Bicknell’s Sing Up a Storm on Mt. Mansfield
Imagine being on Vermont’s tallest peak at 9:30 pm on a clear, cool evening without a whisper of wind. Sunset’s faint after-glow still peeks from the western horizon, while a moon just past full rises bright orange to the east, over the Worcester range.
Scientists Combine Bird Survey Data to Identify Vulnerable Songbirds
Mountain Birdwatch data lie at the heart of a published study revealing that continent-wide bird surveys may offer important conservation insights, but they can miss rare or isolated species whose habitat lies off the beaten path, such as at high elevations or in remote bogs.
Judith Scarl Migrates Southward
For the past five and a half years, Judith Scarl has been a mainstay of VCE’s conservation biology staff. Now, she’s moving on, leaving the Green Mountains to try her hand on the bigger bird conservation stage in Washington, DC. It’s an understatement to say that we’ll miss Jude, and that she has left a lasting mark here.
A Field Guide to June
Here in Vermont, we dream of June during the darkest days of January. Verdant wooded hillsides glowing brightly under a robin egg sky. We forget about the clouds of black flies, the hum of the mosquitos and the rainy days. June is a dream here. Its days last forever.
The Invisible Boundaries of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
Recently, journalists and photographers used a new generation drone that gave them impressive bird’s-eye view of the same sites they visited on foot two years ago when they first exposed the deforestation happening within the national park.
Friday the 13th Brings Good Luck on Puerto Rico
Nearly a month into VCE’s Bicknell’s Thrush field surveys on Puerto Rico, our quarry has finally revealed itself.
Angels Trump Bicknell’s
Four days of scrambling up and down wet forested slopes on Puerto Rico. Nasal, piercing calls of Bicknell’s Thrush emanating from my small, handheld speaker. Ears on high alert for at least a muted response. Many miles logged from the western mountains of Maricao to the eastern ridges of Carite State Forest. No Bicknell’s Thrush, not yet anyway, but… angels appeared.
Among the Machetes
The world’s largest machete collection and Bicknell’s Thrush might seem to share little in common. However, the evening of January 18 saw VCE kick off our project to survey Bicknell’s Thrush across Puerto Rico, amidst the planet’s reputedly greatest assemblage of these age-old cutting tools.
The Persistent Tragedy of Sierra de Bahoruco: The Case of Las Mercedes
For years we have been deeply worried about accelerated deforestation of Jaragua and Sierra de Bahoruco National Parks, core zones of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic.
Miracles on Wings
They say that miracles only happen once, but for VCE biologists a miracle with wings has now hit their nets three times.
VCE Turns to Puerto Rico for Field Work
VCE next year embarks on a new investigation into potential wintering habitat for Bicknell’s Thrush in Puerto Rico.
One Bird, Two Worlds: Conserving Bicknell’s Thrush
During a free public talk on Wednesday, VCE Executive Director Chris Rimmer will describe our work conserving Bicknell’s Thrush here in Vermont and on the island of Hispaniola.
