where natural history meets art
It’s been a somewhat snowy month (with what feels like big temperature swings and more thawing). This has made for lovely photos (check out our instagram), and not-too-troublesome road conditions for people coming to our events (a series of bird talks and a few walks). The feeders aren’t quiet, exactly, but they are slight less diverse. Still, it’s a joy to see turkey tracks when you go out in the morning to fill the feeders!
We’ve enjoyed welcoming some new birders to our monthly bird monitoring walks. This more than makes up for the quiet of the winter species counts at our a Viewing Window. These walks are the last Saturday of every month. We record those observations over on eBird.
Before you head over there, though, enjoy this short but sweet December window observation list. What’s your favorite of the species listed here? How come ?
Well, November was quieter! Or at least, our whiteboard is less cluttered. In addition to spending more time with off-site programs and in the back office, the species count is usually lower this time of year as well.
October is such a rich month. Migration trails off, yes, and the foliage is mostly past by the end of the month. But for us, it’s a month rich with volunteers, birding, and a sense of getting ready for a behind-the-scenes season.
Enjoy the double-list this month, and read on for why!
We welcomed an unexpected slew of warblers in the middle of September—something about this year’s migration led to several species appearing in and near our feeder area just when we had extra birders looking out the windows!
Summer is nests and fledglings, flowers and pollinators, greens and golds and more. Young birds come to the feeders, squawk … and sometimes get ignored by their parents! Hummingbirds defend the feeders and the bee balm; some hawk moths get mistaken for hummingbirds. The forest canopy is thick and provides deep cover for the warblers and more. It’s a rich and beautiful time. Who needs a feeder, with so much to eat in the forest?
No one, really, but some come anyway:
By July, the birds get pretty busy with nestlings, fledglings, and juveniles. A few juveniles of one kind of another come to the feeders, and fuss at their parents to keep on feeding them.
Here are the species seen at the feeders over the last month. Sometimes we can even tell when the bird is a juvenile!
Summer is in full swing around here! every day we fill and watch the feeders, learning new bird identifications, or watching behavior subtleties in birds species we know .It’s amazing to start to pick up on tiny differences in the bibs of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, or behaviors of one Blue Jay and another.
![[Great Crested Flycatcher on office window netting. May 2019]](https://cpanel3.neonova.net/~wwwbirdsofvt/wpsite2017/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Great-crested-flycatcher-office-window-kjt-May2109-e1560095402160-188x300.jpg)
It seems to be nesting nearby, as it has returned to the window several times—for nesting material? Territory? Foraging? We don’t know yet…
As for other May birds, seen by more people through the bigger window: read on!
April sometimes make me think of the distant rumble of a storm, long before it gets here. Instead of a rumble though, it’s the first waves of migratory birds coming north, reminding us spring is about to crash over us.
Yes, yes, some places have spring earlier, say March, or even February (such a thought) . Or September, if that’s your hemisphere!
But that sense of impended gloriousness? That perhaps happens for you too. I hope it does!