Date: 6/19/26 11:18 am From: Chris Rimmer <ccrimmer...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Mansfield VCE banding
This update isn't exactly hot off the press, but I had an overdue reunion tour on Mt. Mansfield early this week with the VCE banding crew of Anna Peel, Desiree Narango, Mike Hallworth, and field intern Jackie Quinones. VCE's work on montane forest birds there, now in its 35th year, continues with a focus both on long-term monitoring and intriguing shorter-term ecological research questions. We operated the usual array of ~30 constant-effort mist nets on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, followed by target netting of Bicknell's Thrush and Blackpoll Warbler on Wednesday. We captured a total of 76 individuals of 13 species; 35 of these were new bandings and the remaining 41 were recaptures, either from earlier this year or previous years.
Totals included: Yellow-belled Flycatcher -- 1 new Red-eyed Vireo -- 1 new female (probably a failed breeder) Golden-crowned Kinglet -- 1 new female Winter Wren -- 2 new males Bicknell's Thrush -- 19 (16 males, 3 females), of which only 4 were new bandings and the rest previously banded. The oldest bird was a male banded as a yearling in 2022. Swainson's Thrush -- 5 males (4 new). The lone recapture was of a bird banded last year. American Robin -- 2 new males Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco -- 9 (7 males, 2 females) White-throated Sparrow -- 4 new males Ovenbird -- 1 new female (a probable failed breeder) Magnolia Warbler -- 4 males (2 new, 2 recaps from earlier in June) Blackpoll Warbler -- 18 (14 males, 4 females), of which 8 were new birds and 10 previously banded, several from previous years. The oldest of these was a male banded in 2022 as a yearling. Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler -- 8 (6 males, 2 females) Black-throated Green Warbler -- 1 new male; these are now regular on the ridgeline
With longtime VCE colleague Bill Deluca of National Audubon, Mike Hallworth is spearheading a truly innovative and exciting research project on Blackpoll Warblers. In a continentwide effort to investigate the migration patterns and flight altitudes of this diminutive transoceanic migrant, Mike, Bill and others are deploying tiny barometric pressure tags on Blackpolls on Mansfield and 4 other breeding sites from Newfoundland to Alaska. These miniature backpacks will be recovered when the birds return a year from now, yielding priceless data that will reveal the intricacies of their migrations, with important impacts for siting planned offshore wind developments. Learn more at https://www.masscec.com/blog/ocean-science-field-notes-mapping-songbird-migration-routes-and-altitudes-over-atlantic-inform.
VCE's 2026 banding season is off to a strong start, with solid numbers so far of signature montane forest species like Bicknell's Thrush and Blackpoll Warbler. For me, being back up there evoked many fond memories! My dawn opening net run on the Amherst Trail was magical: https://ebird.org/checklist/S358330259.
