Pratt Refuge

Enhancing bird habitat at the Pratt Refuge

Pratt Refuge supports a mix of forest and meadow habitats that host a wide range of bird species. In recent years, we improved bird habitat on 20 acres at Pratt Refuge, guided by Audubon Vermont’s Silviculture with Birds in Mind Program. As habitat loss and climate change continue to affect migratory bird populations, these practices can support birds throughout their life cycles by providing places to nest, feed, and take cover.

Making a forest for the birds

Our goal at Pratt Refuge was to create a forest with layers: an upper canopy, a midstory, and a well-developed understory. These layers create nesting, perching, and foraging sites for a variety of bird species. In 2024 and 2025, we completed two projects:

• Crop tree release: We cut trees that were crowding priority tree species, including black cherry, sugar maple, yellow birch, spruce, red maple, and female white ash. These trees provide food and/or habitat for bird species. Cutting surrounding trees will allow them more sunlight, helping them thrive.
• Patch cut: We created a two-acre young forest by removing trees over two inches in diameter. Increased sunlight encourages dense shrub growth, which provides valuable cover for songbirds. Felled trees were left in place to mimic natural disturbance and add habitat on the forest floor.

We continue the tradition of monitoring bird species at Pratt Refuge, building on Fred Pratt’s legacy. Over time, these improvements are expected to increase both the number and variety of birds using the property. This should help birding at Pratt Refuge get even better.

Studying climate change in the forest

UVM researcher Melissa Pastore studied the effects of more frequent freeze-thaw cycles at the Pratt Refuge.

Vegetation pulls carbon dioxide from the air; this carbon is then stored in the soil. But when the soil is disturbed (such as during freeze-thaw cycles) it can release carbon back into the atmosphere. As our winters warm, the amount of time that Vermont has continuous snow cover is also reduced.

These increasing freeze-thaw cycles raise concern about the forest’s ability to collect and hold substantial amounts of carbon in the soil.

Melissa collected soil samples and compared them against samples from higher elevations on Camel’s Hump that tend to have a thicker snowpack. Read more about her findings here.

Deer overpopulation

Deer are amazing creatures, but too many can be too much of a good thing for young trees.

Overabundant deer are hungry and unhealthy—and they ruin the health of the forest around them, too. Young shrubs and trees don’t stand a chance against continuous grazing. In Vermont, some areas have surging deer populations that are posing a serious threat to the next generation of forests.

At the Pratt Refuge, we are using a fence to study forest regeneration. It is one of several places where we have built a deer-proof fence in the woods. The idea is to study the health of the young trees within these fenced areas over several years and use the findings to improve forest health elsewhere.

In this short video we explain why we are building a deer fence at the Pratt Refuge.