Non-Locals Surprise Banders on Mansfield as VCE Winds Down Season #31
The Mansfield ridgeline may be a far quieter place than it was a month ago, but there is never a shortage of avian surprises to be found. As VCE wraps up its 31st consecutive field season on the mountain, our mist nets produced more than one unexpected capture.
Mansfield Update: A Bird in the Bag is Worth Two in the Net
It was a slow night on Mansfield this week, that turned into an incredibly foggy but productive morning. Click to read the first-hand account from our communications assistant, who joined us this week.
VCE’s Bicknell’s Thrush Work Recognized with Prestigious Award
VCE’s 30+ years of Bicknell’s Thrush work was recently recognized by the Wilson Ornithological Society, which awarded us the prestigious Margaret Morse Nice Medal at its annual meeting in Santa Fe, NM. Nice’s pioneering studies of Song Sparrows in her Ohio backyard during the 1930s set the benchmark for “longitudinal” avian population research, an approach VCE has embodied through our hemispheric work on Bicknell’s Thrush.
Biologists and Bicknell’s Both Tote Backpacks on Mansfield
The VCE banding crew donned backpacks on July 6 for its ascent up Mt. Mansfield, following the toll road’s closure from a heavy rain wash-out. We gained a new appreciation for backpack-toting Bicknell’s Thrushes, and we recaptured a third GPS-tagged female, our 17th tag recovery overall. Two mist-netted Northern Saw-whet Owls were crowd pleasers.
June 2022 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Levi Smith for winning the June 2022 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! His photo of a charmingly-patterned lady beetle received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Loon Update July 2022
We’re absolutely wailing that loon season is halfway over already, but so much has happened since we started monitoring our lakes this spring. As of June 30, we have confirmed 96 nests, 34 successful nests, 14 failed nests, and 47 chicks in the state.
Evolution in Spatial Tracking of Bicknell’s Thrush
In VCE’s 30+ years of Bicknell’s Thrush (BITH) research, we’ve used many different methods to unlock the species’ ecological secrets….
Field Guide to July 2022
‘Tis the season for summer foraging! June has passed, with its delicious wild strawberries and serviceberries. July is ushered in, bringing wild blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, along with some non-berry foraging opportunities–true Chanterelles (Cantharellus sp.). Start the month here.
Predicting the Forests of Tomorrow with the Observations of Today
Michael T. Hallworth Nearly 14,000 different species have been observed in Vermont, and with new ones being reported almost daily…
Fairy Shrimp Survey Results in New Species for Vermont
Results from our pilot Fairy Shrimp survey this spring doubled the number of species known in Vermont…from one to two….
Tags Keep Coming on Mansfield, and from Quebec
VCE’s ground-breaking study of GPS-tagged Bicknell’s Thrush yielded more exciting results on 14-15 June, with the recovery of an additional 5 backpacks from Mt. Mansfield, and the addition of 3 tags retrieved in Quebec.
Field Guide to June 2022
Spring ephemerals have begun to fade, and baby critters abound—June has arrived, and summer is hot on its heels. Across the landscape, wildlife dramas large and small unfold. Warm breezes carry away the last memories of winter frost. June has much to offer, from tapeworms using mind-control to Eastern Cottonwoods shedding their downy seeds. Start the month off here.
Backpacking Thrushes Return to Mansfield
VCE’s first Mansfield banding session of 2022 exceeded all expectations, as we recovered 5 of 36 GPS tags that we affixed to adult Bicknell’s Thrush last summer. Preliminary data from these birds–all males–show that 4 individuals overwintered in the Dominican Republic, 1 on Cuba, and that 3 birds undertook early spring movements of 25-185 km prior to northward migration.
May 2022 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations for the second month in a row to Craig Hunt for winning the May 2022 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! His stunning portrait of an American Black Bear received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
A Birding Quest and Tribute Unlike Any Other: Fred Pratt’s Big Year
Fred Pratt’s delightful and deeply personal new book, “My Big Year—A Search for Birds and Peace of Mind”, recounts the final year of his impassioned quest to become the first birder to document 150 species in all of Vermont’s 14 counties, each within a single calendar year. Fred’s tale movingly weaves together his many memorable (and often humorous) encounters with birds, his attempt to find closure and solace in the wake of losing his beloved wife Chris in 2017, and a deeply abiding love for his life (and birding) partner.
Field Guide to May 2022
Trees are leafing out, and newly arrived migrant birds are dripping from branches. Insects are emerging and pollinating blossoming flowers. Discover all the sights May has to offer with our Field Guide.
VCE Selected as 2022 First: Earth Summer Series Recipient
Do you love nature and the performing arts? If your answer is “heck yes,” it’s time to start marking your calendar for First: Earth’s summer performance series. Each year, First: Earth chooses an environmental nonprofit to receive proceeds from ticket sales, and VCE is honored to have been selected.
April 2022 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Craig Hunt for winning the April 2022 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! His photo of a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers attempting to remove a European Starling from their nest cavity received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Field Guide to April 2022
April brings a burst of life to the rugged Vermont landscape. From bees to crayfish, life is on the move. Here’s our guide to some of the joys of April.
March 2022 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Chelsea Carroll for winning the March 2022 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Her photo of almost a dozen Eastern Bluebirds perched shoulder-to-shoulder on a chilly March day received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Field Guide to March 2022
With the weather warming and the ground thawing, spring is in the air, and Vermont is waking up! Kick-off your month with flowing sap, thawing frogs, and heated flowers. You can read all about it in this month’s Field Guide.
Meet Vermont’s Newest Endangered Species
The latest Vermont Endangered and Threatened species list celebrated the recovery of Bald Eagles and the Canada Black Snakeroot, while five new species and three critical habitats were added. Learn about the newest members of the list that will need our help for their recovery.
February 2022 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to vtmonarch for winning the February 2022 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their…
Field Guide to February 2022
This month, wildlife and the rest of us here in New England will cross a threshold that’s arbitrary yet not insignificant: 10 hours of daylight. There’s no doubt that we’ve got a lot more winter ahead, but change is coming. So here are a few February natural history tidbits to help get your hopes up, no matter what that groundhog predicted.
January 2022 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Craig Hunt for winning the January 2022 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Craig’s photo of a sharp-eyed Sharp-shinned Hawk received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
New Milkweed Specialist Insects Guide
A field guide to help identify New England’s milkweed specialist insects at all life stages.
Vermont Birders Rally During 11th Annual eBird County Quest
From the frigid mornings of the final Christmas Bird Counts of the 2020-2021 season to the discovery of Razorbills and Northern Gannets which briefly turned Lake Champlain into an Atlantic Ocean look-alike this past November, 2021 was a year full of birding surprises and, unsurprisingly, full of friendly competition during the 11th annual Vermont eBird County Quest.
December 2021 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Charlotte Bill for winning the December 2021 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Charlotte’s photo of a Great Blue Heron braving the cold of a northern Vermont winter received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Field Guide to January 2022
Although the days are slowly growing longer, life in the Northeast now finds itself in the coldest depths of winter. January is about survival. Wildlife that doesn’t migrate adapts instead in order to make it to spring. Here are a few tidbits of natural history happening outdoors this month around you.
A Community-minded Ornithologist and Birder: George Clark Receives VCE’s 2021 Julie Nicholson Community Science Award
George Clark’s innumerable contributions as a community scientist—from his heroic efforts during the second Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas to his countless eBird checklists—have substantially expanded our collective knowledge of Vermont’s bird populations. For this, the staff and board of VCE are proud to present George with the 2021 Julie Nicholson Community Science Award.
