Mass Audubon Collection
John James Audubon, Black-billed Cuckoo, 1828.
Alive with Birds: William Brewster in Concord
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One April morning in 1872, William Brewster (1851-1919) took the train from Cambridge to Concord to go birdwatching with a friend. Making their way to a nearby farm, a local resident expressed surprise at their coming all the way from Boston to hear a Woodcock sing. The journey was worth it, as Brewster later recorded in his journal: “In a few moments we heard the whistling of wings as the bird rose, and the next instant I saw him outlined against the Western sky, mounting straight up. [The bird] then began his song, an indescribable warbling mixture of liquid sounds. I was almost beside myself with excitement and pleasure and listened breathlessly for another repetition.” 34
Discover CONCORD
| Spring 2022
BY ERICA LOME, PhD William Brewster’s keen observations and poetical descriptions of birdlife made him one of the most important figures in the field of ornithology. Born and raised in Cambridge, Brewster dedicated his life to the study of birds and their habitats and later made a home for himself along the banks of the Concord River. As the first president of Mass Audubon, Brewster was also a fierce advocate for the protection of birds against commercial hunting and habitat loss. While his public legacy encompasses legislation, articles, books, and photography, it now includes a portion of the landscape he loved so dearly. In 2019, Mass Audubon received 143 acres of
Brewster’s original property and renamed the site Brewster’s Woods Wildlife Sanctuary. The Concord Museum is collaborating with Mass Audubon to tell Brewster’s story in a special exhibition in the Wallace Kane Gallery at the Museum March 4, 2022, through September 5, 2022. Alive with Birds: William Brewster in Concord will highlight works from the Museum of American Bird Art by acclaimed artists such as John James Audubon, Frank Weston Benson, and Anthony Elmer Crowell. ••• As a youth, William Brewster explored the fields, farms, meadows, and marshes
