Hope arrives on MacKenzie River breeding grounds
(Williamsburg, VA)---Hope, a whimbrel being tracked via
satellite by scientists has arrived on her breeding grounds along the MacKenzie
River in Canada. She left the Eastern Shore of Virginia on 22 May and made it
to breeding grounds on 14 June after traveling nearly 6,000 kilometers. This
is the third year that the bird has been tracked to the same location just
south of the Beaufort Sea. Her travels through three migration cycles have
included more than 24,000 miles (39,000 kilometers). In addition to Hope, 3
other whimbrels were tracked this spring to breeding grounds west of Hudson Bay.
Updated tracking maps may be viewed online.
http://www.ccb-wm.org/programs/migration/Whimbrel/whimbrel.htm
Satellite tracking represents only one aspect of a broader,
integrated investigation of whimbrel migration. During the past 4 years, the
Center for Conservation in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources 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. Funding has been provided by The Nature Conservancy,
the Center for Conservation Biology, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, Georgia Department of Natural
Resources, The Toronto Ornithological Club, the Toronto and Region Conservation
Authority, and the Northern Neck Audubon Society.
Media Contacts
Dr. Bryan Watts, Executive Director
Center for Conservation Biology
College of William and Mary & Virginia Commonwealth University
phone: 757-221-2247
email: bdwatt@xxxxxx<mailto:bdwatt@xxxxxx>
Barry Truitt, Chief Conservation Scientist
The Nature Conservancy
Virginia Coast Reserve Program
email: btruitt@xxxxxxx
phone: 757-442-3049
