You can find us in many places online; choose your favorite.
We're on Facebook....
Thanks, Western Slopes, Vermont, for the nice post!Birds of Vermont Museum- A Hidden Gem in the Woods of Huntington, VT
Tucked away in the woods on an unpaved stretch of road in Huntington, is one of Vermont’s true hidden gems, the Birds of Vermont Museum.
“Where Natural History Meets Art” is a fitting subheading on the Museum Homepage. The Museum building is located on a hundred acre wooded natural setting, home to dozens of species of birds as well as other Vermont wildlife. Together with the Green Mountain Audubon Center, just down the road from the museum, there are over 350 acres of bird and wildlife natural habitat.
From the museum parking area, a wooded bridge and walkway leads to the entry of the museum, a barnlike structure that blends perfectly into the natural landscape. Once inside you’ll find hundreds of intricate wood carvings of both native and non-native birds, many beautifully displayed in showcases backdropped by artistic renditions of Vermont’s natural environment. Just past the gift shop, wetland dioramas flank the main entrance corridor, replicating local scenery in beautiful painted scenes. Murals of the Dead Creek Wildlife Management area in Addison, and Thompson’s Point in Charlotte, serve as backdrops for birds and wildlife in Autumn. The spring scenes replicate views across Lake Champlain to the Adirondack Mountains.
There is an indoor viewing area where visitors can sit and view the birds and wildlife from a large window overlooking the property. Outside, a “treehouse” overlooks the stream and woods for additional viewing opportunities from a different perspective.
Upstairs, visitors are treated to even more bird carvings. Birds of prey fly overhead, dramatically suspended from the ceiling. The bird carvings in the main gallery are biologically accurate, carefully detailed, and incredibly beautiful. There is also a workshop, a space where visitors can learn about the carving process and participate in carving classes and other presentations. The museum hosts art shows and the theme this year is pollinators with both local and regional artists contributing their work.
Bob Spear and his partner Gail Lawrence started the museum in 1987. He was a resident of the area and had great interest in wildlife, birds, animal habitats, the natural environment, and of course, in wood carving. He was 18 years old when he did his first carving and carved over 1000 birds before opening the museum. Initially, his plan was to carve all the birds that make their home in Vermont and donate the carvings to another museum. But thankfully, Bob and Gail decided to keep their work here in Vermont. The work is remarkable and incredibly beautiful.
The museum’s mission is “To provide education, to nurture an appreciation of the environment, and to study birds and their habitats using woodcarvings and other museum resources.” Executive Director Erin Talmage and the entire staff invite you to visit experience all the museum has to offer; it’s a special place!
For further information,
Email: museum@birdsofvermont.org
Website: birdsofvermont.org/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BirdsOfVermont/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birdsofvermont/
Birds of Vermont Museum
900 Sherman Hollow Road
Huntington, Vermont 05462
+1 802 434-2167
Happy Father's Day.
#rosebreastedgrosbeak #birddads #pheucticusludovicianus #vtbirds #ebird