Look For It Now: White Baneberry
Ever been rambling through the woods alone and get a spooky feeling you’re not alone? That somebody is watching you? Ever turn around and see hundreds of dolls’ eyes staring back at you? Sounds totally creepy, right? Well, don’t think it can’t happen to you! White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) is now in its full berry…
Look For It Now: Dogday Harvestfly
As high summer reaches its peak of heat and humidity, we are annually serenaded by the high-pitched whining song of the cicadas as they emerge from their nymphal exoskeletons and prepare for life as adults. Here at VINS we have been listening to the song for weeks, and the other day were surprised to find…
Look For It Now: Epipactis Hellborine
I’ve never been a fan of orchids. They’re too pretty, too perfect and just too exotic. Give me some hardy goldenrod and some frost-resistant aster any day over a dainty, fine-petaled orchid. But I’m starting to warm up to the Orchidaceae family since recently discovering epipactis hellborine — an orchid now blooming in abundance in…
Look For It Now: Spiked Lobelia
In July, it’s easy to overlook many of Vermont’s smaller wildflowers as the showstoppers — wild bergamot, Queen Anne’s lace, Black-eyed Susans and purple loosestrife — gain height and vie for bees’ attention with their bright colors and big flower heads. But a closer look at the forest floor and in-between meadow stalks reveals some…
Look For It Now: Dutchman’s Breeches
Until a few days ago, Dutchman’s breeches were, for me, a wildflower of mythical proportions. Surely a flower that resembles miniature pantaloons hanging upside-down from a clothesline could not grow plainly out in the woods of good old Vermont. But on a recent walk along a dirt road, scads of Dutchman’s breeches could be found,…
Look For It Now: Spring Flora
A few days ago, on an evening hike in the woods behind my Vermont home, the first signs of floral life poked through the damp carpet of last falls’ leaves. My hike was accompanied by the songs and calls of a wood thrush, a pileated woodpecker, a white-throated sparrow, robins and countless chickadees. I also…
Look For It Now: Common Redpoll
If you’ve got feeders up this time of year, it’s not unusual to see flashes of pink and red in the feathers of your regular visitors. Purple finches and northern cardinals give the white winter landscape of Vermont some much-needed color. But don’t assume that these birds are the only ones with color stopping for…
Look For It Now: Tracks in the Snow
By Katie ChristmanVINS Education InternOne of my favorite winter activities is looking for animal signs. I relish putting on my snowshoes, breathing in that cold winter air and searching for the clues of the person or animal who was out in the snow before me. The best part about looking for animal signs is that…
Look For It Now: Pine Siskin
By Sara EisenhauerVINS Wildlife Keeper It’s a brisk 24 degrees outside this morning as I step out to top off my bird feeders. The usual customers are waiting: black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, and American goldfinches. As I fill a tube-feeder, I hear a high-pitched zip — almost like a coat zipper that is being pulled…
Look For It Now: Wing Tracks
When birds land and take off in the snow they can leave behind more than just footprints. Whether you have three feet of snow or just a dusting, as we do in Quechee at the moment, you can find these lovely signs in the snow. Look for the delicate little lines where their wings flapped…
