Posts by Vermont Center for Ecostudies

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Vermont Center for Ecostudies Operations Update in Response to COVID-19

March 16, 2020  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

In light of the current public health crisis, we at VCE want to update you on our evolving operational changes, and let you know about steps we are taking to keep our staff, volunteers, and communities safe and healthy.

Field Guide to March 2020

March 2, 2020  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

March is a month of battles between warm and cold, between winter’s refusal to leave and spring’s insistence on coming. So, here are some signs of spring to look out for in this Field Guide to March.

Field Guide to February 2020

January 31, 2020  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

February marks an important turning point. Although winter may continue to grip us for a little while longer, the landscape is preparing for change. So here’s a Field Guide to February to keep your spirits up.

Field Guide to January 2020

January 1, 2020  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

Although the days are slowly growing longer, life in the Northeast now finds itself in the coldest depths of winter. January is about survival. Wildlife that doesn’t migrate adapts instead in order to make it to spring. Here’s a few tidbits of natural history happening outdoors this month around you.

Vermont Wild Bee Survey Records Over 9,000 Bees in 2019

December 8, 2019  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

The Vermont Wild Bee Survey reached a milestone when it processed the 7,680th and final bee specimen from our 2019 survey. In just one year, this citizen science effort has amassed the largest collection of bees ever assembled in Vermont.

Field Guide to December 2019

December 3, 2019  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

Even during these short days and long nights of December, there’s still plenty of life in the fading light. Once we pass the winter solstice, which strikes at precisely 11:19 PM on December 21st, more light will begin to creep back. Until then, here’s some wintry natural history to keep you going.

Outdoor Radio: Hunting for Tiny But Ferocious Tiger Beetles

October 31, 2019  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

In this episode of Outdoor Radio, we join Mark Ferguson of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department along the Winooski River searching for tiger beetles and their larva holes.

Field Guide to November 2019

October 30, 2019  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

As leaves continue to fall and the first flakes begin to fly, the oncoming cold weather seems to bring nature to a standstill. On the contrary, there remains a lot to be discovered in Vermont during this transitional period. Learn more in our Field Guide to November.

Asian Tiger Mosquito Found in Vermont

October 16, 2019  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

State Agriculture and Health officials announced that the Asian Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has been identified for the first time in Vermont. This normally tropical/subtropical species is a known disease vector for Zika, chikungunya and dengue viruses, infecting humans in countries where these diseases are present. The mosquitoes found in Vermont do not currently carry these viruses.

Field Guide to September 2019

September 4, 2019  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

Here is your field guide to some amazing migrations happening right now, and a few other natural history tidbits to look for this fall.

Injured loon on Colby Pond / © Susan Hindinger

The Colby Loon

August 13, 2019  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

Rose West, VCE’s 2019 Alexander Dickey Conservation Intern, provides a personal account of monitoring a distressed loon for the Vermont Loon Conservation Project.

Indian Pipe, also known as Ghost Pipe, sticks its pale, non-photosynthetic stalks and flowers up through the forest floor in late summer. / © K.P. McFarland

Field Guide to August 2019

August 2, 2019  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

We’ve still got plenty of summer here in Vermont and points north. In this edition of VCE’s monthly field guide to nature, we’ll celebrate a few audacious summer insects – but we’ll also alert you to animals on the move.