NORTHFIELD — Northfield resident Nick Fleck, a longtime birdwatcher, has organized a club of people who enjoy birds as much as he does.
Nine members of Fleck’s new Northfield Bird Club met for the first time earlier this week at the Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center, outlining their vision for the group.
Fleck, who learned birdwatching at a young age from his relatives, said he can identify about 70 percent of local bird species by hearing their calls, but used to know even more, driving him to want to hone his skills.
“I wanted to find some people to go birding with, and maybe get some of my ear back,” Fleck said.
So, Fleck decided to throw the idea out to friends, neighbors and other Northfield residents via the Nextdoor social networking service. Fellow residents eagerly responded to the idea, hoping for a group where they could take birdwatching walks and have meetings focused on bird identification and other bird-oriented learning.
“I’m interested in being able to identify more of the calls I’ve heard,” Northfield resident Ethan Haslett said.
“There’s a lot I don’t know (about birds),” Northfield resident Jessie Wiggin said.
The members agreed to meet every few weeks, and shared resources for online learning such as eBird, a website developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. In the future, Fleck said, the Northfield Bird Club might choose to develop its own website.
To become involved or get email updates about the club’s activity, email Fleck at flecknick@gmail.com.