Subject: [warnock@scs.unr.edu: Western Sandpiper Migration Summary]
Date: Jun 11 14:25:48 1996
From: Mike Patterson - mpatters at orednet.org




================= Begin forwarded message =================

From: warnock at scs.unr.edu (Nils Warnock)
To: fws-shorebirds at dataadmin.irm.r9.fws.gov
Subject: Western Sandpiper Migration Summary
Date: Tue, 11 Jun


Hi Sister Shorebird Group,

Have been sitting at the computer summarizing our western sandpiper
migration data. Wanted to let you know how the birds did this year. Mary
Anne and I are still sorting througha few "problem birds" but this summary
is about complete.


Overall, it was a very successful season of tracking birds. Of 71
westerns that we put radios on, we found (heard the radio) 92% of them
at at least one other site other than the banding site. Of the westerns
banded at Honey Lake, we found over 52% of them in Alaska, of the San
Francisco birds we found over 83% of them in Alaska and of the Grays
Harbor birds we found an amazing 96% of them in Alaska.

The Copper River Delta remained the single most important stopover site
for the westerns. Almost all of the birds that we marked at Grays Harbor
were found at the Copper while only about half of the birds banded at
Honey Lake were found there. Not all birds follow the same migration
routes.

We were able to find 10 westerns on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
where they probably stopped to breed. We also found some breeding birds
at the base of the Alaska Peninsula, as well as some golden plovers that
we marked in Hawaii. One thing to add, last time I wrote that the YK
Delta is north of the Copper River Delta, but one astute reader pointed
out that most of the YK delta is actually west and even south of the
Copper. Check it out on the map! From California, it all looks north to
us!

Well, I am glad that you followed the birds with us. Right now, the
sandpipers and plovers should be sitting on their 4-egg nests waiting for
the first chicks to hatch (in northern AK they probably have not hatched
yet, but down south some fuzzy little chicks are proably running around).
Think about the amazing migration these birds do when they come back south
in July-Oct.

All the best,


Nils and Mary Anne




--
*********************************** I was of three minds
* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * like a tree
* mpatters at orednet.org * in which there are three blackbirds.
*http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters* -Wallace Stevens