From polar vortex to thaw to bare ground to new snow and back again. Nice bit of roller coastering weather!
Thank goodness for adaptations.
Through the Window: January 2018
Through the Window: December 2017
Some surprises and delights by the time the Bird Monitoring Walk and Christmas Bird Count rolled around. (We did not actually have quite this much snow, but it’s getting there.)
Through the Window: November 2017
More light traffic… or should I say continued light traffic? at the feeders this month.
Through the Window: October 2017
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.
Through the Window: September 2017
It’s pretty dry out there this month . Several people have called in to report no one is at their feeders. What are your thoughts about that? Have you observed a decline in recent weeks at your feeders? You can compare this September to past ones: 2016, 2015, 2014. Consider coming on October 19th to Steve Faccio’s presentation, The Status of Vermont Forest Birds. (RSVP, so we can have the right number of chairs and possibly refreshments.)
Through the Window: July 2017
High summer! The flow at the feeders is steady, not too many surprises. Mammals are taking great advantage of our feeding; we may limit the food on the ground for a while.
Through the Window: May 2017
Wow, what a spring! Some unusual species seen and heard this month, for us, down here at the Viewing Window. (Okay, okay, we did record a few birds heard or seen while we were coming into the Museum or running out to check the mail….)
Female (carved by Bob Spear)
Bold items in this list are those species not recorded last month.
- Black-capped chickadee
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Blue Jay
- Red-Winged Blackbird
- Mourning Dove
- Tufted Titmouse
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Hairy Woodpecker
- American Goldfinch
- Common Grackle
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak (May 2, 2017 and often thereafter)
- Downy Woodpecker
- Wood Thrush
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird (First of Year male: May 10, 2017; female: May 13)
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Common Raven
- Northern Cardinal
- Baltimore Oriole (FOY 5/15/2017)
- Ovenbird (heard outside May 16, 2017)
- Canada Goose (heard outside May 14, 2017)
- Song Sparrow (heard outside)
- Scarlet Tanager (Male, seen drinking from stream below the riparian slope pollinator gardens on May 17, 2017)
- Eastern Phoebe (nesting under Bridge)
- Cooper’s Hawk (trying to take prey at the feeding area, May 28, 2017; two unsuccessful attempts)
- Olive-sided Flycatcher (heard and seen Tuesday May 23, 2017)
- Eastern Towhee
The usual mammals maintained their presence: Red and Gray Squirrels, and Eastern Chipmunks. We didn’t observe the Eastern Cottontail but we did see the Woodchuck. Wood Frogs tadpoles occupied the pon on May 17, 2017, and Tiger Swallowtail butterflies are back by May 23.
Our “summer” hours have arrived! May through October, we are open daily from 10am – 4pm (with a few extra evenings, and sometime closed for part of the July 4 holiday). Click over to our events page. If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter , tumblr, and/or Instagram too, you’ll find more comments, links, and observations. See you soon!
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.
Through the Window: April 2017
Welcome spring! As often in April, the number of species seen rises dramatically. Boldface in this list are those species not recorded last month.
- Wild Turkey
- Black-capped chickadee
- Blue Jay
- Northern Cardinal
- Dark-eyed Junco
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Mourning Dove
- Red-Winged Blackbird
- Downy Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk (seen soaring over Museum 4/4/17)
- Hairy Woodpecker
- American Tree Sparrow
- Turkey Vulture (overhead, westward, 4/4/17)
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Tufted Titmouse
- American Crow
- Song Sparrow
- Fox Sparrow (4/6/17)
- Eastern Phoebe (talking 4/10, and at bird blind)
- Purple Finch (First of Year 4/15/17)
- Pine Siskin (First of Year, 4/15/17)
- American Goldfinch
- Common Grackle
- Downy Woodpecker
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Northern Flicker (4/17/17)
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet (4/19/17)
- Barred Owl (heard 4/13/17)
- Chipping Sparrow (First of year 4/25/17)
- White-throated Sparrow
The usual mammals maintained their presence: Red and Gray Squirrels, Eastern Cottontail rabbit, and Eastern Chipmunks. Wood Frogs made the feeder area mini pond noisy on several rainy days, and Spotted Salmander eggs will remain in the pond for a little while longer.
Our “summer” hours have arrived! May through October, we are open daily from 10am – 4pm (with a few extra evenings, and sometime closed for part of the July 4 holiday). Click over to our events page. If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter , tumblr, and/or Instagram too, you’ll find more comments, links, and observations. See you soon!
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.
Through the Window: March 2017
March was a mix, with bare ground and then snowstorm Stella. A small snafu, so we don’t have our white board list from February but we did of course keep track over on eBird. for our monitoring walks and so on. So bold in this list indicates “not seen in January” instead of “not seen last month.”
- Wild Turkey
- Northern Cardinal (male)
- Black-capped chickadee
- Blue Jay
- Red-Winged Blackbird (The First-of-Year Red-winged Blackbird showed up at the end of February, which always seems to surprise us, even though it happens almost every year.)
- Mourning Dove
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Tufted Titmouse
- Downy Woodpecker
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Hairy Woodpecker
- White-throated Sparrow
- Common Grackle (F.O.Y. March 25)
- Dark-eyed Junco
- American Crow (3 on March 27)
The usual suspects: Red and Gray Squirrels, White-tailed Deer, and an Eastern Cottontail rabbit. On th enight came: a Raccoon.
Even though we ask that you call or email to set up a visit (from now through April 30), we have some exceptions for open days, special events, and offsite activities: Click over to our events page. If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter , tumblr, and/or Instagram too, you’ll find more comments, links, and observations. See you soon!
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.
Through the Window: October 2015
Wow, in this last month of our open-daily season, we recorded some unusual birds! Are they here for the winter? Just passing through? And for some of the common ones, where were they last month?
Bold indicates those we didn’t see last month.
- Golden-crowned Kinglet (10/1 in cedar hedge*)
- Mourning Dove
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet (10/2 in cedar hedge)
- White-throated Sparrow
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Blue Jay
- American Goldfinch
- Downy Woodpecker
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Tufted Titmouse
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Ruffed Grouse (10/20 in the crabapple tree and 10/26 2 walking along the feeding zone perimeter and in the crabapple)
- Northern Cardinal (10/24 m & f, just male on 10/27)
- Purple finch (10/30)
We also observed Eastern Chipmunks, Red Squirrels, and Gray Squirrels, as well several visits from Raccoons on our nighttime cam.
* Aside: We’re going to do some extensive trimming and pruning on the cedar hedge. It was deeply damaged by ice and snow earlier this year, and we’re removing much of the dead wood. Other changes include roost, wintering, and nest boxes (for birds and insect pollinators) and new plantings in the spring as well. Thanks to Volunteer EP for his help with this!
Come see for yourself! Call, tweet, email or schedule a visit by phone: (802) 434-2167 or museum@birdsofvermont.org. From museum exhibits to relaxing in our accessible treehouse to observing the long-awaited progress on the stream restoration and bridge phase of #BridgesToBirds, there’s always some wild thing to learn from or about.
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.