Through the Window: October 2017

Through October, we continued to have light traffic at our feeders, but plenty of birds deeper in the woods. Great insects, fruits, berries? Could be.

This month’s list includes what we observed at the Big Sit!, one of our favorite birding activities.

Bold items in this list are those species not recorded in September 2017.

• Blue Jay
• Tufted Titmouse
• Hairy Woodpecker
• White-throated Sparrow
• Black-capped chickadee
• Downy Woodpecker
• Mourning Dove
• Eastern Phoebe
• Ruffed Grouse (flew to ground at the crabapple tree)
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Northern Cardinal
• Dark-eyed Junco (this note was added by the observer: “2 males 10-25-2017”)

Big Sit! List

This just goes to show if you get out past the windows from dawn to dusk, you can be rewarded! Find out a bit more about our Team Loonatics on the BigSit! website. Seven Days came out and filmed for a Stuck in Vermont segment; thank you! And for the first time that we know of, Vermont has two circles! Friends of the Missisquoi sat also.

1. Barred Owl Strix varia
2. Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
3. Common Raven Corvus corax
4. American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
5. Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus
6. White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
7. Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
8. American Robin Turdus migratorius
9. American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
10. Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
11. White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
12. Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
13. Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
14. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
15. Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
16. Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii
17. Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
18. Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus
19. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
20. Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus
21. Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
22. Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
23. Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
24. Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Find out a bit more about our Team Loonatics on the BigSit! website. Seven Days came out and filmed for a Stuck in Vermont segment; thank you! And for the first time that we know of, Vermont has two circles! Friends of the Missisquoi sat also. Maybe you will form a circle next October?

As I post, we’ve just entered our “by appointment” season. From November to April, please call ahead to schedule your visit; we usually need several days notice. We continue to host walks, carvings classes, and more through the winter, listed on our events page.  If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter , tumblr, and/or Instagram too, you’ll find more comments, links, and observations. See you soon!

The “Through the Window” series is an informal record of observations made by staff, volunteers, and visitors. Anyone at the Museum may add to this list. Observations are usually through our viewing window: a large window with a film covering that helps hide watchers from the birds. We have chairs and binoculars to try, a white board, and many identification guides. Outdoors, several feeders are attached on a single, bear-resistant pole. A small pond, flowers and water plants, shrubs and trees add cover and (seasonally) other food choices . You can sometimes see what we see via our webcam.