Learn about Birds through Art at the Birds of Vermont Museum

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The Birds of Vermont Museum in Huntington, VT is a unique and interesting attraction both children and adults will enjoy visiting. The Birds of Vermont Museum contains carvings that represent 258 species of birds native to Vermont and North America. Presently the Museum houses more than 470 carvings of songbirds, raptors, water birds and many others.

The Woodcarver and His Works

The carvings at the Birds of Vermont Museum represent the work of a single artist. Robert (Bob) Spear, Jr. is an incredibly talented woodcarver and naturalist. The Vermont native learned the craft of woodcarving on his own. His carvings progress from simple, yet beautiful early works to lifelike works featuring incredible detail.

Bob’s later carvings are so realistic, you will expect many of the birds to take flight with what appears to be natural feathers. Special woodcarving exhibits scheduled at the Museum allow visitors to see Bob at work on his carvings.

The carvings at the Birds of Vermont Museum are beautiful works of art, but they are also valuable educational tools. They present a rare opportunity to view and study birds of Vermont up close in incredible detail as they would appear in their natural environments.

Exhibits at the Museum

The main gallery at the Birds of Vermont Museum contains pairs of Vermont’s nesting birds displayed with real nests and carved eggs in their natural habitats. There are more than 150 cases of nesting displays in this exhibit.

Life-size carvings of hawks in flight suspended from the Museum’s ceiling allow visitors to learn to identify and distinguish raptors based on coloring and feather patterns. Another raptor exhibit on the balcony of the Museum shows hawks with prey and a particularly impressive Bald Eagle carving.  

A family of loons, 28 larger shorebirds and more than 60 others are included in a work-in-progress Wetland habitats display at the Birds of Vermont Museum. A Winter Diorama depicting birds that visit Vermont during the winter is another beautiful and educational exhibit on site.

The impressive gallery of Endangered and Extinct Birds of North America features 29 carvings of birds and an Archaeopteryx. The detail and realism of these carvings is both captivating and mind-boggling. The California condor displayed here is Bob’s largest carving.

Enjoy the Outdoors at the Museum

In addition to viewing the incredible carvings at the Birds of Vermont Museum, visitors can view live birds at feeders in the garden. An outstanding view of the garden is available through the Museum’s special bird viewing window.

There are picnic areas on the Museum grounds, and you can hike several nature trails here, too. Trails leading to a pond, a butterfly garden and through the woods provide many opportunities to spot birds. Special bird-viewing walks are held seasonally.