| Patuxent Science Meeting 2006 Poster Abstract |
| | Identifying stopover sites for migrating passerine birds in the lower |
| | Chesapeake Bay region |
| | Mabey S (NCSU), Watts B, Paxton B, Smith F (CCB-CW&M), Truitt B (TNC), |
| | Dawson DK |
| | Stopover sites in the Lower Chesapeake Bay region, used in autumn by passerine birds that |
| | migrate nocturnally, have been identified from radar data (WSR-88D/NEXRAD, Wakefield, VA; |
| | and NPOL, a higher resolution NASA radar installed at Oyster, VA). Radar detects birds as |
| | they leave daytime stopover sites to resume their migration. Exit locations were mapped |
| | through the season to identify sites that receive high or consistent use. Field surveys on the |
| | Lower Delmarva Peninsula provided independent estimates of the spatial and temporal |
| | distribution of migrants, ground-truthing the radar results. Vegetation characteristics of available |
| | habitats were sampled, and the relationship of migrant distribution and abundance with habitat |
| | and landscape characteristics is being modeled. Project results will aid in the evaluation of |
| | radar as a tool for identifying important stopover sites and tracking bird migration patterns, and |
| | Friday, September 22, 2006 |