Bicknell's Thrush (chick) Catharus bicknelli Mt. Mitchell, Christmas Mountains, New Brunswick 6 July 2010 During the summer of 2010, I spent a few months in New Brunswick assisting a Bicknell's thrush research program with the University of New Brunswick.  Part of that research included nest-searching and the video surveillance of any such nests we found.  On Mt. Mitchell we discovered two Bicknell's thrush nests - sadly one was depredated and the single chick was lost, but the second nest contained four chicks which all successfully fledged. Here I am holding chick #2291-38986 (we identify the chicks by their band numbers, since they are nearly identical visually and are too young to receive the colour bands which we use to identify the adults).  He or she is waiting its turn to be weighed; we cannot determine sex until the following year, when the birds reach maturity.

Swainson's Thrush (nestlings) "Olive-backed" subspecies Catharus ustulatus swainsoni Mt. Mitchell, Christmas Mountains, New Brunswick 29 June 2010 While searching for Bicknell's thrush nests, our team discovered a Swainson's thrush nest with three chicks.  This nest was monitored and put under video surveillance until the chicks fledged.  Unfortunately, only two of the three chicks lived to fledge; the third chick (seen here on the left) was outcompeted for food by its siblings and succumb to starvation in the nest. We identify the individual birds by their band numbers, as chicks are too small to receive colour bands which we use to identify adult birds.  From left to right, #2291-38997, #2291-38995, and #2291-38998 in the back.

Bicknell's Thrush (male) Catharus bicknelli Sweat Hill, Christmas Mountains, New Brunswick 6 June 2010 A male Bicknell's thrush sings atop a balsam fir tree at Sweat Hill.  My research team captured and banded this bird in early June.  He is a second-year male, #1461-67852 with colour bands white-black over yellow-light green.  The red colour band on the left leg is to designate this bird as being banded and thus residing in New Brunswick; other monitoring programs in Vermont, Nova Scotia, and Québec, use different colours to designate the different state or province of origin. Bicknell's thrushes are particularly shy and are rarely actually seen.  This was the only bird I was able to photograph in a natural setting, and unfortunately overcast rainy conditions created a terrible backlight for the photo.  I have enhanced the photo to show more detail on the bird - I apologize for any loss of quality this entailed.