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Birds of Vermont Museum

@birdsofvermont.bsky.social

Birds. Woodcarvings. Education. Community. Where natural history meets art and the birds don't fly away (well, not the indoor ones, anyway).

74 Followers  |  29 Following  |  16 Posts  |  Joined: 23.01.2025  |  2.1878

Latest posts by birdsofvermont.bsky.social on Bluesky

Changing Conservation Policies in 2025 – Birds of Vermont Museum

... stolen from their families. We stand with Minnesota. And Maine. And others.

For more about how this administration’s actions and policies harm bird populations and the environment, please visit our blog for an essay and links to further resources: birdsofvermont.org/2025/10/31/c...

4/4

24.01.2026 19:20 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

We cannot have healthy ecosystems (and places for birds) without healthy communities, social justice, and economic justice to support, protect, and nourish each other and those ecosystems. We need communities where people are not being brutalized, assaulted, killed, nor ...

3/n

24.01.2026 19:20 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Thread to show rest of the post:

As we don’t live in a vacuum, and we would be remiss if we didn’t also talk about how our human communities are surviving under the coldheartedness that is ICE.

2/n

24.01.2026 19:20 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Four people in winter clothes walking toward the photographer on a bright sunny day. They’re walking through a small overgrown, snow-covered meadow. Behind them are bare deciduous trees, and a further row of evergreens.

Four people in winter clothes walking toward the photographer on a bright sunny day. They’re walking through a small overgrown, snow-covered meadow. Behind them are bare deciduous trees, and a further row of evergreens.

Three people in winter clothes stand on snow, facing away from the photographer, at the base of many small slender trees in a forest. They are in shade. Some distance in front of them is a hillside in sunlight that is partially visible through bare branches.

Three people in winter clothes stand on snow, facing away from the photographer, at the base of many small slender trees in a forest. They are in shade. Some distance in front of them is a hillside in sunlight that is partially visible through bare branches.

Three people in winter clothing smile at the photographer. One smile is obvious; the other two are covered by masks. One person is wearing fogged-up glasses. They are outside in the winter with bare-branched trees and evergreens behind them.

Three people in winter clothing smile at the photographer. One smile is obvious; the other two are covered by masks. One person is wearing fogged-up glasses. They are outside in the winter with bare-branched trees and evergreens behind them.

This morning, as the temps climbed to -8F, we went out to search for birds. The sun came out and we found 5 species. Points if you can guess all 5!

We spent some time talking about how the birds survive the cold temperatures, snow, and ice. (More about that on our IG/FB)

#BirdWalk #Conservation

24.01.2026 19:08 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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Join us Saturday January 24th for the first Bird Monitoring Walk of 2026! Might be a tad chilly at 8 am; dress warmly and in layers!

Sign up at birdsofvermont.org/jan-2026-bir...

#birdwalk #countbirds #outdoors #birdsofvermont

21.01.2026 12:45 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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#CallToArtists : Wings • Waters • Ways

Explore the interwoven history of humans, birds, and waterways in your art. The Birds of Vermont Museum invites art submissions that dive and soar with the ways of wings and waters for our 2026 community show. Details: birdsofvermont.org/call-to-arti...

20.01.2026 17:14 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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This Barre artist helps keep stone carving alive through mentorship Stone carver Heather Milne Ritchie is mentoring a new generation of women artists at her central Vermont studio.

Today, only a handful of artists in Barre still carve granite by hand.

One of them is Heather Milne Ritchie, who's keeping the tradition alive — and bringing more women into the craft.

13.01.2026 14:25 — 👍 9    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 1

Are you excited for #AOS26 in Amherst, Mass, this August? We are! Submit your symposia, roundtable, and workshop proposals by **1/31/26**. meeting.americanornithology.org/news-announc...

13.01.2026 18:12 — 👍 8    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
A small gray and white Piping Plover (with orange legs and a black bill) in winter plumage along the water’s edge, looking at photographer taking the photograph. The NYC Plover Project logo is in lower right of the image, with an urgent call to action against Trump’s proposed rule changes at the top in red and black block letters.

A small gray and white Piping Plover (with orange legs and a black bill) in winter plumage along the water’s edge, looking at photographer taking the photograph. The NYC Plover Project logo is in lower right of the image, with an urgent call to action against Trump’s proposed rule changes at the top in red and black block letters.

The Trump Administration is looking to decimate the Endangered Species Act. Proposed changes would:

- LIMIT new species from being listed

- REMOVE protections for federally-threatened species like Piping Plovers

- REDUCE critical habitat protections

20.11.2025 00:59 — 👍 17    🔁 14    💬 1    📌 0
SKYPE A SCIENTIST Skype a Scientist matches your classroom, scout troop, or library with scientists for Q&A sessions for free!

You're never gonna believe this, but we're out of archaeologists again.

We have matched ~650 groups with archaeologists this semester! I am so grateful to the 196 Archaeologist volunteers!

We have 60 unmatched groups rn

Know archaeologists who could do a session? Send them to SkypeAScientist.com

11.11.2025 16:26 — 👍 196    🔁 110    💬 12    📌 9
Four students investigate the brushy edge of a small pond in spring. They are squatting and bending over, peering at something in the water, which is crowded with emergent plants.

Four students investigate the brushy edge of a small pond in spring. They are squatting and bending over, peering at something in the water, which is crowded with emergent plants.

A young student using a clipboard and worksheet to investigate the exhibits at the Birds of Vermont Museum.

A young student using a clipboard and worksheet to investigate the exhibits at the Birds of Vermont Museum.

Three students are in the Viewing Window corner of the Birds of Vermont Museum. One uses binoculars while another points outside to something of interest.

Three students are in the Viewing Window corner of the Birds of Vermont Museum. One uses binoculars while another points outside to something of interest.

Six pre-schoolers and two adults explore a fern-rich trail in spring at the museum. Newly leaved trees are behind them, and one is in blossom.

Six pre-schoolers and two adults explore a fern-rich trail in spring at the museum. Newly leaved trees are behind them, and one is in blossom.

We are grateful for the amazing educators and school groups who visit us year-round. Your curiosity and love of learning inspire everything we do—and we’re so glad to be a part of it.

#BirdsofVermontMuseum #MonthOfGratitude #Education #ThankYouTeachers #FieldTrips

09.11.2025 16:05 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
A black-and-white drawing of a Black-capped Chickadee perched on a slender gray twig. The drawing is surrounded by a green circle with white letters that read Birds of Vermont Museum Huntington, VT. The bird is from a pen-and-ink illustration by Adelaide Tyrol.

A black-and-white drawing of a Black-capped Chickadee perched on a slender gray twig. The drawing is surrounded by a green circle with white letters that read Birds of Vermont Museum Huntington, VT. The bird is from a pen-and-ink illustration by Adelaide Tyrol.

A black-and-white ink drawing of a Black-capped Chickadee flying while carrying a twig. The drawing is superimposed over a green silhouette of the state of Vermont on a light blue background. Words on the left read Small Yet Mighty; on the right, Birds of Vermont Museum. Illustration by Kir Talmage.

A black-and-white ink drawing of a Black-capped Chickadee flying while carrying a twig. The drawing is superimposed over a green silhouette of the state of Vermont on a light blue background. Words on the left read Small Yet Mighty; on the right, Birds of Vermont Museum. Illustration by Kir Talmage.

An black-and-white ink drawing of a Black-capped Chickadee holding up a sign that says Vote! while perched on a small twig with a leaf. The drawing is surrounded by a green circle that reads Birds Can't Vote But You Can! Illustration by Kir Talmage from an idea by Allison Gergely.

An black-and-white ink drawing of a Black-capped Chickadee holding up a sign that says Vote! while perched on a small twig with a leaf. The drawing is surrounded by a green circle that reads Birds Can't Vote But You Can! Illustration by Kir Talmage from an idea by Allison Gergely.

Sticker-logo star, you ask?
Well...

Art by Adelaide Tyrol (the one in profile) and Kir Talmage (metasilk.bsky.social) (small yet mighty & birds can't vote)

06.11.2025 16:48 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
Two chickadees perch cheekily on a platform feeder full of black oil sunflower seeds. Photo by K. Talmage and used with permission.

Two chickadees perch cheekily on a platform feeder full of black oil sunflower seeds. Photo by K. Talmage and used with permission.

A chickadee removing bits of wood from a broken-off tree branch pauses to look at the camera. Photo by Erin Talmage and used with permission.

A chickadee removing bits of wood from a broken-off tree branch pauses to look at the camera. Photo by Erin Talmage and used with permission.

A chickadee perched on a black metal arch looks at the camera. Photo by M. Barnes and used with permission.

A chickadee perched on a black metal arch looks at the camera. Photo by M. Barnes and used with permission.

A lifelike, detailed woodcarving of a Black-capped Chickadee perched on a bit of rough tree bark. . Carved by Bob Spear.

A lifelike, detailed woodcarving of a Black-capped Chickadee perched on a bit of rough tree bark. . Carved by Bob Spear.

Lets honor our very social, industrious, undeniably adorable, year-round favorite feathered friend and BOVM sticker-logo star: the Black-capped Chickadee: a delight and an inspiration

#BirdsofVermontMuseum #MonthOfGratitude #BlackCappedChickadee #GoBirding #PoecileAtricapillus #Birds #BackyardBird

06.11.2025 16:28 — 👍 1    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
Many people sit around tables strewn with carving tools and woodcarvings in progress. Some are intent on their work, while others smile and talk together. Behind them are workshop walls with waterfowl decoys and more carving tools.

Many people sit around tables strewn with carving tools and woodcarvings in progress. Some are intent on their work, while others smile and talk together. Behind them are workshop walls with waterfowl decoys and more carving tools.

Two people (busy carving) are blurred but visible behind a rack of woodcarving gouges.

Two people (busy carving) are blurred but visible behind a rack of woodcarving gouges.

Carved as relief into a branch, a mustached man's face smiles.

Carved as relief into a branch, a mustached man's face smiles.

Two unfinished nuthatches (carved in wood) sit on a table behind a carving glove and thumb protector, and in front of a finished (carved and painted) nuthatch and cups of coffee.

Two unfinished nuthatches (carved in wood) sit on a table behind a carving glove and thumb protector, and in front of a finished (carved and painted) nuthatch and cups of coffee.

Thank you to the Green Mountain Wood Carvers who make this place a hub for learning and making. Your craft and your company inspire, delight, teach …and expand our collection!

Have you taken one of their workshops yet?

#BirdsofVermontMuseum #MonthOfGratitude #Woodcarving #GreenMountainWoodcarvers

04.11.2025 19:07 — 👍 8    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
A round ceramic dish on a stand, showing a Red-bellied Woodpecker. The ceramic is a carved style, in black, white and red. Artist: S. Morrison.

A round ceramic dish on a stand, showing a Red-bellied Woodpecker. The ceramic is a carved style, in black, white and red. Artist: S. Morrison.

A watercolor painting of a nest with two eggs and many viney/ferny leaves around. Artist: L. DiSante

A watercolor painting of a nest with two eggs and many viney/ferny leaves around. Artist: L. DiSante

A photograph of a male Ruby-throated hummingbird superimposed over texts of many numerical facts about the species. Artists: K. Sultze and J. Hyde

A photograph of a male Ruby-throated hummingbird superimposed over texts of many numerical facts about the species. Artists: K. Sultze and J. Hyde

A complex quilt of many bright colors and fabric patterns, showing a Blackburnian Warbler in a tropical forest canopy. Artist: M. Lower

A complex quilt of many bright colors and fabric patterns, showing a Blackburnian Warbler in a tropical forest canopy. Artist: M. Lower

Thank you to all more than 250 creatives who have exhibited in our art shows. From our first named show in 2013 to this year’s, may all of you be filled with tremendous creativity and success!

Art share with permission. More images & artist names, on our Instagram.

#MonthOfGratitude #BirdsInArt

02.11.2025 17:34 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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I just think it's neat that the Museum has 2222 checklists as of today!

#eBird #GoBirding #BirdWithFriends #birds

23.10.2025 14:33 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
A flyer advertising "Tree ID for Birders and Friends", showing a hill in fall foliage, with other deciduous trees in the foreground (also in foliage colors). The link to the event https://birdsofvermont.org/event/tree-identification-for-birders-and-friends/ is written on the page, and four small images (leaves, sapsucker holes in bark, a QR code, and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in a tree) are aligned along the bottom.

A flyer advertising "Tree ID for Birders and Friends", showing a hill in fall foliage, with other deciduous trees in the foreground (also in foliage colors). The link to the event https://birdsofvermont.org/event/tree-identification-for-birders-and-friends/ is written on the page, and four small images (leaves, sapsucker holes in bark, a QR code, and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in a tree) are aligned along the bottom.

Want to move past, “that bird, up there, in the tree, the greenish one, next to the tall one”?

Join us on a tree ID walk October 19, 1:00 pm, Birds of Vermont Museum.

Details & registration at birdsofvermont.org/event/tree-i...

#TreeId #ForestWalk #TreeIDForBirders #SundayWalk #FallFoliage

16.10.2025 20:12 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Winter Finch Forecast 2025-2026 - FINCH RESEARCH NETWORK By Tyler Hoar Featured Post Photo: ©David Turgeon GENERAL FORECAST It looks to be a flight year for many species in Eastern Canada. With mostly very poor crops in the boreal forest from central Quebec...

Winter Finch Forecast: finchnetwork.org/winter-finch...

16.10.2025 19:59 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
A canva graphic that says “how it works” “Step 1: Go to SkypeAScientist.com Step 2: Click “Sign Up” then “Educator Sign Up Form” Step 3: Tell us about your class Step 4: Get matched with a scientist Step 5: Connect to talk about your needs Step 6: Enrich your students’ understanding of science”

A canva graphic that says “how it works” “Step 1: Go to SkypeAScientist.com Step 2: Click “Sign Up” then “Educator Sign Up Form” Step 3: Tell us about your class Step 4: Get matched with a scientist Step 5: Connect to talk about your needs Step 6: Enrich your students’ understanding of science”

Alright I have something useful for you to do.

Think of any teachers and librarians you know. Do they know about Skype a scientist? Our program matches classrooms & other groups w/scientists for virtual Q&As. It’s free!

They can sign up here!
www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

#Edusky #StemED

18.09.2025 13:21 — 👍 129    🔁 95    💬 1    📌 6

This article originally appeared in the Sept. 2025 issue of Birding. The ABA recognizes the immense importance of birding to wellness and healthy living, and is pleased to offer this article online as a free service to the entire birding community.

18.09.2025 18:02 — 👍 7    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
Why birds & data? To see the whole picture. Data is a system, not a thing. To truly understand data, you need to know how it gets made, how it is changed by the processes of computation, and how the choices we make in representing it affect the stories that can be told. Birding offers a way to get intimate with this entire system. To watch as our observations become data. To see how they are recast and reshaped by algorithms and models. To explore the many practical and poetic ways we might tell our data's story. Through birding, data is revealed not as static record, but as a living process of which we (and our feathered neighbors) are very much a part.

Why birds & data? To see the whole picture. Data is a system, not a thing. To truly understand data, you need to know how it gets made, how it is changed by the processes of computation, and how the choices we make in representing it affect the stories that can be told. Birding offers a way to get intimate with this entire system. To watch as our observations become data. To see how they are recast and reshaped by algorithms and models. To explore the many practical and poetic ways we might tell our data's story. Through birding, data is revealed not as static record, but as a living process of which we (and our feathered neighbors) are very much a part.

My course about birding & creative code is also secretly (shhhh) a course about critical data thinking.

Which is one of the most important skills you could possibly cultivate in this age of AI and misinformation.

Autumn cohorts start September 23rd... join me?

jerthorp.me/learning

🪶📊🎨

28.08.2025 20:51 — 👍 47    🔁 16    💬 2    📌 10
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Special Events for July!

To learn more or to pre-register go to our website birdsofvermont.org.

Interested in visiting the Museum? The Museum is open Wednesday-Sunday 10-4.

02.07.2025 17:55 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

The projected “savings” by shuttering all NOAA ocean, climate, and weather research labs and program offices (14 total) and associated Cooperative Institutes (17 total) won’t even come remotely close to the value of lost knowledge by scattering every scientist elsewhere.

01.07.2025 16:14 — 👍 185    🔁 88    💬 3    📌 1
Photo (by Tim from Ithaca/Wikimedia Commons) of the back of a Northern Pygmy-Owl showing the false eye spots on the back of the head. Text on the graphic says Unsolicited Bird Fact: Northern Pygmy-Owls have two dark spots rimmed in white on the back of their head that mimic eyes. These may serve to deter mobbing songbirds or maybe predators from attacking the owl from behind. What bird would dare attack an fearsome owl? These owls are only are about as tall as a pint glass from top of head to tip of tail and they weigh about as much as an American Robin.

Photo (by Tim from Ithaca/Wikimedia Commons) of the back of a Northern Pygmy-Owl showing the false eye spots on the back of the head. Text on the graphic says Unsolicited Bird Fact: Northern Pygmy-Owls have two dark spots rimmed in white on the back of their head that mimic eyes. These may serve to deter mobbing songbirds or maybe predators from attacking the owl from behind. What bird would dare attack an fearsome owl? These owls are only are about as tall as a pint glass from top of head to tip of tail and they weigh about as much as an American Robin.

Did you ask for a bird fact? No, but you're getting one whether you like it or not. 🪶

23.01.2025 17:40 — 👍 93    🔁 21    💬 1    📌 1
Three Blue Jays on a platform feeder with heaped black oil sunflower seeds. It is winter, and leafless trees can be seen in the background.

Three Blue Jays on a platform feeder with heaped black oil sunflower seeds. It is winter, and leafless trees can be seen in the background.

Let's get this party started.

23.01.2025 18:12 — 👍 8    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

@birdsofvermont is following 20 prominent accounts