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.
Host a Motus Tower On Your Property and Help Track Tagged Wildlife
If you own property in Vermont or New Hampshire, you have an incredible opportunity this winter to benefit wildlife populations and make a real contribution to conservation science by hosting a Motus tower.
Mansfield Wrap-up: Bountiful Migrants and a Venerable Thrush
VCE’s 2020 wrap-up banding session on Mt. Mansfield may have been our most memorable. It yielded an impressive diversity of birds, including our first-ever Western Palm Warbler and a truly venerable 10 year-old Bicknell’s Thrush.
Mansfield Update: YBFLs, NSWOs, and FOYs
VCE’s penultimate 2020 summer banding session on Mt. Mansfield featured another diminutive owl, several first-of-year captures, and 2 new Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, bringing our seasonal total to 14 for this species, a station record.
Mansfield Update: Owls, Cones and Crossbills
VCE’s capture of two juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owls was the undisputed highlight of our week 7 banding session on Mt. Mansfield. This species’ occurrence in montane forests reflects a complex and fascinating ecological phenomenon related to cyclical production of balsam fir cones.
Mansfield Update: Returning Sharpies and Thrushes
With only three weeks before VCE’s 2020 banding season on Mt. Mansfield wraps up, free-flying juveniles, molting adults and wandering post-breeders were highlights, along with a 4+ year-old returning Sharp-shinned Hawk.
The Masked Banders of Mansfield
VCE’s 29th year of banding birds on the Mt. Mansfield ridgeline now finds staff and visitors sporting masks, a concession to safety in the COVID era. Our enthusiasm remains undiminished.
Sharpies, PUFI and Blackpolls: Week 3 on Mt. Mansfield
VCE’s third weekly banding session of 2020 on Mt. Mansfield featured a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a ‘PUFIgeddon’ of Purple Finches, several non-locally breeding warblers, and a resurgence in Blackpoll Warbler numbers. And, transport via ATVs appears to have been relegated to a memory.
