where natural history meets art
Well, we’d hoped to be open on weekends on November, but due to more coronavirus cases, we went straight to “by appointment” only. A bit disappointing for us and (we hope) you! Still, we kept refilling the museum feeders and watched birds when we took a break from prepping the next newsletter and other behind-the-scenes things.
Which of these birds have been to your feeders?
Continue reading “Through the Window: November 2020”
Who went running in the Race Around Birds? Did you see any birds while you did? It’s a hard race they say*, and pretty tricky to bird at the same time! So we offered a walking option, and two of the walkers observed a Hermit Thrush, and three walkers spotted a Ruffed Grouse.
Take another walk this month: it’s stick season now and although activity is low, visibility through the forest is good. Or stay cozy at our viewing window…you might see some of the ones we did last month.
September’s glorious for surprising visitors to the feeders. Or near—but not at—the feeders, as the Nashville Warbler. It’s been dry, so having water source(s) near your feeders is essential.
October is great, because it’s the month of the Big Sit!. That’s a day when we sit around with Team Loonatics and look for birds. They do all the hard work: cooking, listing, watching, identifying. We host them and are happy. Their list of birds this year doesn’t quite match our viewing window list (below), since we can’t always see from inside what they see from outside. It’s great to see and hear them all.
Some of the more northerly species are returning! Continue reading “Through the Window: October 2018”
More light traffic… or should I say continued light traffic? at the feeders this month.
Through October, we continued to have light traffic at our feeders, but plenty of birds deeper in the woods. Great insects, fruits, berries? Could be.
This month’s list includes what we observed at the Big Sit!, one of our favorite birding activities.
A quiet, bird-filled, peaceful New Year is what we wish for you. We’ll wrap up 2017 with last month’s Viewing Window record.
Continue reading “Through the Window: December 2016”
The birds fall into late-autumn routines; the skies get cloudy and light in the early mornings drifts in mist and dreams. OK, and one of the museum bloggers gets either poetic or purple-proseish. Better switch up to our November bird notes, eh?
“And the leaves /come tumbling down” — well, ok, a misquote, but nice for this time of year. We have turned our autumn corner, from “open daily” to “open by appointment” — although our bird feeding continues daily also!
In October, we noticed these birds, fluttering, swooping, perching, or interacting with each other. Bold are those not recorded last month.
The year comes turning, turning… the daylight shifts, as we roll toward the equinox and away. Birds shifting southward bring changes to our sightings. A few “winter” birds are popping up!
For more precise records, you can also see eBird data for recent years at the Museum.
Plenty of squirrels again: Red Squirrels, Gray Squirrels, and Eastern Chipmunks.
All observers can add their sightings to our whiteboard list! We’re here from 10am to 4pm daily, and earlier if there’s a bird walk. For those, check out our events page. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too, for more comments, links, and observations!
The “Through the Window” series is an informal record of observations made by staff, volunteers, and visitors. Anyone at the Museum may add to this list. Observations are usually through our viewing window: a large window with a film covering that helps hide watchers from the birds. We have chairs and binoculars to try, a white board, and many identification guides. Outdoors, several feeders are attached on a single, bear-resistant pole. A small pond, flowers and water plants, shrubs and trees add cover and (seasonally) other food choices . You can sometimes see what we see via our webcam.