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Platform Transmitter Terminal (PTT) attachment on a Whimbrel that was captured along the lower Delmarva Penninsula in Virginia on 20 May 2008. Note neoprene base, Teflon® harness, and brass rivet used for PTT attachment and PTT position on synsachrum. Wader Study Group Bulletin 115(2): 119
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... disjunct breeding populations of Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus have been described in the western hemisphere (American Ornithologists’ Union 1983). The western popula- tion breeds in portions of Alaska and across the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada while the eastern popula- tion breeds west and south of Hudson Bay (Skeel & Mallory 1996). Most of what we believe we know about the migratory pathways of these populations has been pieced together from circumstantial evidence gleaned from decades of field obser - vations (Skeel & Mallory 1996, Taverner 1942). The popula- tions have been thought to have separate migratory routes with little mixing where the western and eastern populations were confined to the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts, respectively. Here we present evidence of a transcontinental migration route that brings portions of the two Whimbrel populations into contact during spring migration. We captured 26 Whimbrels between 30 April and 20 May 2008 within the barrier island–lagoon system of the lower Delmarva Peninsula in Virginia (37°39'S, 75°87'W). Birds were captured using rocket nets set on known loafing or roosting sites in cordgrass Spartina alterniflora marshes. We fitted birds with Incoloy® tarsal bands on the right leg and yellow color bands over alpha–numeric green flags on the left leg. All birds captured were in adult plumage and varied in mass between 360 and 645 g (X±S.E. = 480±14.6). One Whimbrel captured on 20 May was fitted with a satellite transmitter or PTT (Platform Transmitter Terminal). The PTT used in this study was a 9.5 g, solar–powered unit produced by Microwave Telemetry Inc (Columbia, MD). We glued the transmitter to a larger square of neoprene to give it elevation above the body and to prevent the bird from preening feath- ers over the solar panels. We attached the transmitter using a modification of the leg–loop harness (Rappole & Tipton1991, Sanzenbacher et al. 2000). Instead of elastic cord, we used Teflon® ribbon (Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, PA) that was fastened with brass rivets (Fig. 1). The bird was located using satellites of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satel- lites with onboard tracking equipment operated by Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS America, Inc., Largo, MD) (Col- lecte Localisation Satellites 2008, Fancy et al. 1988). The transmitter was programmed to operate with a duty cycle of 24 h off and 5 h on. Locations in latitude and longitude deci- mal degrees, date, time, location error, activity sensor data, and other data were received from CLS America within 24 hr of satellite contact with the PTT. Locations were estimated by the ARGOS system ( www.argos–system.org ). The system estimates location using a Doppler shift in signal frequency, and calculates a probability distribution within which the estimate lies. The standard deviation of this distribution gives an estimate of the location accuracy and assigns it to a “loca- tion class” (LC): LC3 = <150 m, LC2 = 150–350 m, LC1 = 350–1000 m, LC0 > 1000 m, LCA, B, and Z = no location accuracy. We received 10–15 locations per reporting period and plotted the highest quality of these (LC = 1–3) using ArcGIS 9.2 (Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc., Redlands, CA) for analysis. The Whimbrel left Virginia on 23 May 2008, flew north- west, skirted around the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the Beaufort Sea, around the Brooks Range and on to the north slope of Alaska (Fig. 2). We believe that the first leg of this migration between the Virginia and the upper MacKenzie River was completed without refueling. The bird flew 5,057 km in no more than 143 hr and 24 min resulting in an average flight speed of 35.3 km/h. This is likely an under - estimate of the flight speed since 8 AM was the last location reported on the day the bird left the study area. Birds typically depart from this site in the late afternoon as has been reported for Whimbrel within other staging areas (e.g. Piersma et al. 1990). Similarly, we do not know the exact time of arrival on the MacKenzie River. Given the average flight speed attained, there would have been little opportunity to refuel during this leg of the migration. After arriving on the MacKenzie River, the bird appeared to have staged for a short period and then moved to breed- ing grounds (Fig. 2). For 5 days between 29 May and 4 June the bird stayed within a 30 km 2 area along the MacKenzie River. After this period, the bird moved down river to the Beaufort Sea, turned west along the coast and reached the Colville watershed in Alaska on 7 June. Locations were tightly grouped in an area less than 4 km 2 for 35 days between 7 June and 11 July. On 12 July, the bird left the watershed and had reached the village of Noorvik near the western coast of Alaska by 13 July. The bird moved south along the coast and had reached the Kuskokwim River by 19 July. Documentation of this flight suggests that a portion of the western population may undergo an elliptical migration route and overlap with the eastern population along the south Atlantic Coast of North America. For most of western North America, the Rocky Mountains and Brooks Range to the north form a tremendous barrier for birds migrating along the Pacific Coast. After leaving the East Coast, the bird tracked here oriented north-west past the Great Lakes, west until reaching these mountains and then flew over lower elevation lands along their eastern margin. This migration pathway may help to explain how Whimbrel arrive in the portion of the breeding distribution for the western population that lies within the MacKenzie Watershed east of this barrier. Our study area along the lower Delmarva Peninsula in Virginia has been believed to represent a terminal staging area for Whimbrel along the Atlantic Coast. Bird numbers increase dramatically from mid-April through mid-May (Watts and Truitt, unpubl. data) before departing overland to the Northwest. It has been assumed that all of the Whimbrel staging here were from the Hudson Bay breeding population and peak surveys have been used, in part, to estimate the size of this population. Our findings presented here suggest that both Virginia and the MacKenzie River may play important roles as staging areas for a portion of the western breeding population. These findings also suggest that the use of peak surveys from this or other sites along the Atlantic Coast may overestimate the size of the Hudson Bay population. Work is needed to separate the relative importance of the Atlantic region to both of these breeding populations. We thank D. Curtiss for assistance with fieldwork. H. Sit - ters and B. Andres provided helpful comments on an earlier draft. Funding was provided by the Nature Conservancy and the Center for Conservation ...
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Citations
... All birds were aged as adults by plumage (Prater et al. 1977, Pyle 2008) and were banded with We fitted all birds with satellite transmitters called Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTTs) using a modification of the legloop harness (Rappole andTipton 1991, Sanzenbacher et al. 2000). Instead of an elastic cord, we used Teflon ® ribbon (Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, Pennsylvania, USA) that was fastened with brass rivets or crimps (Watts et al. 2008). We glued transmitters to a larger square of neoprene to elevate it above the body and prevent the bird from preening feathers over the solar panels. ...
The United States is pursuing a diversified energy portfolio that includes offshore wind with a focus on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Western Atlantic Flyway (WAF) supports one of the largest near-shore movement corridors of birds in the world, including several shorebird species of high conservation concern. We used satellite transmitters to examine orientation of Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) crossing the OCS and their overlap with two wind energy leases. Birds using a migratory staging site along the Delmarva Peninsula in Virginia crossed the OCS along a southeast-northwest axis. A considerable percentage (42.9%) of tracks intersected with one of the two wind leases. The juxtaposition to the Delmarva Peninsula placed wind leases southeast of the peninsula within both the departure and arrival trajectories of Whimbrels. The satellite transmitters used in this study were not equipped with altitude sensors, so we do not know if birds crossed wind leases within the rotor swept zone. Several species of shorebirds, including hundreds of thousands of individuals, make trans-Atlantic flights from three major staging sites: Delaware Bay, the lower Delmarva Peninsula, and Georgia Bight. All of these sites have wind leases positioned to their southeast. One of the most effective strategies for minimizing conflicts between birds and potential hazards is to place hazards away from critical movement corridors. More information is needed about departure and arrival patterns of shorebirds that cross the OCS to inform future lease placement.
... Understanding the specific challenges that populations confront and where they occur is fundamental to effective management. Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) are large holarctic waders that migrate over large geographic areas [22], are capable of extreme flights [23,24] and utilize relatively few staging areas during migration [25,26]. The two populations (Mackenzie Delta and Hudson Bay) that utilize the Western Atlantic Flyway winter together along the northern Coast of South America but use separate autumn migration routes that differ in exposure to tropical cyclones [27]. ...
... We fitted all birds with satellite transmitters called Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTTs) using a modification of the leg-loop harness [33,34]. Instead of elastic cord, we used Teflon 1 ribbon (Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, Pennsylvania, USA) that was fastened with brass rivets or crimps [23]. We glued transmitters to a larger square of neoprene to elevate it above the body and prevent the bird from preening feathers over the solar panels. ...
... Although whimbrels range over large geographic areas during the course of their annual cycles they are capable of long flights [23,24] and appear to use this capability to reach and exploit a small set of staging areas for which they have high fidelity. The consistent use of relatively few areas suggests that these areas are integral to their annual cycle and have high conservation value. ...
Many long-distance migratory birds use habitats that are scattered across continents and confront hazards throughout the annual cycle that may be population-limiting. Identifying where and when populations spend their time is fundamental to effective management. We tracked 34 adult whimbrels ( Numenius phaeopus ) from two breeding populations (Mackenzie Delta and Hudson Bay) with satellite transmitters to document the structure of their annual cycles. The two populations differed in their use of migratory pathways and their seasonal schedules. Mackenzie Delta whimbrels made long (22,800 km) loop migrations with different autumn and spring routes. Hudson Bay whimbrels made shorter (17,500 km) and more direct migrations along the same route during autumn and spring. The two populations overlap on the winter grounds and within one spring staging area. Mackenzie Delta whimbrels left the breeding ground, arrived on winter grounds, left winter grounds and arrived on spring staging areas earlier compared to whimbrels from Hudson Bay. For both populations, migration speed was significantly higher during spring compared to autumn migration. Faster migration was achieved by having fewer and shorter stopovers en route . We identified five migratory staging areas including four that were used during autumn and two that were used during spring. Whimbrels tracked for multiple years had high (98%) fidelity to staging areas. We documented dozens of locations where birds stopped for short periods along nearly all migration routes. The consistent use of very few staging areas suggests that these areas are integral to the annual cycle of both populations and have high conservation value.
... Whimbrel populations using the Western Atlantic Flyway are experiencing a high rate of decline 24 We fitted all birds with satellite transmitters called Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTTs) using a modification of the leg-loop harness 28,29 . Instead of elastic cord, we used Teflon ® ribbon (Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, Pennsylvania, USA) that was fastened with brass rivets or crimps 30 . We glued transmitters to a larger square of neoprene to elevate it above the body and prevent the bird from preening feathers over the solar panels. ...
Each year hundreds of millions of birds cross the Atlantic Ocean during the peak of tropical cyclone activity. The extent and consequences of migrant-storm interactions remain unknown. We tracked whimbrels from two populations (Mackenzie Delta; Hudson Bay) to examine overlap between migration routes and storm activity and both the frequency and consequence of storm encounters. Here we show that Mackenzie Delta and Hudson Bay whimbrels follow different routes across the ocean and experience dramatically different rates of storm encounters. Mackenzie Delta whimbrels departed North America from Atlantic Canada, made long (\(\bar{x}\) = 5440 ± 120.3 km) nonstop flights far out to sea that took several days (\(\bar{x}\) = 6.1 ± 0.18) to complete and encountered storms during 3 of 22 crossings. Hudson Bay whimbrels departed North America from the south Atlantic Coast, made shorter (\(\bar{x}\) = 3643 ± 196.2 km) nonstop flights across the Caribbean Basin that took less time (\(\bar{x}\) = 4.5 ± 0.29) to complete and encountered storms during 13 of 18 crossings. More than half of Hudson Bay storm encounters resulted in groundings on Caribbean islands. Grounded birds required longer (\(\bar{x}\) = 30.4 ± 5.32 days) to complete trans-Atlantic crossings and three were lost including 2 to hunters and 1 to a predator. One of the Mackenzie Delta whimbrels was lost at sea while crossing the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Whimbrels use two contrasting strategies to cross the Atlantic including (1) a long nonstop flight around the core of storm activity with a low likelihood of encountering storms but no safety net and (2) a shorter flight through the heart of Hurricane Alley with a high likelihood of encountering storms and a safety network of islands to use in the event of an encounter. Demographic consequences of storm encounters will likely play a role in the ongoing evolution of trans-Atlantic migration pathways as global temperatures continue to rise.
... We fitted all birds with a satellite transmitter called platform transmitter terminal (PTT) using a modification of the legloop harness (Rappole andTipton 1991, Sanzenbacher et al. 2000). Instead of elastic cord, we used Teflon® ribbon (Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, Pennsylvania, USA) that was fastened with brass rivets or crimps (Watts et al. 2008). We glued transmitters to a larger square of neoprene to elevate it above the body and prevent the bird from preening feathers over the solar panels. ...
Migrant shorebirds operate within a series of landscapes and must adjust their daily activities to achieve seasonal time and energy objectives. Night roosts are essential landscape elements that predators provide safety from predators for many shorebird species. What costs migrants incur to use night roosts and how these costs vary across staging sites are poorly understood. We tracked 42 adult whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) with satellite transmitters and used night locations to delineate 39 night roosts during spring and fall migration. We used daytime locations to measure round‐trip commuting distances between night roosts and foraging areas and estimated daily commuting costs including distance, time and metabolic energy expenditure. We identified night roosts on offshore islands (n = 20) and onshore locations including along habitat edges (n = 13) and on topographic highs within extensive marshes (n = 6). Mean daily commuting costs varied between roosts. Whimbrels took 3.9 to 52.1 min (median = 15.2) to fly 3.1 to 42.2 km (median = 12.3) which costs 6.1 to 82.4 kj (median = 22.3) in lean mass energy expenditure and 8.1 to 109.2 kj (median =31.5) in leaving mass energy. Birds using offshore roosts had twice the commuting distance and associated costs compared to those using onshore roosts. The contribution of commuting costs to the premigratory energy budget ranged from 1.5 to 18.8% with costs for nearly 30% of roosts exceeding 10%. Commuting costs to and from night roosts appear to be biologically relevant within some staging sites and should be considered among other constraints faced by migrants during stopover periods when food or time is limiting.
... We fitted all birds with satellite transmitters called Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTTs) using a modification of the leg-loop harness (Rappole and Tipton 1991, Sanzenbacher et al. 2000. Instead of elastic cord, we used Teflon ribbon (Bally Ribbon Mills, Bally, Pennsylvania, USA) that was fastened with brass rivets or crimps (Watts et al. 2008). We glued transmitters to a larger square of neoprene to elevate it above the body and prevent the bird from preening feathers over the solar panels. ...
For most shorebird species, our understanding of the basic limiting factors and when or where they operate during the annual cycle is currently inadequate to either understand ongoing declines or effectively allocate conservation resources for recovery. Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) exhibit delayed recruitment and have low fecundity, and populations with such life-history traits are often vulnerable to increases in adult mortality. We tracked 33 adult Whimbrels with satellite transmitters for 12,802 bird-days to investigate patterns in survival and recorded 16 probable and 5 confirmed mortalities. We used Cox’s proportional hazards model to estimate daily hazard rates by season and a Kaplan-Meier product limit estimator to estimate monthly survival. Daily hazard rates varied by season and were 5 times higher during migratory periods (fall and spring migration) compared to stationary periods (winter and breeding). Estimated annualized survivorship was 0.54 ± 0.21 (SE) and on the lower end of the range of 0.8–0.9 believed to be required to maintain a stable population. More than half of the mortality recorded during the study occurred during the fall hunting season and within the last remaining area throughout the Western Hemisphere where significant legal and illegal hunting occurs. One-third of mortality occurred during spring migration either within terminal staging sites or as birds made final movements to breeding grounds. Survival during the migratory periods may have been influenced by the use of transmitters.
... The consistent estimated speed by the Steppe Whimbrel of 47.8-51.0 km/h is above that reported by Watts et al. (2008) for a satellite-tagged Hudsonian Whimbrel N. p. hudsonicus which travelled overland from Virginia to Alaska, USA, including one leg of 5,057 km in no more than 143 hrs 24 min, resulting in a mean flight speed of 35.3 km/h. However, the authors acknowledged that the sequence of stopovers and tag duty cycle probably caused an underestimate in flight speed. ...
The local movements and migration of two Steppe Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
alboaxillaris, a little known subspecies, were studied opportunistically from
February to March 2016, in Maputo Bay, Mozambique. Both birds were found to
be part of a local sub-population of ca. 30 Whimbrel which hold individual
feeding territories on sandy shoreline. One alboaxillaris was estimated to depart
Maputo on 28 February and the other was possible to track with a PTT satellite
tag, departing on 25 March 2016; this is one month earlier than other Whimbrel
N. p. phaeopus and consistent with the more southern breeding phenology of
alboaxillaris in lower latitudes in the steppes of Asia. The tagged bird made a
4,659-km journey in six days to Aden, Yemen and its migration route was
consistent with the direction of travel for the known breeding areas of alboaxillaris.
The tag fell off the bird in Yemen so the breeding destination of Steppe Whimbrel
found in Maputo is still to be elucidated. The track data are the first firm evidence
of a long-suspected African transcontinental migration route for southeastern
African-Palearctic coastal waders. No other alboaxillaris were found in a larger
population of 650 Whimbrel photo-identified in Maputo Bay.
... Bay and Mackenzie River areas of Canada stage within the tidal salt marshes and mudflats of the mid-Atlantic coast (Wilke & Johnston-González 2009, Watts & Truitt 2011. On northward migration, Whimbrels begin to arrive at these staging sites in early April, build fat reserves by feeding on super-abundant fiddler crabs (Uca spp.), and depart on non-stop flights to breeding grounds (Watts et al. 2008, Watts & Truitt 2011). An important component of understanding the linkage between this staging area and the breeding grounds is knowledge about when the birds depart. ...
... Kerlinger & Moore (1989) suggested that differences in atmospheric structure between day and night may favor night migration for some species. However, unlike many passerines that migrate through the night and use the daylight hours for rest and foraging, many of the Whimbrels departing from the study area will be flying non-stop for several days to reach breeding areas (Watts et al. 2008). Moore (1987) has suggested that the orientation cues available to migrants around sunset are particularly beneficial for navigation. ...
Many Arctic-breeding shorebirds utilize terminal spring staging areas that are strategically positioned within mid-temperate latitudes. Because these staging areas represent final refueling opportunities and have a direct link to the breeding grounds, the condition of birds and their pattern of departure may influence reproductive performance. A significant portion of Canada’s Hudson Bay and Mackenzie River Whimbrel populations utilize the tidal salt marshes and mudflats of the mid-Atlantic coast of North America as a terminal stopover site. We observed Whimbrels (n = 39,720 individuals) departing from the lower Delmarva Peninsula in Virginia (USA) during the second half of May (2009–2014) to quantify departure dates, time of day and flock size. The majority (90%) of Whimbrels departed the study area during the six-day period of 22–27 May with a clear peak during 24–25 May when mean departure rates exceeded 600 birds/hr. Departure date appears to be highly conserved with median date varying across only three days over six years. Departures peaked approximately 2.5 hrs before civil twilight with 82% of individuals leaving within the two-hr period between 1.5 and 3.5 hrs before twilight. The distribution of departing flock sizes approximated a negative exponential as smaller flocks were more common. Although 50% of all flocks recorded contained less than 35 individuals, 50% of all individuals occurred in flocks that contained 80 individuals or more. The highly synchronous and consistent departure pattern may help to facilitate synchronous arrival on the breeding grounds and reinforce mate fidelity. Group travel may provide benefits such as collective navigation and energetic savings related to flock aerodynamics.
... This is in line with the fact that a sun compass not compensating for the longitudinal time shift works for long continuous flights, such as the ones performed by arctic waders. Tracking data for some species of shorebirds inhabiting the arctic tundra show that they may not stop as frequently as passerines on autumn migration (e.g., Watts et al. 2008;Gill et al. 2009;Klaassen et al. 2011). Indeed, during the stop-over period, the internal clock of the bird will be reset to the local stop-over time, which may take approximately 3 days and nights (Schmidt-Koenig 1990), and as a consequence, the complete route will likely have less "curved" shape and consequently lead to a different destination. ...
Bird migration has fascinated humans for centuries and routes crossing the globe are now starting to be revealed by advanced tracking technology. A central question is what compass mechanism, celestial or geomagnetic, is activated during these long flights. Different approaches based on the geometry of flight routes across the globe and route simulations based on predictions from compass mechanisms with or without including the effect of winds have been used to try to answer this question with varying results. A major focus has been use of orthodromic (great circle) and loxodromic (rhumbline) routes using celestial information, while geomagnetic information has been proposed for both a magnetic loxodromic route and a magnetoclinic route. Here, we review previous results and evaluate if one or several alternative compass mechanisms can explain migration routes in birds. We found that most cases could be explained by magnetoclinic routes (up to 73% of the cases), while the sun compas s could explain only 50%. Both magnetic and geographic loxodromes could explain <25% of the routes. The magnetoclinic route functioned across latitudes (1°S–74°N), while the sun compass only worked in the high Arctic (61–69°N). We discuss the results with respect to orientation challenges and availability of orientation cues.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00359-017-1171-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
... A research team from the Center for Conservation Biology tagged spring migrant Whimbrels-a chicken sized shorebird with a long down-curbed beak-along the southeastern U.S. coast found that birds flew all the way to Canada's Northwest Territories to breed (Watts et al. 2008). One bird made a nonstop, 146-hour journey from the coast of Georgia 5,700 kilometers (3,600 miles) north to the Mackenzie Delta. ...
As Canada and the United States mark the 100-year anniversary of the Migratory
Bird Convention this year, our nations have much to celebrate. The convention has
emerged as one of the most successful environmental treaties in history. It helped
countless bird species rebound from near extinction and brought the people of
Canada and the United States together to protect shared migratory birds.
The treaty was a breakthrough for its time, curbing the unchecked hunting that threatened many bird
species. Today, migratory birds face new threats. Complex forces ranging from habitat loss to climate
change have caused some bird populations to decline 70 percent to 90 percent in the past five decades.
It’s time for another breakthrough in bird conservation. Cutting-edge technological advances are shedding
new insights on bird migration and reshaping conventional understanding of bird flyways—the notion
that most birds migrate within four predictable corridors. Findings from this new research reinforce that
billions of birds start their migration in one important region: North America’s Boreal Forest. And they
strengthen the scientific consensus around a bold approach for protecting the Boreal.
Together these technologies are helping unleash the next century of migratory bird conservation.
KEY FINDINGS: NEW INSIGHTS ON SCOPE OF MIGRATIONS AND ROLE OF THE BOREAL FOREST
Recent technological developments are helping uncover the mysteries of bird migration, yielding detailed
data about the hemispheric-scale movements of migratory birds. Most importantly, these technologies
provide information about what we can do to better protect birds:
• Satellite tracking and geolocator technologies are providing detailed accounts of when and where
birds move and the places they stop in between, revealing critical areas of habitat for potential
protection;
• Radar and audio sorting technologies paint new pictures of nocturnal migration, including the
discoveries of previously unknown rest stops that songbirds rely on during migration;
• The analysis of isotopes and genetic markers connect regional subpopulations within species’
breeding and wintering ranges, which helps provide better insight into the causes behind regional
and overall population fluxes;
• Internet-based platforms allow millions of observations gathered by everyday citizens to be uploaded
and analyzed instantly, making it possible to identify larger patterns, such as the shifting of
distribution or timing of migration;
• Taken together, these technologies reinforce that billions of birds begin their migration in North
America's Boreal Forest, and that it is a vital breeding ground for North America’s birds.
The overarching, and most critical, finding from the application of these and other technologies is that
migratory birds need intact habitats across vast scales that encompass all parts of their life cycles, from
breeding to wintering ranges and the stopover habitats in between.
In many parts of the world, large-scale conservation of intact, pristine habitats is simply no longer
possible. In North America's Boreal Forest, there is still such an opportunity—perhaps the last opportunity
in human history—to retain large portions of the landscape free of large scale industrial disturbance. The
Boreal annually “exports” some 3 billion - 5 billion birds each fall to populate the winter ecosystems of
the Americas from southern Canada and the U.S. south through Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and
South America. This critical nesting ground, however, is at risk due to increasing development pressures
and climate change. Maintaining vast areas of healthy intact landscapes in the Boreal Forest will allow birds to raise their young and launch their migrations across North America for generations to come.
RECOMMENDATIONS: BOLD AND CREATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE NEXT CENTURY
In the past several years, two ambitious conservation solutions have been proven to restore and
strengthen migratory bird populations: setting vastly higher benchmarks for land protection, and
empowering Indigenous communities and governments in land-use planning and management.
Conservation success in the Boreal Forest will require embracing these solutions.
Canada is starting to put these solutions in place. The governments of Ontario and Quebec have
articulated commitments to protect at least half of their northern landscapes, through the Far North
Act and Plan Nord, respectively. Indigenous governments and communities are showing some of the
most ambitious leadership, developing new land use plans and management models in places like the
Pimachiowin Aki site in Manitoba and Ontario; the Dehcho, Lutsel’ke and Deline First Nations of the
Northwest Territories; the Eeyou Istchee (Cree Nation) of Quebec; the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug
and Moose Cree First Nations of Ontario; and the Innu Nation of Labrador.
To fully realize the potential of these solutions to conserve bird populations, we recommend the
following:
• At least 50 percent of intact boreal ecosystems should be protected. Modern conservation science
has shown that maintaining the full diversity of species and ecosystem functions requires setting
aside at least half of intact ecosystems from large-scale industrial development. This vision is
articulated in the Canadian Boreal Forest Conservation Framework, the principles of which have been
endorsed by more than 1,500 scientists worldwide;
• Conservation of lands must accommodate Indigenous traditional uses of the land and should be
managed or co-managed by Indigenous governments. All land-use decisions should follow Free
Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) principles which state that Indigenous peoples have the right to
determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands and other
resources;
• Federal and provincial governments should make large-scale investments in providing financial
resources for communities to train and hire Indigenous land-use planners, managers, and on-the-land
guardians or rangers; and
• Research into the migratory routes, connectivity, timing and other aspects of migration must
continue to be encouraged and funded. In particular, cross-cultural and cross-border partnerships
and collaborations that work toward full life-cycle conservation of species should continue to be
supported and developed.
Bird migration research continues to spotlight the shared stewardship responsibilities of nations across
the Americas. And bold solutions offer our best path forward for ensuring a hundred more years of bird
conservation success.
... Virginia) and performing a direct flight to North Canada and successively reaching the breeding area in Alaska. Data for simulations were taken from Watts et al. (2008). Initial flight direction of 313° was obtained as the mean of the loxodrome and the initial orthodrome bearings (314° and 312°, respectively) of the route connecting the departure site and the passage along the southern part of the Lake Erie (i.e., Cleveland area, cf., figure by Watts et al. 2008). ...
... Data for simulations were taken from Watts et al. (2008). Initial flight direction of 313° was obtained as the mean of the loxodrome and the initial orthodrome bearings (314° and 312°, respectively) of the route connecting the departure site and the passage along the southern part of the Lake Erie (i.e., Cleveland area, cf., figure by Watts et al. 2008). Airspeed was set to 15 m/s as reported for other similar-sized waders (Pennycuick et al. 2013) because the value 9.8 m/s (averaging 6 days of continuous flight) reported in Watts et al. (2008) is an underestimation due to uncertainty of the satellite transmitter and the real route followed by the bird. ...
... Initial flight direction of 313° was obtained as the mean of the loxodrome and the initial orthodrome bearings (314° and 312°, respectively) of the route connecting the departure site and the passage along the southern part of the Lake Erie (i.e., Cleveland area, cf., figure by Watts et al. 2008). Airspeed was set to 15 m/s as reported for other similar-sized waders (Pennycuick et al. 2013) because the value 9.8 m/s (averaging 6 days of continuous flight) reported in Watts et al. (2008) is an underestimation due to uncertainty of the satellite transmitter and the real route followed by the bird. We started the simulation from Virginia on 23 May 2008 at 17:00 h local time and continued the simulation for 6 days, which allowed the whimbrel to reach the upper MacKenzie River (Canada) without refueling (Watts et al. 2008). ...
Birds migrating between distant locations regularly perform long continuous flights lasting several days. What compass mechanism
they use is still a mystery. Here, we use a novel approach, applying an individual-based model, taking compass mechanisms
based on celestial and geomagnetic information and wind into account simultaneously, to investigate what compass mechanism
likely is used during long continuous flights and how wind drift or compensation affects the resulting tracks. We found that
for the 6 cases of long continuous migration flights, the magnetoclinic route could best explain the route selection in all
except one case compared with the alternative compass mechanisms. A flight strategy correcting for wind drift resulted most
often in routes ending up closest to the predicted destinations. In only half of the cases could a time-compensated sun compass
explain the migration routes observed with sufficient precision. Migration from Europe to the Siberian tundra was especially
challenging to explain by one compass mechanism alone, suggesting a more complex navigation strategy. Our results speak in
favor of a magnetic compass based on the angle of inclination used by birds during continuous long-distance migration flights,
but also a capacity to detect and correct for drift caused by winds along the route.
