VPT Online: Birding in Vermont: Spots Visited






	Birding in Vermont Spots Visited Birds of Vermont Museum (Huntington) [ directions ] The first stop early in the year is the Birds of Vermont Museum in Huntington to see an impressive array of feeders. Bryan and museum founder Bob Spear identify backyard birds with Roxanne Bogart, Scott Schwenk and their young daughters. Champlain Valley [ map & directions ] The tour continues in the Champlain Valley in late winter to look for hawks hunting the fields, and for ice-fishing eagles and courting ducks on the lake. Herrick’s Cove (Rockingham) [ map & directions ] A spring visit to Herrick’s Cove in southeastern Vermont shows that, even on a wet day, birders can find migrating warblers and marsh birds like the elusive Virginia Rail. Bridget Butler of Audubon Vermont joins Bryan at this spot that is designated an "Important Bird Area." Moose Bog (Northeast Kingdom) [ map & directions ] On a warm summer day, Bryan takes viewers to remote Moose Bog in the Northeast Kingdom looking for species like the Spruce Grouse that breed only in boreal habitat. Along a nearby dirt road, he finds brilliantly colored warblers. Mt. Mansfield [ directions ] At the rugged top of Mt. Mansfield, he searches for the rare Bicknell’s Thrush, which breeds only at high elevations. He finds Vermont Institute of Natural Science researcher Kent McFarland and his team of "bicknologists" at work studying the birds. Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (Addison County) [ map & directions ] In fall, the focus is on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison and the annual Snow Goose spectacle. Bryan meets some of the many visitors who come from near and far. He enjoys the geese and other species with refuge manager Dave Sausville. Woodstock The final stop of the year is the Christmas Bird Count in Woodstock, where citizen science combines with the social side of birding. Bryan starts the day with count organizer Sally Laughlin and her teammate, Deb Biglow, in the village. Later, he joins Chris Rimmer and Paul Wieczoreck in the hinterlands of the count circle. He gathers with all the volunteer counters for the traditional tally and potluck supper. [ return to Birding in Vermont ]