where natural history meets art
Noted through our viewing window in February (more or less in the order we saw them; the ones we didn’t see last month are in bold):
Do other people have turkeys peeping through their office windows?
At lunch, we like to eat while gazing out of the Viewing Window at the museum. We keep an unofficial list of birds (mostly) seen at that time, jotting them down on a nearby whiteboard. Here’s who we saw in January:
You can see some of what we see with our FeederCam, too. We also participate in in Project FeederWatch, a more formal way to collect and record bird data.
On Sunday, October 11, the Museum participated in yet another Big Sit! We recorded a record 31 species! Thanks to Jim for coordinating the event, and all the volunteers who joined in.
the “official” TIME SHEET for the 2009 “BIG SIT” (Notables inBOLD): Continue reading “Big Sit! 2009”
A 300 pound bear came by last week; only Bob saw it. It shook the bird feeder pole so hard that all the feeders fell down, and the bear destroyed them.
Today Bob dug a hole around the pole and we helped pour cement down the hole, two bags worth, and as soon as it sets up in a day or so, we will be able to leave the feeders out at night again.
Bob also made new hooks for the new feeders so that they are secure against vibration, in case the bear tries it again!
I just finished re-greasing the pole, so squirrels, raccoons, and bears beware!
—from a letter by Ingrid Riga, Curator, to a sponsor of several of the carving exhibits
Ingrid Riga, Museum Curator, has finished painting the puzzle piece for puzzlePalooza. For more infromation about puzzlePalooza see http://vermontartscouncil.org/ProgramsInitiatives/ArtFitsVermont/tabid/67/Default.aspx.
Walking on the managed side of the road two birders went for an early morning bird walk and saw Blue Jays (4), Great-crested Flycatcher(2), Downy Woodpecker (3), Song Sparrow(1), House Wren (10), American Crow (2), Evening Grosbeak (2), Eastern Phoebe (1), Hairy Woodpecker(4), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (3), Brown-headed Cowbird (2), Eastern Bluebird (2), White-breasted Nuthatch (1), Brown Creeper (2), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker(3), Eastern Wood Peewee (1), Ovenbird (6), Winter Wren (2), Least Flycatcher(1), American Robin (3), Veery (1), Louisiana Waterthrush (1), Blue0head Vireo(1), TWO WOODCOCK CHICKS!!, Black-throated Blue Warbler (1), Black-throated Green Warbler (1), Red-eyed Vireo(1), Barred Owl (1), Mourning Dove(1), Chipping Sparrow (1), White-throated Sparrow (1), Black-capped Chickadee (3), and a Baltimore Oriole(1).
Our next scheduled bird walks are on June 21 and June 28 at 7:00 am. We will meet in the Museum parking lot, 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, VT 05462. See http://www.birdsofvermont.org/map.php for directions. Please join is after the walk for bird-friendly coffee.
On May 31, 2009, a beautiful Sunday morning, we walked on both sides of the road. Our group saw and heard (*heard only) Blue Jay, Eastern Phoebe, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Evening Grosbeak, *Brown Creeper, Scarlet Tanager,*Great-crested Flycatcher,
Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker,*Belted Kingfisher, Louisiana Waterthrush, *Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Crow, *Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, *Black-and-white Warbler, *Veery, Red-eyed Vireo, *Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Black-capped Chickadee, Blackburnian Warbler, Northern Goshawk, Blue-headed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Common Grackle, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Our next scheduled bird walks are on June 7, June 21, and June 28 at 7:00 am. We will meet in the Museum parking lot, 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, VT 05462. See http://www.birdsofvermont.org/map.php for directions. Please join is after the walk for bird-friendly coffee.
Work was interrupted when a male Wild Turkey started pecking at our office window.
In the winter we put insulation on all the Museum windows (to conserve heat). Ingrid cut a small hole in the insulation so we can see what is outside the window before we go out to feed birds. Almost every day there is a flock of Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) enjoying the scattered corn. On January 3rd we counted 19!