Mr. Smith goes to MacKenzie;
Fletcher Smith from the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) has traveled to a
remote area of western Canada to work with a population of Whimbrels on the
breeding grounds. Fletcher left Virginia on 1 June to join a field crew from
the Canadian Wildlife Service working with breeding shorebirds from a remote
base camp on the MacKenzie River south of the Beaufort Sea. Crew and supplies
were brought into this arctic, windswept site by helicopter and will remain for
6 weeks. Fletcher will be capturing breeding adults and deploying satellite
transmitters and geolocators to document the winter range and migratory
pathways of this population. Very little is currently known about this
isolated breeding population. Approximately a dozen pairs are breeding near
the camp site and transmitters were deployed on 2 adults earlier this week.
Later in the summer, it will be possible for the public to track these birds on
Seaturtle.org. The well-known Whimbrel named Hope, that CCB has tracked since
2009, breeds within this population but her territory is not near camp.
Whimbrels use the seaside of the Delmarva Peninsula as a terminal staging area
before embarking on a transcontinental flight to their breeding grounds.
Tracking birds from this staging area to their breeding and wintering areas has
brought about many significant findings for Whimbrel that include redefining
migratory pathways and raising concern for hunting pressure in the Caribbean.
Fletcher's visit allows the CCB to extend a first-hand effort for this species
on its breeding grounds so we may continue making the conservation connection
across the many widespread geographic locations that are critical to support
the Whimbrel's annual cycle.
Michael Wilson
Center for Conservation Biology
College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
phone: 757-221-1649
fax: 757-221-1650
email: mdwils@xxxxxx
web: www.ccb-wm.org
