As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Saturday 3 November 2012

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath: What Happens to the Birds?


The devastating superstorm that hit the U.S. East Coast this week didn't just wreak havoc on human communities—the spawn of Hurricane Sandy also damaged habitat for coastal bird species.

We talked to Bryan Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology in Williamsburg, Virginia, to get a bird's-eye perspective on the disaster.

How do birds react to hurricanes?
When birds encounter a storm like this, they're basically in scramble mode just like we are.
Are you worried about birds dying?

We have mortality events with these hurricanes, [especially with] birds that are either migrating or in vulnerable situations. Although surprisingly we have tracked several whimbrels with satellite transmitters that have flown directly through these storms. Last fall, we tracked a whimbrel named Chinquapin right into Hurricane Irene that successfully [landed] in the Bahamas.

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