August 2023 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Erin Talmage for winning the August 2023 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Her adorable photo of a young Gray Treefrog (or perhaps Treefroglet?) received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
2023 Marks the Second Successful Community Science Teacher Workshop
Vermont and New Hampshire educators alike joined to explore field methods and focus on enhancing science in their curriculums. Our goals for the workshop aimed to give teachers the toolkit to engage students in the outdoors and develop place-based community science that addresses both local and regional conservation issues.
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.
Bumblebee Photographed in Backyard is a New Species for Vermont
It took a photo, a drawing, a naturalist’s boundless curiosity, and bee experts from across the nation for Vermont to claim a new bumblebee species for the state last week.
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.
Mansfield Update: VCE Interns Reflect on a Summer on the Mountain
An essay on our summer interns’ final trip to Mount Mansfield, written by two of the interns themselves, Emily Marple and Julia Stahl.
Maximizing the Value of Your eBird Checklists from the Mountains
There are several easy steps you can take to complete bird checklists that are helpful to scientists when you’re in the mountains.
July 2023 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Spencer Hardy for winning the July 2023 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! His exciting record of a rare bee species received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
Join the 7th Annual Monarch Blitz
The International Monarch Monitoring Blitz is back for a 7th edition! From July 28 to August 6, 2023, join thousands of volunteers across Canada, the United States and Mexico in supporting conservation of the monarch butterfly.
Dodging Downpours on Mansfield
Dodging downpours and sitting out showers has become routine for VCE’s Mansfield banding team this summer. Yet, astonishing discoveries keep on coming, most recently via a GPS-tagged female Bicknell’s Thrush who returned to the exact same territory In Cuba’s remote cloud forest in consecutive winters.
The Road (that Used to Be) Less Traveled: Off-trail Hiking, The Catskills and Montane Birds
Historically, bushwhackers had to be highly skilled at backcountry orienteering to summit trailless peaks. In the age of the internet however, the hurdles to bushwhacking are considerably lower, and there are many websites with accessible step-by-step route instructions for anyone with a smartphone to use. This is all too obvious in the nearby Catskill Mountains.
Egg Dumping: A Firsthand Account
Egg dumping can be a common occurrence among cavity-nesting waterfowl like Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and Common Mergansers. This happens when a female of one species (often a first-year breeder) lays her eggs in a neighbor’s nest (usually of the same species).
