A few regular birds and a few less-frequently noticed ones. And surprising mammals. We even had some snow!
Hope you had a sweet and surprising month.
February Bird List
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Northern Cardinal
- Downy Woodpecker
- American Crow
- Blue Jay
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Mourning Dove
- Tufted Titmouse
- Brown Creeper (2/20)
- American Goldfinch (2/27)
(Bold items in this list are species not recorded in January 2023.)
We had extra excitement about mammals today! You expect the two squirrels (Red and Gray Squirrels). We also saw a White-footed Mouse outside one of our office windows enjoying the bird seed, an Ermine (seen by BirdDiva right before her program), and plenty of lovely, well-defined raccoon tracks.
Fewer Feeders?
We began 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!
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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.