Mount Mansfield 2024 Midseason Report
With six trips up to Mount Mansfield’s peak and five trips to Mount Washington under our belts, VCE’s banding team is well into our summer 2024 montane bird banding and monitoring efforts! Battling rain, wind, chill, and scorching heat has been the baseline for this summer, but although perfect weather has been elusive, the birds we seek have not.
Lead Poisoning and a Love Triangle: A Tale of One Common Loon’s Brush with Death
Nothing prepares you for your first close encounter with an injured loon. Thanks to countless individuals, this loon’s tale has a happy ending. However, its journey touched many, demonstrating that conservation on all scales requires a village of curious, passionate people.
Building an Automated Moth Monitoring Network
How are moth populations faring in Vermont? Except for a few species, no one really knows. A few years ago, VAL teamed up with community scientists, biologists, engineers, and computer scientists from around the world to change that. Now, we are poised to understand moths like never before.
Field Guide to July 2024
The dawn bird chorus now fades from northern woodlands as the hills erupt in the sparkle and drama of summer insects. Dragonflies dart through fields and along pond edges. Moths and butterflies in all shapes and hues flit across the sun-washed landscape. In July, Vermont’s hills and valleys pulse with the rhythm of wildlife antics. Here’s a guide to some of the splendor.
The Next Generation of Mt. Mansfield Ridgeline Research at VCE
With all the buzz on bees and other pollinators lately, you may be wondering if VCE is still studying birds. Are we ever! Amongst the plethora of continuing and new research, our Bicknell’s Thrush research program is going strong and has expanded to explore additional questions and build on past discoveries.
Forest Bird Monitoring Data Dashboard Goes Live
For over 30 years, VCE has coordinated the Vermont Forest Bird Monitoring Program to track the long-term population trends of interior forest birds. The backbone of this project is the dedicated corps of volunteer birders. The data these hardy birders collect are invaluable in tracking the status of forest songbirds. Now, the FBMP has a Data Dashboard where anyone can explore and interact with FBMP data and view up-to-date results.
June 2024 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to iNat user @hobiecat for winning the April 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their photograph of a Big Brown Bat foraging on the evening of the April 8 solar eclipse received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Field Guide to June 2024
Here in Vermont, we dream of June during the darkest days of January. Verdant wooded hillsides glowing brightly under a robin egg sky. Warm afternoon breezes roll through the valleys as we lounge by the clear waters of a cold river. Choruses of birds wake us each morning. The smell of freshly cut grass wafts through the window. Enjoy this guide to some of the month’s delights as the dream of June comes true.
May 2024 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to iNat user @hobiecat for winning the April 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their photograph of a Big Brown Bat foraging on the evening of the April 8 solar eclipse received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Field Guide to May 2024
The month of May is a show-off. Birds arrive on southern winds and liven the dawn with their chorus. Trees flower, and leaves burst from long-dormant buds. As pools and lakes awaken with new life, woodland wildflowers jump out of the ground to attract the attention of butterflies. Here’s your monthly guide to a month that shouts of life and rejuvenation.
April 2024 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to iNat user @hobiecat for winning the April 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their photograph of a Big Brown Bat foraging on the evening of the April 8 solar eclipse received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Field Guide to April 2024
As grays and browns permeate the muddy landscape of late spring, summer colors lie just beneath the surface, almost ready to bloom. Strolling through your neighborhood or favorite woodland in April, you may begin to notice flashy dapples of the season’s first wildflowers. The trees around you will start to reverberate with birdsong while the ponds echo with choruses of Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers. If you’re lucky, you may even catch the buzz of an early-season bee as it forages. Here’s our guide to some of the new life bursting forth this month.
VCE is Abuzz with High-impact Bee Work
For over a decade, VCE has been positively buzzing with activity, surveying far and wide for bee species across the state. Our efforts kicked off with the Bumblebee Atlas in 2012 and reached a crescendo in 2022 with the State of Vermont’s Wild Bees report. Little did we know that this would start a multi-state ripple of pollinator work.
March 2024 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Levi Smith (origamilevi) or winning the March 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their photograph of Bug-on-a-stick received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
VAL Director Provides Testimony on Proposed Neonicotinoid Ban
On February 9, 2024, VCE Conservation Biologist and Vermont Atlas of Life Director Kent McFarland provided testimony to the Vermont State Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry Committee on H.706, a bill requiring restrictions on neonicotinoids. What follows is the text from the written testimony.
Field Guide to March 2024
March is a month of battles between warm and cold, between winter’s refusal to leave and spring’s insistence on arriving. So, here are some signs of spring to look out for this month.
VPAtlas Places Statewide Vernal Pool Data at Your Fingertips
Conserving sensitive, vitally important ecosystems and natural communities, like vernal pools, is essential to addressing biodiversity loss. However, knowing vernal pools’ locations is a critical first step. The Vernal Pool Atlas (VPAtlas), a joint effort of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, is designed to do just that.
February 2024 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to iNat user @winterglow for winning the February 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their mid-flight photograph of the fastest bird on earth, the Peregrine Falcon, received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
An Update on VCE’s Continuing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts
Nearly four years ago, during a period of national reflection on barriers to social justice, we at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies articulated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Since then, we’ve engaged in a challenging but rewarding process to advance DEI principles and practices within our organization and in the field of conservation science. In this update, we describe some of our efforts to continue learning, to foster a culture that honors differences, and to promote diversity in the field of ecology
VCE Internship Supports the Future of Ecology
As an organization that strives to “unite people and science for conservation,” we recognize that to become stronger and more resilient, we must create a culture that embraces diversity and fosters inclusivity. With that goal in mind, VCE launched our Future Ecologists internship in 2022.
Introducing VCE’s ALL IN for Biodiversity Campaign
When the VCE team developed a comprehensive organizational strategy in 2018, we charted an ambitious course, knowing that its success would require increasing our capacity. As we aspire to greater conservation impact, we’re going ALL IN for Biodiversity.
Field Guide to February 2024
This month, wildlife and the rest of us here in New England will cross a significant threshold: 10 hours of daylight. You can sense it when you head out in the morning. Even though we’ve got lots more winter, at least the sound of spring is in the air. So here’s a Field Guide to February to keep your hopes up all day long.
Reflections from 65 (Collective) Years of Birding the Upper Valley
Some retirees seek new pursuits in life, branching out and diversifying with their newfound free time. Others simply do more of what they always did. Chris Rimmer and Kyle Jones embody this latter approach, birding local Upper Valley haunts more than ever since their recent retirements. Read their reflections on 65 collective years spent birding the Upper Valley.
January 2024 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to iNat user @melissainvt for winning the January 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Her stunning image of a Bobcat in the snow received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Birders Bolster Big Data Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Vermont eBird
2023 marked the 20th anniversary of Vermont eBird and the 13th annual Vermont eBird County Quest, a friendly competition encouraging birders statewide to submit their bird sightings to Vermont eBird. Since 2003, more than 15,000 Vermont eBirders have submitted more than 693,000 complete checklists, representing all 392 species of birds ever reported from Vermont.
Field Guide to January 2024
Although the days are slowly growing longer, life in the Northeast still finds itself in the depths of winter. January is about survival. Wildlife that doesn’t migrate adapts instead to make it to spring. Here are a few tidbits of natural history happening outdoors this month around you.
December 2023 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to iNat user @c_burns802 for winning the December 2023 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their photos of an exceptionally unique Black-capped Chickadee received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
2023 Field Season Project Summaries
Wow, what a field season! Do we feel like that every year at VCE? Truthfully, yes, but this year is one for the books.
Field Guide to December 2023
Fear not—during December’s short days and long nights, there’s still plenty of life in the fading light. Once we pass the winter solstice, which strikes at 10:27 PM on December 21, more light will creep back. Until then, here’s some wintry natural history to keep you going.
November 2023 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Stephanie McCaull for winning the November 2023 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Her photos of a remarkable chance encounter with one of Vermont’s most secretive owls received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
