The Hermit Thrush Newsletter
The Green Mountain Audubon Society resumed a full slate of birding excursions this spring. Numbers of participants have been intentionally limited to ensure an enjoyable experience for all and most outings have been fully subscribed. A genuine effort has been made to accommodate all levels of birders through which we all share and improve birding skills.
Over 75% of Vermont is beautiful forests – with more than 80% of that being privately owned. So even small actions add up, like choosing locally evolved plants for your garden that support birds and pollinators or pulling up invasive garlic mustard on town trails. By sharing this burden with our neighbors, family, and community, we can empower ourselves and others to act and effect true and lasting solutions.
We are excited to share that we have revamped our education grant program to make it more accessible and attractive to teachers and other leaders working with students and children in our service area. New this year we’ll be processing requests on a monthly basis to get funding into the hands of folks with great project ideas, and, we’ve increased the amount of money that can be applied for to up to $1K per project.
The year 2022 has been a mixed one for Audubon Vermont’s priorities at the Vermont General Assembly, with the story not quite yet over. As of the date of writing this article, I can report that the legislature passed some priority bills signed into law by the Governor, and passed some that have already been vetoed or face the threat of a Governor’s veto.
This report has been updated for 2021-2022.
As winter approaches the migratory birds-warblers, vireos, blackbirds, and hawks-depart. Resident birds, chickadees, titmice, cardinals and the like persist, but we dearly miss the departed. Fear not. Our winter migrants, the winter finches, and their allies will arrive shortly. Or not. The birds are known collectively as winter finches are irruptive species, appearing in Vermont in some years, but not others. Predicting their movements has become a cottage industry of sorts and forecasts put out by Tyler Hoar of the Finch Research Network.
Calibrations and Recognitions
Robert Frost's poem, “The Oven Bird,” is a poem of calibration. The poem is built on several easily recognizable literary tropes: the bird is personified, so that its song is given human meaning and human resonance. Then an analogy is extended between the bird and our human realm. Finally, another analogy is drawn between the passage of time as one season replaces another – as spring moves into summer – and the maturation of the human psyche.
The Haidee Antram Award was created 25 years ago by John and Elizabeth Newberry in honor of their daughter Haidee, who was an enthusiastic volunteer at the Green Mountain Audubon Center. This award is a scholarship given to an exceptional intern or volunteer at the GMAC and is intended to further the recipient’s education and experience in the natural world. This year the GMAS is pleased to announce that Gus Lunde is the 2019 Haidee Antram Award recipient.
