July 14, 2023
Osprey with menhaden

The Center for Conservation Biology documents unprecedented osprey nest failures within the lower Chesapeake Bay

For release: July 14, 2023 Williamsburg, VA – In 2023, The Center for Conservation Biology has documented the highest rate of osprey nest failure ever recorded […]
June 30, 2016

Virginia bald eagle breeding population exceeds 1,000 pairs

(Williamsburg, VA)—The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University has compiled 2016 survey results for the Virginia bald […]
December 10, 2014

Red knots receive Endangered Species Act listing – Virginia to play critical role

In a press conference held on December 9th, 2014, Service Director Dan Ashe announced the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the […]
May 6, 2013

Mackenzie whimbrels complete third leg of unknown loop migration route

FROM: Center for Conservation Biology, College of William and Mary – Virginia Commonwealth University FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 04 April, 2013 MEDIA CONTACTS: Dr. Bryan D. Watts, […]
December 6, 2012

Biologist reunites with Hope

(Williamsburg, VA)—Fletcher Smith, a biologist with The Center for Conservation Biology traveled 1,500 miles to St. Croix in November to catch up with a whimbrel named […]
August 13, 2012
Fletcher Smith with Akpik on breeding ground in the Canadian Arctic (copy)

Brassy whimbrels fly more than 2,500 miles out to sea and through the heart of the Atlantic Ocean completing a nonstop flight of 6 days

(Williamsburg, VA)—Scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) have tracked 3 whimbrels off the east coast of Canada to the northern shore of South America […]
June 26, 2012

Center for Conservation Biology Launches New Nightjar Survey Network Website

(Williamsburg, VA) Nightjars are an enigmatic group of bird species that includes the Common Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will, Chuck-will’s-widow, Common Poorwill and others that are active only at […]
April 5, 2012
Hope at Great Pond on 9 January 2012

Hope returns to Virginia

(Williamsburg, VA)—Hope, a whimbrel carrying a satellite transmitter, has returned to the Eastern Shore of Virginia after spending the winter on St. Croix in the U.S. […]
February 22, 2012
7 week old osprey chick closeup

Project OspreyWatch Launched

Williamsburg, VA – The Center for Conservation Biology has launched Project OspreyWatch, a project created to engage a global community to collect data on breeding osprey. […]
September 14, 2011
Recovered transmitter

Goshen a shorebird tracked by scientists becomes second study bird to be lost on Guadeloupe

(Williamsburg, VA)—Scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology have determined that a second whimbrel they had been tracking as part of a long-term migration study has […]
September 12, 2011
Machi being fitted with satellite transmitter in August, 2009

Machi a shorebird tracked by scientists survives tropical storm only to be killed by hunters on Guadeloupe

(Williamsburg, VA)—Scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology learned today that a whimbrel that they had been tracking via satellite for 2 years as part of […]
September 7, 2011
Map of nest damage along James River following Hurricane Irene

Bald eagle nests along James River battered by Hurricane Irene

(Williamsburg, VA)—Bald eagle nests along the historic James River were hit hard by Hurricane Irene. Of 154 nests examined during an aerial survey on 3 September, […]
September 5, 2011
Bald Eagle on nest in Northampton County (copy)

Bald eagle population booming along historic James River

(Williamsburg, VA)—The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University has compiled 2011 survey results for the Virginia bald […]
September 5, 2011

Virginia bald eagle breeding population continues upward trajectory

(Williamsburg, VA)—The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University has compiled 2011 survey results for the Virginia bald […]
August 25, 2011
Track of migrating whimbrel Chinquapin from Southampton Island into Hurricane Irene (copy)

Scientists Track Shorebird into Hurricane Irene

(Williamsburg, VA)—Scientists have tracked a migrating shorebird into Hurricane Irene. The shorebird, a whimbrel migrating from Canada to South America left Southampton Island in upper Hudson […]
June 20, 2011
Map of Hope movements from May 2009 through April 2011 (copy)

Hope arrives on MacKenzie River breeding grounds

(Williamsburg, VA)—Hope, a whimbrel being tracked via satellite by scientists has arrived on her breeding grounds along the MacKenzie River in Canada. She left the Eastern […]
April 21, 2011
A rare four-chick bald eagle brood at eight weeks old

Extremely Rare Bald Eagle 4-chick Brood Documented on James River

(Williamsburg, VA) – On 18 April, 2011 while flying eagle productivity surveys along the James River, Bryan Watts and Mitchell Byrd for the Center for Conservation […]
April 15, 2011
Hope fitted with satellite transmitter (copy)

Hope returns to the Delmarva Peninsula

(Williamsburg, VA)—The odyssey of Hope, a whimbrel carrying a satellite transmitter continues to amaze scientists. Hope was originally captured on 19 May, 2009 on the Delmarva […]
March 20, 2011
Bald Eagle on nest in Northampton County (copy)

Eastern Shore Bald Eagle Survey reaches new milestones

Despite high winds during the month of February, the bald eagle breeding population on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is already setting new records. The Center […]
August 14, 2009
Map of migration route used by Hope from Southampton Island in upper Hudson Bay to near the Virgin Islands, 2009

Flight of Hope

(Williamsburg, VA)—Hope, a whimbrel carrying a satellite transmitter, is far out to sea flying south over the Atlantic toward her wintering grounds in South America. The […]
June 2, 2008
Winnie the Whimbrel

Migrant whimbrel tracked on 5,000 kilometer, transcontinental flight

(Williamsburg, VA)— The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary and The Nature Conservancy in Virginia have successfully used a state of […]