National Public Radio published a story on its NPREd site on UVM’s Wellness Environment, or WE, a substance-free community unique in higher education with amenities that promote mindfulness, exercise and nutrition that also includes a neuroscience course all WE students are required to take called Healthy Brains Healthy Bodies. A WE story was also broadcast on WGBH, Boston’s flagship public radio station.
Source: UVM News
It’s the sweetest season here in the Green Mountain State, and sugar houses across Vermont are getting ready to welcome thousands of visitors to their businesses. More than 70 sugarhouses will open their doors to the public on March 25th and 26th for sap tapping, demonstrations, sugar bush tours, maple doughnut dining, sugar-on-snow and so much more!
Where should you stay? Here’s a list of hotels, inns and B&Bs with sweet deals for the maple curious.
Hotel Vermont, Burlington. Maple Madness Package!
Maple Madness Package: Enjoy the sweetness of spring with our Maple Madness Package! Embark on a spring tour around the state with Bonafide Tours’s ‘Maple, Wines and Covered Bridges’ Half Day Tour as seen in the Boston Globe. Indulge in a full breakfast in Juniper before you leave for the day. Bonafide Tours provides guided exploration on back roads to a contemporary winery and colorful Vermont sugarhouse where you will learn about tapping into the Sugar Maple of Vermont from generations of maple syrup markers. Along the way, capture images of snow covered pastoral landscapes, waterfalls, 19th-century barns, church steeples, and meeting houses. In addition to the tour, each room will receive a bottle of pure Vermont maple syrup to take home.
The tour runs Friday, Saturday & Sunday only, so the package is available for Thursday, Friday or Saturday night stays through April 3, 2016. Rates starting at $539 for two. Use code MAPLE – click here to book.
Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe: Sugar Maple Snowshoe Tour!
Stay at the Trapp Family Lodge, a unique, four-season resort specializing in European-style accommodations and cuisine, spectacular mountain vistas, upscale amenities, and outdoor activities. Explore the family sugarbush! Enjoy a casual one-mile hike/snowshoe into the von Trapp family sugarbush. Learn about sugar making, from collecting sap to the boiling process. This is the perfect way to see the behind-the-scenes of the maple syrup process. Book here!
Inn at the Round Barn Farm, Waitsfield: A Real Sweet Deal!
The combination of warm days and cold nights this time of year yields the sweet sap of our Vermont Maple Trees producing the finest maple syrup in the world. Come visit us during this “Rite of Spring”. Package Includes a self guided tour of a Vermont sugarhouse – watch them make the sweet elixir; a Vermont maple welcome gift upon arrival; overnight Vermont accommodations Friday and Saturday nights; beautifully prepared breakfast daily; and afternoon tea & cookies.
The weekend getaway starts at $170.00 per person plus state tax – book here!
Middlebury Inn, Middlebury: Maple Sugar Package!
This is a one night package for two people that will include Breakfast for Two, a bottle of Maple Syrup, some Maple Candy and admission to the New England Maple Museum as well as directions to local Sugar Houses where you can experience the Sugaring process first hand. Taxes are additional, gratuity for breakfast is included. Our Maple Sugar Package starts at $155 plus tax – book here!
Mountain Top Inn and Resort, Chittenden: Sweet Maple Mania!
In addition to the ‘sweets’ here on property, you will be just a short drive from the New England Maple Museum, Baird Farm, Sugar & Spice, Mendon Mountain Orchards (where you can pour your own syrup from a giant steel drum!) and many more maple farms & sugarhouses. Stop by our front desk for ideas on how to spend the perfect ‘maple day’.
Deal includes classic lodge accommodations for two, a full country breakfast each morning featuring pancakes with REAL Vermont maple syrup, a sweet smelling Vermont made maple soy candle for you to take home (1 per package), delectable Vermont Maple Truffles (made in Mendon, VT), and use of resort facilities (including sauna, hot tub, trails, ice rink – weather permitting). The Sweet Maple Mania package starts at $575 double occupancy for two nights (plus tax and resort fee) – book here!
Norwich Inn, Norwich: Maple Syrup Lovers Unite!
Stay with The Norwich Inn over Maple Open House Weekend and visit an array of different Sugar Houses. Learn the steps of making one of Vermont’s Favorite products! There is plenty to learn and see this weekend. Whether it’s the sight of steam rising from the sugarhouse, the inviting aroma of boiling sap, or the sweetly divine flavor of syrup as enjoyed in traditional sugar-on-snow, visitors are treated to an experience for the senses! The Norwich Inn will also feature maple-themed menu items throughout the weekend. Book here!
Red Clover Inn and Restaurant, Mendon: Spring is Sweet Vermont Maple Package!
Celebrate sweet spring with your sugar in Vermont with the Red Clover Inn & Restaurant Maple Package:
Enjoy maple cookies and a steaming mug of Vermont Coffee Company coffee, or tea, upon arrival; a $100 voucher toward a candlelit dinner for two on the night of your stay with choice of cuisine and desserts; accommodations for two in the Red Clover Inn (some rooms with Jacuzzi tubs and hearths, as available); self-arranged tour of Baird Farm Sugarhouse, North Chittenden, Vermont; locally-sourced breakfast for two including classic pancakes and Vermont maple syrup, keepsake syrup and two maple lollipops for the trip home
Valid Thursdays through Mondays, February 26 through April 30, 2017; $295 per couple/night; alcohol and gratuity not included. Add an extra night’s stay for $125/room. Based upon availability. Book here!
Woodstock Inn and Resort, Woodstock: Sugar Season Escape!
Our Sugar Season Escape Package makes getting away to the beauty of Woodstock, Vermont and the casual elegance of The Woodstock Inn & Resort even sweeter. Vermont is famous for having the best Maple Syrup in the world, and we are celebrating the sugaring season with this great offer.
The Sugar Season Escape Package includes accommodations in one of our luxurious guest rooms and a hearty country breakfast for two each morning
Midweek rates start at $169 per room, per night; weekend rates – start at $199 per room, per night. Available March 8 – May 18, 2017. Book here, or upgrade to a sweet ‘suite’ deal.
Dorset Inn, Dorset: Maple Madness!
Enjoy a 2-night stay in a luxurious standard guest room, 3-course dinner for two one evening, a map to area sugarhouses; a Vermont maple gift basket from Dorset Rising, and a full country breakfast each morning!
$525 per couple. 24 Hours notice required. Packages are for new reservations only, based on availability and must be requested at the time of booking. This package may not be combined with any other offers. Upgrade to a suite for $75 a night. Book here!
Four Columns Inn and Restaurant, Newfane: Maple Getaway!
Participate in guided walks through the woods; partake in maple breakfasts, brunches, lunches, and dinners; and warm up with coffee and maple treats at Four Columns Inn and Artisan Restaurant!
Source: Dig in VT Trails
March 25th and 26th is Maple Open House weekend all around Vermont. The Vermont Sugar Makers Association coordinates this event, and you can see the list of the open sugar houses here. Our events page is filling with special maple-themed events that will be taking place. Leading up to the weekend, we’re posting some informational articles about maple syrup in Vermont. . . first up, the changes in maple grading – in a post originally published by Dakin Farm.
On January 22nd, 2014 Vermont led the world in adopting a new set of international maple syrup grading standards that the International Maple Syrup Institute, together with the Vermont maple industry had worked on for over 10 years. Other states in the maple producing region of the United States, The USDA and Canada are expected to follow in the near future. While the maple syrup in Vermont will be made to the same exacting standards maintained by generations of Vermont sugar makers, the new maple grading system will assist consumers in choosing their preferred grade of maple syrup based on a color and flavor descriptor.
For many years, Vermont’s four grades of maple syrup had differed from other regions. The states of Maine, New York and Vermont had their own grade names, these differed from USDA standards and other states as well as Canadian grades. This created a great deal of confusion within the marketplace. Now, our new grades will be aligned with all other states and provinces, so that we all use the same grade names. To maintain our premiere position, all syrup made in Vermont will have the word “Vermont” incorporated in the grade name and all syrup made in Vermont is required to be made thicker than the international standard in order to have a better “mouth feel” and flavor. Our new grades expand the range of maple syrup available, yet rest assured it’s the same great, high-quality product you have come to expect from generations of Vermonters. We hope that you will explore all of the grades to find new uses for this all natural, nutritious sweetener and gift from nature, Pure Vermont Maple Syrup.
To find your flavor of choice, we’ve outlined how the old grades will compare to the new.
All of the new Vermont grades for consumer use are called Grade A Pure Vermont Maple Syrup. Once the syrup has been determined to meet Grade A standards, a color and flavor descriptor are applied to help consumers decide which grade they prefer for their particular use.
Source: Dig in VT Trails
The all-natural, subtle sweetness of maple is a welcome ingredient in most baked goods, just ask Instructor Robyn Sargent of the Baking Education Center at King Arthur Flour. The Baking Education Center offers an array of classes aimed at helping the home chef bake like the pros and their recent Maple Madness class taught budding bakers how to celebrate one of Vermont’s most prized resources! Robyn generously shares her dos and don’ts for substituting maple for other sweeteners, and one of the delicious recipes featured in the class–a Maple Walnut Tart with maple syrup in both the crust, and the filling!
How does Robyn use maple in her recipes?
“You can sub maple for any liquid sweetener, be it corn syrup, honey or molasses but it’s more challenging to replace regular sugar with maple and not throw off your liquid/dry ingredient ratio. However, for bread and cookie making, feel free to use up to two tablespoons of maple syrup and just increase your flour by a bit to accommodate the increased liquid. Be sure to use darker syrup to not lose the subtle flavor of the maple—now called Grade A, Dark/Robust Flavor.“
Here is King Arthur Flour’s Maple Walnut Tart recipe, and check out the Baking Education Center schedule for a great lineup of baking classes.
Source: Dig in VT Trails
This article was originally published by our friends at the Vermont Arts Council.
In the Green Mountain State, sweet signs of spring include maple forests awakening and a plethora of outdoor art awaiting visitors.
With more than 3,000 sugarmakers in residence, Vermont is the top maple syrup producer in the United States, generating over one million gallons annually. This year, pair visits to the state’s famed maple sugarhouses with outdoor arts exploration. From Maple Open House Weekend, March 25-26, to the Vermont Maple Festival, April 22-24, the opportunities for exploring Vermont Arts and savoring the season are as ample as maple is sweet.
The state’s arts stats are equally as impressive as its maple mastery. Vermont ranks third in the nation for artists as a percentage of the workforce, second for writers, and eighth for musicians and photographers.
Enjoy the outdoors this spring by feasting on both the artistic and the agricultural bounty of Vermont. You may even feel inspired to practice your own art skills by drawing, painting, or photographing Vermont’s maple and country scenes. Share using the hashtags #VTarts and #VTmaple; we’ll repost some of our favorites!
Highlights, north to south include:
St. Albans is well-known for hosting the Vermont Maple Festival, which takes place annually in April. Locals know that there’s an artistic ode to sugaring in town: a 6’ by 16’ mural titled “Sugaring Off” by Phillip Von Saltza can be found in the town’s Federal Building. Visitors can also enjoy “Haying,” another onsite mural by the same artist. Both were New Deal paintings commissioned in 1939.
Beginning in spring 2017, visitors to Saint Albans will be able to watch art in action by way of multiple murals springing up on downtown businesses and in public parks across the city. Visit www.stalbanscommunityarts.com for updates.
Nearby sugarhouses:
Branon Family Maple Orchards, in Fairfield and Bakersfield, are seventh generation maple producers. Nowadays, they’re utilizing 18 solar panels across the sugarbush, or as they say, “tapping the sun.” Nearby and open for Vermont Maple Open House Weekend are Bouchard Family Dairy in Franklin and Leahy’s Maple Farm in St. Albans.
Jeffersonville has two new public art gems, which also hold the title of the largest painted murals in the state. Front and center at a busy roundabout in town, you’ll see the North & South Silos, murals painted by Artist Sarah Rutherford. The North Silo represents the summer and autumn seasons, with an elder male farmer depicting the current or past generation. He looks towards the child on the South Silo, a representation of the future generation on a backdrop of winter and spring. Both feature state symbols such as the hermit thrush and red clover.
Also nearby and worth coming back to visit when it’s open in summer, Cold Hollow Sculpture Park in Enosburg Falls, features 50 massive and masterful sculptures by David Stromeyer amid old farm meadows and hay fields.
Nearby sugarhouses and maple shops:
At Snowshoe Pond Maple Sugarworks in Enosburg Falls, Barbara and George Salg have been producing maple products for generations. In Jeffersonville, at Marsh Family Sugarworks, Diane and Ryan Marsh manage over 10,000 taps. Both will be open to visitors during Vermont Maple Open House. Sweets shoppers will delight in a visit to the Vermont Maple Outlet on Route 15 in Jeffersonville.
At Boyden Valley Winery & Spirits in Cambridge, Maple Open House activities include free sugar on snow. See their sugarhouse in full swing and sample syrup inside. Maple butter yeast donuts will be available for purchase – but not for long! Inside the winery, enjoy maple cocktails, tours and tastings of maple wine and maple cream liqueur.
Public arts abounds in Vermont’s Queen City, hundreds of acres of sugaring are just a short drive away.
Along the waterfront, one new mural the city is proud to tout is the Andy A-Dog Williams Skatepark & mural celebrating his life, made by his long-time girlfriend and tattoo artist Jozie Furchgott Sourdiffe.
The Church Street Marketplace has multiple sculptures and murals to enjoy along its pedestrian-only street. A highlight is the “Everyone Loves a Parade!” mural by renowned Canadian muralist Pierre Hardy, widely known for his inventive and detailed large-scale pieces. Grand Master Samuel de Champlain leads the charge as the scene depicts an evolution in time along Church Street. Notable and everyday Burlingtonians, downtown businesses, and iconic images of the past 400 years can be distinguished in the elaborate illustration.
Nearby sugarhouses:
Those willing to drive just 15 minutes from Church Street can meet sugarmaker Fred Bell at Backyard Boilers in Colchester. Hours are limited to a small window of the year, but during open house, visitors can watch traditional methods of sugaring on a “gentleman’s farm” with chickens, geese, and ducks. Maple syrup, maple candies, and maple butter will be for sale.
At Shelburne Farms’ 15-acre sugarbush, sap is collected using modern plastic tubing and about 50 metal buckets, the latter of which are primarily educational. In 2016, they produced 600 gallons of pure maple syrup, which is sold at the Welcome Center and Farm Store. Proceeds are reinvested into farm-based education programs for students, families, and educators.
Visitors to the State capital can stop at the Vermont Arts Council on State Street. Open to the public, tourists and locals alike can explore the Council’s year-round outdoor sculpture garden. A public/private collaboration, the sculpture garden features rotating two-year exhibits of contemporary sculpture by Vermont artists. Designed in 2002 by Burlington landscape architects H. Keith Wagner and Associates, it offers a place to picnic or engage in quiet reflection in Montpelier’s downtown.
Onsite, you’ll also learn about the Vermont Arts Council’s mission to “advance and preserve the arts at the center of Vermont communities,” and its vision to build “a Vermont where everyone has access to the arts and creativity in their life, education and community.”
A quick walk around downtown Montpelier with reveal several new arts initiatives, like the murals and art installations along the walls of businesses, bridges, and sidewalks of Langdon Street.
A nearby sugarhouse you’ll want to visit is Morse Farm Sugarworks and Nordic ski area – a 200-year-old family sugaring operation led by the inimitable Burr Morse. Open and serving maple creemees year round, Morse Farm offers free sugar house tours and tastings, a country store, multimedia displays in a real woodshed theater, nature trails, and an outdoor farm life museum. Sprinkled throughout the grounds are whimsical wooden folklife characters carved by Burr himself.
Rutland’s extensive arts scene features public art and outdoor exhibits. In West Rutland, The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center has a contemporary sculpture garden situated at an historic marble quarry, where you’ll often see artists in residence and workshops in action. Just down the road, explore the West Rutland Art Park’s outdoor sculptures. In downtown Rutland, start your arts immersion at Castleton’s Downtown Gallery and continue to several public murals that delight unexpecting travelers.
Nearby sugarhouses and maple festivals:
At Green’s Sugarhouse, nestled in Finel Hollow in Poultney, the tradition of maple sugaring has been passed down through six generations. Though open year round for tastings and guided tours, Pam Green recommends calling ahead at 802-287-5745. The whole sugaring process – from their 5,000 trees to the jug on your table – can be seen during Open House Weekend.
At the Poultney Maplefest Craft Fair on March 25, Vermont artisans offer handmade crafts and locally-produced art, including painted sap buckets, yarn, knitted items, jewelry, greeting cards, sachets, photographs, art glass, wood and tin products.
Home to the largest sculpture garden in the state, the Southern Vermont Arts Center offers outdoor art plus an historic mansion and art gallery. SVAC’s stunning sculpture park and gardens provide a mix of culture and contemplation for art lovers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. With commanding views of the Green and Taconic Mountains in all directions, the park offers more than 120 acres of forest-land and trails, a perfect spot for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, picnicking and dog walking.
Nearby sugarhouses and maple shops:
Dutton Berry Farm has three well-known farm stands across Southern Vermont where you can purchase maple syrup and other specialty products. Visitors will love seeing the sugarhouse in operation at the Manchester location, where each year, they put out more than 3,000 taps. The farm is open seven days a week.
Wild Farm Maple is an old hill farm on the lower slopes of Mount Equinox, chopped out of the wilderness at the end of the 18th century. The Clay family arrived to restore the property in the 1960s and began producing maple in 1972. They welcome visitors during Vermont Maple Open House weekend.
If Vermont’s sweet season and arts have piqued your interest, visit Vermontmaple.org and VermontArtsCouncil.org.
Source: Dig in VT Trails
VFN Executive Chefs Doug Paine of Bleu Northeast Seafood and Juniper Bar & Restaurant, Phillip Clayton of The Farmhouse Group, and Eric Warnstedt of Hen of the Wood are teaming up to benefit a cause near and dear to our hearts, Jr Iron Chef.
The Jr Iron Chef competition gives middle and high schoolers from across the state the opportunity to try their hand at the culinary arts. Teams practice for months; sharpening their knife skills, mastering the mother sauces and working together to create a signature recipe that they bring to the competition. Check out the South Burlington team cooking up some homemade ramen on the news here.
The benefit dinner, coming up on March 12th at Bleu Northeast Seafood, will bring the three DigIn VT chefs together to create a paired feast with a raw bar to start and Sweet Simone’s providing dessert. The dinner celebrates the 10th birthday of Vermont Jr Iron Chef and all proceeds benefit the important event. Check out the menu and buy tickets here.
It made us wonder, how did VFN professional chefs get their start? So we asked the three collaborating chefs – what was your first or most important food memory? The taste that shaped your future?
Doug Paine, Bleu Northeast Seafood and Juniper Bar & Restaurant at Hotel Vermont
“My grandmother used to live in this really old farmhouse in Saxton’s River. A lot of my early food memories come from this house. I remember there being an old style pantry in the unheated part of the house. I could always find something good in there. One of my favorite things she used to make stuffed quahogs (they moved to Vermont from Fall River, MA when my mom was a kid). They were always delicious but the thing that still sticks with me is we used to throw the shells in the driveway so they would get all smashed up cover like gravel. My grandmother would joke about how in a hundred years from now people would find the shells and wonder how they got there so far from the coast.”
Phillip Clayton, Farmhouse Group
“One of my favorite food memories from my childhood is the tomato sandwiches that my mom would make with her homegrown tomatoes. My grandfather passed down a love of growing tomatoes to her, and eventually to me. She would toast white bread and spread Duke’s mayonnaise on both slices. Then she’d layer it with sliced tomatoes and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. I would eat dozens every summer because they were one of the most simple and perfect foods I’ve ever had.”
Eric Warnstedt, Hen of the Wood
“I remember my grandmother feeding me escargot. I wasn’t an adventurous eater but I always loved seafood. They came in a can attached to a plastic tube of shells. You could stuff them back in the shells with garlic, butter, parsley etc. They were glorious and I always order snails whenever I see them.”
Source: Dig in VT Trails
In spite of the temperature swing back to wintertime after a few weeks of spring, it’s still the moment to start thinking about gardening. Our calendar is filling with gardening classes and workshops, and the Vermont Flower Show is this weekend. Vermont farmers will be planting seeds indoors not just for their own crops, but to sell as starts in the first Farmers’ Markets of spring. Some of us got into the spirit of gardening for 2017 a few weeks ago in the homesteader track of the NOFA-VT conference. Charlie Nardozzi is an author, speaker, commentator and workshop leader who has been educating us about gardening for years – and to encourage garden dreaming we’re bringing you excerpts from his most recent newsletter. You can read the full newsletter and see where Charlie is speaking next at his website: http://gardeningwithcharlie.com/
Climatologists have been predicting wild swings in the weather with global warming, but the last week or so here has been downright amazing. From blizzard conditions to 70F and flooding, back to freezing temperatures. Not only am I confused, my plants probably are too. Luckily, it didn’t stay warm for long so the return to colder weather shouldn’t cause too much damage.
With all this exciting weather, it’s hard to stay focused on what needs to be done in the garden. In many locations vegetable seed starting indoors is happening now. Vegetables need to be started at the right time for the type of vegetable and your location. The first step is to figure out your last frost date. Then work backwards. Quick growing seeds such as lettuce, Swiss chard and arugula can be started 4 weeks before the last frost date and transplanted a week or so before that date into the ground. Other cool season crops, such as cabbage and broccoli, need 6 to 8 weeks of indoor growing. Warm season crops need more time as well. Tomatoes and basil need 4 to 6 weeks while peppers and eggplant 6 to 8 weeks. Watch my video from when I was with the National Gardening Association for tips on vegetable seed starting. . . .
One crop you’ll be starting indoors soon is peppers. There is a trend in pepper breeding towards smaller sized fruits and plants. The latest group that I’ve noticed getting petite are sweet peppers. These baby bells and baby frying peppers are only 3 to 4 inches long. But plant breeders wouldn’t be going to all this work if the public wasn’t wanting it. The advantage of the smaller peppers is you get more fruits, ripening to their mature color sooner. Plus, breeders haven’t forgotten about flavor, so these smaller varieties are just as sweet as the full size ones. These smaller varieties have smaller plants as well so are perfect for containers and small raised beds.
If you want to foray into the land of baby peppers, try the ‘Baby Belle’ Mix. This variety features 3-inch long bell peppers in red and yellow. The seed in the packet is color coded so you can plant as many red or yellow plants as you like. These sweet babies are great raw right off the plant, grilled or sauteed. ‘Pizza My Heart’ is a Christmas tree shaped 2-foot tall plant with red cone-shaped fruits. It’s perfect for container growing. Of course, the small fruit revolution is not restricted to bell peppers. ‘Yummy Bells’ is an Italian frying pepper that turns orange at maturity but only grows 4 inches long. The ‘Orange’, ‘Red’ or ‘Yellow’ Picnic peppers are also short and sweet. You can buy these varieties in a mix in one packet as the Picnic Pepper Collection. Learn more about growing peppers here. . .
A favorite, low maintenance perennial and annual flower that’s an early bloomer in our garden is Centurea. This spring blooming flower goes by many names such as cornflower, mountain bluette, and bachelors buttons. Whatever you call it, it’s a familiar friend in the garden. This 2 to 3 foot tall perennial produces spider-like flowers that repeat bloom. The traditional color for cornflowers is blue, but there are now many color variations. ‘Amethyst in Snow’ is one of my favorites. It has white, tube-shaped flower petals radiating out from a deep purple center. The plant is more compact than other perennial cornflowers. ‘Amethyst Dreams’ has solid purple colored flowers. You can also buy wildflower cornflowers that are annuals, but will self sow. These mixes have blue, white and red colored cornflowers blended together.
Plant your perennial cornflowers in spring in full sun pairing them with other spring bloomers such as nepeta, geranium and iris. I like to plant them in groups so they support each other and don’t flop over after a storm. The flowers are a bee and butterfly magnets so they make nice pollinator garden flowers as well. After flowering is finished, cut back the plant by 2/3rds and it will regrow and flower again in late summer. Like the annual types of cornflowers, the perennials also self sow readily, so be ready to be thinning and moving seedlings each spring. For more details on growing cornflowers, go here.
Want flowers sooner? Check out this information on forcing flowering branches. Or, even sooner, there is the Vermont Flower Show, March 3rd – 5th – a great way to get a dose of the sights and smells of spring.
Some other ideas on what you can do right now for a gardening fix from the Vermont Garden Journal: 6 Tips for Starting a Windowsill Herb Garden; Giving Your Produce Scraps a Second Life; Design Tips from an English Cottage Garden; Planning Your Shade Garden
Ready to get gardening? Read more from Charlie at http://gardeningwithcharlie.com/
Source: Dig in VT Trails
How often have you looked at a ubiquitous Red-tailed Hawk on a roadside pole, a nearby tree, or soaring overhead, and wondered aloud about how it just looks different … or wondered if it even was a Red-tail? We all know that Vermont’s most familiar hawk comes in different sizes, shades, and plumage patterns. But is it just different individuals, ages, and sexes, or could it be birds from different, recognizable subspecies?
Recently it has become more and more clear, especially during the non-breeding months, that in New England and adjacent New York more than one subspecies shares our open lands and fringing forests.
Subspecies are named populations of a species which have distinctive ranges, behaviors, and identifying visible and/or vocal traits. They may or may not be easy for most of us to tell apart. Red-tailed Hawks currently have nine recognized subspecies in eBird, all limited globally to North and Central America. Only three are known from New England and adjacent New York:
If you are a birder in Vermont, be on the watch for, and help us learn more about these subspecies (especially abieticola) in the state, as we know very little at this point in time! On a cold and blustery day, maybe you want to go back through old Red-tailed pictures and tackle subspecies ID or just marvel at the variation (it is now super easy to upload photos to a Vermont eBird checklist!).
Subspecies are not species. It commonly takes a different mindset to see and document subspecies than species. Often variability abounds, clinal features will frustrate, and un-identifiable birds can be the norm. Reliable diagnostic characteristics may be little known, work only with statistical analyses, or be hard to see. Caution and careful observations are the watch-words. Do not expect to be able to identify all, many, or even just occasional birds to subspecies.
Individuals of different subspecies can freely interbreed. As with the species as a whole, there is variation in the appearance of individuals within a subspecies population. Subspecies distinctions may not exist, or be apparent, among juvenile or immature individuals. In general, the difference in look between subspecies of a species will be less obvious than the difference between the species as a whole and other, similar species. Depending upon the subspecies, a few diagnostic features might define it, or it might require numerous supporting features to clearly delineate an individual of a subspecies.
An adult ‘Eastern’ Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis borealis) from Springfield, VT in February 2017. Some B. j. borealis have much less obvious bellybands, but this individual can be separated from B. j. abieticola by the combination of pale supercilium, unstreaked white breast, and lack of rufous tones.
Identification of Red-tailed subspecies is hard. Many will not be identifiable, even by experts. Most of the variation among individuals is not related to subspecies status. Birds with subspecies characteristics at the extremes of the spectrum, however, may be relatively straightforward to identify (with the help of some background reading). For those who really want to tackle this, there are a handful of additional resources below.
As is the case with many challenging identifications, it’s often a good idea to determine the age of the bird when making an ID. This is definitely true for subspecies identification of Red-tails. Also, as is the case with many buteos, there are light and dark phase morphs within a species … sometimes helping to define a subspecies, but at other times just part of the variation within a subspecies.
The following discussion compares the principal subspecific distinctions between the common subspecies B. j. borealis and the likely occurring B. j. abieticola.
Immature birds: Immature Red-tails lack the red in the tail, but still have other identifying features including a bellyband. There is considerable variation in this plumage and identification of subspecies is difficult at best, or impossible, given the apparent overlap between juvenile and immature B. j. borealis and B. j. abieticola. It is always worthwhile to include photographs on eBird checklists, as maybe someday there will be more information that allows identification to the subspecies level. Also, it is a good idea to double check immature birds closely as young Red-shouldered Hawks can be surprisingly similar and have been reported occasionally in Vermont during the winter.
Light-morph adults: If the bird has a red tail and at least some white underneath, it’s a light-morph adult. These are the individuals most likely to be identifiable to a subspecies, including B. j. abieticola.
In general, B. j. abieticola are darker with heavier marks and warmer colors. The bellyband of B. j. abieticola has been described as dark blotches with a background of herringbone shaped marks. The bellyband of B. j. borealis ranges from a few, faint marks to a complete band (similar the photo below) that can approach B. j. abieticola.
Many B. j. abieticola also have completely dark heads with a golden sheen whereas B. j. borealis often show a paler head with a pronounced supercilium. It can also be helpful to note the pattern of the throat and breast, as B. j. abieticola tends to have a dark or heavily marked throat and at least some streaking on the upper breast.
From behind, B. j. borealis tend to have more white splotches on the back and shoulders, whereas B. j. abieticola can be a relatively solid dark brown. Confident identifications probably are only possible when most or all of these characteristics agree. Also note that ‘Western’ Red-tailed Hawks (B. j. calurus/alascensis) have a light-morph form that can be similar to B. j. abieticola, but is probably exceedingly rare in Vermont.
Dark morphs: These all black/brown birds are very rare in the East, but have been reported from Vermont once or twice. The first step is to well see and document the tail color and patterning in order to confirm the bird is a Red-tailed Hawk and not a dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk. Be aware that dark-morph Rough-legged Hawks are regularly found in the winter in parts of the state.
Dark-morph Red-tailed Hawks apparently are not known to occur in either B. j. borealis or B. j. abieticola. Thus dark morph birds likely represent a western subspecies (probably B. j. calurus/alascensis) that has not yet been confirmed from Vermont. Any sighting should be fully documented, ideally photographed, and a report submitted to the Vermont Bird Records Committee.
Albino or Leucistic birds: These all-white or abnormally patterned Red-tailed Hawks are surprisingly common and have been photographed in several parts of the state in recent years. Subspecies identification is probably impossible for most of them, thus they should be submitted under the generic Red-tailed Hawk option.
At this writing, any birds considered to be a subspecies, other than B. j. borealis, should be submitted to the Vermont Bird Records Committee via a Rare Species Documentation form (RSD).
Red-tailed Hawks not considered for subspecies identity should only be submitted as Red-tailed Hawk, and not as Red-tailed Hawk (borealis).
When reporting Red-tailed Hawks to Vermont eBird, you may have already noticed that if you click the ‘show rarities’ box, you will see multiple options as illustrated here in the eBird mobile app. It will look different if you are submitting via a computer. The listing of subspecies definitely does not mean that you must choose one of the subspecies options.
If you think you know which subspecies you saw, then choose the appropriate one and fill in all the details you can just as you would for a rare species. If possible, attach photos to any and all Red-tailed Hawks you find.
It is possible (even likely) that a single checklist will have multiple subspecies and/or Red-tails that can’t be assigned to subspecies—check out this eBird checklist with all three options.
Vermont eBird has decided to keep all subspecies listed as rare until we have a better understanding of seasonality and abundance of both expected subspecies. Although B. j. borealis is quite common, the submission of an observation of the subspecies implies there is evidence that eliminates all other possible subspecies.
As always, enjoy the diversity of bird life in Vermont — including these subtleties of our familiar Red-tailed Hawk!
Spencer Hardy and Ian Worley, Vermont eBird Regional Editors
Source: eBird VT Birdwatching
Celebrations. $35 Lift Tickets. Hall of Fame.
For tickets and more information see https://snowsporthistory.com/class-of-2016/
2016 Inductees:
Source: Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum
This Friday kicks off Cider Week in Vermont – and there is a lot happening in cider here. There are the events around Cider Week, of course, and you can find them on our site or at the Vermont Cider Week homepage. But local hard cider is (delightfully) available year round and we have cider makers and apple growers working hard to keep it that way. Check out these stories on cool stuff in Vermont Cider and get excited for the tastings and other events that kick off February 24th.
Source: Dig in VT Trails
