Site Discussions

Hello!

I am writing an annotated bibliography for an ecology course I’m taking at Sterling College.  I’m doing Diapensia lapponica.  There isn’t a ton of information on this plant it seems, and I would love to talk with someone knowledgeable about it.  Let me know if you can connect me with someone. 

Thanks!
Hannah

Thanks folks!

I sugared for the first time last year…and did indeed have a few moths in my buckets….great idea…thanks Malcolm.

Jen, I stand corrected. They are challenging for me to tell apart, but the distribution maps don’t lie.  Also, the Bruce Spanworm moths fly a little farther. I have a photo on my phone…if interested please send me your email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)); I can eliminate the Fall Cankerwork based on the photos.

Sincerely
Declan

Absolutely riveting essay. Thank you!

If you found this in northern VT it is likely not the invasive winter moth but one of the natives; Fall Cankerworm or Bruce Spanworm.

https://nhbugs.org/winter-moth

Is there anyone banding young kestrels in Vermont now?  Or monitoring any kestrel nest boxes?  I’m trying to pull together an article about kestrels in the Northeast states and Vermont is the one state I have no information about.

I have also seen these skid marks and wondered what had made them. I concluded it was probably a fisher since I had seen one in the area and the marks were a very long distance from water which basically eliminated otters.

I have two fireplaces and I have raccoons inside my smoke chamber and they have babies how do I get rid of them without killing them

So it’s too early to hope to get any starts to plant in Vermont?

I have a possum that comes to my feeder at night.  I was wondering if you think it would use a shelter setup like for a feral cat - the insulated rubbermaid container with hay.  What do you think?  It has been so cold here so early in the year - I am worried about it!

I saw one last night on our kitchen window where the light had been on for a couple hours. Temperature as 31F. Amazing!!

I love this story of the flunker moth.

Very helpful information to help me identify the tracks in the riverbank of the Nanticoke River. 
If you have comparisons of muskrat and beaver, that would help a lot too!

Please consider doing an article on the Maple Moth. They always show up in the sap buckets!

Uncertain if backlean would work for me. High winds past several years have shifted lots of trees on the front face of windbreak. Most roots have been pulled out. Tree, roots and all…...no disease.

These trees are leaning on other small trees. About 15% angle.

Neighbor said just cut pulled-out roots. I don’t think that will work.

Would love to see illustration how to cut.

Much deep thanks!

The Long Island Pine Barrens are being devastated by this beetle. Its awful. So sad.

Hi Dick - lucky you to have that wildlife sighting! What you saw was almost certainly a long- or short-tailed weasel, but their sizes overlap based on gender, their markings are pretty much identical, and the difference in tail length isn’t as obvious as the name implies! Both species are brown and summer, and most (not all) individuals grow white winter coats.

I just caught a quick glimpse of a weasel carrying quickly a Meadow Vole into a hole under a large planting container. The past two years we have had a good population of Meadow Voles, seen mostly in the late fall and winter. This year, however, the population of Meadow Voles and a family of Chipmunks have disappeared. Since the weasel was small, estimated to be about 8-10 inches,  long and brown which weasel could I have witnessed?

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Can it be proven that trees feel/think? Is there cognition?

I have about 10 turkeys spending time in a hemlock grove in my back yard. I am going to feed them and see if they will stay this winter. I think the challenge for this plan will be today, it’s snowing and I have not seen them yet. I just love their personalities!

I saw a nuthatch fly onto my bird feeder, where it hung upside-down, motionless, for almost two minutes. I thought it had choked, but it flew off when I went outside to check on it. It returned soon after, collecting peanuts as usual. Was it reacting to a nearby predator?