Posts by Vermont Center for Ecostudies 
Field Guide to September 2026
Keep your eyes sharp this month! You might see a migrating dragonfly or a vagrant hummingbird. At the very least, it pays to keep your wits about you in case you encounter a certain pollinator and beneficial insect. That’s right, we’re talking about yellow jackets.
Loon Versus Eagle: A Conservation Success Story
Keeping a relatively neutral perspective around wildlife interactions can be one of the most challenging parts of being a wildlife biologist. It can be difficult to not anthropomorphize animals, or assign them human emotions and qualities such as disappointment, satisfaction, cruelty, or generosity.
Field Guide to August 2026
Little things with wings are catching our interest this month. We’re affixing tiny trackers to migrating Monarch butterflies. We’re waxing on about the wonderful world of wasps, which are not the villains, but the heroes of the garden! And we’re keeping an eye out for delightful Primrose Moths, which alight on the very tall, yellow, native flowers that just love to take over recently disturbed space.
Loon Love and Loss on Lake Iroquois
As a volunteer for the Vermont Loon Conservation Project, I’ve developed an interest that has bloomed into a mission to steward and study the loons of Lake Iroquois.
VCE’s Newest Project: Finding Out Where the Rusty Blackbirds Have Gone
Whether they veered around the net or caught on to our playback, it was a battle of wits to get Rusty Blackbirds to fall for the trap. It may have been easier to find their secretive nests than to capture the birds themselves!
Field Guide to July 2026
July is abundant—gardens bloom and buzz with insects, loon calls echo across lakes, berries ripen in the mountains.
Teaching the Educators About Community Science
Every July, science educator and naturalist Ron Smith partners with VCE to facilitate a free (with stipend) Community Science Teacher Education Workshop. We still have a few open spots, so read up on what teachers can expect in this four-day workshop in White River Junction, and send it to a science teacher you know!
Field Guide to June 2026
There is a lot for the keen listener to explore this month: the air is filled with the sounds of chirping, calling, and singing birds and buzzing insects.
Field Guide to May 2026
May is filled with winged delights. Bobolinks will begin to grace Vermont’s larger hayfields, busy ground-nesting bees can be found in the bare sunny spots of our yards, and early spring butterflies are getting first dibs on the earliest spring flowers. It’s a great time to get outside and explore.
Mysterious No More: What’s Pollinating the White Bog Orchid
North America is home to over 200 species of wild orchid, but for such a beloved group of plants, it’s remarkable how little we know about their insect relationships. Half of our orchids have no known pollinator. That’s where studies like mine—plus help from volunteers like you—can help fill the gap.
Field Guide to April 2026
After the long winter, flowers, colors, and insects are finally emerging in the Northeast. Our April Field Guide will give you a crash course on the blooms, bees, butterflies, (and ticks!) of early spring.
Field Guide to March 2026
Hibernation spans a broad physiological spectrum, from being completely conked out for 10 months underground to rousing occasionally to hunt or even breed in the deep snow of February. Here’s what, where, and how to find signs of life in this month’s most extreme conditions.
