Posts by Kent McFarland 
Vote for the February Photo-observation of the Month at iNaturalist Vermont
The winner from last month was kind enough to act as the February judge. Joanne Russo chose to focus on “food” as the theme. She looked at over 600 photo-observations…
Butterflies in Snow
At 5 degrees below zero, butterflies were the last things on my mind as I brushed the fluffy snow from the porch. But as I swept away the last flakes…
Hidden in Underpants
There was a scream upstairs and then a yell for mom. It sounded like another teenage moment so I kept my nose in my book downstairs. A few minutes later…
January Photo-observation of the Month Winner
The New Year always brings new hopes for naturalists to find amazing things in the wild. But sometimes it’s the most common species that evoke wonder from us. An image…
Plight of the Pollinators on UVM Extension’s ‘Across The Fence’
Recently, VCE biologist Kent McFarland was on Across the Fence, produced by the University of Vermont Extension. They have been on-air on WCAX-TV since 1955, the longest-running, locally-produced television program in the…
Team Berak Finds Reason for Optimism in Haiti
Jim Goetz, a dedicated team of Haitian conservationists and I just completed 3 days of banding and point counts at our Berak study site, one of the largest broadleaf forest…
Champions Crowned for 3rd Annual Vermont County Bird Quest
From the drop of the ball on January 1st to the stare from the yellow eyes of a Snowy Owl on December 31st, hundreds of Vermont birders scoured fields and…
Vote for the iNaturalist Vermont Photo-observation of the Month
The winner from last month was kind enough to act as the January judge. Larry Clarfeld, at North Branch Nature Center, looked at over 600 photo-observations and selected just 4…
VCE Brown Bag Lunch Series: Conserving Plants and Animals in a Changing Climate
Please join us for our upcoming informal brown bag lunch seminar with Dr. Hector Galbraith on January 14th at noon. Bring your own lunch, we’ll provide dessert. Climate change poses difficult problems…
Vote for the iNaturalist Vermont December Photo-observation of the Month
With the winter solstice in December the theme was “light”. We looked through nearly 700 images from the month for those that had some quality of light during this…
Windsor Cup Winner
Congratulations to Ed Hack for winning the 2013 Windsor Cup for the second year in a row. This is awarded to the birder with the highest number of bird species…
Kinglets in the Cold
Before you start reading this, grab a nickel out of your piggy bank and hold it in the palm of your hand. Golden-crowned kinglets are the smallest birds to winter…
