Migratory Bird Conservation

For more than five decades, The Nature Conservancy’s Volgenau Virginia Coast Reserve (VVCR) has developed a Migratory Bird Program that focuses on protecting and managing these habitats for many species of breeding, wintering and migrating birds. 

Monitoring Nesting Birds

Every year from April through August, thousands of birds nest and raise their young on Virginia's barrier island beaches.

As part of VVCR's Migratory Bird Program, we work closely with federal and state partners including US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to monitor and protect the nesting pairs and colonies, or groups, of birds on the islands. 

Long-term monitoring allows VVCR and our partners to track changes in the size, location and even reproductive success of these bird populations—information that is critical for guiding management actions. 

Each year TNC hires seasonal technicians and interns to assist with these monitoring efforts. 

Managing for Migratory Birds

Nesting birds at the Volgenau Virginia Coast Reserve, many considered threatened or endangered, must overcome many challenges to successfully produce young. 

Storms and extremely high tides can wash out large numbers of nests or drown flightless chicks. Predators such as raccoons and foxes will eat eggs, chicks and even adult birds. And too much disturbance in their nesting areas can cause adults to leave nests and chicks, exposing them to predators or excessive temperatures. 

During the 2019 nesting season, VVCR implemented a project, funded by USFWS and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), to use camera technology to evaluate predator populations and their impacts to nesting shorebirds on our barrier islands. 

Seasonal Technician Aylett Lipford diligently reviewed more than 1.9 million photos from 55 nest cameras, documenting events like gulls eating shorebird eggs, ghost crab interactions and a Peregrine Falcon eating a shorebird chick. The results of this project have helped inform our management of the barrier islands.   

Sharing the Beach

Human visitors to the islands—and their pets—can unknowingly trample eggs or chicks, keep adult birds from protecting their eggs or chicks from the hot sun or predators, attract more predators to the area and prevent birds from feeding themselves or their young enough food.

As part of our Migratory Bird Program, VVCR manages its barrier island properties to prevent some of these disturbances to the birds while still allowing for visitor access to these beautiful, remote natural areas.

Staff and volunteers conduct visitor outreach on the islands and at local boat ramps to inform people of the nesting activity. Staff and volunteers post hundreds of signs each year along the island chain to alert visitors to the presence of nesting birds.

Visit our barrier islands page to learn which TNC-owned barrier islands in Virginia are open for public use and about important use policies and restrictions.

Explore our Seaside is an online resource developed by TNC and partners, with support from the Volgenau Foundation, to help visitors discover all of the incredible resources that this region supports and to learn about the partners dedicated to managing and protecting these coastal treasures.

Conservation Partners

We work closely with many different partners to understand how bird populations use and depend on the Volgenau Virginia Coast Reserve for survival. We use that information to understand range-wide conservation needs and guide local management actions to protect and build resilient migratory bird populations both in coastal Virginia and throughout the hemisphere.

• US Fish & Wildlife Service
• Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
• Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
• Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary
• Virginia Tech
• Virginia Marine Resources Commission
• Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program
• NASA / Wallops Flight Facility
• Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory 
• National Park Service
• USDA Virginia Wildlife Services

CONTACT

Alexandra Wilke, Coastal Scientist
Phone: (757) 442-5417
Email: awilke@tnc.org