In Professor Shustack's own words: "I get it. Juncos seem boring. They are one of our most common birds in western Massachusetts. Their plumage is monochromatic. No one is going to lean in closer to hear your story about getting the junco on your yard list. But, these drab, little trillers have been an important study species for ornithologists for over 100 years! In this presentation, I’m going to try to convince you that juncos are extremely fascinating! Since 2017, along with my students, I’ve banded over 1000 juncos in western Massachusetts.  A few dozen of these have also been radio-tagged. In this talk, I will share results from our project that is helping reveal the migratory behaviors of juncos in western Massachusetts."

Dr. Dan Shustack is a professor of environmental studies at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, located in North Adams. In addition to his work on juncos, he also has ongoing projects studying Northern Saw-whet Owl migration, Northern Cardinal coloration, and winter populations of Evening Grosbeaks. Some of his research makes use of Motus towers (a topic of much interest within our club lately). He incorporates field work in many of the courses he teaches as well, mostly around the northern Berkshires, but also one about the Everglades and South Florida that includes a spring break class expedition from which he just returned. 

The Zoom Link