by Ryan Morra April showers bring more than May flowers, and birds aren’t the only creatures producing fantastic choruses in the springtime. While birders will set their alarms for 5:00am in order to catch the rainbow of spring migrants arriving in Vermont, herpetologists – that is, aficionados of amphibians and reptiles – will spend the [...]
Archive for the ‘Seasons’ Category
In Search of Trills, Peeps, and Gulps
Posted in Migrations, Seasons, Wildlife on April 26, 2013 | Comments Off
Lessons from Snow Geese
Posted in Migrations, Seasons, Wildlife on March 28, 2013 | Comments Off
by Liz Brownlee Beating wings fill my view. The snow geese are stark white, and the black tips of their wings pulse in contrast with their bodies. Hundreds – no, thousands – of these meaty birds move in unison. They squawk and honk, thousands of calls melting into an urgent and persistent roar. At least [...]
Trapped Under the Ice
Posted in Seasons, Wildlife on February 24, 2013 | Comments Off
by Claire Polfus Staying warm in the winter is hard. Chickadees eat constantly in order to survive long, cold winter nights. Squirrels spend precious time and energy creating complex insulated nests. Deer browse on nutrient-poor twigs to get as many calories out of their surroundings as possible. Yet compared to fish and other aquatic organisms, [...]
Will You Need a Warmer Hat This Winter?
Posted in Discoveries, Seasons, tagged Burlington, Carly, Charles Corran, Isabella tiger moth, myths, old wives' tales, Pyrrhartia isabella, woolly bears on November 9, 2011 | Comments Off
by Carly Brown A few weeks ago I tied my laces, donned my hat, and set off for a long run down Spear Street, from Burlington to Charlotte and back again. Partway through my run I saw it crossing the road without any signs of hurry, proudly displaying its black and rusty fur: the woolly [...]
Enough Pumpkins in the Patch?
Posted in Seasons, tagged Cathy, Cucurbitaceae, fall, Halloween, pathogens, pumpkins, Vermont on October 31, 2011 | Comments Off
by Cathy Bell (originally posted on vtdigger.org) Back in the middle of September, a headline caught my eye. “Northeast Faces Devastating Pumpkin Shortage,” I read, with a mixture of amusement and trepidation. Devastating? Really? Pumpkins are cheery and plump and orange. It’s tough for me to take them seriously enough to believe that anyone could [...]
Hare-y Transformations
Posted in Seasons, tagged Camouflauge, Claire, Snowshoe hares on October 25, 2011 | Comments Off
by Claire Polfus It’s about that time. The leaves hug the forest floor rather than whisper to the wind in the canopy. The nights scatter a frosty pattern across my windows. The cool breeze tantalizes my toes with the anticipation of snowflakes and skis. And, it is dark. It is dark as I wait for [...]
Jack-in-the-pulpit: The Forest Floor’s Hermaphrodite
Posted in Botany, Seasons, tagged Leah on October 1, 2011 | Comments Off
By Leah Mital-Skiff I don’t want to make any controversial statements about whether it is easier to be male or female, but it is tempting in this case. When times are good on the forest floor, Jack turns into Jackie and when the going gets rough, Jackie turns back into Jack. We could say that Jackie [...]
Why do birds fly south for winter?
Posted in Migrations, Seasons, tagged birds, Doug, migration, neotropical migrants, south for the winter on September 28, 2011 | Comments Off
by Doug Morin I opened my backdoor and stepped into the yard to a flash of red and buzz of wings – a hummingbird. Maybe the last of his kind I will see this year, he perched on a small branch, tilted his head to either side, then flew off down the road. Here in [...]
Time Slips
Posted in Seasons, tagged Burlington, Danielle, Dragonflies, Insects, John the Baptist, Summer on September 8, 2011 | 1 Comment »
By Danielle Owczarski Crickets sound their high-pitched hum, blaring sirens swell and shrink, sweat percolates in overlapping areas, distant music floats through the moonlit breeze, insomnia returns, a kingfisher chatters along the lake shore, a main sail flaps in the breeze – all signifying the shift to summer in Burlington. Spring has its moments with [...]