Scientists are racing to save a tiny songbird that nests on New England’s alpine summits

On a summer night just before sunset on the summit of Mount Mansfield, biologist Nathaniel Sharp and a crew of volunteers are getting ready to try to catch Bicknell’s thrush.

“If you even give, like, a poor impression of a whistle, sometimes you’ll get them to come and check you out,” Sharp said, playing a recording of the bird’s call — a sharp “Vreet!” that ends on a down note.

If you’ve spent time on a high peak in the Adirondacks or the summit of Mount Mansfield at dawn or dusk, it might sound familiar to you. So too might its song.

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“It’s just this beautiful … sort of cascade of whistles and buzzes and flute-y notes,” Sharp said. “If we’re lucky, we’ll hear that going off on the mountain later