The VCE Blog

Browse the Blog

Outdoor Radio: A Blizzard of Geese

November 20, 2015  |  Kent McFarland

Biologists Sara Zahendra and Kent McFarland visit Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area, a destination spot for bird watchers, to see thousands of snow geese that flock there each fall. Listen to the show…

The Season’s First Snowy Owls

November 18, 2015  |  Bryan Pfeiffer

The forecast calls for snow — Snowy Owls and Snow Geese. Vermont’s first two Snowy Owls of the season have turned up in the past week.

VCE Presents 2015 Julie Nicholson Citizen Scientist Award to a ‘Loonatic’

November 18, 2015  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

This year VCE honors Mike Korkuc with the Julie Nicholson Citizen Science Award for his years of dedication to loon conservation.

A Field Guide to November

November 11, 2015  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

“Stick Season,” as we call it here in New England, when the woods are gray and cold, has been anything but lifeless so far this fall. Here’s your Field Guide to November.

International Experts Convene for Bicknell’s Thrush

November 10, 2015  |  Chris Rimmer

Twenty-one stakeholders of the International Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Group convened recently in Woodstock, VT to launch a revision of the 2010 conservation action plan for this globally rare and vulnerable migratory songbird.

October iNaturalist Vermont Photo-observation of the Month

November 9, 2015  |  Kent McFarland

Congratulations to Roy Pilcher for winning the October 2015 iNaturalist Vermont photo-observation of the month contest. His image of a Hudsonian Godwit, was the most popular photo-observation as measured by clicked ‘favs’.

Where the Bobolink Meets the Booby

November 2, 2015  |  Rosalind Renfrew

The Galapagos islands. Fodder for Darwin’s theory of natural selection, home to sea lions and iguanas so “tame” you can nearly shake hands, and the dream destination for wildlife-watchers who seek its famous specialized finches and the Blue-footed Booby. Add to the list: Bobolink.

Warming waters contributed to the collapse of New England’s cod fishery

October 30, 2015  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

Even painful cuts to the fishery have failed to slow this rapid decline, surprising both fishers and fisheries managers. Now a report published this week in the journal Science links the cod collapse directly to rapid warming of ocean waters.

New Hampshire’s New 10-year Wildlife Action Plan Shows Gains and Challenges

October 30, 2015  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

Dozens of scientists and more than 1,000 concerned citizens contributed to the updated New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan, a 10-year blueprint for conserving nongame wildlife throughout the state.

The Vermont – Santa Barbara Birding Challenge

October 28, 2015  |  Chris Rimmer

Vermont and Santa Barbara County are squaring off in a friendly competition to find the highest number of species in 2015. With only two months to go, the race is close, with 264 species in VT, 261 in California. Vermonters birders are invited to make a pledge for eBird in this winner-take-all contest. The real goal is to get everyone out birding and reporting to Vermont eBird!

Watch Plight of the Grassland Birds

October 22, 2015  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

From the fields of New England and Canada to the vast plains of Montana to the deserts of Mexico, grassland birds are losing their habitats at an alarming rate. Host…

A Field Guide to October

October 15, 2015  |  Vermont Center for Ecostudies

October is a month of change. The leaves slip from green to gold. Then, suddenly, they all seem to drift to the ground. “Stick season” arrives. So here’s your field guide to moments that you might not otherwise notice during these few weeks that feature yellow-brown hills beneath a deep blue sky.