[birdky] Re: INFO: Unfortunate fate of Whimbrels on migration ... :o(
- From: linda craiger <lindacraiger@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: birdky <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:53:56 +0000
I can see the same thing happening to a Sandhill Crane! Somebody must have
decided Whimbrels "tasted like steak"! What a shame!
Linda Craiger / Glasgow
> Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:24:40 -0400
> From: brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [birdky] INFO: Unfortunate fate of Whimbrels on migration ... :o(
>
> Thanks to Scott Somershoe of TN for monitoring activity of satellite
> transmittered Whimbrel, although this news is quite discouraging. Scott
> subsequently posted to the TN listserv of a similar fate for another of the
> transmittered birds; perhaps all of the folks who mobilized to fight for
> cranes this year could turn some attention to this travesty ...
>
> * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
> Subject: Whimbrel survives tropical storm killed by hunters on Guadeloupe
> From: "Scott Somershoe" <Scott.Somershoe AT tn.gov>
> Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:30:41 -0500
>
> A forward of probable interest to the list serve.
>
> Scott Somershoe
>
>
> (Williamsburg, VA)---Scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology
> learned
> today that a whimbrel that they had been tracking via satellite for 2 years
> as
> part of a migration study had been shot by a hunting party this morning on
> the
> Caribbean island of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). The bird named "Machi"
> had
> just flown through Tropical Storm Maria and made landfall on Montserrat
> before
> flying to Guadeloupe. Machi had been tracked for over 27,000 miles (44,000
> km)
> back and forth between breeding grounds in the Hudson Bay Lowlands of Canada
> to
> wintering grounds on the coast of Brazil. The bird was tracked on 7 nonstop
> flights of more than 2,000 miles. During the spring of 2010, Machi flew more
> than 3,400 miles directly from Brazil to South Carolina. Machi serves as an
> example of birds that interact with many landscapes and cultures throughout
> the
> year and a reminder of how international cooperation is required for their
> continued existence.
>
>
> Guadeloupe, Martinique and Barbados continue to operate "shooting swamps"
> some
> of which are artificial wetlands created to attract migrant shorebirds for
> sport shooting during fall migration. It is estimated that tens of thousands
> of
> shorebirds continue to be taken annually by hunting clubs on just these three
> islands. This practice is a throwback to more than a century ago when gunners
> hunted shorebirds throughout the Americas. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was
> passed, in part, to protect dwindling numbers of birds that migrate across
> country borders. Operated as a French overseas department, both Guadeloupe
> and
> Martinique are part of the European Union and are not party to the Treaty.
> Barbados, once a British colony is now an independent state and also not
> party
> to the Treaty. The last Eskimo Curlew known to science was shot on Barbados
> in
> 1963. Shorebird hunting within these areas continues to be unregulated to the
> present time. Conservation organizations continue to work toward some
> compromise that will reduce pressures on declining species.
>
>
> Worldwide, many shorebird populations are experiencing dramatic declines.
> Most
> of the migratory shorebird species breeding in eastern North America and the
> Arctic pass over the Caribbean region during the late summer and early fall
> on
> their way to wintering grounds. When they encounter severe storms the birds
> use
> the islands as refuges before moving on to their final destinations. Hunting
> clubs take advantage of these events and shoot large numbers of downed birds
> following the passage of these storms. During the 2009 and 2010 fall
> migrations, Machi did not stop on any of the islands but flew directly from
> Virginia to Paramaribo, Suriname before moving on to winter near Sao Luis,
> Brazil. It appears that the encounter with Tropical Storm Maria caused the
> bird
> to stop on Guadeloupe.
>
>
> Machi contributed a great deal to what we know about whimbrel migration along
> the western Atlantic. Satellite tracks of this bird over 4 full migrations
> (http://www.ccb-wm.org/programs/migration/Whimbrel/whimbrel.htm) linked
> breeding and wintering areas, defined migration routes, identified important
> migration staging areas, and demonstrated how these birds interact with major
> tropical systems. This tracking project is a collaborative effort between The
> Center for Conservation Biology, The Nature Conservancy, The U.S. Fish and
> Wildlife Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Virginia
> Coastal
> Zone Management Program, and Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.
>
>
> Dr. Bryan D. Watts, Director, Center for Conservation Biology, College of
> William and Mary - Virginia Commonwealth University, bdwatt AT wm.edu ,
> office
> phone 757) 221-2247 mobile phone (757) 272-4492
>
>
> Fletcher M. Smith, Biologist Center for Conservation Biology, College of
> William and Mary, Virginia Commonwealth University, fmsmit AT wm.edu office
> (757)
> 221-1617 mobile (757) 678-6915
>
>
> Barry Truitt, Chief Conservation Scientist, The Nature Conservancy, Virginia
> Coast Reserve Program, btruitt AT tnc.org
>
>
> Brad Winn, Manomet Center for Conservation Science, bwinn AT manomet.org
>
>
> State Ornithologist
> Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
> P.O. Box 40747
> Nashville, TN 37204
> 615-781-6653 (o)
> www.tnwatchablewildlife.org
> www.pbase.com/shoeman
>
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