Center for Conservation Biology

October 8, 2025

Lost Colony

By: Bryan Watts10/1/25 In June of 1993, Gary Costanza was working with black ducks on the Bay islands when Mitchell Byrd and Bryan Watts hitched a […]
October 8, 2025

Piney Grove’s Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Rebound

By: Chance Hines10/1/25 The Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) has documented a remarkable and steady recovery of the red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) at Piney Grove Preserve in […]
October 8, 2025

Diet of Royals

By: Bryan Watts10/2/25 The royal tern is the most abundant large tern throughout the mid-Atlantic region.  Seen loafing on pilings and docks throughout the Chesapeake Bay […]
October 8, 2025

Tracking Whimbrels Through Emerging Threats

By: Chance Hines9/30/25 Whimbrels hold a special place in CCB’s history. As one of the larger migratory shorebirds, they’ve long been a focus of tracking projects […]
October 1, 2025

Deficit in breeding performance expands for Chesapeake Bay ospreys

News Advisory FROM:  The Center for Conservation Biology, William & Mary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  29 September, 2025 MEDIA CONTACTS:         Dr. Bryan D. Watts, Director Center for […]
July 2, 2025

Recent Literature published by CCB

By: Bryan Watts6/24/25 In recent months CCB biologists have published several papers in academic journals.  These articles report on recent findings and are intended to spread […]
July 2, 2025

Red-cockaded Woodpeckers Hanging on in the Swamp

By: Chance Hines6/26/25 Once widespread across the southeastern U.S., red-cockaded woodpeckers (RCWs) have seen steep declines over the past century due to habitat loss, degradation, and […]
July 2, 2025

Two Seasons with Waynes Warblers in the Swamp

By: Chance Hines6/25/25 For the past two springs, as mornings warm and swamps come alive, CCB has scoured southeastern Virginia in search of Wayne’s warbler, the […]
July 2, 2025

Loss of coastal Peregrines continues to spike in Virginia raising concerns about the impact of avian flu

By: Bryan Watts6/24/25 The loss of adult peregrines on the outer coast of Virginia was very high for the second consecutive year, increasing concerns about the […]
June 16, 2025
Adult female osprey on breeding territory in Virginia. Photo by Bryan Watts.

Osprey population along the seaside of the Delmarva Peninsula has collapsed

News Advisory FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  16 June 2025 MEDIA CONTACTS:         Dr. Bryan D. Watts, Director                                          Center for Conservation Biology                                          William & Mary                                          bdwatt@wm.edu                                          (757) 221-2247 BRIEF           (Williamsburg, VA) — […]
April 5, 2025

Fall passage times of adult whimbrels in Virginia

By: Bryan Watts4/2/2025 The whimbrel is a large shorebird that is capable of extreme flight distances during migrations but utilizes relatively few refueling sites.  The Delmarva […]
April 5, 2025

Bryan Watts receives Eisenmann Medal

By: Marie Pitts3/31/2025 On 11 March 2025, Bryan and Marian Watts attended the 147th annual meeting of the Linnaean Society of New York (LSNY) in Manhattan.  […]
April 5, 2025

Winter Habitat Use of Marsh Sparrows in Georgia

By: Chance Hines4/1/2025 A suite of three sparrow species can be found wintering in coastal marshes along the Atlantic coast.  These include Nelson’s, seaside, and saltmarsh […]
April 5, 2025

Exploring the Last Strongholds of Wayne’s Warbler

By: Chance Hines4/1/2025 CCB recently began the second year of a Wayne’s warbler survey in Virginia. Waynes’s warblers are a distinct form of black-throated green warblers […]
April 5, 2025

2025 Field Season to investigate osprey metapopulation dynamics in Chesapeake Bay

By: Bryan Watts3/31/2025 Over the past several years The Center for Conservation Biology (and several key partners) has investigated low productivity by osprey within the main […]
February 6, 2025

Then and now: A look back on osprey breeding performance in the lower Chesapeake in the late 1980s compared to today

By: Bryan Watts1/17/2025 For over twenty years (1970-1990) Mitchell Byrd monitored the osprey breeding population in coastal Virginia.  The monitoring effort was a partnership between William […]
February 5, 2025

The Resurgence of Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers in Virginia

By: Chance Hines1/15/2025 It is not well-known how common red-cockaded woodpeckers were in Virginia prior to the mid-20th century but they were thought to be widespread. […]
February 5, 2025

Deja vu all over again: Tracked eastern willet shot on Guadeloupe

By: Bryan Watts1/24/2025 An eastern willet fitted with a transmitter on the breeding grounds in Virginia was shot within one of the famous “shooting swamps” on […]