Hope, a whimbrel carrying a satellite transmitter, has returned
to Great Pond, the exact location where she spent the winter months of
2009-2010. Great Pond is a Birdlife International Important Bird Area on
the island of St. Croix. Lisa Yntema observed Hope on August 26 just
shortly after the bird completed a flight across the open ocean from the
Delmarva Peninsula of Virginia. Hope has been tracked by researchers using
a small transmitter through four, long-distance migrations totaling more
than 26,000 miles. Originally captured and fitted with a transmitter on 19
May, 2009 while staging along the Delmarva Peninsula, she has been tracked
twice to breeding grounds along the MacKenzie River near Alaska, through
several migratory staging areas, and to the wintering site in the Virgin
Islands. Incredibly, Hope has returned three times to the same creek along
the Delmarva Peninsula to stage for extended periods during migration.
Hope has revealed a tremendous amount of information on the
ecology of this declining shorebird including migratory flight speed,
migratory routes, the location of critical staging areas, and the linkages
between breeding and wintering sites. She has been a standout among several
birds that have been tracked as part of a collaborative effort between the
Center for Conservation Biology and The Nature Conservancy. The focus of
the ongoing project is to collect information that will be useful to
long-term conservation efforts. Funding has been provided by The Nature
Conservancy, the Center for Conservation Biology, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, and the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program.
Background
The whimbrel is a large, holarctic, highly migratory shorebird.
The North American race includes two disjunct breeding populations both of
which winter primarily in Central and South America. The western population
breeds in Alaska and the Northwest Territories of Canada. The eastern
population breeds south and west of Hudson Bay in Manitoba and Ontario.
Both populations are of high conservation concern due to dramatic declines
in recent decades.
Satellite tracking represents only one aspect of a broader,
integrated investigation of whimbrel migration. During the past 3 years,
the Center for Conservation in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has used conventional transmitters to
examine stopover duration, conducted aerial surveys to estimate seasonal
numbers, collected feather samples to locate summer and winter areas through
stable-isotope analysis, and has initiated a whimbrel watch program.
Updated tracking maps may be viewed online.
http://www.ccb-wm.org/programs/migration/Whimbrel/whimbrel.htm
Story Contacts: Bryan Watts, Director, Center for Conservation Biology,
College of W&M and VCU, bdwatt@xxxxxx
Barry Truitt, Chief Conservation Scientist, The
Nature Conservancy, Virginia Coast Program, btruitt@xxxxxxx
posted by:
Michael Wilson
Center for Conservation Biology
College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University
PO Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
phone: 757-221-1649
fax: 757-221-1650
email: mdwils@xxxxxx
