Super Hottt VT Birding Spots

In our recent Animal issue of Seven Days, we profiled Bridget Butler, Bird Diva. If you've heard her dish about finches on VPR or seen her miraculously take flight with migratory snow geese on WPTZ (OK, that didn't happen), you know Butler is like one-stop shopping for all things bird. Her knowledge is so deep, in fact, that we couldn't fit it all in one article. 

For our story, Butler kindly supplied us with a list of top birding spots in the area. Unfortunately, we didn't have room for it in the paper. So, rather than deprive you of this insider info, we thought we'd throw it on the Web. Here it is:

Hedgehogs on a Plane

On the day before Thanksgiving, Jennifer Goldberg flew from Chicago to Vermont to spend the holiday with her family. Accompanying Goldberg on her journey was Thembi, an African pygmy hedgehog. Thembi is a emotional support animal — literally, he's a service hedgehog. 

You can't make this shit up. 

And of course, he has his own Facebook fan page. 

According to 21-year-old Goldberg, who was featured in the New York Times City Room blog after a chance encounter with a reporter on the airplane, Thembi helps her with her anxiety and depression.  Since getting him, Goldberg's grades at Northwestern University have improved, as has her social life. (Note to self: Get service hedgehog immediately.)