READING – A few nights ago, I heard a crash on the front porch and flicked on the light to reveal a black bear’s reflective eyes. It lorded over the contents spilling out of our overturned floor freezer. I opened the door, prompting it to tear back through the screen[Read More…]

BURLINGTON – Last week, during a walk in the woods, I turned towards soft sounds in the understory and saw a small porcupine waddling through fallen oak and maple leaves. Porcupines have terrible eyesight and can’t see more than several feet in front of them, so I was able to[Read More…]

VERMONT – A decade-long study published in the journal Northeastern Naturalist this month found that 352 wild bee species call Vermont home, with 60% of those species likely in need of conservation action. The study, led by researchers from Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE,) in collaboration with the Vermont Fish &[Read More…]

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Last month I reconnected with a geologist colleague from years ago who mentioned that he uses iNaturalist in the university classes he teaches. “We contribute a lot of observations,” he said. “Who knows if they’re really of use to anyone?” So let’s trace the journey of[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At this point in the season, most migrating songbirds and raptors have already left. But on lakes and ponds across New England, some loons are still fishing and paddling. Loon parents may set off for the ocean before their young can fly, so it’s not uncommon to[Read More…]

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – As a conservation scientist focused on birds and their habitats, I’ve worked and sometimes lived on Hispaniola, the island that the Dominican Republic (DR) and Haiti share, since the mid-1990s. Accompanied by local colleagues who have taught me much, I’ve crisscrossed the island, hiking and birding[Read More…]

WEST LEBANON, N.H. – Most people know that the bottom of a northern lake or large pond is a mucky, muddy mess of weeds, decayed leaves, some rocks, and a few crayfish to avoid stepping on while wading. This area is known as the lake shelf. Just beyond the shelf[Read More…]

LOWELL, Mass. – In darkness, a wormlike creature squirms. A tiny nematode weaves its way between grains of rock and particles of organic matter, through inverted forests of tree roots. It follows what it thinks is a pheromone trail, pausing to inspect a droplet poised on the tip of a[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D,C. – On an otherwise unremarkable day in 2023, Jason Love and his colleagues were gathering in a parking lot when they saw something that, as far as we know, no one had ever seen before. Love, the associate director of the Highlands Biological Station in North Carolina, and[Read More…]

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The coming of autumn often makes trees harder to identify, but sometimes, it does the opposite. The black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a case in point. In summer, its bluish-green, oval-shaped compound leaves could easily be confused with those of the honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), a[Read More…]