Vermont State Parks

Looking to enjoy the VT State Parks in the Winter? With all of the birding activity at DAR we have plowed parking spaces and of course in the winter time there is no entrance fee. So head on out and go birding. Here is the latest information from VTBIRD on what's going on in the bird world in Southwestern Vermont!  With all the birders focusing on the Common Pochard near the southern end of open water in Lake Champlain over the last 10 days, Ron Payne and I thought it time to do another careful count of the most abundant waterfowl and gull species.  We viewed the region from four locations from the Champlain Bridge to DAR State Park. Lighting was good and waters with only minor ripples.  From our viewing locations we were able to count these same species in New York ice-margin waters as well.  Nearly all the counts were made utilizing clicker counters, and counted the birds by individuals. As anticipated, Common Goldeneyes have increased mightily in...

We have been eagerly following the news of these two ducks along with you.  Here at Vermont State Parks understand that DAR is probably now the best viewing location and that there's not enough room to park at the gate. We have asked one of our maintenance staff to go up to DAR early to open the gates and plow out some spaces for birders to park.  If you haven't heard the news Ron Payne went to the Lake Champlain Bridge, which crosses Lake Champlain between Chimney Point, VT and Crown Point, NY, for some New Year's Day birding. While there, he found a Glaucous Gull, White-winged Scoter, two Barrow's Goldeneyes, and a male Tufted Duck. After viewing Payne's photos, Jeremiah Trimble identified it instead as a Common Pochard, which like Tufted Duck, is a Code 3 species, though it is actually much more difficult to find in the ABA Area. Most sightings are from Alaska. There's only one previous record from the East, a bird in Quebec in the spring of 2008,...

Paddling through the Past is a multi-disciplinary archaeological project designed to investigate the role of waterways in the French colonial period. Their mission is to document the landscape archaeology of the Champlain valley and raise awareness of the need for heritage stewardship of the Lake Champlain/Richelieu Corridor. Here are a few excerpts from Andrew Beaupre's journey paddling Lake Champlain and for more information check out his blog!  http://paddlingthroughthepast.blogspot.com/   Day one:  Aug 7  Finally, the trip has begun.  Given the expected weather, we decided to truncate the first day travel and begin at the   Chimney Point State Historic Site and make the short one mile  paddle to DAR State Park .  I had never been to the park before and was very pleasantly surprised. They put us up in the paddlers campsite a mere 1000 feet from the lake shore.   The trail to the site takes one past ...

Ever wonder about landscape archaeology and how landscape played a role in people’s lives in the past along Lake Champlain? Follow doctorate student Andrew Beaupre through his journey where he and his crew will be paddling through the past. Paddling through the Past is a multi-disciplinary archaeological project designed to investigate the role of waterways in the French colonial period. Their mission is to document the landscape archaeology of the Champlain valley and raise awareness of the need for heritage stewardship of the Lake Champlain/Richelieu River Corridor. The culmination of the project will be a 10 day canoe expedition from the shadow of Fort Ticonderoga in New York, north to the forts of the Richelieu River in Southern Quebec.  This will be the first expedition of its kind in the Champlain Valley, and is being undertaken as a portion of a larger multi-disciplinary archaeological project to better understand the history and heritage of the northern borderl...

The loon rescue using the new airboat Loon enthusiast and VT State Parks Program Host, Eric Hanson, took part in an exciting loon rescue just before the new year. Eric posted the following story on his blog for Vermont Center for Ecostudies : A wounded loon could not take flight from his home in Lake Eligo, (Greensboro, VT) when it began to freeze over. This little bird endured a week of less and less open water while fending off bald eagle attacks until his hole finally froze over completely. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Dept. Game Warden, Russ Shopland, came to the rescue using a newly acquired airboat to scoop up the injured loon. (the rescue team took this opportunity to do a practice run of a thin ice rescue) The loon during recovery in Eric's bathtub After the rescue, Eric nursed the loon in his bathtub, feeding him minnows while his wing was healing and sent us the following update: The loon had an old break in his wing as an x-ray from Lamoille Valley Vets sho...

Wading off of Burton Island This week I explored the state parks on Lake Champlain which was great for cooling down in the hot summer heat. There was a big difference between these parks and the woodland parks I've been visiting over the past few weeks. Kingsland Bay has a great day use area with historic buildings that house events throughout the season. It is popular for weddings although I didn't see anyone getting hitched while I was there. I next went to nearby DAR State Park where I walked down to the water, a perfect spot for fishing. While there, I bumped into an interesting fisherman. This guy was great at fishing. He kept reeling fish in, naming them, and then throwing them back. I bet he knows every fish in the lake. Onto the most unusual state park I went to: Burton Island . After a short ferry ride, I stepped off onto a beautiful island. Everywhere you look is a beach where every rock on the beach is a perfect skipping rock. I can’t seem to skip a singl...

Each year four parks, representing each geographical region in Vermont, are presented with the Park of the Year Award. The purpose of the program is to acknowledge exemplary accomplishments of the parks field staff, as well as for the enhancement of public service – to make the parks a better, more enjoyable place to recreate. Competition is fierce and award recipients receive the right to display the coveted "Park of the Year" banner the following season. This year's winners are Thetford , D.A.R. , Niquette Bay , and Little River .