WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Everyone knows the deer fly–but do you really know the deer fly? With approximately 29 species in the genus Chrysops in Vermont, there is a lot to know. For example, larvae can live up to three years as decomposers and predators in water, and the eyes[Read More…]
The Outside Story
Ovenbirds and Canada Warblers: An Exercise in Luring Birds
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Nearing the top of Mount Cardigan, Dr. Desirée Narango and I stopped in our tracks after hearing the characteristic “teacher-teacher-teacher” call of an Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), whom she affectionately calls the “chickens” of the forest. Although we heard the bird, it was nowhere in sight. So, Dr.[Read More…]
It’s Not Just a Ride, It’s Phoresy
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – I really don’t like weeding. So it was with great pleasure when, just moments into the task, I spotted a dragonfly acting strangely on a nearby plant. What immediately caught my eye was a pile of tiny, red, egg-like sacs all over its thorax. I ran[Read More…]
Ovenbirds and Canada Warblers: An Exercise in Luring Birds
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Nearing the top of Mount Cardigan, Dr. Desirée Narango and I stopped in our tracks after hearing the characteristic “teacher-teacher-teacher” call of an Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), whom she affectionately calls the “chickens” of the forest. Although we heard the bird, it was nowhere in sight. So, Dr.[Read More…]
Where Do Humans Fit In Cycle of Tick-borne Disease?
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – “I admire its purity. A survivor… unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality”— Alien, 1979 In Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” the fear of parasites living off humans was popularized in a story set on an uncharted moon 39 light years from Earth. That’s a long way to[Read More…]
A New Discovery About Ancient Land Plants
DUXBURY – A long time ago, not so far away, freshwater plants partnered with fungi and moved onto land from lake and river shores. Since that time, land plants have evolved many sophisticated strategies for terrestrial life. Yet to this day, growing in damp forests and on foggy mountainsides, are[Read More…]
Whip-poor-will Haunts Grow Quiet
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – During spring and summer nights, the relentless chanting of whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, was once heard throughout the Northeast; however, many of the Eastern Whip-poor-will’s former haunts have grown quiet, as abandoned farmland reverts to forest and development encroaches on dry woods with open understories. The Eastern Whip-poor-will[Read More…]
Flying Tigers are Confusing
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – And you thought you had trouble telling one butterfly species from another. Tiger swallowtails, which are rather large, yellow butterflies with black tiger stripes, flutter over the hills and valleys of eastern North America each spring and early summer, sometimes in great numbers. But figuring out[Read More…]
A Slow and Stealthy Traveler
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – When June’s heat starts to take hold, who doesn’t want to take life a little slower? When it comes to masters of slowing down, look no further than the humble turtle. Vermont is home to seven turtle species, including the secretive Wood Turtle. From June to September, Wood[Read More…]
Loon Language Has Four Distinct Calls
For many northeastern lakeshore residents, Common Loons’ calls hold a special place in the summer soundscape. Their haunting cries, heard most frequently from mid-May through June, are perhaps one of the most fascinating things about loons. They use four distinct calls to communicate with their families and other loons. The[Read More…]
Cowbirds Lay Eggs in Other Birds’ Nests
BROOKFIELD – Black birds with a greenish sheen and brown heads sometimes visit my yard during spring migration. These are male brown-headed cowbirds, and they often arrive in mixed flocks of red-winged blackbirds and grackles. Cowbirds breed in most of the Northeast and have an unusual reproductive strategy. Instead of[Read More…]
The Patchwork Life of the Brown Wasp Mantidfly
DUXBURY – Last July, I crossed paths with an insect that looked like the living embodiment of my favorite drawing game. Using folded paper, players add to a communal image without seeing previous contributions, such that the finished work is a surprise to everyone: the head of an eagle, on[Read More…]
