It’s the end of 2022, and a pretty good year it’s been. We hope the same is true for you.
Thank you for following us, supporting us, and being part of the museum community.
Enjoy the brief list of this month’s birds, consider donating to our annual appeal, and keep on birding!
Happy New Year!
December Bird List
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Tufted Titmouse
- Blue Jay
- Mourning Dove
- Dark-eyes Junco
- Hairy Woodpecker
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Fox Sparrow (under azaleas)
- Downy Woodpecker
We saw the usual mammals: Red and Gray Squirrels.
(Bold items in this list are species not recorded in November 2022.)
Fewer Feeders?
We have been feeding in a much more limited way in 2022, due to avian influenza. We may be using several feeders, but different ones from time to time, through the winter. While we don’t see domestic fowl at our feeder area, we do sometimes see wild turkeys, hawks or falcons, and sometimes have waterfowl on the nearby pond. We’d like to keep protecting them.
A few relevant links:
Avian Influenza Outbreak 2022-2023: Should You Take Down Your Bird Feeders? https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/avian-influenza-outbreak-should-you-take-down-your-bird-feeders/#
2022-2023 Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Wild Birds : https://aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-wild-birds
Distribution of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in North America, 2021/2022 : https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/distribution-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-north-america-20212022
Avian Influenza Wildlife Health Bulletin from VT Fish and Wildlife Department : https://vtfishandwildlife.com/learn-more/living-with-wildlife/wildlife-diseases/avian-influenza-wildlife-health-bulletin
Care to observe with us? Register for one of our upcoming events. See you soon!
Volunteers, we always have opportunities for you!
If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram, you’ll find us talking about bird news, sharing photos, suggesting events, and more. Check us out!
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, 8′ steel 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.