Vermont Town Birding Challenge
Vermont’s 251 towns offer up a vast array of habitats and birdlife. Recently, Vermont birder Bob Heitzman accomplished his goal of birding in each of Vermont’s 251 towns, a monumental achievement! Learn how focusing your birding efforts at the town level can be rewarding in so many different ways.
Field Guide to April 2021
Migrating birds, blooming flowers, and (of course) mud season. April in Vermont is upon us, and spring is here! Find out what’s happening outside in your Field Guide to April.
When Porcupines Dance
This past winter, Steve Faccio employed game cams to video-record activity at two different porcupine dens to see how frequently, if at all, fishers (and other predators) visited the dens. Read on to find out what he learned and watch the action unfold!
Mammal Big Year: Winter Update
Mammals are on the move, and Pete Kerby-Miller is tracking them. Find out what they found in this Mammal Big Year Winter Update!
Field Guide to March 2021
In early March, snowbanks and frosty mornings remind us it’s still winter–but by month’s end longer days and warmer winds prevail. On March 20, the vernal equinox marks the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Here are some signs of spring to look for in the natural world to tide you over until warmer weather truly arrives.
Field Guide to February 2021
Even though there’s lots more winter ahead, February heralds hints of spring around the corner. From Star-nosed Moles to returning Red-winged Blackbirds, this month’s field guide to wildlife around you is sure to keep your spirits high, no matter what that sleepy woodchuck predicted.
A (Mammal) Big Year
Pete Kerby-Miller, VCE’s Mountain Ecology Technician, is attempting to photograph every mammal species known to Vermont in 2021. The gauntlet has been thrown down!
Naturalists Help the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist Build Biodiversity Big Data in 2020
From the first observation of 2020, a Gray Fox still celebrating the New Year at 4:30 AM, to Great Mullein leaves poking out of the snow shared at twilight on the last day of the year, naturalists added nearly 175,000 biodiversity records to our rapidly growing database of life in Vermont. Read on for highlights from an amazing year!
Field Guide to January 2021
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.
A Lifetime Dedicated to Nature: JoAnne Russo Receives VCE’s 2020 Julie Nicholson Community Science Award
Joanne Russo’s contributions to better understanding the conservation status of Vermont’s wildlife (especially moths) have been extraordinary–and for this, the staff and board of VCE are proud to present JoAnne with the 2020 Julie Nicholson Community Scientist Award.
