[wisb] news on tracking Whimbrels

From: william mueller <wpmueller1947@xxxxxxxxx>
To: wisbirdn <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2012 10:57:18 -0500
Scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) have tracked 3
whimbrels off the east coast of Canada to the northern shore of South
America via a previously unknown migration pathway over the open
Atlantic Ocean.  The route passed through the center of the vast
Atlantic at one point passing 1,000 miles closer to Africa than to
North America and within 700 miles of the Cape Verde Islands.  The
bird with the longest flight flew nonstop for 145 hours (6 days)
covering a distance of 7,000 kilometers (4,355 miles).

The three birds named Mackenzie, Taglu, and Akpik were originally
marked by CCB and Canadian Wildlife Service staff on the breeding
grounds along the Mackenzie River Delta in far western Canada
(Mackenzie was fitted with a transmitter recovered from Machi, a bird
that was shot on Guadeloupe in September of 2011).  In mid-July the
birds flew across the continent to the east coast of Canada and staged
for approximately 2 weeks in the James Bay and the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to build fat reserves.  The birds then flew southeast,
reaching the center of the Atlantic Ocean before turning south and
making landfall in South America between Guyana and Brazil.  Although
this portion of the Atlantic is used by true seabirds that roost on
the water, it is so isolated from shore that species such as whimbrel
that cannot land on water were not believed to reach it.  The birds
may receive some benefit from venturing this far out to sea in the
form of favorable tailwinds.  Mackenzie averaged j
 ust under 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour) for the 6-day flight.

The three birds are part of a larger project that has included 20
additional birds that have been tracked to better understand migratory
pathways and locations that are critical for this declining species.
The study has tracked whimbrels for more than 185,000 miles (300,000
kilometers) since 2008.  The broader tracking project is a
collaborative effort between The Center for Conservation Biology, The
Canadian Wildlife Service, 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.

Map Link
http://ccb-wm.org/news/pressreleases_pdfs/20120814_Whimbrel_migration_map.jpg


-- 
William P. Mueller
Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory
WGLBBO online:
http://wglbbo.org/
Project Coordinator, Milwaukee BIOME Project
BIOME Project online:
http://milwbiomeproj.wordpress.com/
Blog:http://futureofbirds.blogspot.com/
wpmueller1947@xxxxxxxxx
414-698-9108
Milwaukee, WI
####################
You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding 
Network (Wisbirdn).
To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: 
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: 
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn
[wisb] news on tracking Whimbrels

Other related posts:
