Posts by Chris Rimmer 
A Bittersweet Goodbye to Steve Faccio
While intrigued by research questions and inspired by fieldwork, Steve’s focus has never wavered from applying his findings to guide conservation.
Reflections from 65 (Collective) Years of Birding the Upper Valley
Some retirees seek new pursuits in life, branching out and diversifying with their newfound free time. Others simply do more of what they always did. Chris Rimmer and Kyle Jones embody this latter approach, birding local Upper Valley haunts more than ever since their recent retirements. Read their reflections on 65 collective years spent birding the Upper Valley.
VCE Wraps 32 Years on Mansfield with a Flourish
It’s impossible to keep VCE biologists away from Mt. Mansfield’s ridgeline, even after 32 years. Following a summer of record wet weather, VCE’s annual fall pilgrimage to the mountain yielded 183 mist net captures, including a fat-encased female Blackpoll Warbler about to undertake her 5th nonstop transoceanic fall migration to northern South America.
Dodging Downpours on Mansfield
Dodging downpours and sitting out showers has become routine for VCE’s Mansfield banding team this summer. Yet, astonishing discoveries keep on coming, most recently via a GPS-tagged female Bicknell’s Thrush who returned to the exact same territory In Cuba’s remote cloud forest in consecutive winters.
Mansfield’s Ridgeline Lures VCE Back for Season #32
One could argue that after 31 years of studying Mt. Mansfield’s ridgeline breeding birds, the time has come to seek new horizons. Well, sorry, that’s just not the VCE way. We launched season #32 on May 31, taking advantage of unseasonably summerlike weather to capture a total of 58 birds.
A Soggy Wrap to VCE’s 2022 Mansfield Season
VCE’s final Mt. Mansfield banding session of 2022 may have been a wash-out, but we captured a fat-encased Blackpoll Warbler ready for its astounding transoceanic southward flight, and we reflected on a highly successful season overall, with 17 GPS tags recovered from Bicknell’s Thrush.
VCE Haitian Colleague Receives Prestigious Conservation Award
VCE offers sincere congratulations to our longtime Haitian friend and colleague Anderson Jean, who is the 2022 recipient of Stanford University’s prestigious Bright Award for conservation.
VCE Mansfield Summer Season Wraps Up Quietly
VCE’s final Mt. Mansfield field session of summer 2022 featured a paucity of mist net captures, several heavily molting adult birds, and a welcome chance to mentor the next generation of bird banders.
Biologists and Bicknell’s Both Tote Backpacks on Mansfield
The VCE banding crew donned backpacks on July 6 for its ascent up Mt. Mansfield, following the toll road’s closure from a heavy rain wash-out. We gained a new appreciation for backpack-toting Bicknell’s Thrushes, and we recaptured a third GPS-tagged female, our 17th tag recovery overall. Two mist-netted Northern Saw-whet Owls were crowd pleasers.
Tags Keep Coming on Mansfield, and from Quebec
VCE’s ground-breaking study of GPS-tagged Bicknell’s Thrush yielded more exciting results on 14-15 June, with the recovery of an additional 5 backpacks from Mt. Mansfield, and the addition of 3 tags retrieved in Quebec.
Backpacking Thrushes Return to Mansfield
VCE’s first Mansfield banding session of 2022 exceeded all expectations, as we recovered 5 of 36 GPS tags that we affixed to adult Bicknell’s Thrush last summer. Preliminary data from these birds–all males–show that 4 individuals overwintered in the Dominican Republic, 1 on Cuba, and that 3 birds undertook early spring movements of 25-185 km prior to northward migration.
A Birding Quest and Tribute Unlike Any Other: Fred Pratt’s Big Year
Fred Pratt’s delightful and deeply personal new book, “My Big Year—A Search for Birds and Peace of Mind”, recounts the final year of his impassioned quest to become the first birder to document 150 species in all of Vermont’s 14 counties, each within a single calendar year. Fred’s tale movingly weaves together his many memorable (and often humorous) encounters with birds, his attempt to find closure and solace in the wake of losing his beloved wife Chris in 2017, and a deeply abiding love for his life (and birding) partner.
