September 20, 2008

A rare Variegated Fritillary was discovered in the Community Garden today, found by a participant of our Monarch tagging workshop. This butterfly is known to stray north from their usual southern breeding grounds south of New England. This is actually the second time Variegated Fritillary has been observed at the Nature Center, but the last time was nearly ten years ago!

September 5, 2008

Mosquitos were out in force for our first bird walk of the fall, but so were the warblers!

Barred Owl (calling)
Empidonax sp.
Blue-headed Vireo (2)
Red-eyed Vireo
House Wren
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler (2)
Blackburnian Warbler (1)
Pine Warbler (singing)
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart (2)
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler (1)
Scarlet Tanager (female)
American Goldfinch (feeding young)

A possible Merlin also zipped passed the group, but was not seen well or again .

August 14 , 2008

August 14 , 2008

The summer camp season is winding down, and it is time for a long hiatus from Nature News updates to come to a close. The first news item to break the silence will be that of the Montpelier BioBlitz, which took place from 3pm July 11th to 3pm July 12th. Nearly 200 scientists from as far as Kansas converged on Montpelier, and identified approximately 1,500 species. A full list of results can be found at the BioBlitz website: www.NorthBranchNatureCenter.org/bioblitz.

June 24 , 2008

The Giant Ichneumon sighted yesterday remained near the same tree trunk most of the day. Another pleasant surprise was a visit from a Merlin, which perched on the large Maple outside the office windows.

The entire summer camp group was able to witness the Merlin as it hopped about in the leaves, and eventually took off across the street. Other highlights from the camp's morning bird walks were Ravens being mobbed by crows, and good looks at an Ovenbird.

June 23 , 2008

Today, a parasitic wasp called a Giant Ichneumon visited a tree trunk which had been marred by a Pileated Woodpecker. The tree needed to be cut due to proximity to the road, and has been standing as decoration at the Nature Center's front door. The wasp remained on the trunk throughout the day, with its ovipositor embedded within the bark, giving our summer campers ample opportunities to observe this unique and beautiful insect.

June 6 , 2008

A bird walk led by Chip along the Winooski in Waterbury yielded a big surprise. Alarm calls from nearby Red-winged Blackbirds alerted the group to a Peregrine Falcon, which swooped down to capture and carry off a grackle or starling. Other bird sightings included American Redstart, Warbling Vireo, Savannah Sparrow, Spotted Sandpiper, Baltimore Oriole and an Eastern Kingbird revealing its hidden reddish crest.

June 5 , 2008

During a school group visit today, the discussion was about Salamanders. On our hike in search of the slippery amphibians, we found an impressive five species of salamander (half of the ten species found in Vermont)! Our list is as follows:

* Eastern Red-backed Salamander
* Northern Dusky Salamander
* Northern Two-lined Salamander
* Spring Salamander
* Eastern Newt (Red Eft) [pictured to the right]

Although our attention was focused on the ground while we searched, we heard many birds during our hike, including American Crow, Winter Wren , Blackburnian Warbler, Ovenbird, and Scarlet Tanager.