Vermont Projects

Tracking Migratory Birds in Vermont

Our Goals
Understanding the migratory routes and habitat needs of Vermont’s migratory birds so that we can protect them across their hemispheric range.
What We’re Doing
Utilizing banding and telemetry technology to track birds as they migrate between their breeding grounds in Vermont and their wintering grounds in Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, or South America.
Trained bander Scandia holds a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker in her hand with wing outstretched as Pete looks over her shoulder.

For many Vermonters, the return of sweet bird song is a welcome sign of spring. Forests, fields, and wetlands come alive as hundreds of bird species return to Vermont to raise their young. Many travel thousands of miles from their wintering habitats in Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, or South America. To ensure that these species thrive across their range, we need to understand their population health, migratory routes, and habitat requirements. 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Vermont utilizes bird banding and innovative tracking technology to gather integral data on bird migration.  

Bird Banding at Green Mountain 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Center
A closeup of an Ovenbird in a bander's hand. A set of banding pliers is securing a metal tracking band on the bird's leg.

Bird banding—the act of safely catching, measuring, and marking birds with a light leg band—provides crucial information on productivity, survival, and population sizes. Since 1997, 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Vermont has operated a bird banding station at the Green Mountain 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Center and also submits data to the United States Geological Survey’s .  Master Bander Mark LaBarr has banded more than 5,000 birds over 25 years at our station.  

Tracking Wood Thrush in the Champlain Valley
A closeup of a Wood Thrush with a small white transmitter with a long, thin antenna on its back.

Although their flute-like songs are an iconic summer sound, Wood Thrush have experienced drastic population declines in recent decades. 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Vermont participates in a United States Fish and Wildlife Service project to deploy nanotags—tiny radio transmitters—on Wood Thrush across their hemispheric range. 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Vermont biologists and interns safely catch, measure, and attach nanotags to Wood Thrush breeding in the Champlain Valley. Signals from these transmitters are picked up by towers in the during migration, shedding light on the migratory pathways and habitats Wood Thrush rely on. 

Program Contact
Mark LaBarr holds a scope over his shoulder.

Mark LaBarr

Conservation Program Manager