Berkshire County Historical Society Bird Banding Demonstrations

10:37AM / Monday, June 02, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Historical Society in partnership with Ben Nickley and Berkshire Bird Observatory will offer a series of bird banding demonstrations at Arrowhead beginning June 5.

This recurring, free drop-in event takes place June 5, 12, 26; July 3, 10, 24, 31 from 8 -10 am, and is weather dependent. The program allows visitors an up-close opportunity to see birds and watch the process of bird banding.

Bird banding allows researchers the opportunity to study a wide array of wild birds in their natural habitat. Arrowhead's woods, fields and shrub land make it an ideal site to monitor a broad range of breeding bird species.

Ben Nickley is the Executive Director of Berkshire Bird Observatory (BBO), a local nonprofit dedicated to bird conservation in the Berkshires and beyond. Nickley shares his passion for birds with others and weaves education and engagement into BBO's various scientific projects--including summer bird banding, migration monitoring, and their highly successful Kestrel Nest Box Project.

This program is sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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Colombian Artist Celebrates Immigrant Stories in New Pittsfield Mural

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
06:49AM / Saturday, October 24, 2026

Artist Laura Barrios explains the inspiration of the mural, of immigrants building new lives in the Berkshires.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The walls along the Intermodal Center's train platform are a little more colorful following the unveiling of Let It Shine's third mural at that location, transforming a space once surrounded by bare concrete into a vibrant display of public art.

The unveiling on Thursday, marks the close of Let It Shine's 2026 outdoor public art season and the third year of its emerging artist program, said Mill Town Foundation Program Director Andy Wrba.

Let It Shine's Emerging Artists Mentorship program was established in 2024 to support aspiring artists in the community by providing guidance, hands-on experiences, and opportunities to create large-scale public art.

"This mural, along with all the murals, as part of this emerging artist program, and even more broadly, all the murals that you see downtown throughout Pittsfield shows that we care about the cultural scene and we care about the creative people that live and work in our city," Wrba said.

The new mural, painted by Colombian artist Laura Barrios, celebrates immigrants who have built lives and found a sense of home in Berkshire County.

Barrios has been working on the piece for the last two months alongside mentor artist, Jesse Tobin McCauley.

"It's a homage to the immigrants who work and make a home in the Berkshires … this is a very personal experience too because I am an immigrant," Barrios said in her speech.

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