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 ‘Wildlife’ 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 [...]
The Tangle Test
Posted in Wildlife on March 11, 2013 | Comments Off
by Clare Crosby There are many ways to rate a day. Perhaps you determine a day’s merit by how many to-do items you’ve crossed off, how many hours you spent outside, how many friends you ran into around town. My personal favorite rating system is the tangle test. By this measure, the best days leave [...]
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, [...]
Icy Romance
Posted in Wildlife on January 25, 2013 | Comments Off
By Bryan Pfeiffer During this arctic grip on Burlington, when almost anything outside seems to groan or crunch or crack, when the cold itself seems evil, a drama begins each morning in frigid waters off Perkin’s Pier. In Lake Champlain, Common Goldeneyes are getting hot. These perky ducks bob and dive, lunge and flutter, cavort [...]
Considering Crows
Posted in Wildlife, tagged American Crow, Nancy Olmstead, roost on January 18, 2013 | 2 Comments »
By Nancy Olmstead I stopped running because I was surrounded by hundreds of crows. It was dusk on the bike path along Lake Champlain. Great masses of crows were flying in from the east to roost on the cottonwood trees along the shore. They fed on sumac fruits along the train track; they mobbed the [...]
The Burlington Naturalist Scavenger Hunt Series: Williston’s Muddy Brook Wetland
Posted in Botany, Discoveries, Natural Destinations, Wildlife on February 28, 2012 | Comments Off
A special series of blog posts brought to you by Liz Brownlee – The Burlington Naturalist Scavenger Hunt Series: Discover the area’s hidden gems. Hone your naturalist skills. Learn to see the treasures along every walking path, trail, and creek. This series of scavenger hunts is a chance to get outside, look closely at the world around you, [...]
Five Bodies
Posted in Discoveries, Wildlife on February 21, 2012 | Comments Off
by Danielle Owczarski I squint as I gaze offshore at the landslide scars jacketing the slopes of the Adirondack Mountains, and become cognizant of the illusion in quiet looking mountaintops, in reality, stark and frigid underneath the winter’s languid sun. I lift the camera to my eye and focus on the lone silhouette of a [...]
Random Nature Questions from a Non-naturalist
Posted in Botany, Discoveries, Wildlife, tagged ants, bees, behavior, birds, honey, physiology, Plants, trees, woodpecker on February 12, 2012 | 2 Comments »
by Audrey Clark My stepbrother lounged in front of the television watching a reality TV show about mining in Alaska. I sat on the couch, facing away from the television, drinking tea and reading a book on visionary scientists. After a while, I started to wonder what my stepbrother wondered about. “Caleb?” “Yeah.” “What questions [...]