Virginia Birds A Quarterly Journal of Ornithological Sightings in the Commonwealth Published by the Virginia Society of Ornithology Volume 8, Number 2 Fall Records August 2011–November 2011 WeEditors' were very excited when ourNotes East Region Editor, Fred Atwood, proposed that three of his high school students would edit the Region report for the fall period report under his guidance. We think you will agree that our guest editors, Jacob Barkett, Sayed Malawi, and Nicholas Newberry did an outstanding job. Perhaps “the” birding story of the period was Hurricane Irene. Wendy Ealding, Secretary of the Virginia Avian Records Committee, summarizes the presence of storm-related rarities across the state in her article on page 4 and Dr. Bryan Watts, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology, adds a post script regarding the damage done to Bald Eagle nests. Corrections: Virginia Birds, Spring Records March 2011 – May 2011 was incorrectly numbered as Volume 7, Number 3. It was actually Volume 7, Number 4. In Virginia Birds, Summer Records, June – July 2011 the Editors Notes from the spring period were unintentionally repeated. Additionally, the Central Region Report was for fall period instead of summer. The report for the summer period can be found in the Central Region section of this issue. The cover photo was also from the fall reporting period. On the Cover: Two Swallow-tailed Kites in Campbell County were seen and photographed by many birders from mid-Au- gust to early September. Photograph by Adam D'Onofrio Publisher Regional Editors Virginia Society of Ornithology Fred Atwood Printed on recycled paper Lenny Bankester Adam D’Onofrio Editors Wendy Ealding Linda Fields Clyde Kessler Alan Schreck Lynda Mayhorn [email protected] Roger Mayhorn C. Michael Stinson Bill Williams Terms and Abbreviations L. – Lake Ornithology Species name in bold first time men- MAPS – Monitoring Avian v.t. – video taped (by + initials) tioned (RARITIES bold and all caps) Productivity and Survivorship WMA – Wildlife Management Area County names are in italics m.ob. – many/multiple observers – VARCOM Review List Bird Abbreviations: Mt. – Mountain, Mount † – written details submitted ad. (ads.) – adult(s) NWR – National Wildlife Refuge * – specimen collected BBS – breeding bird survey ph. – photographed (by + initials) CBC – Christmas Bird Count Pt. – Point Submissions Cr. – Creek R. – River Send reports and photographs to the et al. – and others Res. – Reservoir Regional Editors. Photographs should fide – vouched by Rte. – Route be the highest electronic quality possi- FOS — First of Season SF – State Forest ble. Send with release form, which can Ft. – Fort SP – State Park be found on the VSO web site: www. Hwy. – Highway VARCOM – Virginia Avian Records virginiabirds.net I. – Island(s), Isle(s) Committee Articles for consideration can be sent to imm. (imms.) – immature(s) VDGIF – Virginia Department of [email protected] Jct. – Junction Game and Inland Fisheries juv. (juvs.) – juvenile(s) VSO – Virginia Society of Page 2 Virginia Birds Volume 8 • Number 2 Season Reports Due to Regional Editors Virginia Birds Regions Summer (Jun–Jul) 15 Aug Fall (Aug–Nov) 15 Dec Winter (Dec–Feb) 15 Mar Spring (Mar–May) 15 Jun Virginia Birds Virginia Volume 8 • Number 2 Page 3 2 Page 8•Number Volume What Hurricane Irene Brought to Virginia Hurricane Irene, the first major hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season, made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early in the morning on August 27 at Cape Lookout, North Carolina and headed north passing just off the Virginia coast to New Jersey over the next 24 hours. The high winds and heavy rain caused extensive damage from downed trees in the Richmond area, although as little as 30 miles to the west, damage was minimal, enabling birders in the western Piedmont to get out and search for hurricane-displaced species at large bodies of water. Birders on the Eastern Shore were likewise able to get out in the field and contribute reports. Some sense of the bird activity during the oncoming storm was captured in an e-mail that Ned Brinkley sent out to the VA- Bird list serve on the morning of August 27. An adult Arctic Tern is sitting with 4 Royal, 11 Sandwich, 12 Common, 1 Least, and 21 Forster’s Terns on Cape Charles Beach presently. This is probably the nucleus of what will be a larger storm roost that will form here during the easterlies today. Winds are still in the 30s, gusting to the low 40s, with bands of rain passing through, sometimes heavy. Landfall of the eye of Irene just occurred a few minutes ago around Cape Lookout, so we are some hours from the most intense wind and rain. It is interesting to watch the formation of these storm roosts. Terns are coming off the Bay at all heights (from just above the surf to very high, where they can only be heard calling but not seen), mostly from the southwest, and they are often engaged in what seems to be foraging, but I have not seen any of them capture a fish. The behavior seems almost to be a nervous reaction to the irregular wind speeds/patterns, but that’s just a guess. Many of the terns (Sandwich and Common) are checking out the beach roost and passing it by, and some of these are passing off to the north of town, while others are angling in along Jefferson Avenue, then doing the pseudo- foraging behavior over Crystal Lake, adjacent to which a new storm roost is forming in vacant lots of Marina Villages (3 Laughing Gulls, 28 Forster’s Terns, 1 Least Tern juv., 17 Common Terns, 1 Royal Tern, 2 Sandwich Terns). Common Terns are very common to our south, nearer the mouth of the Bay, but we do not see them within town unless there is a storm. As VARCOM Secretary, the author monitored apparently storm related sightings of rarities that were reported on the VA-Bird listserve and solicited reports to VARCOM. A number of these reports have been reviewed and accepted by VARCOM; others are pending submission or further review. The reports, all from the period of August 27–28, 2011, are summarized below. Of the fourteen reports, representing seven species, all but two were seabirds; there was one passerine and one shorebird. Sooty Terns predominated, with five reports. One of these was of an adult found dead in Accomack County, the only apparent casualty in what is admittedly a very small sample of observations. Red-necked Phalarope: It is not entirely clear that this particular species reported at Dyke Marsh was storm borne although reports this far inland in the Coastal Plain are very rare (1) and the observers also commented on the presence of Royal, Common and Least Terns as unusual in being at this location all at one time. Sooty Tern: This was the most widely reported hurricane-associated species, with reports from three locations on the Eastern Shore and two locations in the Piedmont. Historically, most onshore reports are associated with tropical disturbances (1). Bridled Tern: Two reports from Northampton County. Historically, most onshore reports have been hurricane-associated (1). Arctic Tern: One report from Northampton County; this species is rare anywhere onshore in the state. Royal Tern: All three reports were from locations in the Piedmont where the species has VARCOM Review List status. All historic fall Piedmont records have been hurricane-associated (1). Parasitic Jaeger: The actual identity of this individual bird is still to be confirmed by VARCOM. If confirmed, it will furnish only the third Piedmont record, the previous two both being hurricane-associated (1). Brown-chested Martin: This individual was reported as being the austral migrant fusca subspecies, for which there are only six records from the continental US and Canada (2). It is not clear what, if any, role the hurricane played in its presence. Page 4 Virginia Birds Volume 8 • Number 2 Table 1: Reports of Rarities During The Passage of Hurricane Irene Species (No.) Date Location VARCOM status Red-necked Phalarope (1) August 28 Dyke Marsh, Fairfax Accepted Cat 1 Sooty Tern (1 imm. 1 adult) August 27 Sandy River Reservoir, Prince Edward In review Sooty Tern (2 adults) August 27 Lake Anna Awaiting submission Sooty Tern (1 adult) August 28 Sunset Beach, Northampton Awaiting submission Sooty Tern (2 adults, 2 juv) August 28 CBBT #1 Accepted Cat 1 Sooty Tern (1 adult, dead) August 28 Accomack County Accepted Cat 1 Bridled Tern (1 juv 1 subadult) August 27 Oyster, Northampton Awaiting submission Bridled Tern (1 juv) August 28 Sunset Beach, Northampton Awaiting submission Arctic Tern (1 adult) August 27 Cape Charles Awaiting submission Royal Tern (1) August 27 Lake Anna Awaiting submission Royal Tern (2) August 28 Sandy River Reservoir, Prince Edward Awaiting submission Royal Tern (2 adults 1 juv) August 28 Kerr Reservoir, Mecklenburg Accepted Cat 2 Parasitic Jaeger (possible) (1) August 28 Burke Lake, Fairfax In review Brown-chested Martin (1) August 28 Sunset Beach, Northampton Awaiting submission Acknowledgements: Reports were contributed by Ned Brinkley, Mike Boatwright, Joelle Buffa, Larry Cartwright, Adam D’Onofrio, Kurt Gaskill, Paul Glass, Clyde Morris, Carine, Nick and Tucker Newberry, David Shoch, David and Evan Spears, and Mike Stinson. References: (1) Rottenborn and Brinkley. (2007) Virginia’s Birdlife: An Annotated Checklist Fourth Edition Virginia Avifauna No.7 (2) http://birding.typepad.com/peeps/2011/08/brown-chested-martin-virginia.html Wendy Ealding Wendy Ealding is the Secretary of the Virginia Avian Records Committee and the South Central Regional Editor of Virginia Birds ….And What Irene Took Away Bald eagle nests along the historic James River were hit hard by Hurricane Irene. Of 154 nests examined during an aerial survey on 3 September thirty-six (23.4%) showed visible damage and Thirty-two (20.8%) were lost outright.