Early birds get the nests
As the frost line retreats northward in the early spring, its withdrawal is often closely followed – and occasionally preceded – by the arrival of our most common flycatcher: the eastern phoebe.
The many lives of the eastern newt
You’re probably familiar with the basic amphibian life plan: start as a wriggly water-breathing tadpole, transform into an adult that breathes air. Enter the eastern newt, an amphibian with threedifferent forms, whose ability to transform its body and lifestyle makes its peers look like amateurs.
Red, silver: A tale of two maples
In early spring, a reddish haze appears in the woodlands. With most deciduous trees still dormant, the red maples are living up to their name.
Surprising sugarmakers in the late winter woods
As steam rises from sugarhouse cupolas and early morning coffee pots, sugarmakers are working overtime to turn maple sap into golden syrup. But as it turns out, they aren’t alone: other living things are sugaring too, and their stories affect the syrup that is poured on your pancakes (or into your morning coffee).
Survival in the cold: Lessons of the polar vortex
The new year ushered in an arctic blast that has only recently let up. This extreme plunge in temperature is referred to as a polar vortex.
Blood Moon goes dark on March 14
The total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, grabbed headlines and dazzled millions, and now 2025 has a total eclipse of its own, albeit of the lunar variety taking place while most humans in this time zone are usually sleeping.
Ravens foraging in winter
It’s a familiar sight in winter: An inky-black raven soaring over a landscape white with snow. Though similar in appearance to the American crow, the common raven (Corvus corax) is distinguished by its large size, fluffy neck feathers, and long, thick beak.
Squirrel dreys are much more than nests
Dreys are shaggy masses of leaves nestled against a tree trunk or cupped in a fork of branches 20 to 40 feet above the ground. Squirrels not only rear their kits in them, but also use them as shelter during many months of the year.
Northeastern hawks soar through winter
Driving on Vermont’s Interstate highways in winter, I often notice large hawks perched in trees on woodland edges at regular intervals along the road. With the stark landscape providing better visibility and many bird species gone for the winter, this is a great time of year to hawk-watch.
Frost quakes: Groans of Old Man Winter
Frost quakes events occur when a rapid drop in air temperatures dramatically decreases the temperature of waterlogged soil, typically after rain or a thaw.
Bohemian waxwings are winter’s intrepid wanderers
While many of our summer songbirds fly south for the winter, for Bohemian waxwings, the Northeast IS south. This species breeds in the open evergreen and mixed forests of areas far to our north: central Alaska, western Canada, Scandinavia, and northern Russia.
Bark helps trees weather winter
One way trees endure winter is through adaptations in their bark. With the deciduous leaves long gone, the winter forest has been laid bare, giving us the perfect conditions to attune ourselves to the strategies of tree bark.
White-footed mice seek a cozy, warm home
During winter, I often hear gnawing and the scurrying of little feet inside the walls of our house. Mice have taken shelter in our old farmhouse again.
Horned larks enliven sleeping fields
Halloween is long past, but you may notice devilish figures hanging out in scrubby fields and open areas this winter: horned larks.
The winter lives of salamanders
Salamanders are most conspicuous in early spring, when a number of terrestrial species migrate en masse on rainy nights, moving through the forest and, all too often, crossing roads to access breeding pools. Yet terrestrial salamanders have other, less spectacular seasonal movements, including summer and fall migrations, and those that are vertical, up and down in the earth.
Keeping winter coats clean
American beavers (Castor canadensis) and North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) both remain active through winter and have evolved many physiological and behavioral adaptions to live through freezing weather.
Fallen logs invigorate stream life
Why document logs in streams? Because the presence of wood in the water is a key indicator of stream health.
Even skunks prepare for winter
Skunks become conspicuous in autumn, including in yards and – sadly – roads. This is in large part due to dispersal, as young skunks that left their mothers at the end of summer are foraging in new home ranges.
A boxelder for Terry
Boxelder (Acer negundo) – also known as ash-leaf maple, elf maple, Manitoba maple, and other, less printable names – is the misfit cousin of the Acer family.
Petrichor: The scent of rocks and rain
When I hug my son after a day of fall bouldering, his hair smells of the sun-warmed rock we’ve been climbing over. It’s a distinctive odor, evocative of gray ledges and golden light returning after rain, and yet it’s not the rock I’m smelling, but tell-tale traces of life.