Day of Flight

8:30 am - noon

This is your chance to have an in-depth encounter with native birds and pollinators—and to help Newfields do its part to understand and care for its flora and fauna. You’ll see the delicate wings of a hummingbird, the flight of a raptor, and the wingspan of the magnificent hawk. From the birds, you’ll move to the bees by learning how a hive is managed—and how a butterfly goes through its life cycle. We will also be catching, banding, and releasing both hummingbirds and song birds to check their health and gain more information about their migration patterns. Before the summer winds down, take the opportunity to get outside.

8:30-11 a.m. - Art Activities & Hummingbird Banding | Garden for Everyone

9:30 -11 a.m. - Raptor viewing stations and Q&A | Lilly Allee

9:30-11 a.m. - Butterfly Lifecycles | Madeline F. Elder Greenhous

11:30 a.m.-noon - Raptor Live Flight | Lilly Allee

10:30 a.m.-noon - Art Activities | Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse

10:30 a.m.-noon - Bee Keeping Basics | Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse

10:00 a.m.-noon - Songbird Banding | Tanner Orchard

August 3

The Garden at Newfields

Included with admission and free for members

8:30-11 a.m. - Art Activities & Hummingbird Banding | Garden for Everyone

Start your Day of Flight with Newfields' annual hummingbird banding. Hummingbirds are caught and given a thorough examination to check on their health. Each bird is then identified with a small band. You’ll see the beauty of these small birds and join nationally certified professional to understand how hummingbirds make their long journey to Mexico for the winter.

9:30-11 a.m. - Butterfly Lifecycles | Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse

Learn how everything about butterflies from their lifecycles to what they eat. Our experts will also share tips and trips for attracting these colorful beauties to your garden.

9:30 -11 a.m. - Raptor viewing stations and Q&A | Lilly Allee

Have you ever wondered what those imposing hawks or owls look like up close? Have you seen the talons? See birds of prey up close and meet falconer Mark Booth. He'll share how each bird has specialized for its environment. This will be followed by a live bird flight.

11:30 a.m.-noon - Raptor Live Flight | Lilly Allee

10:30 a.m.-noon - Art Activities | Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse

10:30 a.m.-noon - Bee Keeping Basics | Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse

It's estimated that one out of every three bites we eat can be linked to the honey bees pollinating plants. Have you ever wondered how they create all that honey or why they collect pollen? Learn from beekeeper Ross Harding howbee colonies work and how bees navigate through our gardens. Ross will also be sharing some of his secrets to beekeeping.

10:00 a.m.-noon - Songbird Banding | Tanner Orchard

Join the Chief Naturalist for Wild Birds unlimited John Schaust to learn more about our backyard song birds. John will catch and release birds to understand key factors like their health, weight, sex, and species to collect data to share with birding professionals across the U.S. This data tell us how far the birds fly, if they are eating enough, and if they are declining or prospering.

2:00-3:00 p.m. - Backyard Birding Lecture with Jim Carpenter | Beer Garden

Join Jim Carpenter, founder of Wild Birds Unlimited and author of “The Joy of Bird Feeding”, in Newfields’ beer garden for A Bird Feeding Geek’s Guide to Backyard Birding. Jim will share tips on foods and feeders, habitats for birds, hand-feeding, problem solving solutions for squirrels, raccoons and more and fun facts about our avian visitors.