life list – Birds of Vermont Museum

the Big Sit 2023!

The most relaxed birding around. And around and around …

How many birds (and birdwatchers) can we identify from a 17-foot diameter circle between sunrise and sunset? Can we beat last year’s record? We’ve seen birds big and small, in night and day: from Kinglets to Great Blue Herons, Barred Owls to Turkey Vultures.

This is a great long-running community science project. Pledges and donations welcome:

We are observing from Dawn to Dusk. The Museum is open from 10am – 4pm.

Call or email to ask about joining the observation team.

For much more info, see https://www.thebigsit.org/ .

Check out the reports from previous years: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (overall), 2021 (ours), 2022 (overall), 2022 (ours)

September 1, 2023September 7, 2023

Through the Window: August 2023

Male and female Rose-breasted grosbeaks seen from below in a dense green foliage. It’s so delightful to be outside and have birds in the trees around you. As you know, though, some days we’re busy with our wonderful visitors. So we observe from inside, through our viewing window. And create these lists!

August Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: August 2023”

August 4, 2023August 6, 2023

Through the Window: July 2023

The museum was fortunate to have been missed by the flooding this year. The brook below the museum rose, and there’s signs of erosion on trails, but we escaped the damage that our fellow Vermonters are working through. We hope you also have been free from floods, and if not, that you have the help and support you need.

We can offer a refuge if you need to come and take a break: visit, sit, watch birds, walk trails… We thank the Vermont Community Foundation for their support of non-profits, flood survivors, and more.

Male cerulean warbler feeding female. Cerulean Warblers carved by Bob Spear at the Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington, Vermont. Photograph copyright Caleb Kenna and used by permission. — Male Cerulean Warbler’s offering of food being accepted by female. Birds carved by Bob Spear at the Birds of Vermont Museum, Huntington, Vermont. Photograph copyright Caleb Kenna and used by permission.

July Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: July 2023”

July 7, 2023July 11, 2023

Through the Window: June 2023

Adult Common Grackle tends its juvenile while a Rose-breasted Grosbeak looks on.

Sadly, yes, we are missing the May list. Somehow we managed to neither transcribe nor photograph the list before wiping the board for June. It was amazing, but you don’t have to trust my word for it. Check out the eBird checklists for the May walks.

But time flows on and the birds do their things, so here’s the …

June Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: June 2023”

May 5, 2023May 23, 2023

Through the Window: April 2023

Blue-headed Vireos carved by Bob Spear in the mid 1990s. — Blue-headed Vireos are returning to Vermont. This carving was done by Bob Spear in the mid 1990s.

Funny thing about our April bird list: two common species were not recorded (and one somewhat less frequently seen at from the viewing window, but definitely around). Does that mean they weren’t seen (and if so, where were they)? Or did they really busy themselves elsewhere in the woods?

Do you know which they were? the two I’m thinking of were recorded during our April Bird Monitoring Walk…

April Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: April 2023”

April 7, 2023April 1, 2023

Through the Window: March 2023

A Mourning Dove and a Blue Jay face each other across of platform containing black oil sunflower seeds.

March is all about the this-way-and-that-way dance of winter, spring, and mud seasons. Watch for migrants returning and spring behaviors in, well, everyone. Two things we especially like:

The “Oh sweetie” song of the Black-capped Chickadee.
And those Mourning Dove males who keep getting distracted from eating—instead, they puff up and pace after the females, begging for their attention.

March Bird List

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March 3, 2023March 5, 2023

Through the Window: February 2023

small songbird (Junco or Chickadee) tracks in snow — Tracks of Junco or Chickadee in snow.

A few regular birds and a few less-frequently noticed ones. And surprising mammals. We even had some snow!

Hope you had a sweet and surprising month.

February Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: February 2023”

Museum Open for Great Backyard Bird Count

Visit us February 18th, 2023, 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 10-3 on Saturday for the GBBC
Members admission: Free!

About the GBBC:

Friday – Monday, February 17-20, 2023 • 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

Dark-eyed Junco (a small gray and white songbird) on a bare twig. Text in the image reads "How many birds can you find? 26th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count February 17-20, 2023 birdcount.org Dark-eyed Junco photo courtesy of the Macauley Library"

Friday – Monday, February 17-20, 2023 • 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 17-20, 2023.

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.

February 3, 2023April 1, 2023

Through the Window: January 2023

Downy woodpecker (A small black and white bird) on suet in winter. Photo by Erin Talmage and used with permission. — Downy Woodpecker perches on suet

Happy New Year, everyone! We hope you’ll enjoy our short bird list from this month.

Stop in again and again; I’m confident our unseen blue jays will! And others…

January Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: January 2023”