Mansfield One-month Update—Where Are All the Birds??
One month in to VCE’s 28th field season on Mt. Mansfield, bird populations are as low as they’ve ever been. We’ve netted only 43% of the numbers we had at this date a year ago. What is going on??
Avian Surprises on the Mt. Mansfield Ridgeline
VCE’s third visit of 2019 to the Mt. Mansfield ridgeline brought fine weather and some unusual avian encounters, including our first-ever mist net capture of a Mourning Warbler. Overall, activity continues to be low, with numbers of captures <50% of what they were a year ago, but it's far too early to push the proverbial panic button and declare "silent spring"!
VCE’s 28th Mansfield Season Begins on a Quiet, Chilly Note
VCE’s 28th field season studying the breeding birds on Mt. Mansfield ridgeline is off to a quiet and chilly start. Vocal activity has been subdued and mist net captures low, but inevitable avian surprises have kept banders’ spirits high.
From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors – Part III
VCE biologist Rosalind Renfrew spent three weeks in Colombia with conservation partners Asociación Calidris for migratory grassland bird research and outreach. Read this final post of a three-part series about this incredible shared learning experience.
From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors – Part II
VCE biologist Rosalind Renfrew spent three weeks in Colombia with conservation partners Asociación Calidris for migratory grassland bird research and outreach. Read part two of a three-part series about this incredible shared learning experience.
Live Updates: Tracking Upland Sandpiper Trans-hemispheric Migration
Follow Konza the Upland Sandpiper on her migration journey! We will post updated maps every few days to show where Konza travels, stops, and overwinters. Where will she go next?
From New England to Colombia, Migratory Species Rely on Grassland Ambassadors
VCE biologist Rosalind Renfrew spent three weeks in Colombia with conservation partners Asociación Calidris for migratory grassland bird research and outreach. Read part one of a three-part series about this incredible shared learning experience.
From Snowbanks to Cloud Forests: Chris Rimmer is Cuba Bound
VCE’s Chris Rimmer is bound for eastern Cuba. He’ll trade a foot-plus of new snow and subzero temperatures for humid cloud forests and Cuban Trogons.
Mansfield Reflection: A Bird in the Hand Instills a Conservation Ethic
Alex Kulungian’s summerlong VCE internship gained him a wealth of experience and insight, including how vital it is that we expose and inspire our youth to take action on behalf of the natural world. An encounter as simple as releasing a banded bird on Mt. Mansfield can be the trigger for a lifetime commitment to conservation.
Mansfield Wrap: Molt, Migration, and a Crowd-Pleasing Owl
VCE’s final 2018 summer banding session on Mt. Mansfield featured a much-anticipated tiny owl, songbirds in heavy flight feather molt, and thoughts about the impending fall migration that will take Bicknell’s Thrush (and VCE biologists) back to Cuba.
