David Page's bits:

Whimbrel Satellite Tracking, Where's Wally

Every year several thousand Whimbrels are seen passing through England and Wales during April and early May as they move northwards from their wintering grounds in Africa.  Some of these birds stay for awhile to feed at traditional staging areas before continuing on to the main breeding grounds in Iceland and Scandinavia. 

The Whimbrel staging area in the Lower Derwent Valley,  15kms south east of York,  has been monitored annually since 1987.  Initially,  most of the observations were counts of the birds arriving at Wheldrake Ings where the birds roost.  However, during the last 3 years the level of research has intensified.  For instance,  birds have been caught and radio-tagged to establish where they feed during the day and help to determine the length of stay in the Valley.  The main aim for 2005 was to discover where the Wheldrake Whimbrels go to breed after they leave the Valley.

Fortunately,  the RSPB and English Nature were able to provide a solar powered satellite tag and the funding required to receive the data.  The tag was fitted to ‘Wally’ (see photos) on the evening of 1st May 2005 and the maps show the movements that have taken place since that time. 

The satellite tag is solar powered and so it is possible that data will keep arriving for the next 2 to 3 years.  This means that not only has Wally’s breeding ground been discovered but with luck the precise wintering area should soon become known as well. Even more intriguing – will there be a return visit to the Lower Derwent Valley next spring? 

 
 

Hilton Pond Center

-- MISSION STATEMENT --
The mission of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is to "conserve animals, plants, habitats, and other natural components of the Piedmont Region of the eastern United States through observation, scientific study, and education
for students of all ages."

 

Southern Oceans Seabirds Study Association Inc.

SOSSA is a wildlife conservation and research organisation. Its members are dedicated amateurs and professionals who share a common interest and concern for the marine environment and the wildlife of the Southern Oceans. SOSSA organises regular pelagic trips from Wollongong, NSW and Southport, QLD so both members and visitors can view some of the spectacular marine life that occurs off Australia's coast.

 

Birdwatching Australia

A directory of Australian birdwatching tours, bird clubs, freelance-guides, bird-orientated accommodation and reference information.

 

Birdata  http://www.birdata.com.au/login.do

What is Birdata?
Birdata is the web version of Birds Australia's New Atlas of Australian Birds. It is a partnership between Birds Australia and WildLife Link. The new atlas has been going since 1998 and has over 5 million bird records. The atlas collects data on where and when bird species are found.

 

Nature Sounds

David Stewart is Australia's most renowned wildlife sound recordist. Based on the far north coast of New South Wales David has spent the last 24 years travelling throughout Australia amassing the most extensive collection of natural bird, frog and mammal sound in the country. David's digital collection is fully documented and has been lodged with the Australian Wildlife Sound Collection, CSIRO in Canberra as his contribution to Australia's National Heritage.

The British Library, National Sound Archive also houses a large part of the collection. In his home state David has assisted the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service by compiling seven field survey cassettes/CDs of rare fauna in NSW.
 
David is also a member of the Bird Banders of North East NSW.
 
 

Patuxent Wildlife Research Center--Mission

http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/birds/

Since its establishment in 1936 as the nation's first wildlife experiment station, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has been a leading international research institute for wildlife and applied environmental research, for transmitting research findings to those responsible for managing our nation's natural resources, and for providing technical assistance in implementing research findings so as to improve natural resource management.

Patuxent's scientists have been responsible for many important advances in natural resource conservation, especially in such areas as migratory birds, wildlife population analysis, waterfowl harvest, habitat management, wetlands, coastal zone and flood plain management, contaminants, endangered species, urban wildlife, ecosystem management, and management of national parks and national wildlife refuges.

The Center develops and manages national inventory and monitoring programs and is responsible for the North American Bird Banding Program and leadership of other national bird monitoring programs. The Center's scientific and technical assistance publications, wildlife data bases, and electronic media are used nationally and worldwide in managing biological resources.

The focus of the Center's mission and vision for the future is to continue its dynamic international, national, and regional leadership in wildlife research. The Center will enhance its accomplishments in generating, interpreting, evaluating, and transmitting the scientific information needed to better address the pressing problems of managing our nation's biological resources, especially those under the stewardship of the Department of the Interior, other Federal and non-Federal partners. Today's challenges in natural resource management involve new approaches such as adaptive management, landscape and ecosystem scale management, partnerships among multiple stakeholders, and transfer and use of the huge store of existing information using modern technology.

The Center is a Federal research facility directed by the Federal government to conduct research necessary to fulfill Federal responsibilities, primarily, those of the Department of the Interior. The U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, of which the Center is a part, works with others to provide the information needed to manage our Nation's biological resources. Thus, scientific information needs of partner agencies strongly influence much of the Center's scientific agenda.

The Center also receives funds directly from agencies benefitting from our research and from other partner organizations, such as those co-located at its Laurel headquarters. Such support provides critical resources that enhance the scope and value of the Center's activities, within the mission of the Division.

Science conducted at the Center, like any scientific enterprise, ultimately, is driven by the pressing public natural resource needs coupled with  intellectual creativity and motivation of its scientists and technical staff. No research program will succeed unless it flows from the creative energies of its scientists. The research of Center scientists must be engaged at the cutting edge of scientific understanding to assure the long term success of natural resources management.