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Take a Time Out for Turtles: Volunteers Needed for Nesting Beach Clean Up Day

October 20, 2014  |  Kent McFarland

The annual spiny softshell turtle beach cleanup day is on Saturday, October 21, and Vermont Fish & Wildlife is looking for volunteers to help.  Participants are asked to arrive at…

August iNaturalist Vermont Photo-observation Winner

September 22, 2014  |  Kent McFarland

To celebrate our wonderful plants and your amazing iNaturalist Vermont photo-observations, Sue Elliot, July’s winner, chose six wonderful photo-observations from August. Voters chose the beautiful Cardinal Flowers captured by Joshua…

‘Green wave’ explains migratory bird routes

September 20, 2014  |  Kent McFarland

1.7 million crowd-sourced bird checklists from eBird used to construct a detailed picture of species occurrence for each week of the year to help explain bird migration patterns   Migratory songbirds…

Field Report: Final 2014 Bird Banding on Mt. Mansfield

September 19, 2014  |  Kent McFarland

VCE wrapped up its 2014 mountain bird field season with an overnight visit to our Mt. Mansfield ridgeline study site on Tuesday.  Arriving at the upper toll road parking lot…

Loons Post Record Year for Nesting Success, Bald Eagle Nesting Down

September 18, 2014  |  Kent McFarland

Vermont’s loon population had a record year for nesting success, producing 65 fledglings, or chicks that survived to leave the nest, on lakes and ponds throughout the state. Loons faced…

Loons on WCAX and Burlington Public Access Channel 17

September 5, 2014  |  Eric Hanson

The media likes a “feel-good” story and this summer they’ve picked up loons as a “good” topic.  VCE biologist and Vermont Loon Conservation Project Coordinator, Eric Hanson, was recently interviewed…

A Sad Centennial

August 31, 2014  |  Kent McFarland

A sad 100th anniversary tomorrow. On September 1, 1914, the last passenger pigeon in the world, Martha, died in the Cincinnati Zoo; her death cemented the extinction of the passenger…

After 90 Percent Decline, Federal Protection Sought for Monarch Butterfly

August 26, 2014  |  Kent McFarland

WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety as co-lead petitioners joined by the Xerces Society and renowned monarch scientist Dr. Lincoln Brower filed a legal petition…

Do Non-Breeding, Single Loons Have Territories?

August 21, 2014  |  Eric Hanson

Last week, Chris Rimmer and I traveled to Lake Willoughby to meet with Carol Radic and Colm Darcy, who helped me rescue a loon entangled in fishing gear back in…

Notes from a Loon Necropsy

August 21, 2014  |  Eric Hanson

This story is not for the feint at heart, but I found Dr. Pokras’s quick note to me about this loon fascinating. I mailed this highly emaciated (and smelly) loon…

July iNaturalist Photo-observation of the Month Winner

August 14, 2014  |  Kent McFarland

National Moth Week was in July, so we made moths our iNaturalist Vermont observation of the month category. There were over 1,000 amazing moth photo-observations submitted to iNaturalist Vermont. Out…

Laying the Groundwork for Loons in Fairlee and Fairfield

August 14, 2014  |  Eric Hanson

Back in July I presented a program on loons at the Lake Fairlee association annual meeting. We lined this up last year after a summer of consistent loon activity on…