: All.

May Bird Walk and Breakfast
Audubon Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge, Coventry, RI
May 4, 2024; 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Start the morning off with an early bird walk through the beautiful Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge. Hear early spring warblers, Baltimore Orioles, and more. Explore the forest for early spring flowers called ephemerals. Following the walk, enjoy a scrumptious fireside breakfast at the lakeside cabin and then head back out onto the trail to do a little more birding. Please bring your binoculars and dress for the weather.
Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge, 2082 Victory Highway, Coventry, RI; Fee: $35/member; $40/non-member. Ages: 14 and up. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Fairy Houses in the Garden
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, Bristol, RI
May 5, 2024; 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Join Audubon and create all natural fairy structures in our pollinator garden! The fairy houses will be made from materials found on the wildlife refuge and will be designed to break down over time and not impact the health of the garden. We ask that you do not bring your own fairy house supplies. Advanced registration is required.
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI. Fee: $8/member adult/child pair, $5/each additional member; $12/non-member adult/child pair; $7/each additional non-member. Ages: All. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Sensory Forest Bathing Walk
Audubon Fort Wildlife Refuge, North Smithfield, RI
May 5, 2024; 9:00 – 11:00 am
Shinrin-Yoku originated in Japan and literally means "to bathe in the atmosphere of the forest." This practice has been adopted in the West as "forest bathing." Enjoy a gentle half-mile walk with guided activities that use your senses to connect with nature. Opportunities for silence/meditation will be woven in with quiet, inquiry-based investigation to engage both the right and left hemispheres of your brain. This gentle walk is for all abilities and levels, but please dress for the weather and wear footwear appropriate for walking on the trails.
Fort Wildlife Refuge, (Rt. 5), 1443 Providence Pike, North Smithfield, RI; Fee: $10/member; $14/non-member. Ages: Adult. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Ecology: A Celebration of Our Shared Experience
Photography by Hecmar Delgado
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, Bristol, RI
May 5 – June 30, 2024; 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
The word ‘ecology’ defines the relationship that living creatures share with their physical environment. Humanity shares the same ecosystems with countless other living beings, ranging from the humpback whale to the Anna’s hummingbird. Hecmar Delgado’s photography exhibit features a collection of wildlife and landscape scenes taken in Southern New England and in the breathtaking Pacific Northwest. The photographer hopes to inspire viewers to become active contributors to wildlife conservation and habitat restoration and looks to articulate a story in photographs that bridges the division between humans and nature.
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI; Free with Admission. Ages: All.

Audubon Native Pollinator Walk
Audubon Touisset Marsh Wildlife Refuge, Warren, RI
May 10, 2024; 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
By May, most migratory pollinators have arrived back in Rhode Island. Join Audubon for a spring walk through the beautiful Touisset Marsh Wildlife Refuge in search of local pollinators at work. Learn about the steep decline of these critical insects, how you can support their populations at home, and discover how Audubon works to create healthy habitats across the state for bees, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.
Touisset Marsh Wildlife Refuge, 99 Touisset Road, Warren, RI; Fee: $10/member; $14/non-member. Ages: 12 and up. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Bird Banding
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, Bristol, RI
May 11, 2024; 9:15 – 11:15 am
Come observe bird banding, where experts capture, band, measure, and release songbirds in order to record their movements. Birds will be gently removed from tall “mist nets” set in Audubon’s shrubby habitats. The techniques of identifying, measuring, weighing, and banding the birds will be demonstrated before they are released. The migratory habits and life history of each captured species will be discussed. Bring a camera and binoculars. Register early!
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI. Fee: $20/member adult, $10/member child; $25/non-member adult, $15/non-member child. Ages: 6 and up. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Sea Glass Jewelry Workshop
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, Bristol, RI
May 11, 2024; 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Come design and create a beautiful pendant with sea glass found on local beaches. Learn how to choose the right piece of glass and transform it using quick and easy wire wrapping techniques. Program includes all materials. Find something special on the beach? Bring that too! This class fills quickly so don’t wait! Advance registration is required as space is limited to 10 participants.
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI; pm; Fee: $22/member; $27/non-member. Ages: Adult. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Audubon Lecture
Nature Inspired Art: "My Summer with Ospreys" with Pamela Lowell
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, Bristol, RI
May 11, 2024; 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Pamela Lowell, a licensed clinical social worker and author of four books, has spent the past forty years as an expert in healing trauma, working as a clinician, consultant, and trauma training specialist. She knew that birding and being in nature had always provided her with solace and healing, and in 2022 she began painting large watercolors of Ospreys and donated the proceeds to local environmental organizations.

In 2023, Lowell jumped at the chance to accompany Mass Audubon in their weekly Osprey nest monitoring on the Westport River. The adventure proved to be more transformative than she could have imagined. Join her as she shares her experiences and book “My Summer with Ospreys: A Therapist’s Journey Towards Hope, Community and Healing our Planet". A short hike will follow where Osprey Monitoring Coordinator Lincoln Dark will share stories of local Osprey history while you will observe their active nests.

Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI; Fee: $10/member; $14/non-member. Ages: 14 and up. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Spring Birding on Prudence Island
Prudence Island, RI
May 16, 2024; 7:30 am – 3:00 pm
Spring bird migration will be in full swing by mid-May, and Prudence Island is a wonderful place to see a wide variety of species thanks to the diversity of habitats. Come explore forest edges, marshes, and meadows - and we will go anywhere else the birding looks good.
Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Prudence Island, RI; Fee: $12/member, $14/non-member. Ages: Adult. For more information and to register for Prudence Island programs, visit the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

New! The Art of Paper Making for Adults
Audubon Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge, Coventry, RI
May 17, 2024; 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Using recycled papers, fiber, and natural materials, come learn the art of paper making in the new Maxwell Mays Art Studio. Gather samples of different types of materials during a short walk on the refuge, and then return to the studio to create a natural pulp which will be used to begin the paper making process. No experience necessary, all materials provided. (Limited to 8 participants). Meet in the parking lot.
Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge, 2082 Victory Highway, Coventry, RI; Fee: $50/member, $60/non-member. Ages: Adult. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

New! The Art of Paper Making for Kids
Audubon Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge, Coventry, RI
May 18, 2024; 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Class begins at the new Maxwell Mays Art Studio with discovery of samples of homemade paper and the different types of natural materials used to create them. Children then create a natural pulp which will be used to begin the paper making process. All participants will create a collection of their own handmade paper samples to take home. For grades 1 – 5. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Register early, this program is limited to 8 participants. Meet in the parking lot.
Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge, 2082 Victory Highway, Coventry, RI; Fee: $45/member, $55/non-member. Ages: 6 and up. Register online through the events calendar at www.asri.org/calendar. 

Memorial Day Nature Activities
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, Bristol, RI
May 27, 2024; 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Bring the kids for a guided walk to the shore and celebrate the start of summer! No registration required.
10:00 am-2:00 pm: Craft Table
10:00 am: Nature Story
11:00 am & 2:30 pm: Animal Interview
1:00 pm: Explore the Seashore Walk
Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI; Free with Admission. Ages: All.