FINAL "WHIMBREL WATCH 2018" REPORT FROM WAYNE RENAUD AND TIM McCARTHY

Photographer:  Jean Iron

Whimbrel Watch final total for 2018: 9937; this may deviate slighty from Tim's final total. This was the 10th watch. FYI: the Whimbrel Watch was launched in 2009, partnering with the Centre for Conservation Biology at The College of William and Mary/Virginia, Commonwealth University (CCB) and The Virginia Coast Reserve of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) that was conducting long term monitoring and conservation work with Whimbrel on the Atlantic coast of Virginia. In 2009 CCB and TNC deployed 4 satellite transmitters and 40 radio transmitters and surveyed the population of Whimbrel using the seaside marsh ecosystem in Virginia. Data from the tagged Whimbrel and from aerial surveys has shown that migration and stop over locations that these birds use are critical to the success of migration, up to 5000 km each spring. Furthermore, the total numbers seen on 1st 4 Whimbrel watches totalled 11,701 ... that puts this year's total of nearly 10,000 in perspective. The previous highest day count on the Great Lakes Basin is 5000 on 24 May 1992 when the landfill to create Colonel Samuel Smith Park was still in progress and blocked of to the public. So at this very location!!! On behalf of Tim we really thank the birders who came out to help us out this year especially given the changing and challenging weather conditions more often than not ... a project like this involves a lot of teamwork. Team effort makes the difference and what a team we had