Community Science 101 (online)

The Museum is Hotspot in ebird (a citizen - community science project with a global reach)

Beginner? Expert? Great!

You don’t have to be an expert to be part of scientific research. Learn to observe and report on animals and plants you see, hear, or photograph. From eBird to the Zooniverse, discover research projects that fit your interests, and see how your data can be used to benefit ongoing scientific research, including the effects of climate change.

To sign up and receive the Zoom link, please email librarian@thetfordlibrary.org  for this online program.

Citizen science or community science is real scientific research conducted by amateur (or nonprofessional) scientists. There are a huge number of ways to get involved: tracking migratory birds, participating in a bioblitz, studying animal behavior, counting pollinators or plant species, etc.

This program is best suited for adults and teens. It is offered through the Thetford Libraries.

For more info on Citizen Science and Citizen Science Month you can also visit https://scistarter.org/citizensciencemonth-about

Presented by Erin Talmage, Executive Director of the Birds of Vermont Museum.  Erin earned her MS in Wildlife Biology from UVM with a focus on ornithology. She serves on two Vermont Scientific Advisory Groups, Birds and Reptiles-and-Amphibians. When not at the Museum, she can often be found looking for salamanders for the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, collecting data for iNaturalist and eBird, or volunteering with the Four Winds Nature Institute and Vermont Master Naturalists.

Noticed on the October 2015 Monitoring Walk

We’ve not quite been enough in the habit of linking our monthly Monitoring Walk “results”, but we’ll try to keep up with that a bit more.

Birds of Vermont Museum, Chittenden, Vermont, US
 Oct 31, 2015 8:00 AM - 8:15 AM
 Protocol: Traveling
 1.0 kilometer(s)
 Comments:     monthly monitoring walk led by Erin Talmage.
 13 species
Mourning Dove  6
 Downy Woodpecker  1
 Hairy Woodpecker  2
 Blue Jay  6
 American Crow  1
 Common Raven  1
 Black-capped Chickadee  16
 Tufted Titmouse  3
 Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
 White-breasted Nuthatch  4
 Brown Creeper  1
 Dark-eyed Junco  5
 American Goldfinch  1
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25639896
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Through the Window: April birds and more

This was a seriously happenin’ month! Birds, mammals, amphibians. And yes, they were all seen through the windows of the museum. As always, these are roughly in the order we saw them.

Mourning Dove with nest, egg
Mourning Dove with nest, egg; carved by Robert N. Spear, Jr.
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Red-winged blackbird (female, April 3)
  • Mourning Dove
  • Ruffed Grouse (April 1)
  • American Goldfinch
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Evening Grosbeak (April 3)
  • Eastern Phoebe (FOY, April 3)
  • Sapsucker (April 3, FOY)
  • Song Sparrow (April 6, FOY)
  • Chipping Sparrow (FOY, April 7)
  • Kestrel (April 6)
  • Northern Flicker (April 6)
  • Common Grackle
  • Brown-headed Cowbird (FOY, April 10)
  • White-throated Sparrow (FOY, April 13)
  • American Robin (April 29)

For amphibians, we noted a wood frog on April 1 and a spotted salamander April 11. Wood frog eggs were noted in our little pond (the one near the viewing window) on April 3 and April 6).

We observed chipmunk, red squirrel, gray squirrel, a woodchuck (a.k.a. groundhog, on April 3) and, in a lucky moment, a bobcat on April 16.

The birds were recorded in our eBird record as well.