Pretty interesting work being done at top of Mansfield.
Leslie
> On Jun 19, 2026, at 2:14 PM, Chris Rimmer <ccrimmer...> wrote:
>
> 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.
>
> Chris
> -------------------
> Chris Rimmer
