It’s a great month for getting outside (again, if you’ve been indoors for mud season). Check out our events for May, below. Birds walks, new art show, just sitting and more.
The trails are open from sunrise to sunset, every day—we recommend using the south trails (Spear, Discovery, Story) rather than Gale’s, Pop’s, or Bob’s, thanks to flooding last July. Trail maps and more information are available on our website, and are posted at the museum and at trail kiosks as well. (Let us know if the wind moved any!)
=== MAY EVENTS ===
OPENING DAY for 2025 SEASON
Thursday, May 1 • 10am – 4pm
We return to our Open Season hours! We are open 10am – 4 pm every day from today through October 31.
Drop in! • Regular admission (Free for members!)
OPENING DAY FOR BIRDS AND MYTH ART SHOW
The Birds of Vermont Museum’s 2025 art show is centered on the ideas of birds, myth, meanings, metaphors, and guides. Art in this show brings together birds and their meanings to retell an old story, weave several together, represent beliefs, and/or create a myth for the future.
Show is open from May 1 to October 31 • Included with Museum Admission
More details: https://birdsofvermont.org/event/opening-day-for-birds-and-myth-art-show/
SPRING VOLUNTEER WORK DAY
Saturday, May 3 • 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Please help us prepare the Museum for spring (and summer)—we’ll feed you if you tell us you’re coming! Come for an hour or all day, bring yourself, a friend, a family.
Details at https://birdsofvermont.org/event/volunteer-day-2025/
EARLY BIRDER MORNING WALKS
Sundays, May 4 – June 30 • 7:00-9:00am
Join us for an early morning ramble in the Birds of Vermont Museum forest and meadows every Sunday in May and June. Enjoy the start of the day with us, birds, and other woodland inhabitants. Walks are led by experienced birders familiar with Vermont birds. Come to several walks to hear the changes in who calls and when!
Free, donations welcome.
Generally 12 people / walk. (more on June 8, as we will have 2 leaders)
Register in advance, please. Call 802 434-2167 so we can confirm your spot.
Find details of bird walks at https://birdsofvermont.org/special-upcoming/tag/bird-walks/
FOREST SIT
Thursday, May 15 • 10:00 – 11:00am
Join museum staff on Thursday at 10 am for a quiet time outdoors in the forest. We will meet outside the museum by the entrance benches to welcome each other, then walk out to the month’s sit spot and sit quietly for 30-45 minutes.
Max: 8 • Outdoors
Please register for a sit by calling 802 434-2167. Limited to 10 people each Sit. You are welcome to come to one, several, or all.
Find upcoming Sits at https://birdsofvermont.org/special-upcoming/tag/sit/
SUNSET BIRD WALK
Thursday, May 22 • 7:00 – 8:30pm
Not an early riser? You’re not alone. Some birds also prefer to sing, call, or display in late afternoon and early evening. Enjoy a sunset stroll around the Museum’s forests and clearings and “meet” some of them. Erin Talmage and Ali Wagner will lead the walk. Although we may see and hear fewer species than we do at dawn, a late day ramble gives us more time to appreciate each kind and to better learn their songs.
Max: 8 • Call 802 434-2167 to register. More details at https://birdsofvermont.org/event/sunset-bird-walk-202505/
Suggested donation, $5-$15
Black Birders Week
May 25-31 • All day, all week
No specific events planned at the museum, but we encourage you all to notice, recognize, and enjoy the outdoors together.
For our 6th celebration/ 5th year, under the theme “Grounded in Community,” we are continuing a movement that centers Black joy, liberation, and collective power in the outdoors. This is a space where Black birders, scientists, and nature enthusiasts are not just participants but visionary leaders and changemakers, reshaping narratives and demanding equity in every arena. Black Birders Week is more than birding—it’s a movement for liberation, healing, and the transformative power of nature as a force for resistance and reclamation.
And for our Bird Theme, we honor the Sparrow Family—resilient, adaptive, and thriving in connection.
Read more at https://www.blackafinstem.com/
MAY BIRD MONITORING WALK
Saturday, May 31 • 7:30am-9:00am
Birders—current, experienced, newbie and would-be—welcome! Join our monthly monitoring walk to record birds at the Museum’s trails, forest, and meadow. Learn something new, share what you know, or both!
Max: 12 people • Free, suggested $5-$15
Register by phone 802 434-2167
More details: https://birdsofvermont.org/event/may-bird-monitoring-2025/
SPRING-SUMMER HOURS
You probably noticed we switched to summer hours! We’re open Wednesday – Sunday, 10 – 4 (except July 4th).
Admission is always free for members (https://birdsofvermont.org/membership/).
Take a peek at our events page, https://birdsofvermont.org/special-upcoming/, to find any additions or updates, events that don’t require registration, and more.