Mount Mansfield 2024 Midseason Report
With six trips up to Mount Mansfield’s peak and five trips to Mount Washington under our belts, VCE’s banding team is well into our summer 2024 montane bird banding and monitoring efforts! Battling rain, wind, chill, and scorching heat has been the baseline for this summer, but although perfect weather has been elusive, the birds we seek have not.
Lead Poisoning and a Love Triangle: A Tale of One Common Loon’s Brush with Death
Nothing prepares you for your first close encounter with an injured loon. Thanks to countless individuals, this loon’s tale has a happy ending. However, its journey touched many, demonstrating that conservation on all scales requires a village of curious, passionate people.
Building an Automated Moth Monitoring Network
How are moth populations faring in Vermont? Except for a few species, no one really knows. A few years ago, VAL teamed up with community scientists, biologists, engineers, and computer scientists from around the world to change that. Now, we are poised to understand moths like never before.
Field Guide to July 2024
The dawn bird chorus now fades from northern woodlands as the hills erupt in the sparkle and drama of summer insects. Dragonflies dart through fields and along pond edges. Moths and butterflies in all shapes and hues flit across the sun-washed landscape. In July, Vermont’s hills and valleys pulse with the rhythm of wildlife antics. Here’s a guide to some of the splendor.
The Next Generation of Mt. Mansfield Ridgeline Research at VCE
With all the buzz on bees and other pollinators lately, you may be wondering if VCE is still studying birds. Are we ever! Amongst the plethora of continuing and new research, our Bicknell’s Thrush research program is going strong and has expanded to explore additional questions and build on past discoveries.
Forest Bird Monitoring Data Dashboard Goes Live
For over 30 years, VCE has coordinated the Vermont Forest Bird Monitoring Program to track the long-term population trends of interior forest birds. The backbone of this project is the dedicated corps of volunteer birders. The data these hardy birders collect are invaluable in tracking the status of forest songbirds. Now, the FBMP has a Data Dashboard where anyone can explore and interact with FBMP data and view up-to-date results.
Field Guide to June 2024
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 roll through the valleys as we lounge by the clear waters of a cold river. Choruses of birds wake us each morning. The smell of freshly cut grass wafts through the window. Enjoy this guide to some of the month’s delights as the dream of June comes true.
Field Guide to May 2024
The month of May is a show-off. Birds arrive on southern winds and liven the dawn with their chorus. Trees flower, and leaves burst from long-dormant buds. As pools and lakes awaken with new life, woodland wildflowers jump out of the ground to attract the attention of butterflies. Here’s your monthly guide to a month that shouts of life and rejuvenation.
Field Guide to April 2024
As grays and browns permeate the muddy landscape of late spring, summer colors lie just beneath the surface, almost ready to bloom. Strolling through your neighborhood or favorite woodland in April, you may begin to notice flashy dapples of the season’s first wildflowers. The trees around you will start to reverberate with birdsong while the ponds echo with choruses of Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers. If you’re lucky, you may even catch the buzz of an early-season bee as it forages. Here’s our guide to some of the new life bursting forth this month.
VCE is Abuzz with High-impact Bee Work
For over a decade, VCE has been positively buzzing with activity, surveying far and wide for bee species across the state. Our efforts kicked off with the Bumblebee Atlas in 2012 and reached a crescendo in 2022 with the State of Vermont’s Wild Bees report. Little did we know that this would start a multi-state ripple of pollinator work.
VAL Director Provides Testimony on Proposed Neonicotinoid Ban
On February 9, 2024, VCE Conservation Biologist and Vermont Atlas of Life Director Kent McFarland provided testimony to the Vermont State Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry Committee on H.706, a bill requiring restrictions on neonicotinoids. What follows is the text from the written testimony.
Field Guide to March 2024
March is a month of battles between warm and cold, between winter’s refusal to leave and spring’s insistence on arriving. So, here are some signs of spring to look out for this month.
