Mark Blazis Research Station

04/14/2024

Scout Troop 101 Auburn is celebrating its Centennial this year! 1924-2024. All donated returnable cans and bottles will help fund scouts’ activities. Thank you !

08/19/2023

Today marked the first of the fall banding season for the Mark Blazis Research Station. Our focus was on setting up nets this morning but we decided to leave some the nets open while set up others. We ended up with 13 new birds and 1 recapture(a Gray Catbird banded this past spring). Highlights included an earful of Cedar Waxwings, a Blue-winged Warbler and a family of House Wrens.

*All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL

05/27/2023

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of John J. White. JJ was the renowned Godfather of Worcester County Bluebirds. JJ worked on establishing the bluebird recovery program at the Auburn Sportsman’s Club. He installed and monitored bluebird boxes throughout Worcester County and as far west as Berkshire County. Over the last decade, he banded over 1,400 nestlings of Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. Relatives and friends are invited to visit with John's family between 4 – 7 PM on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at the Britton-Wallace Funeral Home, 91 Central Street, Auburn, MA. His funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at North American Martyrs Church, 8 Wyoma Drive, Auburn MA.

View John J. White Jr.'s obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

05/15/2023

Today the banding team banded a pair of Eastern Kingbirds. Male and female kingbirds are identical except when it comes to the shape of their outermost primaries. P10 and P9 are deeply notched on males. The females also have a notched p10 and p9 but not to the extent of males.

05/13/2023

Over this past week, the Northeast has seen a good push of migrants. Today has been the best day of the season with 48 new birds and 15 recaptures. We had 23 different species including 7 different species of warbler.

04/15/2023

Birdbanding at the Auburn Sportsmans Club Mark Blazis Research Station has started for the spring. Such crazy weather. We were setting up nets on crunchy ground with frost and five days later it's 88 degrees.On Saturday 4/15 we opened nets for the first time We were not able to get many photos today, but one unusual bird stood out. We had a WTSP - White Throated Sparrow that didn't have a white throat!

04/02/2023

And on a more serious note, here's our *official* Outdoor Almanac for the month 😊 Happy April 1st!

Download, print, or screen-read here: https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/outdoor-almanac

03/11/2023

In memory of our founder Mark Blazis who passed away in 2021, the Auburn Bird Banding Research Station has been renamed to Mark Blazis Research Station. We will all remember the supportive, caring science teacher, ornithologist and tour guide who did so much for his students and the rest of us.

10/20/2022

This Eastern Towhee was banded by us back in September and today he was recaptured in Maryland!

We were super psyched to capture this hatch year male Eastern Towhee today, because it was already banded, but NOT BY US! Amazingly it was already in the BBL database and we learned it came from Auburn Bird Banding Research Station in Auburn, MA and was banded last month.

06/03/2022

RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! June 14th @ 7PM

The Grafton Historical Society is THRILLED to talk about a new book, AVAILABLE NOW

ZOSIA
IMMIGRATION AND INDUSTRY
in Grafton, Massachusetts; a Polish Immigrant’s Perspective
There will be a power point presentation and lecture by writer, Helen Rawinski Blazis on June 14, 2022 at 7:00 pm at the
Grafton Public Library, on the Common
Admission is FREE and open to the public.
We THANK the Grafton Cultural Council for their support with the event! We look forward to seeing you for a night of history and education.
Copies of the book, Zosia, may be purchased at event.
https://www.facebook.com/events/548401509982056?ref=newsfeed