The February candidates for Observation of the Month have been selected by Larry Clarfeld. Thanks to the abundance of amazing sightings by Vermont naturalists, there was no trouble at all finding enough candidates—the challenge was figuring out how to choose only four. Just like last month, if you are reading this, you are one of the judges. Look at the observations listed below and vote by adding a comment to this message with your selection. The observation with the most votes wins.

Vote for March! Voting closes in one week.

1. http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219650
2. http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/210780
3. http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/208582
4. http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/225538

Would you like to select the finalists for the upcoming April vote? The first to claim the prestige will have the honors!

Despite March being known for mud and snow patches, it turned out to be the month full of beautiful and subtle colors in the Vermont Atlas of Life contest. JoAnne Russo’s photo of a dark phase Rough-legged Hawk in flight on a snowy day edged out the other remarkable contenders. See her photo at http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/210780 .

Congratulations to JoAnne. There are still thousands undocumented Vermont species and locations to be reported. Maybe April is your month to win.

A big thanks to Larry Clarfeld, our February winner, for serving as the contest judge for March. Who wants to be our honorable volunteer judge to select four fantastic photo-observations for the April contest? Get your April shots uploaded to the atlas and you could be a winner!

How many bird species can you find in 24 hours? How much money can you raise for conservation and science? The 5th annual VCE birdathon is a chance for you to find out. This fundraiser helps us keep projects like the Vermont Atlas of Life going strong.

It has never been so easy with our new birdathon fundraising website. Form a team or go for it on your own. Then,visit our event page and quickly and easily create a site for your team. Ask your friends, family, neighbors and favorite businesses to pledge a cash amount for each bird species you find by sending them to your team page to pledge. Pick a day in May and then grab those binoculars and get outdoors. The funds you raise while watching birds will help the Vermont Center for Ecostudies keep projects like Vermont eBird going strong. Would you rather pledge to our team page? We'd love the support. Just visit the VCE team page and pledge today!