Ellen, Assistant Director of CWP wrote this post just before she took off for the Bahamas yesterday:
We have often wondered what “our” Piping Plovers do during the winter and what challenges they might face when they are not on the breeding grounds. Until recently, there was only a lot of speculation about where MA plovers spent the majority of their life cycle. Of course, thanks to Dr. Cheri Gratto-Trevor’s work (see October and April 2010 blog entries), we now know that at least 14 of the breeding MA Piping Plovers wintered in the Bahamas in 2009-2010, and in fact, many of our Piping Plovers are in reality, truly “Bahamas Birds”—where they spend 8+ months of the year.
Because of Canadian Wildlife Service banding efforts in the Bahamas last winter, we know that at least 14 Piping Plovers that bred in MA, wintered in the Bahamas. CWP staff and other collaborators are on their way to Grand Bahama to see if they can spot "our" birds - for example breeders from Aquinnah, MV and South Beach, Chatham.
So, it is with great excitement and anticipation that I head off to the Bahamas with Gabrielle and Edie (also Coastal Waterbird Program staff, who are volunteering with this project) to participate in the International Piping Plover census of 2011. The international census, conducted every 5 years, is a collaborative effort between US Geological Survey, Bahamas National Trust, and National Audubon Society, as well as many, many volunteers from the Bahamas, US, and Canada. We’re off to Grand Bahama first, where we will very likely see some of the birds that were nesting here just months ago (including individuals that had been banded on Grand Bahama a year ago, that nested on Dogfish Bar, Aquinnah and South Beach, Chatham). After that it’s off to the Abacos, most of which have not been surveyed for Piping Plovers in past International Survey efforts. Their hope is to census well over 200 miles of coastline between the two islands with the help and support of Bahamians and other biologists. We’ll be doing a lot of walking.
Recently, a former staff member that now works on wintering plovers in other parts of the US, said she was just starting to see the wintering plovers change over into their breeding plumage and how amazing and telling it was to see an entire year in the life cycle of a Piping Plover. That’s something we’re looking forward to as well—the kind of learning that can only take place in the field, and can only increase our understanding of how best to conserve these birds and the coastal habitats in which they reside.
Mass Audubon has always had a connection to the world outside of Massachusetts (see http://www.massaudubon.org/Global_Conservation/index.php), protecting “Massachusetts birds” involves a broader approach because over 70 percent of them spend time elsewhere, and Piping Plovers are no different! We are thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in the census, learn about the good work being done outside of our own country, and most of all, form new partnerships and friendships with other conservation organizations and people with a shared vision for a species for which we collectively have a great responsibility.
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