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Features
Nightjar Survey investigates birds and land use
For the fourth consecutive year, volunteers from across the United States set forth into the night to conduct nocturnal survey routes for the U.S. Nightjar Survey Network. The Network is a national program specifically designed to gather population distribution and trend data on the group of species like whip-poor-wills, common nighthawks, common poorwills and their close taxonomic relatives. Survey data is already providing fundamental building blocks to inform land-based management decisions to conserve populations.
Southern range limit for breeding saltmarsh sparrows
The saltmarsh sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus) is a species of high conservation concern due to its extremely limited global distribution, its complete dependence on salt marshes, and the vulnerability of these marshes to sea-level rise. The species is confined to the narrow ribbon of salt marsh habitat on the outer coast of New England and the mid-Atlantic. Historically, there has been considerable confusion over the southern range limit for breeding in this form. CCB has conducted investigations over the past decade to help locate the range limit for breeding.
Spring shorebird migration along the lower Delmarva
Many nearctic shorebirds breed in the northern latitudes of North America and winter in the tropical to temperate latitudes of Central and South America. Movements between breeding and wintering areas may cover thousands of kilometers and are energetically expensive. In order to fuel these flights, many species rely on a series of staging areas where they rebuild fat reserves prior to the next long-distance flight. The lower Delmarva Peninsula in Virginia is a significant staging area for several shorebird species.
Waterbird community expands on upper Pee Dee River
The 2010 breeding season represents the 10th consecutive year that CCB has conducted aerial surveys for breeding waterbirds in the upper Pee Dee River basin in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The four reservoirs, all managed by ALCOA for the production of hydro-electric energy, support a growing community of fish-eating birds and are significant within this area. The survey series represents a view into ongoing population changes for these species within the region.
Virginia Eagle Survey continues to reach milestones
The Virginia Bald Eagle Survey is a national treasure. The survey has become one of the most significant serial data sets in the world. Over the past 55 years, the survey has documented biocide-induced reproductive suppression, the resulting population low, and a dramatic recovery in both reproductive rates and the overall population following the ban of DDT and like compounds. More than population information alone, the effort has produced a wealth of ecological information on a population recovering within an increasingly human-dominated landscape. It has become one of the best records of arguably the greatest conservation achievement in our nation’s history.
In The News
Retired W&M professor's surveys help save eagles
Recently, Dr. Mitchell A. Byrd, co-founder of the Center for Conservation Biology and Emeritus Professor at the College of William & Mary, was interviewed by Rex Springston, reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. They took a journey out on the James River to look for eagles and to talk about Byrd's his long history of involvement with bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and other birds in the state of Virginia.
Peregrine falcon, “James” (RIP) establishes record for lifetime reproductive success
'James,' a male peregrine falcon has surpassed the recorded North American longevity record of 19 years, 6 months. James has not appeared at the James River nest site since late summer, and is assumed to have died. CCB reviews his breeding record and life on the James River.
Presentations and public talks by CCB in 2010
CCB Researchers and Associates have been busy, speaking about our conservation efforts in the mid-Atlantic and beyond. Click here to see a list of presentations given.
Other News
Media coverage of CCB's research, including:
Global warming a threat to salt-marsh sparrow in Va >>
Call of the Wild (Virginia Living Magazine) >>
The incredible journey of Hope (VDGIF) >>
Incredible flight of Georgia shorebird 'to be awed and admired' >>
For these and more, go to CCB's media coverage page.
Recent Findings
Peregrines falcons thriving
Virginia’s population of peregrine falcons continued to thrive during the 2010 breeding season. This year 23 breeding pairs were documented, an increase of 2 pairs from last year. These breeding pairs produced 57 young that survived to banding age. The Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) has been involved monitoring and managing peregrine falcons in Virginia since the species was reintroduced to the state in the late 1970s. Today’s population is a direct result of years of intensive management by CCB and its conservation partners.
Mexican whip-poor-will monitoring
In 2010, the AOU taxonomically split the whip-poor-will into the eastern and Mexican species (Caprimulgus vociferous and C. arizonae, respectively). The U.S. Nightjar Survey Network currently has nightjar survey routes in Arizona and New Mexico placed in the identifiable life zone for Mexican whip-poor-wills and additional routes appropriately placed in other states. Mexican whip-poor-wills have been suggested by others to be hard to detect during surveys, but as we expected, data collected by Nightjar Survey volunteers show that this species is reliably discovered, when surveyed during bright moonlit nights. With the help of regional biologists and numerous volunteers, the Survey hopes to collect more data on the mexican whip-poor-will.
Rare four-chick eagle brood
For bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), brood size typically varies between one and three and geographic patterns in both average brood size, since asynchronous hatching leads to dominance hierarchies affecting prey availability to younger chicks. The sucess of a four-chick brood is rare. In early April of 2009, friends of CCB, John and Yoke DiGiorgio found a four-chick brood along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, and documented their development to fledging.
Mercury levels in Chesapeake Bay bald eagles
Continued accumulation of mercury throughout the globe has significant implications for human and wildlife health. Mercury is a toxic byproduct of coal-fired power plants and several other industrial and natural processes. Human activities have resulted in a significant increase in the amounts of mercury released into the atmosphere annually. Due to their almost complete dependence on aquatic prey, bald eagles are vulnerable to mercury and represent a good indicator species for mercury levels within aquatic systems. CCB has teamed-up with Dan Cristol's lab in the Department of Biology at the College of William & Mary to use a portion of these feathers to assess mercury loads in Chesapeake Bay eagles.
Reproductive effort of red-cockaded woodpeckers at Piney Grove a result of age before beauty
The population of red-cockaded woodpeckers at TNC’s Piney Grove Preserve in Virginia represents the northernmost residency of the species in the United States. Over 100 years ago, the range of the red-cockaded woodpecker used to extend further north through coastal Maryland and into New Jersey. Drastic losses of old-growth pine habitat throughout the 20th century reduced woodpecker populations to 1 % throughout their former range in the United States and when the dust settled the change had redefined Virginia as the new northern boundary. CCB and TNC have worked since 2000 to manage the small population, which has increased to 19 breeding pairs in 2010.
Studying eagles along the lower Susquehanna
The lower Susquehanna River supports one of the most spectacular concentrations of bald eagles found anywhere along the Atlantic Coast. Birds converge on this area, particularly in the winter months, to take advantage of fish that are stunned in the outfall of the hydroelectric dams. In early 2010, CCB joined forces with Exelon Corporation to investigate the importance of the lower Susquehanna for eagles and evaluate the relationship between birds with transmitters and overall roost size.
CCB assists other groups in tracking eagles
In May of 2010, Bryan Watts and Libby Mojica traveled to the far western corner of Kentucky to help the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources deploy satellite transmitters on two eaglets. The department monitors active nests within the area and has been interested in eagle use and movements within the Mississippi watershed for some time.
For the second year in a row, CCB donated a satellite transmitter and tracking time to follow the movements of an eaglet hatched from the Norfolk Botanical Garden. Tracking eaglets from this nest contributes to our understanding of eagle dispersal ecology in the lower Chesapeake Bay while allowing the general public to learn more about how these birds spend their time after they leave the nest.
Conservation Profiles
CCB Research Associate, Reese Lukei
Reese Lukei's community efforts can be noticed all over the tidewater region. His volunteer activities span his passions for conservation, wildlife, and hiking. Reese says he draws the organizational skills and creativity he needs to coordinate his busy retirement lifestyle from his accounting career, military service, and musical background, and he relishes the opportunities he receives by volunteering with wildlife.
Previously featured profiles
Get Involved
Find-out how you can interact more with CCB:
Learn how to shop to support CCB through our new GiveBackAmerica.org charity page, featuring 100+ major online shopping sites
New opportunities to sponsor CCB's satellite-tagged birds through WildlifeTracking.org
Watch peregrine nesting behavior during breeding season on CCB's live FalconCams.
Participate in citizen-science monitoring projects, like the US Nightjar Network.
Learn how to report on one of CCB's marked birds.
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