VCE Lineup of 2024 Field Trips a Success!

The crew of our final field trip, Fall Warblers and Pollinators ©Toni Luff

This summer, VCE scientists and staff have had the incredible opportunity to share field experiences with community members through VCE’s free summer field trips. Field trips are a great opportunity to spend time with VCE scientists in their natural habitat. They provide a unique space for all levels of participation, from the enthusiast looking to learn more, to the complete novice.

The field trip season started in May with a birding trip in Mount Auburn Cemetery and wrapped up in September with the Fall Warblers and Pollinators trip at Chaffee Wildlife Sanctuary. We were able to hold eleven trips all over New England and were so excited that many ended up being completely full!

Lake sunrise © Lisa Forest

Some of our 2024 field trip highlights included:

• A young Orchard Oriole (among many other migrating birds) – Birdwatching in Paradise Park with Dan Lambert and Chris Rimmer
• An up-close look at pinned bees– Introduction to bee watching with Spencer Hardy
• Old growth trees with diameters of over 40” – Old Growth Forest Exploration with Steve Faccio
• Folks catching their very first bees– Bumble Bee Identification with Jason Hill
• Spotting 17 different species of butterflies – Butterflies and Brews with Kent McFarland
• Watching many different types of pollinators work; including Tricolored Bumble Bees, a Shamrock Orb Weaver, Cabbage Whites and more! — Fall Warblers and Pollinators with Desiree Narango
• Loons and loon chicks – Loon Nest Checks with Eric Hanson
• Endangered Champlain Beach Gress – Lakeshore Ecology and Management with Ryan Rebozo
• Ovenbirds and their nests,  – Long-term bird monitoring at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest with Mike Hallworth
• Spotting over 41 species of birds during spring migration – Birding in Mount Auburn Cemetery with Susan Hindinger and Jared Keyes

A big thank you to everyone who was able to join us during our 2024 field trip season, we truly enjoyed getting to explore, observe, and learn with you and if you weren’t able to make it this year, we hope to see you next year!