Through the Window: September 2025

Unidentified hawk overhead against a brilliantly blue sky. Photo copyright Erin Talmage and used by permission.
Unidentified hawk overhead against a brilliantly blue sky. Photo copyright Erin Talmage and used by permission.

Warm and dry pretty much the whole month. Pleasant for sitting around, and can make some nice updrafts. Did you go hawk watching?

Every now and then this year, a warbler comes to the feeder—not to eat, apparently, just to check things out from that perch. And (presumably less often) we notice!

September Bird List

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the Big Sit! 2025

A Stanley brand 25' metal measuring tape; a pair of black binoculars; a bag of Birds and Beans coffee (scarlet tanager dark roast). All three item are line d up on a wooden railing, with green foliage behind them.

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), 2023 (overall), 2023 (ours)

several birders standing during a Big Sit event

October Bird Monitoring Walk

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

All birders — current, experienced, newbie and would-be — welcome!
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! Most fun for adults, older children.

Please bring your own binoculars and dress for the weather. We recommend bringing tick repellent and a water bottle.

Free, suggested donation $10 – $15
Max: 12 people

Register with the button below or call 802 434-2167.

Outdoors

We go out the last Saturday of every month. Walks start at 7:30 am April – August; 8am in September – March

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

September Bird Monitoring Walk

Sparrow spp. © 2019 E. Talmage and used by permission

All birders — current, experienced, newbie and would-be — welcome!
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! Most fun for adults, older children.

Please bring your own binoculars and dress for the weather. We recommend bringing tick repellent and a water bottle.

Free, suggested donation $10 – $15
Max: 12 people

Register in advance with the button below

or call 802 434-2167.

Outdoors

We go out the last Saturday of every month. Walks start at 7:30 am April – August; 8am in September – March

Photo: Sparrow spp. © 2019 E. Talmage and used by permission.

Through the Window: July 2025

The head of a robin is barely visible above the rim of a mud-and-grasses nest built on an electrical or phone system box on the exterior of a building.
The head of a robin is barely visible above the rim of a mud-and-grasses nest built on an electrical or phone system box. (Photo by K. Talmage, July 2025. Grainy because taken by a zoomed-in cell phone.)

Goodness it’s been hot. What did you have out for birds in your backyard to beat the heat? We have multiple types of cover (shade and safety) and water as well. These robins used the roof of one our sheds as their shade.

July Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: July 2025”

Through the Window: June 2025

Juvenile American Robin looks at viewer: a scruffy songbird with a dark head, charcoal-white-rust speckled breast and belly, and a few tufts of down fluffing out behind its head. One dark eye is visible.
This young American Robin had left the nest, but was still looking around for its parents to bring it food. (They did). Photo by Brady Lasher © 2025 and shown with permission.

We had some great Early Bird Walks this month—you can visit our checklists at eBird to see what we observed not from the window (link below).

By the end of the month, it felt like things are settling down : a robin is incubating or raising a second brood near our back door; adult cardinals are feeding young. Who next will bring their babies around? Chickadees? Blue Jays? Hummingbirds? Watch for fluttering wings and listen for unusual squeakings.

June Bird List

Continue reading “Through the Window: June 2025”

August Bird Monitoring Walk

Yellow Warbler ©copyright Bob Johnson and used by permission

All birders — current, experienced, newbie and would-be — welcome!
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! Most fun for adults, older children.

Please bring your own binoculars and dress for the weather. We recommend bringing tick repellent and a water bottle.

Free, suggested donation $10 – $15
Max: 12 people

Register by calling 802 434-2167 or using the button below:

Outdoors

We go out the last Saturday of every month. Walks start at 7:30 am April – August; 8am in September – March

Photo: Photo of Yellow Warbler ©copyright Bob Johnson and used by permission.

July 2025 events

Grandfather and grandchild exploring for butterflies

Well, we have a “happenin’ summer!”

Arts events are the big focus in July, with a concert, a workshop, and a reception. If you need something a bit more detailed, try the Butterfly and Big Walk. If you want quiet reflection, there’s another Forest Sit. Need to stomp some feet? Drop by the Blues for Breakfast concert at the Huntington Rec Field.

Scroll on down and find out more!

=== JULY EVENTS ===

Continue reading “July 2025 events”