Category: Viewing Window

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Through the Window: January 2017

A nice start to the year!

  • Black-capped chickadee

    Black-capped Chickadee on feeder. Photo by K. Talmage.
    A Black-capped Chickadee perhaps considering whether the iPhone also wants to eat its yummy new black oil seeds.
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Blue Jay
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Mourning Dove
  • Downy Woodpecker (male)
  • Northern Cardinal (male)
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • White-breasted Nuthatch

Plenty of Red and Gray Squirrels. We’ve also seen a Vole, White-tailed Deer, Eastern Chipmunks, a photographer, and an Eastern Cottontail rabbit.

Even though we ask that you call or email to set up a visit (from now through April 30), we have some exceptions for open days, special events, and offsite activities: Click over to our events page.  If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter , tumblr, and/or Instagram too, you’ll find more comments, links, and observations. See you in 2017!

The “Through the Window” series is an informal record of observations made by staff, volunteers, and visitors. Anyone at the Museum may add to this list. Observations are usually through our viewing window: a large window with a film covering that helps hide watchers from the birds. We have chairs and binoculars to try, a white board, and many identification guides. Outdoors, several feeders are attached on a single, bear-resistant pole. A small pond, flowers and water plants, shrubs and trees add cover and (seasonally) other food choices . You can sometimes see what we see via our webcam.

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Through the Window: October 2016

“And the leaves /come tumbling down” — well, ok, a misquote, but nice for this time of year. We have turned our autumn corner, from “open daily” to “open by appointment” — although our bird feeding continues daily also!

In October, we noticed these birds, fluttering, swooping, perching, or interacting with each other. Bold are those not recorded last month.

Continue reading “Through the Window: October 2016”

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Through the Window: September 2016

The year comes turning, turning… the daylight shifts, as we roll toward the equinox and away. Birds shifting southward bring changes to our sightings. A few “winter” birds are popping up!

  • Black-capped chickadee
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Mourning Dove
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Blue Jay
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • American Goldfinch
  • Song Sparrow
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird (9/7 female only; 9/20)
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak (of note: a male, juvenile transforming to adult, 9/13; others seen throughout month)
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Dark-eyed Junco (at Cedar Hedge and under azalea, away from main feeding area, 9/26)

For more precise records, you can also see eBird data for recent years at the Museum.

Plenty of squirrels again: Red Squirrels, Gray Squirrels, and Eastern Chipmunks.

All observers can add their sightings to our whiteboard list! We’re here from 10am to 4pm daily, and earlier if there’s a bird walk. For those, check out our events page.  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too, for more comments, links, and observations!

The “Through the Window” series is an informal record of observations made by staff, volunteers, and visitors. Anyone at the Museum may add to this list. Observations are usually through our viewing window: a large window with a film covering that helps hide watchers from the birds. We have chairs and binoculars to try, a white board, and many identification guides. Outdoors, several feeders are attached on a single, bear-resistant pole. A small pond, flowers and water plants, shrubs and trees add cover and (seasonally) other food choices . You can sometimes see what we see via our webcam.

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Through the Window: August 2016

We were blessed with some unusual observations this month—we suspect these species are usually here in August, but we’re not always in the right place to observe them. Gotta get outdoors! In the meantime, enjoy this month’s list of what we’ve seen through (or near) our Viewing Window.

  • Blue Jay (and juveniles with bald heads ~8/8 – 8/18)
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Mourning Dove
  • American Goldfinch
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Northern Cardinal (and juvenile with black beak 8/16)
  • American Crow
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Purple Finch
  • Evening Grosbeak
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • Common Grackle
  • Gray Catbird
  • House Finch
  • Cooper’s Hawk (8/17 by S. Dakers)
  • Song Sparrow (fledgling with a short tail 8/21)
  • Turkey Vulture
  • Broad Winged-hawk (heard 8/23)

No male hummingbirds on 8/31.
Bold indicates those we didn’t see last month.
For more precise records, you can also see eBird data for recent years at the Museum.

It’s always fun to distinguish the Clear-winged Sphinx Moth and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird as they both hover about the bee balm. And what a month for mammals! We’ve the usuals: Gray squirrels, Red squirrels, Eastern chipmunks.. ;.and we’ve also noticed Eastern cottontail rabbit, a bobcat, and a young porcupine! This last was spotted and photographed by some visitors on August 28 as it came across Bob’s Bridge and up the bath. (Bob’s Bridge is the lower bridge of the two near the Museum entrance; Gale’s Crossing is the new one.)

All observers can add their sightings to our whiteboard list! We’re here from 10am to 4pm daily, and earlier if there’s a bird walk. For those, check out our events page.  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too, for more comments, links, and observations!

The “Through the Window” series is an informal record of observations made by staff, volunteers, and visitors. Anyone at the Museum may add to this list. Observations are usually through our viewing window: a large window with a film covering that helps hide watchers from the birds. We have chairs and binoculars to try, a white board, and many identification guides. Outdoors, several feeders are attached on a single, bear-resistant pole. A small pond, flowers and water plants, shrubs and trees add cover and (seasonally) other food choices . You can sometimes see what we see via our webcam.

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Through the Window: July 2016

It’s the glorious height of summer. Also, sometimes hot. We have birds at the feeders, and mammals on the ground, and more!

  • Mourning Dove
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Blue Jay (includes a bald one–a fledgling?–seen 7/30)
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Common Grackle
  • Wild Turkey
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • American Goldfinch
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • American Crow
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Evening Grosbeak (7/12)
  • Purple Finch
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk (7/30)

Bold indicates those we didn’t see last month (we are as perplexed about the chickadees as you are!).

For more precise records, you can also see eBird data for recent years at the Museum.

As always, other critters visited. The Hummingbird-mimic, the Clearwing Sphinx Moth, continues to enjoy Bee Balm (in bloom by July 3). We note again Red Squirrels, Gray Squirrels, and Eastern Chipmunks, as well as the Eastern Cottontail, and (on the night cam) Raccoons. We heard and saw Green frogs chuckling in the little pond that is sometimes also a bird bath (when it’s not too full of duck weed)..

All observers can add their sightings to our whiteboard list! We’re here from 10am to 4pm daily, and earlier if there’s a bird walk. For those, check out our events page.  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too, for more comments, links, and observations!

The “Through the Window” series is an informal record of observations made by staff, volunteers, and visitors. Anyone at the Museum may add to this list. Observations are usually through our viewing window: a large window with a film covering that helps hide watchers from the birds. We have chairs and binoculars to try, a white board, and many identification guides. Outdoors, several feeders are attached on a single, bear-resistant pole. A small pond, flowers and water plants, shrubs and trees add cover and (seasonally) other food choices . You can sometimes see what we see via our webcam.

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Through the Window: June 2016

June is when almost everyone is busy with nests, eggs, and sometimes already fledglings. We get busy too.

  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  • Common Grackle
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • American Crow
  • Mourning Dove
  • Blue Jay
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Wild Turkey
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • American Goldfinch 
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Kingfisher
  • Turkey Vulture (2 seen through gap of trees, over the roof of Museum 06/14/2016)
  • Catbird

Bold indicates those we didn’t see last month. The surprising gap here is the Black-capped chickadee; it is likely around but the those writing on the board happened to not see it.

For more precise records, you can also see eBird data for recent years at the Museum.

As always, other critters visited. The Hummingbird-mimic, the Clearwing Sphinx Moth, was spotted on June 7. We note again Red Squirrels, Gray Squirrels, and Eastern Chipmunks. The Woodchuck (a.k.a. Groundhog) is still around. Our night-time cam suggests we also have mice and young rabbits, but the image is too indistinct to be sure (the eyes glow and move in delightfully eerie ways, however). We did record a chewed head of a rabbit under a picnic table, so we can be sure of at least one predator species as well.

All observers can add their sightings to our whiteboard list! The viewing window is open daily May 1- October 31, except for the July 4th Holiday. Visit between 10am and 4pm. For extra happenings, check out our events page. You can see that we start with birds but don’t stop there!  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too, for even more comments, links, and observations!

The “Through the Window” series is an informal record of observations made by staff, volunteers, and visitors. Anyone at the Museum may add to this list. Observations are usually through our viewing window: a large window with a film covering that helps hide watchers from the birds. We have chairs and binoculars to try, a white board, and many identification guides. Outdoors, several feeders are attached on a single, bear-resistant pole. A small pond, flowers and water plants, shrubs and trees add cover and (seasonally) other food choices . You can sometimes see what we see via our webcam.

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Through the Window: May 2016

Twenty-nine species noticed and recorded on our informal Viewing Window white board in May (and can you believe it’s already June?).

Female Goldfinch, carved by Bob Spear, photographed by A. Galvin for the Museum
Female Goldfinch, carved by Bob Spear, photographed by A. Galvin for the Museum


  • American Goldfinch 
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Blue Jay
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Mourning Dove
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Common Grackle
  • American Crow 
  • Purple Finch
  • Wild Turkey
  • European Starling
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Ruffed Grouse (in the crabapple tree, again!)
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • White-crowned Sparrow
  • Chipping Sparrow
  • Catbird (5/10, probably FOY)
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird (5/12/16, FOY)
  • Veery (5/14/16, heard, FOY)
  • Great-crested Flycatcher (5/21/16, FOY)
  • Song Sparrow
  • Baltimore Oriole (2 males, 5/24/16, FOY)

Bold indicates those we didn’t see last month. For more precise records, you can also see eBird data for recent years at the Museum.

Yet more critters: Red Squirrels, Gray Squirrels, and Eastern Chipmunks, as usual. We noted also a Tiger Swallowtail on May 25, and a Woodchuck (a.k.a. Groundhog) on May 31.

Come and see what we see…or write it down in case we didn’t. The viewing window is open as the Museum is: daily May 1- October 31, except for the July 4th Holiday. Visit between 10am and 4pm, or come early on Sundays this month for Early Birder walks. Details are on our events page. You can see from that that we start with birds but don’t stop there.  Follow us on Facebook, where we are often more quick to let you know what’s happening. We’ve just started using Instagram too, because more photos are more fun.

The “Through the Window” series is an informal record of observations made by staff, volunteers, and visitors. Anyone at the Museum may add to this list. Observations are usually through our viewing window: a large window with a film covering that helps hide watchers from the birds. We have chairs and binoculars to try, a white board, and many identification guides. Outdoors, several feeders are attached on a single, bear-resistant pole. A small pond, flowers and water plants, shrubs and trees add cover and (seasonally) other food choices . You can sometimes see what we see via our webcam.

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