There and Back Again—The Journeys of Two Wood Thrush

The migration journeys of Vermont’s neotropical migrants—birds that breed right here in the summertime and winter within the tropics—are arduous, with birds typically flying 1000’s of miles to their wintering grounds and again. Wooden Thrush aren’t any exception, spending their summers breeding within the japanese half of america and Canada and migrating to their wintering grounds in Central America. Sadly, this species has declined 45% between 1966 and 2023, largely attributable to habitat loss. A crucial aspect of Audubon’s habitat conservation targets includes strengthening the ties between the locations birds want throughout the hemisphere. Because of this, understanding their migration routes is integral to supporting this species all through the whole thing of their life cycles—breeding, migration, and wintering.

In 2024 and 2025 Audubon Vermont was a part of a range-wide migration monitoring challenge undertaken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. With the assistance of Audubon Conservation Interns sponsored by the College of Vermont, Audubon Vermont Biologist Mark LaBarr positioned small transmitters known as nanotags on 18 Wood Thrush in Vermont. Nanotags transmit a sign that’s picked up by specialised antennas and receivers affixed to stationary towers throughout the Motus Wildlife Monitoring System. Because the tagged particular person passes a tower throughout migration, its location is recorded in addition to the date and time of the encounter. Greater than 1,000 Wooden Thrush have been tagged as a part of this examine and the ensuing data will contribute to full lifecycle conservation efforts of this declining species.

Three of the six Wooden Thrush tagged in 2024 left Vermont within the fall and returned the next spring. 4 of the 12 people tagged in 2025 left Vermont and returned to Vermont in 2026. Moreover, a number of people have been picked up by towers in each years and partial migration routes have been recognized. This data together with data from different states shall be included within the USFWS ultimate evaluation.

Let’s observe the migration journeys of two of the tagged Wooden Thrush that went there and again. The primary, tag #56656, a second-year male named Debby in honor of former Audubon Vermont Board Chair Debby Bergh was tagged in Shelburne in 2024. Like most of Vermont’s tagged Wooden Thrush, his migration path stretched alongside the east coast. By late September, Debby had began his southern migration to Central America, touring by way of New York, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and Georgia. He wasn’t detected once more till late April 2025 when he left Belize and began heading north. One week later Debby was detected in Ohio, then New York, and ultimately picked up on the Motus tower at Shelburne Farms—near the positioning the place he was initially tagged.

The second fowl, tag #64897, a second-year feminine named Pete after Conservation Intern Pete Patrick, was tagged right here on the Inexperienced Mountain Audubon Chook Banding Station in June 2025. Her fall migration took her south by way of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. Her final detection that yr confirmed her shifting south by way of Florida. In early Could 2026 this Wooden Thrush was picked up once more as she began her journey north by way of Georgia, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania earlier than lastly arriving again right here on the Inexperienced Mountain Audubon Heart. Though we don’t know her ultimate winter vacation spot, we suspect that, like Debby, she made the flight throughout the Gulf of Mexico to winter someplace in Central America.

Debby and Pete are simply two examples of the extraordinary migratory journeys Wooden Thrush make annually.  The info from their nanotags and others like them assist reply essential questions on fowl migration. By higher understanding these pathways, biologists can focus conservation efforts on places crucial to Wooden Thrush survival. We’ll proceed to spotlight a few of these actions sooner or later and relay the ultimate outcomes of this range-wide examine that Audubon Vermont was lucky to have the ability to take part in.