Birds of Vermont Museum
Encyclopedia
Huntington, Vermont
Huntington is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,861 at the 2000 census.The town was originally called New Huntington but the name was changed to Huntington in 1795...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
USA. It was created to preserve and exhibit a collection of life-like bird carvings for the purpose of educating people about the role of birds in the ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
. Today, the Museum is surrounded by a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) bird sanctuary
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
and displays more than 495 biologically accurate woodcarvings
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...
created by Bob Spear
Bob Spear
Bob Spear, founding director of the Birds of Vermont Museum , is a longtime naturalist, birdwatcher and master woodcarver living in Huntington, Vermont USA...
, a Vermont naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and master woodcarver.
History
Bob Spear, BOVM founding director, began carving birds in the 1950s. He realized early on that people can learn more about the beauty and identification of birds through observing carvings than from observing taxidermyTaxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
specimens. Thus during the 1960s, he began carving birds specifically to use in demonstrations for school children. In 1979, when Spear retired, he started creating a collection of bird carvings in hopes of someday establishing a location where people could come to see them and learn about birds. Eight years later, the Museum was established with the assistance and support of the Museum's charter members, consisting of family and friends as well as other interested parties. When BOVM opened to the public in 1987, there were 231 completed nesting bird carvings in a gallery on one floor. Since that time, the Museum has grown to two floors and expanded the collection to include eight more exhibits. A bird observation window was added in the early 1990s along with the first floor exhibits, classroom facilities and a gift shop. In 1998, I. Riga joined the staff and eventually became the Museum's curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
. Having previously studied art, she began carving birds under Spear's tutelage and eventually became his apprentice. As of 2008, Riga has completed six carvings for the wetland diorama. In 2004, BOVM was named a Vermont Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) in conjunction with Green Mountain Audubon Center. A feeder cam was added to the Museum's website in 2005. In 2008 BOVM became an affiliate of Vermont eBird
EBird
eBird is an on-line database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, it was widened to include New Zealand in 2008, and was widened to...
.
Exhibits
The Museum features a variety of bird exhibits including a wetlandWetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
diorama
Diorama
The word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum...
, a winter diorama, a raptor
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
exhibit, an exhibit of endangered and extinct bird species, tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
birds, two displays depicting birds in the Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
Basin, and representations of 260 of Vermont's nesting birds portrayed in their native habitats with biologically accurate nests
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
and eggs.
Programming
In addition to the bird carving exhibits, BOVM offers bird walks along the Museum's nature trails, carving demonstrations, hosts lectures and art classes, and exhibits the work of local artists.BOVM's varied habitat makes it a prime location for research programs. Current on-going projects include a wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
inventory, a breeding bird survey, bird species point counts (joint project with Green Mountain Audubon Center), an annual butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
count, and a mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
inventory.
Location
The Museum is located on Sherman Hollow Road in Huntington, Vermont, six miles (10 km) south of RichmondRichmond, Vermont
Richmond is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The 2000 census revealed a population of 4,090.Local students attend Mount Mansfield Union High School, Camel's Hump Middle School, And Richmond Elementary School. Mount Mansfield Union High is in the neighboring town of Jericho...
village.
See also
- Wood carvingWood carvingWood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...
- National Audubon SocietyNational Audubon SocietyThe National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
- Vermont Institute of Natural ScienceVermont Institute of Natural ScienceThe Vermont Institute of Natural Science is a non-profit environmental education organization based in Quechee, Vermont. Its mission is to motivate individuals and communities to care for the environment through education, research, and avian wildlife rehabilitation.- Avian rehabilitation :One...
- BirdingBirdwatchingBirdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
- American Birding AssociationAmerican Birding AssociationThe American Birding Association is a non-profit organization of people interested in birding. Begun in 1968, the ABA is the only organization in North America that specifically caters to recreational birders. Membership is open to all...