Measuring the Loss of a Thrush’s Forest
Scientists at VCE are using a world database of forest change to examine conditions of the forests on Hispaniola that provide habitat for Bicknell’s Thrush, and the results are alarming. Nearly 240 square miles of potential habitat has been lost between 2000 and 2014.
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.
Mountain Phenology Cameras Yield Extra Surprise
Our new phenology cameras that have been on Mt. Mansfield since April to record snow melt and leaf out contained a neat surprise. Check out the night images captured just days ago and see who was visiting.
Seasonal Changes in Evidence on Mt. Mansfield
VCE’s latest field visit to Mt. Mansfield yielded signs that seasonal changes are in store, as free-flying juveniles, molting adults and non-local dispersers are beginning to supplant the resident breeders in our mist nets.
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.
Mansfield Update: Hardy Survivors and a Site-faithful Sharpie
After forced cancellation of a planned field trip to Mt. Mansfield in early June, when wind chills on the ridgeline plummeted to 14 degrees F, VCE returned on June 15-16. The avian chorus was subdued, but the hardiness of resident birds was evident. A male Sharp-shinned Hawk banded in 2013 was a surprise returnee in our nets.
Counting Birds: When Zeros Equal One or More
We’ve all been there. A friend visits from out of town, and you take them birding at a reliable spot for your locally uncommon bird—say, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. After hours of listening and walking around the woods, your search turns up empty. “I don’t get it,” you apologetically exclaim to your friend, “they are usually here—I just saw one yesterday.”
Puerto Rico Scorecard: Endemics 17, Bicknell’s Thrush 7
VCE’s second winter of Bicknell’s Thrush surveys across Puerto Rico has so far confirmed 7 birds, all in high-elevation forests of Cordillera Central. While the island may not qualify as an epicenter of the species’ overwintering distribution, it is important and reassuring to know they are regular, if rare.
On the conservation of tropical birds and the fruits of long-term research
VCE scientists began operating bird-banding stations in the cloud forests of the Dominican Republic 20 years ago. New research published yesterday reveals the value of long-term field work for conservation.
International Experts Convene for Bicknell’s Thrush
Twenty-one stakeholders of the International Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Group convened recently in Woodstock, VT to launch a revision of the 2010 conservation action plan for this globally rare and vulnerable migratory songbird.
Bicknell’s and Blues Highlight VCE Wrap-up Mansfield Visit
VCE’s 2015 wrap-up visit to our long-term Mt. Mansfield study site featured a strong showing by Bicknell’s Thrushes and Black-throated Blue Warblers.
