2012 Art Contest: It’s a Bird’s World

Enter your bird art in the Birds of Vermont Museum 2012 Art Contest. The theme is

It’s a Bird’s World

2012 Art Contest Rules

Download an art contest flyer for you, a friend, your school, library, or scout group! Art Contest Flyer (142 kb PDF), or read the rules below. We look forward to seeing your art!

Wall of collages and patterned flying birds
“Flying Birds” Entries from 2010

Who can enter?

Anyone aged 0 – 18 years old.

What can I enter?

Art that fits our 2012 theme: It’s a Bird’s World.
How do you and birds affect each other and your world?

Contestants may use any media.
Past entries (and winners) have used paint, colored pencils, crayons, markers, clay, wood, or papier-mâché.

Flat submissions (paper, collage, etc.) must be no larger than 8 ½” x 11”
3-D art must be smaller than 6”x 6”x 8”

How do I enter?

One entry per person.

Name, age and contact information must be included with entry. Please put this on the back or bottom if possible.

Entries must be received no later than September 30, 2012.

Please bring or mail entries to:

Birds of Vermont Museum
900 Sherman Hollow Road
Huntington, Vermont 05462

Entries will be displayed at the museum throughout the 2012 season, so enter early!

Judging

First, second, and honorable mention prizes will be awarded in the following categories (most are age-based):

  • 5 years and younger
  • 6 – 8 years
  • 9 – 13 years
  • 14 – 18 years
  • 3-D Art

We may add additional prizes or categories at our discretion. In the past, we’ve added Masks, Ceramics, and Watercolor and Resists.

Flying Birds: Entries to Art Contest

Winners

Winners will be announced at the Museum at the Fall Festival, Saturday, October 13, 2011 (see more events on our calendar).

Winning entries may be displayed (with artist and parent approval) on our blog or our Facebook page after the Festival.

Can I get my art back?

Of course! Entries may be picked up at the Museum. We encourage you to collect them between October 13 and November 1, 2012, if possible. We are open by appointment, rather than daily, starting November 1.

Sponsors

We welcome sponsors of our art contest! Contact us if you’d like to donate funds (to purchase prizes) or prizes (we do ask that we get to vet these first).

Past sponsors have included farm and garden stores, art supply shops, artists, and museum members.

Call (802 434-2167) or email us (museum@birdsofvermont.org) if you can sponsor the show.

Thank You to our 2012 Sponsors

The Engraving Bench, Essex Junction, Vermont
Black Horse Fine Art Supply, Burlington, Vermont
Guys Farm and Yard, Williston, Vermont
Essex Cinemas, Essex, Vermont
Inspiration Arts and Crafts Supplies, Essex, Vermont

Upcoming Program: Bird Homes

Bird Homes
Bird Homes: Nests, Habitats, Ecosystems...

Bird Homes (School Vacation Program)

Tue, April 24, 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Birds of Vermont Museum, 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, Vermont 05462

What counts as a Bird “home”? Nest? Roost? Habitat? Territory? Ecosystem?
Homeschoolers and vacationing children are invited to join us at the Museum to find out more as we craft our interpretations of “home” for a bird. Best for ages 3-10.

$10 members, $15 non-members. Fee includes admission for child and one accompanying adult. Please pre-register by calling (802) 434-2167 or emailing museum@birdsofvermont.org

Check out birds between tastes of syrup

Sugaring Time?

In honor of Vermont’s annual Maple Open House Weekend and Audubon Vermont’s Maple Sugar on Snow Parties, the Birds of Vermont Museum will be open on March 25, 25 and the 31st (Saturday, Sunday, and Saturday).

Take a break between sampling one of Vermont’s best sweet treats and come learn about the birds that nest on maple trees and use the sugarbush to raise their young.

We will be open from 10 – 4 each day. Continue reading “Check out birds between tastes of syrup”

Bob Spear, Master Woodcarver, turns 92!

Bob Spear, Master Woodcarver and Founding Director of the Birds of Vermont Museum,
turned 92 on February 21st!

Bob Spear on his birthday. Photo ©2012 Robert Johnson; used by permission.
Bob Spear on his birthday. Photo ©2012 Robert Johnson; used by permission.

Bob is spending his winter in Florida, working on a new carving carvings, enjoying the sunshine, and watching birds. Gale left us a message on his birthday,
“We are just gathering here to chat [with visiting friends] before we go out for a birthday lunch. We got a good birthday going on here in Cedar Key. This is of course Gale, because Bob does not use cell phones. Hope all goes well in VT, we’re having a good time.”

We like as many excuses for birthday cake as possible, so we plan to celebrate Bob’s birthday again in the summer when it is sunny and warm. Watch the Museum’s calendar of events for details.

Many people have already donated $92 to the Museum to honor Bob on his birthday. The Museum greatly appreciates these donations. For those wishing to make a donation in honor of Bob, please send a check to

Birds of Vermont Museum
900 Sherman Hollow Road
Huntington, VT 05462

We can also accept donations online, through JustGive and our website. Donate online to the Birds of Vermont Museum (a non-profit) via JustGive)

Thank you!!

A Little History

Bob’s first carving was completed in 1938 when he carved a parakeet with just a penknife. This carving is on display at the Museum. He is also the author of the book, The Birds of Vermont, published in 1969 by the Green Mountain Audubon Society. In 1962 he was active in establishing the Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington and served as its first director for seven years. In 1987 the Birds of Vermont Museum opened, finally showcasing the collection he’d started creating in 1979. At the time of the opening, the museum housed only 231 bird carvings. In addition to creating all the bird carvings on display, Spear also built the museum building and all the display cases. Bob is still carving, and the Museum will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year!

For more information about Bob’s accomplishments see http://www.birdsofvermont.org/carver.php

the Big Sit! results 2011

On Sunday,  October 9, the Museum hosted the Loonatics and their Big Sit! circle.  Thanks to all the volunteers who Shared the watch!  Several people contributed excellent (and warm!) food to keep us going.

We identified 21 species, and recorded them with the Big Sit! website.

Loonatics – Birds of Vermont Museum

Captain: Erin Talmage
Location: Huntington, Vermont (United States)

Team Checklist

  1. Barred Owl Strix varia
  2. Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
  3. Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus
  4. Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
  5. Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
  6. American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
  7. Common Raven Corvus corax
  8. Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus
  9. Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
  10. White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
  11. Brown Creeper Certhia americana
  12. Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
  13. Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
  14. American Robin Turdus migratorius
  15. Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata
  16. White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
  17. Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis
  18. Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
  19. American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
  20. Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
  21. Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura

Hey Volunteers, C’mon Down!

We have some great opportunities coming up, but we need some help to take advantage of them. Could you volunteer for 2-4 hours on any of the following days and locations? All towns are in Vermont, and unless noted, we seek volunteers between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (your choice of hours). You could be company for a staff member, hand out museum information, provide demonstrations, share flyers, and more—there will always be someone to make sure you are comfortable. Of course, if there is some other time and date good for you, by all means, let us know.

If you can help, please email us or call us (802) 434-2167.

Thank you!

Out and About:

Saturday 8/20 Morrisville Green Mountain Woodcarvers Annual Rendezvous
Help staff our booth
Saturday 8/20 Burlington Amtrak’s 40th Anniversary Whistle Stop
Help staff a table
Saturday 9/17 Shelburne Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival
Help staff our booth
Saturday 9/24 and/or Sunday 9/25 Woodstock Woodworkers Festival
Help with carving demonstrations or staff the booth during them
Saturday 10/1 Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (Addison) Dead Creek Wildlife Day
Help with the booth, soap carving, birding tips

Here at the Museum:

Sunday 8/21
Sunday 9/4
Monday 9/5
Saturday 9/17
Saturday 9/24 (Museum Day)
Sunday 9/25
and/or
Saturday 10/1
Huntington (the Museum) Help out at the museum with visitors and/or projects
Saturday 10/8 Huntington (the Museum) Help with our Fall Festival and annual Used Book/Garage Sale. Play music, guide visits, play with kids, sell a book, find a white elephant…
Sunday 10/9 Huntington (the Museum) Seek birds during the Big Sit or help with visitors or projects
Thursday 10/27 (evening) Huntington (the Museum) Help visitors orient themselves before and after the Keeping Track program.

Birding the Basin: what we saw on our West Haven field trip

It was great to go on the West Haven Field Trip! Birders saw and/or heard 56 species. One participant sent us an email, saying, “A highlight was seeing the Brewster’s Warbler, and Kris saw and heard a Golden-winged Warbler. … It was also fun to see Bobalink [sic], and to watch as a parent fed three young Cliff Swallows sitting on the road.  Of course, we got a little herping in too – lots of Green Frogs!”

Weather: Cloudy and breezy with rain starting right after 2:00 p.m. Temperatures in the 70’s F.
Location: West Haven, Vermont and surrounding area

Birds observed (seen and/or heard) for a total of 56: Continue reading “Birding the Basin: what we saw on our West Haven field trip”