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.
Success: Crossing Boundaries for Conservation
VCE announces finalization of the Strategic Conservation Plan for Sierra de Bahoruco National Park in the Dominican Republic. The plan, which VCE helped to both fund and facilitate, aims to preserve the park’s unique forested habitats for the benefit of plants, wildlife, and humans alike.
Forest Thrush Mix Up
A first-hand account of VCE Biologists discovery of a rare thrush phenomena published this month in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology.
Mountain Birdwatch Brings a Mountain of Data to eBird
Since 2010 alone, several hundred Mountain Birdwatch citizen scientists have conducted 18,636 five-minute point counts at nearly 750 remote locations in the mountains of New York and New England. Recently, we uploaded more than 37,000 checklists spanning the last 17 years of the program to eBird.
Team VCE-BIOECO Perseveres on Cuba’s Pico Turquino
VCE’s late January field expedition into the rugged Sierra Maestra mountains of eastern Cuba featured abnormally high rainfall, majestic cloud forests, grueling pre-dawn hikes, lively interactions with our Cuban partners, and… 7 Bicknell’s Thrushes. As always with this enigmatic songbird, more questions were raised than answered, but VCE’s work to clarify the species’ overwinter status on Cuba is making solid progress.
Reflections of a Mountain Birdwatcher
Mike got to thinking about his first Mountain Birdwatch (MBW) survey route. It was on Maine’s West Kennebago Mt., which he only surveyed from 2007-2009 before the route was discontinued when MBW was revised in 2010. But in that decade that has passed, he’s seen a lot of changes.
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.
Bicknell’s Thrush and the Endangered Species Act
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has chosen not to add Bicknell’s Thrush to the list of endangered species. The decision not to list Bicknell’s Thrush must not be interpreted as a sign that our job as conservationists and scientists is done. On the contrary, it reinforces the importance of the collaborative, science-based conservation work of VCE.
New VCE Study Reveals Population Health of Mountain Songbirds
A 16-year study by VCE of mountain forest songbirds across New York and New England, including thrushes, warblers and other iconic species, has documented their population changes.
New Study Reveals Population Estimate and Abundance Map for Rare Bicknell’s Thrush in the U.S.
New research by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) has revealed that Bicknell’s Thrush likely have one of the smallest population sizes – about 71,000 adult birds – of any migratory songbird within the contiguous U.S.
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.
