Field Notes
by Peter B Brace

MIGRATORY BIRD DAY This year's International Migratory Bird Day will focus on how climate change is impacting birds' breeding, migration routes, ranges and feeding habitats around the world.

On Saturday, Keith Bergman, one of the first 1,000 people selected by Al Gore to give his "Inconvenient Truth" global warming presentations, will kick off International Migratory Bird Day at 7:30 a.m. at the 'Sconset Fire Station with a talk entitled, "Birds in a Changing Climate."

Sponsored by the Nantucket Bird Club, this event is designed to generate awareness about migratory birds. After Bergman's talk, members of the Nantucket Bird Club will lead walks around 'Sconset in search of migrating warblers. Because of its high concentration of tall trees, 'Sconset is the ideal spot on Nantucket to view warblers. For details, call Edie Ray at 228-1693

SHOW US YOUR PAPERS It's never too early to start thinking about cleaning up that mold spore study paper you have recently finished.

Organizers of the Second Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative Conference are seeking related research papers on anything that walks, runs, crawls, slithers, flies, grows and swims on Nantucket, Muskeget and Tuckernuck islands, Cape Cod or Long Island.

Authors of such papers are invited to apply for a spot on the program to give a 15-minute oral presentation or prepare a poster presentation of their work. Research abstracts should be Microsoft Word or WordPerfect documents no longer than 250 words. Email to: Chairman of the Scientific Program, Dr. Bob Kennedy at rkennedy@mmo.org by Aug. 1.

Hard copies may also be sent to Kennedy at: Maria Mitchell Association, 4 Vestal St., Nantucket, Mass. 02554. For more information contact: NBI Conference Co-chairs Ernie Steinauer at esteinauer@massaudubon. org or Emily Molden at emily@nantucketlandcouncil.org.

ALL FOR FARMS Sustainable Nantucket is exploring the idea of a municipal Agricultural Commission and will hold a brainstorming session on the subject on May 12 at 12:30 p.m. in the Hayloft of Bartlett's Ocean View Farm's Farm.

Munchies will be served while three speakers enlighten attendees on the pros and cons of getting the island agricultural community together.

Irene Winkler from the Plymouth Resource Conservation & Development Program, Sue Guiducci of the Dartmouth Agriculture Commission and Dick Ward, Chairman of the Carver Agriculture Commission will share their experience with agricultural commissions in their towns.

Call Sustainable Nantucket at 228-3399 or email: christine@sustainablenantucket. org by May 11 to reserve a spot.

MEET TO LIVE, LIVE TO MEET The Siasconset Beach Preservation Fund will not be meeting today at 4 p.m. in the Large Group Instruction Room at Nantucket High School at 10 Surfside Road. Tentatively, the ConCom hearing to review SBPF's quest to dig 2.6 million cubic yards of sand from offshore shoals and rebuild the beach from Sesachacha Pond down to Codfish Park is going to continue on May 23.

The remanding of Great Harbor Yacht Club's notice of intent for its dock, pier and dredging plan back to the commission for three missing findings continues as scheduled on May 15 at 3 p.m. in the conference room of the Town Annex building at

37 Washington St. I