In July, the avian breeding season winds down. Surprisingly, even a few southbound shorebirds will trickle through the region this month on their “fall” migration. But as the dawn bird chorus now fades from northern woodlands, fields and wetlands erupt in the sparkle and drama of summer insects.
Here’s a short guide to some of July’s natural history
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Sharpies, PUFIs and Blackpolls:
Week Three on Mt. Mansfield
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A mist-netted Sharp-shinned Hawk displays its weaponry and casts a baleful glare during banding
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VCE’s third weekly banding session of 2020 on Mt. Mansfield featured a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a ‘PUFIgeddon’ of Purple Finches, several non-locally breeding warblers, and a resurgence in Blackpoll Warbler numbers. With a green light from Vail to ascend the toll road in cars (rather than the past two weeks' exhilarating ATV ascents), Chris Rimmer and his crew arrived on the ridgeline to idyllic
conditions for bird banding: warm temperatures, clear skies, nary a breath of wind.
Visit VCE's blog to find out how they fared, and see fantastic photos from the field
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Help Us Count Vermont's Loons
on LoonWatch Day -
July 18, 2020
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Loon on a nest raft on Goshen Dam / © Sue Wetmore
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Join your fellow citizen scientists and volunteer to survey a lake for just one hour on Vermont's 38th annual
LoonWatch Day
, July 18 from 8-9 a.m. (or 6-10 a.m. for lakes greater than 300 acres). Each year on the third Saturday of July, we cover more than 160 lakes and ponds statewide with the help of a corps of citizen scientists like you. It's the single most effective way for VCE to document and track loon populations across Vermont.
It's an exciting time for loon watching! As of mid-June, VCE loon biologist Eric Hanson and Vermont Loon Conservation Project volunteers had confirmed 72 nests, but volunteer reports continue to roll in (you can
read Eric's latest update on our blog
). We still need LoonWatch and adopt-a-lake volunteers for many lakes and ponds; please visit our
LoonWatch page
to learn how to get involved in this important (and fun) annual event.
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at VCE
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VCE’s Cuban colleagues with the first Bicknell’s Thrush ever to receive a Cuban bird band. / © VCE
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Last month, all of us at VCE united to solidify our organizational stance against racism, and committed to act against the pervasive intolerance and injustice that permeate society. We laid out
an explicit, evolving action plan to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion
within our organization and our broader sphere of influence. And we assembled a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force (DEI) to lead the execution of our action plan, research and implement best practices in our outreach and workplace environment, and strive to effect a paradigm shift at the very core of VCE.
The DEI Task Force has been hard at work pulling together VCE's Statement of Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion which we'll post this month on a new diversity resource section on our website. The Task Force is also compiling workplace diversity recruitment resources for future VCE employment opportunities, and promoting the voices of our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color colleagues on social media. All of us at VCE aspire to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are the filters through which we operate. We'll keep you updated on our progress, and hope you'll join us in this journey as we grow into a more inclusive organization. We can’t effectively do this alone, and would greatly value your input. Please share your suggestions, critiques, and aspirations with us at
DEI@vtecostudies.org
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Field Update: Bird-Friendly Maple Study
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A structurally complex sugarbush / © Sam Blair
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"My day starts, as it will every weekday for the month of June, at 3:30 am. Looking out the window, I see the eastern horizon beginning to glow with the palest of greys. Dawn is on its way. When you get up this early, every bit of preparation helps."
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Final Winner of Vermont Atlas of Life Observation Contest for K-6 Graders
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Photo 1: Sumac Striker by Tallulah
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Congratulations to the final
Vermont Atlas of Life (VAL) Contest
winner! The winning submission describing a Sumac Striker was submitted by Tallulah (Photo 1). We also want to recognize a submission from a younger future scientist: a Feathered Saurosailasaurus submitted by Makai (Photo 2).
The Sumac Striker lives in Champlain Valley forests and eats sumac leaves. Its main predators are birds, rodents, and snakes. It is most active during the day and can be found in the late spring through the early summer. The Sumac Striker is covered in 1,000 soft spikes and eats 20 times per day. It also has markings that look like eyes to scare away predators. Wow—what a cool animal!
Thank you to everyone who submitted observations during the VAL Observation Contest. The contest has closed for now, however keep an eye out for it in future months. In the meantime, check out a
new iNaturalist app called Seek
(for younger naturalists) to record your children's important nature discoveries. Just be sure to share them with the
Vermont Atlas of Life project on iNaturalist
to be considered for our monthly photo contest!
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When You Give to VCE, You Give to Wildlife
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet banded on Mt. Mansfield / © Michael Sargent
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Thanks to friends like you, VCE is a healthy and impactful organization. Donors like you are the single greatest source of support for our wildlife programs and community outreach. Your gift, whether grand or small, helps us continue to advance the conservation of wildlife across the Americas through research, monitoring, and citizen engagement. There are many ways to give—
please visit VCE's online donation page
to learn how. However you choose to contribute, please know that we deeply appreciate your support for VCE and your commitment to wildlife conservation. Thank you for joining us!
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Outdoor Radio:
Discovering Biodiversity in Your Backyard
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Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra are in the backyard of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies exploring the biodiversity just outside the door. / © Chris Albertine
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Listen online at VPR
as VCE's Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra discuss the astonishing biodiversity you can find in your own backyard, and how to use the nifty new iNaturalist
app called Seek
to help you identify everything you find
.
VCE and
Vermont Public Radio
unite the sounds and science of nature in our monthly feature aired on the
3rd Wednesday of every month at 6:20 PM, and again on Thursday at 7:50 AM
. You can also listen to every episode online
on VCE's website
! Frogs and ferns, finches and fish
—
anything is fair game for co-hosts Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra. Join us to explore and uncover some of the mysteries of our natural world.
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Photo-observation of the Month
Cecropia Moth
by Charlotte Bill
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Cecropia Moth / © Charlotte Bill (iNaturalist) licensed under CC-BY-NC
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Visit the Vermont Atlas of Life
on iNa
turalist,
where you can vote for the winner this month by clicking 'fav' on your favorite photo-observation. Make sure you get outdoors and record the biodiversity around you, then submit your discoveries
—
and you could be a winner!
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The Vermont Center for Ecostudies promotes wildlife conservation across the Americas using the combined strength of scientific research and citizen engagement.
Find us online at:
vtecostudies.org
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