At dawn on June 5th, we launched our second season of MAPS (Monitoring for Avian Productivity and Survivorship) research in Manuel F. Correllus State Forest in partnership with Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). We are part of a large network of several hundred active MAPS stations running across North America that are coordinated by the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) to gather vital long-term data on birds breeding in regions across the continent to help conserve birds and their habitats. It was the long-term monitoring aspect of MAPS that inspired me to launch this station on Martha's Vineyard, because MAPS data offers us a window into bird population growth and declines over time. An Eastern towhee may be nesting in a scrub oak patch annually, but knowing it is the same towhee as last year and the year before tells us about its survival. And whether or not fledgling towhees are produced tells us about the quality of the food and habitat in that season. This is the type of data we are gathering and will continue gathering at our MAPS station for years to come.
An eastern towhee leg showing her federal bird band with a unique number that will allow us to identify her the next time we capture her, which might be next season.
This female towhee has a brood patch developing and will soon be incubating eggs.
We were fortunate to have master bander James Junda join us on June 5th. James is the principle researcher at the Monomoy Bird Observatory, which operates migratory bird banding stations on Cape Cod, but he was also a trainer for the IBP's MAPS program. His extensive knowledge of bird banding and molt patterns in birds, as well as his calm and generous teaching style, make James an excellent mentor. We all arrived at 4:30 a.m. to set up the station and then began setting our 10 mist nets so that we could open at 5:00 a.m.
Setting up our banding station involves a flurry of activity before sunrise.
A male common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) was one of the first captures of the 2026 season.
We captured and banded 24 new birds of 12 species on our first day. We also recaptured a second year black-capped chickadee that was a hatch year bird last year, and a male eastern towhee banded as an adult in 2025. Sticking to our schedule of netting one day in every 10-day period, we ran our MAPS station on June 15th and again on June 25th, adding 14 and 12 new captures respectively. So far, the most commonly captured species at our MAPS station are prairie warblers, common yellowthroats, eastern towhees, and gray catbirds. We were excited to capture our first white-breasted nuthatch on June 5 and our first field sparrow on June 25. Even more exciting were our first hatch-year bird captures on June 25, which were a field sparrow and downy woodpecker. We look forward to more fledgling captures in July.
A female common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
A fledgling field sparrow (Spizella pusilla).
Samantha Bryn and Rich Couse recording data on an Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla).
A male prairie warbler (Setophaga discolor)
We're grateful to the Martha's Vineyard Community Foundation for a 2025 grant that funded the equipment needed to operate our MAPS station, and to Rob Bierregaard for his support for the project this season.
All birds were captured and photographed as part of a research project operating under federal and state permits.
