October photo-observation of the month: Ruby-crowned Kinglet / © Charlotte Bill
Congratulations to Charlotte Bill for winning the October 2017 iNaturalist Vermont photo-observation of the month contest. The images of Ruby-crowned Kinglet with its crest partly raised were the most popular photo-observation as measured by clicked ‘favs’.
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a short distance migrant. Most eastern Ruby-crowns winter from the Carolinas through the Gulf Coast states. They return to Vermont in early spring and most are on a nesting territory by mid May, mostly in the mountains or in the Northeast Kingdom. The nest is a pendant structure of moss and lichens placed in thick foliage on a side branch of a spruce or fir. One nest found by VCE researchers on Mt. Mansfield was lined with the soft hairs from Cinnamon Fern stems. Fall migration peaks in October.
Visit iNaturalist Vermont and you can vote for the winner this month by clicking ‘fav’ on your favorite photo-observation. Make sure you get outdoors and record the biodiversity around you, then submit your discoveries and you could be a winner!
