Center for Conservation Biology

July 2, 2025

Recent Literature published by CCB

By: Bryan Watts6/24/25 In recent months CCB biologists have published several papers in academic journals.  These articles report on recent findings and are intended to spread […]
July 2, 2025

Red-cockaded Woodpeckers Hanging on in the Swamp

By: Chance Hines6/26/25 Once widespread across the southeastern U.S., red-cockaded woodpeckers (RCWs) have seen steep declines over the past century due to habitat loss, degradation, and […]
July 2, 2025

Two Seasons with Waynes Warblers in the Swamp

By: Chance Hines6/25/25 For the past two springs, as mornings warm and swamps come alive, CCB has scoured southeastern Virginia in search of Wayne’s warbler, the […]
July 2, 2025

Loss of coastal Peregrines continues to spike in Virginia raising concerns about the impact of avian flu

By: Bryan Watts6/24/25 The loss of adult peregrines on the outer coast of Virginia was very high for the second consecutive year, increasing concerns about the […]
June 16, 2025
Adult female osprey on breeding territory in Virginia. Photo by Bryan Watts.

Osprey population along the seaside of the Delmarva Peninsula has collapsed

News Advisory FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  16 June 2025 MEDIA CONTACTS:         Dr. Bryan D. Watts, Director                                          Center for Conservation Biology                                          William & Mary                                          bdwatt@wm.edu                                          (757) 221-2247 BRIEF           (Williamsburg, VA) — […]
April 5, 2025

Fall passage times of adult whimbrels in Virginia

By: Bryan Watts4/2/2025 The whimbrel is a large shorebird that is capable of extreme flight distances during migrations but utilizes relatively few refueling sites.  The Delmarva […]
April 5, 2025

Bryan Watts receives Eisenmann Medal

By: Marie Pitts3/31/2025 On 11 March 2025, Bryan and Marian Watts attended the 147th annual meeting of the Linnaean Society of New York (LSNY) in Manhattan.  […]
April 5, 2025

Winter Habitat Use of Marsh Sparrows in Georgia

By: Chance Hines4/1/2025 A suite of three sparrow species can be found wintering in coastal marshes along the Atlantic coast.  These include Nelson’s, seaside, and saltmarsh […]
April 5, 2025

Exploring the Last Strongholds of Wayne’s Warbler

By: Chance Hines4/1/2025 CCB recently began the second year of a Wayne’s warbler survey in Virginia. Waynes’s warblers are a distinct form of black-throated green warblers […]
April 5, 2025

2025 Field Season to investigate osprey metapopulation dynamics in Chesapeake Bay

By: Bryan Watts3/31/2025 Over the past several years The Center for Conservation Biology (and several key partners) has investigated low productivity by osprey within the main […]
February 6, 2025

Then and now: A look back on osprey breeding performance in the lower Chesapeake in the late 1980s compared to today

By: Bryan Watts1/17/2025 For over twenty years (1970-1990) Mitchell Byrd monitored the osprey breeding population in coastal Virginia.  The monitoring effort was a partnership between William […]
February 5, 2025

The Resurgence of Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers in Virginia

By: Chance Hines1/15/2025 It is not well-known how common red-cockaded woodpeckers were in Virginia prior to the mid-20th century but they were thought to be widespread. […]
February 5, 2025

Deja vu all over again: Tracked eastern willet shot on Guadeloupe

By: Bryan Watts1/24/2025 An eastern willet fitted with a transmitter on the breeding grounds in Virginia was shot within one of the famous “shooting swamps” on […]
February 5, 2025

Dune Foragers: Unraveling the Ipswich Sparrow’s Hidden Diet

By: Chance Hines1/15/25 The Ipswich sparrow, a denizen of Sable Island, Nova Scotia during the summer and coastal dunes along the American Atlantic Coast in the […]
February 5, 2025

The Arc of Conservation

By: Bryan Watts1/17/2025 Working on the front lines of conservation is like being an emergency room doctor.  The long hours and relentless pace are exhausting.  The […]
October 9, 2024

CCB Surveys Reveal Wayne’s Warbler Strongholds in Virginia

By: Chance Hines9/24/24 The majority of old-growth swamps of Virginia and other mid-Atlantic states have been lost to logging and development, but the remaining fragments of […]
October 9, 2024

CCB and Partners Supporting Whimbrels Through Coordinated Conservation

Among the many bird species that CCB has researched in the name of conservation is the whimbrel, a large, brown shorebird known for its distinctively downcurved […]
October 9, 2024

Heron Heyday

By: Bryan Watts9/24/24 Many of us have nostalgia for the 1970s when sideburns ruled, Springsteen exploded on the music scene and you could buy a dozen […]