Assisting Canadian Wildlife Service with Satellite Telemetry Study of Surf Scoters

In early August 2006, USGS veterinarian Dr. Glenn Olsen and research wildlife biologist Dr. Matthew Perry of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center travelled to northern Labrador to instrument 15 surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) with implantable satellite transmitters.  The project was funded by the Canadian Wildlife Service, which has been banding surf scoters in this area for three years.  This area on the Atlantic coast is an important molting area for surf scoters, which was partially documented with earlier satellite telemetry studies that Drs. Olsen and Perry conducted with surf scoters captured in the Chesapeake Bay. They flew to the village of Nain, which is the northernmost inhabited community in Labrador, and then traveled by boat to a remote Inuit camp, where a field station was established.  The ducks were captured with underwater gill nets, removed rapidly, and held in crates. Over 200 were banded and 15 of the heaviest were selected for surgical implantation at the field camp after being anesthetized.  Tracking of the ducks will be conducted by satellites and location data plotted on maps by the Canadian Wildlife Service.  Hopefully, some of the ducks may end up in Chesapeake Bay and increase our knowledge of the movements of surf scoters that use Chesapeake Bay during the winter.

Contact:  Matthew Perry, 301-497-5622, Laurel, MD

Freshman Seminar Course in Ornithology

Dr. J. Michael Meyers will present a program on the "Restoration of the Bald Eagle in Alabama" to freshman interested in the field of ornithology at The University of Georgia, Thursday, September 14th in Life Sciences room B118 at 8 AM.  Dr. Meyers and graduate student Elizabeth Mojica are currently working with Bald Eagles in Florida using satellite telemetry.  He will present management and research of Bald Eagles in Alabama, which was part of a
multi-state collaborative effort to successfully restore our national symbol to the southeastern U.S.   He will also discuss potential careers in ornithology and his ornithological experiences with the students.
 
Contact: J. Michael Meyers, Athens, GA, 706-542-1882

HiLites Contact: Regina Lanning, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 301-497-5509

See Previous HiLites:

March 15, 2004
May 3, 2004
May 17, 2004
May 24, 2004
June 7, 2004
June 28, 2004
August 2, 2004
September 23, 2004
October 19, 2004
November 3, 2004
December 23, 2004
January 25, 2005
March 7, 2005
April 4, 2005
August 29, 2005
October 17, 2005
October 31, 2005
December 12, 2005
March 27, 2006
July 17, 2006