The document discusses Bicknell's Thrush conservation and related topics. It begins with a marketing survey about ice cream flavors featuring maple and chocolate. It then provides information about Bicknell's Thrush habitat, population trends, threats such as climate change and mercury pollution, and conservation efforts including the International Bicknell's Thrush Conservation Group and Mountain Birdwatch program. The goal is to increase the global population of Bicknell's Thrush by 50% over 50 years through monitoring, research, and collaborative conservation actions across its breeding and wintering ranges.

1. What does maple chocolate ice cream have to do with
Bicknell’s Thrush conservation?

2. Marketing Survey
Ice cream flavor
Vanilla
Maple
Chocolate
Extras
Maple swirl
Maple sugar candy
Chocolate swirl
Chocolate chips
Chocolate-covered
maple sugar candy
If you were the flavor guy at Ben & Jerry’s,
what kind of ice cream would you make?
Include at least one form of maple and one form of chocolate.

3. Bicknell’s Thrush
u Sound
u No eye ring
u Range
u Habitat
© Larry Master

5. Mt Washington

6. “Only a freak ornithologist would
think of leaving the trails for more
than a few feet.”
- Dr. George J. Wallace, 1936

7. “Only a freak ornithologist would
think of leaving the trails for more
than a few feet.”
- Dr. George J. Wallace, 1936
© Bryan Pfeiffer

8. Brown vs olive coloring
Brighter lower mandible
Purple vs flesh legs
Song
Gray-cheeked Thrush Bicknell’s Thrush
© Jeff Nadler

9. Brown vs olive coloring
Brighter lower mandible
Purple vs flesh legs
Song
Gray-cheeked Thrush
© Bill Leaman
Veery
Bicknell’s Thrush
© Jeff Nadler

10. Studying the Elusive Bicknell’s Thrush

11. Two Territories
Female
^

12. Complex Breeding
Nesting Female
Male Home Range
Polygynandry:
Males mate with multiple
females and females mate
with multiple males
r
r
r
r
r
Goetz et al. 2004

13. Cone Cycle

14. Bicknell’s Thrush
Red Squirrel
Cone Mast Cycle
High mast
Low mast
More squirrels
Low nestling survival Less Squirrels
High nestling survival

15. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1
9
9
2
1
9
9
3
1
9
9
4
1
9
9
5
1
9
9
6
1
9
9
7
1
9
9
8
1
9
9
9
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
2
2
0
0
3
2
0
0
4
2
0
0
5
2
0
0
6
2
0
0
7
2
0
0
8
R
e
d
S
q
u
irre
lA
b
u
n
d
a
n
c
e
%
F
ir
T
re
e
s
w
ith
C
o
n
e
M
a
s
t
RedSquirrelAbundance
%Firtreeswithconemast
1992
2000
2008

16. Management Issues

17. Total Estimated
Mercury Deposition
Bicknell’s Thrush
Habitat
VT
NH

18. 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Leaf Litter (6)
Balsam Fir (18)
Cherry (6)
Mountain Ash (18)
White Birch (17)
Hg (ppm dry wt.)
Mercury level
of trees and
leaf litter
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
Araneae
Opiliones
Coleoptera
Hymenoptera
Diptera
Lepidoptera
Homoptera
Orthoptera
Hemiptera
Order
Hg (ppm dry wt)
Mercury level of
invertebrates

19. R2
= 0.3113
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Age
FeatherHg(ppm) Feather Mercury of Known Age Individuals

20. High-elevation Habitat
& Climate Change
Northeast
0
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
125,000
150,000
current 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 7+
BITHHabitat(Ha)
Vermont
12,000
10,00
20,00
30,00
40,00
35,00
Bicknell’sThrushHabitat(ha)
Mean July Temperature Change (°C)

21. High-elevation Habitat
& Climate Change
Northeast
0
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
125,000
150,000
current 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 7+
BITHHabitat(Ha)
Vermont
12,000
10,00
20,00
30,00
40,00
35,00
Bicknell’sThrushHabitat(ha)
Mean July Temperature Change (°C)

22. Skewed Sex Ratio
>2:1 male:female
sex ratio of
chicks at
nest: 1:1
Fledge
Post-fledging
dispersal1:1 1:1
1:1?
Fall
Migration
Winter
Habitat
and
Territory
Selection
1:1?
High
>3:1
Mid
~1:1
Spring
Migration
Breeding
Grounds
>2:1
***?
**Juveniles
do not differ
1:1
**VT spring
juveniles
2:1

23. Where is Bicknell’s Thrush
experiencing problems
during its annual cycle?
Breeding grounds?
Wintering grounds?
Migration?

25. Do Males and Females Use Different
Habitats on Hispaniola?
Sierra de Bahoruco
Loma la Canela
Dominican Republic
Haiti

26. Different Diets
Significantly different δC13 in blood
(F 41.8, p = 0.0003)
dC13
-29
-28
-27
-26
-25
-24
-23
CANELA PUVI
Site
Fruit Arthropods
(MID) (HIGH)

27. Body Condition by Site and Sex

28. Bahoruco: High-elevation Canela: Mid-elevation
u Male-dominated,
evidence for behavioral
dominance
u Little territorial overlap
u Arthropod-heavy diet
u Females in poor
condition
u Equal sex ratio, no
evidence for behavioral
dominance
u Little territorial overlap
u Fruit-heavy diet
u Females in good
condition
Different Sites, Different Dynamics

29. 0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
Oriente,Cuba
(4)
La Visite,
Haiti (6)
Pleine Boeuf,
Haiti (8)
Palo de Agua,
DR (10)
Pueblo Viejo,
DR (38)
El Cachote,
DR (5)
Valle Nuevo,
DR (2)
La Canela,
DR (12)
MeanBloodHg(ppm)
Mercury (ppm)

30. Bonao Nickel-smelting Plant

31. Habitat loss and
degradation is
the largest and
most immediate
THREAT
to the survival
of Bicknell’s
Thrush
© Eladio Fernandez

34. Bicknell’s Thrush
u Habitat specialist
u Restricted range
u ~40,000 birds
u Threats
Population Trend Information
Mountain Birdwatch: 9.7% increase
White Mountain National Forest: 7% decline
High Elevation Landbird Program: 19% decline
BBS Canada: 9% decline

35. Bicknell’s Thrush
u Habitat specialist
u Restricted range
u ~40,000 birds
u Threats
Population Trend Information
Mountain Birdwatch: 9.7% increase
White Mountain National Forest: 7% decline
High Elevation Landbird Program: 19% decline
BBS Canada: 9% decline
IUCN Red List = Vulnerable
Partners In Flight = North American Watch List
ABC/Audubon WatchList = Red List
Canada = Candidate for Federal Listing
USFWS = Special Concern
ME, NH, NY, VT = Special Concern

36. www.bicknellsthrush.org
International Bicknell’s Thrush
Conservation Group

37. Primary IBTCG Goals
Increase global population by 50% in 50 years
1. Determine BITH population status annually
2. Document BITH population trends over time
3. Relate BITH population trends and
demographics to limiting factors
4. Estimate the global population of BITH

38. Wintering Grounds
Conservation Actions
1. Protect, restore, and manage current and potential
winter habitat
2. Investigate overwinter survival and demography
(connectivity, seasonal carry-over effects)
3. Expand resources and reach of BITH Habitat
Protection Fund
4. Clarify BITH distribution and habitat use on other
Greater Antillean islands
5. Involve and build capacity of in-country partners

39. Mountain Birdwatch
1) Monitor populations
2) Determine factors affecting populations
3) Guide conservation efforts
Carrigain Mtn

40. Montane Birds
Winter Wren
Bicknell’s ThrushBlackpoll Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Swainson’s Thrush

41. 1
2
3
4
5

42. Features of Mountain Birdwatch
u Cones
u Wind farm
u Climate change
u Mercury
u Calcium
u International
u Distribution &
abundance
u Population Size
u Connectivity
u Habitat

43. Can we get there from here?
• Publish Conservation Action Plan
• Hire a coordinator to develop an Implementation Plan
• Continually measure and evaluate outcomes
• Expand hemispheric partnerships
• Pursue funding
• Grants and contracts
• Cultivate major donors
• Creative marketing

44. What does maple chocolate ice cream have to do with
Bicknell’s Thrush conservation?

45. Jesus Moreno, Helados Bon
Peter Lind, Primal Ice Cream Therapist

46. Marketing Survey
Top 3 flavors?
Vanilla with choc-coated maple sugar
candy
Chocolate with choc-coated maple
sugar candy
Maple with chocolate chips
If you were the flavor guy at Ben & Jerry’s,
what kind of ice cream would you make?

47. IBTCG Partners
u American Bird Conservancy
u Atlantic Coast Joint Venture
u Audubon New York
u Bird Studies Canada
u Canadian Wildlife Service
u Cornell University
u Fornebu Lumber
u Maine Dept. Inland Fisheries &
Wildlife
u National Aviary
u National Park Service
u New Brunswick Dept Natural
Resources
u New Hampshire Audubon
u New Hampshire Fish & Game
Dept.
u NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp
u Parks Canada
u Plum Creek
u Regroupement QuébecOiseaux
u SUNY—Environmental Science
and Forestry
u University of Massachusetts
u University of New Brunswick
u U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
u U.S. Forest Service Intl. Program
u Vermont Center for Ecostudies
u Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept.
Stratton Mtn