Across 2,000 Miles: How One Songbird Connects Conservation & Community
- Julie Reiff
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
By James Reddoch
High on the rugged slopes of Old Spec, Maine’s third-highest mountain, Nancy Eaton listens for birds. Each June, for nearly 25 years, she has taken part in Mountain Birdwatch, an ongoing study run by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. Her task is to document bird species that nest in these high-elevation spruce-fir forests. The data she and other volunteers collect across the Northeast help scientists understand how these birds are faring in the face of development and a warming climate.
Chief among them is the Bicknell’s Thrush—a rare and elusive bird, with only about 100,000 individuals worldwide. Nancy hikes miles of rugged terrain, camps overnight, and rises at 3:30 a.m. to collect her data.
“I usually hear a Bicknell’s thrush on Old Spec,” she says, “but I seldom see one.”
So why search for such an obscure bird? It is an indicator species for this fragile habitat: what affects the thrush is likely to affect the entire community.
Unfortunately, the latest Mountain Birdwatch report shows Maine populations have declined 46.8 percent since 2010, with even steeper declines in New Hampshire.
Nearly 2,000 miles away, in the rainforests of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Charles Kerchner is also focused on the thrush. More than 80 percent of the species winters there, and Kerchner helped found Reserva Privada Zorzal, a 1,000-acre bird sanctuary linking three national parks to create a corridor for biodiversity. But he realized that establishing a sanctuary alone wasn’t enough. The fertile lands surrounding the reserve are under pressure from agriculture and timber extraction. Protecting biodiversity required engaging the farmers who depend on that land. His solution was to establish Zorzal Cacao, a socially responsible venture with local growers.
Cacao, derived from the beans of a shade-grown tropical tree, is one of the Dominican Republic’s leading organic exports, prized by high-end chocolatiers. Unlike many crops, cacao farming can support biodiversity rather than diminish it. Zorzal Cacao was founded with this conservation goal at its core. Quality is also a goal. Taking steps to become certified organic and “Bird Friendly” by the Smithsonian Museaum has resulted in improved income for farmers while at the same time helping fund the sanctuary.
“The zorzal (Spanish for ‘thrush’) is the flagship species for this collaboration,” says Kerchner. “But conservation is not just about this bird. We’ve taken it a step further and connected people.”
Those connections extend far beyond the Dominican Republic. In a real sense, the Bicknell’s thrush links cacao farmers with Mountain Birdwatch volunteers like Nancy Eaton. It connects organizations like Reserva Zorzal, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, and ultimately the local conservation efforts of groups like the Mahoosuc Land Trust. In turn, our membership, volunteer work, and donations connect us to the work of preserving the rich web of biodiversity that stretches between these two vastly different regions.
To learn more or get involved, visit the links in this article. You can also watch a short film about Reserva Zorzal and Zorzal Cacao by clicking here.
Sources:
Vermont Center for Ecostudies. “Mountain Birdwatch.” Accessed May 11, 2026.https://vtecostudies.org/what-we-do/projects/mountain-birdwatch
Hill, J.M, and D.M. Williams. 2025.
The State of the Mountain Birds Report: Northeast 2025. Vermont Center for Ecostudies, White River Junction, VT. https://mountainbirds.vtecostudies.org/.Accessed 5/5/2026.
Zorzal Cacao. “Conservation.” Accessed May 11, 2026.https://zorzalcacao.com/conservation/
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