Vermont Birds and Words : Birding Quimby Country!

Monday, September 26, 2022

Birding Quimby Country!

[We first did this post after returning home from Quimby Country in September 2022. After a wonderful week in 2023, we've revised a bit and added a few memories. Now it's 2024 and we're just back from a truly magical stay - So stay tuned for more of Bernie's photos and more glowing descriptions from Maeve and Bernie both!]

Way back in 1893, a man named Charles Quimby bought half of a fishing camp in the northeast corner of the Northeast Kingdom. He bought the other half a few years later, set up some tents on platforms, and invited friends to come and fish Forest Lake and nearby Great Averill.

Forest Lake

Great Averill - and "The Rock"

When Charles died in 1919, his daughter Hortense took over. Hortense was a powerhouse! She decided that the beautiful camp shouldn't be just for fishermen so she renamed it Quimby's Cold Spring Club and started advertising. Over time, she replaced the rustic tents with over a dozen cottages plus a good-sized lodge and a club house right on the lake.

The Lodge

inside The Lodge

Club House

Ms. Quimby ran the camp with a firm hand. Guests were not allowed to share in the justly famous meals without being properly attired, and parents of misbehaving children were expected to remove their offspring from the dining room immediately.

A group of friends took over the management of the resort in the 1960's, changing the name to Quimby Country and continuing the tradition of providing family fun during July and August - with boating, archery, bocce, tennis, hiking, biking, nature walks, swimming, arts and crafts, and many other games and activities.

clay tennis court

Four years ago, Vermonters Lilly and Gene Devlin became owner/managers of Quimby Country. Summer family camp is very popular, run by the Devlins and a staff of ten (including their three sons). In June and September, Gene and Lilly manage with a much smaller staff. Guests tend to be single adults, couples and small groups who relish quiet and peace and beauty. "Shoulder season" is also great for weddings, reunions and other celebrations. And every September the cottages fill up for the annual Women's Weekend, with hikes, yoga and many other activities.

It's hard for us to get away in June because of our huge vegetable garden, but it's a popular time for many others. Vermont Center for Ecostudies has held several staff retreats then. The blackboard below lists the 69 bird species VCE members saw on two June days recently.

Maeve spent a few days at Quimby Country in 2019, and Bernie and Maeve stayed there in September 2021, 2022 and 2023. (And we've got reservations for another full week in 2024!) The whole area has amazing birds during spring and fall migration, in large part due to the wide diversity of habitats. Quimby Country has forest, two lakes, marshes, rock ledges and shrubby areas.

wild raisin attracts robins, waxwings and many other species

Great Blue Heron looking for prey in sedges

The shrubby, untamed area immediately behind this sign is a particularly strong bird magnet.

Two of our visits featured almost constant rain, but in 2023 we finally reached the same bird total that VCE tallied: 69! Over thirty of those species were seen right in that small area behind "Albert's Way". (Overheard in 2023, from two kids riding bikes: "Who do ya think is Albert??")

Impressive flower plantings, lovingly maintained by gardener Lou, attract lots of pollinators all spring, summer and fall, hummingbirds during the summer, and seed-eaters in the fall.

Lou's flowers are used to decorate tables in The Lodge and cottages.

Common Loons are a big draw for most visitors. VCE maintains a nesting platform on Forest Lake and two on Great Averill.

(photo from 2019, earlier in September)

When we stayed five nights in September 2022, we were entertained by two adult loons and two good-sized "teenagers". One day we watched one parent and the two youngsters passing the same small fish back and forth for over twenty minutes.

In September 2023, we watched two important moments in a young loon's life. First, it tilted its head back, opened its beak a little, and let out a weak and wobbly imitation of a yodel. Second, after sticking close to a parent for weeks and being fed a huge number of times every day, one morning the larger bird brought up a small fish. The youngster immediately swam closer - but the parent turned its head away and swallowed the fish! The young loon had just had its first lesson in "you're almost on your own, sonny!"

Our total bird list for three September stays is at the end of this post - but here are a few.

juvenile Cedar Waxwing

Hermit Thrush

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Eastern Phoebe

True to Quimby Country's origin as a fishing camp, cottages are named for trout flies.

The Lodge has photo albums going back over a hundred years!

Quimby Country is uniquely an "unwired" location. There's WIFI in the Lodge but guests are asked not to use their cell phones or tablets during meals. The absence of phones, TVs, etc. makes for a wonderfully quiet experience. - But staying at Quimby Country isn't roughing it! Meals in the Lodge are very good. (Three meals a day are served during the summer, breakfast only in June and September.) Cottages are comfy, with wood stoves, good beds, and full bathrooms. Several cottages also have full kitchens. Click here for specifics.