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Join us and speaker Kevin Tolan — staff biologist at Vermont Center for Ecostudies and graduate student at the University of Vermont — as we discover the origin of our North American grasslands, the pressing threats they experience, the local conservation opportunities that have arisen, and the uncertain future they face.

While natural phenomena have long shaped landscape composition, anthropogenic influences are increasingly dictating what lives where. Grassland ecosystems have taken the brunt of human agriculture and development, with the Great Plains losing millions of acres annually. Amid accelerating climate change and global extinctions, opportunities exist in the Northeast to provide long-term habitat for grassland birds - the most rapidly declining group of birds on the continent. Join us and speaker Kevin Tolan — staff biologist at Vermont Center for Ecostudies and graduate student at the University of Vermont — as we discover the origin of our North American grasslands, the pressing threats they experience, the local conservation opportunities that have arisen, and the uncertain future they face.

Photo: Susan Elliott

Come explore the Winooski River floodplain forest with members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society at this hidden gem of a natural area. Thick, woody, and herbaceous vegetation provides excellent habitat and forage for a wide variety of species. In addition, Woodside includes a wetland and trails that wind along the banks of the river. Due to the nature of the trails here, we will offer two separate start times (8:00 and 8:30 AM) for small groups of birders of 10 individuals each. There is limited parking at the trailhead, but additional parking can be found further up the hill.

Unfortunately, we have reached capacity for this event. We hope that you will join us on a future outing.

In every season of the year, birders may stumble upon the unusual: a western flycatcher with misguided migration, an arctic owl wandering south, or a far-flung waterfowl from across an ocean. How do these birds end up in our little state, and what can they tell us about our changing world? Together we will look back on some of the most spectacular birds to visit Vermont, and ponder which avian treasures may come next. Join us for this presentation on rare birds of Vermont with Zac Cota.

Zac Cota is an expert birder, Birds of Vermont Museum board member, Vermont Bird Records Committee member, Vermont eBird Data Expert, and has served as a Teacher-Naturalist with North Branch Nature Center.

This outing includes three non-walking outings in one in which our group will spend time at three locations along the lake - the Shelburne Bay boat launch, Shelburne Town Beach, and the Charlotte Town Beach. At each location, we will be observing waterfowl and other avian species using both binoculars and spotting scopes. Members will be present with spotting scopes through which participants may get great looks at birds out on the water. Those with their own scopes are encouraged to bring them. We will meet at the first location at the boat launch at 8:00 and proceed to the next after about 45 minutes. To provide for a pleasurable birding experience, registration is limited to 15 participants. Registration for this event will open on March 7, 2025

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Join us for a presentation with Jill Kilborn, the Nongame Bird Biologist for VT Fish and Wildlife.  Jill will speak about the status of birds in Vermont with a focus on a new project the Department has initiated on its own Wildlife Management Areas.  Grassland Birds are one of the steepest declining species nationwide.  Here in Vermont, shifts in farming practices and grassland bird abundance have resulted in many species becoming a priority for habitat enhancement.  Jill will walk through the process being used to manage habitats for grassland birds on Fish and Wildlife Management Areas. Register below and join us for this informative program! 

Photo courtesy of Jill Kilborn

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In this program, Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) biologist, Eric Hanson, will discuss the amazing recovery of loons in Vermont over the past 30 years, the threats that they face, and the conservation actions that have brought them back. We’ll explore their fascinating behaviors and natural history from territorial takeovers to visual and verbal communication. Join us online for this fascinating presentation!

The Vermont Loon Conservation Project is a program of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.

This annual first day tradition provides the opportunity for participants to start the new year right off by getting outside in the fresh air while observing birds along the edge of Lake Champlain. Typically, we meet at Perkins Pier and proceed along the waterfront. Weather conditions may dictate the species present, but unexpected species such as the Iceland Gull, Peregrine Falcon, and Merlin have been observed in recent years. Bundle up and join us for an invigorating morning of birdwatching! To ensure an enjoyable birding experience for all, registration is limited to 20 participants. Registration for this event opens December 26, 2024.

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Ericka Griggs, a PhD student in the UVM Wildlife Pathogens Lab, will discuss malaria as an emerging infectious disease in Common Loons in New England. Her research seeks to answer why these birds, historically malaria-free, are now becoming infected with this mosquito-borne illness and how climate change may be influencing its spread. Ericka's work focuses on understanding the potential impacts of a warming climate on loon populations in the Northeast and what this means for the future of wildlife health and conservation in the region. Register at the link below to join us on Zoom for this fascinating program!

Photo Credit: Daniel Poleschook

Previously called the Christmas Bird Count, the 2024-2025 season will mark the 175th year of this annual event and the 77th year that Green Mountain Audubon Society (GMAS) has participated. There are over 20 15-mile-wide circles in the State of Vermont. Within each circle, participants tally all birds seen or heard that day following established protocols to ensure consistent data collection that helps provide data on the health of that particular population. Data collected by participants over the years contribute to one of only two large existing pools of information used by ornithologists and conservation biologists to protect birds and their habitats. 

On December 15, 2024 birders and nature enthusiasts in the Burlington area will join this tradition. The Burlington circle, organized by GMAS, is split into multiple sectors. Sector leaders gather participant data and submit the collective observations to a compiler who then submits the information to the National Audubon Society. Feeder counting is permitted if your home is within the boundaries of the counting circle. 

If you are interested in joining our count, please contact Sarah Schmidt at  BurlingtonWBC@gmail.com

For an overview follow the link below:

https://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count/join-christmas-bird-count

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Liza Morse is a PhD candidate at the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. In collaboration with Ruth Bennett at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Liza has been exploring the impact of coffee cultivation on bird diversity in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in Colombia. Liza will discuss Smithsonian’s Bird Friendly Coffee program as well as her research into the impacts of sun- versus shade-grown coffee on bird functional diversity.  Originally from Western Massachusetts, Liza’s love of birds began as a kid when she participated in the Christmas Bird Count with a family friend. Her research focuses on bird ecology and conservation in working landscapes, from coffee plantations in Colombia to sugarbushes here in Vermont. Join us on Zoom for this great program!

Join members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society as we explore the diversity of habitats and the resident avian species at the St. Michael’s College Natural Area. This 2.5 mile walk over varied and often wet terrain will provide participants the opportunity to traverse the Winooski River floodplain’s fields and forests. The trail eventually leads to more elevated mixed species forest and old field environments. After years of agricultural use, portions of this site have been permitted to return to the wild and the annual changes that are observed are quite dramatic. To ensure an enjoyable birding experience, this trip is limited to 20 participants. Registration opens on October 26, 2024.

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Grassland bird conservation is a complex and nuanced issue, and the solutions are not always obvious or simple. Hyla Howe, Grassland Bird Biologist at Mass Audubon and coordinator for the Bobolink Project, will explain what the team has learned from the program’s first decade, the challenges that have surfaced, the opportunities that persist, and the changes that are underway to expand and improve the program. After almost a decade of slow but steady growth, the program has received federal funding to greatly expand the acreage enrolled in Vermont’s Champlain and Connecticut River Valleys, which brings immense opportunity but also raises critical questions.  How can we integrate grassland bird-friendly haying timelines with the needs of working farms? How do we maintain fields that have gone out of production so they can continue to support grassland species? How can we scale our model and offer more support to farmers by working with local volunteers? In a time when the future is uncertain for grassland-obligate species, it is necessary to listen deeply to the people who are managing these vital landscapes and implement solutions that protect the resilience of our agricultural lands.

As part of the Missisquoi Wildlife Fair sponsored by the Friends of Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge, participants are challenged to join a 5K event with a birding twist. Birders will join members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society as they lead a 5K walk over refuge trails to determine which species are present or passing through the refuge. All birds found will be recorded in eBird. Participants will meet at 8:00 AM at the Stephen Young Marsh/Old Railroad Passage trailhead (one mile past the Visitor Center on Tabor Road). Binoculars will be available for use for those without. Click the link below to register:

The Pelot’s Natural Area provides the opportunity to observe a variety of avian species in different ecological habitats, including fields, a sugarbush, mixed hardwoods, and a cedar stand. In addition, the area borders secluded Pelot’s Bay, marshes, and a swamp as well as offering views of the open lake. Participants will cover approximately 2.5 miles along trails over varied terrain during this outing. To ensure a pleasurable birding experience, registration is limited to twenty participants. Registration will open on September 28. To register, please click on the link below:

The fall migration is on! Join members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society as we traverse the beautiful grounds of Shelburne Farms to observe migratory birds as they get ready to leave our region. In addition, we expect to see a number of resident species. This morning birdwatching trip will cover approximately two miles over fairly level ground. To ensure a pleasurable birding experience, registration is limited to twenty participants. To register, please click on the link below:

Join the Green Mountain Audubon Society on our first outing to the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge This area consists of a large tract of early successional woodlands, meadows, and pastures that provide outstanding habitats for birds and other wildlife. The range of significant wildlife habitats within this area supports a diverse variety avian species, including Golden and Blue-winged warblers and their hybrids. Trails here are clearly marked with some inclines. To ensure a pleasurable birding experience, participation will be limited to twenty individuals. Registration for this event will begin on June 15.

Join members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society as we explore Butternut Hill Natural Area near the southern end of North Hero. This area consists of a mix of wetlands, uplands, two small agricultural fields, and over 1,100 feet of undeveloped Lake Champlain shoreline. The two wetlands are both long, narrow branches of lakeside floodplain forest divided by a low, forested ridge with a beech forest containing impressively large trees and a small patch of red cedar woodland along the rocky bluff at the lake shore. These diverse habitats provide nesting and forage areas for a variety of bird species. The walk covers some slight inclines, wet areas and eventually ends at a small cove along the lake. To ensure a pleasurable birding experience, this outing is limited to twenty participants. Registration will open on June 1.

Join members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society in collaboration with the Friends of Missisquoi as we celebrate the annual return of migratory bird species. This outing will explore the Black and Maquam Creek Trails through floodplain forest, an extraordinarily productive ecosystem that provides bountiful food and habitat for a variety of avian species. Come and enjoy the best of birding at the height of migration!

This popular spring outing presents a great opportunity to view returning woodland warblers before the emergence of the leaves of the forest trees. Traveling approximately two miles along the slightly inclined paved park road, participants will be serenaded by spring songs and observe flashes of birds in breeding plumage. There are rest room facilities near parking close to the top of the Waterbury Dam. To ensure an enjoyable birding experience, this trip is limited to 25 participants. At the start, birders may assembled into smaller groups. Registration for this outing will open on May 4.

Come enjoy birding in a beautiful setting at the height of spring migration! The wide variety of habitats found at the Catamount Community Forest provides birders the opportunity to observe a diversity of species. The melodious songs of brightly colored warblers in their finest breeding plumage promise to make this an enjoyable morning for all! To ensure a pleasurable birding experience, participation will be limited to twenty participants. Registration for this outing will open on April 28.

In every season of the year, birders may stumble upon the unusual: a western flycatcher with misguided migration, an arctic owl wandering south, or a far-flung waterfowl from across an ocean. How do these birds end up in our little state, and what can they tell us about our changing world? Together we will look back on some of the most spectacular birds to visit Vermont, and ponder which avian treasures may come next. Join us for this presentation on rare birds of Vermont with Zac Cota.

Zac Cota is an expert birder, Birds of Vermont Museum board member, Vermont Bird Records Committee member, Vermont eBird Data Expert, and Teacher-Naturalist with North Branch Nature Center.

Photo: Crested Caracara in Woodstock, VT (credit: Cat Abbott)

On this outing, we return to Farrell Park a little bit earlier in an attempt to spot resident and returning species before the trees leaf out, obscuring the view. Birders may be surprised by what they find so close to a suburban community along an accessible paved pathway.

After meeting in the parking area just off Swift Street, we will travel along a well-used trail that meanders through deciduous a forest and along open fields, providing decent viewing opportunities. The pathway we will take is paved and relatively smooth with some gradual inclines. To ensure an enjoyable birding experience, this trip is limited to 20 participants. Registration for this outing will open on April 6.

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This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the ecology and avian life in a remote Pacific ecosystem as well as the research being conducted there. Claire Reilly, a graduate of the University of Vermont, a former Audubon Vermont intern, and field technician who has assisted in bird-friendly maple sugar-making research, is engaged in research on the remote Palmyra atoll. Her work is mostly seabird-focused on an island group that tends to draw more marine biologists more than birders. She is involved in efforts to try to restore Palmyra's native rainforest and bring back seven extirpated species of seabird. This work involves a lot of bird surveying, invasive plant control, native plant monitoring, and seabird attraction efforts. In addition, Claire assists with some of the marine research, including snorkel surveys for coral bleaching, and the deployment of hydrophones for a team that's making a soundscape of the reef.

Shorebirds present on the atoll include bristle-thighed curlews, pacific golden plovers, wandering tattlers, red footed, brown, and masked boobies, brown and black noddies, white and sooty terns, and greater and lesser frigatebirds. Also observed offshore were wedge-tailed shearwater, tropical shearwater, and Bulwer's petrel. Join us on Zoom for this great program!

Join the Green Mountain Audubon Society as we venture out in search of late winter/early spring birds out on the Colchester Causeway. This excursion presents all sorts of possibilities, dependent upon the weather. Passerines and others may be visible on our way out to the lake, where the possibility exists of observing various waterfowl and a variety of other birds. The group will meet at the parking area off Mills Point Road and, from there, head out on the old rail bed. To ensure an enjoyable birding experience, this trip is limited to 20 participants.

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Hyla Howe is a graduate student at the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources working with Dr. Allan Strong. Hyla has spent the last three summers studying Bobolinks and other grassland birds in the Champlain Valley, Eastern High Peaks, and Tri-Lakes regions of the Adirondacks. Her interdisciplinary examination of Bobolink populations and farmer attitudes toward grassland bird conservation aims to inform more effective outreach and incentive programs. In the final semester of her M.S. degree, Hyla is excited to tell the story of the delicate and complex relationship between the farmers and birds that have become linked by changing regional land use patterns, and the ways that we can best support them.  Join us on Zoom for this great program!

Dr. O’Kane will be giving a talk, sponsored by GMAS, the Pierson Library, and The Flying Pig Bookstore, on Birding to Change the World: A Memoir at 6:30 p.m. on March 20, 2024 at the Pierson Library in Shelburne. Copies of her book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Postponed to March 2 due to forecast calling for frigid temperatures.

Join the members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society for some winter birding, as we explore the fields and forests of the Winooski River floodplain at the Ethan Allen Homestead. Starting out from the parking area near the museum, we will head out on surrounding trails in search of a variety of avian species. Depending upon the weather, we may be walking on bare ground or snow-covered trails in cold or mild temperatures. Our outing will cover less than two miles over mostly flat terrain. Participants should dress for whatever conditions the day brings. To ensure an enjoyable birding experience, this trip is limited to 20 participants.

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ONLINE PROGRAM

Trish O’Kane is an accidental ornithologist. In her nearly two decades writing about justice as an investigative journalist, she'd never paid attention to nature. But then Hurricane Katrina destroyed her New Orleans home, sending her into an emotional tailspin. Enter a scrappy cast of feathered characters—first a cardinal, urban parrots, and sparrows, then a catbird, owls, a bittern, and a woodcock—that cheered her up and showed her a new path. Join us on Zoom for this great program!

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Bird Tales has become one of the Friends of Missisquoi NWR’s most popular events. Join us and find out why!

This year’s collection of avian stories will be coming from members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society. These avid birders will certainly have stories to entertain the audience.

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Emily Filiberti, graduate student at the University of Maine, has spent the past three years using VHF-coded telemetry to track and monitor a species facing acute population decline, the Golden-winged Warbler. Join us as Emily walks us through the process of tagging and tracking these charismatic and elusive birds, how the Motus network is playing a role in understanding migratory pathways, and how her work will ultimately help to inform future management decisions for the imperiled species. 

Originally from Fairfax, Vermont, Emily discovered her love for birds at a young age while exploring the state with her mother, an avid local birder. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New England, she took on several bird-focused internships, including working with Bobolinks at Shelburne Farms, tracking American Redstarts in western Jamaica, and observing Lance-tailed Manakin courtship performances on an island in Panama. She is now finishing up her Master's of Science program in the Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology department at the University of Maine.