events – Page 2 – Birds of Vermont Museum

CANCELLED February Bird Monitoring Walk

Northern Cardinal female. ©2011 Laura Waterhouse

This event has been cancelled. Hope to see you next month!

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

Outdoors

If the walk fills, we’ll have a waitlist; we also offer these bird monitoring walks the last Saturday of every month.

(Photo: Female Northern Cardinal. Used by permission of the photographer.)

Museum Open for Great Backyard Bird Count

Visit us February 17th, 2024, to see what birds we’re counting for the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Learn to ID birds — what do we look / listen for?
Go birding with a friend — twice the fun
Find out more about –and record observations for–this great citizen science project!

We’re open from 10-4 on Saturday for the GBBC
Members admission: Free!

About the GBBC:

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

From the Great Backyard Bird Count website:

Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time.

Since then, more than 100,000 people of all ages and walks of life have joined the four-day count each February to create an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds.

For more info visit Great Backyard Bird Count website

Snowy Owl, woodcarving by Bob Spear

Snowy Owl woodcarving by Bob Spear. Shown in the Winter Diorama.

Snow Bunting, woodcarving by Bob Spear

Snow Bunting, carved by Bob Spear, 1999.

Ruffed Grouse in snowy crab apple tree

Ruffed grouse in snow. Photo taken by E. Talmage, 2009 and used with permission

Wild Turkey tracks

Wild Turkey tracks in snow, with a ruler to the left, for scale

Chickadee on a snowy day, in an evergreen

Black-capped chickadee

Black-capped chickadee on needle-less evergreen branches in winter

Common Redpoll on spruce

Redpoll female or juvenile with feathers fluffed against the cold. It is perched on a clump of snow on a spruce branch, with more snow, young trees, and a feeder with two more birds out of focus behind it. Photo © copyright by Erin Talmage.

Tufted Titmouse, woodcarving by Bob Spear

A Tufted Timouse, carved from wood and painted, is perched on a short bare branch and appear to look past the photographer's right shoulder.

Dark-eyed Junco ( a smal,gray and white songbird) on a snow-covered wooden railing.

Dark-eye Junco on snowy railing

Dark-eyed Junco in winter, standing on a snow-covered wooden railing. Huntington, Vermont, Photo by E. Talmage,2007 and used with permission.

Dark-eyed Junco, woodcarving by Bob Spear

Dark-eyed Junco woodcarving by Bob Spear. Gray songbird with chunky pale pink beak is seen in 3/4 view, with lower part of body and tail obscured. Background is black, with a partial green leaf (made of metal) behind the bird.

Several woodcarvings of winter owls and others shown together in a winter scene

Winter diorama at the Birds of Vermont Museum

The winter diorama at the Museum contains several species of owls and other birds. These species are more commonly seen in winter in Vermont.

Black-capped Chickadee

A black-capped chickadee eyes black oil birdseed in the platform feeder during fall or winter

Black-capped Chickadee and Dark-eyed Junco

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.

Redpoll (small brown and white bird with reddish patch on forehead, type of finch) perches on a snowy spruce branchlet.

Common Redpoll on spruce in winter

Male Common Redpoll perched on a spruce branch; other branches have snow on them.

Black-capped chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee perched on a pile of (and eating) hulled sunflower seeds in winter.

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/

Snowy Owl, woodcarving by Bob Spear

Snowy Owl woodcarving by Bob Spear. Shown in the Winter Diorama.

Snow Bunting, woodcarving by Bob Spear

Snow Bunting, carved by Bob Spear, 1999.

Ruffed Grouse in snowy crab apple tree

Ruffed grouse in snow. Photo taken by E. Talmage, 2009 and used with permission

Wild Turkey tracks

Wild Turkey tracks in snow, with a ruler to the left, for scale

Black-capped chickadee

Black-capped chickadee on needle-less evergreen branches in winter

Common Redpoll on spruce

Tufted Titmouse, woodcarving by Bob Spear

A Tufted Timouse, carved from wood and painted, is perched on a short bare branch and appear to look past the photographer's right shoulder.

Dark-eye Junco on snowy railing

Dark-eyed Junco in winter, standing on a snow-covered wooden railing. Huntington, Vermont, Photo by E. Talmage,2007 and used with permission.

Dark-eyed Junco, woodcarving by Bob Spear

Winter diorama at the Birds of Vermont Museum

The winter diorama at the Museum contains several species of owls and other birds. These species are more commonly seen in winter in Vermont.

Black-capped Chickadee

A black-capped chickadee eyes black oil birdseed in the platform feeder during fall or winter

Black-capped Chickadee and Dark-eyed Junco

Common Redpoll on spruce in winter

Male Common Redpoll perched on a spruce branch; other branches have snow on them.

Black-capped chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee perched on a pile of (and eating) hulled sunflower seeds in winter.

January 25, 2024January 25, 2024

February 2024 events

Pick up your art, drop in for the Great Backyard Bird Count, and learn about animals in winter.

The Museum is open by appointment November through April. The trails are open sunrise to sunset, every day. Libraries have passes, and admission is always free for members (https://birdsofvermont.org/membership/).

=== FEBRUARY EVENTS ===

Continue reading “February 2024 events”

January 1, 2024January 2, 2024

January events

Pick up your art, schedule a visit, or sign up for the January bird walk.

=== JANUARY EVENTS ===

Continue reading “January events”

January Bird Monitoring Walk

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.

December 1, 2023December 7, 2023

December events

Pick up your art, schedule a trip our gift shop, or sign up for the December bird walk.

=== DECEMBER EVENTS ===

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October 24, 2023November 4, 2023

November events

Pick up your art, join the bird walk, run the race, or drop in for the holiday shopping.

=== NOVEMBER EVENTS ===

Continue reading “November events”

Race Around Birds 2023 – Self-timing Weeks

Human running away from viewer, wearing orange shirt, black leggings. This person is running on a frosty woodland trail with a bright blue sky and fall colors in the remaining foliage.

The Birds of Vermont Museum is hosting the fourth annual Race Around Birds trail run! There are two options for runners (and walkers), and you can even do both:

On-Your-Own (Virtual) Race: choose a day between October 21st and November 3rd, and record your time on the paper forms (available at the Museum’s front door).

Race Day run: Saturday, November 4th, at 10a.m. This is a typical trail run, and a bit longer than 5k. We can welcome up to 50 runners. (Please carpool)

Race results will be posted in our blog.

To Register

While registering is free, we encourage donations to support the museum, as well as cover the cost of trail work, post-race snacks and water, and possible swag. You may register for Race Day (group race), Virtual (self-timed) race, or both.
Registration open:

Read more below: ↓

Course Description

This is a trail race with some steep uphill climbs. Some segments are more like single-track mountain trails. This is a HARD course.

The course is approximately 3.6 miles. The course winds around and crosses itself, making a slightly tangled figure 8 (using the trails on both sides of Sherman Hollow Road). There will be signs and maps.

The course is well-marked and you will return past the Museum to complete both loops. There are no supplies and no first aid stations on the course. Bathrooms and water are available when the Museum is open (Wednesdays through Sundays, 10am – 4pm, in October only).

The Race Map is available online: https://birdsofvermont.org/docs/trail-map-for-race-web.pdf .

How It Works

You may run or walk the course.

On the November 4th Race Day, racers will start at 10 a.m.

For the On-Your-Own (Virtual) Race, runners and walkers may come to the Museum at any time from daylight to dusk from October 21 to November 3. No dogs and no nights. You may run (or walk) the course multiple times on different days, in order to improve your times. You may run in groups, but the trail is generally single-file.

For the virtual option, you will keep track of your own start and finish times. Time-keeping forms will be in a marked box to the left of the Museum’s front door. Fill out a form for each day you race. Then, when you’re ready to run, take a map (if you need it), get to the start line (the west end of the parking lot by the parking sign), mark your starting time, and GO! Afterward, fill in your finish time and drop it in the box.

Please note: virtual runner results are not official, but like all results, will be reports in our results post on our blog.

If you are running on Race Day, please carpool. We have limited parking.

But wait, there’s more!

If you share photos or comments online, we encourage you to use these hashtags:
#RaceAroundBirds #RaceAroundBirds2023 #BirdsOfVermontMuseum #RunningIsForTheBirds #TrailRace #VirtualRace #HuntingtonVt #TrailRunning #TrailRunner

Send questions to trailrunning@birdsofvermont.org!

Printable race packets (trail map, course notes, entry form, waiver) are available as PDFs (see below):

Full info packet (6pp with info, course map, entry form, waiver): Race Around Birds 2023: full printable info packet
Entry form and waiver (2pp): Race Around Birds 2023: Entry Form and Waiver (useful if you are running more than once!)
Just the course map: Race Around Birds course map (shows route)
A detailed trail map which doesn’t show the race route: Trails at the Birds of Vermont Museum (map)

Prior years’ results are at https://birdsofvermont.org/tag/results/

September 23, 2023August 31, 2023

October events

White-breasted Nuthatch © copyright Zac Cota-Weaver and used by permission.

So what’s coming up in the last month of our “open” season? Exercise your sense of art, your legs, your mind with our Spark! show. birds identification opportunities, and our annual race!

We’re open Wednesday – Sunday, 10-4, until Halloween. We’re open by appointment other days and after. The trails are open sunrise to sunset, every day. Libraries have passes, and admission is always free for members (https://birdsofvermont.org/membership/).

=== OCTOBER EVENTS ===

Continue reading “October events”