Avian Surprises on the Mt. Mansfield Ridgeline
VCE’s third visit of 2019 to the Mt. Mansfield ridgeline brought fine weather and some unusual avian encounters, including our first-ever mist net capture of a Mourning Warbler. Overall, activity continues to be low, with numbers of captures <50% of what they were a year ago, but it's far too early to push the proverbial panic button and declare "silent spring"!
Outdoor Radio: Following Wood Turtles
In this episode of Outdoor Radio, Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra join Kiley Briggs and Melanie Lohrer from the Orianne Society, as they try to follow female Wood Turtles to their nesting sites so they can monitor their success.
300,000 Observations and Counting!
When Sean Beckett swung his net at a dragonfly yesterday in Peacham Bog, he made history. His observation was the 300,000th for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist.
VCE’s 28th Mansfield Season Begins on a Quiet, Chilly Note
VCE’s 28th field season studying the breeding birds on Mt. Mansfield ridgeline is off to a quiet and chilly start. Vocal activity has been subdued and mist net captures low, but inevitable avian surprises have kept banders’ spirits high.
VCE Paper Confirms Scarcity of Bicknell’s Thrush on Puerto Rico
A recent peer-reviewed paper by VCE confirms that Bicknell’s Thrush is a rare and local but regular winter resident in mid-high elevation forest of Puerto Rico. VCE’s findings also highlight the strategic importance of continuing to focus habitat conservation efforts on Hispaniola, which supports the lion’s share of this globally vulnerable species in winter.
VCE’s First-ever Biothon Collects Big Data for Biodiversity
Here’s your team-by-team recap of VCE’s first-ever Biothon event! Read on to find out where we went and what we saw…
May 2019 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Charlotte Bill for winning the May 2019 Vermont Atlas of Life iNaturalist photo-observation of the month. Charlotte wrote that “…it had just captured a small morsel and was in the process…
Field Guide to June 2019
Here in Vermont, we dream of June during the darkest winter days. It’s days last forever. Here’s just a few of the natural history wonders for the month.
From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors – Part III
VCE biologist Rosalind Renfrew spent three weeks in Colombia with conservation partners Asociación Calidris for migratory grassland bird research and outreach. Read this final post of a three-part series about this incredible shared learning experience.
Outdoor Radio: The Buzz in Your Backyard
We all recognize bumble bees buzzing about or honey bees foraging among flowers, but did you know there are more than 300 species of wild bees living in Vermont? These…
From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors – Part II
VCE biologist Rosalind Renfrew spent three weeks in Colombia with conservation partners Asociación Calidris for migratory grassland bird research and outreach. Read part two of a three-part series about this incredible shared learning experience.
Live Updates: Tracking Upland Sandpiper Trans-hemispheric Migration
Follow Konza the Upland Sandpiper on her migration journey! We will post updated maps every few days to show where Konza travels, stops, and overwinters. Where will she go next?
