Category: Museum Events

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A beginner’s notes from the Annual Butterfly Walk

post by Kir Talmage, Museum Program Coordinator

I’ve just come back from the Annual VES Butterfly Walk.  Thank you so much to Bryan Pfeiffer, Trish Hanson and many others for sharing their knowledge! We had about 35 guests or so on the walk, ranging from young kids to grandparents, new explorers to professional (and retired) entomologists.  I’m a new explorer, practically a rank beginner with bugs.  I love it.

You’ll no doubt get much more by coming on a walk, going outside, and paging through field guides. I went out with my  just my notebook and camera, though. So, from my notes:

Grandfather and grandchild exploring for butterflies
Grandfather and grandchild exploring for butterflies on today's VES Butterfly Walk

About observing tools: Water nets and butterfly nets are not the same. A butterfly net (for field insects, etc.) is longer, cone-shaped, and of a very fine soft mesh. The longer shape (compared a vaguely trapezoidal water net) allows one to “flip” the net closed, so the insect won’t escape while you are examining it. That’s less of an issue with a water net; water beetles and dragonfly nymphs aren’t so likely to fly off.

About Butterflies: Lepidoptera — the order that contains butterflies — means “scale(d) wing”, for the thousands of tiny, often iridescent scales that cover the wings.  We found a clouded sulphur female (Colias philodice). One way (of  several) to tell this was a female was because she had spots in the dark margin of her upper wing.

Canada Darner (Aeshna canadensis) on child's hand
Canada Darner (Aeshna canadensis) on child's hand. This one is an "old lady" -- about a month or so!

About Dragonflies and Damselflies: When identifying them, look at where the color is on which segments of the abdomen — look very closely! Also look at the profile of the claspers at the end of the abdomen. The different shapes (hook, c-clamp, straight, knobby, etc.) helped in identification.

About Daddy-long-legs:  I had never noticed how the mouth parts fold so neatly, making such a even oval profile of their bodies. Lovely.

Here’s a cool online resource I just found too, for comparing multiple pictures of butterflies (and others): http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?guide=Butterflies What are your favorite online resources for Insects and Arachnids?

Young Entomologist
Young Entomologist on the VES Annual Butterfly Walk
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A Meditation on a Child and Birding

Guest post from Dr. Stewart Kirkaldy, Museum Volunteer

Every once in a while one has an experience that is profoundly moving. This happened to me recently on International Migratory Bird Day at the Birds of Vermont Museum where I was working at the viewing window. A young couple came in with three children, the eldest of whom was a serious birder. She was 10 years old or less but had a “life list” of fifty-eight on arrival. Very soon she saw her first Hummingbird to which she responded with incredible vocal enthusiasm, jumping up and down and rushing across the room to give her father the news. (She added two new species to her list that afternoon.) Her interest and enthusiasm was evident all day. She was an inspiration and rejuvenated hope in my heart for the future of humanity.

The realization dawned on me that she is at one end of the spectrum of human activity and, sadly, too many are at the other end as exemplified by Big Oil Company Executives whose actions and indifference led to the recent catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But what she left me with was the hope well expressed in a hymn that ends “… when man’s crude acts deface no more / the handiwork of God.”

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male), carved by Robert Spear, Jr.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male), carved by Robert Spear, Jr.
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Louisiana Waterthrush sighted

Louisiana Waterthrush, carved by Robert Spear, Jr.
Louisiana Waterthrush, carved by Robert Spear, Jr.

Guest post from Shirley Johnson, Board President, Birds of Vermont Museum, and today’s Guide on the Early Morning Bird Walk

We had good views of a Louisiana Waterthrush this morning during the weekly Sunday morning bird walk at the Birds of Vermont Museum.  The bird was seen in the woods on the south side of Sherman Hollow Road, on the nature trails open to guests of the museum, on the hillside in the watershed area above the duckpond.

More info:

Early Morning Bird Walks:  http://birdsofvermont.org/events.php
Lousiana Waterthrush: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Louisiana_Waterthrush/id

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Early Morning Bird Walk

Shirley Johnson and Alison Wagner have been leading the Early Morning Birds Walks this spring. (Haven’t been on one yet? Come on Sundays at 7:00 a.m.; we will be doing these through June).  They post the birds the group observes on a white board here at the museum, and report some of the highlights to us over coffee.

Last week, Alison lead a group despite the snowy weather. Yes, they were successful, observing some dozen or so species.

Blackburnian Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler (carved by Bob Spear). One of the species identified on today's Early Morning Bird Walk.

Today, Shirley reported hearing two barred owls having a “party”, cackling and laughing back and forth to each other. She also said they’d heard a Louisiana Waterthrush, and compared the sounds of that species as recorded by the iFlyer and the Birding by Ear CDs.

Come along on our next trip! See http://www. birdsofvermont.org/ events.php for the schedule. There’s no fee, and coffee is provided.

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Footprints and more: Tracking Workshop, February 27

Small mammal tracks with keys for scale
The size of a track matters, but you don't always have a ruler.

On Saturday, February 27th, the Museum is hosting a Tracking Workshop from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. with Mike Kessler of UVM. Join us to find out what non-bird animals live in our backyard. Elements of nature observation will be covered. Please dress to be outside; snowshoes are encouraged if we get snow. Suggested donation: $5. Feel free to call with any questions. Appropriate for older kids and adults.

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2010 Annual Art Contest Open

Enter your bird art in the Birds of Vermont Museum 2010 Art Contest.

Art Contest Rules for 2010

  1. This competition is open to persons aged 0 – 18 years old
  2. The theme of the contest is Birds, Birds, Birds!
  3. Entries on paper must be no larger than 8 1/2 x 11″ , 3-D Art must be smaller than 6″ x 6″ x 8″.
  4. One entry per person   – name, age and contact information must be included with entry. Entries may be picked up at the Museum after Nov. 1, 2010.
  5. Contestants can use any medium – (paint, pencils, crayons, markers, clay, wood, papier-mache)
  6. Entries must be received no later than  September 30, 2010
  7. Please drop off, or mail, entries to Birds of Vermont Museum, 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, Vermont 05462
  8. All entries will be  displayed at the museum throughout the 2010 season, so enter early!

Judging

Entries will be grouped by age of contestants.

First, second, and honorable mention prizes will be awarded in each of the following groups:

  • 5 years and younger
  • 6 – 8 years
  • 9 – 13 years
  • 14 – 18 years
  • 3-D Art (multi-age)

Winning entries will be displayed on the BOVM website and/or our FaceBook page with the artists’  permission.

Winners will be announced at the Museum at the Fall Festival, October 9, 2010 (see more events on our calendar).

Thank You to our 2010 Sponsors

Guy’s Farm and Yard, Williston, Vermont
Artists’ Mediums, Williston, Vermont

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Climbing the walls? Paint them instead!

Painting Party, February 27

We are looking for volunteers to help us paint the walls downstairs in the Museum. We’ll be painting from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Lunch will follow, 12:00 – 1:00, so please let us know if you will be coming.

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The 2010 Great Backyard Bird Count, February 12-15

Camel's Hump: view from the Birds of Vermont Museum's backyard
Camel's Hump: view from the Birds of Vermont Museum's backyard

Interested in yet another good reason to go birding? How about the Great Backyard Bird Count? It’s another Citizen Science project we do here, and it’s always open to more participants.

We’ll be open on February 13, Saturday, from 9-4. Come by to learn more about it, to count birds, or just visit.

Here’s a brief introduction from the Cornell Lab or Ornithology’s e-newsletter:

The next Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) takes place Friday, February 12 through Monday, February 15, 2010. The National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are calling on everyone to “Count for Fun, Count for the Future!” During last year’s count, participants turned in more than 93,600 checklists online, creating the continent’s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded. …[T]he success of the count depends on people tallying birds from as many locations as possible across the continent.

Spread the word …through our volunteer ambassador program. Volunteer ambassadors do a variety of things, including hanging up GBBC fliers, giving presentations in their community, and even talking to their local media. For more ideas on how to promote the GBBC, fill out the online ambassador sign-up form and specify the kinds of activities you’d like to do.

More info from the National Audubon Society: http://www.audubon.org/gbbc/
or from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

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About Project FeederWatch

The Christmas Bird Count isn’t the only citizen science activity that the Museum does. We do Project Feeder Watch, too. It makes for a very pleasant lunchtime: good food and a viewing window (today we saw our first Wild Turkey and Tufted Titmouse of the month). Many of you with feeders at home or work can participate. You can sign up at any time. Here’s an overview from a recent Cornell Lab of Ornithology‘s e-newsletter:

Project FeederWatch

The 2009-10 season of Project FeederWatch begins November 14, though you can sign up at any time. FeederWatchers keep track of their birds through the winter and report their tallies each week. This helps scientists track changes in winter bird populations from year to year.

To learn more and to sign up, visit the Project FeederWatch website. New participants receive a kit with a handbook, a bird-identification poster, calendar, and instruction booklet. There is a $15 fee ($12 for Lab members) to help cover the costs of materials and participant support. If you live in Canada, please visit our partner, Bird Studies Canada, or call (888) 448-2473.

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