BURLINGTON – There is nothing like the royal blue of an indigo bunting. In the Northeast, they arrive fashionably late to the spring fling, behind the vanguard of migrating warblers and other songbirds. On my morning walk in my frequent birding spot, my “patch” as birders call it, I heard[Read More…]

VERMONT – The nature community is becoming concerned about how bird flu impacts Common Loons. Wendy Puryear with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, presented the latest updates at the Northeast Loon Study Working Group’s 2025 meeting, and this update draws on that, with some additional information[Read More…]

MILLBROOK, N.Y. – One of the most exciting rites of spring is the alewife run, an annual event where throngs of fish race upstream from the ocean to inland water bodies on a reproductive journey. These “river herring,” as they are categorized, actually spend most of their lives at sea.[Read More…]

WATERBURY – If you’re a mosquito and it’s a warm spring afternoon, you’re out cruising the air currents on your tiny wings. But as you buzz around, the sun warming your exoskeleton, the clouds roll in, heralding a spring shower. Balls of water up to 50 times heavier than your[Read More…]

SOUTH BURLINGTON – The longer, warmer days of spring spark phenological changes in trees, from root to tip. As the limbs of trees stretch and twist toward the sky in search of sun, their trunks grow wider to support the new weight. New wood is added year after year to[Read More…]

BURLINGTON – As the days get longer and the sun warms the forest floor, hepatica flowers start emerging. These charming early bloomers captivated the writer and naturalist John Burroughs, who extolled their “winsome grace” in his poem “Hepatica.” Hepatica flowers close on cloudy days and when night falls to preserve[Read More…]

READING – Fractals are sometimes referred to as a “visual representation of math.” They can be observed in the spatial arrangements found in many familiar forms, patterns, and shapes in nature: from the branching of trees, ferns, river systems, and lightning, to the patterns found in leaves, seedheads, crystals, seashells,[Read More…]

NEW ENGLAND – Muskrat mating is so sensational that songs have been written about it. Fans of 1970s pop music might be familiar with a certain ballad, written by Willis Alan Ramsey and popularized by bands like America and Captain & Tennille, about two anthropomorphic muskrats falling in love. Though[Read More…]

AREA TOWNS – Since the emerald ash borer was first detected in Vermont in 2018, Plainfield has been unlucky in its relationship with the invasive beetle. The town is a hotspot for infestations right now, leaving dry, rotted-out ash trees ready to crash. But Hardwick, just a few towns north,[Read More…]

NORWICH — Spring doesn’t just herald the return of birds, frogs, and bees; it also signals the emergence of many native moths, which deserve some of the spotlight. Enter the Infant Moth (Archiearis infans). Also called the First-born Geometer because of its early emergence, these diurnal (day-flying) moths can be[Read More…]

NORWICH — Spring ephemeral wildflowers are perennial woodland plants that sprout from the ground early, bloom fast, and then go to seed—all before the canopy trees leaf out overhead. Often found in calcium-rich woods alongside Sugar Maple and Northern Maidenhair Fern, they include Dutchman’s Breeches, Blue Cohosh, Wild Ginger, spring beauty and[Read More…]

NORWICH — For us bee biologists, nothing says spring quite like the first bumble bee of the year. Sometime between late March and early May, a loud, familiar buzz will get our attention and we will once again get reacquainted with these charismatic minifauna. For the more casual bee enthusiasts,[Read More…]