Field Guide to July 2026
July is abundant—gardens bloom and buzz with insects, loon calls echo across lakes, berries ripen in the mountains.
Good News: More Loons Now Protected from Wakeboat Waves
The wait is over. Nearly a year and a half ago, 11 lakeshore communities submitted petitions asking Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources to prohibit wakeboats on their lakes. After hearing…
Something is Killing Our Loons: A Comic
Loons pick up rocks to fill their gizzards, organs that help break down tough materials from their diet. But sometimes, other things get mixed in.
LoonWeb Is Ready for Your Lake Adventures
We’ve been excited to hear from volunteers on how much fun they’ve had testing out LoonWeb’s survey function. Now it’s your turn to try it out!
Legal Lead Fishing Gear Is Still Killing Loons
I watched Mark Pokras, a seasoned veterinarian from Tufts University, pull a jig out of the loon’s gizzard. “If you can scrape the top layer, it’s probably lead,” he explained.
The Ripple Effect: Wakeboats Pose Risks to Loon Nests
For many, current rules on wakeboats, which create ocean sized waves for wakeboarding, may not go far enough to ease concerns about safe recreation and impacts on aquatic environments. Loons and their nests may especially be at risk.
Two Biologists and Every Loon in Vermont: the Power of Community Science
Loon surveying for VCE’s Loon Conservation Project is a time-consuming task, between all of the paddling and what seems like an hour-long drive minimum to get anywhere on Vermont back roads. All of that monitoring is managed by just two loon biologists…and hundreds of volunteers.
How Avian Influenza Might Be Affecting Loons
The iconic Common Loons may not be as vulnerable to bird flu as some species, but cases are emerging. Learn how researchers are monitoring this evolving threat and how you can help protect loons.
‘Tis the Season for Loon Rescues—On Ice!
In December, a loon chick was spotted in the open water of Berlin Pond, surrounded by ice. It had likely failed to migrate earlier due to an abundance of food on the 200 acre pond, and now it was trapped.
2024 Loon Season Summary
Well, folks, it’s that time of year. Lakes are freezing over, and the season of loon rescues, raft building, and watchful monitoring has drawn to a close. Here’s a recap of what our team of biologists and more than 350 dedicated volunteers found this year.
2024 Field Season in Review
Wow, what a field season! Do we feel like that every year at VCE? Truthfully, yes, but this year is one for the books.
Weekly Reflections from a Summer at VCE
Working with VCE this summer has been immensely rewarding, seeing the animals I love in person and seeing how environmental disturbance affects them in real life. Birds hold a special place in my heart (I have a somewhat unattainable goal of seeing every species in North America before I die), and I’m proud to say I added 42 new birds to my Life List this summer.
