VCE’s Cuba Expedition a Resounding Success
VCE’s inaugural field trip to Cuba may not have yielded many Bicknell’s Thrush (2, to be exact), but it laid a strong foundation for our future work on this captivating island. We forged a promising partnership with our sister institute BIOECO, made many great friends, learned the ropes of conducting field there, and, yes, managed to see half of Cuba’s 26 endemics.
Cuba Next on VCE’s Horizon
Cuba is on VCE’s horizon, as Chris Rimmer and John Lloyd venture this week to the island’s eastern tip, in search of overwintering Bicknell’s Thrush. Backpacking to cloud forests of Sierra Maestra, where Fidel Castro famously hid out in the 1950s, and then venturing east to the serpentine forests of Humboldt National Park, they expect to find some thrushes, and a good number of Cuba’s 26 endemic birds.
Weather and Blackpolls Storm Mt. Mansfield
VCE completed its 25th consecutive field season on the Mt. Mansfield ridgeline in dramatic fashion, encountering a storm of both weather and migrant birds. We banded a record 46 Blackpoll Warblers, and Bicknell’s Thrushes were vocalizing actively even as we took down our last nets in the gusty rain.
Owls and Tennessee Warblers Find VCE Nets on Mansfield
VCE enjoyed an eventful, if quiet, final summer field trip to our long-term study site on the Mt. Mansfield ridgeline. Banding highlights included a juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owl, 2 adult Tennessee Warblers, and 12 juvenile Bicknell’s Thrushes.
Mt. Mansfield Yields Avian Surprises
VCE’s seventh weekly visit to our long-term study site on the Mt. Mansfield ridgeline yielded a few avian surprises, including the only Indigo Bunting recorded in 25 years of field work.
Miracles on Wings
They say that miracles only happen once, but for VCE biologists a miracle with wings has now hit their nets three times.
Loon Chicks in November
By early November, the majority of adult Common Loons in Vermont have departed for the New England coast, where they will spend the winter. Based on satellite telemetry data from…
Vermont eBird County Quest Heats Up
With less than two months to go, the 4th annual Vermont County eBird Quest is heating up. Western rivals Addison and Chittenden counties are knotted at 243 species each. And eastern…
‘Green wave’ explains migratory bird routes
1.7 million crowd-sourced bird checklists from eBird used to construct a detailed picture of species occurrence for each week of the year to help explain bird migration patterns Migratory songbirds…
Field Report: Final 2014 Bird Banding on Mt. Mansfield
VCE wrapped up its 2014 mountain bird field season with an overnight visit to our Mt. Mansfield ridgeline study site on Tuesday. Arriving at the upper toll road parking lot…
Vermont Loon Update 17 July 2014
Loonwatch day: The annual statewide loonwatch survey takes place this Saturday, July 19. Most of the high priority lakes are assigned but if anyone with a motorboat has any last minute…
Another Lucky Loon
This morning (June 5) a friend of VCE’s seasonal loon assistant, Angela Apicelli, came across a loon sitting at the edge of the road in Walden, VT. Angela received the…
