2012 Mt. Mansfield Wrap-up Field Trip

A skeleton VCE crew of 3 (Spencer Hardy, Noel Dodge, and Chris Rimmer) returned to the Mt. Mansfield ridgeline on the evening of September 21 for our final 2012 session of mist netting and banding.  We usually time our mid-September visit for the 10-15th, when Bicknell's Thrushes undergo a resurgence of vocal activity.  We hardly expected to match last fall's 9/12-13 outing, when we captured 20 Bicknell's Thrushes, and we in fact wondered whether any thrushes would still be present 10 calendar days later this fall. 

We set up 16 nets on a clear, cool, breezy evening.  The ridgeline was eerily quiet, with just a few Yellow-rumped Warblers calling intermittently and 1 or 2 White-throated Sparrows singing briefly.  However, at ~7 pm, we heard the first Bicknell's Thrush call, and over the next 15 minutes several additional birds chimed in.  By the time darkness settled at 7:30, we had heard at least 9 thrushes call, and we captured one bird, a female that we had banded in breeding condition on June 14 and recaptured on 6/28 and 7/2 -- all in the exact same net site.

The following morning featured chilly temperatures, clouds that had snaked upslope from the valleys below (a rare phenomenon on Mansfield in our experience), and a continued stiff breeze from the west.  The dawn Bicknell's Thrush chorus outshone the previous dusk's, and we heard at least 14 birds calling, with a couple of songs thrown in.  Before taking our nets down at noon, we captured another 3 thrushes, all of them adult males that we had banded in June or July.  In contrast to last September, we didn't capture any immature (young-of-the year) birds, nor did we capture or observe any Swainson's Thrushes.

Avian activity was otherwise slow to warm up, but by 8:30-9 am migrants (mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers) were moving conspicuously around the ridgeline.  There was no hint of a real fall-out, and we had few observations of bona fide transient species (i.e., non local breeders), but we ended up with 42 captures.

Banding totals:
Golden-crowned Kinglet   1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   5
Bicknell's Thrush   4 (all recaptures)
Blackpoll Warbler   6 (1 recapture of an adult male banded on July 2)
Yellow-rumped Warbler   16
Black-throated Blue Warbler   1
White-throated Sparrow   3
Dark-eyed Junco   7

Other birds of note were a singing Winter Wren, a single Blue Jay (unusual on the ridgeline), and a single Pine Siskin.  It was interesting to confirm that so many of the resident breeding Bicknell's Thrushes remain on site so long into September.  They'll definitely be on their way soon!


photo: Mt. Mansfield in warmer days, courtesy of K.P. McFarland

Territorial Loon Pairs Colonize NW Vermont Lakes

For the first time since the VLRP started in 1978, loons nested in Northwest Vermont on Metcalf Pond in Fletcher and Long Pond on the Belvidere/Eden town line.  Volunteers detected both sets of loon pairs in 2011, thus we were watching much more closely this spring.  On May 20, Dan Crepeau observed a loon sitting on the edge of an island near the north marsh.  The pond can be busy, especially with kayakers, so we promptly put out nest warning signs.  Unfortunately, the nest was likely depredated in early June.  The pair re-nested on a rocky outcrop in the middle of the busiest part of the lake; not a good location (see photo).  The nest was abandoned a short time later with egg shell fragments found in the nest. 

Long Pond in Belvidere (not to be confused with the Long ponds in Westmore and Greensboro) has several marshy, hummocky shorelines, that are good for nesting.  VLRP volunteers Henry and Sherry Marshall observed the pair working on the nest throughout the end of May.  The pair nested about June 1 but like on Metcalf Pond, the eggs disappeared in mid June.  Both pairs will likely be back in 2013 hopefully with better luck.  Long Pond is not that far from Green River Reservoir, Lake Eden, and South Pond where loons currently nest and have produced many chicks over the years.

Also for the first time, a twosome of loons was observed by lake residents on Fairfield Pond north of Metcalf Pond.  We’ll be watching this lake more closely next spring.  Loons have only occasionally been reported on Fairfield Pond over the past decade, but loons have steadily occupied Lake Carmi to the north and east.  Carmi is a large lake at 1400 acres.  VLRP volunteers Deb Bushey and Larry Myott report several singles and occasionally twosomes, but the loons are less consistently observed together.  Except for these lakes and Lake Champlain, there are no other large lakes in NW Vermont.     Eric Hanson, VLRP Coordinator

The Fishing Line Loon Game

Last night, for the third time, several volunteers and I tried to capture a loon entangled in fishing line in the Ludlow-Plymouth area.  Sports analogies are everywhere, and the game analogy can be used here as well; the preparation of supplies, the anticipation as one travels to the site, the warm-up of finding the bird in daylight, checking its status, and then the wait for darkness and the true game to begin.

During our first attempt, I did not have time for a night capture, so we boated slowly on Amherst Lake toward the tangled loon in daylight.  The bird wanted nothing to do with us.  A few days later we gathered for a night attempt, but the bird was gone.  Despite having fishing line wrapped around its head, it seemed this loon could fly.  Game called. 

This past week the loon was observed eating a fish on Lake Rescue by VLRP volunteers Johnny and Joanne Esau (see photos).  Then on Sunday, two local water skiers found it on Echo Lake. Two loons died earlier this year from fishing line entanglements before we had a chance to try rescue attempts, thus I really wanted to have one good attempt, even if we failed. 

We prepared for attempt three by going through the routine for a night capture.  Once darkness settled in we turned on the spotlights.  The loon was curious about the raspy chick whistles I made, more than the adult hoots imitations, but I could tell it was going to dive.   I lunged for it with the net and missed.  Despite spending another hour trying to get close, the “game” was over. 

It was a game we both lost, and one I’d rather not even be playing.  One does become caught up in the excitement of trying to catch a wild creature, but after so many hours and late nights of playing the “game” and taking time away from other tasks, reality sets in about why we’re out there in the first place.

I want to thank Bob Tucker, Johnny, Larry, Russ, Laura, and several others who have called me about this bird.  This loon is in really good shape compared to most birds caught in fishing line; it can eat, preen somewhat, and fly.  It might just be able to survive until the line wears thin at the edge of its bill and hopefully falls off.  Or maybe we’ll have a game four around the time of the World Series.  

Eric Hanson, VLRP Coordinator