Tag: birds

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Big Sit! 2009

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”

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Not the eagle you might have expected

Bob and about 40 friends and members of the Museum celebrated his upcoming 90th birthday with a boat cruise on Lake Champlain. It was wonderful, and many said to me afterwards that this would be a fun thing to do annually.

Our carload arrived really early and we were involved with a rescue operation. Someone saw an eagle land in the water and flap around unable to fly away. The skipper and 4 of us went out looking for this bird, and we searched and searched. We had a net and 4 blankets for the rescue. All we found was a large juvenile gull sitting on a huge dead fish floating on the surface, and he flew off when we came near and then returned as we left. So much for eagles in distress! We had a good laugh.

—from a letter by Ingrid Riga, Curator,  to a sponsor of several of the carving exhibits

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May 31st bird walk

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.

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Turkeys continue to visit

 

Wild Turkeys at Feeder
Wild Turkeys at Feeder

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!

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The Big Sit 2008

from Jim Osborne’s emailed notes:

the “official” TIME SHEET for the 2008 “BIG SIT” (Notables in BOLD):

  1. Eastern Screech-Owl (6:09) – Heard calling from the Green Mountain Audubon Property
  2. Barred Owl (6:09) – 3 birds around from 6:09 through around 6:45. 1 Bird Seen
  3. Dark-eyed Junco (6:39) – Species seen only 5 of 12 hours
  4. Blue Jay (6:39) – Species SEEN ALL 12 hours
  5. American Robin (6:40) – Species SEEN ALL 12 hours
  6. Hermit Thrush (6:40) – Species SEEN ALL 12 hours
  7. Winter Wren (6:42) – Bird seen and heard in the bushes behind the Count Circle
  8. Black-capped Chickadee (6:45) – Species SEEN ALL 12 hours
  9. Mourning Dove (6:51) – Species SEEN 11 out of 12 hours
  10. Hairy Woodpecker (6:53) – Species SEEN ALL 12 hours
  11. Purple Finch (6:55) – Species SEEN 11 out of 12 hours
  12. Common Raven (6:57) – Species SEEN/HEARD only during 4 hours of Count
  13. Red-breasted Nuthatch (6:57) – Species SEEN 9 out of 12 hours
  14. White-breasted Nuthatch (6:58) – Species SEEN 10 out of 12 hours
  15. American Goldfinch (7:04) – Species SEEN 11 out of 12 hours
  16. Pileated Woodpecker (7:05) – Species HEARD ONLY during 3 hours of Count
  17. Tufted Titmouse (7:07) – Species SEEN 10 out of 12 hours
  18. Downy Woodpecker (7:34) – Species SEEN 11 out of 12 hours
  19. SWAINSON’S THRUSH (7:45) – Species in area until around 8:20 A.M.
  20. Golden-crowned Kinglet (7:54) – Species seen only 3 hours during Count
  21. Canada Goose (8:04) – Species SEEN/HEARD during 6 hours of the Count
  22. American Crow (8:28) – Species seen only 5 hours during Count
  23. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (8:46) – Species SEEN only 3 hours during Count
  24. European Starling (9:20) – Small flock flying over was only sighting for the day
  25. INGRID HAWK (9:57) – Officially “Red-tailed“. Seen 3 hours during the Count
  26. Blue-headed Vireo (10:47) – Only 1 bird seen during the 12 hour event
  27. PINE SISKIN (3:57 P.M.) – Small flock stayed around until about 5:30 P.M.
  28. Hooded Merganser (4:44 P.M.) – Pair flew over headed WEST. A good find here.
  29. Brown Creeper (4:51 P.M.) – Pair around Count circle for about 35 minutes
  30. WOOD DUCK (5:01 P.M.) – First time the Count has ever reached the 30 species mark.

Well, we SET A NEW RECORD yesterday. Several NEW species for the Count were added.

Count by HOUR:

  1. 6:00 to 7:00 14 species
  2. 7:00 to 8:00 16 species
  3. 8:00 to 9:00 18 species
  4. 9:00 to 10:00 17 species
  5. 10:00 to 11:00 11 species
  6. 11:00 to 12:00 13 species
  7. 12:00 to 1:00 14 species
  8. 1:00 to 2:00 13 species
  9. 2:00 to 3:00 12 species
  10. 3:00 to 4:00 16 species
  11. 4:00 to 5:00 16 species
  12. 5:00 to 6:00 19 species

SO, the HIGH HOURLY COUNT came at the last minute. Great way to end the day.

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