The VCE crew ventured onto our Mansfield ridgeline study area yesterday 
evening for our first field session of 2012, the latest start in 21 
years.  Weather prevented an earlier planned trip on Mon-Tues of this 
week.  Arriving shortly after 5 pm, we set a few mist nets but weren't 
able to open them, as forecast thunderstorms arrived, and we sat in our 
vehicles, hail pounding and lightning cracking around us.  A break 
occurred at 8:30 pm, and we were able to get out for the dusk chorus, 
with Bicknell's Thrush in high gear.  In the vicinity of the uppermost 
parking lot and Amherst Trail, we had 15-18 birds calling and singing, 
with a few individuals giving dusk flight songs.  A singing Lincoln's 
Sparrow along the Amherst Trail was the first of that species we have 
ever had on Mansfield during breeding season.

This morning was a different story, as skies cleared overnight, wind 
dropped, and temperature was 43 degrees F at 4:30 am.  While vocal 
activity wasn't as intense as last evening's, we had a fine morning, 
running 15 nets until 11:00 am.  We noted higher numbers of singing 
Swainson's Thrushes and Magnolia Warblers than usual, fewer 
White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos, and only a single Purple 
Finch.  Two Ruby-crowned Kinglets appeared to be on territory, and we 
did not hear the Lincoln's Sparrow.  Several pairs and small groups of 
Pine Siskins were present, no crossbills.  Not a single red squirrel was 
seen or heard.

Mist net captures among our 5 target species included:

Bicknell's Thrush - 7, including a 7-year old male banded in 2006,  2 
yearling males that we had banded as immatures last September, and 2 new 
females definitely on eggs (fully-developed incubation patches)
Swainson's Thrush - 8, all previously unbanded
Blackpoll Warbler - 4, all new birds (1 male, 3 females)
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 5, all new birds
White-throated Sparrow - 7, all new birds

The scarcity of recaptures of previously banded birds was surprising, 
but it's too early in the season to make conjectures about that.  We'll 
be back up there two nights next week, and we should have a much better 
sense at that point of the current bird population.

Chris

-- 
Chris Rimmer
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
P.O. Box 420
Norwich, VT 05055
802-649-1431 ext. 1
http://www.vtecostudies.org