Berkshire's Hoffmann Bird Club to Celebrate 85th Anniversary

11:43AM / Thursday, September 04, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Hoffmann Bird Club (HBC) of Berkshire County was founded in Pittsfield in 1940, and on Monday, Sept. 8, the club will celebrate its 85th Anniversary at Berkshire Community College, 1350 West Street, Pittsfield.

Social hour will start at 6:00 PM, with the meeting and programs starting at 7:00 PM in Susan B. Anthony building, 1st Floor. The event will be complete with a birthday cake, and presentations from several HBC Members. The event is free and open to the public.

There will be a brief meeting, and mini programs to follow. On the roster are:

Dick Ferren, who will introduce us to his new book, "The Birds of Rhode Island."

Ferren is a former professor of Life Sciences at BCC, and recipient of the 2020 "Distinguished Naturalist" by the Rhode Island Natural History Survey. There will be a limited number of these books will be available for sale.

Zach Adams, who will discuss his new book, "The Birds of New England."

Throughout his career in conservation— working with National Audubon, Mass Audubon, and Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, and now Trout Unlimited— Adams' knowledge and enthusiasm have helped hundreds of people connect with birds.

Chip Blake, HBC's current president, who will tell us about "The History of Birding in Berkshire County."

Blake has lived in Berkshire County for almost three decades, exploring every corner of it as a naturalist and birdwatcher. He is the author of The Birds of Berkshire County, to be published later this year by the Nuttall Ornithological Club. Earlier, he served for 25 years as the editor of Orion magazine.

Steven Miller, HBC Vice President, Website and Social Media

Steven Miller will preview the new Hoffmann Bird Club archive, containing bird sightings, field trip reports, and other historical documents from the club's 85 years of birding the Berkshires. This physical archive will be housed at the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield and a digital archive will be available on the website this fall.

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Advocates Request Pittsfield Office of Neighborhood Safety

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:23AM / Monday, August 31, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Advocates want an office of neighborhood safety within the City of Pittsfield following a string of gun violence incidents this summer.

Last week, during a virtual meeting, the Pittsfield Freedom Project called for public health interventions, such as violence interrupters, hospital violence intervention, and a neighborhood trauma response team.

"I'm sure everyone is aware; there have been at least four shootings. I've heard from people in the community that there have been more than that, but these are the ones that have resulted in injuries," said filmmaker Jenny Herzog.

"Resulting in one homicide and at least seven injured over the last couple of months."

Recent shooting incidents in Pittsfield ranged from June 18, when a person died after being shot in the area of Tyler Street and Pleasure Avenue, and another person was injured, to August 18, when one person was injured after shots were fired on Circular Avenue.

Herzog produced the documentary "Hear Me," which explores the impact of poverty and gun violence on young people in Berkshire County. Attendees also heard from local advocate and fourth-generation Pittsfield resident Kamaar Taliaferro, CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence Ruth Zakarin, and Ben Snyder, a sociology professor at Williams College.

"Here we are again in another cycle of gun violence, without the tools we need, seemingly without the will to demand the tools, and even if we did, without leadership that would even understand what we're asking for," Taliaferro said.

"And it's not like we don't have the resources to build what we need. At least $1.3 million has come into Pittsfield every year for the past six years, targeted to interrupt the cycle of gun and gang violence that we are in this moment. And dating back even further, Pittsfield has received gun violence prevention money and has received gang violence intervention money since like 2014. Since the last time there was this like emergent cycle of gun violence in our community."