![Vermont eBird Volunteer Data Experts Retire](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IanWorley-CraigProvost-280x200.jpg)
Vermont eBird Volunteer Data Experts Retire
After more than a decade of service, two of the first-ever Vermont eBird volunteer data experts are hanging up their keyboards. Ian Worley and Craig Provost first joined the project in 2010. Over the past 13 years, they have reviewed tens of thousands of records submitted by bird watchers and have been outreach champions for Vermont eBird.
![Field Guide to August 2023](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/IMG_5058_2000x1400_acf_cropped-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to August 2023
The dog days of summer are here, hot and sultry. The Romans referred to this time of year as the days of the dog star, when Sirius appears in the sky just before the sun and marks the hottest days of summer. Read all about August’s natural wonders in this month’s field guide.
![The Caretakers: Reflections from 40 Years of Loon Volunteers](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/shadow-lake-fish-line-rescue-elinor-osborn-280x200.jpg)
The Caretakers: Reflections from 40 Years of Loon Volunteers
Loon conservation in Vermont is as much a story of people as it is of birds. From the most disheartening days of the state’s loon census in the 1980s through the incredible recovery we’re witnessing today, VCE volunteers on the Vermont Loon Conservation Project have been the beating heart of the stewardship effort.
![Field Guide to July 2023](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/20120613_2000x1400_acf_cropped-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to July 2023
The avian breeding season is winding down. Even a few southbound shorebirds will trickle through the region this month on their “fall” migration. But as the dawn bird chorus fades from northern woodlands, fields and wetlands erupt in the sparkle and drama of summer insects. Here’s a short guide to some of the other glitter now on the wing.
![Field Guide to June 2023](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_4842_2000x1400_acf_cropped-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to June 2023
Here in Vermont, we dream of June during the darkest days of January. Verdant wooded hillsides glowing brightly under a robin egg sky. Warm afternoon breezes rolling through the valleys as we lounge by the clear waters of a cold river. The chorus of birds waking us each morning. June is a dream here. Its days last forever.
![Field Guide to May 2023](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Black-throated-Blue-Warbler-singing-20190509-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to May 2023
The month of May is a show-off. Grass glows green under the deep blue sky. Woodland wildflowers jump out of the ground. Trees flower, and leaves burst from long-dormant buds. Birds arrive on southern night winds and liven the dawn with their chorus. May shouts of life and rejuvenation. Here’s your monthly guide to some of this month’s delights.
![Field Guide to April 2023](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Early-Spring-20160512-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to April 2023
In April, the northern forest is laid bare with cold desire, and our long-dormant senses awaken. Here’s our guide to some of the joys this month brings.
![Field Guide to March 2023](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Mt-Ascutney-KPM-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to March 2023
On Wednesday, March 20th, at 5:24 PM EST, spring arrives in the north. The spring equinox marks the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator – an imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s equator – from south to north. It is also at spring equinox that people worldwide can see the sun rise exactly due east and set exactly due west. While the sun may be predictable, March weather is not. In fact, March is appropriately named for the Roman god of war, Mars. 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 2023](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/33040598256_8a4994f4ff_o-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to February 2023
This month, wildlife and the rest of us here in New England will cross an arbitrary, not insignificant threshold: 10 hours of daylight. Even though we’ve got lots more winter, at least the sound of spring is in the air. So here’s a Field Guide to February to help get your hopes up, no matter what that sleepy woodchuck predicted.
![Field Guide to January 2023](https://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Mount-Tom-First-Snowfall-at-Dawn-20131110-280x200.jpg)
Field Guide to January 2023
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 to make it to spring. Here are a few tidbits of natural history happening outdoors this month around you.