Virginia Coastal Program: 2000 Coastal Grant Project Description and Final Summary
Project Task:
FY2000 Task 1.06
Grantee:
Center for Conservation Biology
Project Title:
Doppler Radar Study of Migratory Birds
Project Description as Proposed:
The Mid-Atlantic
Coastal Plain plays a significant role in the life cycle of many
of the most vulnerable bird species in North America. Each year
millions of birds pass through the region as they move between breeding
areas in the northeast and winter areas within either the southeastern
United States or the new world tropics. Within the mid-Atlantic
Region, the lower Delmarva and Cape May peninsulas are the most
significant migration bottlenecks known, concentrating large numbers
of birds within relatively small land areas. Habitats within these
peninsulas receive extremely high use by migrant birds during the
fall months and are considered to have some of the highest conservation
values in eastern North America. Because of its critical importance,
the lower Delmarva peninsula has been the subject of land protection
and habitat restoration efforts under the Virginia Coastal Program’s
Northampton County Special Area Management Plan since 1991. Habitat
protection plans are also being developed by the US Fish & Wildlife
Service, The Nature Conservancy, and other partner agencies. The
lower Delmarva peninsula falls within National Geographic Society’s
“ Middle Atlantic Coastal Forest” ecoregion and The Nature
Conservancy’s “Chesapeake Bay Lowlands” ecoregion.
Along the lower Delmarva peninsula, habitats close to the southern
tip appear to have the greatest significance to migrants. Broad-scale
investigations have documented a steep density gradient of migrants
extending south to north within the lower 20 km (Watts and Mabey,
1993 under the Northampton SAMP). This project will evaluate Nexrad/Doppler
radar as a tool to prioritize geographic areas and habitat patches
within the known stopover area according to their value to migrant
songbirds. The study will relate radar signatures of birds exiting
forest patches to surveys conducted on the ground. Validation of
this technique could have broad application in the ongoing process
of protecting significant migration stopover areas in coastal Virginia
and throughout North America. The information may prove vital to
implementation of Northampton County’s proposed Sensitive Natural
Resources Area overlay and to siting of proposed wind turbines in
the area.
Federal Funding:
$10,000
Project Contact:
Barton J. Paxton, Center
for Conservation Biology, 757-221-1639
Project Status:
Grant Closed
Final Product Received:
Project Summary Provided by Grantee:
Project funded a portion of bird surveys on the Lower Delmarva Peninsula. Surveys were a component of a larger project looking at the quality and quantity of stopover habitat on the Lower Delmarva Peninsula. Surveys were conducted at 92 points within 32 forest patches located along the midline and the bayside of the lower 20 km of the Delmarva Peninsula. Forest patches selected were a minimum of 4-ha in size to accommodate 6-30m fixed radius points within each patch. Points were surveyed by one member of a 4 person team twice during each of 8 6-day periods to determine migrant use. It appears that bayside forest patches are used at a greater frequency by a greater number of migrant birds than midline patches. Data collected in this project will be combined with habitat measurements, radar data, and GIS data layers to evaluate the quality and quantity of existing stopover habitats for neotropical migratory birds on the lower Delmarva Peninsula. Analyses are continuing on the combined data. Upon completion, in the spring of 2004, a final report addressing all factors mentioned will distributed all partners.
Form C end
Disclaimer: This project summary provides the federal dollars initially awarded to the grantee. Due to underexpenditure or reprogramming of grant funds, this figure may change. For more information on the allocation of coastal grant funds, please contact Laura McKay, Virginia Coastal Program Manager, at 804.698.4323 or email: Laura.McKay@deq.virginia.gov
A more detailed Scope of Work for this project is available. Please direct your request for a copy to Virginia.Witmer@deq.virginia.gov
