The Distinguished Dozen: Vermont Most Wanted Dragonflies
VCE and its collaborators are launching a new effort to locate rare and undiscovered dragonflies and damselflies, which could be flying at your nearest river, wetland or backyard pond. We’ll even train people who want to join in the pursuit of these charismatic insects.
April 2018 Photo-observation of the Month
Congratulations to Kyle Jones for winning the April 2018 iNaturalist Vermont photo-observation of the month contest. The image of a pair of Great Blue Herons nesting was the most popular photo-observation.
Mowing Hay and Growing Birds
In May, Bobolinks arrive to breed after making the longest trip of any migrant songbird in the Northeast. These tenacious travelers need our help to ensure that their annual 12,000-mile round-trip trek is not in vain. Learn more…
Loons and Late Ice
Loon pairs are somehow able to catch up in years of late ice-out so that their breeding schedule does not differ greatly from other years.
Field Guide to May 2018
The month of May is a show-off. Woodland wildflowers break out of the ground. Trees flower and leaves burst. Birds arrive on southern winds with song. May shouts of life and rejuvenation. Here’s a few bits of natural history for your May days.
Forest Thrush Mix Up
A first-hand account of VCE Biologists discovery of a rare thrush phenomena published this month in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology.
Bad Weather Yields Phoebe Bonanza
Bad weather may create memorable birding for humans, but unusual concentrations of grounded migrants typically reflect stressful situations for the birds themselves. Three VCE staff recently experienced an unprecedented and unforgettable gathering of Eastern Phoebes at Lake Runnemede in Windsor.
Outdoor Radio: Nesting Bald Eagles a Conservation Success Story
Wildlife biologist John Buck, of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, joined VCE biologists Sara Zahendra and Kent McFarland to see a Bald Eagle nest and talk about their natural history and conservation success.
VCE Welcomes New Director of Communications
Karen Bourque joins VCE as our new Director of Communications.
VCE Seeks Volunteers for Eastern Whip-poor-will Surveys
With spring on our doorstep, our whip-poor-will survey team and volunteers are looking forward to sunsets and moonlit nights this year more than ever! Sound like fun? Please join our adventurous volunteers in surveying Whip-poor-will routes across Vermont on moonlit nights.
Juncos Flock in Large Numbers with Late Winter Storm
Many of us in Vermont experiences incredible numbers of Dark-eyed Juncos during this winter. But this past weekend was epic. With snow, ice, sleet, and rain blanketing the region for 3 days, bird watchers reported amazing numbers of juncos at their bird feeders and along highways.
NH Winter Bat Surveys Reveal Decreasing Population
Recent surveys for bats in New Hampshire hibernacula, places where bats spend the winter, resulted in biologists finding a total of only 26 bats. In 2008, the same hibernacula had nearly 4,000 bats.
