community science – Page 6 – Birds of Vermont Museum

August Bird Monitoring Walk

Yellow Warbler ©copyright Bob Johnson and used by permission

All birders (current, experienced, newbie and would-be!) are welcome! Attend our monthly monitoring walk outdoors on the Museum’s trails in forest and meadow.

Most fun for adults, older children. Please bring your own binoculars, and dress for the weather. Tick repellent and water bottles are recommended.

Max: 12 people

Suggested donation $10 – $15
Register at https://sevendaystickets.com/organizations/birds-of-vermont-museum.

Outdoors

Photo: Photo of Yellow Warbler ©copyright Bob Johnson and used by permission.

July Bird Monitoring Walk

Unidentified hawk overhead against a brilliantly blue sky. Photo copyright Erin Talmage and used by permission.

All birders (current, experienced, newbie and would-be!) welcome! Attend our monthly monitoring walk outdoors on the Museum’s trails in forest and meadow.

Most fun for adults and older youth. Please bring your own binoculars, and dress for the weather. We recommend bringing tick repellent and a water bottle.

Register online at https://sevendaystickets.com/events/july-bird-monitoring-walk-7-27-2024 or call the Museum at 802-434-2167.

Max: 12 people
Suggested donation $10 – $15

Photo: Unidentified hawk overhead against a brilliantly blue sky. Photo copyright Erin Talmage and used by permission.

Annual Butterfly and Bug Walk

Experience Vermont’s butterflies and other insects up close!

Join Vermont Entomological Society naturalists and entomologists for an exploratory stroll on the Birds of Vermont Museum grounds.

Bring binoculars, magnifying glasses, and an insect net if you have one. Pack a lunch if you would like to picnic after the walk. Do bring your water bottle and dress for outdoors.

Free, suggested donation : $5-$10
Pre-registration is helpful but not required. Call the museum at 802-434-2167 or sign up online at https://sevendaystickets.com/events/annual-butterfly-and-bug-walk-7-6-2024.

Max: 20 people

If it is raining on the day of the walk, please call the Museum (802 434-2167) to see if we have rescheduled; rain date is Sunday, July 7).

Terrific for anyone interested in Vermont’s six-legged creatures.

Check out the Vermont Entomological Society site https://www.vermontinsects.org/ — gorgeous photos and information about the Society.

June 7, 2024September 1, 2024

Through the Window: May 2024

Black and WHite Warbler, photographed by Hans Nedde; copyright © 2024 and used with permission. A small bird with black and white patterned plumage and a narrow pointed black beak. It has a black cap, white brow line, and white belly, as well as black-and-white sides, flanks, wings. It is perched on a twig, and the background is a mottled pale white-gray-green (as if out of focus). — Black and White Warbler. Photo © by Hans Nedde and used with permission.

We had a surprise visitor one day in May! This little fellow confused the Black-capped Chickadee by pulling fibers from a hanging plant basket that the chickadees often use (for the same purpose).

Many thanks to our intern Hans for the photo. Read on for a really incredible bird list this month!

May Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: May 2024”

May 3, 2024September 1, 2024

Through the Window: April 2024

Well, it’s true that some of these we didn’t see when looking out the window! It’s a loose unofficial record! We might have observed these birds while walking into or around the building, or heard them from the front door. Or, in the case of Wood Frogs*, heard through the windows and sometimes, possibly, through the wall.

April Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: April 2024”

March Bird Monitoring Walk

Bohemian Waxwing in Museum's crab apple tree, by Erin Talmage. Copyright 2016 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, older children.

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

Max: 12 people
Free, suggested donation $5 – $15
Outdoors

If the walk fills, call us to be added to the waitlist.

(Walks start at 8am September – March; at 7:30 am April – August)

The Great Backyard Bird Count

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet (a small olive warbler with red crown and black-and white on wings) on a bare twig. Text in the image reads "How many birds can you find? 27th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count February 16-19, 2024 birdcount.org Ruby-crowned Kinglet Photo: Mason Maron / Macauley Library"

Friday – Monday, February 16-19, 2024 • All Over the World

With a friend or one 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 16-19, 2024.

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:

If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to the count, try using the Merlin Bird ID app.
If you have participated in the count before, try eBird Mobile app or enter your bird list on the eBird website (desktop/laptop).
If you are participating as a group, see instructions for Group Counting.

For more info: https://www.birdcount.org/
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Meander for Mushrooms

Orange-topped mushroom with light orange "cloud-like" bulges on the dome-shaped cap.

…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.

About Meg Madden

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.

www.instagram.com/megmaddendesign/
linktr.ee/MegMadden

September Bird Monitoring Walk

Sparrow spp. © 2019 E. Talmage and used by permission

All birders (current, experienced, newbie and would-be!) are welcome! Attend our monthly monitoring walk outdoors on the Museum’s trails in forest and meadow.

Most fun for adults, older children. Please bring your own binoculars, and dress for the weather. Tick repellent and water bottles are recommended.

Max: 12 people
Suggested donation $10 – $15

Outdoors

Meander for Mushrooms & Book Signing with Meg Madden

Explore for fungi! Talk with an naturalist! Receive a signed copy of Meg’s new book!

We’ll begin with a late afternoon walk around the Museum’s property, led by writer-naturalist and myco-influencer Meg Madden.

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.

At the close of the stroll, we’ll gather in the museum; each attendee will also receive a copy of Meg’s new book, This is a Book for People Who Love Mushrooms.

$45 for the walk, talk and signed copy — only $35 for Museum members!
Registration includes a copy of Meg’s book!

Max: 20 participants.

You can see some of Meg’s photos on Instagram at @MegMaddenDesign.

More Details:

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.