Kent McFarland – Conservation Biologist

A co-founder of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Kent McFarland is a conservation biologist, photographer, writer and naturalist with over 25 years of experience across the Americas. Kent’s writing and images have appeared widely in magazines, newspapers, and mobile field guides. He’s co-host of Outdoor Radio, a monthly natural history series on Vermont Public Radio. He has coauthored many scientific journal articles and a field guide to the birds of Hispaniola. In 2016, Kent was presented with the Sally Laughlin Award for the Conservation of Endangered and Threatened Species by the State of Vermont Endangered Species Committee. He was made an Elective Member of the American Ornithologists’ Union in 2007. Kent received the Partners in Flight Investigation Award in 1999 for his contribution of outstanding research on Bicknell’s Thrush. Kent completed his M.S. degree in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England in Keene, NH, where he studied the effects of roads on the bird community in a Belize rainforest with Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. He completed his undergraduate degree in environmental studies at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. He was a Peace Corps volunteer working with rural farmers in Caazapa, Paraguay from 1989-1992. It was the bright birds of Paraguay that attracted Kent to conservation biology. After a few months in the country he bought a cheap pair of binoculars and a bird guide and became a fanatic. Kent has lived in Vermont since 1994 and has been a member of Woodstock Fire/EMS since 2001.

OPEN DATA

Additional data sets are available on our Global Biodiversity Information Facility IPT server

• Hallworth MT, Marra PP, McFarland KP, Zahendra S, Studds CE. 2018. Data from: Tracking dragons: stable isotopes reveal the annual cycle of a long-distance migratory insect. Dryad Digital Repository. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.17hf071
• Brlík, Vojtěch, et al. (incl. McFarland, K.P., Rimmer, C.C.) 2019. Weak effects of geolocators on small birds: a meta-analysis controlled for phylogeny and publication bias. J Anim Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12962
• McFarland, K.P., J.D. Lloyd, C.C Rimmer. 2018. Bicknell’s Thrush Point Count Surveys in Cordillera Septentrional, Dominican Republic, 2010. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity. doi:10.5063/F11834NT.
• Dornelas M, Antão LH, Moyes F, et al. 2018. BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene. Global Ecol Biogeogr. 27: 760–786. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12729
• McFarland K.P., Lloyd J.D., Hardy S.P. 2017. Density and Habitat Relationships of the Endemic White Mountain Fritillary (Boloria chariclea montinus) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Insects. 8(2): 57. doi:10.3390/insects8020057 Data: http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/8/2/57/s1
• DeLuca W.V., Woodworth B.K., Rimmer C.C., Marra P.P., Taylor P.D., McFarland K.P., Mackenzie S.A., Norris D.R. 2016. Data from: Transoceanic migration by a 12 g songbird. Movebank Data Repository. doi:10.5441/001/1.jb182ng4
• McFarland, Kent; C. Rimmer, Christopher; E. Goetz, James; Aubry, Yves; Wunderle, Joseph M.; Sutton, Anne; M. Townsend, Jason; Llanes Sosa, Alejandro; Kirkconnell, Arturo. 2016. A Winter Distribution Model for Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli), a Conservation Tool for a Threatened Migratory Songbird: Potential Habitat in a GIS Shapefile. figshare. https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.4126782.v1
• Larrivee M., K.L. Prudic, K.P. McFarland, S. Zhang, and J. Kerr 2016. eButterfly: a citizen-based butterfly distribution and abundance database [web application]. http://www.e-butterfly.org.
• Lloyd J , McFarland K , Rimmer C , and Vermont Center for Ecostudies. 2015. Sierra de Bahoruco Constant-effort Mist Netting. doi:10.5063/F1M906K7.
• DeLuca, W. V., B. K. Woodworth, C. C. Rimmer, P. P. Marra, P. D. Taylor, K. P. McFarland, S. A. MacKenzie, and D. R. Norris. 2015. Data from: Transoceanic migration by a 12 g songbird. Biology Letters 11:20141045. MoveBank.
• Kent McFarland, Christopher Rimmer, and Jon Atwood. 2015. Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) Presence-absence Surveys in New England and New York, 1992-1995. KNB Data Repository. doi:10.5063/F1XK8CGJ.
• McFarland, Kent; Lambert, J.D.; Rimmer, Christopher C.; Faccio, Steven D.; Atwood, Jon L. 2013. A practical model of Bicknell’s thrush (Catharus bicknelli) breeding habitat in northeastern United States. ESRI Shapefile of results. figshare. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.872604

PUBLICATIONS

Visit my ResearchGate page to download or request PDF reprints.

Scientific Publications and Reports

• Rimmer, C.C., Lloyd, J.D., McFarland, K.P., Evers D.C., Oksana, P.L. 2019. Patterns of blood mercury variation in two long-distance migratory thrushes on Mount Mansfield, Vermont. Ecotoxicology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-019-02104-3
• Rodenhouse, N.L., W. H. Lowe, R.L.E. Gebauer, K. P. McFarland, M.S. Bank. 2019. Mercury bioaccumulation in temperate forest food webs associated with headwater streams. Science of The Total Environment 665: 125-1134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.151
• Brlík, Vojtěch, et al. (incl. McFarland, K.P., Rimmer, C.C.) 2019. Weak effects of geolocators on small birds: a meta-analysis controlled for phylogeny and publication bias. J Anim Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12962
• Richardson, L. L., K.P. McFarland, S. Zahendra, and S. Hardy. 2018. Bumble bee (Bombus) distribution and diversity in Vermont, USA: a century of change. Journal of Insect Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-018-0113-5. (PDF)
• Hallworth M.T., P.P. Marra, K.P. McFarland, S. Zahendra, C.E. Studds. 2018. Tracking dragons: stable isotopes reveal the annual cycle of a long-distance migratory insect. Biology Letters 14: 20180741. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0741 (PDF)
• Jason M. Townsend, Christopher C. Rimmer, Steven C. Latta, Danilo Mejia, Esteban G. Garrido, and Kent P. McFarland. 2018. Nesting ecology and nesting success of resident and endemic tropical birds in the Dominican Republic. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
  130(4): 849-858.  https://doi.org/10.1676/17-071.1
• McFarland, Kent P., John D. Lloyd, Sarah J. K. Frey, Patrick L. Johnson, Richard B. Chandler, and Christopher C. Rimmer. 2018. Modeling spatial variation in winter abundance to direct conservation actions for a vulnerable migratory songbird, the Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) The Condor 120(3): 517-529. https://doi.org/10.1650/CONDOR-17-234.1.
• Martinsen, Ellen S., Kent P. McFarland, and Christopher C. Rimmer. 2018. Documentation of a Hybrid Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) × Veery (C. fuscescens) Using Vocalization and Genetic Data. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130 (1): 70-80. http://wjoonline.org/doi/abs/10.1676/16-061.1
• Dornelas M, Antão LH, Moyes F, et al. 2018. BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene. Global Ecol Biogeogr. 27: 760–786. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12729
• McFarland K.P., Lloyd J.D., Hardy S.P. 2017. Density and Habitat Relationships of the Endemic White Mountain Fritillary (Boloria chariclea montinus) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Insects. 8(2): 57. doi:10.3390/insects8020057
• Prudic, K.L., McFarland, K.P., Oliver, J.C., Hutchinson, R.A., Long, E.C., Kerr, J.T. and Larrivée, M., 2017. eButterfly: Leveraging Massive Online Citizen Science for Butterfly Conservation. Insects, 8(2), p.53. doi:10.3390/insects8020053
• McFarland, K.P., Leif Richardson, and Sara Zahendra. 2016. Vermont Bumble Bee Survey: Faunal Changes in Vermont, 1900-2014. Vermont Center for Ecostudies final report to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
• Lloyd JD, Rimmer CC, McFarland KP. 2016. Assessing conservation status of resident and migrant birds on Hispaniola with mist-netting. PeerJ 3:e1541. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1541
• Faccio, Steven Faccio, S.W. MacFaden, J.D. Lambert, Kent P. McFarland. 2016. The North Atlantic Vernal Pool Data Cooperative. Vermont Center for Ecostudies. Final report submitted to the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative. (PDF)
• Townsend, Jason, Kent P. McFarland, Christopher C. Rimmer, Walter G. Ellison and James E. Goetz. 2015. Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America. doi:10.2173/bna.592
• DeLuca, W. V., Woodworth, B. K., Rimmer, C. C., Marra, P. P., Taylor, P. D., McFarland, K. P., … & Norris, D. R. 2015. Transoceanic migration by a 12 g songbird. Biology Letters, 11(4), 20141045. (Abstract)
• Townsend, J.T., C.T. Driscoll, C.C. Rimmer, and K.P. McFarland. 2014. Avian, salamander, and forest floor mercury concentrations increase with elevation in a terrestrial ecosystem. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 33:208-215. (Abstract)
• McFarland, Kent, Leif Richardson, and Sara Zahendra. 2014. Rusty-patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis): Report to the Vermont Endangered Species Committee. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1305.9289 (PDF)
• McFarland, Kent, Leif Richardson, and Sara Zahendra. 2014. Yellow-banded Bumblebee (Bombus terricola): Report to the Vermont Endangered Species Committee. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1764.0405.1844 (PDF)
• McFarland, Kent, Leif Richardson, and Sara Zahendra. 2014. Ashton’s Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus ashtoni): A report to the Vermont Endangered Species Committee. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2026.1844 (PDF)
• Capers, R. S., Kimball, K. D., McFarland, K. P., Jones, M. T., Lloyd, A. H., Munroe, J. S., … & Paradis, R. 2013. Establishing Alpine Research Priorities in Northeastern North America. Northeastern Naturalist, 20(4), 559-577. (Abstract)
• McFarland, K.P., C.C. Rimmer, J.E. Goetz, Y. Aubry, J.M. Wunderle Jr., A. Sutton, J.M. Townsend, A. Llanes Sosa, and A. Kirkconnell. 2013. A Winter Distribution Model for Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli), a conservation tool for a threatened migratory songbird. PLOS ONE 8(1): e53986. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053986. (Abstract)
• Rimmer, C.C. and K.P. McFarland. 2013. Bicknell’s Thrush: a twenty-year retrospective on the Northeast’s most vulnerable songbird. Bird Observer 41:9-16.
• Townsend, J.M., C.C. Rimmer, C.T. Driscoll, K.P. McFarland, and E.E. Iñigo-Elias.  2012.  Mercury concentrations in tropical resident and migrant songbirds on Hispaniola.  Ecotoxicology Volume 22 (1): 86-93. DOI 10.1007/s10646-012-1005-1. (Abstract)
• Townsend, J.M., C.C. Rimmer, K.P. McFarland, and J.E. Goetz.  2012.  Site-specific variation in food resources, sex ratios and body condition of an overwintering migrant songbird.  Auk 129: 683-690. (Abstract)
• Townsend, J.M., C.C. Rimmer, and K.P. McFarland.  2012. Radio-transmitters do not affect seasonal mass change or annual survival of wintering Bicknell’s Thrushes. Journal of Field Ornithology 83:295-301. (Abstract)
• Studds, C. E., McFarland, K. P., Aubry, Y., Rimmer, C. C., Hobson, K. A., Marra, P. P. and Wassenaar, L. I. 2012. Stable-hydrogen isotope measures of natal dispersal reflect observed population declines in a threatened migratory songbird. Diversity and Distributions, 18: 919–930. doi: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2012.00931.x (Abstract)
• Townsend, J.M., C.C. Rimmer, A.T. Townsend, and K.P. McFarland.  2011.  Sex and age ratios of Bicknell’s Thrush wintering in Hispaniola.  Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123:367-372. (Abstract)
• Frey, S. J. K., A. M. Strong, and K. P. McFarland. 2011. The relative contribution of local habitat and landscape context to metapopulation processes: a dynamic occupancy modeling approach. Ecography 34:001-009.
• Townsend, J.M, C.C. Rimmer, and K.P. McFarland. 2010. Winter territoriality and spatial behavior of Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) at two ecologically distinct sites in the Dominican Republic. Auk 127:514-522.
• McFarland, K.P. and S. Zahendra. 2010. The Vermont Butterfly Survey, 2002 – 2007: A Final Report to the Natural Heritage Information Project of the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. 298 pp (PDF)
• Rimmer, C.C., E.K. Miller, K.P. McFarland, R.J. Taylor, and S.D. Faccio. 2009. Mercury bioaccumulation and trophic transfer in the terrestrial food web of a montane forest. Ecotoxicology. DOI 10.1007s10646-009-0443-x.
• Townsend, J.M., C.C. Rimmer, and K.P. McFarland. 2009. Investigating the limiting factors of a rare, vulnerable species: Bicknell’s Thrush. Proceedings of the Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference: Tundra to Tropics: 91-95.
• Townsend, J.M., C.C. Rimmer, J. Brocca, K.P. McFarland, and A. K. Townsend. 2009. Predation of a wintering migratory songbird by introduced rats: can nocturnal roosting behavior serve as predator avoidance? Condor 111(3): 565-569.
• Frey, S.J.K., C.C. Rimmer, K.P. McFarland, and S. Menu. 2008. Identification and sex determination of Bicknell’s Thrushes using Morphometric Data. Auk 79: 408-420.
• Rodenhouse, N.L., S.N. Matthews, K.P. McFarland, J.D. Lambert, L.R. Iverson, A. Prasad, T.S. Sillett, and R.T. Holmes. 2008. Potential effects of climate change on birds of the Northeast. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 13: 517-540.
• Lambert, J. D., K. P. McFarland, C. C. Rimmer, S. D. Faccio, and J. L. Atwood. 2005. A practical model of Bicknell’s Thrush distribution in the northeastern United States. Wilson Bulletin 117:1-11.
• Rimmer, C.C., K. P. McFarland, D. C. Evers, E. K. Miller, Y. Aubry, D. Busby, and R. J. Taylor. 2005. Mercury levels in Bicknell’s thrush and other insectivorous passerine birds in montane forests of the northeastern United States and Canada. Ecotoxicology 14:223-240.
• Strong, A.M., C.C. Rimmer, and K.P. McFarland. 2004. Effect of prey biomass on reproductive success and mating strategy of Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli), a polygynandrous songbird. Auk 121:446-451.
• Goetz, J.E.., K. P. McFarland and C.C. Rimmer. 2003. Multiple paternity and multiple male feeders in Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli). Auk 120: 1044-1053.
• Latta, S. C., C. C. Rimmer, and K. P. McFarland. 2003. Winter bird communities in four habitats along an elevational gradient on Hispaniola. Condor 105:179-197
• Strong, A. M., C. C. Rimmer, K.P. McFarland and K. Hagan. 2002. Effects of mountain resorts on wildlife. Vermont Law Review 26(3): 689-716.
• Rimmer, C.C. and K.P. McFarland. 2001. Known breeding and wintering sites of Bicknell’s Thrush. Wilson Bull.113: 234-236.
• Rimmer, C.C., K.P. McFarland, W.G. Ellison, J.E. Goetz and H. Ouellet. 2001. Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli). In The Birds of North America, (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.
• Hobson, K.A., K.P. McFarland, L.I. Wassenaar, C.C. Rimmer and J.E. Goetz. 2001. Linking breeding and wintering grounds of Bicknell’s Thrushes using stable isotope analyses of feathers. Auk 118:16-23.
• Rimmer, C.C. and K.P. McFarland. 2000. Post breeding dispersal and migration stop-over in a montane spruce-fir forest in northern Vermont. Wilson Bull. 112:124-136.
• Rimmer, C.C., K.P. McFarland, and J.E. Goetz. 1999. Distribution, habitat use, and conservation status of Bicknell’s Thrush in the Dominican Republic. El Pitirre 12: 114.
• Hochachka, W.M., T.E. Martin, and 28 other authors including K.P. McFarland in alphabetical order. 1999. Scale dependence in the effects of forest coverage on parasitization by brown-headed cowbirds. Studies in Avian Biology 18: 80-88.
• Faccio, S.D., C.C. Rimmer and K.P. McFarland. 1999. Results of the Vermont Forest Bird Monitoring Program, 1989-1996. Northeastern Naturalist 5: 293-312.
• Rimmer, C.C., J.E. Goetz and K.P. McFarland. 1998. Bird Observations in threatened forest fragments of the Sierra de Neiba. El Pitirre 11(2):15-17.
• Rimmer, C.C. and K. P. McFarland. 1998. Two new avian records for Hispaniola: Swainson’s Warbler and Song Sparrow. El Pitirre 11(1): 15-16.
• Rimmer, C.C. and K.P. McFarland. 1998. Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina). In The Birds of North America, (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.
• McFarland, K.P. and C.C. Rimmer. 1996. Horsehair fungus (Marasmius androsaceus) used as nest lining by the Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) and other subalpine spruce-fir forest bird species. Canadian Field-Naturalist 110: 541-544.
• Rimmer, C.C., J.L. Atwood, K.P. McFarland, and L.R. Nagy. 1995. Population density, vocal behavior and recommended survey methods for Bicknell’s Thrush. Wilson Bull. 108:639-649.
• Atwood, J.L., C.C. Rimmer, K.P. McFarland, S.H. Tsai, and L.R. Nagy. 1995. Distribution of Bicknell’s Thrush in New England and New York. Wilson Bull. 108: 650-661.

Select Reports

• Sleeper, D. (ed.), J. Andrews, L.A. Dupigny-Giroux, S. Faccio, J. Jenkins, W.S. Keeton, R. Kelley, J. Kellogg, T. Hanson, K. McFarland, E. Miller, H. Pembrook, R. Poirot, C. Rimmer, D. Ross, J. Shanley, T. Simmons, C. Still, T. Villars, B. Wemple, and S. Wilmot. 2009.Vermont’s changing forests: key findings on the health of forested ecosystems from the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative. Vermont Monitoring Cooperative, South Burlington, VT. 40 pp.
• McFarland, K.P., C.C. Rimmer, S.J.K. Frey, S.D. Faccio, B.B. Collins. 2008. Demography, Ecology and Conservation of Bicknell’s Thrush in Vermont, with a Special Focus on the Northeast Highlands. Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Norwich, VT. Technical Report 08-03. 71 pp.
• Rimmer, C.C., J.D. Lambert and K.P. McFarland. 2005. Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Strategy for the Green Mountain National Forest. VINS Technical Report 05-5. 28pp.
• Rimmer, C.C., K.P. McFarland, J.D. Lambert, R.B.Renfrew. 2004. Evaluating the use of Vermont ski areas by Bicknell’s Thrush: applications for Whiteface Mountain, New York. Vermont Institute of Natural Science. Woodstock, VT.
• McFarland, K.P. 2002. Conservation Assessment of Two Endemic Butterflies (White Mountain Butterfly, Oeneis melissa semidea and White Mountain Fritillary, Boloria montinus montinus) in the Presidential Range Alpine Zone, White Mountains, New Hampshire.
• Reynolds, D.S. and K.P. McFarland. 2001. Bat Biodiversity Survey in the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park. Final Report.
• Lambert, J.D., McFarland, K.P. and C. Rimmer. 2001. Mountain Birdwatch 2000. Final Report to the USFWS Region 5.
• McFarland, K.P., C.C. Rimmer and J.E. Goetz. 1999. Demography and Ecology of Montane Forest Bird Populations in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Unpublished Progress Report.
• McFarland, K.P. and C.C. Rimmer. 1995. Investigations of High Elevation Bird Communities in the Northeastern United States and the Dominican Republic. Unpublished Progress Report.
• McFarland, K.P. 1994. Preliminary results of long term monitoring of wetland plant communities associated with beaver (Castor canadensis) activity on the Wildwood Property, Dublin, NH. Unpublished Report.

Select Natural History Writing

• Northern Woodlands: The Outside Story
• Rimmer, C.C. and K.P. McFarland. 1999. Sky Island Songbirds. Natural History 9:35-39.

Books

• McFarland, K.P. and C.C. Rimmer. 2008. Blackpoll Warbler. Pp. 506-507 in The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State (McGowan, K. J. and K. Corwin, eds.). Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.
• Steven Latta, Christopher Rimmer, Allan Keith, James Wiley, Herbert Raffaele, Kent McFarland & Eladio Fernandez. 2006. Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Princeton University Press, 360pp.
• Wooster, C. ed. 2007. The Outside Story. Northern Woodlands, 210pp.