Highlights of July 8th Butterfly Walk

We could not have asked for better weather during the July 8th ButterflyWalk. Clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures welcomed the eighteen nature lovers that joined Vermont Entomological Society naturalists and entomologists for an exploratory stroll on the Birds of Vermont Museum grounds.  Make sure to check out the list of the many butterflies, insects, and other miscellaneous critters participants got to experience up close!

To learn more about the Vermont Entomological Society check out their website, where you can find gorgeous photos and information about the society.

Atlantis Fritillary similar to the one above were sighted during the July 8th Butterfly Walk.

Butterflies, Insects, and Misc. Critters viewed on July 8th:

Butterflies:

  • Atlantis Fritillary Butterfly
  • Clouded Sulphurs Butterfly (male)
  • Dun Skipper Butterfly
  • Monarch Butterfly
  • Question Mark Butterfly
  • Azure Butterfly
  • Northern Pearly Eye Butterfly
  • Red Admiral Butterfly

Moths:

  • Sod Grass Veneer Moth
  • Mottled Snout Moth
  • Gypsy Moth (caterpillar)
  • Plume Moth
Misc. Flying Species:
  • Enallagma Skimming Bluet (blue damselfly)
  • Bright Green Damselfly
  • 12-Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly
  • Red Dragon Fly
  • Dragon Fly (exoskeleton)
  • Crane Fly
  • Scorpion Fly (female)
  • Serpent Fly (mimics wasp)

Beetles:

  • Click Beetle
  • Japanese Beetle
  • Whirligig Beetle
  • Case-bearing Leaf Beetle

Other Species:

  • Bush Katydid
  • Grey Grasshopper (gripped and turned a dime – VERY IMPRESSIVE!)
  • Large Tan Spider(male)
  • Crab Spider (3 sited, 1 was eating another insect)
  • Water Boatman
  • Water Scorpion
  • Frogs & Tadpoles
  • Leeches
  • Salamanders
  • Raven (heard)
  • Black Billed Cuckoo (heard and sighted)
Interested in identifying butterflies in your own backyard? Check out “Gardens With Wings” for help identifying butterflies by their shape, wingspan, opened and closed wing color, common name and family name.

Through the Window: June 2012 Goshawks, Sapsuckers, and Skunks Oh My!

Did you know we just list them in the order we see them? Usually the first several are from the first day of the month. We put the ones not seen last month in bold.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male). Carved by Bob Spear in 1985.
  • American Crow (6/4/12 fly – over, 6/22/12 juveniles under feeder)
  • Blue Jay
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Evening Grosbeak
  • Wild Turkey
  • American Robin
  • Mourning Dove
  • Common Grackle
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Purple Finch
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Downy Woodpecker (6/27/12 downy with young feeding)
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Baltimore Oriole (6/22/12)
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird (5/5/12 FOY male)
  • Northern Cardinal (male & female)
  • Goshawk (6/13/12 chasing 3 crows, 6/21/12 perched in the tree above picnic table)
  • Sapsucker (6/21/12 & 6/22/12 nestlings calling for food, nest hole visible from picnic tables)
  • Black Bear (6/14/12 @ 12:30 pm stayed about 3 minutes until the sound of the door scared it off)
  • Skunk (6/29/12)
  • Gray Squirrels
  • Red Squirrels
  • Chipmunks

*FOY stands for First Of Year.

Skunk visiting bird feeders on June 29, 2012
Skunk visiting bird feeders on June 29, 2012

You can always compare this list to other months, or check out sightings in the area on eBird.

Through the Window: May 2012 is rich in color

Did you know we just list them in the order we see them? Usually the first several are from the first day of the month.Our board looks like this:

Through the Window (May 2012)
A white board, a window, some feeders and some staff and volunteers: put ’em together and you have a loose record of birds

We put the ones not seen last month in bold.

  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Blue Jay
  • American Goldfinch
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Pine Siskin
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Mourning Dove
  • Common Grackle
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • Chipping Sparrow
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Evening Grosbeak
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Red-tailed Hawk (flew over May 4)
  • White-crowned Sparrow
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird (FOY* 5/5/12 male; female on 5/9/12. Also seen in E. Dorset 5/3/12)
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk (5/5/12 Caught a bird!)
  • Black-throated Green Warbler (in parking lot 5/3/12)
  • American Robin
  • House Finch
  • Northern Oriole (5/11/12)
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Purple Finch
  • Starling
  • Red squirrel
  • Gray Squirrel
  • Chipmunks

* FOY stands for First of Year.

You can always compare this list to other months, or check out sightings in the area on eBird.

Through the Window: April 2012 Birds in the thick of spring

Did you know we just list them in the order we see them? Usually the first several are from the first day of the month. We put the ones not seen last month in bold. We’ll try to be more consistent with that!

Brown-headed Cowbird (male). Carved by Bob Spear in 1982
Brown-headed Cowbird (male). Carved by Bob Spear in 1982
  • American Goldfinch
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Blue Jay
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Mourning Dove
  • Common Grackle
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Wild Turkey
  • Eastern Phoebe
  • Pine Siskin
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • American Robin
  • Brown-head Cowbird (FOY* 4/12)
  • American Crow (2 on 4/21)
  • Evening Grosbeaks (male and female)
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Purple Finch
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male, FOY)
  • Spotted Salamander (8 eggs noted March 31, and a headless adult in the small pond)
  • Red squirrel
  • Gray Squirrel
  • Chipmunks

* FOY stands for First of Year.

You can always compare this list to last April, or check out sightings in the area on eBird. The wood frogs eggs seen in March may have gotten a little too dry, but some live frog (moving too fast and hiding too well to be identified) was seen in the small feeder area pond this month as well.

Through the Window: March 2012 – Early Spring Sightings

More birds! Did we have more time to watch? More visitors? Or is this the sign of spring? It was an extremely warm March, after all.

  • An Early Spring View from Our Window (the webcam portion)
    An Early Spring View from Our Window

    Wild Turkey

  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Blue Jay
  • American Goldfinch
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • Downy Woodpecker (both male and female observed and noted)
  • Mourning Dove
  • American Robin
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Brown Creeper
  • Red-winged Blackbird (3/8 FOY*)
  • Common Grackle (3/9 FOY)
  • Pine Siskin (3/10)
  • American Crow
  • Eastern Phoebe (heard 3/20 FOY; heard also the day before in Hanksville and then seen 3/31)
  • Northern Goshawk (flew by 3/24)
  • Song Sparrow
  • Purple Finch

Other wonderful neighbors:

  • Wood frogs (3/23 in pond!)
  • Gray Squirrels
  • Red Squirrels

* FOY = First of Year

Through the Window: February 2012 Birds and Others

American Goldfinch Male (photo by Anna Marie Gavin, Intern, 2011)
American Goldfinch Male (photo by Anna Marie Gavin, Intern, 2011). The ones seen through the winter are still a deep olive, not yet yellowgold...

The goldfinch plumage is getting crisper, but is not yet gold… here’s the February list of birds and others seen through our windows.

  • Blue Jay
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • American Goldfinch
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Dark-eyed Junco (a.k.a. Snowbird)
  • American Crow
  • Wild Turkey
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Ruffed Grouse
  • Mourning Dove
  • Purple Finch
  • American Robin
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Evening Grosbeak
  • Gray Squirrel (one was on the feeder platform! So we re-greased the pole)
  • Red Squirrel

Through the Window: January 2012 feeder birds

Still semi-closed (visitors welcome! But please call a few days in advance to make an appointment), we don’t have as many people watching our feeders. That and winter, and not surprisingly, the list is slightly short.

Mourning Dove, carved and painted by Bob Spear, completed in 1982
Mourning Dove, carved and painted by Bob Spear, completed in 1982. Photograph by Erin Talmage.
  • Blue Jay
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Ruffed Grouse
  • Northern Cardinal (female)
  • American Goldfinch
  • Mourning Dove
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch (1/31, spotted by Charlie B for the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium)

The Ruffed Grouse was an odd sighting. We noticed a grouse corpse on 1/14, after an extremely cold night and continued shallow snow. This death was probably due to cold although there may have been other factors. One of more red squirrels worked on the body for several days, and eventually it vanished but for some feathers.

On 1/27, though, we also saw a grouse strutting under one of the crab apple trees. Mate? Flock member?

We saw several red squirrels and gray squirrels, and learned about black squirrels as well when WCAX staff dropped by to film some shots for a story.

Are you ready to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, Feb 17-20? We are! Come to a presentation about the Museum and Winter Bird Feeder in South Burlington on Feb 15th. Then stop by on Saturday the 18th for tips, company, and a warm window to watch through! Details on our events page.

Through the Window: December 2011 feeder and nearby birds

Now we’re semi-closed (visitors welcome! But please call a few days in advance to make an appointment), we don’t have as many people watching our feeders.

Blue Jay carved by Robert N. Spear, Jr.
Blue Jay, carved by Bob Spear
(photograph by Erin Talmage)
Wonder which species might’ve come by and not been noticed…

  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Blue Jay
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Mourning Dove
  • Downy woodpecker
  • American goldfinch (winter plumage)
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Ruffed grouse
  • Pileated woodpecker (swooping over parking lot, calling on 12/27, the 2nd visit)
  • Purple Finch (12/28)

Naturally, we also saw the usual cluster of red squirrels and gray squirrels.

Looking forward to National Bird Day on January 5th!  And keep track of our more formally collected data: we contribute to Feeder Watch.

Through the Window: November 2011 Feeder and Garden Birds

What we noted on the white board by the viewing window.

  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Blue Jay
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • American Goldfinch
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Mourning Dove
  • Barred Owl
  • Ruffed Grouse

Not so many this month. It was often sunny, but as we were closed except for appointments/scheduled visitors, there were also fewer humans watching out for birds. In addition, the sunny days could’ve allowed the birds to easily feed elsewhere. And with that owl watching off and on, that might’ve been very practical!