VCE’s Bicknell’s Thrush Work Recognized with Prestigious Award
VCE’s 30+ years of Bicknell’s Thrush work was recently recognized by the Wilson Ornithological Society, which awarded us the prestigious Margaret Morse Nice Medal at its annual meeting in Santa Fe, NM. Nice’s pioneering studies of Song Sparrows in her Ohio backyard during the 1930s set the benchmark for “longitudinal” avian population research, an approach VCE has embodied through our hemispheric work on Bicknell’s Thrush.
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.
Evolution in Spatial Tracking of Bicknell’s Thrush
In VCE’s 30+ years of Bicknell’s Thrush (BITH) research, we’ve used many different methods to unlock the species’ ecological secrets. We’re talking tissue samples, nest cameras, and a myriad of…
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.
Kinglets Rain on Mansfield Ridgeline as VCE Wraps Season #30
Tiny feathered gems–Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets–filled VCE’s mist nets and ushered in the autumnal equinox on Mt. Mansfield to conclude our 30th field season on the ridgeline. Among 222 birds captured and banded over 3 days, kinglets accounted for 101, but they weren’t the only notable migrants we encountered.
A Deluge of Juncos and a Surprise Boreal Visitor on Mansfield
Week 7 of VCE’s 2021 banding season on Mt. Mansfield featured a plethora of juvenile juncos and an unexpected, dapper male Bay-breasted Warbler.
Seasonal Changes Emerging on Mt. Mansfield
Free-flying juveniles. Molting adults. Regressing brood patches. Subdued, sporadic song. Seasonal changes that signal summer’s inevitable transition were in evidence during VCE’s Week 6 banding session on Mt. Mansfield.
A Bicknell’s Thrush Storm on Mansfield
Mansfield’s breeding birds proved far hardier than the ornithologists studying them during VCE’s Week 4 banding session on Mt. Mansfield. Despite challenging weather, mist captures were solid, and Bicknell’s Thrushes dominated, with a single-visit record of 17 individuals.
Mansfield Ridgeline Quiet During VCE Week 3 Visit
VCE’s third banding session of 2021 on Mt. Mansfield was quieter than normal for mid-June, but featured a veteran female Bicknell’s Thrush (possibly the oldest on record) and a feisty Sharp-shinned Hawk.
A Veteran Bicknell’s Thrush Helps Launch New VCE Study
VCE’s second 2021 banding session on Mt. Mansfield netted a record-tying veteran 11 year-old Bicknell’s Thrush, who now wears a tiny GPS tag that will help elucidate late winter, pre-migratory movements on the species’ Caribbean wintering grounds.
Blackpolls Abound as VCE Launches Year #30 on Mansfield
VCE’s first 2021 foray to Mt. Mansfield marks our 30th year of monitoring the ridgeline’s montane forest breeding birds. Banding highlights included a bounty of Blackpoll Warblers, 7 Bicknell’s Thrushes (5 from previous years), and our first-ever Veery capture.
