Audubon previously reported on a satellite-tagged Whimbrel named Machi who had stopped in Florida during her migrations, and our own Dr. Paul Gray was able to locate and photograph her.

Sadly, after breeding in Canada and wintering in Brazil, she later was shot by hunters on the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, along with another tagged Whimbrel named Goshen.

The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary (Center), the people who were conducting the research, now report that Guadeloupe and nearby islands have agreed to increase protections for migratory birds, and the Barbados Wildfowlers Association has adopted other voluntary restrictions.

Out of a sad event, the Center reports:

“Machi and Goshen have proven to be a catalyst for change. Following their widely publicized loss, the conservation community, government agencies, environmental ministers, and responsible hunting groups have come together to move toward sustaining vulnerable shorebird populations.”