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.
Through the Window: February 2023
Through the Window: January 2023
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
Through the Window: December 2022
It’s the end of 2022, and a pretty good year it’s been. We hope the same is true for you.
Thank you for following us, supporting us, and being part of the museum community.
Enjoy the brief list of this month’s birds, consider donating to our annual appeal, and keep on birding!
Happy New Year!
December Bird List
Through the Window: November 2022
Welcome to the first month of our by-appointment season! It’s sometimes extra quiet around here as we work to catch up on reports, projects, and prepare for our annual appeal.
And Feederwatch began! We have some volunteers who are wonderfully dedicated to helping the Museum participate in this community science program, so thank you Michele, Megan and Debbie!
November Bird List
Through the Window: October 2022
October is glorious! We started the month with the Dead Creek Wildlife festival, continued birding during the Big Sit!, admired pollinators on fall flowers like asters, explored and documented plants for the phenology project, and welcomed campers visiting through the Harvest Host program. We spent some time working on the Retreat, which we hope to open to overnighters sometime in the next year.
Of course, we have to sit down by the Viewing Window and just watch birds to recover from all of this.
October Bird List
the Big Sit!
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. Masks required when inside the Museum.
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)
Through the Window: September 2022
As the risk of avian flu declined, we looked at the information out from Vermont Fish & Wildlife and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We had been using the hummingbird feeders (they’re so territorial!); then we put out just the cylinder feeder late this month. Right away some of our “usual suspects” were at it!
September Bird List
Through the Window: August 2022
Of note this month was our Community Day and a sighting of a sandpiper up at our pond. That’s not too uncommon, although it doesn’t always get noted on the Viewing Window list!
August Bird List
Through the Window: July 2022
A nice month! We were busy with camp groups, some new Nestlings programs, our wonderful annual butterfly walk, a carving class, and the final touches on our July Chip Notes newsletter.
And with all that, we still time to do a little sedentary birding! Though we are a bit sparse on birds at the feeders right now (see below)…
July Bird List
Annual Butterfly and Bug Walk
Experience Vermont’s butterflies and other insects up close!
Join Vermont Entomological Society naturalists and entomologists for an exploratory stroll on the Birds of Vermont Museum grounds.
Bring binoculars, magnifying glasses, and an insect net if you have one. Pack a lunch if you would like to picnic after the walk. Do bring your water bottle and dress for outdoors.
Registration link coming soon.
Max: 15 people • waitlist available
Masks required when indoors.
(We will update this listing with any changed COVID-19 precautions as we get closer to the date.)
If it is raining on the day of the walk, please call the Museum (802 434-2167) to see if we have rescheduled; probable rain date Sunday, July 10).
Terrific for anyone interested in Vermont’s six-legged creatures.
Free! (Donations welcome)
Check out the Vermont Entomological Society site https://www.vermontinsects.org/ — gorgeous photos and information about the Society.