End of Whimbrel Capture: June 3

After trapping shorebirds in New Jersey, we headed back home to VA with hopes of re-sighting a large number of red-knots that had been seen on the barrier islands when we were gone. Unfortunately, with a perfect migration wind the night before we went out, all of the knots booked it. We only got a handful of knots on a few different islands. Since most of the knots were gone, we decided to head for Arizona a day early. It was a short job but nothing beats using explosives to capture birds; it is an exciting and tedious process with GREAT reward. Even though we didn't catch our target number of whimbrel, we all learned very much about whimbrel and whimbrel capture. Even better, we got 20 birds out with radio-transmitters that may have been picked up in flight near Toronto (with a data-logger stationed there). We got one satellite transmitter out on Miller the whimbrel, who is thousands of miles north near the whimbrel breeding grounds.  You can track Miller’s movements here.  (unfortunately Parchaby died before migrating).  Ramsey is still on the Eastern shore of Virginia, and may spend the summer near Box Tree Marsh with about 60 other whimbrel who appear to be doing the same.  You can track Ramsey's movements here. Hope, a whimbrel that was tagged last summer, has made her second annual trip to the Mackenzie River delta near the Beaufort Sea (near Alaska), further proving that western whimbrels do stage on the eastern shore of Virgnia.  You can track her movements here.