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Dec 3, 2024 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy
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. In total, we identified 157 territorial pairs and 123 nesting pairs in 2024, both records for Vermont! The number of nesting pairs resumed its upward trend following a three-year plateau from 2021 through 2023.
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Jul 3, 2024 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy
Congratulations to iNaturalist user @vtbirder for winning the June 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their photograph of a mother Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) with two ducklings riding on her back received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month. This past weekend, some of my Californian family members visited me in Vermont for the first time.
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Jun 7, 2024 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy
Congratulations to Susan Elliot (@susanelliott) for winning the May 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Her photograph of a baby Barred Owl nestled inside a log received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
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May 21, 2024 | 
hardwickgazette.org | Rachel McKimmy
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Hold two nickels and a dime in your hand: that’s the summer weight of a Blackpoll Warbler. This black-capped songbird returns in early May from its wintering grounds in northern South America to its breeding grounds that range from New England’s mountain forests to Alaska’s boreal forest. Blackpolls are insectivorous, large warblers (weighing 12–13 g). Their body size likely benefits them during long migratory flights and freezing nights on their breeding grounds.
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May 14, 2024 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy |Spencer Hardy |Emily Anderson
Lake in spring © Kent McFarland The month of May is a show-off. Birds arrive on southern winds and liven the dawn with their chorus. Trees flower, and leaves burst from long-dormant buds.
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May 10, 2024 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy
Congratulations to iNat user @hobiecat for winning the April 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their photograph of a Big Brown Bat foraging the evening of the April 8 solar eclipse received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month. Big Brown Bats are year-round Vermont residents. hibernating inside winter shelters called hibernacula like caves, mines, hollow trees, and buildings.
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Apr 2, 2024 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy
Congratulations to iNat user @heatherpickard for winning the March 2024 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist! Their photograph of this charming Black-capped Chickadee perched on a sumac branch received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month.
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Feb 23, 2024 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy
This article is the second in a series highlighting projects made possible by generous contributions to VCE’s ALL IN for Biodiversity campaign. The ALL IN for Biodiversity campaign is expanding VCE’s capacity and conservation impact by investing in pioneering science, collaborating for conservation outcomes, and broadening our vision for community science. _______________________________Ecologists know that ecological communities are strongest and most resilient when they are diverse.
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Nov 16, 2023 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy
The Harvey’s Lake loon chick in the rehabilitation swimming pool at Center for Wildlife, York, Maine, 8/10This past summer VCE was involved in two very different loon chick rescues with very different outcomes. Although these ordeals did not have a lot in common, they each had dedicated and caring volunteers, willing to use their time and resources to help these birds.
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Nov 13, 2023 | 
vtecostudies.org | Rachel McKimmy |Bryan Pfeiffer |Julia Pupko
“Stick Season,” as we call this gray, leafless time in New England, is anything but lifeless. With November comes the rushed activity of wildlife either preparing for their winter stay or leaving Vermont for their winter location. There is a sense of fall finality as the last deciduous trees drop their leaves. November also hails some of Vermont's winter migrants, coming just in time to catch the first flakes. Learn more in our Field Guide to November.
