A whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) though probably not Chinquapin.WIKIMEDIA, ANDREAS TREPTE
As residents clean up from the strong winds and drenching rains brought to the US East Coast by Hurricane Irene this weekend, wildlife biologists are marveling at the tenacity of a small shorebird that flew directly into the storm while migrating from its Arctic feeding grounds to its breeding area in South America.
The bird, a whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) named Chinquapin that had been fitted with radio transmitter as part of an effort to track the migratory patterns of the species, left the Canadian Arctic on Monday (August 22) and flew thousands of miles across the Northeastern US and out to sea before entering Irene's outer bands on Wednesday (August 24), just as the storm—then a category 3 hurricane—lashed the Bahamas. Then the bird disappeared ...
