Fowler

Whimbrel Tracking in the Americas

A project of The Center for Conservation Biology.

click map for full-size version Migration Map of Fowler the Whimbrel

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Species: Whimbrel
Life Stage: Adult
Gender: Female
Release Date: 2009-05-19 00:00:00
Release Location: Eastern Shore of Virginia, USA
Last Location: 2009-06-07 00:00:00

Background

Migration Update: Fowler was named after Fowling Point in the saltmarshes near where it was captured in coastal Virginia. It was banded with green leg flag "ANC." After several weeks of foraging on fiddler crabs and storing body fat, the Whimbrel continued its migration north to Canada, flying 2822 km in 115 hours. After landing in Manitoba several hundred miles west of the Hudson Bay, the bird's transmitter sent mortality signals indicating that the Whimbrel was dead. The eastern Artic had a late thaw in the summer of 2009 and its possible that the Whimbrel was unable to find food to refuel after the long migratory flight to its breeding grounds.