Mansfield Update: Hatch-years Predominate
VCE’s penultimate summer banding session featured relatively few birds, some very warm and humid weather, a preponderance of youthful banders, and several family members.
Mansfield Update: the Ridgeline Quiets, Planets Shine
VCE’s mid-July banding session on Mt. Mansfield featured diminished bird song, but a surprise Tennessee Warbler and spectacular planetary viewing.
Mansfield Update: Kids (Avian and Human) Steal the Show
VCE’s sixth banding session of 2018 on the Mt. Mansfield ridgeline featured several free-flying juvenile birds in our nets and some enthusiastically engaged youth in our work .
A Plethora of PUFIs on Mansfield
VCE’s fifth weekly banding session of 2018 on Mt. Mansfield featured a plethora of Purple Finches, a bounty of Bicknell’s Thrushes, and a chance to mentor our three eager bird banding apprentices.
Field Update: Mansfield Yields Avian Surprises
Philadelphia Vireo, Least Flycatcher, juvenile White-winged Crossbill — VCE’s third 2018 field session on Mt. Mansfield produced several notable surprises among our 61 mist net captures. The addition of our Board of Directors provided energy, enthusiasm, and learning for all.
VCE Launches Field Season #27 on Mt. Mansfield
VCE’s inaugural 2018 field visit to Mt. Mansfield on May 30-31 yielded good weather, some surprise mist net captures, and an enthusiastic group of visitors, who were treated to a very obliging Bicknell’s Thrush in the hand.
A Tale of Two Recoveries
It’s extremely rare that banded birds are recovered or re-sighted outside of the immediate area in which they were banded. Imagine VCE’s surprise and excitement upon learning of two “foreign” band recoveries in 2017.
Memories of a Summer Bird Banding on Mt. Mansfield
Nate Launer, VCE’s 2017 Alexander Dickey Conservation Intern, shares his reflections on banding birds at our long-term study site on Mt. Mansfield. After five overnight field trips in July and early August, Nate gained proficiency in handling and banding small songbirds like Bicknell’s Thrush and Blackpoll Warbler.
Humans and Songbirds Meet Up on Mt. Mansfield
VCE’s 11-12 July field trip to Mt. Mansfield featured favorable weather and plentiful mist net captures. Banding highlights included the season’s first Winter Wren (it’s astounding how tiny these birds are, given the volume of their song!) and Magnolia Warbler, and free-flying juveniles of 3 species. The human element of this trip was especially rewarding, with a 10 year-old and his grandfather, our two summer interns, and several other enthusiastic visitors.
VCE’s 26th Year on Mt. Mansfield Off to a Wet Start
VCE’s 26th consecutive field season on Mt. Mansfield has been so far hampered by wet weather, but neither the birds or our resolve to monitor them have been affected. Our second visit of the young season yielded many mist net captures of birds banded in previous years, underscoring the value of this long-term demographic study.
