where natural history meets art
December was a bit wet this year. We were fine (still watching how the streams flow around and under our various bridges, of course). People seemed to be enjoying staying in Gale’s Retreat, and we certainly have enjoyed our walks in the woods to check on it before and after the guests.
One heavy wet snowfall took out more main branches from the crabapple tree. We’ll see how the Ruffed Grouse adapt to that.
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, older children.
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
We are trying a new way to register with a local provider; registration links should open in a new tab/window.
Outdoors
If the walk fills, we’ll have a waitlist; we also offer these bird monitoring walks the last Saturday of every month.
Photo of Black-capped Chickadee and Junco in winter. Photographed at the Museum by Museum staff.
November is often pretty quiet; we get wrapped up in the Race, with working indoors with our Annual Appeal, with staff getting some breaks for holidays. The birds don’t care!
It’s an amusing treat to watch the Ruffed Grouse reach for each small decorative crabapple fruit, dried and frozen though they may be.
The viewing window is only part of the October picture. We also had the Big Sit! Such a great day to be birding … chilly, rainy, but with friends.
It’s the last month for the Hummingbirds (for the year). Nevertheless, they delighted those who sat at the Viewing Window this month, as the “Hummers” continued to defend “their” feeders!
Not only that, but we saw some unusual-for-the-feeder-area birds as well. Read on to find out what species they were…
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. Face masks required inside the museum.
Max: 12 people • waitlist available
Free, suggested donation $10
Outdoors
Photo of Northern Cardinal.
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. Face masks required inside the museum.
Max: 12 people • waitlist available
Free, suggested donation $10
Outdoors
Photo of Ruffed Grouse in Crabapple. Photographed at the Museum by Museum staff.
It’s so delightful to be outside and have birds in the trees around you. As you know, though, some days we’re busy with our wonderful visitors. So we observe from inside, through our viewing window. And create these lists!
Beetles (Order: Coleoptera) are a fascinating yet vastly understudied taxonomic group. In Vermont alone, there are over 1,000 different species! Some groups provide important roles as pollinators, biological controls, decomposers, and more. Other beetles, such as the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) threaten the health of our ecosystems.
Join us to learn about the ecology and identification of different groups of beetles found in Vermont.
In this two hour workshop, we will spend about 45 minutes focusing on a few families, genera, and species of note. For the remaining hour and 15 minutes, we will go outside and search for beetles around the Birds of Vermont museum, identifying as we go.
Julia is the former coordinator of the Vermont Lady Beetle Atlas through the Vermont Atlas of Life at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. Currently, Julia works for Vermont Forests, Parks and Recreation at the Forest Biology Lab, with a special interest on the intersection between forest health and entomology.
Additionally, Julia volunteers in a number of roles for Sosyete pou Rebwaze Duchity Haiti (SRDH) – a community-based reforestation and agroforestry organization operating in Duchity, Haiti. In their spare time, Julia enjoys painting, spending time with their birds, hiking, and (of course) searching for insects.
Images provided by Julie Pupko of Vermont Center for Ecostudies.
…with Meg Madden, Myco-influencer
Ever wondered about the mysterious mushrooms that share the forest with us? Are you fungi-curious? Do you see interesting mushrooms in your travels and wish you knew more about these fascinating organisms?
On this walk we will explore the woods and learn about the mushrooms we find along the way including what they are, how to identify them, and the essential roles that these fungi play in forest ecology. We will also discuss the importance of community science and learn tips and tricks for taking mushroom photos.
Limit: 15 • please register in advance
Cost: $20 – $40 (Discount for Museum members)
Wear comfortable walking shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, and bring your questions and curiosity! A smartphone equipped with the iNaturalist app is a plus, but not required.
Meg Madden leads an exploration on the Museum’s trails: to seek, to find, and to understand the fungi that live in and on our corner of the wood-wide web.
Note: this is NOT a foraging program.
Fungi educator, author, and professional photographer, Meg Madden can often be found in the forests of her childhood practicing what she calls “mushroom yoga” — laying on the ground, standing on her head, or balancing precariously on a log — to capture the perfect snail’s-eye view of her favorite photo subject: Fungi! Her colorful, highly detailed mushroom portraits offer an intimate look into the often-overlooked world of these extraordinary organisms.
Inspired by the belief that people are more likely to take care of something they love, she finds great joy in facilitating fun and meaningful connections between humans and nature. Meg shares her knowledge and contagious passion for the fantastic world of fungi through visually engaging presentations, mushroom walks, and via her Instagram gallery @megmaddendesign. An advocate for fungal diversity and community science, Meg teaches iNaturalist classes, organizes educational workshops and Bioblitzes, and is compiling an Atlas Of Fungi for the state of Vermont.