VCE’s Mansfield Season Winding Down
Shorter days, a near absence of bird song, molting adults, and the appearance of post-breeding wanderers last week signaled seasonal changes underway on Mt. Mansfield, and the winding down of VCE’s 2019 banding season there.
Bit O’ Balsam Beer Benefits Bicknell’s Thrush
Join us at Lawson’s Finest Liquids Taproom in Waitsfield on August 5 to launch LFL’s 2019 batch of Bit O’ Balsam American IPA. This specialty beer features Balsam Fir tips harvested at high elevations in the Green Mountains, with proceeds benefitting VCE’s Bicknell’s Thrush conservation efforts.
Mansfield Update: the Joys (and Pains) of Banding
VCE’s seventh banding session on Mansfield yielded our biggest total of the season (but still <50 birds), two very old Bicknell's Thrushes, and a female Sharp-shinned Hawk whose talons brought a grimace to Spencer Hardy's face.
Mansfield Update: The Kids Are Coming
Week 6 of VCE’s 2019 banding season on Mansfield brought a second consecutive bump in mist net captures, and the first appearance of locally-hatched juveniles. Human youngsters also highlighted the week.
Mansfield Birds Rebound Modestly in Week 5
Mist net captures on Mt. Mansfield rebounded modestly during week 5 of VCE’s 2019 banding season. While encouraging, overall numbers are still abnormally low. A scarcity of yearling birds suggests that recruitment has been low, possibly resulting from a poor 2018 breeding season.
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.
VCE Paper Confirms Scarcity of Bicknell’s Thrush on Puerto Rico
A recent peer-reviewed paper by VCE confirms that Bicknell’s Thrush is a rare and local but regular winter resident in mid-high elevation forest of Puerto Rico. VCE’s findings also highlight the strategic importance of continuing to focus habitat conservation efforts on Hispaniola, which supports the lion’s share of this globally vulnerable species in winter.
VCE Breaks New Ground (Literally) in Cuba
VCE’s 2019 field expedition to Cuba’s remote Bayamesa mountain range pioneered new ground, endured a few hardships, uncovered small numbers of overwintering Bicknell’s Thrush, and yielded comparisons with legendary Swedish botanical explorer Erik Ekman a century earlier.
