A skein of Canada Geese heads south against a September sunset. © Nathaniel Sharp |
|
A Field Guide to September |
|
September is a month of transition—birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and more are beginning their southward migrations while some bees and other species are just starting to emerge. To curious observers, this month offers a lot of excitement, and the happenings featured in this field guide are just the beginning!
|
|
A Record Year for Loon Nesting in Vermont |
|
Meg Ryan from Avian Haven releases the rehabbed loon from Lake Eden. © Terry Heitz |
|
This year proved a highly successful one for Vermont's breeding loons—a record, in fact! However, every loon breeding season is about more than just numbers. It's also about the stories of difficult moments and the experiences of our hardworking volunteers who help make everything we accomplish possible. Find out more on the VCE blog.
|
|
Non-locals Light Up VCE Nets on Mansfield |
|
A trio of immature northern hardwoods forest warblers: from left, Blackburnian male, Black-throated Blue male, Blackburnian female. Mt. Mansfield, 4 August 2021. © Charles Gangas |
|
Our final 2021 summer banding session on Mt. Mansfield was marked by a surprising absence of the expected locally-breeding birds. However, a strong showing from some non-local species kept us busy nonetheless. Our final tally: 30 captures, including one species never before netted. Visit the VCE blog to read more.
Although summer is rapidly coming to a close, we still have one more banding trip planned. We'll head back to Mt. Mansfield in mid-September for a 2021 wrap-up session, with hopes of fitting a few more tiny GPS backpacks to Bicknell's Thrush before their journey south. There are bound to be some avian surprises in our nets—you can expect to hear all about our finds in October eNews!
|
|
Red Squirrel © K.P. McFarland
|
|
Autumn is fast approaching and we're not the only ones who can feel it. Right now, many small mammals are beginning to frantically collect food for the long winter ahead. However, abundance of acorns, beech nuts, and cones varies annually depending on whether or not we're experiencing a mast year. Will 2021 yield a bumper crop for Vermont's foraging wildlife? Find out on the VAL blog.
|
|
An adult loon and two large chicks glide across Maidstone Lake. © Becky Scott |
|
Help a (Loon) Chick Out
Loon chicks practicing their deep dives and landings on Vermont’s lakes and ponds represent some of the most joyful sights of late summer—sights we are privileged to enjoy. Since the late 1980s when only 12 breeding pairs were recorded in the state, Vermonters have taken loon conservation very seriously. Support the continued recovery of Vermont’s loons with a gift to the Vermont Loon Conservation Project—it couldn’t be easier! Your gift will fund VCE's annual loon monitoring, management, and public outreach, plus you’ll help us meet the $50,000/year matching requirement of an oil spill settlement grant awarded to VCE earlier this summer.
VCE, PO Box 420, Norwich, VT 05055
Thank you!
|
|
Birds, Bees, and Trees: A Summer Working for VCE |
|
VCE interns Eileen Fitzgerald (left) and Ani McMannon (right) are all geared-up for bumblebee surveying!
© Eileen Fitzgerald
|
|
With summer coming to an end, it's time for us to bid a reluctant farewell to this year's interns, Eileen Fitzgerald and Ani McMannon. Over their 12-week internships, they provided invaluable help on many VCE projects, infusing each with cheerful enthusiasm and positivity. We wish them best of luck in their next adventures.
|
|
Vermont Monarch Monitoring Blitz Volunteers Report Robust Populations |
|
A New Invader in Our Midst? |
|
On August 30, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) announced that a recently-arrived shipment in Rutland carried a surprise—and most unwelcome—guest with it: a Spotted Lanternfly. Originally from China, these brilliantly colored insects have already made their home in eight other states. While VAAFM officials don't necessarily think that this incident indicates a larger problem in Vermont, they do ask Vermonters to remain vigilant and report any sightings. You can read the full article here.
In addition to reporting sightings to state officials, we also encourage you to share them on iNaturalist. Through iNaturalist, scientists, government officials, and the public can monitor invasive species' distribution and access valuable life cycle information. Sharing sightings of main host plants is also useful because these can help us better understand how an invasive species might be affecting its new ecosystem.
|
|
Photo-observation of the Month
Callistosporium purpureomarginatum
by iNaturalist user @myco_mama_vt
|
|
Callistosporium purpureomarginatum © iNaturalist user @myco_mama_vt |
|
Congratulations to iNaturalist user @myco_mama_vt for winning the August 2021 Photo-observation of the Month for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist. Their photos of several fungi known as Callistosporium purpureomarginatum sprouting out of a decaying oak log received the most faves of any observation in the state during the past month. Visit the VCE Blog for more info about this species and view fantastic images of the runners-up in the August 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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
