PhD Student (2026-present)

Hello! My research is on the migration ecology and demography of Blackpoll warblers (Setophaga striata). Specifically, I am evaluating the risks and costs of migration, using automated radio telemetry to quantify mortality rates and identify factors influencing en route survival. My research also examines how Blackpoll warblers adjust their migratory behavior (e.g., flight altitude) in response to adverse environmental conditions using barometric geolocators and how those adjustments may affect metabolic processes. I will combine demographic and tracking data from my field site in Churchill, MB, with data from three additional breeding sites in Canada and the United States through an international Blackpoll research network, along with information from stopover and nonbreeding areas, to develop a full annual-cycle population model. This model will help determine which stage the population is most limited and where to direct conservation efforts.

I received my MS in 2024 at Delaware State University, where I examined the ecological importance of Delaware Bay nearshore habitats for transient songbirds during migration. I have also worked on many migratory and breeding songbird projects throughout the eastern United States and have extensive experience with banding, extracting, tagging, hand-tracking, resighting, nest-searching for, and taking biological samples from thrushes, warblers, and many other passerines. My past employers include the University of Illinois (Ward and Van Doren labs), the University of Georgia (Chandler lab), the National Audubon Society, and Manomet Bird Observatory.
When not in the field, I enjoy reading, doing puzzles, playing the fiddle, and spending time with my cat Moosi.

Publications

Heckscher, C.M., Mohyuddin, T. & Lester, L.A. (2025). Severe en route tropical weather is a predictor of morphological variation and body condition of a Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbird. Scientific Reports, 15, 25864 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11395-y