Birding at the Green Mountain Audubon Center
by Bruce MacPherson
Mourning Warbler
Photo: Marc Faucher
The Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington is one of Vermont's outstanding birding destinations. The Center is one of 17 Important Bird Areas in Vermont and is listed among the "Hotspots" in the VT eBird database. For many years the members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society have performed bird surveys at two locations at the Center -- the Old Meadow trail behind the office building and the Peeper Pond trail. During this time the Meadow has been managed to provide early succession habitat for a variety of breeding warbler species such as Chestnut-sided Warblers and Mourning Warblers. The Nature Walk section of this website also provides a detailed account of the Center and its habitat. For more information about the GMAC visit the Audubon Vermont website at http://vt.audubon.org/.
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Photo: Marc Faucher
In 2013 the GMAS created a bird checklist for the Center based mainly on our monitoring surveys. Entries into the VT eBird database for the Center and Audubon Vermont staff observations were also included in the checklist, totaling 115 species. Warblers, flycatchers, woodpeckers, and thrushes are particularly well-represented on the list, but an impressive variety of birds was seen throughout the year. We have not yet conducted a formal breeding bird survey at the Center, but 46 species were identified as confirmed or probable breeders based on our observations during monitoring surveys and reports by the Audubon Vermont staff.
Black-throated Green Warbler
Photo: Jeff Hullstrung
The GMAS continues to monitor bird life at the Center regularly. These bird walks are free and open to the public. Specific dates and times for these walks will be posted in the Events section of this website.
The Green Mountain Audubon Center bird checklist is available in printed form at the Center and at events sponsored by the GMAS. A link to a PDF of the checklist can be found at the bottom of this page. We hope that this checklist will be a useful resource for everyone who visits the Center.
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Photo: Marc Faucher