Habitat Selection with a Twist: A Story of Two Opportunistic Loons
VCE summer intern Kirsti Carr recounts her unexpected discovery of a long-abandoned swimming raft that a Common Loon pair used for nesting on Chandler Pond in 2017. She and her Vermont Loon Recovery Project team rehabilitated the raft – easily Vermont’s largest – in late July and hope that the loo pair will approve of its new, improved home for continued successful nesting in 2018.
VCE Awarded 2017 TechGrant
From birds to bumble bees, salamanders to swallowtails, VCE biologists harness the power of technology to help solve complex wildlife conservation issues. A 2017 TechGrant award from the TechFoundation will now enable us to accomplish even more.
Cuba Next on VCE’s Horizon
Cuba is on VCE’s horizon, as Chris Rimmer and John Lloyd venture this week to the island’s eastern tip, in search of overwintering Bicknell’s Thrush. Backpacking to cloud forests of Sierra Maestra, where Fidel Castro famously hid out in the 1950s, and then venturing east to the serpentine forests of Humboldt National Park, they expect to find some thrushes, and a good number of Cuba’s 26 endemic birds.
Kent McFarland Receives 2016 Sally Laughlin Award
At VCE’s annual holiday celebration on December 6, our very own Kent McFarland received the first-ever Sally Laughlin Award for the Conservation of Endangered and Threatened Species. ANR Secretary Deb Markowitz presented the award, and Sally Laughlin – who inspired it – was there to share the special moment.
The Natural and UnNatural Life of Loons
VCE loon biologist, Eric Hanson, recently spoke to a crowd at our monthly Suds & Science series at the Norwich Inn. Eric discussed the “natural and unnatural history” of the Common…
Butterflies Meet Big Data and Social Media
Breaking News from VCE NORWICH, Vermont – VCE and a team of biologists from the U.S. and Canada today launched an ambitious online project allowing scientists and the public to report,…
Grassland Birds Field Technician Position Available for Surveys in VT and NH
The Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), in partnership with Massachusetts Audubon, is seeking a temporary field technician to complete grassland bird surveys at pre-determined locations May-July. Responsibilities will include conducting…
Grassland Birders Sought to be ‘out standing in the field’ This Summer
Birders across New England are invited to greet the sunrise and enjoy the tumbling song of the bobolink on clear mornings this Spring and Summer in open fields, conducting bird…
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…
Behind the Scenes of Conservation Research
2 a.m. hikes up steep mountain trails to conduct dawn point counts. Mist-netting on Mt. Mansfield as the sun rises. Attaching geolocators to grassland birds in the back of a…
Connecting with Farmers to Bridge the Gap
The hallways of the Lake Morey Resort were abuzz last weekend during the annual Vermont Grazing and Livestock Conference in Fairlee, Vermont. I was there to share a dialogue with…
“Getting Rusty” with a Spring Migration Blitz
Have you heard a squeaky-hinge song lately, or seen a flash of rust-tipped feathers under a bright yellow eye? Once a common sight, particularly in the flooded forests of the…
