The Great Backyard Bird Count

Dark-eyed Junco on snow-covered twig. Photo by Alex Marine, Macaulay Library. Words on the image: How many birds can you find? 28th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count. February 14-17, 2025. birdcount.org

Friday – Monday, February 14-17, 2025 • All Over the World

Whether you are with a friend or on your own, watching one bird or counting hundreds, join a worldwide community-science and conservation project! All you have to do is observe for 15 minutes and submit your observation(s). Here are few details from https://www.birdcount.org/participate/ :

Step 1 – Decide where you will watch birds. [Suggestion: at the Museum on Saturday!]

Step 2 – Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 14-17, 2025.

Step 3 – Count all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings:

For more info visit https://www.birdcount.org/

January Bird Monitoring Walk

Black-capped Chickadee and Dark-eyed Junco in winter. The Chickadee is perched on a half-fallen dried goldenrod stem on the left; the Junco is underneath he stem on the right. There are some forsythia stems in the background and snow covers the ground. Digiscoped iPhone photo by K. Talmage and used by permission.

Join our monthly monitoring walk to record birds at the Museum’s trails, forest, and meadow. Learn something new, share what you know, or both.

All birders —current, experienced, newbie and would-be— welcome! Most fun for adults and older youth.

Please bring your own binoculars and dress for the weather. We recommend bringing tick repellent (seasonally) and a water bottle.

Max: 12 people
Free, suggested donation $10-$15

Register at https://sevendaystickets.com/organizations/birds-of-vermont-museum or call 802 434-2167.

Outdoors

If the walk fills, but there’s enough interest, we may be able to schedule more walks. Please call or email us to make arrangements.

Photo of Black-capped Chickadee and Junco in winter. Photographed at the Museum by Museum staff.

December Bird Monitoring Walk

Photo of Northern Cardinal (male)

Join our monthly monitoring walk to record birds on the Museum property. Learn something new, share what you know, or both!

All birders (current, experienced, newbie and would-be!) welcome! Most fun for adults or older youth.

Please bring your own binoculars, dress for the weather. We recommend bringing a water bottle.

Max: 12 people
Suggested donation $10-$15

Register at https://sevendaystickets.com/organizations/birds-of-vermont-museum or call 802 434-2167

Outdoors

Photo of Northern Cardinal.

Through the Window: November 2024

A woodcarving of a Cooper's Hawk showing head and shoulders: a raptor with a gray crown, red eyes, gray wings, and a buff and cream patterned breast.You’d think that being “closed”  would mean we’d get all the behind the scenes things done. But of course there are birds to watch for, which distracts us from tasks like our Annual Appeal … preparing programs and events

But we did get to see a hawk! And turkeys, which have been less-often spotted in the feeder area recently. And more!

November Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: November 2024”

November Bird Monitoring Walk

Ruffed Grouse in fall Crabapple tree

Join our monthly monitoring walk to record birds on the Museum property. Learn something new, share what you know, or both!

All birders (current, experienced, newbie and would-be!) welcome! Most fun for adults, older children.

Please bring your own binoculars, dress for weather. We recommend bringing tick repellent and a water bottle.

Max: 12 people
Suggested donation $10-$15

Register at https://sevendaystickets.com/organizations/birds-of-vermont-museum or call 802 434-2167

Outdoors

Photo of Ruffed Grouse in Crabapple. Photographed at the Museum by Museum staff.

the Big Sit!

A Stanley brand 25' metal measuring tape; a pair of black binoculars; a bag of Birds and Beans coffee (scarlet tanager dark roast). All three item are line d up on a wooden railing, with green foliage behind them.

The most relaxed birding around. And around and around …

How many birds (and birdwatchers) can we identify from a 17-foot diameter circle between sunrise and sunset? Can we beat last year’s record? We’ve seen birds big and small, in night and day: from Kinglets to Great Blue Herons, Barred Owls to Turkey Vultures.

This is a great long-running community science project. Pledges and donations welcome:

We are observing from Dawn to Dusk. The Museum is open from 10am – 4pm.

Call or email to ask about joining the observation team.

For much more info, see https://www.thebigsit.org/ .

Check out the reports from previous years: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (overall), 2021 (ours), 2022 (overall), 2022 (ours), 2023 (overall), 2023 (ours)

several birders standing during a Big Sit event