A mere four miles from bustling downtown Boston is a thriving nature preserve and home to one of New England’s best spring migration and in particular spring warbler migration. Mount Auburn cemetery near Harvard Square in Cambridge is a privately owned burial ground that was founded in 1831. The cemetery is an active burial place but the grounds are open to the public from 8 am to 5 pm October thru April and May to August the grounds are open until 7 pm. The office of the cemetery can be reached at 617-547-7105 and on-line at www.mtauburn.org. There are some rules such as parking and eating which can be found on-line. Many famous people are buried there such as Mary Baker Eddy, Buckminster Fuller, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Winslow Homer among others.
The original intent of the cemetery was to preserve it as a place for living so there are many plantings, monuments, fountains and chapels making the site visually pleasing and attractive for birds and other wildlife. It is probably the most visited area in Massachusetts by birders and photographers in the spring and early summer. To find out recent sightings there is a board inside the park with more information on what has been seen that day. Birds that have been found this spring are red-tailed hawk, eastern screech owl, warblers, song sparrows, scarlet tanager, house wren and great blue heron. Some websites to learn more about bird sightings are www.virtualbirder.com, www.birdforum.net, and www.massaudubon.org.
To photograph the wildlife, several things should be included when visiting. First a pair of binoculars are essential as the birds can be located beyond eyesight and must be tracked from a distance. When photographing, a telephoto lens is needed for most birds as they are mostly small and should be kept at a distance. A lens with at least a 300 mm focal length is needed. Longer focal length lenses are needed for smaller birds but extension tubes would be helpful to bring more magnification without having to purchase an expensive longer lens.
There are still a lot to photograph with a shorter lens such as flowers, frogs, turtles and herons which might be closer than the song birds. Look for the flowering trees as they make a nice background for the birds.
Comments