Plainfield Christmas Bird Count Results

Long-eared Owl, a Plainfield CBC first!

The 54^th annual Plainfield Christmas Bird Count took place under clear skies this past Saturday, December 20. It was the first sunny day in a long time, and despite single-digit temperatures at the start, the calm conditions made for a superb day to be outside, enjoying nature, and counting birds. A near-record 45 participants combed out across the count circle tallying 4,962 individuals of 43 species, exceeding our 10-year average of 38.7 species.

The highlight of this year’s count was a LONG-EARED OWL first discovered by Chip Darmstadt as it soaked in the late-afternoon sun. By incredible coincidence, what has been presumed to be the same bird was later independently discovered by Eric Cannizzaro as it was hunting over a field in near-darkness. This unexpected find was a first for the Plainfield count, and with reports from a nearby landowner that this rare and sensitive species has nested here in the past, its location will be kept secret. Another first for the Plainfield CBC was a lone SNOW GOOSE seen flying south.

The increase in ‘southern’ species continues to be a trend this year, with the count’s second ever sighting of a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Carolina Wren was observed for only the 4^th time, with a record high of 3 individuals observed (all at feeders). Northern Cardinal and Tufted Titmouse, which have seen large increases in the past decade, were seen in decent numbers, with 41 and 17 respectively.

Pine Siskin in Calais

A new high count was set for Carolina Wren (3), Downy Woodpecker (73), and White-breasted Nuthatch (132), which nearly doubled its previous high count. Both White-throated and Song Sparrow were observed on the count his year. These species, while never common, are becoming a regular feature of the Plainfield count. Irruptive species have not been plentiful this year, but a few Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins were observed (the siskins being our first since 2011).

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s count. Special thanks go out to Janet Steward, who has covered the Orange territory for as long as we can remember, and celebrated her 50^th consecutive year of CBC participation this year! A complete species list can be found below and a summary of all species seen over the 54-year history of this count can be found here. The 55^th Plainfield Christmas Bird Count is scheduled for Saturday, December 19, 2015. We hope you can join us!

Compiler Larry Clarfeld presents
Janet Steward with a cake in recognition
of her 50th consecutive year of CBC'ing

Snow Goose	1
Canada Goose	1
Mallard	22
Hooded Merganser	2
Common Merganser	5
Ruffed Grouse	1
Wild Turkey	206
Cooper's Hawk	1
Northern Goshawk	1
Red-tailed Hawk	3
Rock Pigeon	367
Mourning Dove	187
Long-eared Owl	1
Red-bellied Woodpecker	1
Downy Woodpecker	73
Hairy Woodpecker	63
Pileated Woodpecker	7
Northern Shrike	3
Blue Jay	191
American Crow	525
Common Raven	47
Black-capped Chickadee	1554
Tufted Titmouse	17
Red-breasted Nuthatch	51
White-breasted Nuthatch	132
Brown Creeper	12
Carolina Wren	3
Golden-crowned Kinglet	9
American Robin	10
European Starling	788
Cedar Waxwing	5
American Tree Sparrow	38
White-throated Sparrow	2
Dark-eyed Junco	31
Northern Cardinal	41
Song Sparrow	1
Purple Finch	2
House Finch	38
Common Redpoll	3
Pine Siskin	4
American Goldfinch	65
Evening Grosbeak	20
House Sparrow	158

Winter Whispers: A Weekly Drop-off Program for Young Children

After several stormy grey days, I looked out the window this weekend to see the sun illuminating a stunning winter wonderland. A sparkling white blanket laid out across the fields behind my home and, with every tree branch laced in white, the frosted mountains in the background seemed to glow. I set out on skis across the expanse of my neighbor's pasture while my eyes feasted on the landscape's offering of eye candy. I moved over the crusted blanket and felt like a child brimming with excitement. It seemed as though I was transported into a magical land. The cool air on my cheeks was invigorating. The sounds of my skis moving over the snow and light wind blowing through the crusted branches filled my ears.

My excitement grew as I encountered story after story written in the snow by local wildlife. A snowshoe hare left tracks darting across the expanse. A coyote had wandered the tree line along a brook and circled twice around mink tracks before sauntering on. My senses were fully awake as I made my way through the stories and the frozen landscape. Winter whispers many secrets.

I realized the frosty view from inside my cozy home was lovely, but it did not compare with the experience of becoming a part of the landscape - making discoveries and experiencing the inherent wonders of winter first hand. I could not possibly hear the whisper of winter until I was out in the snow, surrounded by frosty air and a world of white!

At that moment, because I work with young children in a classroom without walls, I thrilled to think of sharing many similar wonders of winter with wee ones this season! Every moment, young children are learning about their world and rapidly building strong neural connections. They do so largely through their senses with curiosity as the driver. The more senses that are engaged, the deeper the learning process. Natural spaces in winter provide an exciting, rich learning and play environment. I am pleased to share that for six weeks starting mid-January, the North Branch Nature Center will offer a drop-off program for children, age 3.5 to 5, to discover what winter is whispering about.

Winter offers not only myself but also young children a wonder-filled season to imagine, play, and learn. Winter Whispers is a program that supports children's innate curiosity and individual learning process through play, open- ended art, and exploration of the natural world in the frosty months of January and February. Children will spend a portion of every morning outdoors, having an opportunity to engage all their senses while encountering winter's many wonders. In addition, our program offers time to cozy up indoors for winter related stories, songs, and art as well as exploration of Vermont wildlife's winter habits.

Althea Brown, assistant teacher, and I look forward to looking, listening, and feeling with young children outdoors as we play and learn about ourselves and our connection to the natural world we are a part of in Vermont - all amidst the whispers of winter this season.

A Classroom Without Walls

A field of golden rod and a green forest canopy greeted students upon their arrival at Forest Preschool this Fall.  A landscape, covered in a soft blanket of snow, offered a frosty goodbye at the end of our session. In a classroom without walls, children intimately connected to their natural surroundings and witnessed the wild world around them shift from summer, into fall, and then into winter. Over the session, I and my teaching assistant witnessed the children thrive outdoors while guiding them through their own developmental seasons. The children joyfully played and directly engaged with their natural environment, enthusiastically learning about themselves, others, and their world. Play is central to early childhood development and to our Forest Preschool Program. Play in natural spaces coupled with the room and ability for children to be active in their own learning process forges a strong combination. It stimulates wonder and excitement, allowing for possibility, and sets the stage for students to develop into citizens of our planet.

There are several newfangled phases to describe children being active in their own learning process. I have unabashedly used one in the title of this blog: child-driven. Another term is emergent curriculum. I have used this term to describe the curriculum we use here at Forest Preschool. But, really, this fancy word means that our curriculum is not contained by a specific plan but, rather, is attentive to each child, their interests, and what the natural world has to offer on any particular day. Although we model simple ideas for play and provide art and natural materials to stimulate curiosity and imagination, it is the interest of the children that drives their activity and potential projects. I would like to take you on a tour of some of the highlights from our session this Fall.

One morning we laid out many sticks from shortest to longest. We did so in order to provide inspiration for children to arrange sticks by length if they were drawn to do so. What happened next, when a child joyfully skipped over, was unexpected and interesting. The child immediately picked up another stick from the ground and stroked along the arrangement to see if the different sized sticks made sounds similar to a xylophone. Because this child and several others are drawn to make music, work with their hands, and sort natural items, we embarked on a multi-week adventure, making a musical instrument out of varying lengths of sticks.

The first step in our project was to introduce the idea of using a saw to assist in cooperatively creating a musical instrument. A discussion about using saws safely ensued. I asked the group if anyone would like to saw sticks in order to make an instrument. Several hands were eagerly raised. Once the children passed a safety test, and with proper supervision, we set to work sawing sapling tree trunks into different lengths of sticks. 

The next week, during circle time, I asked if anyone was interested in arranging our previously cut sticks from shortest to longest, then threading p-cord through drilled holes, and tying them on to a larger and thicker length of a branch. Again, several hands eagerly raised and waved with enthusiasm. P-cord was threaded, knots carefully tied, and a chiming instrument was made. Many children were eager to experiment with the newly made instrument and explore the different sounds each length of stick made. Through the entire process, children worked on developing their fine motor skills and ability to work cooperatively. 

Mud Kitchen is a hot spot for child-driven play and learning. We have a wonderfully wet and muddy place in the woods at our base camp that has been transformed into a Mud Kitchen. With simple kitchen tools such as pots, pans, ladles, wire whisks, etc., Mud Kitchen ignites imaginations and provides a rich environment for exploration and learning.

After we finish our circle and snack time, children can choose where they would like to be and what they would like to do in the forest and fields. Many children are drawn to Mud Kitchen, where they become scientists conducting experiments and chefs baking up a storm. A myriad of delicious concoctions are made using a variety of natural material and offered to fellow students and teachers. Birthday and pizza cakes are favorites. While engaging in this play, imaginations are developed. But also, soil science, chemistry, water flow, and skills for cooperative play are learned! Really, the learning is endless. Through an inquiry based style of teaching, children learn where water goes when the rain water dries, who lives in this habitat, what happens to the water when it's cold. When the temperatures drop, but before ice forms, children build resilience and develop self care skills, learning how to regulate their warmth and comfort level.

When parents and caregivers arrive at the end of the morning for pick-up, they are often met by happily dirty and muddy children - evidence of a good day. Through their play and child-centered learning in natural spaces, the youngsters at Forest Preschool are developing foundational life and learning skills with joy, excitement, and a sense of wonder. The soil in the forest is rich, growing endless possibilities in a classroom without walls.

Birding Plum Island and Cape Ann

Barred Owl at Plum Island

It was cold but beautiful for the North Branch Nature Center’s trip to the Massachusetts coast this past weekend. Seven participants scoured the seashore of Essex County, MA in search of ocean birds and discovered the surprising diversity of birds that are around in late-fall. As one season ends and another begins, birds of both fall and winter can be found along the New England coast in mid-November.

Winter birds complemented winter temperatures in our birding adventures. Snowy Owls had just begun arriving from the north over the past week, and one was seen at Plum Island. Loons, scoters, and others were seen migrating south along the coast. Snow Buntings and Horned Larks were active in the dunes at both Newburyport and Salisbury. And a variety of winter birds were seen off the coast, including Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Horned and Red-necked Grebe, Harlequin Duck, and others.

Greater White-fronted Goose in Newbury

While many species of ‘winter birds’ were seen, a handful had not yet arrived to the wintering grounds. Iceland and Glaucous Gulls were notably absent. Common Goldeneye, which can be fairly common in winter, was represented by only a single individual at Brace Cove in Rockport. And Short-eared Owl sightings so far this season have been sparse; we weren’t able to locate any during our dusk attempt.

Snowy Owl at Plum Island

Yet other species we observed were species more typically associated with warmer weather. A Hermit Thrush was observed in Rowley and a Yellow-rumped Warbler in Rockport. An American Bittern put in an appearance at Plum Island and a Great Egret was observed in Salisbury. A few lingering shorebirds were also seen, including Black-bellied Plover and Greater Yellowlegs at several locations.

Perhaps the most unusual sighting was a Greater White-fronted Goose in Newbury, mixed in with a flock of about 250 Canada Geese. This one was a lifer for most of the group. The Eurasian Wigeon seen at Plum Island was another highlight. While not unusual in Vermont, the Barred Owl seen at Plum Island was a pretty atypical species for that location.

American Bittern at Plum Island

When all was said and done, a total of 84 species were observed during the three days of birding (and 1 day of scouting by trip leader Larry Clarfeld). In addition to all the birds, a trip to Cape Ann and Plum Island is enjoyable just for the ambience. The glowing sunsets, scenic vistas, and historic downtowns of the coastal New England towns we visited were all fantastically beautiful. NBNC will be back to the Massachusetts coast in January to participate in the Superbowl of Birding, where we’ll spend a day with youths and adults, participating in this birding competition for the seventh consecutive year.

Complete Species List

Greater White-fronted Goose	Sanderling
Canada Goose	Dunlin
Mute Swan	Purple Sandpiper*
Gadwall	Razorbill
Eurasian Wigeon	Black Guillemot
American Wigeon	Bonaparte's Gull
American Black Duck	Ring-billed Gull
Mallard	Herring Gull
Northern Pintail	Great Black-backed Gull
Green-winged Teal	Rock Pigeon
Ring-necked Duck	Mourning Dove
Greater Scaup*	Snowy Owl
Common Eider	Barred Owl
Harlequin Duck	Red-bellied Woodpecker*
Surf Scoter	Downy Woodpecker
White-winged Scoter	Hairy Woodpecker
Black Scoter	Northern Flicker*
Long-tailed Duck	Peregrine Falcon*
Bufflehead	Blue Jay
Common Goldeneye	American Crow
Hooded Merganser	Horned Lark
Red-breasted Merganser	Black-capped Chickadee
Wild Turkey	Tufted Titmouse
Red-throated Loon	Red-breasted Nuthatch
Common Loon	White-breasted Nuthatch
Pied-billed Grebe*	Carolina Wren
Horned Grebe	Hermit Thrush
Red-necked Grebe	American Robin
Northern Gannet	Northern Mockingbird
Double-crested Cormorant	European Starling
Great Cormorant*	Snow Bunting
American Bittern	Yellow-rumped Warbler
Great Blue Heron	American Tree Sparrow
Great Egret	Savannah Sparrow
Northern Harrier	Song Sparrow
Cooper's Hawk	White-throated Sparrow
Bald Eagle	Dark-eyed Junco
Red-tailed Hawk	Northern Cardinal
Rough-legged Hawk*	Red-winged Blackbird
American Coot	House Finch
Black-bellied Plover	American Goldfinch
Greater Yellowlegs	House Sparrow

*Seen only during scouting

Record-setting Season for Saw-whets

The Saw-whet Owl banding season is now in its fourth week and owls continue to move through the area in good numbers. In 20 nights of banding between our two stations, we have banded 86 Northern Saw-whet Owls so far. Our busiest night of banding yet was October 24, when 16 owls were banded in Montpelier and 10 in Shelburne.  As the season begins to wind down, the data we've already collected are starting to tell the Saw-whet's story.

A remarkably high proportion of this year’s owls are hatch-year birds; those born over the just-completed breeding season. Roughly 63% of owls captured in Montpelier and 85% of owls captured in Shelburne have been hatch-year. This ratio of hatch-year owls is indicative of high productivity on the breeding grounds and is consistent with observations from other banding stations in the northeast.

The other big news this season was an owl we had banded last fall in Shelburne being recaptured by the McGill Bird Observatory in Montreal! This is the second owl-exchange we've had between Shelburne and Montreal, after re-capturing an owl on Oct. 24, 2013 that they had banded 16 days earlier. There have been no other foreign recaptures or recoveries so far this season. This being only our second season of banding after last year's pilot, we still have much to learn.

We have also been delighted to host over 250 visitors to the banding stations this year. With the banding season ending in early November, there are still a few more opportunities to visit and observe. Contact Larry for information about visiting either banding station.

Our owl banding initiative is supported by a grant from the Oakland Foundation and your support. Help us make sure we can continue this project for years to come by making a donation or adopting an owl.

A World of Leaves at Forest Preschool

"The leaf looks bigger! "I see lines and dirt."

Mother Nature pulled out all the stops this Autumn, transforming the landscape into a brilliant wash of red, orange, and gold. It's a poignant time of year as the natural world is shifting and readying for a long, sleepy winter. With leaves raining down and crunching underfoot, Forest Preschoolers have been alive in their senses and exuberantly exploring the wild world around. Leaves on the ground this time of year are abundant and fascinating; ideal for play and learning. At Forest Preschool, we have been taking full advantage!

Preschoolers learn rapidly from what interests them. When learning is driven by interest, information is more easily retained and strong synaptic connections are made. Many Forest Preschoolers were drawn to pile, move, and build with leaves, others to examine closely, some to sort by shape and color, and count. Many children used leaves in "mud kitchen" baking recipes. Some collected and designed with them. Stitching leaves with a blunt needle was also a source of intrigue. This foray into sewing was a first for many and provided a great way to develop fine motor skills.

"I wonder what THIS might look like under a
magnifying glass?"

I love asking children open ended questions that have no wrong answers. The answers are sometimes priceless but more importantly, they engage curiosity. One morning I sat with a child while the two of us wove yarn in and out of holes punched in several leaves. As we worked the yarn through the leaves, she spontaneously declared, " I could make this anywhere. There's leaves everywhere." I wonder where the leaves are in the winter?" I asked. She took moment and then stated, "Under the snow but you can build a snowman in the snow. But you can't put in on a piece of string!"

Building a nest for an owl backpack!

Many nests for wild animal friends were built using leaves at Forest Preschool. Pretending to be an animal building a nest and then snuggling in the final product is great fun. Preschoolers are primed to learn by engaging their imagination!

Nestled in with owl backpack aptly named Mr. Owl!

"I'm going to use my paws to build the rest!"

Each day I tell an oral story. One day, part of my story told of a red squirrel building a nest with fallen leaves. When the story was over, a child was excited to build a squirrel nest of his own. In the  process of construction, play, and my asking open ended questions, he and friends learned about nest sites, construction, materials used, and the insulating property of leaves. 

Later that morning the child sat back, looked around, and exclaimed, "The world is covered in leaves!" Another shared, "There's mostly maple trees here at Deer Camp."

"Where can we put the door?" "Now, the thing is, can we make a door out of a stick?"

Another busy squirrel building a nest!

Leaves add a whole new element to "mountain climbing,"
healthy risk taking, and gross motor skill development.

Pure joy!

Now that most of the leaves have fallen and the temperatures are following suit, we look forward to what nature will offer the children's innate sense of wonder and endless curiosity in the coming weeks.

Owl Banding – Midseason Update

The North Branch Nature Center’s second season of Northern Saw-whet Owl banding is underway. In collaboration with other owl researchers around the U.S. and Canada, we are operating banding stations in Montpelier and Shelburne to track the fall migration of these incredible birds. While it is still early in the banding season, we have already learned that this year is going to be very different than last.

In 2013, the banding station in Shelburne showed the rate of hatch-year birds we encountered to be only 11%. Hatch year birds are those born during the most recent breeding season. This low rate of occurrence typically signifies a poor breeding season where not many Saw-whet Owls were fledged. So far in 2014, 87% of the birds encountered in Shelburne had been hatch year birds, which suggests that this year's breeding season was much better than last, with high productivity.

This weekend’s public demonstrations in Montpelier and Shelburne were attended by roughly 80 people. We caught and released a total of 9 owls in Montpelier on Saturday and 2 in Shelburne on Sunday. If you are interested in visiting the banding station, please email Larry. And, please consider supporting our banding project by adopting an owl.

Learn more about NBNC’s Saw-whet Banding program. 

Celebrating 5 Years of Educating Children Outdoors in Vermont

In central Vermont we are welcoming in another school year with stunning foliage, warm days and the ongoing chorus of crickets and katydids. Here at the North Branch Nature Center we are celebrating our 5^th year of ECO- Educating Children Outdoors. This year we are welcoming Alex Rob and Carrie Riker to our ECO team. Carrie and Alex bring years of experience leading children outdoors and a passion for connecting children to our rich landscape here in Vermont. We are also thrilled to expand ECO to a new school, Calais Elementary! During the 2014-15 school year ECO will be in 7 schools, reaching 463 children and 40 teachers with a standards based nature immersion program.

Small group work in the forest

In these past five years we have been inspired by all the teachers, parents and of course the students we work with by being immersed in nature throughout the seasons. As a classroom community we are learning with children on a continuous basis through ECO. We are also developing long lasting relationships with students and the green spaces that we visit each week.  Whether it’s sitting around a fire on a chilly winter day, witnessing spring ephemerals unfold or watching skeins of geese fly south, students and teachers are experiencing phenology in an active way that connects them to the place they live in. When asked why we live here in Vermont, most people reference the values of our state that we love so much. The mountains, crimson red maple trees, the change of seasons, clean lakes to swim in, local food, deep snow, family traditions, and small towns with a big community feel.

Through ECO we want to help our students to foster a love for Vermont that will last their entire lives. I can’t think of a better way to do that then to help them understand where they live by introducing them to the natural world that surrounds us and all its wonders.

So, what do children know about the natural world in Vermont? First and second graders at Moretown Elementary can easily name at least 10 native species of animals and what their distinguishing characteristics are. Children at Union Elementary will be able to tell you later this month about the history of stonewalls and their importance in shaping our agricultural heritage.  It may appear that third graders were only playing hide and seek in various locations on the East Montpelier school property last week, but really they are studying habitats from the ground up. What better way to start a lesson than with hiding in 3 different habitats?  If you need a map of Twinfield’s forested trails you can always ask an ECO student. This year students will be become cartographers.

Kindergartners at any of our participating schools will surprise you as well. These are our youngest students and they know where every animal home is in the forest, they can build you a squirrel drey or a giant eagles nest. They will be the first to tell you that in nature we “hurt no living thing”. So be careful where you step and hold that insect ever so carefully.

At the end of a day learning in the forest we feel a sense of joyful exhausted accomplishment. We are also reminded that children will only protect what they love and they will only love what they know.

We know Vermont and we love it.

What is 20? Showing our mathematical thinking.

Symmetry in nature

Predicting the Birds of Winter

Occurrence of Common Redpoll in Vermont
from 2002-12 based on Christmas Bird Count data.

Predicting the future isn’t easy. Crystal balls are unreliable and tarot cards can seem uselessly ambiguous. Weather forecasts do pretty well, but even with multimillion dollar radar equipment, they have their margin of error. Look at a graph of occurrence for Common Redpoll, and it can seem as random as flipping a coin. So how can one person accurately predict which northern-breeding birds will travel south, months in advance? Ron Pittaway has figured out.

Ron Pittaway is a prominent ornithologist in Ontario who began producing his famous ‘winter finch forecast’ over a decade ago. His forecast addresses ‘irruptive’ species of birds. These species are cold-hardy, and if they had it their way, would stay in the far north all winter long. But, in some years when food is scarce, they are forced to move south. Ron Pittaway predicts the movements of these birds by collating data on the seed crops of trees in the far north each year.

A Common Redpoll feeds in a birch

For example, Ron predicts a decent number Common Redpolls to move south this winter, because, “birch seed crops are variably poor to average in the boreal forest.” Redpolls like birch seeds, and without birch seeds in the boreal forest, the redpolls will move south. His forecasts not only predict which birds will come south with pretty good accuracy, they also give a glimpse into the life histories of these birds and how/where to observe them.

I, like many birders, eagerly await the winter finch forecast each year. As thousands of breeding songbirds disappear from Vermont each fall, it gives me something to look forward to in the winter to come.

See the full 2014/15 Winter Finch Forecast.

What happened to all the Monarchs?

A Monarch visits Joe-Pye weed this fall at NBNC

“What happened to all the Monarchs?” This has become a common question the past few years, as the iconic, once-common orange butterflies are now a rare treat to find. The milkweed in fields and meadows across Vermont that once harbored Monarch caterpillars are now devoid. So, where have they gone?

The decline of the Monarch population began decades ago. While the causes are varied, the primary factor thought to be responsible for the 90% reduction in the Monarch population is the increased use of pesticides that kill milkweed, the Monarch’s only hostplant. The Midwestern states are at the core of the Monarch’s reproductive range, and Monarch breeding habitat there has been rapidly disappearing. Farms that once provided marginal Monarch habitat, with milkweed popping up between rows of corn, are now ecological deserts. The use of glyphosate (aka round-up) on genetically modified, pesticide-resistant crops has killed what little milkweed could grow in the mega-farms of the Midwest (and beyond).

Source: monarchwatch.org

Added to this are all of the other threats and stressors that Monarchs face. Bad weather, such as droughts, unusually hot or cold periods, and storms, can wipe out large percentages of the population or limit their reproductive success. Illegal logging in the forests of central Mexico threatens the important overwintering grounds of the Monarch. Predators and pathogens may be an increasing threat as Monarchs become squeezed into smaller patches of milkweed as their breeding habitat continues to shrink. And global warming may pose another set of challenges that are only beginning to be realized. The rapid decline of Monarchs has prompted a number of conservation organizations to seek protection for the Monarch under the federal Endangered Species Act.

A Monarch tagged at NBNC, to help track its migration

So far this fall, Monarch numbers appear up from 2013. Sightings have been more numerous throughout Vermont and other parts of the breeding range and the overwintering population is expected to be double that of lastyear. While this gives some hope, Monarchs need our help to be brought back from the brink. Here are a few things you can do:

•  Help preserve milkweed! Milkweed is a native plant and is common in open or disturbed areas. When it comes time to mow, be sure to leave some milkweed for the Monarchs! You can also plant milkweed to create habitat for breeding monarchs.
• Plant a butterfly garden. Late-flowering plants such as Joe-Pye weed, asters, and goldenrods provide important food sources for migrating Monarchs to refuel on their long journey.
• Report your Monarch sightings! There are several tools you can use to report butterflies, including eButterfly.org, iNaturalist.org, or you can send yourobservations to us at NBNC. (Note: The Viceroy butterfly can look a lot like a Monarch… learn how to identify a Monarch)
• Help monitor migrating Monarchs. You can order tags through monarchwatch.org, or, join NBNC for our Monarch tagging events on Wednesday afternoons at 3:30 p.m.

Thanks for an amazing year!

Serving with the North Branch Nature Center as an AmeriCorps member has been an amazing experience. A year spent teaching and learning outdoors – what could be better? During quiet moments in the field, I often stopped to consider how lucky I was to pass a year in a beautiful place, with great people, doing fun and important work.

Lindsey leading the Fall Forest Preschoolers through the field 

           2013-2014 was the first year of my life spent so wholly outdoors and in one location. I felt connected to the field, forest, and river of NBNC in a unique way that allowed me to learn more from it. Seeing the landscape shift with the seasons seemed to put daily life in context.

Beautiful snowy field

Mary and our Spring Forest Preschool crew

            The incredible folks of North Branch Nature Center provided me with the support and knowledge I needed to grow as a teacher in my own right. Seeing these educators in action was inspiring. Always eager to share resources, tips or suggestions, these wonderful folks were open books of insight and experience to me. The little ones I spent my time with taught me a great deal, too! Through this lens, I was able to see the world in a new light – to slow down and investigate our world through play.

Forest School & their boats

On top of the education experience I gained, I was also exposed to so much naturalist knowledge. The wide range of topics covered by nature center staff is astounding! River ecology, mammal tracking, caterpillars, moths, wildcrafting, turtles, birds, bird banding, wildflowers, amphibians, crayfish, bees, medicinal herbs, fire tending… the list goes on. Participating in many events around the nature center (owl banding, the Superbowl of Birding, Birdfest and more) were great opportunities. I felt lucky to be surrounded by passionate people, so happy to share what they know about the natural world.

            To everyone in the North Branch Nature Center community (staff, volunteers, parents, students, campers): Thank you! Thank you for welcoming me onto the team, for sharing your wisdom, for letting me learn from your children. With expanding programs and many possibilities ahead for North Branch, it has been an exciting year to serve with such a unique and important organization.