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Center for Conservation Biology e-Newsletter
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e-Newsletter October - December 2014
CONSERVATION STORIES
Unwelcome neighbors: Bald eagles during the Great
Depression
On March 22, 1936, Bryant Tyrrell traveled to the farm of Hiram Brown near
Chestertown, Maryland, to investigate a report of a bald eagle nest. Upon
entering the colonial-era manor house built in 1708, he was shown into the
sitting room and led to the large wooden mantle over the fireplace. There he
was proudly shown four sets of marks that had been etched into the wood. The
marks... Read more...
CCB NEWS
Tracking a shorebird to the ends of the earth
The journey begins in darkness in Virginia with an early morning flight
departing from the Norfolk International Airport in late May. The air is
humid, and the days have been hot along the mid-Atlantic Coast. The first leg
of the trip is to Toronto, Canada. Subsequent flights take me through the
Prairie Provinces (with an overnight stay), and finally on to Yellowknife,
Canada... Read more...
CCB Continues Support of Crowned Eagle Research
For the fourth consecutive breeding season, The Center for Conservation Biology
is collaborating with CECARA, Center for the Study and Conservation of Birds of
Prey of Argentina (Centro para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves Rapaces en
Argentina), to investigate post-fledging dependency, dispersal and survival in
the crowned solitary eagle. The collaborative study tracks birds using... Read
more...
Virginia Red-cockaded Woodpeckers Continue to Surpass
Expectations
This past year of 2014 was one of the most memorable and successful
conservation leaps for the Virginia Red-cockaded Woodpecker population in
recent history. The Center for Conservation Biology has just completed the
year-round monitoring of the state’s only population of the woodpecker at the
Nature Conservancy’s Piney Grove Preserve. Surveys resulted in... Read more...
Red knots receive listing under the Endangered Species
Act – Virginia to play critical role in recovery
In a press conference held on December 9th, 2014, Service Director Dan Ashe
announced the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the
rufa subspecies of the red knot as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
A “threatened” designation recognizes a significant risk of becoming endangered
throughout all or a portion of a species’ range. The announcement... Read
more...
Virginia Peregrine Falcon 2014 Update
Virginia’s Peregrine Falcon population continued to thrive in 2014 with 27
known breeding pairs producing 44 chicks. Virginia’s falcon population is
predominantly on the coastal plain with 24 breeding pairs on the coast
including 10 peregrine towers, 1 ground nest, 8 bridges, 1 Coast Guard
navigation tower, 2 fishing shacks, 1 power plant stack, and 1 high-rise
building. The population in the western part of the state remains small with
only 3 pairs nesting on rock cliffs. The stronghold of the... Read more...
Evaluating the Supply Side of Bird Migration within a
Fall Staging Site
The lower Delmarva Peninsula is one of the most significant migration
bottlenecks in eastern North America where large numbers of birds become
concentrated within a relatively small land area. Migrants stopping on the
lower Delmarva Peninsula are attempting to replenish their energy reserves by
accessing food resources in often unfamiliar habitats. Previous research
conducted by the CCB has documented the number of... Read more...
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Libby Mojica assumes Vice Presidency of The Raptor Research
Foundation
Libby Mojica was elected to a two-year term as Vice President of The Raptor
Research Foundation. The Foundation is an international professional society
for raptor researchers, conservationists, and educators. The society was formed
in North America in 1966 in response to the declining raptor populations during
the DDT era and expanded worldwide. The society publishes a quarterly
peer-reviewed Journal of Raptor Research, awards annual student and researcher
grants, and hosts annual research conferences for its members.
In addition to her new role as Vice President, Libby serves on the Conference
Committee and as the society’s website coordinator. In the past she has served
on the Scientific Program and Early Career Committees and as the chair of the
Conference Committee.
Libby joined The Center for Conservation Biology as a raptor biologist during
the spring of 2007. Since that time, she has lead research projects on bald
eagles, osprey, peregrine falcons, solitary crowned eagles and other raptors of
conservation concern. She has also spent time teaching other biologists field
techniques and has advised government agencies on raptor management problems.
Photo: Libby Mojica (second from left) instructs other researchers how to
design and make transmitter harnesses for raptors during a RRF meeting in
Argentina.
The Center for Conservation Biology's 2014 Annual Report is now
available for download!
MEDIA COVERAGE
People migrate to Blue Ridge to see migrating hawks
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Lots of people like to travel along the mountains in the fall. Hawks are no
different.
Those hawks, eagles and other raptors, however, aren’t looking for pretty fall
leaves. They are winging south on a beautiful and dangerous migration to their
winter homes.
“Falcon!” cried out Gabriel Mapel, 15, of Augusta County.
On Afton Mountain... Read more...
Shenandoah National Park's peregrine population picks up
The Free Lance-Star
A driving rain has finally let up, but a thick fog clings to the craggy ledges
and rocks atop the mountain in the area near Skyland.
Rolf Gubler, a park biologist, scans both the scree and the skyline, hoping to
catch a glimpse of one of the peregrine falcons he and other experts have
helped to bring back to the landscape.
“Shenandoah has some... Read more...
Rare Southern Songbird Thrives in 'Biological Deserts':
Pine Tree Farms
National Geographic
With its natural habitat mostly gone, one of North America's rarest songbirds
has found a surprising workaround: It's thriving in the industrial pine
plantations of the southeastern United States. Farmed loblolly pines are
becoming the main breeding habitat for the mysterious Swainson's warbler,
according to a recent study... Read more...
Peregrine falcon is back at Oceanfront for 18th year
The Virginian-Pilot
“Guess what!” was how Reese Lukei began his phone call. “She’s here!” He didn’t
have to say more for me to know that the grand dame of the winter Oceanfront
was back for another year. “She” is a peregrine falcon that has just returned
to the beach for her 18th consecutive winter. Lukei photographed her preening
on the “S” of the... Read more...
Rising sea level swallowing red knot’s migration
stopovers
Bay Journal
When it comes to endurance athletes, few can match the performance of the rufa
red knot. The 5-ounce shorebird may fly 19,000 miles annually from its
wintering grounds at the southern tip of South America to its summer breeding
grounds in the Canadian Arctic and back again. The red knot often flies nonstop
for thousands of miles... Read more...
In the red: Climate change threatens red knot population
Virginia Commonwealth University: News
In December, the red knot was added to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s
list of endangered and threatened wildlife, making it the first bird whose
listing identifies climate change as a principal threat to its survival. In the
past 30 years, the small shorebird’s population has declined by more than 75
percent, from almost 150,000 to... Read more...
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Copyright © 2014 The Center for Conservation
Biology, All rights reserved.
Banner image by Bart Paxton.
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