Kestrel Educational Adventures

05/12/2026

05/02/2026

We developed a new animal behavior program for the Manchester and Essex 4th graders. At Kestrel, doing challenging, authentic, meaningful science learning is compatible with being a kid and moving and exploring all day. Our mission was to explore the woods, finding animals and closely observing their behaviors and bodies to figure out how each behavior is made possible.

Our amazing 4th graders were able to notice so much fine detail that they broke down the cadence of salamander movements foot by foot, and watched the way millipedes wave their many legs. They used binoculars to observe the movements of crow's wings and goldfinch hops from tree to tree.

Next week they will be turning their field observations into comic strips and we're looking forward to it!

**Note: If you child enjoyed this program, they will probably love our Woodland Seekers nature camp this summer. Check it out!**

04/28/2026

UPDATE: Thank you so much everyone! Someone turned all our gear into the Manchester police station. Apparently it was taken by accident.

Please share!

This morning, our staff team was at Dexter Pond in Manchester preparing for our fourth grade scientists to join us for a wildlife behavior study. We put a box down with our gear right by the parking area. Someone took 8 pairs of our Nikon Monarch binoculars, with white numbers on them, and three bright yellow Motorola Talkabout T400 radios out of the box while we were gone just a few minutes checking to make sure the trails weren't flooded. We're hoping it was a mistake and someone thought they were giveaways, even though they were in a box labeled "MMES field." If you have them, have seen them, or know who has them, please return our gear. We need them for the many more classes we have this week and the rest of the season. No questions asked, just bring it back. Please! Thank you.

04/15/2026

Yesterday, we spent the morning at Essex Elementary School making models that show the specific resources that specific animal species would find in Chebacco Woods, using the students' field notes from our hike last week. Then we spent the afternoon with the Rockport 5th graders, who mapped out their own woods showing how specific predators would get all energy they need, starting with the sun flowing into specific plant and tree species. The maps are made using entirely field evidence the students documented through sightings, track and sign, and trail cameras.

We take kids outside because specific places matter. Specific species matter. Learning how species are supported by the wilds in each town forges deep connection and understanding. We have the kids use their field data to do original project work because that is what scientists do - And they are scientists. Their work matters, and each of their pieces can educate viewers on connections they learned in the field.

Enjoy!

04/11/2026

Kestrel's Survival Camp and Woodland Seekers Camp give campers unfettered exploration of nature, skills they can teach their families, and direct, muddy, wild connection to the natural world. Guided by stories and led by professional naturalists, campers learn to make fires and shelters, track animals, keep a nature journal, and plan hikes. Our organic and flexible schedules allow campers to stay with an activity as long as they are interested and build true connection to each other and to splendid hidden spots in the forest. Visit our website to learn more and enroll today.

03/21/2026

Last night we teamed up with Green Beverly, and had a record turnout for amphibian crossing brigade volunteers. We set up posts on both Common Lane and on Boyles Street. It was a bit of a slow night for frogs and salamanders, but there was a migration nonetheless. We stayed several hours and crossed dozens of peepers and wood frogs and 2 spotted salamanders. Many thanks to Dean Berg and the Green Beverly volunteers, and to the amazing Officer Stephen O'Brien, who was at least as excited about salamanders as the rest of us were, and he kept us safe to boot. We're still waiting for everyone to finish entering their save numbers and we will post an update once they're all in. In the meantime, enjoy these photos! Protect the wetlands; wetlands are special places. Education is conservation!

03/18/2026

News from the Wild - https://mailchi.mp/5f4febc68047/biothonbeinganimalsyardsale-8340917

03/18/2026

From independent journalist Paul Leighton, who showed up on the migration road last night:

Hundreds of spotted salamanders, spring peepers and wood frogs were determined to cross Boyles Street last night. The crossing brigade was there to help.

03/16/2026

Donation request: We're looking for plug in boot dryers to help us dry our ponding boots after kids have a little too much fun in them. This spring, we have hundreds of kids scheduled just for our pond science classes. Although we have many pairs of boots to loan the kids who don't have their own, sometimes we don't have enough dry boots for multiple days in a row if some get wet. And some always do! Something like this will dry two pairs at once. Does anyone have any older or extra ones you can donate to us? We would be super grateful! Reach out in comments if you have one or more to donate, or just drop them off in the mail lobby of 22 Broadway in Beverly (left hand side of the building just to the right of the mailboxes). Thank you for any help!

03/15/2026

Here is an email we just sent out to city officials in Beverly. Please reach out to your city councilor as well as the councilors at large to ask for protective measures for amphibians, who might begin their spring migration as early as tomorrow night:

I wasn’t expecting a possible big amphibian migration and breeding event this year until much later in the spring, due to all the snow this winter as well the cold nighttime temperatures.
However, Monday’s forecast looks favorable for amphibians, and the ponds do seem mostly to have melted.
As I’ve mentioned before, frogs and salamanders, including wood frogs, spring peepers, spotted salamanders, and sometimes eastern newts and bullfrogs and green frogs and American toads, all spend winters up to half a mile from breeding ponds. Anywhere within a half mile radius from a wetland is potential amphibian upland habitat. They migrate during the first rainy nights of spring or late winter that are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. On their way, they cross any roads that are between their winter habitat and their breeding ponds. Often, the entire population of several species within a specific area will migrate during the same few nights a year. They are very vulnerable while migrating, since the whole population is moving at the same time. Road strikes are a major cause of mortality for them and can decimate a species if there is no mitigation. Once they get to their breeding ponds, there are elaborate breeding rituals and lovely (loud!) songs.

Kestrel has a list of nearly 100 community members who would like to come out and observe amphibian activity at Camp Paradise on breeding nights.
We also have a smaller list of folks who would like to help with a crossing brigade on Boyles and Cole streets, near where they intersect by the railroad tracks.
Those folks will wear reflective vests and help to ferry frogs and salamanders across the roads in the direction they were heading, so fewer of them get hit by cars.

I would like to emphasize that the exact dates of amphibian migration and breeding are not predictable, as they depend on many weather -related factors.
It is impossible to know for sure whether a particular night will be a good amphibian night until after dark, when I head out to check the ponds.

Amphibian migration nights are usually spread out over several rainy early spring or late winter nights, and continue from just after dark, throughout the night.

I would like to make the following requests:
Outdoor access to Camp Paradise for leading folks to observe amphibian activity on migration and breeding nights, from 9pm to midnight. I can email an update, but will only have about one hour notice of whether the critters are moving, before putting out the call to the community for folks to come out
A police car to help keep folks safe as they help amphibians cross Boyles/Cole Streets near the railroad tracks

I would also like to suggest the following mitigation measures to help ensure as many amphibians as possible survive the migration and have a chance to breed in the wetlands this spring:
No general public cars allowed into Camp Paradise onto the property’s dirt roads at night. Those roads pass within several feet of the wetlands and amphibians and reptiles have been getting run over on those roads in past springs. Our kids found squashed toads and a squashed baby turtle last year on the Camp Paradise roads. Closing the roads to traffic on spring evenings should help a lot.
Any of you willing to make public announcements on your own social media to encourage folks to drive slowly and/or avoid driving on roads that traverse wetlands on rainy nights, would be greatly appreciated
Please no use of salt anywhere near the wetlands
Silt fence put up separating the compost from the vernal pool - I don’t know how fast one can be put up, but it’s urgent. With the flooding coming, rain will carry silt from the dump into the wetlands, cause water turbidity (cloudiness), pollute the pools with nitrates, cause oxygen depletion, and kill anything with gills that is getting its start in the wetlands. My students and I have watched the water quality in the pools degrade over the years as the compost dump gets bigger and closer to the wetlands. Please, protect our wetlands and amphibians!

Thank you so much for your consideration, and please confirm we have permission to bring out a group to Camp Paradise tomorrow night and on subsequent rainy nights, and let me know if you can help with any of these other mitigation measures.

03/14/2026

Do you want to come out to Camp Paradise in Beverly to watch the great amphibian migration and breeding? Sign up for the mailing list to get updates about when we will be meeting! You will also get updates in the Facebook group Camp Paradise Nature Center Advocates if you join.

Sponsored by Kestrel Educational Adventures and Green Beverly: Are you interested in going out on a rainy night to observe one of the great wonders of spring: Frogs and salamanders migrating en masse to their breeding pools, where they will sing, dance, and lay their eggs? This form is to sign up fo...