Breeding origins of migratory songbirds

Bird feathers contain the isotopic signature of where they were grown. For this project, we sample feathers from migratory songbirds as they pass through Braddock Bay Bird Observatory (New York) and the Appledore Island Migration Station (Maine). Feather samples pre-processed, cleaned, and dried in the Ecophysiology Lab at Canisius College, and then sent for isotopic analysis. Hydrogen isotope ratios from sampled feathers are used to answer questions about the migratory movements of different songbird species through New York, Maine, and elsewhere.