Many of us are probably familiar with “The Incredible Journey,” the story of two dogs and a cat and their astonishing adventures as they traveled toward home.
A recent news release from the Center for Conservation Biology, a research facility affiliated with the College of William and Mary, carried details of an even more amazing journey.
Earlier this year, on May 19, a whimbrel was captured on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and fitted with a satellite transmitter. This species belongs to a group commonly referred to as shorebirds. At around 18 inches in length and with a long drooping bill, it is a fairly robust bird. We have only one record in our area: a group of three individuals found on Carter Elliott’s farm during the summer of 1990.
The bird recently banded on the coast was given the name Hope. The researchers, who had fitted her with the satellite transmitter, waited to see where she would go. On May 26, she left Virginia and headed north, stopping to rest and feed along the shores of the James Bay in Canada. Hope then headed west, eventually arriving on the coast of Alaska’s Beaufort Sea.
Under normal conditions, she would have stayed through the summer to breed there, but weather conditions were poor this year. Many parts of Canada and Alaska experienced a very late thaw, and some areas had 100-percent snow coverage as late as mid-June.
In likely response to the unsuitable breeding conditions, Hope turned back south, and in mid-July stopped along the shoreline of the Hudson Bay.
She stayed there, resting and building up fat reserves for almost a month. On Aug. 10, Hope left on a non-stop flight toward the south. She crossed the Hudson Bay, flew over the interior of Canada and on toward the New England states. After reaching the Maine coast, her flight path was over the open water of the Atlantic Ocean. Five days later — after flying 3,270 miles — Hope arrived on St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. Since she was tagged in late May, she has traveled more than 8000 miles.
Hope is one of several birds fitted with satellite transmitters in a collaborative effort by the Center for Conservation Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy.
This is part of an ongoing effort to discover migratory routes that connect breeding and winter areas and identify those sites that that are critical to the conservation of this declining species. Updated tracking maps may be viewed online at www.ccb-wm.org/programs/migration/Whimbrel.htm
News and notes
Although the major portion of the hawk migration is still about two weeks away, hawk watchers are already out at Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro. During the past week, they have counted 49 broad-winged hawks, a northern harrier and one peregrine falcon.
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