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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