![Injured loon on Colby Pond / © Susan Hindinger](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Colby-loon-edited-Susan-Hindinger-280x200.jpg)
The Colby Loon
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](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Indian-Pipe-Monotropa-uniflora-KPM-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to August 2019
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.
![Field Update: New nests, flooded nests, and healthy competition](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/eggs-flooded-nest-lorna-kane-rohloff-280x200.jpg)
Field Update: New nests, flooded nests, and healthy competition
It’s July, and loon nesting season is in full swing! Here’s an update from the lakes and ponds from VCE’s loon biologist, Eric Hanson.
![Poison in the Pools: Mercury in Vernal Pool Amphibians](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Wood-Frog-blood-sample-S.-Faccio-280x200.jpg)
Poison in the Pools: Mercury in Vernal Pool Amphibians
VCE has a long history of investigating mercury concentrations in wildlife—particularly in montane ecosystems and Caribbean birds. Now, our groundbreaking investigation of mercury levels in vernal pool foodwebs has been published in the journal Ecotoxicology. Read on to find out more!
![VCE Paper Confirms Scarcity of Bicknell's Thrush on Puerto Rico](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/PR-Team-2016-e1559671911488-280x200.jpg)
VCE Paper Confirms Scarcity of Bicknell’s Thrush on Puerto Rico
A recent peer-reviewed paper by VCE confirms that Bicknell’s Thrush is a rare and local but regular winter resident in mid-high elevation forest of Puerto Rico. VCE’s findings also highlight the strategic importance of continuing to focus habitat conservation efforts on Hispaniola, which supports the lion’s share of this globally vulnerable species in winter.
![From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors - Part III](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Resting-pigs-Colombia-Renfrew-280x200.jpg)
From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors – Part III
VCE biologist Rosalind Renfrew spent three weeks in Colombia with conservation partners Asociación Calidris for migratory grassland bird research and outreach. Read this final post of a three-part series about this incredible shared learning experience.
![From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors - Part II](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DSC06985-280x200.jpg)
From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors – Part II
VCE biologist Rosalind Renfrew spent three weeks in Colombia with conservation partners Asociación Calidris for migratory grassland bird research and outreach. Read part two of a three-part series about this incredible shared learning experience.
![Live Updates: Tracking Upland Sandpiper Trans-hemispheric Migration](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/UPSA-with-geolocator-280x200.jpg)
Live Updates: Tracking Upland Sandpiper Trans-hemispheric Migration
Follow Konza the Upland Sandpiper on her migration journey! We will post updated maps every few days to show where Konza travels, stops, and overwinters. Where will she go next?
![From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DSC07134-e1574089956467-280x200.jpg)
From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors
VCE biologist Rosalind Renfrew spent three weeks in Colombia with conservation partners Asociación Calidris for migratory grassland bird research and outreach. Read part one of a three-part series about this incredible shared learning experience.
![From Snowbanks to Cloud Forests: Chris Rimmer is Cuba Bound](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CCR-Cuba-bound-thumbnail-280x200.jpg)
From Snowbanks to Cloud Forests: Chris Rimmer is Cuba Bound
VCE’s Chris Rimmer is bound for eastern Cuba. He’ll trade a foot-plus of new snow and subzero temperatures for humid cloud forests and Cuban Trogons.