New London, Connecticut - This Saturday, January 25, the Custom House Maritime Museum presents 'Matthew Male: My View from Great Gull Island - Photos from the edge of the Sound.'  The opening takes place at the Custom House Maritime Museum, from 5 to 8 PM, in conjunction with the New London's Hygenic Art Weekend. The Custom House Maritime Museum is located at 150 Bank Street, New London, Connecticut, 860-447-2501, nlmaritimesociety.org. The  event is free and open to the public.  

At the Custom House, we have come to know Matthew Male as the unflappable leader of our annual volunteer trips to count tern nests & eggs out at Great Gull Island -- a hair-raising experience quite unlike anything else!  

 

Matthew Male became fascinated by birds at a young age. He remembers seeing his first Bald Eagle at age 6 -- the bird was stealing a fish from an Osprey at Hamburg Cove, in nearby Lyme. In 1973 at age 13, Matthew first visited nearby Great Gull, NY, a Research Station owned by The American Museum of Natural History. He has returned almost every year since. School vacations were spent working with the seabirds -- Common and Roseate Terns -- that nest on the 17-acre island. Matt continues to build and maintain a series of blinds that island researchers use to observe birds and wildlife. He monitors habitat manipulation and vegetation control on the island. Matthew is a consumate birder -- living for months during spring and fall migrations out on the island, alternately running bird walks and counts on the mainland, all the while photographing everything he sees. He posts his images to facebook, where we all can see the wildlife off just our shore and be amazed.   

     

This winter, we invited Matthew to have a special exhibition of his photographs at the Custom House. The show opens on January 25. Matthew speaks about his work on Sunday, February 16, and we have a related talk about Monarch butterfly migration with Ron Gagliardi on Sunday, March 22. 

 

In 2020, the Maritime Society is shifting its gaze to take in a wider view of our local environment: habitats, wildlife, fly ways, area fortifications (coming in April). Stay tuned for new programming posted at nlmaritimesociety.org.

 

Related events

   

 

Join us this Saturday night, 5 to 8 PM, for the exhibition opening!

 

Come to our opening at 5, eat at Noodles & Rice for the chicken dumplings or Right Path Organic Cafe  for the Buddha bowl, and then wander downtown.

 

It's all part of the BIG HYGIENIC WINTER WEEKEND -- Hygienic Art XLI | A Celebration of 41 Years of Visual Arts-- the most fun you can have in New London in the middle of the winter!

 

New London Maritime Society's Custom House Maritime Museum is located at 150 Bank Street, New London, Connecticut. The Custom House Maritime Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 1 to 5 PM, or by appointment - call 860-447-2501. Admission is free for NLMS members, children age 14 and younger, and active-duty military and their families; and $7 for all others.