Migration and stopover strategies of individual Dunlin along the Pacific coast of North America

Canadian Journal of Zoology
By: , and 

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Abstract

We radio-marked 18 Dunlin, Calidris alpina (L., 1758), at San Francisco Bay, California, and 11 Dunlin at Grays Harbor, Washington, and relocated 90% of them along the 4200 km long coastline from north of San Francisco Bay to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. The Copper River Delta, Alaska, was the single most important stopover site, with 79% of the marked birds detected there. Our second most important site was the Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor complex of wetlands in Washington. The mean length of stay past banding sites ranged from 1.0 to 3.8 days. Controlling for date of departure, birds banded at San Francisco Bay had higher rates of travel to the Copper River Delta than those banded at Grays Harbor. The later a bird left a capture site, the faster it traveled to the Copper River Delta. Length of stay at the Copper River Delta was inversely related to arrival date. We did not find any effect of sex on travel rate or length of stay. Combining the results of this study with our previous work on Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri (Cabanis, 1875), reveals variation of migration strategies used within and among shorebird species along the eastern Pacific Flyway. ?? 2004 NRC.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Migration and stopover strategies of individual Dunlin along the Pacific coast of North America
Series title Canadian Journal of Zoology
DOI 10.1139/Z04-154
Volume 82
Issue 11
Year Published 2004
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Canadian Journal of Zoology
First page 1687
Last page 1697
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