Birds are among the easiest wildlife to observe, which may be why birding is one of the nation鈥檚 most popular hobbies. 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty and 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Kingston Wildlife Research Station have been the starting point for many alumni who鈥檝e made careers out of their love of birds, and for many others for whom bird observation is a peaceful pastime鈥攐r an all-out obsession.
By Todd McLeish
Gently holding a sparrow in his hand as nearly two dozen students stand in a socially distant circle around him, Professor Peter Paton quizzes his field ornithology class members about bird anatomy and identification. After noting feather types, preferred foods, migration routes, and other details about the species, he hands the bird to a student to release into the nearby forest. And then he repeats the process until every student has released a bird.
For most students, it鈥檚 the first time they have ever held a wild bird, and it鈥檚 a magical moment. The glittering smiles on their faces suggest it鈥檚 an experience they won鈥檛 soon forget.
The class is gathered at the Kingston Wildlife Research Station, where thousands of birds have been captured, banded, and released every fall for more than 60 years, a site that is the highlight of Paton鈥檚 weekly class field trips. Located less than a mile from campus, the research station is the former home of the late Douglas Kraus, a long-time chemistry professor whose interest in birds occupied as much of his time as did chemistry. Before he died in 2000, he donated his house and 82 acres of land to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island with a stipulation that 溏心vlog免费B站 manage the property for wildlife research.
Students in Professor Peter Paton’s field ornithology class get their first opportunity to hold and release wild birds.
Paton holds a black-capped chickadee and quizzes students on feather types.
Ever since then, graduate students in the Department of Natural Resources Science have lived and worked at the property and continued to band birds on a daily basis during fall migration to learn about trends in bird populations. They capture birds using a series of nets鈥攍ike fine-meshed volleyball nets, collect physical measurements about each bird, and place a metal band around one leg so if they are captured again elsewhere, their migratory movements can be determined. With nearly 60 years of data, the field station is one of the nation鈥檚 longest-running bird-banding stations.
With nearly 60 years of data, the Kingston Wildlife Research Station is one of the nation鈥檚 longest-running bird-banding stations.
鈥淭he number of species we capture each year hasn鈥檛 really declined over time, but the number of individual birds has seen a major decrease,鈥� says Paton, who has managed the research station with Professor Scott McWilliams since 1998. 鈥淲e鈥檙e probably down by about 30 percent, which is similar to national figures. On a really good day, they used to capture 150 to 200 birds, and now a good day is 100 birds. That鈥檚 a substantial decline.鈥�
A recent study found that North American bird populations have decreased by about 3 billion birds in the last half-century, due largely to habitat loss. Scientists worry that human-altered landscapes are losing their ability to support birdlife.
Paton measures the wing of a tufted titmouse and assesses the condition of its flight feathers.
The activity at the Kingston Wildlife Research Station is just one element of a wide variety of bird-related research, education, and outreach undertaken by 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty and staff.
鈥淏irds bring you outside. You can go anywhere on the planet and see a bird.鈥�
鈥擯eter Paton, Professor of Wildlife Ecology
Professor Paton had planned a career as a medical doctor, but he got hooked on birds when he was in college, and those plans changed. 鈥淚 like to be outside, and birds bring you outside,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou can go anywhere on the planet and see a bird, and because they have wings and can fly, you never know what you鈥檙e going to find in a given area.鈥�
In addition to overseeing the bird-banding station, Paton has conducted research on sparrows, seabirds, shorebirds, and other varieties. Some of his current work examines the potential impact of offshore wind turbines on migrating birds.
And McWilliams? He calls himself a physiological ecologist who studies the physiology of bird migration.
鈥淢y group studies any bird that migrates, and over the years we鈥檝e studied songbirds, woodcock, sea ducks, Arctic nesting geese, and everything in between,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he common denominator is that they move across the landscape throughout the annual cycle.鈥�
According to McWilliams, one of the biggest challenges for birds during migration is their need to store large quantities of energy to fuel long-distance flight. To maximize their ability to do so, they have evolved the ability to increase the size of their digestive system in preparation for migration, reduce it while migrating, and increase it again when they stop to refuel.
Professor Scott McWilliams studies bird migration. He says, 鈥渕igration takes guts,鈥� because it is not only a challenging undertaking, but it requires dramatic changes in the physiology of the avian digestive system.
Professor Paton’s students stroll down a path at the Kingston Wildlife Research Station to check the nets for birds.
鈥淢igration is a fasting and refeeding cycle, which the gut makes possible,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we say that migration takes guts. They鈥檙e trying to maximize the amount of energy and nutrients they get from what they eat.鈥�
McWilliams and his graduate students have spent two decades studying the physiology of migration by capturing birds in Kingston and on Block Island, and studying those birds and the foods they consume. He also has a long-term research project on the woodcock, an unusual game bird sometimes called the timberdoodle. His project involves studies of their life cycle, and their feeding and breeding behaviors. After years of monitoring these activities, McWilliams is preparing the first woodcock management plan for the region.
Clay Graham, M.S. 鈥�20, earned his master鈥檚 degree working with McWilliams on the woodcock research, focusing primarily on quantifying the fat and protein in the birds as they prepare for migration. He spent last fall as the lead bird-bander at the Kingston Wildlife Research Station.
Growing up in Ohio, Graham started birding in fourth grade, and he has known since middle school that he wanted to become an ornithologist. 鈥淚 was always fascinated that just about any bird could drop into my backyard,鈥� he says. 鈥淥nce I learned to drive, I was birding all over northeast Ohio. Birding allows you to go to different locations that you otherwise wouldn鈥檛 go.鈥�
Like Italy.
Graham spent time on Ventotene, a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Italy, doing bird banding as part of the 鈥淧rogetto Piccole Isole,鈥� or Small Islands Project. They processed similar numbers of birds as in Kingston, but the birds and the banding culture were very different.
鈥淚t was a little more high-class than what I鈥檓 used to here,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檇 be drinking espresso in the field, and we didn鈥檛 start the day until 8 a.m. because we were waiting for birds arriving from Tunisia.鈥�
溏心vlog免费B站 research associate Charles Clarkson has had his share of international birding experience as well, but he is especially drawn to the Tropics. He operates Antbird Tours, a bird-watching tour company that showcases the birds of Panama and elsewhere in Central and South America, as well as occasional tours to Europe and Africa. He was raised in the mountains of Virginia in a farmhouse with no electricity or running water, so he spent most of his time immersed in the natural world and quickly gravitated toward birds.
溏心vlog免费B站 research associate Charles Clarkson leads a bird tour in Panama.
For the last five years, Clarkson has managed the Rhode Island Breeding Bird Atlas, an exhaustive effort to document the distribution and abundance of birds across the state. Working with 140 volunteers鈥攊ncluding 溏心vlog免费B站 alumni Christopher Raithel 鈥�76, M.S. 鈥�07, Dierdre Robinson, M.S. 鈥�99, and Cynthia Landers Szymanski 鈥�71, M.L.I.S. 鈥�73鈥攖he project confirmed that 150 bird species breed in the state, a slight decrease from the 155 confirmed during a similar atlas project conducted in the 1980s.
Although fewer bird species were found to be breeding in Rhode Island than previously, the news is not all bad. Rhode Island is now home to breeding bald eagles, common ravens, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, and several other species that were not detected 35 years ago. And some species, especially those from the South, have expanded exponentially in the state, like red-bellied woodpeckers, which increased their distribution in Rhode Island by more than 3,000 percent (yes, 3,000 percent) since the first atlas, probably due to the warming climate.
鈥淭he biggest takeaway message is that, for a small state with a high population density, Rhode Island has done an exceptional job of conserving open space, which has allowed us to maintain a large number of breeding species and add a few new ones,鈥� Clarkson says. 鈥淚f we continue to see the erosion of our forests from suburban sprawl, that isn鈥檛 going to continue to be the case. But right now, Rhode Island is doing an exceptional job at conserving the habitats that these birds require.鈥�
Numerous alumni have also caught the bird bug鈥攎any of them introduced to the bird world through Paton鈥檚 field ornithology class. Some of them have made careers of birds and bird conservation.
Kate Iaquinto 鈥�05, for example, never imagined herself working with birds. She started out as a marine biology major, then switched to wildlife conservation and biology, which led to a research project on piping plovers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Coastal and Environmental Fellows program.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where it all started,鈥� says Iaquinto, who now serves as the manager of the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. 鈥淚 started doing shorebird work and that led to a permanent position at the Monomoy refuge on Cape Cod.鈥�
While at Monomoy, she captured shorebirds to study avian influenza, then investigated endangered red knots to learn about their migration and where they spend the winter. As the refuge manager at Bandon in Oregon, she doesn鈥檛 spend nearly as much time focusing on birds as she would like, but she still makes time to help out with surveys of puffins and shorebirds, as well as habitat restoration projects to support marsh birds. It鈥檚 a career she largely credits to her time at 溏心vlog免费B站.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 grow up knowing any of what I learned in Peter Paton鈥檚 field ornithology class,鈥� Iaquinto says, 鈥渟o I鈥檓 really thankful for that experience. It got me the job I have now. You come out of that wildlife program with the coursework you need to qualify for a biologist鈥檚 job at Fish and Wildlife. That program served me well.鈥�
Ryan Kleinert 鈥�12 had a very similar career trajectory, beginning with monitoring piping plovers for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and eventually becoming assistant refuge manager at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine. But his interest in birds started a little earlier.
Ryan Kleinert 鈥�12 holds a rare saltmarsh sparrow at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine where he is monitoring their breeding.
Jen Scranton 鈥�09 poses while photographing birds in the Panama Canal Zone in 2019.
He had a hiking friend in high school who took him to a refuge near their homes in New Jersey, and 鈥渢hat鈥檚 when birds first captured my heart,鈥� says Kleinert. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I realized they were these magnificent manifestations of life. Their antics and behaviors spoke to me. I especially love waterbirds鈥攖heir migratory patterns, their breeding behavior, their foraging behavior. A lot of it relates to my love of the water. I鈥檓 a surfer, first and foremost, and waterbirds make their homes on the wetlands and on the coast.鈥�
He advertises his love of birds every day with six elaborate bird tattoos on various parts of his body, including an albatross, great horned owl, Carolina wren, and wood thrush.
鈥淚 think tattooing can be a very aesthetic, interesting, and pleasing art form,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o what better way to honor and represent the critters that bring me joy and put smiles on my face than getting them tattooed on my body?鈥�
鈥淚 realized [birds] were these magnificent manifestations of life. Their antics and behaviors spoke to me.鈥�
鈥擱yan Kleinert 鈥�12
Jen Scranton 鈥�09 agrees. Although she doesn鈥檛 watch birds as part of her career, she, too, has a half dozen colorful tattoos illustrating her passion for birds, each of which represents a milestone in her birding life. A certified addictions registered nurse in Providence, Scranton finds bird-watching provides 鈥渁 calming mindfulness鈥� to her life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost a form of meditation,鈥� she says. 鈥淩ecently, it was quiet before it started raining, and all I could hear was the sound of chickadees, like little whispering peeps. Homing in to those different bird sounds really helps ground me. In the high-stress job I have, that鈥檚 the most important part of birding for me.鈥�
Birds also influence where she vacations, from Ecuador and Costa Rica to South Korea, Panama, and Antigua. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 usually go just for the birds, but the birds bring me to a new place, and that starts my journey,鈥� Scranton says.
Pedro has photographed 1,600 species of birds. Above, a purple velvet coronet (Ecuador).
Carlos Pedro 鈥�76 in Ushuaia, Argentina, on a self-guided birding and vineyard trip. Behind Pedro are Megallanic penguins.
Carlos Pedro 鈥�76, on the other hand, takes birding to the next level. Recently retired as executive director of a job training and placement program for economically disadvantaged people, he hikes up to 65 miles each week in search of birds around Rhode Island. For the last 10 years, he has consistently been among the top birders in the state, and in 2020 he saw more bird species in Rhode Island in one year (309) than had ever previously been observed.
Carlos Pedro 鈥�76 hikes up to 65 miles each week in search of birds around Rhode Island.
鈥淲hen I was young, I was always interested in nature, and then in 2000 I really started looking at what birds could be found in different parts of the state, and I got hooked,鈥� says Pedro, who was the captain of the 溏心vlog免费B站 soccer team in 1975. 鈥淢ostly, I just like to be out in the woods, and birds give you something to pay attention to. It makes you more aware of what鈥檚 around you.鈥�
Pedro has seen about 380 species of birds in Rhode Island, 3,900 worldwide, and he has photographed 1,600 species, including more than 100 of the world鈥檚 300 kinds of hummingbirds. He has traveled to 30 countries to watch birds.
Among the close-knit community of competitive birders in Rhode Island, Pedro is always among the leaders. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a competition, but it鈥檚 really not,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenge to see how many you can see in a year, but mostly it鈥檚 a self-challenge. We all let each other know what鈥檚 where. If you find something rare, you share it. It鈥檚 really just about having the time to put into it.鈥�
Regal sunbird, Uganda, photographed by Carlos Pedro 鈥�76
Many other former 溏心vlog免费B站 students turned to birding as a hobby sometime after graduation as a way of getting exercise, enjoying nature, or reducing stress. And in the age of COVID-19 lockdowns, as people spend more time at home and outside, even more alumni are discovering the joy of birds and bird-watching, whether in their backyards or beyond.
For Kathy McKiel Faella 鈥�80, who spent 38 years working in the 溏心vlog免费B站 Academic Computing Center, it was photography that drew her attention to birds. And the pandemic.
鈥淚鈥檝e always liked photography, and that naturally brings you to nature,鈥� says Faella. 鈥淎nd with the pandemic, there鈥檚 not that many other things you can do, so we鈥檝e been home watching the birds in our backyard and taking a lot of walks.鈥�
While she doesn鈥檛 claim to be an active birder, she has an affinity for owls, cardinals, and tufted titmice. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the details I can see in a photo that really fascinate me鈥攖heir beaks and eyes and claws,鈥� Faella says. 鈥淎nd, of course, we鈥檙e drawn to the colorful ones and the ones we鈥檝e never seen before.鈥�
Debra Cole 鈥�78 photographed this great egret while she was kayaking in Ninigret Pond in Charlestown, R.I. She was 鈥渞eminded that, while I do love to travel, there is so much beauty close to home.鈥�
The pandemic also boosted a budding interest in birds for Debra Cole 鈥�78. She retired from a career in the 溏心vlog免费B站 controller鈥檚 office just two weeks before the pandemic was declared, canceling her many travel plans for the year. As a retirement gift, her hiking friends gave her a pair of binoculars, so she has been spending the year watching the birds in her yard.
鈥淚鈥檝e always fed the birds, but now that I鈥檓 home all the time, I鈥檓 splurging on new feeders and different types of food,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow that I have more time to take in my surroundings, I鈥檝e been treated to sightings of many birds that I had missed during the rush of my workaday life.鈥�
Faella has no desire to look beyond her backyard and nearby hiking trails for birds, though she does occasionally watch an online webcam of nesting bald eagles in Florida.
She isn鈥檛 the only one. 鈥淏ird-watching is increasing in popularity everywhere,鈥� says Paton, 鈥渆specially now, when so many activities are necessarily happening outside rather than inside. When a rare cuckoo from Europe showed up in Rhode Island in October, at least ten of my former students went to see that bird. It鈥檚 a great feeling to know that I got them hooked.鈥�
More than hooked, in fact. Between the field station, faculty research, and ornithology education, 溏心vlog免费B站 and its graduates contribute significantly to the growing knowledge base of bird biology and ecology and play a vital role in bird conservation.
Now that鈥檚 something to tweet about. 鈥�
Photos: Nora Lewis; Courtesy Charles Clarkson; Debra Cole; Kate Iaquinto; Ryan Kleinert; Carlos Pedro; Jen Scranton
View some of the bird photographs captured by our readers and read their stories.