View of Woodstock from Mount Tom lookout © Kent McFarland

The dawn bird chorus now fades from northern woodlands as the hills erupt in the sparkle and drama of summer insects. Here are some July happenings to kick off your month.

Upcoming VCE Events

An Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) © Kent McFarland

Join us for one of our summer field trips while spots are still available! July is for the bees here at VCE, and we have two upcoming bumble bee workshops, in addition to a bee walk.

New Bicknell's Thrush Paper on Cuban Population

A Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) is released on Mount Mansfield © Charles Gangas

In this current heat, a trip to Cuba may not sound that appealing to you; but by the end of September, the island’s eastern cloud forests will be calling to a small but important portion of the world’s Bicknell's Thrush population.

As reported in this new paper by VCE Executive Director Emeritus Chris Rimmer and colleagues, Cuba contains a significant amount of overwintering habitat for this species–second only to the Dominican Republic, which contains the vast majority. Next week, Chris will present these and other findings from more than three decades of research in a keynote presentation at the BirdsCaribbean 24th International Conference in Santo Domingo. To get a flavor of his remarks, read his interview with the editor of the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology, which published the findings from Cuba. You’ll also find reflections from Yves Aubry, a VCE collaborator with the Canadian Wildlife Service and pioneer of Bicknell’s Thrush field surveys in Cuba. 

You can also read more scientific publications from VCE on our website.

A mother merganser cruises on calm waters with two ducklings riding on her back. © @vtbirder

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.

Read the full article on our website.

Volunteer Opportunities

A Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) © Desiree Narango

Interested in becoming a community scientist or finding a new community science project? We're looking for volunteers! Check out some of the cool opportunities below. This is the best time of year to survey for butterflies, so if you're bummed about the birds winding down, please check out the 2nd Vermont Butterfly Atlas opportunities!

Pollinator Interactions on Plants

2nd Vermont Butterfly Atlas

LoonWatch

To the Rescue

A VCE sign protecting a loon nesting area © Toni Luff

If you’re looking for a way to help Vermont’s loons, a gift to the Vermont Loon Conservation Project is your golden ticket! Your gift will help restore Vermont’s beloved loon population by supporting statewide loon monitoring, loon rescues, nest rafts, nest warning signs, loon research, volunteer coordination, and public outreach. It will also support the new Fish Lead-Free program, a partnership involving VCE, multiple lake associations, and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, which aims to collect lead tackle at boat access areas across the state. The ingestion of lead fishing tackle remains the number-one cause of loon deaths, and this program hopes to reduce its impact.

Every gift truly matters, and yours puts us closer to our $50,000 fundraising requirement to receive this year’s portion of a five-year loon repopulation grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Not only will your gift help Vermont’s loons, it will also entitle you to an invitation to Loon Zoom, a new VCE offering filled with loon news, loon-watching tips, and plenty of stories from VCE Loon Biologist Eric Hanson. We hope to see you there!

Join Us For Our Annual Moth Blitz and Mission Monarch!

Join us for our Annual Vermont Moth Blitz! With over 2,000 species already documented in the state, the chances of finding something cool, unique, or beautiful are almost guaranteed! Head to the iNaturalist project page to participate.

You can also help us get a snapshot of Monarch populations in Vermont! This week-long targeted count gives scientists the best information on just how many monarchs are in Vermont, right before their migration. If you're interested in participating, check out this web page.

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies promotes wildlife conservation across the Americas using the combined strength of scientific research and community engagement. Find us online at vtecostudies.org.