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…]
The Outside Story
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…]
Severe Flooding Impacts Aquatic Life
READING – July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded worldwide, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Rising temperatures associated with climate change have dramatically increased atmospheric moisture, causing more frequent and severe storms. During the Great Vermont Flood of July 10-11, 2023, at peak flow more than[Read More…]
Navigating the June Night Sky
The Many and Varied Ways Caterpillars Avoid Predation
VERMONT – In “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, Alice stumbles upon a large mushroom. She peeps over the edge and encounters a caterpillar “smoking a long hookah, and taking not the slightest notice of her or anything else.” If Alice had touched the creature, she might have been[Read More…]
The Wonders of Aerial Insectivore Flight
WASHINGTON, D.C. – When I worked at a barn one summer during college, I marveled at the swallows that nested in the structure’s eaves and corners. I watched the iridescent birds swoop, flutter, and dart with amazing dexterity between the small spaces above the stalls. These acrobatic birds are aerial[Read More…]
