Barton J. Paxton

• William & Mary

The south Atlantic coast supports one of the highest assemblages of non-breeding double-crested cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) known and is a convergence area for Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) during the winter months. We surveyed cormorants along the coast of North Carolina and used a bioenergetics approach to estimate potential menhad...

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Access to food resources is essential to self-maintenance and reproduction and, for species of conservation concern, foraging areas are considered critical habitat. Human disturbance is an important factor restricting access to prey resources for Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and guidelines in the Chesapeake Bay have been developed to miti...

One of the most effective means of minimizing mortalities of large raptors from collisions with hazards is to locate hazards away from major activity centers. A reliable means of delineating bird activity centers on the landscape has been a significant impediment to progress in proactive infrastructure planning. We used Brownian bridge movement mod...

We conducted a systematic survey of colonial waterbirds in coastal Virginia during the 2013 breeding season. Nearly 800 surveys of 496 waterbird colonies were conducted. Colonies supported an estimated 60,604 breeding pairs of 24 species. Gulls were the most abundant group, with more than 28,000 breeding pairs. Waders and terns accounted for 14,117...

Although snags are often considered to be a limiting factor for cavity-nesting birds within intensively managed pine (Pinus spp.) stands, there is little information regarding occurrences of snags and cavity-nesting birds for such stands in the southeastern United States. Therefore, during 2002-2003, we measured characteristics of individual snags...

Dendroica virens waynei (Wayne's Warbler) is a unique, disjunct subspecies of Dendroica viren virens (Black-throated Green Warbler) that is restricted to the South Atlantic Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia to South Carolina. We surveyed a network of 265 fixed-radius plots to examine seasonal occurrence, spatial distribution, and patterns of...

The Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana nigrescens) is morphologically distinct, restricted to a narrowly-defined habitat type, and geographically isolated within the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. The breeding range has been considered to extend from the Nanticoke River in Maryland north to the Hudson River. We report a previously undocu...

Currently, a protocol using body mass as the primary criterion for assigning sex of Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) is being used by banders. We assessed mass variation of owls using paired measurements of those recaptured (N= 372) during fall migration along the lower Delmarva Peninsula (1994–2005) to assess the stability of gender assi...

The Chesapeake Bay supports the largest Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) breeding population in the world. The population experienced a dramatic reduction due to biocide-induced reproductive suppression in the post World War II era and reached an estimated low of 1,450 pairs by the early 1970s. By the mid 1990s, the population recovered to an estimated 3...

Tidal wetlands are important to coastal ecosystems. They provide flood protection, erosion control and improve water quality. Tidal wetlands also provide essential habitats for numerous species of wildlife, many of which rely on these marsh habitats as sites for breeding and development. Historical wetland surveys indicate that as much as half of t...