Desktop Discovery Series
June – August 2020
Join VCE for our bi-monthly summer webinar series! We’ll offer two webinars per month from June through August, covering a variety of fascinating natural history topics presented by both VCE staff and conservation collaborators. Check back often, as we’ll be adding new webinars weekly.
All webinars will be conducted through Zoom and are free for everyone. Please note that this event will be recorded and made available afterward on VCE’s Multimedia Resources page for those who are unable to attend. If you have any questions, please contact Emily Anderson.
If you’d like to support this webinar series and VCE’s wildlife conservation work, please consider a contribution. Donate easily and securely online anytime!
Desktop Discovery: On the Trail of Bicknell’s Thrush in Cuba
July 13 | 1:00 PM The island of Cuba, although seldom visited by Americans in recent decades, is a well-known hotspot of biological diversity in the Caribbean, harboring no fewer than 370 bird species, of which 26 are endemic (i.e., found nowhere else). Few people realize that Cuba is also an important refuge for overwintering Bicknell's Thrush, as one of only four Greater Antillean islands that support the species' entire global population in winter. Since 2017, Chris Rimmer and colleagues at VCE have explored remote high-mountain forests in eastern Cuba in search of this rare, elusive and globally vulnerable songbird. During this webinar, Chris will tell the story of VCE's four-year effort to elucidate the status of Bicknell's Thrush on Cuba, including arduous field work in areas that may never before have been visited by humans, and most definitely not by biologists. His illustrated presentation will not only recount the fascinating natural history and annual cycle challenges of Bicknell's Thrush, but will highlight Cuba's remarkable ecological diversity and wonderfully warm people. Watch the recorded webinar »
Desktop Discovery: What Does the Future Hold for New England's Mountains?
June 29 | 11:00 AM You can never hike the same mountain twice—it is constantly changing. As global climate change continues to alter New England’s temperature and precipitation regimes, we will see additional changes in the distribution and abundance of flora and fauna that call our region home. These changes will be especially noticeable in the mountains, which are warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world. Join VCE biologist Jason Hill to learn about the future of our New England Mountains. We will hear insights from VCE’s Mountain Birdwatch program about how our montane bird communities are already changing, and we will discuss some proposed strategies (e.g., assisted colonization) for what plant and wildlife conservation might look like in the near future. Watch the recorded webinar »
