eNews | October 2021
The rising Hunter's Moon. Other names include the Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon. 
© Kent McFarland
A Field Guide to September
October is a month of change. The forested hills fade from green to a kaleidoscope of red and gold that dazzles the eyes. Here’s your field guide to some moments that you might not otherwise notice during these few precious weeks that feature colored hills beneath a deep blue sky, with the calls of migrating geese high overhead and the last Monarchs gliding silently southward. Read all about it on the VCE blog.
Kinglets Rain on Mansfield Ridgeline as VCE Wraps Season #30
The VCE avian “clothesline” on Mt. Mansfield was festooned with bird bags on 20-21 September 2021, as migrants filled our mist nets. The number of birds captured often exceeded the availability of bags, some of which held 3-4 kinglets simultaneously! © Charles Gangas
Tiny feathered gems—Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets—filled VCE's mist nets and ushered in the autumnal equinox on Mt. Mansfield to conclude our 30th field season on the ridgeline. Among 222 birds captured and banded over 3 days, kinglets accounted for 101, but they weren't the only notable migrants we encountered. Learn more on the VCE blog.
VCE Receives Grant for Place-based Teacher Training
VCE will build on its experience leading successful community science conservation projects, such as grassland bird monitoring. © Liza Morse
The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation recently awarded VCE a $4,882 Wellborn Ecology Fund grant to create a place-based teacher education program set to begin during the summer of 2022. VCE's Director of Conservation Science Ryan Rebozo will lead the week-long workshop designed to help Upper Valley educators incorporate more place-based ecology lessons into their coursework. Learn more in the VCE newsroom.
Leaf it Be
White-throated Sparrow foraging in leaf cover. © darontansley
Ditch the rake this fall to promote insect populations around your home.

This autumn, consider opting for low-intensity yard maintenance practices to foster more biodiversity in your yard, this season and beyond. By planting native late-blooming plants, leaving leaves where they fall, and preserving rigid standing vegetation, you will provide winter homes and food sources for invertebrates, birds, and other winter residents. Read more on the VCE blog.
Say it with a Loon
Photographer and volunteer Nicki Steel's stunning photographs of Common Loons grace the front of each card. © Nicki Steel
Let that special person know you're thinking of them and contribute to VCE’s conservation projects!
 
For a limited time, photographer and loon project volunteer Nicki Steel will donate to VCE a portion of sales from her new notecard set featuring her striking images of Common Loons on Vermont lakes. Each set includes 12 cards with envelopes. The cards measure about 5.5 inches by 4.5 inches and are blank on the inside—perfect for writing your own thoughtful message.
 
These cards are printed by New England Paper and Stationery, a woman-owned business in Wilmington, VT.
 
When you place your order before November 1st, Nicki will donate $10 from each set to VCE. Cards sets cost $22 plus shipping and tax. Shipping for one set is $5.50 and two or more sets is $9.50.

Ready to place your order? You can order cards by contacting Nicki on her website nickisteel.com or by emailing her at nickisteel@myfairpoint.net.
As Easy as 1, 2, 3!
Former Vernal Pool Monitoring Project Coordinator, Liza Morse (second from left) leads community scientists in a field workshop in Montpelier, VT. © Steve Faccio.
Supporting VCE’s wildlife research and conservation couldn't be easier!

  1. Record your observations on iNaturalist, Vermont eBird, or eButterfly. These tools help you learn more about nature, all while contributing research-quality data that help scientists better understand our natural world.
  2. Inquire about volunteering for a VCE project. Projects like Mountain Birdwatch, the Vermont Forest Bird Monitoring Program, Vermont Loon Conservation Project, the Eastern Whip-Poor-Will Conservation and Monitoring Project, and the Vernal Pool Monitoring Project rely on community scientists with varying skill levels to monitor wildlife populations.
  3. Give a gift to support VCE’s wildlife research and conservation today. We couldn’t do what we do without you!

A New Tool for Exploring Vermont Birding Hotspots
Birding in Vermont homepage.
Have you ever found yourself on eBird, perusing hotspots for you next birding adventure, and wishing you could get more information on a site before you visit?
 
Well, we've got good news—birder Ken Ostermiller has created a website that can do just that! Birding in Vermont allows you to explore details for 1,200 birding hotspots across the state. Check it out before your next expedition for site-specific tips and charts, or offer insights on your favorite spot—either way, this website will undoubtedly become a well-loved tool by both resident and visiting birders.

Read Nathaniel Sharp’s thoughts on this game-changing site on the VCE blog.
Photo-observation of the Month
Upland Sandpiper
A rare Upland Sandpiper photographed in Bennington, VT. © Coleen Lawlor
Congratulations to iNaturalist user Coleen Lawlor for winning the September 2021 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist. Her photos of a handsome and rare Upland Sandpiper roaming the grassy plains of the William H. Morse State Airport in Bennington received the most faves of any iNaturalist observation in Vermont during the past month. Visit the VCE Blog for more info about this species and view fantastic images of the runners-up in the September 2021 Photo-observation of the Month!
 
Visit the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist, 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!
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