The public is invited to a Thanksgiving potluck at Audubon Community Nature Center’s Thanksgiving with the Birds on Saturday, Nov. 22. Join, from left, Jessica Piskor, Audubon marketing and design director; volunteer Janet Forbes, and Sharon Tefft, Audubon office manager/volunteer coordinator, pictured at the 2024 Thanksgiving with the Birds. Reservations are requested by November 14.

At Thanksgiving with the Birds, a longstanding Audubon Community Nature Center tradition that dates back to its founding, Audubon provides turkey, gravy, and beverages

The annual communal Thanksgiving dinner is a group effort, celebrated this year on Saturday, Nov. 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m

In the event’s early days, Audubon’s founders cooked soup in an outdoor pot, brought lawn chairs, and ate their Thanksgiving dinner outside in the brisk, occasionally snowy, air amongst the trees and birds.

Now participants are asked to provide their favorite Thanksgiving side dish or dessert and optional soup (broth-based and nothing with seafood, please) to share. Soup will be mixed over the fire outside, followed by a short program and dinner.

The program, featuring one of Audubon’s Animal Ambassadors, will begin at noon, followed by the meal.

Those attending are invited to join in a short walk after the meal, weather permitting.

Cost is $8, $6 for Nature Center members and children 3 to 15, free for ages 2 and under. Paid reservations are requested by Friday, Nov. 14, and can be made by calling 716-569-2345 or through AudubonCNC.org/Thanksgiving.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa. You can visit the nearly 600-acre nature preserve, check in on the live birds of prey, enjoy the natural play space, and hike over five miles of trails dawn until dusk daily for free.

The three-story Nature Center building houses interactive displays, a collection of live animals including the hellbender exhibit, and the Blue Heron Gift Shop. Visitors are welcome Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sundays, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Nature Center members and SNAP/EBT cardholders have free building admission daily. Building admission is also free every Sunday for non-Nature Center members.

To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, call 716-569-2345, find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook, or visit AudubonCNC.org. Check out AudubonCNC.org/about for a quick fly-by visit.